Chapter 13: Calm

A brave new world opens up before Yue's eyes.

Was this a spell?!a real spell?she couldn't help but wonder what kind of two magicians she had been learning.

Alicia's fireball is too abnormal, and her control is too delicate. Watching the explosion she portrays and comparing it to the rockets that her mother-in-law is proud of is like watching an arsonist pour a house on a demolition worker who strategically controls the burning.

"That'...... It's amazing, ma'am," Yue muttered in confusion, trembling with surprise.

Gwen felt like she had been recaptured as well. Controlling the explosion so precisely that it can recognize friend and foe? That's a crazy ability! How could it be? Alessia's mastery defied Gwen's understanding of physics.

She felt as if they had spent their entire lives marveling at Tesla's drive-in pickup truck. Or worse, a flat Earth loyalist suddenly sees the bend of the Earth.

What's more, they're talking to a real mage, someone who has already earned a second magic school. For ordinary mages, there is only one way to go to middle school. One has to practice consistently to produce a memory signal.

This or one can have a natural affinity for more than one school. The main thing is that the "young" Maguse is blessed either by generations of excellent breeding, or by the genetic lottery.

Elvis gave a good example, according to her, the family on her mother's side produced therapists. As a result, her inclination for a unique blend of calling, incantations, and positive energy makes her a perfect candidate for pastorhood.

For Alessia was too young to be a man with a glyph of a forged memory;

Across from Gwen and her stunned companions, Alicia smirked at her group of teenagers with full moon eyes. Her master rightly told her that children respond best to the performance of absolute power.

"I'll take you next month or so, and you'll be with me for all your training sessions," she said, lowering a little octave to emphasize her seriousness. "I hope we can get along during this time and I hope you can benefit from my guidance. ”

"Yes, ma'am!" said the five in a sloppy salute. None of them have yet to serve in the military.

"Ma'am. Yue was already panting in anticipation. "Can you- can you explain what you did?"

Alicia gave them a dazzling smile, and her teeth were white and shining.

"If you're busy, it's okay," Yue quickly added.

"Good. Alicia flipped her palm over. The familiar sight of dancing flames appeared. Yue also performed this ritual to practice her flame control.

"Put your hands on my flame," Alexia ordered.

The "......" party waited for Yue's promise.

"Ma'am?"

Others at the party thought the dancing flame sprites were a magical phenomenon, but Gwen saw oxide ions burning above 600 degrees Celsius.

Under the fear that made Geng grit his teeth, Yue Cheng took it. The brave Asian girl raised her hand and placed it in the scarlet flames.

"Itβ€”" her eyes widened. "How can it be like a marshmallow? Is this an illusion?"

With Yue's encouragement, the others also made an attempt, feeling the flames wrapping around their hands without harm. The feeling is like putting half on wool or cotton.

"Bring me some ice," Alexia ordered.

Jun made an icicle in the palm of his hand.

"Try again. ”

Jun put his cold palm into the flames and immediately screamed.

"Ahh "That's a scorching flame!"

Indeed, Gwen admitted. Overcoming its opposing elements and completely eradicating this phenomenon would mean that the flames of Alesia would be orders of magnitude larger than Jun's elemental ice. As observed, the laws of physics of her old world have only an unstable grasp of her new world.

Alicia withdrew her hand, but the flames were still floating in midair. This phenomenon is even more shocking than Alexia's absurd control. They watched the fire flicker gently until it took on a caramel profileβ€”an orange, burning markingβ€”and yawned desperately at them.

"A flame elf!" Xiao Yue was about to suffocate. "Ma'am, who the hell are you?"

Gwen and the others were no less shocked than their companions.

An elemental spirit is extremely rare.

As Jun is happy to tell them, one in a thousand kills can produce an entire biological core. One thousandth core can produce a full soul that can be exploited by mages, an act similar to gouging out a hen's teeth.

There's also the fact that magical beasts also come in different shapes, sizes, and strengths, from weak magical feed swarms to titans to myths. Thus, one can imagine the rarity of an elemental spirit, especially a powerful one.

Something rattled in Yue's head.

"Yes, you're ......" the girl now stuttered. "You're the Red Alesia!the Coral Sea Witch!the Scarlet Witch!"

Alicia's face takes on a bright red glow, the name "Scarlet Flame" used by the tower to promote victory over the mermaids during the Coral Sea conflict. It's like drying your old clothes in public.

"Uh-huh......" Gwen and Elvis' faces went blank, but Joan and Henry were equally breathless.

