Imperial Onmyo Academy, East campus martial arts field.
After the indoor theoretical bombing, the next course finally came outdoors - [Shikigami and the Spirit World].
This is an open grassland, surrounded by stone pillars engraved with defensive runes. The freshmen summoned their own Shikigami, and for a while, the beasts and birds on the martial arts field were roaring and strange.
The teacher in charge of this course is a short old woman with a kind face - Teacher Mozi.
She was less than 1.5 meters tall, carrying a deadwood crutch that was taller than she was. She walked tremblingly, as if a gust of wind could blow her down. However, when she spoke, her soft voice clearly penetrated into the ears of everyone present, as if she was standing and whispering in your ear.
This "Secret Voice Transmission" with a light hand made Ian narrow his eyes slightly.
"Master." He commented in his mind.
At the beginning of the course, teacher Mozi divided the students into four groups according to the characteristics of Shikigami: offensive type, defensive type, special type and the rarest all-round type.
"Shikigami are not dead things, they are creatures from Spirit World." Teacher Mozi slowly walked through the crowd, "The first lesson is also the most important lesson - establishing a bond. You must learn to use Mind Stone to touch them instead of giving orders like slaves."
Later, she explained in detail the advantages and disadvantages of various types of Shikigami: The offensive type has weak defense, and the defensive type lacks means. Although in theory it is possible to make the defensive type Shikigami attack through high-intensity micro-management (such as letting the wolf-type shield bite with its teeth), this will test the control of the Onmyoji.
As for the special types, they are a hodgepodge. For example, the space Shikigami of the royal family member Yuji focuses on teleportation and has extremely high strategic value; Black Tortoise Shikigami owned by Tsuchimikado of the Gojo Family has the core ability of [Blessing] (that is, enchantment), which can create various powerful magic weapons; There is also the civilian girl who was paid attention to by General Arata before - Miko. Her Three-Eyed Crow is purely used for Divination and has no combat effectiveness.
Finally, there is the all-round type. This is usually the exclusive domain of Divine Grade or Demigod-level Shikigami. They combine offense and defense, can enchant, and can even master space teleportation. They are the ultimate weapons that all Onmyojis dream of.
Free practice time.
Ian did not move in a hurry, but observed the surroundings with interest.
Not far away, Princess Matsumoto, who was in the same group as him (special/rare group), was getting angry at her Shikigami with a red face.
Her Shikigami is named "Cyan", and she is a humanoid fox demon with a cold appearance.
"Cyan! Take me to fly!" Princess Matsumoto ordered. "Refuse." Fox Yao Cyan folded his arms and responded coldly. "Why? I am your master!" "There is no emergency, there is no need to waste spiritual energy flying." "You..." Matsumoto stamped his feet angrily, "Why don't you listen to me?" "Because you are too weak." Cyan's tone was hurtfully calm, "Our bond is as shallow as a piece of paper. When I chose you, I only chose you because of the potential in your blood, not who you are now."
This scene is like a spoiled young lady meeting a cold butler.
Matsumoto felt like she couldn't hold on to her face, especially when she turned around and saw Ian looking at her with a half-smile, she felt even more ashamed and angry, and gave Ian a fierce look.
Ian shrugged, retracted his gaze, and turned to look at the behemoth that was entrenched behind him - Thunder Dragon·Beidou.
This is the Divine Grade Shikigami he summoned during the awakening ceremony. As a wizard who once made waves in the Western world, Ian has a special complex with dragons. And this Eastern dragon that controls Law of Thunder perfectly fits his aesthetics and power system.
"Beidou, you are too big, we can't use it here." Ian stretched out his hand and whispered like a pet, "Be a little smaller, okay?"
"Ho--"
The giant dragon let out a submissive groan. Under the shocked gazes of the surrounding students, the huge dragon body that originally occupied half of the field quickly shrank and circled, and finally turned into a powerful dragon that was more than three meters long. It intimately rubbed the huge dragon head against Ian's palm.
This is the gap. On one side is Princess Imperial Family who cannot command her own fox, and on the other side is the commoner boy who treats Shenlong like a cat.
At this time, teacher Mozi came over with a cane. She took a deep look at Ian and said softly, "Since you have such amazing control and affinity... why not try 'Shikigami Fusion'?"
"Shikigami Fusion?" Ian raised his eyebrows, "You mean, let me become one with it?"
"That's right." Teacher Mozi nodded, "Let your spiritual power be completely synchronized with that of Shikigami, open the portal of Mind Stone, and accept its existence. This is a high-level technique that can only be attempted after reaching the 'Human-Divine Unity' realm."
Ian touched his chin, his brain running rapidly.
"I see..." He quickly analyzed the principle of this magic in his mind: The so-called Shikigami is essentially the spirit body of Spirit World. Their magic power is stored in their own "Soul Dimension". The so-called "fusion" is actually the temporary overlap of two Soul Dimension. Through this, Onmyoji can directly call on Shikigami's huge magic source and obtain the physical characteristics of Shikigami.
This not only requires extremely high soul strength and willpower, but also requires meticulous magic control. Otherwise, two completely different energies will conflict in the body, which may cause the meridians to be severed, or the body to explode and die.
But does this matter to Ian? As early as Western Continent, he was accustomed to harnessing all kinds of violent energy. Compared with the white dragon Albion who always wanted to rebel, the highly intelligent and loyal Beidou in front of him was a perfect fit.
