Chapter 46

“Twelfth Watch, let the enmity of Santuan become the arrow that dulls the enemy’s blade! Naphizano’s blazing flame!”

Jacqueline’s clear voice rang out across the training grounds, and at the same time, a burning fireball flew through the air.

The flame traced a perfect straight line and hit with a crisp thwack! It was a beautiful shot.

But not at Jacqueline’s target.

It hit the dummy in the next lane over.

“Jacqueline, did you think before you cast that?”

“No!”

Professor Charles who was observing the practice from behind pressed a hand to his forehead.

His job was to teach the most basic magic spells to first-years who had just entered the academy.

Since admissions officers traveled the country handpicking talented students for the Royal Academy, anyone admitted to the Magic Department could already handle mana to some extent.

But if being able to use mana automatically made someone a mage, there’d be no need for professors in the first place.

“In Jacqueline’s case, you’re not lacking in talent, but you still need more skill. It’d be best to focus a little more during the casting process. Still, hitting the target next to yours… that’s a bit much.”

“The incantation was long, so I was trying to concentrate so I wouldn’t forget it… haha.”

“The next student is waiting, so head to the back and continue practicing.”

“Yes…”

Jacqueline stepped down from the platform with her shoulders slumped.

At that moment, someone began climbing the steps to take her place.

As their bodies passed by each other, a soft shimmer of golden hair floated into the air.

It was Shannon’s turn now.

Having seen firsthand during Shannon’s duel with Professor Winslet just how remarkable a magic user Shannon was, Jacqueline watched her from behind with a hint of hope. Perhaps she could learn something from her.

Standing at the firing line, Shannon didn’t appear to take any sort of prepared stance. She looked more like she was just passing the time.

But Jacqueline soon realized that Shannon seemed uncomfortable.

Glancing around at the other students in nearby lanes, observing how they cast their spells, Shannon awkwardly tried to mimic their posture… only to eventually turn around and ask,

“Professor, do I have to recite the spell exactly as taught?”

Naturally, Professor Charles, being a seasoned mage himself, understood what Shannon was trying to convey. He gave a wry smile.

“Come to think of it, you’re from Karaf, aren’t you, Shannon? You don’t need to force what you learned in class. Just try using magic naturally.”

“Yes.”

As soon as she answered, Shannon stood up comfortably and turned to face the target.

There was no incantation, no accompanying gestures.

A blink later, a blazing fireball appeared next to her head, shooting toward the straw dummy and exploding on impact.

Professor Charles gave a calm nod.

“The goal of this exercise is to become familiar with incantations and support gestures… but asking you to do that would be pointless. The way you adjusted both power and impact zone with such precision was impressive. Well done.”

“Thank you.”

“Hmm… and Shannon, you don’t need to participate in any more of this week’s practice. I’ll go ahead and give you full marks for the practical evaluation.”

“Does that mean I don’t have to attend class?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“Then what should I do?”

“Well, as long as you’re not disrupting class, you’re free to do as you like. If nothing comes to mind, why not help out classmates who could use it?”

Shannon couldn’t help feeling a bit singled out, like she was being excluded from the class.

But she understood why the professor was doing it.

When teaching dozens of students at once, it’s often more challenging to manage someone far ahead than someone falling behind.

This happened simply because Shannon’s abilities were far beyond what was being taught here.

In reality, Shannon hadn’t come to Laurencia to learn. Her real goal was to meet Winter Winslet.

Now that she had achieved her goal, Shannon no longer had a reason to remain at the academy.

But he said I could attend his next class…

Professor Winslet’s lecture was held once a week, on Tuesday afternoons. It was today, in fact.

That was why Shannon had endured the tedious morning classes.

She hadn’t brought anything to pass the time, not even a book. So in the end, she decided to follow Professor Charles’s suggestion and look for someone who needed help.

But before long, Shannon let out a sigh.

There wasn’t a single classmate who seemed to want her help.

Having witnessed Shannon’s overwhelming difference in ability, first during the freshman orientation and again in the duel against Professor Winslet, the new students at the Magic Department couldn’t help but feel a sense of distance from her.

And that distance, as always, gave birth to fear born from misunderstanding.

There was no reason for Shannon to approach people who clearly didn’t want to be involved with her, so she naturally ended up drifting aimlessly around the practice field.

That drifting came to a stop in front of Jacqueline.

Unlike the others, Jacqueline’s eyes widened when Shannon approached and asked,

“Huh? You’re here to help me?”

“You don’t want me to?”

“No! I’d love that. It’s like having Shannon as my private tutor! I mean, talk about luxury.”

“……”

“Hmm? What? Do I have something on my face?”

“No.”

Shannon had somehow known it would go this way from the start.

But if she was going to help someone, and if that help involved teaching magic, then she had no intention of taking it lightly.

Shannon was more serious about magic than anyone else.

“You hit someone else’s target earlier, right?”

“Ugh, yeah.”

“Let’s start with your stance. Show me again, right in front of me. But don’t use any mana, just go through the motions.”

Jacqueline did exactly as Shannon instructed.

And Shannon, immediately spotting the issue, gave a small nod.

“You’re putting too much force into your arm when you extend it.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Do you know why we add an arm extension as a support movement when casting projectile-type attack spells?”

“Um… because it looks cool?”