"She is the summoner of the fifth layer, and she has the fire element of the sixth layer, Gwynnie!" Yue spat on Wen's face, and kissed Wen's cheek with enthusiasm. "Madame...... I never knew you were a shapeshifter too!"

"I'm trying," Alesia replied, now jumping more and more uncomfortable. She is more accustomed to the careful respect of a soldier than a babbling girl. "My official data has been around for ten years. ”

At least one mystery was solved at the time - Alicia was able to discern her flames because she possessed a clever flame spirit. Whenever her flame is affected by the increase in her soul's inner affinity, Alicia's fire spell takes on a bright scarlet color.

"I'm going to report to Principal Bartlett, but I'm going to leave you with something to think about. ”

Once again, Alicia pointed at the field with her dominant finger.

"Burning hands!"

A stream of scarlet flames poured down over the field in a 60-degree arc like a flamethrower.

"Burning hands!"

She was left with a three-pronged tongue of fire in her hand and hit several targets, but not others.

"Burning hands!"

A torrent of flames, thicker and more powerful than the last, not only shot forward, but arched over the field like flames from a liquid-fuel flamethrower.

The five of them watched intently.

"The final performance can be manipulated through visualization and psychological cues. Even if you're not a mage, you can work with other Siegels just by practicing. Alicia turned to Gwen and told them. "Don't get too caught up in the signature mantras, instead, focus on the basics. Once you've got the skills you can master, find a master and learn to master their signature spells before you master your own. There is an order in which spells are learned, and they cannot overlap. ”

Looking at the witch, Gwen and Yue both admitted that there was some truth in Alesia's words. Girls should focus on the basics and not dream of flying.

"See you tomorrow, on the driving range. Alexia stretched her shoulders, her red stiletto heels clicking musically on the pavement, and she walked away.

"It's amazing," Yue finally shut his mouth and repeated. "She's fantastic. ”

"So, who is she?"

"You need to read more, Gwen," said Joan, "at least listen to the news or something." ”

Gwen raised her hand to show helplessness.

Jun cleared his throat, he was a man who loved fairs.

"Alicia de Botton, the youngest to be appointed as a High Mage ten years ago, took part in the Great Cleansing of the Barrier Reef. She holds the rank of Major and is the Wing Commander of an assault force led by Her Majesty's Air Strike Mage. She played solo as a normal-class lizardman, keeping an entire row of lizards on the Brisbane Line. In her final year of military service, she toured the country to create safe zones for newcomers. ”

"When I was in elementary school, she was very popular on video. You can see why. Alessia is both pretty and bad.

"What's wrong with that? What are people like her doing here?"

"I don't know," Jun shrugged, "she left the army after her compulsory military service, but no one knows after that." ”

"She's so hot. Henry closed his eyes, recalling those childhood propaganda shows, his nose sniffing the perfume in the air. "Maybe she's recruiting? I know I'll join if she asks for it. ”

Others shrugged.

"I think we'll find out tomorrow what she has in store for us," Yue proposed.

Gwen stared at the envious figure of their mentor standing next to the headmaster. Could this old man have anything to do with this?

The training prepared by Alexia can be divided into three core parts.

Physical exercise to strengthen their body.

Mental image training, they practice changing their performance in subtle ways.

Yue and Gwen's delicate training, they must learn to "tune" the power output of their spells.

During their training, Xiaoyue tries to spy on the life story of her idol and gets nothing but her mother when it comes to Alicia's private life.

As part of their teaching, Alesia helps each of them modify their existing spells, changing the way they conceive primary and secondary spells, the language and physical parts of spell casting, and opening their eyes to new avenues of meta-magic. The lower the spell level, the more malleable it is to the mage's creative intent, and the higher the spell level, the danger of magic burning increases exponentially with each occasional modification.

The girls and boys rejoiced in anticipation.

For the next month and a half, the boys and girls returned to the dormitory every day exhausted, and it seemed like lightning passed. Daily life consists only of going to class, training, eating, and sleeping.

Finally, with less than a week to go before the field trip, the group was called to the Academic Committee for evaluation. Although the field trip was just a bootcamp in the Green Zone, Blackwater was meticulous in making sure the students were able to go home together.

The tests took place in a replica area of the Royal National Team's notorious coastal circuit. Simulate a hike deep into the wasteland, where unsuspecting travelers will almost certainly be harassed by greedy mana crystals or quasi-magical beasts curious about the BRICS of human civilization.

