Spell Formula

"Sorry, I didn't quite understand."

Larkspur removed her hand from the cup and placed it naturally to the side, her gaze shifting away with her hand. "That statement is a bit too general."

The words were spoken, but they didn't seem to reach the other person, because Xia Liang was still just looking at Larkspur, without explaining the meaning of her words.

This state didn't last long, but to the Larkspur, it felt like an eternity, even blinking felt incredibly slow.

Then, with a "pfft," Xia Liang covered her mouth and laughed.

Why are you making things so tense? The atmosphere is so strange.

She laughed for a while before straightening up and waving her hand, "It doesn't mean anything else, I just have some ideas, about improving my strength."

"Look, haven't I recently Blossoming Leaf Rank? You've already given me a brief explanation of some basics, senior. I think the time is almost right, shouldn't we...?"

"You want to officially begin learning Spell Formula?"

Blinking, Larkspur gradually realized what was going on. "So that's why you came to find me at this hour?"

"... I guess so."

Xia Liang's smile faded slightly, but she still nodded. "After all, the rate at which my magic power increases shouldn't be enough for me to advance to the Blossom Rank in a short time. If I want to improve my combat ability, Spell Formula are the best way."

"To improve combat capabilities?"

Upon hearing this, Larkspur pondered for a moment and said, "When you were advancing in rank before, I should have told you that if you wanted to maintain the fastest advancement speed, it would be best to only dabble in Spell Formula and learn a few necessary practical techniques. Otherwise, studying Spell Formula would take up a lot of your study time, causing your advancement speed to slow down."

"Yes, I know," Xia Liang replied softly.

"So, to what extent do you mean by 'wanting to learn Spell Formula '?"

The Larkspur raised her eyes. "Is it 'learning some simple techniques' to improve your versatility in actual combat, or 'making Spell Formula your main research direction and turning Spell Formula into your primary fighting style'?"

"Currently... it should be the first option, right?"

Xia Liang tapped her chin. "But I'm not entirely sure, because I don't know how talented I am in the field of Spell Formula. If I'm sure I have good talent, it wouldn't be bad to go deeper into it?"

"A very rational choice."

Larkspur nodded. "Many magical girls understand Spell Formula as the 'magic' in fairy tales, thinking that mastering a variety of 'magic' is the right path after becoming a magical girl. But little do they know that this deviates from the essence of a magical girl's abilities."

"Regardless, for a magical girl, the most important thing is her True Form, which is magic. Spell Formula are just 'tools,' just 'weapons.' Just like hand-to-hand combat skills in ordinary people, no matter how exquisite the skills are, when faced with a huge difference in physique, it is no different from a mayfly trying to shake a tree, and it cannot have a decisive effect."

She continued, "Of course, precisely because of this understanding, my research on the Spell Formula is not in-depth. You can consider this just a conclusion drawn by a layman out of ignorance, and that's perfectly fine."

"So, senior, you actually don't recommend that I study Spell Formula too much?" Xia Liang asked.

"As you yourself said, it ultimately comes down to your talent. If you have exceptional talent in Spell Formula, and studying Spell Formula is even more efficient than practicing magic, then it's not impossible for you to take that path."

As Larkspur spoke, she paused, then added, "Or, if you say your interest lies in Spell Formula, then I won't stop you..."

"Not interested, at least not right now."

Xia Liang waved her hand again. "Anyway, I already know. Senior, you just want to tell me not to neglect my magic cultivation, right? Don't worry, I won't forget."

Xia Liang's words exposed Larkspur's intentions, but she didn't think there was anything wrong with it. She simply leaned back slightly in her chair, seemingly deep in thought.

After a moment of contemplation, as if having made a decision, she spoke again, "Since that's the case, then let me ask you, if I say I'll teach you the Spell Formula now—are you willing?"

Although Xia Liang took the initiative to come over, it was already quite late, almost 11 o'clock. If they started explaining the structure of the Spell Formula now, they might both stay up very late before they could go to sleep.

