Chapter 90

October 6th.

In the morning, we were scheduled to attend a lecture by Professor Lionel Raspede, and in the afternoon, we were to have a practical class. Professor Raspede does not regularly teach fixed courses. However, he is busy in December and May, when mid-term and final exams take place, as he evaluates fourth and fifth-year students. During other times, he dedicates himself to his research, allowing us to receive guidance relatively freely. Our private tutoring sessions were approved based on the professor's availability, but he assured us that any time would be fine. However, he warned that he might suddenly cancel if he gets too engrossed in his research.

I decided to receive guidance once every four days, which means once between breaks—since in Doctus, days ending in 5 and 0 are holidays. Of course, I plan to confirm the professor's schedule and decide on the final frequency.

After eating the lunch box made by Sharon in the school cafeteria, I entered the professor's room at 1 PM. In the morning, he was so engrossed in his research that he didn't notice us, but since it was noon, there were no issues this time. When the professor saw us, he immediately stood up and said, "Let's go to the schoolyard," and headed towards the front of the school building. I thought we would go to the training ground for the practical class, but I was a bit confused. When I asked the professor about it,

"You won't be able to use magic effectively in the training ground with your current skills. Originally, it was a training ground for the knights during rainy days. It's a bit cramped..."

According to the professor, only first and second-year students use the training ground for magic practice. Once they can use magic to a certain extent, the cramped training ground becomes inconvenient, and they start practicing outdoors. For third-year students and above, practical classes are organized by attribute. Students with attributes like fire, wind, and light, which involve flashy attack magic, practice outdoors, while those with water, wood, and earth, which involve healing and material transformation, practice indoors.

When we reached the schoolyard, third-year and above students were gathered around their instructors, receiving explanations. I thought they would start casting spells immediately, but there was no sign of it. When I looked at them curiously, the professor explained, "Those students can only cast about four or five spells before running out of magic power."

First, they listen to the day's assignment, then each student casts a spell one by one. The other students observe and give their impressions. I realized that Sharon and I had never properly taken practical classes, so we were unfamiliar with such common knowledge. If we had taken classes, someone would have taught us or the instructor would have explained.

Professor Raspede accompanied Sharon and me to where the fifth-year students were. There, a sturdy stone wall was built, and targets made of stone were set up on a two-meter-high mound.

When the upperclassmen saw the professor, they seemed to tense up, as if they were on guard, thinking it might be a surprise test. The instructor, a woman in her thirties, also looked surprised but quickly ran over to the professor and asked, "Is there something you need, Professor Raspede?"

"Mr. Mayhue, I'd like to borrow this place. I'll be instructing these students."

The instructor, called Mayhue, looked at us and then nodded in understanding. She seemed relieved that it didn't concern her and smiled, "Please use the far left end." The professor nodded and led us to the left end of the target. As we passed the upperclassmen, I heard comments like, "Who are they?" and "Professor Raspede said he would instruct them." They watched us with interest. Sharon, feeling uncomfortable with the attention, walked behind me.

"It's been about a hundred years since I last instructed students. Since it's been a while, I'm not sure where to start, but do you have any preferences?"

Neither Sharon nor I had any specific ideas, so we looked at each other. However, I thought it would be interesting to see the professor's magic and asked, "Could we see your magic, Professor?"

"I have three attributes: fire, metal, and earth. Do you have any preferences for the magic you'd like to see?"

I wanted to see a flashy spell. Our magic teacher, Ridi, has four attributes: light, wind, wood, and water, but the only impactful magic is light. Moreover, she is weakest in light and relies on wind for attack spells. Out of curiosity, I asked for a fire spell.

"Could I see a fire spell? Preferably the most powerful one you can use here."

The professor said, "Alright, let's do some preparations first," and walked to the target area. We hurried after him and asked what he was doing. He explained, "This mound might damage the wall, so I'll reinforce it." He cast the "Earth Wall" spell, and a wall two meters high and wide, and fifty centimeters thick, appeared before our eyes.

I was amazed by its size and speed. I can create a bath using earth magic, but I can't produce such a large amount of earth. I would probably run out of magic power with half the size. The speed at which I create earth is about five centimeters per second for a ten-centimeter thick, one-meter wide object. However, the professor's Earth Wall, which is five times thicker and twice as wide, meaning ten times the area, grew at a rate of over ten centimeters per second. It felt like a two-meter earth gate being lifted by a crane. Later, I learned that the professor's earth attribute level is over eighty, while mine is around twenty, making the difference in levels incomparable.

The professor, seemingly unaware of my shock, said, "This should be enough," and lightly tapped the earth wall, then turned it into stone using the "Stone Generation" spell. A stone wall, like one cut from a city wall, appeared in just a few minutes, leaving Sharon and me speechless. I had heard that city walls were once created using magic, and I realized it was true. It was that shocking.

The professor, as if nothing had happened, turned to us and said, "This should be fine," and took a step back about twenty meters.

"I'm not particularly good at fire magic, but I'll use the most powerful spell I can in this place."

The professor gathered the power of the spirits for about a minute and then began chanting.