The team's new formation features Gwen at back and Yue at the tip of the spear. Alicia asks the girls to systematically measure the range of their spells, and discovers that Gwen can even cover Yue's range from behind. Again, until Gwen gets a line-based AOE like tier3LightingBolt, she doesn't have friendly firepower issues when it comes to spatial projection.

"Probing magic. ”

Henry opens with his signature spell. In the real field, he must alternate between different detection methods in order to deal with various threats.

"Shelter. ”

Jun made a circular gesture that was familiar to all oath-takers. A circle of ice appeared on Elvis's body, floating like a halo. This is a hostile enemy that triggers the buff and makes Elvis less conspicuous. If attacked, the spell triggers a frost barrier.

The examiner nodded keenly. They see a good use of fundamentals.

"God forbid. "Elvia adds a lot of color to the party, but because she's using it in field triage, it's unlikely that the healer will stand out in practice.

The group crept into the illusory woods.

"Twelve, small and medium-sized two goals. "Yue is the first blow," Henry reported through his mind. "It's coming!"

Henry had been trained by Alexia to recognize distortions in the magic field. There are tiny but traceable patterns to the creatures that distinguish them from the magic of the wilderness around them.

"Bang! bang

Before the golem creature's barbed missiles reach the party, the ice shield has been raised. Both of them tapped the icy dome with clear gestures, and as their target weakened, they immediately vanished, further preserving their mana.

Now losing the element of surprise, the dummies jumped out of hiding and, using trees as part of the cover, walked towards the edge of the field.

"Rockets!"

A flash of fire shot from Yue's fingertips formed a parabola that was not upward but sideways, curving around the trunk of the tree and hitting the larger target behind. Her missile exploded, unleashing unleashing erratic energy that slammed it into a nearby tree trunk, blasting it to pieces.

The smaller of the two creatures takes advantage of this opportunity to reorient.

"Thunderbolt!" Gwen uses the natural spell of the body to try to locate an abstract point of origin in space. Her gestures reminded the listener of a madman conducting an orchestra with an invisible cat.

Thirty meters away, a burst of electricity tore the dummy apart.

"The enemy was cleared. We're on our way to the next region. ”

The party continued without delay, eliminating every situation. After more than thirty minutes, the party lasted for twenty minutes, and it was almost time for the exam to end.

"Unleash the giant puppet," a voice announced above them.

Gwen's team felt the bones of a giant spell cycle beating, and they knew it was their final test.

"Gvar!"

The sounds mimicked by orc warriors reverberate in the energy field, amplified by any magical or mechanical devices installed inside.

As if to get the full cinematic effect, the team observed that several trees were blown apart and saliva splashed as the giant creatures ballet in the bushes. Although the party knew it was an illusion, and underneath the illusion was a dummy to soak in damage, it was still a terrible encounter.

"Steady!" shouted Jun.

"A real blow!" Henry spelled, trying to fit a Debiao before the creature was almost in melee range. "Bane!"

"Shield pile!" Jun successfully placed three layers of ice shield in an instant. Using reactive, displacement shields is Alexia's solution to combat the brittleness of ice shields.

"Shield of Faith!" Elvis Presley's clear, near-transparent shield obscured Jun, giving him full visibility and an extra layer of protection.

"Here ......" took a breath, and when her summoning was revealed, she quickly cast a spell. "Barrage!"

A chain of five rockets illuminates a path of explosion, causing the creature to tumble and drastically weaken its power. However, its weight maintains its trajectory.

With a bang, a bulbous arm strewn with rock barnacles struck the first ice shield, wiping it away.

"Guide bolts!" Gwen said in a tone. A shard of positively charged lightning struck the creature, sending out a purple electric crackle that struck the giant dummy's illusory face.

The golem raised its fist in a frantic angry gesture.

"Lightning Explosion!Gwen's infamous chain spell was started in earnest.

She poured every ounce of mana she had left into the passage, knowing that this was the last enemy. The exercise that Alessia made them do was worth their weight. Who would have thought that endurance training could control mana consumption? Textbooks are skeptical of this fact, but Alicia proves her hypothesis with actual results.

The examiner smiled at himself with satisfaction. She was gone, they thought to themselves, because she saw Gwen using the same spell in her practice. What a light-hearted show! There are few elements as spectacular as lightning.

Gwen managed to keep her electric disco last for 10 seconds, but that was enough;

β€œS!”

β€œS!”

β€œS!”

Absolute destructive power.

Perfect for scouting and defending.

Good teamwork and an impeccable awareness of each other's abilities.

"Excellent!" Principal Bartlett's voice rang out from the judges' seat.

