Chapter 24

### Chapter 24: Black Night · Spalrik's Ice Magic Class

There were only 30 people in the classroom, which wasn't very large, with only two windows facing outward. It was midsummer, and the holiday in June had just ended. To avoid the scorching sun, the curtains in the classroom were closed and had not been opened. The ceiling of the classroom had many recessed slots, each embedded with elemental crystals. Around each slot were small, intricate magic arrays that could operate on their own, releasing the energy of the elemental crystals until they were depleted.

Of course, the embedded crystals included not only light elemental energy crystals for illumination but also other types. In the summer, water and ice elemental crystals were embedded to cool the room, emitting a faint glow.

"Hello, everyone. This is the first day of the new semester, and I will be teaching you the basics of ice magic from now on," a robust man in his thirties stood at the center of the podium.

The male teacher scanned the students: "Some of you may know me, and some of you, who have just been promoted or are new, may not. My name is Black Night Spalrik. You can call me Teacher or Teacher Black Night. I see a few familiar faces here, students who study dark magic or knights and mages who have learned dark skills. Yes, I specialize in dark magic, but teaching you ice magic, even though you are not even apprentice mages, is not a problem. After all, I am a Red Robe Mage (Ultimate, Master Level), and it is an honor for you to be taught by me."

Some of the newly promoted students and those who didn't know him muttered, "What an arrogant guy."

"Shh!" Spalrik glanced at them, "Don't speak ill of me. I can hear you, even if you think it in your mind. I forgot to tell you, I also specialize in mind control."

With these words, no one dared to speak, sitting up straight and not daring to have any disrespectful thoughts.

"Everyone has brought their books, right? No need for more talk, open your books to the first page." Spalrik wrote 'Introduction to Basic Ice Magic' on the blackboard with a pen: "You are all third-level apprentice students, and it's time to learn some basic magic. Don't stay at the child's level. Hmm, this student, don't you have a book?"

Bing Zhiye was extremely frustrated. He had no idea he needed a book, didn't know where to get one, and most importantly, no one had told him to get one.

The girl next to him, Bo Ya, said, "Teacher, I'll share with him."

"No need," Spalrik waved his finger, "What's your name?"

"…Bing, Bing." Bing Zhiye thought about it and decided it was better not to say his full name, even if the teacher asked, he didn't want to be treated with the same enthusiasm as by Sophie.

"Bing Bing?" A question mark appeared on Spalrik's head. "Alright, Little Bing, come here."

The students around him chuckled.

Bing Zhiye had no choice but to walk to the front of the teacher.

"Why don't you have a book? Are you new?" Spalrik asked.

Bing Zhiye replied, "Yes, no one told me to get a book, no one told me."

Spalrik looked down at him, "No one told you, and you didn't worry at all? Or do you think it doesn't matter since you're not majoring in this course, or you don't care about studying here at all?"

Bing Zhiye thought, "I've never been to a school, how would I know these things?" But he couldn't say that, after all, he was a student now. Suddenly, he felt a disturbance in his mind, realizing that it was a mind-reading spell from Spalrik's mind control magic.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Spalrik tried to read his thoughts, but was unexpectedly blocked. Spalrik was slightly surprised, though he had only tried casually and not with full strength, being blocked still surprised him. He suddenly said, "I know why you don't have a book. Go back to your seat."

Bing Zhiye pulled his cap down low and returned to his seat.

Spalrik, of course, knew why he didn't have a book. Only those new students who were expected to quickly advance to the next level were not given books for this level. Bing Zhiye had been directly placed in the third-level apprentice class, which was the highest placement standard for new students.

Spalrik pointed at Bing Zhiye, "Within a week, you will take the promotion exam. Don't stay in this class, it would be a waste of your time."

The students around him were stunned, and Donna Bo Ya, who was sitting next to him, opened her mouth in surprise. The boy who had been frozen into an ice block so easily by her was now being given a deadline to take the promotion exam, which was a shock to everyone.

