Charles Gives a Lecture

The next day was the first day of school.

There were no classes that day; it was primarily for listening to speeches and words of encouragement from the academy leadership, followed by reporting to the various magic classrooms to collect one's mage robes.

When Jonathan went to the classrooms for Dark Magic and Earth Element and announced his name, it caused quite a stir.

At that moment, the gaze of everyone in the classroom, including the instructors, was fixed upon him.

Jonathan's expression remained unchanged; he simply collected his items and left with Charles.

The Earth Element classes were held on Monday and Wednesday mornings, lasting for an hour and a half.

The Dark Magic classes were on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, also lasting for an hour and a half.

The remaining time was for the students to cultivate on their own.

The level one could reach depended entirely on the student's own diligence.

To reach the graduation standard at Ulada Magic Academy, one had to cultivate to at least the level of a Level 6 Mage.

Mage cultivation was far slower than that of warriors, which was why one could often see people in their thirties or forties walking around the academy.

If one failed to reach the level of a Level 6 Mage by the age of sixty, they would not receive a graduation certificate and would be expelled from the academy.

That evening, in dormitory 2023.

Charles said, "Jonathan, we both have Dark Magic classes tomorrow, let's go together."

Jonathan nodded.

Collette, who was working out nearby, immediately stopped his movements and said jealously, "Must be nice, I want to attend classes with a big genius too!"

Ford said, "Among the four of us, aside from Charles and Jonathan sharing the Dark Magic talent, the rest of us each occupy one of the Earth, Water, Fire, or Wind elements."

"It seems we are destined to fight alone."

"Who's to say otherwise!" Collette chimed in.

"By the way, Jonathan, your magic talent is so high, have you ever studied magic before?"

After Collette asked this, the other two also looked over.

"I didn't have the conditions for it. If I hadn't gone to participate in the test at Black Flame City, I wouldn't have even known I had magic talent."

Ford continued, "I was tested alongside Jonathan, and I was right before him. You guys have no idea; after Jonathan's talent was announced, everyone present was stunned."

"I see, that's a real pity, but it's fine. With your mental power, after learning a few spells, you'll quickly become a Level 3 Mage."

Charles said, "Jonathan, we both have Dark Magic talent. If you don't mind, I can teach you a few spells I've learned."

Jonathan became interested. "Then I shall accept your offer without modesty."

"Since you haven't been exposed to magic, I'll first teach you how to meditate. This is one of the most common methods for us mages to train our mental power."

"Can I learn this too?" Ford interjected.

Charles smiled slightly. "Naturally, you can."

"The first thing we must do is calm our minds and concentrate, observing the heaven and earth elements around us. Only by possessing elemental affinity can one perceive the corresponding elements."

"You two give it a try. I think with your talent, there shouldn't be any problems."

Jonathan and Ford sat cross-legged on the sofa, closed their eyes to calm their minds, and focused their mental power, projecting it outward.

Jonathan quickly saw countless yellow and black specks of light suspended around him, as if his body had a great attraction to them, causing them to gather toward him one after another.

In almost an instant, Jonathan opened his eyes, and a few minutes later, Ford did the same.

Jonathan was extremely calm, his emotions not showing on his face, but Ford could not manage that; he was so excited he couldn't contain himself, dancing about with joy.

Charles said, "This is the foundation. What we mages must do is absorb the surrounding heaven and earth elements, draw them into our bodies, and then refine them using our mental power."

"This process is the process of cultivation, as well as the process of meditation. Mental power will be gradually consumed, and after you stop refining, doing this allows your mental power to recover quickly."

"Constant consumption and recovery help promote the growth of mental power."

It seems Charles had a pretty good magic mentor, Jonathan thought to himself.

"The elements that have been refined and stored within the body are what we usually call magic power. To cast magic, magic power, external heaven and earth elements, and mental power are all indispensable."

"Because relying solely on one's own magic power cannot satisfy the elemental force required for casting magic, one needs to use their own magic power to draw in the external heaven and earth elements. If the corresponding external elements are sparse, the speed of casting magic will be slow, or it may even be impossible to cast."

"And to control a large amount of heaven and earth elements, magic power alone is not enough; it mainly acts as a guide, while the key lies in mental power."

"Only by controlling it with mental power can one arrange magic power and heaven and earth elements into a magic sequence, thereby casting it."

"Magic power represents one's own magic level, which is easy to increase. The key is mental power; most mages progress slowly because their mental power grows slowly."

"Warriors also refine heaven and earth elements, but they refine them into battle aura. However, they don't need very strong mental power to control their techniques when they cast them, so since ancient times, the cultivation speed of warriors has often been much faster than that of mages."

"Do you two understand what I've said?"

Ford said, "It's so detailed, even I understood it."

Charles looked at Jonathan, and Jonathan nodded.

"These were all taught to me by my mentor. I just wrote them down and followed the pattern, repeating them directly."

"Since you two haven't cultivated yet and have no magic power in your bodies, you cannot cast spells, so you can start by cultivating for a while."

"As for casting magic, Ford, I don't have an affinity for the Fire Element, so I cannot teach you."

"It's fine, this is already enough. I'll head back to my room to cultivate slowly."

After Ford left, Collette returned to his own room shortly after; he appeared somewhat laid-back, but deep down, he was a rather serious person.

"I have only learned two or three spells in Dark Magic, and the one I am most familiar with is the Shadow Arrow."

Jonathan fixed his gaze on him and saw countless black specks of light gathering above Charles's palm, which then slowly condensed into a pitch-black arrow.

"As your mental power grows and with constant practice, the speed at which you condense magic will become faster and faster. It currently takes me about ten breaths or so to succeed, and the others take even longer."

Jonathan nodded.

Then Charles began to explain the release of the Shadow Arrow in detail. A quarter of an hour later, Jonathan said, "I understand, Charles. Thank you for your guidance."

"What I've explained is actually quite rudimentary. I suggest you go to the academy library and read some books on the principles of magic; it will be beneficial for your spellcasting."

"Understood, thank you."

With that said, both Jonathan and Charles returned to their respective rooms.

Back in his room, Jonathan began to absorb the surrounding heaven and earth elements on his bed. As he went full throttle, countless Earth Element and Dark Magic elements surged in from all directions, entering his body through his limbs and bones to strengthen all his internal organs.

In this regard, the cultivation of battle qi and the cultivation of magic are not much different, though battle qi is undoubtedly superior when it comes to stimulating and strengthening the physical body.

The refined magic power eventually gathered in the "Middle Dantian" in the center of his chest, while his battle qi resided in the Lower Dantian.