Lily, Brush Up on the Basics

Lily stood in the middle of the classroom, asking expectantly, "What are we practicing?"

Regulus didn't rush to answer; he glanced at her first, trying to sense her Magic Fluctuation for the first time.

But to say I'm being serious is just to take a look. Before, I was looking at the appearance; this time, I'm looking at the Magic Power. I understand everything in just one glance.

Well, I'd say he's a regular junior wizard.

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Regulus knew, of course, that the strength of Magic Power could not fully indicate the strength of Magic ability; two people with similar Magic Power could cast the same spell with vastly different power.

Some people are good at it, some are not; some like it, some don't; some practice Tiantian, some forget it as soon as they finish practicing.

Some people Spellcasting with their minds blank, while others have a deep understanding of the spell in their minds; naturally, the power of the spell is different.

But in his eyes, these differences were not very meaningful.

Once you reach a certain level, Magic Power power is simply strong; there's no such thing as a wizard with powerful Magic Power who is also weak.

He may not be good at fighting, and he may not like fighting, but he will not be weak.

The immense Magic Power is itself a form of power; it cannot be weakened even if one wants to.

Lily is clearly not at that level; she's far from it.

In fact, only a few wizards can reach this level; they are those who truly walk the path of Magic, not just those who can cast spells.

Seeing Lily's expectant gaze, Regulus's smile faded, and his expression turned serious. "Don't practice yet, test her first."

Lily paused for a moment, then noticed his expression change and knew this wasn't the time to joke around.

She and Regulus were good friends, but now he was the one teaching her. If the teacher was serious, the student should also have the right attitude.

She also became serious. "Okay."

Regulus nodded in satisfaction. Good that they got into the zone so quickly.

Lily lowered her head, rolled her eyes very lightly, almost as quickly as blinking, and tried to smile slightly, but suppressed it.

But she looked up, her tone serious. "How?"

Regulus took a few steps back, creating some distance, and assumed a fighting stance, but his posture was relaxed.

A little wizard, huh?

"Say all the spells you know, one by one, towards me."

Lily was stunned.

He had nothing in his hands, didn't take out his wand, and just stood there casually, showing no sign of defending himself.

She opened her mouth, but didn't say anything, though she was a little resentful.

Lily's mind raced. He didn't have a wand, using Disarming Charm wouldn't be appropriate, and there was Sickle disarm anyway. So—

She raised her wand. "Petrificus Totalus!"

A gray light shot out from the tip of the staff, moving at a reasonable speed and at a close enough distance; in the blink of an eye, the spell reached Regulus.

Lily watched the spell being cast, wondering if he would dodge, when she saw him extend his hand, fingers spread, palm facing forward, and then close his hand the instant the spell touched him.

The gray light still flickered when he held it in his hand, a few strands leaking out between his fingers like fireflies being caught, struggling to escape, but unable to get away.

Lily's eyes widened.

Regulus looked down at his hand; the ball of gray light twisted in his palm, shrinking into a small ball, then expanding, then shrinking back.

He flicked his thumb against his forefinger, and the spell shattered, turning into tiny Light Point that drifted into the air.

He sensed the spell; the Magic Power was stable, the structure clear, and he released it without hesitation.

It was commendable, quite good, and clearly showed that the person had practiced.

But this is only the level of an excellent junior wizard. No matter how excellent a junior wizard is, he is still just a junior wizard.

He glanced at Lily.

She stood opposite me, her mouth slightly agape, her eyes a full size larger than usual, as if she had seen something she shouldn't have.

"Continue," Regulus said. "Play all the spells once."

Lily took a deep breath, her chest heaving, her shoulders slumping as she suppressed the breath she had just taken.

Once she had taken her last breath, she put extra effort into each of her subsequent incantations.

"Incendio!"

Orange-red flames shot out from the tip of the staff, curling into a line before dissipating into a patch of flame in front of Regulus.

Regulus raised his hand, his five fingers closing together, and the flames, as if drawn by something, broke free from the tip of Lily's staff and gathered in his palm.

The flame flickered twice between my fingers, grew smaller and smaller, and finally shrank to the size of a fingernail before going out.

There wasn't a single mark left on my palm.

"Exploding Charm!"

The sound of the white light exploding was very loud, echoing twice in the empty classroom.

Regulus cupped the exploding Magic Power in his palm, like catching a handful of water; it bounced a few times in his hand and then disappeared.

Lily continued, "Avis!"

A flock of silver birds emerged from the tip of the staff, fluttering and crashing against him.

He reached out and grabbed the one in front, while the others froze in mid-air, as if they were fixed in place by something.

He tightened his grip, and the bird shattered into Light Point, followed by the rest.

Petrificus Totalus, Stupefy. Expelliarmus, your Leglocker Curse, Impedimenta...

He caught each spell that came his way, squeezed it, twisted it, and then extinguished it.

More than a dozen in a row.

Lily stood opposite her, wand raised, her breathing becoming rapid.

Regulus withdrew his hand, letting it hang at his side. "Take a break."

Lily breathed a sigh of relief.

She looked at Regulus, whose face softened again, completely different from how he had reached out to receive the spell just moments before.

