Masteria Online: Shattering the Dark God's Grand Scheme-Chapter 37 - Magic Training

The training grounds gradually filled with Alice’s Knight division as the break ended. Each knight that entered was a Fire Wizard. These were practitioners of a specialized path unique to the Aria Knights.

It was something that had always fascinated Lumi in his previous timeline. You’d think fire magic would be common, that every major city would have schools teaching it. But no. The closest alternative was Merath’s fire and poison combination in Elenora, and that was fundamentally different in approach and application. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

This exclusivity wasn’t accidental. The Aria Knights’ Fire Wizard path had been developed over centuries specifically for their needs. It was difficult to simply make a fire path because fire wasn’t the most stable or versatile element.

What would happen if you were fighting a golem, or otherwise a non living creature made of heat resistant material? You couldn’t beat it by simply having a "high temperature."

What about the teleport that would be used? Surely you wouldn’t just use the basic teleport. If you were going to use commonly available spells anyways, what’s the point of a unique path? It had to be known that what people considered the "default" teleport skill wasn’t neutral at all, but a path based on deep understanding of mana. If that is your path, then it’s not fire.

Not to mention the various defensive and support options that a proper magic path needs.

The Aria Knights Fire Wizards addressed all of that, which is why they have a Fire Wizard path, and others do not.

"Formation up!" Alice barked, her voice cutting through the morning air. "Today’s focus is casting speed. Partially because of Lumi, and partially because some among you had an embarrassing display earlier where they let a First Rank mage dance around you like children chasing butterflies, so we’re going back to fundamentals.

She pointed off to the side. "Lumi, you stand here. Your casting is technically perfect but practically sluggish."

The knights moved with precision, forming a line. Several shot curious glances at Lumi, word of the morning’s spar had clearly spread. Alice stood at the center, her wand raised.

"We’ll start with basic fireball casting," she announced. "I want one cast per second. Consistent power, consistent aim. Anyone who drops below rate or varies power by more than five percent does laps. Begin!"

Swoosh!

The air filled with the sound of rushing flames as thirty knights began their repetitive casting. They raised their wands in sync, and fireballs began to be launched in rhythm, each impacting designated targets across the field. Lumi watched, analyzing their technique.

Sure, he had plenty of knowledge from his past life, and it was just that the system wouldn’t let him cast on his own. He was an expert. But even experts had more to learn.

Plus, it wasn’t like he had decades of experience. After all, the world ended just four years after the release date of the game.

"Pathetic!" Alice roared after thirty seconds. "Jemba, you’re at 0.8 casts per second! Titty, your power variance is seven percent! Are you Fire Wizards or fumbling apprentices?"

She strode through their ranks, wand moving in sharp gestures. As she passed each knight, Lumi felt her magic reach out, somehow synchronizing with theirs.

"Feel that?" She called out. "That’s what proper mana circulation feels like. Now just do that! Lumi, step forward. Cast Light Shower ten times, as fast as you can."

Lumi moved to the indicated spot and began. The first cast took him 2.3 seconds. It was respectable for a First Rank mage but glacial by Alice’s standards. By the tenth cast, it was still 2.3 seconds. He had no choice. He was casting through the system. The system does as the system does..

"Twenty three seconds for ten casts," Alice announced to the group. "That’s actually above average for his rank. But watch this." She raised her own wand. "Firebolt."

Ten firebolts erupted from her wand so fast they seemed like one continuous stream. The entire sequence took less than two seconds.

"That’s the difference between thinking about magic and being magic," she said. "Simons! Demonstrate the standard teaching method for our thick skulled visitor."

Simons stepped forward, still looking slightly ashamed from the morning’s incident. He held his wand up. "The first principle is parallel channeling. Most mages pull mana from their core, shape it, then release." He cast a firebolt the traditional way. He drew the magic, shaped it, then released it. About 1.5 seconds.

"Now watch." His stance shifted subtly. This time, Lumi could see the difference. Mana was already gathering at his wand tip while more was still being drawn from his core. The shaping happened during the draw, not after. The release came almost instantly once sufficient mana accumulated. 0.7 seconds.

