Published at 16th of February 2024 2:21 pm

Chapter 35. Academia Is Challenging Even For The Talented

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“Sorcerers and wizards might appear the same from the outside, but they’re not the same. The former often appear stronger, but their abilities are limited, and they lack control over their mana system’s path. After all, their strength comes from their lineage. Primordial ancestors, divine blood, or a humanoid-magical-beast parent are often the source of their power. Unfortunately, their origins make sorcerers the target of suspicion when they could become vital weapons in the war against the gods. Unless the Imperium and City States change their opinion on sorcerers, more will be forced to join Dungeon Lord Cults to survive.” - Archwizard Alex Maher, Creator of the Rock Cannon spell series.

The rest of the week passed swiftly.

Intermediate Dungeon Combat classes remained the same throughout the week. Professor Wolfhammer had everyone fit enough to fight. They dueled as soon as their mana and stamina had recovered to adequate levels. It resulted in the class fighting various opponents, sometimes facing the same classmate multiple times. However, he didn’t push Nox and Lillin to fight their first opponents. Edward and Louis gave the pair a wide berth. The brothers neither spoke to nor looked at them.

Nox won most of his fights with relative ease unless facing melee opponents. Speedier foes had little trouble breaking his wards if they made it to him. Even though Nox had decent hand-to-hand skills, he struggled to catch and pin them as he had with Louis.

Meanwhile, he had an ever harder time with the vanguards. They were slower, taking longer to reach him, and more vulnerable to his projectiles. Unfortunately, the mana arrows failed to penetrate their defenses, and projectiles accompanied by essence glass shards only inflicted surface damage. Nox refused to waste more of his alchemical creations or stored essences and fought with nothing besides Ratra’s Bow and his magic. Instead, he accepted the loss and used the experiences to improve his general combat skills.

When the juggernauts got close, Nox combined Slow with his martial skills. Unfortunately, his opponents outmatched him in strength and durability. They eventually overpowered and defeated him. He had less success with them than he did with the speedier melee fighters.

Lillin continued to mostly use control and defensive spells. She picked up a black staff somewhere along the way and used it more than attack magic. The narrow end proved excellent for thrusting attacks while she used the thick knotted top for bludgeoning. Nox had never seen her fight in melee range and wondered whether her staff combat knowledge came from consuming past victims. Much to his surprise, she lost more than half her matches and just shrugged when asked why. However, she'd have the biggest grin after each duel and talk animatedly about the experience, even when it was a defeat. The change in his victory-loving friend only further unnerved Nox on the topic of Lillin's transformation.

Finally, Annabelle displayed the most surprising transformation. The young woman appeared battle hungry, demanding to face opponents beyond fellow support mages or controllers. She didn't just appear more confident in conversation but in battle as well. Unlike most of the class, she had life-and-death experiences and used everything the rift had taught her to polish skills and cover weaknesses.

Runes and spellforms covered Annabelle’s new boots. They looked like the pair Victor used to wear but altered to fit her slender legs and came up to the knees. Her jumps carried her higher, and light kicks let her change direction mid-air before she landed. Annabelle also didn't just rely on her sling. She carried an odd artificed weapon that started as a dagger with a forearm-long blade and just as long a handle. A flick of the wrist made the latter half double in length. Then a twist turned it into a short spear. The head occasionally glowed during thrusts and mid-fight extensions, penetrating defenses including Caitlin's armor. Once Annabelle’s martial skills improved and she gained experience, Nox believed the woman would become a terrifying rearguard. Foresight, Danger Sense, Haste, and the Sigil of Agility would put her on par with the class's speedier fighters.

All other classes moved past foundational exercises and delved deeper into their respective topics.

All students displayed adequate competency in Dean Woodson’s Shaping class, and she gave them a break from practicals for the week to cover theory. Each lesson covered a new topic. First came Multi-Shaping, which covered visualizing multiple shapes simultaneously to create multiple mana cages. The spell form for it appeared simple, but execution demanded splitting one’s attention.

On Thirday, they delved into the field of Micro Shaping. It built on the previous lesson, exploring spellforms focused on breaking down chunks of mostly homogenous materials. It targeted the constituent materials, destabilizing bonds between them to create finger-nail-size chips or fine powders.

The final Beginner Essence Shaping of the week delved into the topic of Macro Shaping. The spellform was the most complex one of the week. It combined the previous two techniques with mana cages to create large blocks.

As Nox strived to complete his Shaping Planet, he realized all three techniques would be necessary for his final spellform. He thought back to the essence glass arrowheads he had constructed in the rift. It was a form of Macro Shaping combined with mana cages. Repeating the task with a proper spellform and not just intent made it significantly easier.

The two compulsory theory classes taught in the research department built on what they had covered in the previous weeks. Nox guessed the intermediate dungeon theory course explored entities like Lillin further. He hoped Annabelle wouldn’t catch on. As far as Nox could tell, her danger sense ignored the human mimic. It only alerted her of creatures that wished her harm.

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Nox eagerly waited for Intermediate Mana System Theory to progress past foci. He specifically wanted to learn more about Binary Star Systems. Mostly summoners got access to them, but that didn’t stop Nox from dreaming. He still wanted to explore True Slow or Freeze.