"Come on, Beidou." Ian opened his arms and his eyes became sharp, "Pingyi!"
"Boom--!!"
A dazzling lightning shot into the sky, completely engulfing the figure of Ian.
The wind was so strong that the students around them couldn't open their eyes.
When the light dissipated, the whole place was filled with gasps.
At this moment, Ian, although generally maintaining his human form, has undergone earth-shaking changes in his temperament. A pair of majestic dragon horns protruded from his forehead, and the original black pupils turned into menacing upright dragon pupils, exuding a majestic light of pale gold. Two lightning-shaped lines appeared in the corners of his eyes, like the facial lines of the God of War.
He raised his hand and saw that the exposed skin was covered with a layer of fine and hard blue dragon scales. This was top-notch physical and magical dual defense armor.
"Power... is coming up." Ian clenched his fist, and the air was crushed in the palm of his hand, making a crackling thunderous sound. In this state, his physical strength, reaction speed, and total magic power all increased exponentially. If he was a mage before, he is now a humanoid tyrannosaurus.
"Oh my god... what is that?" "Dragon... Dragonman?" "What a terrible sense of oppression, I feel like it's hard to breathe..."
Teacher Mozi looked at the "dragon boy" in front of him, with a trace of unconcealable amazement flashing in his eyes. "Incredible..." she murmured in a low voice, "Shikigami Fusion is a profound secret technique that can only be mastered in the third grade or even after graduation. Ordinary people may not be able to master it even if they practice hard for several years. He actually... succeeded on the first try?"
Moreover, this level of perfection is simply like the legendary "True Arrival".
Ian released the combined state, the dragon scales faded away, and he regained his appearance as a handsome young man.
Mozi teacher looked at him deeply and said meaningfully, "Young man, if the trees are as beautiful as the trees, the wind will destroy them. Sometimes, being too dazzling may not be a good thing."
This is obviously a well-intentioned warning, but also a temptation.
Ian smiled slightly, bowed politely, and said nothing. But the confidence in his eyes told the other person: As long as the roots of the tree are deep enough, no matter how strong the wind is, it can only dance for me.
Second lesson: [Cursed Words and True Words]
This is a boring but practical course. Onmyoji not only relies on talismans and Shikigami, but also mantras. Most of these mantras have obscure pronunciations, some are similar to ancient Chinese, some are close to Sanskrit, and some are weird syllables that are completely incomprehensible.
Through this day of study, Ian has a deeper understanding of the magic systems of the East and the West.
Western system (Grimoire school):
Advantages: Instant casting, simple and crude. As long as you have Grimoire, you can release the forbidden spell without much knowledge accumulation.
Disadvantages: Heavy reliance on tools (Grimoire). Once the book is gone, 99% of wizards will be useless. Moreover, they are limited by innate attributes and have poor flexibility.
Eastern system (Yin Yang Tao):
Advantages: Strong independence. Without the Shikigami, there is still a talisman, and without the talisman, there is still a curse. There are many means, flexible tactics, good at defeating the strong with the weak, full of deceit and strategy.
Disadvantages: The forward movement is too long. Whether it is drawing a talisman or chanting a spell, it requires preparation time and is not suitable for encounters. The learning curve is extremely steep and requires a massive knowledge reserve.
"Both have their own merits." Ian secretly concluded, "But if you can combine the two... then you will be truly invincible."
Lunch break time.
Ian deliberately avoided those aristocratic children who tried to get close to him, and sat down in the area of civilian students with a dinner plate. While eating, he patiently answered questions about "spiritual power control" from the students around him, without any airs of genius. This kind of people-friendly attitude allowed him to quickly establish a very high prestige among the students at the bottom.
The first session in the afternoon: [Ritual Magic]
This course reveals a cruel corner of the world.
The instructor told everyone with a serious look: Shikigami are not absolutely safe. They may be eroded by negative emotions and degenerate into monsters that only know killing and destruction.
What's even more terrifying is [Spirit Calamity]. That's when the barrier between Spirit World and Material World is broken. Countless evil spirits and violent energy will pour into the world like a flood, distorting reality and creating all kinds of indescribable horrific anomalies.
The duty of the Onmyoji is not only to fight, but also to purify and seal.
"If the door to the two worlds cannot be closed in time," the teacher's voice echoed in the empty classroom, "Material World will be completely swallowed up by Spirit World, and humanity will cease to exist."
Ian listened very carefully. This reminded him of some Dark Magic disasters in the original Afterlife world. It seems that no matter which dimension, the price of power is always accompanied by risks.
The last class:[intensive class]
This is a special mixed course, and it is the only subject shared by Onmyoji and samurai students. The purpose is to allow the fragile mage to learn how to strengthen the physical body, and for the rough samurai to learn how to use spiritual perception.
However, the moment Ian stepped into the classroom, his steps paused slightly.
He squinted his eyes, looked through the crowd, and locked on the figure on the podium.
It was a burly man with two swords hanging on his waist. Even from a distance, Ian could smell the strong, disgusting smell of blood on the other man's body - that smell was only felt by those who had climbed out of the sea of blood from the mountain of corpses.
"It seems," Ian said with a playful smile on his lips, "Today's last lesson won't be too boring."