Chapter 0101

“Silly student, do you expect me to spoon feed you all the answer?” Cardis tease his little Successor. He couldn’t help it. When the shorty looks at him with big bright eyes filled with expectation, it makes him want to tease her.

“Of course. Basic knowledge should be taught.” Tempest said righteously.

“Answers should be sought, not given. Only then can you know if the answer is right for you.”

“A teacher’s duty is to impart knowledge. A student’s duty is to learn.”

“A teacher’s duty is to guide. A student’s duty is to explore.”

“One must have a starting as a reference.”

“Even if the reference is wrong?”

“Right or wrong is for one to decide.”

“Then you should ‘decide’ why there isn’t an exponential increase in the Fireball spell. The reference given is the two spells cast.” Cardis laughed as he cornered Tempest in the debate.

“A least a little hint?” Tempest wheedle. She knew she should test every theory presented to her about the working of this world. Scientists explore the world through trial and error. A hypothesis becomes a theory only after it withstands the batteries of test researchers put it through to debunk it.

“Showing you the difference between a one circle spell and a two circle spell with the fire element is a disadvantage for you since fire and water clashes,” Cardis said thoughtfully but the twinkle in his eyes belie his words. “Alright, I’ll perform the spell with the wind element.”

Cardis did as he said. He cast a one-circle Wind Blade and a two-circle Wind Blade in rapid succession.

“Did you see the difference between the two spells well enough?” Cardis asked with a smirk. He was looking forward to seeing her frustrated face as she failed to comprehend the reason why an added circle doesn’t increase the power of the spell. She’d come to him for answers like a starving little puppy and he was a big juicy steak. He’d tease her with a hint. She tries to decipher the hint. When she couldn’t, she’d come back to him for more and he’d tease her with more hints and the vicious cycle continues until the shorty gives up and he’d slap her with the true punishment. She’d have to use her tiny brain to figure out the answer or accept the punishment.

He won’t make it too hard on her since it is the first lesson. He’d send her to hunt a level three beast. The Sundered Lion has been making some noise at the edge of the Emblemic Mountain Ranged recently. The little kitten is usually well behaved. It knows its place in the overall hierarchy of the Emblemic Mountain Range and Cardis is at the top of the hierarchy. At the bottom of the totem pole or not, a beast can only withstand so much provocation and danger blind mages issue out provocation like a brilliant firework on a silent night. He can send her out to hunt it. While she’s at it, he’d sprinkle her with a bit a Beast Attracting Powder so all the beast within 200 km will attack her. Cardis can already imagine his Successor’s sorry state when she is forced to beg him for help. She’d be a crying sopping mess.

No wonder the other mages like to take on students.

They are so easy to bully… ah, no tease… ahem, that didn’t sound better either. Hmmm, yes, teaching students about the dangers of the is true the best vocation.

Except, Tempest wasn’t reacting like he expected her to.

Tempest scrunched her forehead, lost in thought.

“Silly Successor, have you figured out the problem with the spell?”

“Yes, I have.”

“You have?” Cardis asked in surprised. The problem he gave to her solves isn’t an easy one. Only an experienced mage who has high affinities with their spirits and has been communing with them for over two hundred years can solve the problem with conflicting properties associated with additional circles in a spell.

Cardis never considered himself a genius. He only figured out the problems after five hundred years of cultivating affinities. Given his status as the Son of Inferno, he could have figured out the issue much earlier if he was willing to lower his pride and asked his spirits for answers. He refuses to do so at the time and wasted two hundred years floundering around before an old mage took pity on him and gave him some pointers.

“The issue isn’t hard to understand. You cast Wind Blade as your first circle. I can’t tell what spell what you cast for your second circle but Ventus, my spirit of the wind, tells me it as the effect of lightening the weight. Judging from your elements, it comes from your earth affinities, so I’d assume it is an anti-gravity spell.

The wind element is a gas. Reducing the gravitational force on an attack that is hardly affected effected by gravity, to begin with only has a minuscule effect on the attack. Instead of increasing the effect of the original spell, it can change the course of the spell, thereby missing the target altogether.

“A better alternative to cast for the second circle should be from the wind element itself, such as increasing the speed of the spell itself or my favorite, adding vibration to the wind spell.”

Tempest cast her Wind Blade then her modified Wind Blade or as Ventus refers to it Vibrating Wind Blade.

Tempest still can get over the name. In the past few days, she was arguing with Ventus over the name change. Ventus argued the name fits with the effects of the spell and it would be hard to convince the other spirits to accept the name change. Furthermore, the name is cast in the language of the spirits and has no association with the sexual aid Tempest was thinking about. Since Tempest’s mind always links the spell to the toy, then Ventus has suggested Tempest actually get said toy to play with. She had assured Tempest that after feeling the bliss of the toy without the harmful side effect such as STDs, Tempest wouldn’t mind the name anymore.

Tempest shut up after that.

“The vibration adds a secondary effect to Wind Blade. Since vibration is already from the same element as the first circle, then the synergy between the first circle and the second circle is greater than your ineffective two circle spell.”

Tempest smiled smugly when she turned to Cardis for confirmation. She saw it before when he demonstrated the concept with his Fireball. It seems she can read spell circles if they came from the wind, water and lightning elements.

You can learn to read the spells from all different elements if you want to. We can teach you. Ventus offered.

Tempest refused. “One thing at a time. There is no need to attempt spells in other elements when I haven’t mastered the spells I have some proficiency in.”

Ventus remain silent as a certain teacher stared at Tempest with an aching heart. “She’s not cute at all!”