Anduin looked at the various research topics that had appeared on the whiteboard, and his interest was immediately piqued. At first, he had assumed the club would be just like Charms Class, only covering more advanced material, and that the so-called research meant professors guiding students through reproducing existing results.
But it turned out to be more like a research institute, conducting exploratory studies into unknown subjects. The seventh topic was about Magic Sensitivity, which had clearly just been added by the professor. Any findings from it could even affect the Magical World.
"Magic Sensitivity? Can you really research such an abstract concept?" Vanessa frowned in confusion as she looked at the newly added topic. In any case, she had no intention of choosing it.
Anduin knew why the professor was interested in the subject, but he wasn't going to explain it to anyone.
"These are the research topics for this academic year. As before, topics with results will be removed from the whiteboard, while those without tangible results will remain. I'll add new topics as new research directions emerge. Now, everyone can choose a field to investigate. You must choose at least one, though you're welcome to take on more. Find your own sources, and report your progress once a week." Professor Flitwick had shed the patience he showed while teaching First Years and was assigning tasks to everyone with great efficiency.
The young wizards around them took out parchment and began noting down the topics that interested them. Anduin did the same, though he wrote down all of them, planning to narrow down his choices later.
Anduin also noticed that Professor Flitwick expected everyone to conduct their research independently. That seemed terribly inefficient to him. If it were up to him, he would organize research groups by topic. Working in teams would clearly make it much faster to tackle each subject.
But as a First Year who hadn't even gotten used to his surroundings yet, he wasn't about to go mouthing off.
"All right, I imagine you've all finished taking notes. Topics one, two, five, and six are long-term projects that have been ongoing for many years. A major breakthrough may be difficult, but even findings that enrich our body of knowledge are extremely valuable. Topics three, four, and seven are new this year. The seventh in particular came to me only recently as an inspiration. I hope you'll achieve a breakthrough in that area." As Professor Flitwick spoke, he glanced at Anduin now and then before continuing.
"That's all for this year's topic selection. Next, let's congratulate Vanessa Greengrass on publishing an article in Centuries of Charms. I hear her work has earned praise from many scholars." Professor Flitwick looked at Vanessa with delight.
Everyone joined in with enthusiastic applause. Centuries of Charms was the most renowned academic journal for wizards in the Wizengamot. Along with Transfiguration Today, representing Transfiguration, and Versatile Potions, representing Potions, it was held in high regard by wizarding scholars across many countries. Having an article published in any of them was an impressive achievement, and everyone around them looked at Vanessa with admiration.
Vanessa rose with flushed cheeks and nodded to the professor and the others.
Anduin hadn't expected his upper-year classmate to be such an accomplished scholar. He'd also never heard of an academic journal called Centuries of Charms before, and wondered if he ought to subscribe to some.
"All right, next let's study this article together: 'Multifunctional Applications of the Extraction Charm.' In it, Vanessa describes combining the Extraction Curse with Alchemical Tools enchanted with the Extension Charm to carry out large-scale construction work. She also developed a technique for accurately casting the Extraction Curse on specific targets. For example, you can extract moisture from the air on its own. If cast on a large scale, it can even affect the weather."
Professor Flitwick drew down a screen like one used for slide projections and used magic to display the article on it. He then analyzed the casting techniques and potential applications in detail, with Vanessa helping to explain.
Vanessa stood at the front as if she were defending her thesis. She told everyone what had inspired her to study the Extraction Curse, what difficulties she had encountered along the way, and demonstrated the associated casting techniques.
Professor Flitwick first cast a spell in the center of the classroom, releasing a cloud of white smoke. Then he pointed his wand at an ink bottle and used its ink to create a mass of dark, dense fog. He mixed the two clouds together, then continuously stirred the large mass to make them indistinguishable and increase the difficulty.
Only then did Vanessa step forward. With a precise flick of her wand, she cast an Extraction Curse into the middle of the fog. Before long, it began to change. The fog, which had originally turned a faint black, gradually grew lighter until it was once again pure white. At the tip of Vanessa's wand floated a mass of pitch-black ink: she had extracted it from the fog.
Vanessa completed the demonstration with a shy smile and a hint of pride, and everyone around her applauded enthusiastically once again.
Anduin applauded too, impressed by her excellent spellwork. He hadn't realized Vanessa was so skilled. This targeted extraction technique could even be used on ink reduced to smoke; extracting larger objects ought to be much easier.
"That was an excellent demonstration. Brilliant, Vanessa," Anduin said sincerely as she came down from the front.
"Thank you, Anduin. Pay attention and learn well. I'm sure you'll catch up with me someday," Vanessa replied, her voice tinged with pride.
Anduin smiled without committing himself. There was no denying that this casting technique had great potential and practical value.
He could already think of several ways to use it. A simple application would be something like a water pump, useful for construction work. It could also be applied in medicine during surgery, for instance, to extract foreign objects from the body.
It could be just as effective in combat. If you could extract an opponent's blood or bones in the middle of a fight, that would be terrifying.
Next came the time for independent study. Anduin watched the screen closely, learning the Extraction Curse and the Directed Extraction Technique Vanessa had developed. But before long, he dismissed his earlier idea of using it in combat. His research showed that the Extraction Curse worked best on stationary objects and nonliving things. To cast it on a living being like a person, the target had to be almost completely incapacitated; otherwise, even the slightest movement would interrupt the spell.
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