Elemental Baptism

"Professor Katelyle, you really are a wealthy professor."

"This is a privilege no other professor gets to enjoy—a detached house all to yourself."

"The facilities here are incredibly complete. This doesn't look like the sort of place a wizard would have, but it's really enviable."

After Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter followed Katelyle to his detached little villa, they let out one amazed exclamation after another.

Over the past few days, they had visited Professor McGonagall's office, Severus Snape's office, and even their own dormitory, but none of them could compare to Katelyle's place.

At the same time, they could not help admiring Katelyle's noble bearing. No matter where he went, people found him admirable, and that was not without reason.

Everything in his life was planned and organized.

"Would you like something to drink? Soda or coffee? For soda, I have cola and sparkling water," Katelyle said with a smile.

At Katelyle's words, Hermione, Harry Potter, and Ron Weasley immediately lit up with excitement and answered in unison, "Cola!"

As expected, kids still liked soft drinks.

Katelyle snapped his fingers. Three glass bottles of cola flew out of the refrigerator beside them and stopped in front of Hermione and the other two. The caps gave a soft pop, then flew off and dropped into the trash bin.

Meanwhile, a coffee cup rose into the air, filled itself with water and coffee grounds, then slowly rotated over scorching sand. Before long, the coffee boiled and drifted unsteadily toward Katelyle.

Hermione and the other two stared wide-eyed at the scene before them, overwhelmed with excitement and delight.

"Wow, Professor Katelyle, you can cast magic without speaking! That's amazing," Hermione praised.

"You can do it too, Hermione!" Katelyle said with a smile. "Relax a little. To learn Elemental Magic, you need a relaxed state of mind. That's very important."

Katelyle had decorated his little villa with particular care. Its European style carried an air of elegance and refinement, and quite a few of its appliances came from the Muggle world.

The only regret was that Hogwarts had no electricity, so some of the appliances could not be used.

Of course, that did not really matter to Katelyle.

After chatting about a few things and helping Harry and the others relax, he smiled and said, "Elemental Magic is a special kind of magic."

"It requires you to sense the elemental energy around us. That is the key to casting it, and it will also reveal which kind of magic you are better suited for."

"Elemental Magic includes the Water Element, Fire Element, Earth Element, Wind Element, Lightning Element, Light Element, and Dark Element. They exist all around us, everywhere."

As Katelyle spoke, he gathered the various elements before them.

"The white Light Element, the cyan Wind Element, the red Fire Element, the yellow Earth Element, the blue Water Element, the purple Lightning Element, and the black Dark Element."

The seven kinds of elemental energy formed spheres around Katelyle and, at his command, drifted before Harry and the other two.

"Among these seven elements, the Lightning Element, Light Element, and Dark Element are relatively rare. Not everyone can perceive and cultivate them."

"This is tied to a person's elemental affinity."

"So, if you want to learn magic, it depends on what kind of affinity you have for magical elements—in other words, which kind of magic you are suited to cultivate."

At that, Katelyle took out three potion vials and sent them flying before the children. "Drink these. They will help you perceive magical elements more clearly."

Hermione and the other two had already been stunned by the eight magical elements Katelyle had displayed. Hearing that, they looked at the potion vials with even greater anticipation.

Which type of Elemental Magic would I be suited for?

Harry took one potion vial and said, "I think fire magic would be more destructive."

Hermione also took a potion vial and mused, "I like the Water Element. It's cuter."

"I like the Wind Element. I like the feeling of flying freely," Ron said expectantly.

Listening to them, Katelyle smiled. "This is not the time to pray. What you need to do is drink the potion and quietly sense the elemental energy around you."

Harry and the other two did not hesitate and drank the potions.

They tasted pretty good, a little sweet, like a liquid medicine.

There was just too little of it—not even a full mouthful.

"Sit cross-legged. Meditation is one way to restore magical power quickly, and it is also a way to sense the elemental energy around you," Katelyle said, guiding them in feeling magic.

Hermione and the other two sat down and quickly entered a meditative state.

Katelyle glanced at them, then took out his wand and gave it a light wave. In an instant, all the furniture and appliances in the hall shrank to palm-sized miniatures, then flew into a box in the corner with another wave of his wand.

With that, the entire hall became empty.

Katelyle did not stop there. He drew a large circle around each of Hermione and the other two, then finally stood to one side in satisfaction.

Within just a few minutes, fluctuations of elemental energy appeared around Harry and the others, dancing around them.

Red Fire Element and cyan Wind Element danced around Harry, both of them remarkably dense.

Blue Water Element danced around Hermione, just as she had imagined.

Ron did not receive the Wind Element as he had hoped. Instead, dense yellow Earth Element radiated around him.

Although Katelyle already knew what kind of magic they were suited for, he did not interrupt them.

Because this was a time of growth.

The more elemental energy gathered around them, the greater their affinity for the corresponding element. Furthermore, the more energy they gathered, the more elemental energy they possessed.

This process was also known as Elemental Baptism.

After sensing elemental energy and drawing it into the body, it would transform and strengthen the body. This process could be induced artificially or formed through one's own gathering.

It also represented the foundation of one's body, though it could be changed through later effort as well.

However, if someone possessed such a foundation from birth, they would undoubtedly have a greater advantage than others.

The essential conditions for casting magic were magical power and mental strength, the two keys to using magic.

Magical power determined how many spells a wizard could cast and how powerful those spells could be.

Mental strength was the command a wizard used to guide magic into being cast.

Thus, magical power and mental strength complemented each other.

Only after that came the incantations for casting magic.

Therefore, the elements Harry and the other two were gathering at this moment were also part of an Elemental Baptism.

This had much to do with the potions Katelyle had given them.

Because those potions were called Elemental Baptism.