"True talent really wasn't something hard work could erase. The gap between people was even bigger than the gap between people and dogs." Du Pont lay on his bed, murmuring softly. He opened the window and looked at the white clouds in the sky outside before closing his eyes.
He suddenly felt exhausted and wanted to willfully rest for a while.
It wouldn't make a difference this one time, anyway.
Once his financial crisis was over, he would find a way to take on more part-time work and raise his Intelligence to 20 as soon as possible. Then he would come back and slap these apprentices in the face!
With the major burden in his heart set aside, Du Pont listened to the cooing of the turtledoves courting by the window. His state of mind was unusually calm, and he soon fell asleep.
He had stayed up too fiercely these past few days and gotten up early today. He needed to sleep in and make up for his lack of energy.
"Apprentices, thank The Lady of Magic and the elders of the Haluar Council. If we went back another ten years, you might have had to eat a dried spider to cast Spider Climb. But now, all you needed was a ten-gold-piece wand as an arcane focus."
The instructor for the wand combat class was a burly man. His solid muscles were no less impressive than a Barbarian's, and even without an amplification spell, his booming voice was enough for over a hundred apprentices and new students to hear.
"Besides replacing most spell components, a wand is also a powerful weapon when enemies get close. Against weaker goblins and kobolds, it can chop and sweep. Its sharper end can even be used like a spear point to stab an enemy. One school known as Battlemages even plated their wands with adamantine or other precious metals to improve their quality and teach those enemies who thought mages were easy prey a lesson."
"But if you ask me, mages should still keep their distance from enemies whenever possible. Many mages could only calmly assess the battlefield and cast the most suitable spells in a sufficiently safe environment. Once you were forced into close combat, even if you weren't at a disadvantage, the pressure of an enemy's melee attacks would make casting difficult, much less supporting your teammates and easing the pressure on the battlefield. So staying safe and not rushing in was a mage's best strategy in a team. The second-circle spell Misty Step was also one of the essential skills every mage had to learn."
"But did that mean wand combat wasn't important? No! If you didn't know how to fight with a wand, you would inevitably panic when an enemy closed in. A smart mage activated Shield Spell while using the weapon in their hand to block the enemy's attacks, buying ample time for their teammates to come to their aid. Otherwise, if you had no spell slots left or simply didn't know Misty Step, then death was almost the only path waiting for you!"
"Besides close combat, wands are also a good choice for scouting ahead. Whether in the wilderness or a dungeon, using a wand to probe the path ahead could greatly improve your chances of survival. Otherwise, if a bear trap snapped your calf in half, you could count yourself lucky if you managed to retreat quickly."
"A hundred explanations were worth less than one demonstration! Now, let me demonstrate with this Half-orc two-handed warrior."
After saying that, the instructor picked up his fine steel wand. When he lifted it in his right hand, the bulging muscles in his arm reminded Du Pont of Lu Tixia from the old Water Margin.
That fine steel wand probably weighed at least thirty or forty pounds. Even the sledgehammer Du Pont used in the training grounds wasn't that heavy. This man could lift it one-handed and use it in actual combat?
With that terrifying strength, he could probably learn from Gazi and wield a door-panel greatsword.
The Half-orc warrior demonstrating with him was equally muscular. Two beastlike fangs protruded from his broad, fleshy face, while the halberd in his hands reflected a cold gleam beneath the sunlight.
The two stood thirty yards apart. At the command, the mage had already cast Bull's Strength on himself. Facing the thrusting halberd, he calmly cast Shield Spell. The powerful transparent shield made a teeth-grating sound as it struck the halberd's point, yet it did not budge in the slightest and showed no sign of breaking.
Many watching apprentices could not help but marvel. How many circles had this Shield Spell been enhanced by? It could actually withstand the full-force strike of a Half-orc warrior?
Just then, the instructor seized the opening when his opponent's old strength had been spent and his new strength had yet to arise, swinging the wand in his hand straight at the Half-orc's face.
Fast, precise, ruthless!
One blow to the head. Even with a Half-orc's physique, he collapsed unconscious. Fortunately, the combat class had the church's assistance, and he quickly awoke under the divine spell Angie cast.
The combat instructor continued, "Of course, this technique was somewhat difficult to use in actual combat. To strike an enemy's head accurately, your hand had to be steady and your speed had to be fast. If your explosive power was insufficient, your attack could easily be knocked aside. Then you would be unarmed and expose a considerable opening. Those martial professionals would not miss such an opportunity."
Afterward, the instructor and the Half-orc took their positions again. This time, the demonstration was much more conventional. He still opened with Shield Spell, then swung his wand to perfectly block the Half-orc's two attacks. Taking advantage of the gap while the warrior swung his sword, he immediately used Misty Step, instantly teleporting ten meters away.
Ten meters was not far for a formal martial professional, but in the eyes of experts, it was a fatal distance.
The Half-orc raised his sword and roared. The terrifying bellow made quite a few mentally weaker apprentices turn pale, but the combat instructor was completely fearless. When only two meters remained between them, his wand fired a silver-white ray. After being hit, the Half-orc warrior stood there blankly and at a loss, scratching here and picking there, as though this was not a match but a wait for dinner.
This was not scripted. It was the fourth-circle enchantment spell: Confusion Spell. After it hit, there was an eighty-percent chance that the enemy would forget what they were doing, their mind falling completely blank. There was also a chance they would randomly attack their own allies.
In this state, as long as no one actively attacked the target, there was a high chance the target would remain controlled for dozens of seconds.
"Even if you didn't know Confusion Spell, Charm Person was a decent choice against martial professionals. But this spell's circle was too low and its versatility was limited. The second-circle Blindness Spell could create a similar effect. Of course, if you didn't even know second-circle spells, then I wouldn't recommend going adventuring. When facing an enemy ambush, you could truly only rely on your own fighting skills—and as everyone knew, mages weren't very good at that."
Quite a few people laughed at the instructor's words, while some apprentices asked, "Then what about you, Instructor?"
"I am a Battlemage. My own spells mainly belonged to the divination, protection, and enchantment schools, while I wasn't particularly skilled in the other schools." The instructor smiled kindly. "Walking my path required a certain degree of physical fitness, but mental fortitude was even more important. When you went adventuring or fought as an army mage, you would understand that staying calm and focused at all times was the most important and most difficult thing. Otherwise, when the situation turned dire and you faced an enemy encirclement, some mentally fragile mages might go completely blank and even forget their incantations. That was also the main reason apprentice mages had such a high mortality rate."
"Of course, if the situation was truly critical and you didn't dare gamble on whether Charm Person could control the other party—or if the other party simply wasn't a humanoid—then retreating a few steps after using Misty Step and casting Invisibility Spell was also the correct response. Hide and wait for your allies to deal with the enemy, then strike again at the right opportunity. But if the team suffered additional casualties because of that, then we spellcasters might bear a certain degree of responsibility."
"Is there any way to avoid that?" Du Pont asked. He had realized that this instructor was actually willing to teach them useful things.
This was a rare opportunity.
Before you continue