Winnie was still chattering, but one phrase snagged Luo Wei's attention—light element.

Students of St. Teno Divine College all had light‑element affinity, so they definitely commanded light magic.

She'd been fretting over how to let Roman learn light spells; she hadn't expected an opportunity to surface so soon.

Her eyes turned. She asked, "Divine College students are dual‑element mages—when they compete, will they use magic wands or swords?"

"I don't know," Winnie said. "The Divine College has never joined the tournament, but I'd guess they'll use wands. Swordsmanship is only their secondary course."

"I think so too." Luo Wei nodded.

Powerful mages disdained using swords; those proud Divine College students would hardly relish trading blows blade to blade—that would blemish their refined, exalted image.

"Do they use light magic in real combat?"

That was what she cared about most. She knew almost nothing about light magic; the library's parchment volumes held no light spellchants. She still had no idea what light spells even looked like.

If light spells only worked on dark creatures, Divine College students might skip chanting them during the tournament—no chance for her to learn by watching.

"They definitely will," Winnie said—she clearly knew more than Luo Wei. "Prince Alfried's strongest spell is Light Purification. They say he used it back then to defeat his rivals and seize the coronet of the Eastern Diocese."

"The professors even said this morning that Prince Alfried has selflessly taught the secret of Light Purification to Divine College students so they can win the tournament!"

"Light Purification?" Luo Wei blinked. "Doesn't sound that strong."

For the first time Winnie contradicted her. "If you think it's weak, you're completely wrong!"

"Light Purification is a chain spell—one full chant lets you launch three attacks. The three attacks fire via short spellchants, incredibly fast."

"The first short spell is Holy Radiance—anyone bathed in it is briefly blinded and can't attack. The second is Divine Call—it stirs repentance in the target. The third is Light Purification—once purified, they lose their ferocity and abandon the fight."

Luo Wei clicked her tongue. "That strong? Anyone facing them is doomed."

Winnie was worried too. "Exactly—we're working on countermeasures."

"We?" Luo Wei's curiosity was hooked. "Light Purification is the Divine College's trump card; they wouldn't just hand it out. How do you know all that?"

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"It's 'we,'" Winnie whispered excitedly at her ear. "I've been chosen as an alternate for the magic team!"

"Professor Pence dug up that intel. He called us together today just to tell us and have us brainstorm ways to counter it."

"Come up with anything?" Luo Wei asked.

"Not yet," Winnie murmured. "One classmate suggested an all‑swordsman squad for a blitz fight so they can't chant—Professor Pence vetoed it."

"Someone else suggested we cover our eyes with black cloth and plug our ears with cotton—see nothing, hear nothing—so their magic fails. But then we couldn't attack either."

"True." Luo Wei nodded.

Not seeing or hearing was clever in theory; in practice it was self‑sabotage. The enemy could just kick them off the platform while they were blind and deaf.

Winnie kept sighing. She was only a backup with almost no chance to play, yet she worried more than the primary team.

Listening to the girl's steady stream of sighs, Luo Wei suddenly thought of something.

"Winnie, do you know about sunglasses?"

…

Luo Wei wasn't sure sunglasses could block light magic, so she only sketched the glasses' shape and purpose, telling Winnie to consult a professor about feasibility.

Winnie was thrilled—she couldn't wait even a minute and ran off to find Professor Pence at once.

The Western Continent did have "glasses," but they were nothing like the later hands‑free kind. Lenses were mainly convex pieces mounted on a handled frame, used to enlarge text on parchment or observe ants.

Calling them glasses was generous—they were more like magnifiers.

With limited craft, grinding a good convex lens depended entirely on the artisan's skill, making such lenses absurdly expensive. If a household owned one capable of a hundred‑fold magnification, even a king might visit to see it.

Naturally, that kind of precious lens never reached anyone outside royalty and great nobles. Alchemists capable of grinding high‑power convex lenses served only the aristocracy.

Sunglasses, however, didn't need magnification. To filter harsh light you just added a coloring agent to absorb it. For better performance you could make polarized lenses, or coat them with a reflective layer.

Luo Wei had majored in polymer materials engineering—industries like glass, ceramics, coatings. Glass and coatings were exactly her forte.

If sunglasses proved effective against light magic, she was willing to invest time making them.

Based on everything, Headmaster Morrison was very likely shielding "dark camp" people like her. A peach for a plum—she didn't mind contributing to the Academy in return.

After a brief lull, she was about to be swamped again.

She drafted a task list in her head: first, study lip‑reading and train listening to prepare for stealing light spellcraft; second, develop sunglasses to help the Academy's honor; third, host Winnie's family and help her escape an arranged marriage.

Beyond that she still had to manage the experimental wheat plot, guide mulberry and silkworm cultivation, assemble and deconstruct advanced Magic Runes hidden in the Academy map, and discuss aircraft crafting with Hessel—her head felt as big as a bucket.

Thankfully she hadn't been picked for the magic team; otherwise pre‑tournament training would devour even more time.

As for regaining first place and proving her strength—that would be simple.

Once Axina finished the tournament, she'd challenge her. Defeat the class's acknowledged strongest, and her own strength would need no further proof.

She was pondering what pretext to use for issuing the challenge when Professor Tobias's owl swept overhead, banked, and landed on a branch ahead.

"Luo Wei, come to the Junior Division meeting room; Luo Wei, come to the Junior Division meeting room…"

Familiar scene, familiar summons. Luo Wei's right eyelid gave a heavy twitch—a surge of dread shot to her crown.

Broad daylight—who was kicking up trouble now!

…

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