The course’s final topic Understanding Essence intrigued him too. Nox recognized gaps in his knowledge because of not completing the beginner course. Since Kris had banned him from delving, Nox hoped to find some time for the library. He needed to explore the topic thoroughly to get the most out of the products of Crystallize Essence. Thanks to the week of dueling in Professor Wolfhammer’s classes, Nox had a variety of essences waiting to be turned into concoctions or weapons.

Much to Nox’s disappointment, Diya’s class didn’t explore any new topics and continued building on layered scripts. Most of the class needed more time; it was the foundation for three-dimensional spells. However, when Nox asked her for reading materials on mana storage and amplifying scripts, she lent him a book to read ahead. In the meantime, Nox successfully completed a quarter of the necessary script for his planet. It combined the spellforms for Macro Shaping and mana cages.

Diya approved of his work and highlighted where he could make things more efficient and avoid mana leakage. Nox initially planned on using the elements of Galvanising Touch to destabilize essence glass, forcing it into a mana cage, and then using Crystallize Essence to stabilize the final form. Dean Woodson’s class taught him more mana-effective methods of doing the same.

Since Galvanizing Touch wasn’t a part of his star, using it in the Shaping planet’s script would only make the resulting spell too expensive for frequent use. Instead, Nox planned on using Micro Shaping to break essence glass. When free-forming, the process demanded a fair degree of concentration and mana. However, a good enough spellform could potentially make the process quick and cheap.

Unfortunately, Nox lacked the necessary knowledge and practice to complete the rest of the script. Micro Shaping demanded a much deeper understanding of the targeted material than Macro Shaping. Since essence glass was a rare and almost unknown substance, none of his teachers had adequate knowledge to guide him. Before completing the script, Nox needed to investigate essence glass of various types and the bonds between its fundamental elements. However, it was progress; any progress was better than no progress.

Only Professor Lorenzo appeared disappointed in Nox’s spell development. “You’re working hard but not smart,” the man told him.

The professor’s accent grew thicker with every meeting. He had moderately darker skin than most of the people of the northern continent but didn’t quite look like people from Professor Das’s homeland. He originated from a narrow strip of land to the east, which separated the Imperium from the Endless Sands and Yellowrock Wastes.

“Mana costs might be cumulative, but mental strain grows exponentially with every instance of a spell you have active. That might not seem like a lot right now, but as you add more sides to your defensive spells, you’ll feel the headaches. Migraines usually result in dead mages.”

“I’ll be honest. I wasn’t really thinking when I came up with the pyramid barrier,” Nox replied. “It was a panic cast.”

“That’s no excuse, is it?” Professor Lorenzo shook his head. “A panicking mage—”

“Is a dead mage.” Nox sighed, finishing the thought for him. “I’m not particularly good at Shaping stable curved surfaces yet. Since there were several illusory copies, I hoped each instance of Crystallize Essence would dispel one illusion.”

“I’m not saying your reasoning was wrong. It's your execution that needs improvement.” The two men sat together with large sheets of parchment, drawing diagrams. Professor Lorenzo sketched four equilateral triangles next to a square with the same dimensions as the previous shapes. “Infusing all four triangles with your spell costs the same quantity of mana as doing the same to the square. However, you’re only straining your mind once with the latter.”

Then Professor Lorenzo drew lines connecting the opposite corners and tapped the center where they intersected. “Now, if you fold or break the shape, it's still that one instance you’re focusing on while feeding separate streams of mana to each section. Mana and your endurance are not the only resources you need to consider. Mental stamina is just as important for spellcasting. Defensive spells need to be quick and reflexive. You don’t want to have to think about it or strain yourself since, as the party’s striker and controller, your priorities lie elsewhere.”

The differing approach to spellcasting felt negligible at first. Nox practiced it during the lessons and used it during dueling—when he remembered. He didn't notice significant benefits until Fifthday when he dueled an opponent he hadn't faced before.

Matthias Morgaine came from a long line of famous summoners. As the third son of a branch family, he lacked sufficient station to draw allies using his lineage. However, his magic had won him a position in Louis' entourage. The man summoned a flock of birds made of pure fire essence. They moved as a swarm, and a couple flew independently. The former kept his attention while the latter snuck up on him from his blind spots.

The pyramid defense proved invaluable for keeping Nox’s dueling wards intact. It took three birds to dispel one side. Nox replaced each triangular barrier with a new one as soon as they fell. With each new creation, Nox’s eyes and temples hurt more. By the end of the fight, he struggled to stand upright even though his knees threatened to give out. Nox had no choice but to surrender. Despite his other losses, it was the match that helped him find some humility and practice Professor Lorenzo’s approach more seriously.

Nox dedicated most of his evenings to alchemy, selling sample potions to the stores within the Woodson University campus and developing his spellform. He used a fraction of their recent earnings in new alchemy equipment—specifically microscopes and similar tools for brewing equipment. Nox used them to break down and analyze his essence glass.

The crystalline bonds between stable essence proved similar to mana gems. However, the discovery didn’t help Nox figure out Micro Shaping. He needed an expert from the production department to progress and hoped Professor Das was his man.

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