She herself didn't care about it—after all, the paperwork was almost done, and staying up late was the norm for her—but Xia Liang was still a child, and staying up too late was bad for both her health and her studies.

"Sure."

However, whether without considering it or completely indifferent, Xia Liang nodded calmly without any apparent thought, "After all, there's not much time left, is there? The competition with those people from Bai'an City."

"... I apologize for assigning you this task without my consent."

"It's alright, senior and Asō must have their own reasons. I knew that from the beginning."

Xia Liang chuckled, "In fact, it's because I'm really motivated by this, whether it's the competition or the upcoming assessment, that I want to win, which is why I came to you."

"The next assessment..."

Upon hearing this, Larkspur raised an eyebrow. "Can I interpret this as 'I have decided to participate in the assessment'?"

She hadn't expected that Xia Liang would be the first to express his opinion on this matter.

After all, both Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan seemed to be more impatient. Whether they "wanted to go" or "didn't want to go," it should have been the two children who expressed it first.

As for Xia Liang, this child is obviously more thoughtful about various things, and her progress in magic cultivation is also going smoothly. Judging from the current situation, she doesn't actually need to be in a hurry to obtain a small qualification Certification Card.

"Of course, after all, only by getting the Certification Card can you truly begin to 'stand on your own,' right?"

Xia Liang tilted her head. "I've already become a magical girl, so my goal should be to 'do better,' there's no reason for me to stop here."

"But next year's assessment will be much more dangerous than in previous years..." Larkspur unconsciously tapped the table with her fingertips again.

"No matter how dangerous it is, it's held under the protection of the Magic Kingdom and with the assurance of many examiners, right?" Xia Liang countered. "In other words, no matter how dangerous it is, someone will ultimately be there to cover for you, right?"

"That's theoretically correct, but there's always the possibility of unexpected events."

"In the end, it was just an accident. No matter what, it's safer than encountering a real crisis."

Xia Liang replied earnestly, "Perhaps you, junior, think my consideration is too simplistic, but I feel that if we don't even dare to go to this heavily protected 'Simulated Great Beast Calamity,' wouldn't we be even more helpless when facing a real disaster?"

"You may not know the true scale of the Great Beast Calamity," Larkspur tapped the table, her brow furrowed slightly. "Even a simulation is not to be underestimated."

"But it's just a simulation after all, right?"

Xia Liang's lips curled slightly. "If we encounter a real Great Beast Calamity again in the future, will the magical girls who have experienced the simulation be better able to adapt, or will the magical girls who are encountering it for the first time perform better? Without a doubt, it will be the former, right?"

It's utterly sophistry. To throw yourself into a crisis you can instinctively avoid just to rehearse a major crisis that is unlikely to occur sounds incredibly strange.

Larkspur wanted to say that, but she couldn't find the words to refute it—because deep down, she herself had similar thoughts.

If her initial reaction to the assessment was primarily one of criticism and rejection, after a few days of reflection, she has actually come to understand it better.

No matter how worried she was about the children's safety, no matter how uneasy she was about it, her inner rationality told her that Xia Liang was right.

If she really didn't want her juniors to participate, she could have simply found an excuse to prevent them from going. She didn't even need an excuse; there was no need for her to offer any explanation like "respecting their freedom of choice."

The reason she's so conflicted right now is simply because her rationality can't overcome her emotions, and her emotions can't completely overwhelm her rationality. To be honest, even she herself feels that her series of decisions are completely illogical and nonsensical.

"Besides, you'll be going yourself, right, junior?"

Xia Liang, as if she could see through Larkspur's thoughts, leaned forward slightly, her misty eyes flashing with a strange emotion. "Senior, you've already gone, so how could I possibly not go? I truly believe in you."

The emotion in the girl's eyes made Larkspur look away again.

She couldn't respond to these feelings, so perhaps the best approach was to play dumb.

"... Since you've made your decision, it's getting late, so let's quickly discuss the Spell Formula."

Somewhat abruptly changing the subject, Larkspur spoke in a slightly hoarse tone, "I don't know that many Spell Formula myself, so I'll start by teaching you the simplest, and most practical, Spell Formula."

