Chapter 301

The Training Hall the students walked into reminded them of the one they used for practicing dimensional magic .

The room was 30 meters (98 feet) long and 20 meters (66 feet) wide . It was big enough to easily accommodate double their numbers . However, while the dimensional magic Training Hall was completely empty, the Magic Creation one was filled with what looked like an old telephone box made of transparent crystal .

Right in front of each telephone box, there was a holographic horizontal bar that reminded Lith the combo counter of games like “Dance Dancer Uprising” . All in all, the place looked more like an arcade rather than an academy’s facility .

“First things first, you should take out your own Codex . ” Professor Nalear showed them the book she had distributed during the first lesson .

“As a warm up exercise, each one of you will pick two magical words of their own choice from their Codex and input them in the Sensor Booth . ” She pointed at the crystal phone box .

“All the possible combinations are known . They generate a mana flow that has been thoroughly researched and the Booths are capable of sensing . Let me give you an example . ” She walked inside an empty Booth, leaving the door open .

Nalear placed her hand on the crystal wall in front of the holographic counter .

“First, you need to imprint your station with your mana . Then say out loud the spell you have decided to create . In my case is Infiro Gata . ” According to the Codex, it was supposed to create a ring of fire . The Booth emitted a red glow while powering up and so did the holographic counter .

“Now the device knows what kind of energies are going to be employed and how to protect me from them . I suppose you all remember the dangers of casting a spell incorrectly . “

The class nodded in unison . Lith too had almost died multiple times while learning his first tier one fake magic spell when he was still six years old . A mistake in the magic words’ pronunciation or in the hand seals could have unpredictable consequences .

“Well, creating a new spell is even more dangerous, that’s why it’s a subject explored only during the fifth year . A complete spell is safe for the caster . Even if you mess up with it the worst it can happen is for its effect to go haywire .

“The magic signs for low tier spells determine the amount of mana which will be employed and how it interacts with the elemental energies . Using the wrong signs can directly harm your bodies . The bigger the mistake, the bigger the damage you may sustain . This is especially troublesome for attack spells .

“That’s why we’ll start with spells that are barely tier one to give you solid foundations . I’d like to tell you that the Sensor Booths can block anything, but it would be a lie . They can only shield you up to tier two spells and some of the weaker tier three ones .

“The purpose of this exercise is to let you safely experience the flow of your mana while you are creating low tier spells . Only then we will move to more powerful spells against which there is no protection but skill and experience .

“It’s important you become familiar with identifying the correct signs and finding the right words . The Codex only contains the most common and safe magical words . Truly powerful spells require you to make adjustments . “

“I have always thought that spells made from our own mana couldn’t harm us . ” Quylla asked . “Why is this different?”

“Because a correctly performed spell is part of you, like your hair or your skin . A messed up spell is composed of discordant energies which make no distinction between friend and foe . “

“Did I risk my life while creating my personal spells back at my village?” Quylla shivered at the thought of how dangerous ignorance was .

“Not really . ” Nalear patted her shoulder, trying to reassure Quylla .

“Light magic is the magic of life, it’s mostly harmless . It requires a monster failure to inflict damages with a low tier light spell, otherwise a failed chant simply has no effect . You and Lith are lucky .

“Being healers, you followed the safest path . It made it possible for you to later create even offensive spells with ease thanks to your prior experience . ” Quylla thought back when she created her first offensive ice spell .

She had suffered from pain and discomfort from time to time, but she had always managed to stop before things got out of hand . She never reported injuries during her experiments, only minor frostbites .

“Creating personal spells before even enrolling in an academy it’s what means being talented . ” Nalear said to the rest of the class .

“Let me finish my demonstration please . ” Her hands drew an S in the air, filling the holographic combo bar by a third . “This means the signs are correct . “

She then repeated the magical words while drawing and S followed by a circle . The combo bar flashed red and emptied .

“This happens when the signs are wrong . “

The third time she drew a doodle after the S . Everything flashed red a few times, a warning sign filled the counter .

“Guess what? That was a major blunder . Without the Booth I would have got injured . If there aren’t any more questions, get in the booths and start practicing . Choosing two words that form a universally known spell will not count as a success .

To get a passing grade you need to complete at least two new spells . Begin!”

The moment Nalear walked out of the Booth, it glowed with white light . The following text appeared inside the holographic display:

Attempted spells: Infiro Gata . Completed spells: None . Final Grade: F . Imprint successfully reset, ready for a new student .

Several students swallowed a lump of saliva, Lith included . Cheating wasn’t an option, the system registered everything .

Lith inwardly cursed at his bad luck .

‘I’m not Quylla, I never created fake spells besides those I taught Tista . Let’s hope it’s enough . ‘

He took a deep breath to calm himself down, then Lith imprinted the terminal with his mana .

“Jorun Ka . ” According to the Codex, the spell would create an ice cube the size of a table . Lith started to form all the signs he knew, discovering that such a brute force method was unpractical .

Every failed attempt consumed part of his mana . Taken individually, a failure was nothing to him . Hundreds of failures in a row were quite tiring though . After an hour Lith had wasted a quarter of his mana reserve and completed a single spell .

‘Calm down, you idiot . ‘ Lith scolded himself . ‘Don’t panic like a drowning man . This is just the first lesson . Worst case scenario you’ll get a failing grade, but there’s always next time . Focus on the task at hand . ‘

Lith recalled Vastor’s words about the difference between being slow and being meticulous . Then about the purpose of the exercise . They weren’t practicing for a guessing game . They were there to learn to perceive the mana flow inside their own bodies .

The fourth year classes required to sense the mana once they projected it outside, Magic Creation was the opposite .