Spell Testing

Impedimenta was also called the Obstacle Charm. The textbook described it as follows: "Quickly casting the Obstacle Charm can delay an opponent or temporarily stop a Magical Creature from advancing. This spell is an essential part of a dueling wizard's repertoire."

However, when Anduin actually cast it, he discovered that the spell created an invisible obstacle in the direction he was looking, like a wall of magic. It lasted anywhere from a dozen seconds to over a minute.

By adjusting the Magic Power Output, he could even make the wall non-solid. His opponent could pass through it, but their speed would slow accordingly. The degree of the slowdown depended on the density of the obstacle. If he cast a weakened Obstacle Charm horizontally across the ground, walking over it felt like wading through a swamp.

But if he made the Obstacle Charm solid, he could even use it as a Shield Charm. He could also use magic to push it toward an opponent, turning it into an attack.

"Impedimenta." Anduin put the idea into practice at once, casting the Obstacle Charm in the open space in his room.

"First, I need to understand the spell's properties." Anduin walked over to the Obstacle Charm he had cast and touched it. He had made a solid, invisible wall.

"It feels very hard. It's probably less than an inch thick, and I can't pass through either side." Anduin brought his hands together until they touched the wall, roughly measuring its width.

"Let's test its physical durability first."

Anduin took the Dumbbell from his luggage and struck the invisible wall. It made a series of soft thuds.

"It doesn't sound like metal, or stone. It sounds more like striking the surface of water." Anduin was fascinated by the unexpected sound the spell made.

After hitting it hard several times, Anduin put down the Dumbbell and started fighting it with his bare hands, using his fists to feel the invisible wall.

Thud, thud, thud. After several punches, the invisible wall began to change.

"It's about as hard as an ordinary stone wall, and the force against my fist confirms it. But why is it getting softer the more I hit it? It didn't shatter like glass; it started to soften. Is the magic in the wall being used up?" Anduin thought, looking at his reddened knuckles.

After another dozen punches, the now-soft wall gave way. But Anduin realized that even after being punched through, the spell still had an effect. It could no longer stop solid objects from passing through, but it still cushioned them.

Anduin simply threw his whole body against it and began slowly pushing through the wall.

"It's like passing through a non-Newtonian fluid. Other than the lack of stickiness, this is a fascinating spell." Anduin felt the Obstacle Charm around him. Before long, the spell's duration ran out, and the entire wall vanished into thin air.

Anduin took out his notebook and recorded his test results and observations. Then he cast another Impedimenta at the open space.

"Next, I'll test its magical defenses."

Anduin stood about two meters from the invisible wall and cast an attacking spell at it: "Expelliarmus!"

As expected, the invisible wall stopped the spell. The spell's glow struck the wall and shattered, scattering in all directions. It coursed along the transparent surface until its magic faded and disappeared.

"Let's try it from different angles." Anduin tested the wall from every direction, even running around to the other side and trying various angles, until the spell wore off.

"Hmm, there's a lot to learn from this test. A spell that hits it head-on will shatter if it isn't strong enough. But at an angle, it starts to rebound? And spells can't pass through from either side. So I can't cast Impedimenta and then stand safely on the other side to counterattack."

Anduin cast the Obstacle Charm several more times, testing its use as an attack.

"Impedimenta feels a lot like an unusual version of Mage Hand from my Previous Life's games. It can be fixed in place, or guided with magic to smack someone. Once it's made insubstantial, it can slow down enemies, too. Calling it an obstacle seems a bit misleading. It's more like Magic Molding." As he summed up the spell's properties, Anduin began to map out its possible applications in his mind.

Overall, Anduin was very pleased with the spell. It had tremendous potential.

"My training from now on will have several parts: casting speed, targeting, controlling its strength, and the speed of firing—or, rather, pushing the obstacle forward. Then I'll see if I can shape it freely. Looks like I'll need to undergo some intensive training for a while."

Anduin began drawing up a new training plan and wrote down his ideas for the spell, ready to test them one by one and practice each application.

For the next ten days or so, Anduin spent every morning reading textbooks and learning new spells. He devoted all his afternoons to practicing Impedimenta. He also made time to visit Flourish and Blotts during the day and buy several books about spells.

He had wanted to buy more, but books in the magical world were far too expensive. Cheap ones cost a few Galleons, while the pricey ones ran ten or twenty Galleons each—more than many Alchemical Tools and Potions. So Anduin only bought three: <The Seven Methods of Casting Spells by Barnaby Finkley>, <The Origins of Spells: An Introduction to Ancient Runes>, and Elegant Footwork in Duelling Competitions. Those alone cost him twenty-two Galleons. He had passed up several books he'd wanted because they were too expensive.

Anduin was like a sponge, rapidly absorbing all kinds of magical knowledge. His soul was already stronger than those of most people his age, and years of targeted training had given him far greater magical strength and capacity than his peers. As a result, his progress was astonishingly fast.

One evening in early August.

With a bang, a transparent "cannonball" smashed a target made of several chairs to pieces in the little courtyard behind the Leaky Cauldron. Anduin walked over, raised his wand, and said to the fragments, "Reparo." The broken pieces of wood rose into the air and returned to their original form.

"Looks like it works well. I can now shape the 'cannonball' from Impedimenta down to the size of a washbasin, and its speed keeps increasing. I can still make the casting motion faster. Next, I'll see if I can shape the projectile even smaller." In Anduin's mind, the ideal was to shrink the "cannonball" from Impedimenta to the size of a fist. Then he could call the spell Air Cannon.

I'll post three extra chapters this weekend. I hope you'll enjoy them! If you have any suggestions or comments about this book, feel free to leave them in the comments, and I'll reply.