The rivalry between writers from two factions.
As the nation's largest and most authoritative newspaper, the Great Sage Daily had readers across the country.
Over the past month, everyone in the kingdom had learned that the sons of the Kingdom's Twin Swords had both chosen St. Marian.
They had also learned of the Son of the Hero's return.
What particularly concerned some members of the public was whether the Son of the Hero had inherited the Hero's power.
If he had, did his appearance mean the prophets' predictions were about to come true and disaster would rise once more?
Chapter 22: Victor and Robert Try to Repay Their Debt
The storm of rumors outside couldn't reach St. Marian.
There weren't nearly as many schemes and intrigues among the Little Magisters.
The first Sunday after Traveler Street opened quietly passed amid a steady stream of complaints.
Then the freshmen welcomed the first class of their fifth week.
Professor Sylph still entered the classroom right on time. But she no longer used a Silence Card, since the freshmen had all learned their lesson.
"Starting this week, we'll learn how to use Summoning Techniques in succession during a duel!"
Summoning Techniques had casting times and intervals between casts.
Magic had an output rate, a maximum duration for sustained output, and an upper limit.
The less magic remained, the lower the output rate became.
So how to use a limited amount of magic to cast multiple Summoning Techniques as quickly and steadily as possible within the same time frame was something duelists especially needed to consider.
This mainly involved managing magic and time.
In other words, it required at least a basic understanding of arithmetic!
The renowned Dragon Egg Magician Da Vinci had once said that arithmetic was the foundation of all Magic Guidance!
Neither practical combat nor research could do without it!
Over the past month,
Dark had assessed his own magic.
His total magic was still rising rapidly, and had already surpassed the standard for a third-year student.
Even without refining it, the quality of his magic was already close to that of a second-year student.
As for his output rate, it was somewhat outrageous.
With the Normal Summoning Technique he had mastered, he didn't need to worry about "output bottlenecks" from casting spells in succession.
As the undisputed top student among the first-years, Dark had reduced the casting time of his Normal Summoning Technique to under ten seconds. Its cooldown was just as short.
That meant he could now cast three Summoning Techniques in a single minute!
In other words, he could activate three Magitech Cards that could be started with a Normal Summon!
"Activate three Magitech Cards with the Normal Summoning Technique in succession within one minute"—that was one of the final exam tasks in first-year Summoning class.
No wonder the professors favored Dark, when he could complete an entire year's coursework in less than a month.
Today's Summoning class was still held together with students from the Knight Academy.
Dark sat in his usual seat, taking in the entire classroom.
The material Professor Sylph was teaching was already familiar to him. So he didn't need to worry much about triggering Greed during class. Sloth was more of a concern, but he usually brought a book to read.
Since the books he read were related to the lessons, the professors knew about it and turned a blind eye. Some even took the initiative to discuss the subject with him.
For instance, the book Dark was reading now was called Lectures on Summoning by Mind Mage Red: The Differences Between Magic Spirit Summoning and Other Magic Guidance Summons.
It introduced a new concept called "bonds," which was considered the foundation of the Mind Summoning Technique.
When this idea first appeared, many magi had mocked and ridiculed it.
Magi believed that Magic Spirits had an intelligence level of at most 2—half a point lower than Familiars, whose level was 2.5. Directing them to attack and dodge was already the limit. The idea of communicating with Magic Spirits and forging a Soul Bond with them was simply a pipe dream!
But everything changed after Red claimed the title of national Magic Guidance dueling champion that year!
The power of the mind began to be taken seriously. Magi started treating Magic Spirit Cards as "living beings," and some obsessives even talked to their Magic Spirit Cards.
Fanatics went further, pouring their souls into Magitech Cards in an attempt to forge a "bond" by raising their Magic Spirits' intelligence through such unorthodox means. They hoped this would allow the Magic Spirits to unleash power beyond their listed stats!
Dark wasn't ready to explore that territory yet. The book in his hands mainly discussed how to communicate with Magic Spirits and get them to respond, reducing the magic cost and casting time required to summon them.
To reduce the casting time for summoning a Magic Spirit as much as possible, he needed to master the knowledge in this book.
"I heard Professor Kazel will teach us how to make our first Magic Spirit Card in next class's Magic Theory... Once we've succeeded, I'll be able to put this knowledge to use."
Dark couldn't help letting his imagination run wild. What would his first Magic Spirit be?
Just then, he spotted Robert and Victor from the Knight Academy whispering to each other, apparently plotting something.
Victor and Robert had also taken a corner of the classroom, though theirs was near the back door.
Robert darted a thief-like glance toward the window and whispered, "I told you sitting in the back makes it harder for the professor to call on you, didn't I? Look, Dimon hasn't been called on much lately!"
"You mean Dark?" Victor whispered back. "No matter what, we can't lose any points! We have to make up forty between us today!"