"Better." Alice grudgingly admitted. "But still sloppy. Lumi, the concept is simple. Execution is not. Your body needs to maintain multiple mana streams simultaneously."

She moved behind him, and Lumi tensed as he felt her magic probe at his channels. "Hmm. Your pathways are actually quite good. That’s some good natural talent. But everyone can be better. Feel here."

Her magic pushed against specific points in his mana circulation. "Your mana can flow anywhere. Normally there’s parts of the body made for that, but you can put them anywhere. More space for mana flow means more spells. You are using your body, but at a snail’s pace. But if you can split your flow..." She rushed her own mana through him, making his own mana rush, and Lumi felt the difference immediately.

"Try now. Don’t think about the spell. Think about the flow."

Lumi raised his wand. He would love to be replicating what he felt. He couldn’t. But to ’try’ mattered. To focus mattered. To understand mattered. And so he cast Light Shower. The first attempt failed spectacularly as the mana streams collided and fizzled. The system was rather rigid. It could not adjust to his mana which had been temporarily altered by an outside force.

And so he tried again. And again. And again. Feeling the flow of mana, he did his best to control what he could not control.

And again.

And again.

Because this wasn’t about him. This was about the system.

He needed to present the right optics to the system. Certain requirements had to be met.

Professional, competent, and high level instruction by someone the system would recognize as capable, being taken seriously by the player, and understood.

And because the system had the requirements met, it slowly budged.

The second was better but still unstable. On the third, something clicked. His mana shifted at a speed beyond what the system provided.

"Light Shower!"

1.8 seconds. A half second improvement.

"Progress." Alice noted. "Very good progress, there you go."

She shifted to the others. "Knights! Paired exercises. I want synchronized casting. If your partner’s fireball reaches the target even a millisecond before or after yours, both do pushups. Begin!"

The next hour was grueling. Alice had them casting while running, while dodging, while reciting magical theory, while standing on one leg. Each exercise was built on the last, forcing them to push themselves to their limits to cast faster.

"The moment you think about casting is the moment you’ve already lost." Alice lectured while casually flinging lesser firebolts at anyone whose form slipped. "Magic must be instinct. When someone swings a sword at your head, you don’t contemplate the best way to dodge. You dodge! Same with casting. Thought is delay. Delay is death."

She had Lumi practicing with Jenkins, who despite the morning’s incident was actually an excellent teacher when not trying to incinerate someone.

"The trick," Jenkins tried explaining his insights. "is to start gathering for your next spell while you’re still releasing the current one. Look." He demonstrated with a slow motion cast. "See? The release is happening here." He pointed at his wand’s tip, then to himself. "But I’m already pulling mana here. By the time the first spell clears my wand, the second is already thirty percent formed."

"But doesn’t that risk spell collision?" Lumi asked. Entirely to put in the ’effort’ of learning, which the system would recognize.

"Only if you’re careless. That’s why we drill control so hard. Watch the Chief."

They turned to where Alice was demonstrating advanced techniques to senior knights. She wasn’t just casting rapidly. She was casting multiple different spells in sequence without pause. Fireball to firewall to flame spear to combustion burst, each flowing into the next like a deadly dance.

"She can maintain four separate mana streams." Jenkins said with obvious admiration. "I can barely manage two reliably. But even two doubles your casting speed once mastered."

Lumi couldn’t help but gently smile.

Jenkins... that’s different. That’s not the same as moving mana faster... though I suppose you think you are talking to a newbie.

The training continued. Alice introduced increasingly complex drills. Casting while solving mathematical equations. Casting while another knight randomly disrupted your mana flow. Accurately casting whilst holding your wand with your off hand. Casting with your eyes closed. Casting while she personally tried to break your concentration with creative insults.

"Lumi! Your stream separation is wobbling like a drunk fairy in a windstorm! Stabilize or I’ll demonstrate why they call me the Crimson Bitch!"

"I thought they called you the Forge Witch." A knight asked confusedly.

Alice’s response was a firebolt that singed his eyebrows. "Multiple nicknames for multiple reasons! Now cast!"

Lumi smiled. That core skill was taking shape...