The examiners can't wait to see what else Blackwater's A-team can accomplish.

The hallucinations vanished, and a round of applause flooded the playing field. Gwen scoured the crowd and found Alexia and the other instructors clapping loudly. Their eyes met, and she flashed a bright, dazzling smile at them.

That woman is amazing. Gwen couldn't help but be impressed again. Just a month ago, Xiao Yue almost blew Xiao Jun into hell.

What they can do now is amazing, even by semi-professional standards. There was no measure of endurance on this exam, but Gwen knew that Alicia was ensuring that the organization's expertise was eroding the proficiency of first-year cadets through alternating spell casting and conservative use of mana.

"Congratulations, students. "You're doing a great job. A senior mage said proudly.

"Well done, Gwen, all of you!" Principal Bartlett blushed a little.

The party bowed in front of the examiner's high platform before leaving the examination room to talk to their instructors, their striking silhouettes even catching the attention of onlookers.

"Thank you so much, ma'am. Yue tilted his head respectfully.

"It's your credit," Alexia replied modestly.

"No, ma'am," said Gwen earnestly. "We couldn't have done this without you. ”

"Ah~, you've all embarrassed me. Alesia's smile was stunning, and she thanked the children for their strong gratitude. "You should be more confident in your abilities. ”

She gave each of them a hug, the girls closer and the boys stiffer from nervousness. When she reached Elvis Presley's side, Alessia couldn't help but tease her and ruffle the therapist's hair.

"I'm going to miss this," commented Alessia happily, pampering Elvis Presley was a treat in itself.

"Miss, aren't you leaving?" Elvis Presley asked in frustration.

"Not right away. I will take care of you guys at the camp!"

"Two more weeks......" Elvis Presley pursed his lips sadly, "can you stay?"

"Unfortunately, no. Alicia smiled gratefully, "I'm sure we'll meet in some other capacity in the future, maybe in the tower." ”

"Tower?" Yue's eyes were once again full of anticipation, "Miss, do you work there?"

Alicia's ocean-blue eyes trembled, and then she gave Xiao Yue a quick pat on the shoulder, neither confirming nor denying her profession. The five men stood awkwardly, feeling that they had not closed.

"We're going to set a new record for you, miss," Jun said in a final promised tone.

"Of course. ”

"Yes!"

Others readily agreed.

Alesia didn't say anything, only told them to stay and watch the other teams. The road is long and arduous, and each experience unexpectedly opens up new detours.

So, at the suggestion of the mentor, Gwen's group stayed and was congratulated by people who came and went. One by one, they saw how others represented themselves with their unique team compositions and skill sets.

Of particular note is Deborah's team, which used a completely unexpected composition. In particular, there is a true magician in her ranks, whose buffs of blessing, fortitude and endurance provide unparalleled fortitude. Similarly, a Magician Scout has been added to give the team access to the chameleon's optical spell, providing an excellent observer for the team. The remaining three members, shockingly, are all molts. They use a system of mass admirers to give themselves an almost ridiculous way. Deborah's iconic bark bark has now been transformed into bronze skin, possibly an heirloom spell that provides the caster with a near-indestructible armor. Coupled with long strides and enhanced abilities, her team excels in both mobility and defense.

In front of a cheering crowd, the Transmuter trio formed a living team of battering rams. Deborah, in particular, was a fearless destroyer, punching and kicking, throwing more than 50 kilograms of catapult stones wherever they went.

Their team was so efficient that they spent half the time dismantling all 20 obstacles in Gwen. Only in front of the ogre dummy, the two smaller shapeshifters, whose elements are first-order water and earth, stop in their tracks. At the time, Deborah was the only one to deal with the creature, but the others provided traps, illusions, and endless entanglements, and she was finally able to defeat it and bring it to its knees before the 40-minute deadline.

"One"

β€œS”

"One"

The examiner gave Deborah's team a good compliment, but also warned her that there were restrictions on approaching the fight. Unless she can rise to a high enough level with many commendable polymorphic spells, these squires will put themselves in unnecessary danger.

Only two other teams managed to take down the Ogre Dummy, and one team suffered a "loss" from a team member due to a poorly timed shielding spell.

At the end of the day, only 9 teams and a total of 45 student mages were eligible for a field trip within 6 days. After nearly two months of continuous training, students returned to their dormitories to rest, and some took time off to meet family and friends before setting foot in the wilderness for the first time.

It is only a green zone, but in fact, the royal state is a place far from the barriers of the city, without the footprints of human civilization, a place where there is nothing but flora and fauna.