Robert declared, "Don't worry. Ten plus ten plus ten plus ten—that's forty! It'll only take two classes!"
Victor said, "Good..."
Professor Sylph said, "Gaude, answer this question! How do you breathe properly when switching between two Summoning Charms?"
Victor: "..."
Professor Sylph said, "I expect you to pay closer attention in class! Five points off!"
Victor said, "Robert, what do we do?"
Robert said, "It's fine, don't panic. We have three classes today. Even if we lose another fifteen points, we'll be okay!"
Victor said, "Fifteen points... Even if we're unlucky, it won't be more than that, right?"
Robert said, "Just relax. It's not that easy to lose points, Victor."
Summoning class ended under Professor Sylph's icy gaze.
Professor Kazel entered the Magic Guidance classroom five minutes early. But the students didn't quiet down. Someone even boldly called out, "Professor, are we really making Magic Spirit Cards today?"
"Of course." Professor Kazel leisurely drew a Magitech Card from his sleeve. With a slight movement of his lips, he activated it.
A large, heavy box appeared on the lectern.
Professor Kazel clapped his hands and asked, "Would anyone like to help distribute the materials in this box?"
"I will!"
Among several eager responses, Emma silently rose from her seat and began handing out the materials.
The students who had shouted the loudest just watched with cheerful smiles.
Professor Kazel said with a smile, "Metis, one pack per person is enough."
Emma said, "All right, Professor."
Dark was the last to receive his materials. The pack was made of transparent plastic, and even contained two blank Magitech Cards!
That meant the materials in this single pack cost more than twenty credits!
Chapter 23: Dark Dimon's Cat Climbed into the Box Too
"Good! Let's begin."
After the bell rang, Professor Kazel stepped to the center of the lectern.
He looked at the students in the classroom, who were like little lambs bleating for food, and gave them a warm, sunny smile.
"I'm sure you've heard a few things from the upper-years. Just as you suspected, today's Magic Theory lesson will be practical: you'll make your first Magic Spirit Card!"
"Meow!"
The students from both the Noble House and the Knight Academy were so excited they practically howled.
They'd been at St. Marian for a whole month, and only now were they making the first Magic Spirit Card of their lives!
The students had been eagerly waiting for this, so it was only natural they were excited.
Of course, they wouldn't dare make such a racket in Professor Sylph's class...
Professor Kazel gave them two minutes to calm down, then continued with a beaming smile. "It's fine to be excited, but don't let it distract you during class. Today's lesson will be deeply meaningful to every Little Magister. A magus's first Magic Spirit will often become a close companion for life."
As he spoke, he snapped his fingers. A Magic Spirit Card glimmering faintly appeared between his thumb and forefinger.
Without even chanting a spell, a snow-white creature with wings, a tiny horn on its forehead, and golden eyes, as small as a kitten, emerged from the card.
"This is my Starter Pokémon, the Snow-Feather Golden-Eyed Beast."
"Professor!"
A girl from the Knight Academy suddenly raised her hand.
Professor Kazel nodded, and the girl continued, "Are we going to study this Snow-Feather Golden-Eyed Beast today?"
Professor Kazel replied with a joke, "Of course not. It seems the upper-years didn't spoil too much. Today's topic is—Magic Phantom Beasts!"
"Magic Phantom Beasts?"
Dark's hand stopped turning the pages of his textbook.
The students began whispering among themselves.
A Magic Phantom Beast was an amorphous Mythical Pokémon, said to be elusive and ethereal, even invisible to the naked eye!
"No way? (°°)"
Diana asked blankly, "Doesn't the book say Magic Phantom Beasts are invisible to the human eye?"
Professor Kazel smiled. "The original form of a Magic Phantom Beast is indeed invisible to the naked eye. But with a little effort, we can make it visible, and that's what magi do. All right, put your textbooks aside. What I'm teaching today isn't in the book."
He wrote "Magic Phantom Beast" on the blackboard, then drew a rough outline in one continuous stroke, resembling a small cat.
"Before it becomes visible, a Magic Phantom Beast has no fixed form. It can be a cat, a dog, or even a dragon! Each person might see a completely different form."
"But unlike a real Mythical Pokémon, a Magic Spirit becomes familiar to its magus from the moment it is created. Once a magus sees it, it will remain forever fixed in the form that magus saw."
"As for what form it takes, that depends on what you desire deep down."
"Today, I'll teach you the entire process for making a Magic Phantom Beast Spirit Card. You each have two sets of materials, so if things go well, you might even end up with two Magic Phantom Beasts. If you fail... then you'll have nothing!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the few quiet discussions still going on in the classroom fell silent.
Even Victor and Robert couldn't help tensing up.
They completely forgot their biggest problem at the moment.
Professor Kazel didn't cite sources or tell stories in this lesson. Instead, he explained the steps for making a Magic Phantom Beast Spirit Card in great detail, writing them all on the blackboard.
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