“No. Extending your arm helps you visually confirm where your spell is aiming. Mages rely heavily on sight when casting magic.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that.”

“Anyway, the purpose of support movements is just to help with accuracy. They don’t affect the actual quality of the spell, so there’s no need to thrust your arm out quickly. It’s better to be slow and precise.”

“I see.”

Jacqueline nodded, then asked a question of her own.

“But didn’t you cast a spell earlier without using any support movement? How did you do that?”

“Some people are just born with it.”

“……”

Shannon had answered sincerely, without a hint of arrogance.

She probably said it because it was simply true.

So why does it make me feel so weirdly conflicted?

Shannon continued her lesson.

“Alright, this time let’s try creating a flame. Don’t use any incantation. Just channel mana and try to maintain a flame above your hand.”

“Okay, I’ll give it a shot.”

Jacqueline focused her mana and attention on her palm without reciting any spell.

This was something they had practiced early on in Professor Charles’s class, even before learning formal incantations, so she was able to respond to Shannon’s instruction without much trouble.

“There.”

When the spell was complete, Jacqueline instinctively leaned her head back.

The flame blooming above her hand had suddenly grown, surging high above her head.

Shannon glanced briefly around them and said,

“Judging by how bright and big your flame is compared to the others, fire magic might actually suit you.”

“You think I’ve got talent?”

“Probably.”

“Not on your level, though, right?”

“Well, obviously.”

“You’re not the type to say things you don’t mean, huh, Shannon? Haha.”

“You can extinguish the flame now. Let’s finish up by casting a spell on the scarecrow.”

“Okay!”

Just then, a practice platform opened up, and Jacqueline stepped up and cast her spell.

“Twelfth Watch, let the enmity of Santuan become the arrow that dulls the enemy’s blade! Naphizano’s blazing flame!”

This time, Jacqueline’s spell hit its mark, successfully setting the scarecrow on fire.

Professor Charles was clearly pleased and gave her a passing grade, and Jacqueline jumped for joy.

“Wow, I passed this time! Thank you so much. It’s all thanks to you, Shannon.”

“I don’t think there’s anything more to fix. Good job.”

Jacqueline beamed at Shannon’s praise.

“Oh right, now that everything’s over, I have one more thing I’m curious about.”

“Go ahead.”

“During practice earlier, you used magic without even chanting. How did you do that?”

“Well…”

Shannon trailed off.

This question was one where the answer could vary greatly depending on the other person’s level of understanding.

Being good at something and being able to teach it to someone else require different kinds of talent, so Shannon took her time, thinking for a while before she finally spoke.

“Jacqueline, why do you think incantations are necessary?”

“Because they look cool?”

“……”

“Ahaha, just kidding. Isn’t chanting a spell obviously necessary for casting magic?”

“A spell is a magical formula that someone else created. It’s kind of like a machine. The user pours mana into that machine and gets the desired result.”

“Alright, I’m listening. Still working on understanding, though.”

Shannon let out a sigh and broke it down further.

“You created a flame in your hand earlier, but you don’t actually understand the principle behind making that flame fly toward an enemy, right?”

“I mean… I can do that with the Blazing Flame spell, but yeah, I guess that doesn’t mean I know the principle behind it.”

“Exactly. Once we learn a spell, we can use the magic it contains even without knowing how it works. That’s why I called it a machine. Chanting the incantation is like turning the key to start that machine. You have to recite the specific phrase to get it working.”

“Then how were you able to use magic without chanting?”

“I know the principle behind making flames fly, so I don’t need to use a machine someone else made.”

“Hmm, but there’s something about your explanation that doesn’t sit right with me.”

“What is it? Go ahead, tell me.”

“There’s no such thing as a spell that doesn’t need chanting? I mean, there are machines that don’t need keys. Some just need a button press or a pulled lever.”

“There are spells like that too. Things like forming hand signs or using magic circles instead of chanting fall into that category. But most spell creators don’t bother making chantless spells.”

“Why not? The incantations are so long and hard to memorize. Wouldn’t it be better to just get rid of them?”

“It’s partly about efficiency and convenience… but the biggest reason is profit. They purposely make spells that require chanting to claim intellectual property rights, build a name for themselves, or to prevent theft. The spell creator will often embed their name or other information into the chant.”

“Embed information?”

“Take the spell you learned in class today, for example. Want to recite it? That ‘Twelfth Watch something’ line refers to the number of the magic tower. There are sixteen towers in Karaf. ‘Santuan’ is the name of the school that occupies the twelfth tower. And ‘Naphizano’ would be the name of the mage who developed the spell.”

“When you put it that way, it kind of sounds like an advertisement phrase.”

“You’re not wrong. Some people create spells with that exact goal in mind. The more people use a spell, the more the creator’s name and affiliation become known.”

“Then just developing a single spell could make you super famous. Maybe even rich?”

“Well… if it’s a one-of-a-kind, highly useful spell, sure. But the one you learned today is pretty common. You’ll find hundreds of similar spells in Karaf.”

Jacqueline looked a bit deflated.

“I thought I was learning something amazing today…”

“Still, the Santuan school has solid name value, and they’re known for developing a lot of popular combat spells. They’re pretty trustworthy. Of course, the main reason the Academy teaches Santuan spells is probably because their royalties are the cheapest.”

“Ugh, the more I hear, the more… my illusions about mages are just falling apart…”