"Alright, stop talking. We've wasted a lot of time, let's continue the class," Spalrik said, "Everyone knows that ice comes in two forms: one is ice formed from water, which is common and can be seen in winter. The other is ice formed from gas, which sublimates directly into gas and disappears into the air. Although these two types of ice are fundamentally different, their effects are almost the same. I know that whether you study water or wind magic, your teachers have taught you some simple methods to change the state of elements, using magical energy to change the temperature of elements to produce an ice effect. Although wind elements are a bit harder to control, the principle is the same, yes, they are all cold."

Spalrik continued, "As everyone knows, liquid ice can freeze at 0°C, while dry ice requires at least -78.5°C and high pressure to form. This requires a relatively mature control of wind elements. I know that those of you who specialize in water elements can easily learn some ice skills, but it is much harder to form ice using wind elements at your level, like this." He spread his left palm, and a grayish-white mist gathered in his palm, but it didn't form ice.

"This is not because the temperature is not low enough, but because your magical energy is not strong enough to create the ideal high pressure," Spalrik smiled at everyone, "Doesn't it seem unfair?"

Everyone listened to his lecture carefully, and he explained it in great detail, making it very engaging. No one immediately responded to his question.

Spalrik laughed, "It is unfair. However, dry ice has its advantages. Its cooling capacity is 1.5 times that of water ice, meaning that at the same 100°C, dry ice can absorb 1.5 times more heat than water ice. But you might think dry ice is better, it will quickly sublimate into gas once it is no longer under magical pressure, which is both an advantage and a disadvantage." He looked at everyone with a smile.

Bing Zhiye understood clearly, even though dry ice would immediately lose its ice state once it was no longer controlled, it would also quickly disappear without a trace, making it difficult to trace the perpetrator in an assassination.

"Despite the many differences between dry ice and water ice, they are ultimately ice elements. Just like whether you use wood or methane to start a fire, they are all manifestations of fire elements," Spalrik continued his theoretical lecture, explaining the basics and properties of ice in great detail and very vividly. Although some students initially found him too arrogant, they were now engrossed in his lecture.

Bing Zhiye sat there, bored and awkward, with no book to read and the content of the lecture being too simple for him. Next to him, Donna Bo Ya was taking notes of the important points from the teacher's lecture.

Spalrik held a book and said, "I have already explained the key points of casting this ice magic as recorded in the book. Now I will demonstrate it for you." He spread both hands, "This time, I will form dry ice with the wind element in my left hand and water ice with the water element in my right hand. Watch carefully." As he spoke, two different elements gathered in his palms, and in an instant, ice spikes formed on his arms. With a movement, the ice spikes bloomed like two beautiful ice flowers.

The students watched in amazement, emitting soft exclamations. The two ice flowers were the same size and shape, but the dry ice in his left hand was whiter, while the water ice in his right hand was more transparent.

"Control the elements with your mind and change their shape, like this," Spalrik walked down from the podium, slowly gathering the ice elements with his feet to form a human-like shape on the ground, like a shadow. "Control its shape with your mind, and change the state of the elements with your magical energy to create what you want. With the help of a magic incantation and the output of your magical energy, you can form powerful magic, like this."

Spalrik used both hands, forming dry ice with his left hand and water ice with his right hand, extending them into long ice rods covered in ice spikes. With a thought, two large, icy hands grew at the front. "This is a simple yet practical elemental hand. With this magic, many difficult tasks can be accomplished." The two ice hands moved as if they were alive, clenching and unclenching. "Of course, you can't achieve this effect yet, so learning to change the ice elements into the shape of 'ice hands' is enough. Don't just stay at the level of simply attracting ice elements. The incantations are written in the book, so try them out, starting with the simple ones, and control their shape."

The students all extended their hands, looking at the magic incantations in the book and practicing.

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