"Wait. If runes are only good for one or two uses, how come our wands are still functional, master?"
"Good question. The key difference between a wand and a rune is that while a rune might have an entire spell carved into it, on the other hand, the wand will only have part of the spell carved into it. For example, let's look back at the levitation spell. The verses of the levitation spell are Praccipio tibi ut oriri, four verses in total. While casting the levitation spell, if your wand were to have the tibi model carved into it, you would only need to chant three of the four verses. Do you understand?" (Professor Costanzo)
"I understand now. What verse is carved into my wand then?"
"A very simple verse. It is better just to chant the verse rather than using the model carved into your wand." (Professor Costanzo)
Frustrated, I said, "What's the point of me having this shitty wand then?"
"You will use it to hide your true abilities." (Professor Costanzo)
"I don't quite catch on master."
"As my disciple, I want you to learn chantless casting and body casting." (Professor Costanzo)
"What?"
Seemingly ignoring my confusion, Professor Costanzo continued, "Magicians who are capable of chantless casting are infinitely superior to their casting counterparts. It's good for you to start training in it now as it only becomes more difficult to learn with age. The same is true for body casting, where you use your body as the medium to cast magic. If you were to master body casting, your combat potential would skyrocket immediately, and you would have an easier time learning body enchantment." (Professor Costanzo)
"Boby enchantment?"
"Do you know what enchanting is?" (Professor Costanzo)
"Yes, where a magician will apply magical properties to a physical object, thus creating a magical artifact."
"Body enchantment is top-tier magic. It is the same with enchanting, except you're enchanting your own body rather than an inanimate object. You can enchant your body to become stronger, faster, tougher, and many more." (Professor Costanzo)
"If self-magic is so powerful, why haven't I heard of it, master?"
"That is because body enchantment is a forbidden genre of magic." (Professor Costanzo)
"Wouldn't it be illegal to learn it then?"
"Do you know why it's forbidden?" (Professor Costanzo)
"No."
"Body enchantment is forbidden because the noble scum and the magic consul fear it. It is common knowledge that the biggest weakness of magicians is close-quarters combat. However, for magicians proficient in body enchantment, close-quarter combat is their forté. In the previous great wars, magicians skilled in body enchantment, or body magicians as they are also referred to, would divebomb into units of magicians and slaughter them all like chickens. The only way to defeat a body magician was to use another body magician or set up an elaborate plan to ambush them. They are the objects of fear and terror during the wars.
However, even then, there were very few body magicians. The small number of body magicians is because becoming a body magician is exceptionally challenging and potentially fatal. Just think of enchanting objects. While enchanting, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. When the enchantment fails, the object that the magician was trying to enchant tends to break apart as well. The same is valid for body magicians, except the cost of failure is much greater. Plenty had seen their bodies break apart when they failed a body enchantment. It is a gruesome and painful death." (Professor Costanzo)
"If it's so dangerous, why do you want me to do it?"
"Because I believe in you." (Professor Costanzo)
“Azrail, come closer.” (Professor Costanzo)
"Yes master?"
"How deep are your convictions? How much are you willing to sacrifice if it means coming closer to accomplishing your goal. Are you willing to embark on the path of the strong, the path filled with hardship and pain? (Professor Costanzo)
I thought about Master Costanzo's words for a moment. Since coming here, I've grown lenient because, for the first time, I have friends. These past few days have been my best days. However, deep down, I knew that this would not last forever. It is but a fleeting moment. The school may be protecting me now, but that won't last forever. I thought back to the hardships I have faced till now, what I had experienced, what I had learned. I now understand the true essence of Master Costanzo's words. Do you have what it takes to become an apex predator?
"Yes. I have what it takes."
"Good," Professor Costanzo said with a proud look on his face.
Professor Costanzo got up and started walking towards a drawer in his office. As he was walking, he said, "You may have already had a clue about it, but you will not go far if you take the common route of being a magician. The purity of your blood is not high, and even if we were to perform a purifying ceremony on you, it would at best become slightly above average. If you want to become strong, to be feared by your enemies, body magic is the path you should take. Although becoming a body magician is dangerous, there are things we can do now to minimize that danger."
"Here, take this," Professor Costanzo said to me as he handed me a bag filled with differently colored pellets he had just retrieved from his drawer.
"What is this master?"
“Poison.” (Professor Costanzo)
"What do I do with this?"
"You eat them." (Professor Costanzo)
"..."
"One can minimize the danger of becoming a body magician by having a tougher, stronger body. From now on, you will focus on strengthening your body to the best of your ability, and you need to eat one of these poison pills before going to sleep. Although it is poison, the concentration of the poison isn't high enough to cause permanent damage. Through subjecting your body repeatedly to these poisons, it will naturally become tougher. Do you understand what you must do now?" (Professor Costanzo)
"Yes master!"