"Young senior, you're cunning." Xia Liang narrowed his eyes with some displeasure.

"The first Spell Formula, which you should have encountered many times before, is arguably the most basic of all Spell Formula, and it significantly enhances a magical girl's combat abilities— Magic Barrier."

Larkspur pretended not to notice Xia Liang's slight mood, continuing to tilt her head and say in a calm voice, "Using Magic Barrier can block the opponent's magic attacks, giving you a better position. At the same time, the Magic Barrier also has many advanced and variant forms. When you master this Spell Formula, attacks from Magic Armament, Spell Formula attacks, and even the Nest of Aberrant Beast can be blocked to a certain extent."

"For most magical girls, mastering Spell Formula is also an important lesson in making up for their own shortcomings—because not all magical girls' Magic Armament can provide comprehensive abilities; some lack offensive means, while others lack defensive capabilities. Magic Barrier are crucial for magical girls whose Magic Armament cannot provide protection."

Raising her hand, Larkspur placed her palm in front of Xia Liang. Then, from her sleeve, a series of tiny, rune-like magical energy crystals emerged, arranged neatly in her palm as if under control, before suddenly bursting into light.

Almost at the same moment the light burst forth, an invisible barrier suddenly appeared around the Larkspur, taking on an arc shape that separated it from the Xia Liang.

"This is how the Magic Barrier forms; you've probably seen it before. However, in actual combat, it forms much faster."

Maintaining the Magic Barrier around her, Larkspur said calmly, "I just slowed down the entire process of the Spell Formula's formation. Can you see what the most crucial part is?"

"The most crucial part..."

Xia Liang blinked. "Is it one of those strangely shaped magic streams?"

"A strange flow of magic?"

Upon hearing this, Larkspur's lips twitched, but she quickly regained her composure. "What you said isn't entirely wrong, but I think I've mentioned it before, this kind of magical flow has its own name, which we generally call 'runes'. And the ones that magical girls use in their Spell Formula are generally called 'Fawo Runes'."

"Fawo Runes are the basic units that make up Spell Formula. We inscribe magic into the shape of runes, and then arrange and combine these runes to guide the flow of magic, thus forming Spell Formula."

"In other words, Fawo Runes can be understood as the text of Spell Formula. After we use runes to piece together the name of a certain Spell Formula, the magic power used afterwards will be injected into this Spell Formula until we activate the runes to activate the Spell Formula, or disperse the runes to stop it."

"I didn't quite understand," Xia Liang said frankly.

"Didn't understand... then just think of Fawo Runes as a foreign language."

Larkspur wasn't surprised by this. "Just like when you learn a foreign language, you need to master the alphabet first, then the words, and finally how to spell them into sentences. Fawo Runes are a language of the Magic Kingdom, and runes are the alphabet of a foreign language. You need to learn how to spell words with them, while higher-level Spell Formula are equivalent to sentences, which are combinations of a large number of words."

As she said this, the Larkspur dispersed the surrounding barrier and once again condensed the runes in her hand, arranging them neatly. "Just like now, the structure formed by these runes represents the meaning of 'barrier'."

"Eh..." Xia Liang looked at the runes in Larkspur's hand and let out a meaningless sigh.

"However, simply arranging the runes does not complete the Spell Formula; in fact, it can be said that the Spell Formula is only half complete."

Larkspur suddenly added, "If we don't take the next step, the runes will just be neatly arranged, flashy-looking magical structures, without any real meaning."

"Obviously, because the Fawo Runes is not the Spell Formula itself, it is merely a command, a key, for us to use the Spell Formula. In other words, until we have constructed the rune, not a single bit of the mana consumed is used for the Spell Formula."

"To transform the key into Spell Formula, and to make the command a reality, what we ultimately need to do is quite simple."

As she spoke, the Fawo Runes in the Larkspur's palm gradually began to glow. "Infuse them with magic, bring these runes to life."

I'm so sorry for the late post; this chapter is to make up for yesterday's.