She felt a sense of relief, but then her heart tightened again. She had never even heard of those methods before, let alone seen them.

Simply grab the incantation in your hand, like catching a flying insect, and then crush it.

What's this?

Lily didn't know, but she did know one thing: the distance between her and Regulus was much greater than she thought.

She took a few steps forward, standing in front of him, her voice slightly unsteady, as if she hadn't yet recovered from what had just happened. "How did you do that?"

Regulus smiled slightly, "Basic."

Lily snapped out of her daze and glared at him with her green eyes.

She recalled what he had said last time: the basics, the most basic of the basics.

She still remembered those words, but if this was only the basics, then what had she been practicing?

It's not even the most basic level?

Lily asked with a troubled tone, "You mentioned the basics last time, is this part of it too?"

Regulus smiled without saying a word; that was the basics.

Whether it's with him or not, the fact is, that's the foundation.

It's just Magic Manipulation, a mere trick, not even particularly sophisticated.

He looked at Lily's expression and found it amusing; her face seemed to say, "Are you kidding me?"

Then he said gently, "It is indeed the foundation."

Lily stared at him for two seconds, as if to make sure he wasn't joking.

Then it was confirmed; he really didn't seem to be joking.

All the basic knowledge she had in her mind shattered at that moment.

She thought the foundation was the ability to cast spells accurately, quickly, and steadily, just as Regulus had said.

But now it seems that wasn't the case, or rather, not entirely.

Lily fell silent for a long while before asking, "So what exactly is this 'foundation' you're talking about?"

Regulus said, "Magic Manipulation."

He continued, "Beyond spells, wizards can do many things directly with Magic Power, without spells or wands, it's Magic Power itself."

Your Magic Power resides within you, surrounds you, and exists in places you can see or not; it does whatever you desire it to do.

It's not about casting a spell, but about making Magic Power have that effect.

Lily frowned. "Isn't that Spellcasting silently and without a wand?"

"They start learning Nonverbal Spell in third grade and staffless spells in fifth grade," Regulus asked with a smile, "You knew that? Did you read it ahead of time?"

Lily nodded.

A hint of satisfaction flashed in Regulus's eyes.

Lily saw this and slapped him. "Don't change the subject, I'm asking you, isn't that a silent, staffless Spellcasting?"

"Silent, wandless Spellcasting uses willpower instead of incantations and wands, but this is the result, not the process."

Lily listened attentively without responding, waiting for him to continue.

"When you first start practicing, you have to think about it in your mind, really think about it, think about what the spell should look like and what effect you want to achieve."

Once you can truly cast it, you don't need to think about it anymore; the moment the thought arises, the incantation is released.

His gaze softened, and his tone slowed. "But that just means your Magic Power has become familiar with the path of that spell. You give it a direction, and it goes there on its own."

Magic Manipulation isn't like that; silence and the absence of a wand are the result, it's the process.

Lily listened attentively, her mind racing with thought.

Regulus's claims are not found in any book, but upon closer examination, they do seem to be true.

Regulus didn't continue; these topics were already quite advanced, and the basics were more important for now.

Regulus glanced at Lily, who was still deep in thought, and added in his mind, "No, it's the most basic of basics."

Regulus said softly, "Let's not talk about that now, let's talk about the test results."

Lily snapped out of her reverie; she was indeed more interested in that. As for Magic Manipulation, she'd ask about it later.

She asked curiously, "What were you testing when you had me recite so many spells?"

Regulus looked at her, his expression a mixture of seriousness and amusement. "You're a fine little witch."

Lily glared at him, but didn't say anything.

He continued, "But..."

Lily remained silent, continuing to glare at him.

Regulus's lips curled into a slight smile, "There's still a lot of room for improvement."

Lily snorted.

Regulus asked, "Have you rested enough?"

Lily nodded vigorously, her voice clear and crisp. "All done."

Regulus took two steps back. "Again, this time I won't catch it. Watch how I release it, and then do as I say."

Over the next period of time, Lily gained a new understanding of the word "teach".

Regulus could see the flow and state of Magic Power within her body; he could tell at a glance what the problem was with a spell.

Whether the Magic Power output is strong enough, whether the structure of the spell is stable, and whether the rhythm from condensation to release is correct are all things he can see.

This method of guidance is efficient and precise.

The professor only taught how to do it in class, how to pronounce the spell, and how to make the gestures, and then let the young wizards practice more after class.

Practice makes perfect, and perfection makes you fast, but that's a process of self-exploration.

Regulus skipped that process; he simply told her what was wrong and to fix it.

Lily practiced very diligently, correcting whatever Regulus pointed out, and then feeling the difference herself after making the corrections.

Then she discovered that the difference was significant.

It's almost ten o'clock.

Regulus glanced out the window. "That's enough for today."

Lily stopped, letting out a long breath. Her face was tired, but her eyes were bright.

Regulus smiled at her. "Not bad today."

Lily smiled, walked up from the window, tilted her head, and asked, "Is Professor Regulus teaching again tomorrow?"

Regulus's lips curled into a slight smile, "We'll talk about it tomorrow."

Lily rolled her eyes again, this time more openly, not afraid he would see.