"Esteemed professors on the judging panel, fellow students, and Lady Veronica, the Saintess, hello. I am Greg Sass, a second-year student at Glory Kael Magic Academy."
Greg stood at the lectern, his gaze sweeping over the dense crowd below before lingering briefly in Veronica's direction.
He saw the anticipation in her slightly widened eyes, like an apprentice waiting for her teacher's instruction.
After taking a deep breath, he began his defense.
Rather than starting with definitions as most students did, he opened with a thought-provoking question:
"Ever since its inception, elemental resonance theory has been regarded by the academic community as a central means of increasing the power of magic. But I would like to ask everyone here a question-when we speak of elemental resonance, are we talking about adding power together, or fundamentally transforming it?"
This opening immediately captured everyone's attention.
Several professors on the judging panel set down their pens in unison and focused their gazes on him.
Veronica leaned forward slightly, her hands clasped on her knees, looking so intent that she seemed afraid of missing even a single word.
Greg continued:
"I believe the essence of elemental resonance is not the simple addition of power. Rather, by matching the frequencies of magic power with different attributes, we create an entirely new form of magic power with higher-order properties. This qualitative transformation is where the true value of elemental resonance lies."
Starting from this central argument, he began systematically laying out his theoretical framework.
Greg turned around, picked up the chalk on the lectern, and drew a simple diagram on the blackboard:
"Like the students before me, I will use the most traditional example: resonance between the fire and wind elements. The usual understanding is that wind accelerates the spread of fire, expanding the range of an