"O God of Fire, I seek the spear of purifying flames that consumes all. I offer the power of my life to you. Pierce my enemy with the spear of inferno!"

A powerful pillar of fire, about thirty centimeters in diameter and five meters long, appeared horizontally above the professor's head. When he waved his right hand, the pillar of fire shot towards the wall like an arrow. Since it was only twenty meters away, it hit the wall in less than a second. The moment it hit the stone wall, the red pillar of fire turned into a blinding white light and a loud explosion. After the light and sound faded, the wall was enveloped in smoke. As the smoke was carried away by the wind, the wall's upper half was revealed to be missing. I stood there, speechless, just staring at the remains of the wall.

(Does he consider this weak? The Spear of Inferno? It's not a spear. It looks more like a battering ram...)

"Is this good, Mr. Rockheart?"

The professor asked, but I could only nod, unable to speak. One reason I was speechless was the sheer power of the professor's magic, but I also felt a sense of fear about the existence of magic. Professor Raspede is a high-ranking magician in the Mage Guild, but he is not the world's most powerful magician. He is a top researcher, but he doesn't have the combat experience of magicians from Sartus, the northern kingdom where elves are numerous and magic is prevalent. Even so, he can use such powerful magic. The enemies I might face in the future are said to be feared by the gods. If that's the case, they would use even more powerful magic. The thought of facing such enemies in a few years was even more shocking.

I managed to say, "Thank you," and asked about the magic he just cast.

"The spell you just used was the Spear of Inferno, right?"

"That's correct. The Hellfire Lance is a powerful single-target attack spell used against dragons and giants. However, its short range is a weakness compared to its power."

The professor explained casually, but I was stunned to hear it was for dragons and giants.

(Dragons... giants... Indeed, with this power, it would be used for nothing else but a siege...)

At that moment, I realized something was odd about the surroundings. Sharon was still in a daze, and even the fifth-year students and the instructor, Mayhue, were speechless. It must be rare to see such powerful magic.

The professor smiled and said, "Now, let's see your magic."

He patted Sharon's shoulder to bring her back to her senses and decided to start with me. I thought I would try to recreate the Hellfire Lance I just saw. I knew the incantation but needed to solidify the image in my mind, recalling the spell I just witnessed.

(I can probably create a pillar of fire. But it seemed to explode upon impact with the wall. So, it must be a type of explosion spell. To recreate an explosion with fire magic, gunpowder is the easiest to imagine... Since I can't create something of the same size, I'll try to increase the density...)

I imagined two things. One was a cannonball, a solid ball of fire spirit power. The other was increasing the temperature. The professor's Hellfire Lance was orange, and to increase its power, I needed to increase its density, which means increasing the temperature. From what I vaguely remember, orange flames are around two thousand degrees. If I imagine white flames, it might be twice as hot.

I decided to use a fireball to create a cannonball.

"Seeing your magic, I thought I would try a slightly different Fireball."

When I said this, the professor nodded with an expectant look.

"O God of Fire, I seek the fierce flames of your servants, the spirits. I offer the power of my life to you. Pierce my enemy with fire! Fireball!"

I raised my right hand high and, while chanting the incantation, created a cannonball about ten centimeters in diameter and twenty centimeters long. I used "Fireball" for the activation word to avoid confusing the professor, but I imagined a bullet rather than a ball. I also imagined white, glowing flames to increase the temperature. After about twenty seconds, a dazzling flame cannonball appeared on my raised right hand. When the cannonball was complete, I released it with a spinning motion. It flew straight and hit the professor's wall, exploding like the professor's Hellfire Lance, but it only chipped off a part of the wall due to its weaker power.

(The difference in absolute magic power is significant. I think my image is quite good. I was recalling war footage and imagining a delayed-fuse armor-piercing shell, so it probably lacks the penetration power...)

As I was disappointed, Professor Raspede clapped and praised me.

"Really, you are a genius. To recreate my Hellfire Lance with a fireball. But what did you imagine for the color and shape?"

I was so focused on recreating the professor's magic that I showed an image that doesn't exist in this world. I realized I had made a mistake but first needed to think of how to explain it away.

"Seeing your Hellfire Lance, I thought it would be impossible to recreate it exactly. So, I made it shorter and thinner. Since it was a thick arrow, I added a spin to stabilize its trajectory. For the color, I imagined the hottest part of a blacksmith's forge, which is white..."

The professor nodded and seemed to accept my explanation. I resolved to be more careful in the future.

The professor then told Sharon to cast a spell of her choice. Sharon looked a bit troubled and looked at me.

"Sharon, what's the matter?"

"I wanted to mimic Mr. Rockheart's spell, but I can't form the image..."

I asked the professor for permission and whispered my image to Sharon.

"My spell was more like a Firebolt or Flame Bolt. I think you should imagine a thick arrow from a crossbow. For the color, think of the hot coals in Beltram's forge in Rasmora Village when the bellows are blown..."

Sharon nodded and cast her spell. She slightly modified the incantation for a flame arrow to make it a thick, short arrow.

"O God of Fire, I seek the thick, short arrow of your fierce flames. I offer the power of my life to you. Burn