Where we part ways

About five hours have passed since Miss Vanessa started learning about the real application of magic. She was beyond exceptional. In less than a day, she was able to understand the opposite fundamentals and successfully recreate them. As a professor, this makes me so proud. However, when it comes to consistency, she's a bit behind what is expected.

"Ngh...! T-This is so difficult to maintain...!" She exclaimed. I have been monitoring Miss Vanessa to conjure a medium-sized fireball spell without it disappearing.

To fully materialize the spell, one must have consistency in the Conversion phase. Meaning to say that the Magical Energy that we harness needs to be consistent, as I said, and it requires immense concentration, which is a heavy burden on the body.

There are two kinds of Magical State in Codex Arkanum:

1. Active Conjuring State
2. Depletion State

Active Conjuring State is a condition wherein the mage itself is consistently converting magical energy from the surroundings to keep his/her spells intact, effective, and flowing. If the flow of magical energy or conversion is disrupted, you can one hundred percent say that the spell will dissipate or get cancelled. There are also certain cases where it might overload.

For example, if a mage soldier wants to fire one hundred fireball spells consecutively, then he needs to be in his Active Conjuring State to achieve that. And being in that state for a long period causes a strain on the body because your senses are technically heightened to the apex.

But of course, if there's an active condition, there's also an inactive condition.

Depletion State is a condition where a mage suddenly loses energy and vitality due to excessive discharge of magic.

There is a limit to how much you can keep your Active Conjuring State during a period. Go beyond that, and you'll exhaust yourself, and THAT is pretty dangerous. If anyone happens to enter that state, they'll be feeling ten times the normal fever. That's why I do not encourage any of my students to use Magic proactively during my time as Arkan Valis.

"Ugh... I can't do it anymore...! I give up, Lugh..." Miss Vanessa slumped on the ground.

"Great work for today, Miss Vanessa. Let's stop here for a while and continue it the day after tomorrow..." I helped her stand up and gave her a water bottle. She then grabbed it and took a large swig.

"Fuwah~!!! Drinking cold water after that is refreshing. Is this part of learning magic as well? I mean, why do I have to keep the fireball spell from disappearing?" She asked.

"Good question. Well, as I've explained earlier about the two states of Magic, we need to train your body to lessen the burden of Conversion. The Codex Arkanum way of casting spells takes a toll on one's body." I explained.

"Wait a second... Correct me if I'm wrong but by doing this, you're making me develop stamina?"

"Wow! Precisely. Think of it as building muscles or something. By consistently working out, you're strengthening your muscles and core body. The same thing works for magic as well. We start by converting and discharging small amounts of Magical Energy, and keep the form consistent. Then, as we reach progressive overload, we slowly increase the challenge."

This is the only practical and safest way to build stamina to counter the effects of Active Conjuring State and avoid Depletion State. Physical workout and calisthenics are also effective and can be simultaneously trained, provided the person is confident of his body health.

"What about you then? Since you know all of this, then you can already cast stronger magic spells, right?" Her eyes twinkled.

"Haha! Unfortunately, no. Since my body is that of a child, I still can't bear the heavy burden of other spells. I need to train my body as I age..."

I was quite muscular 1000 years ago, but now that I have the body of a child, I can't cast advanced magic or I'll explode due to overload.

"That's a shame, but I bet you'll be stronger once you become a teenager!"

"Yep, you're probably right. Oh, by the way. I wanted to ask about the Caer Thalor Institute. Why did you pick that school?"

"Well, as you might've noticed, I'm not the type of sorcerer who would want to fight or be on the frontlines. I want to be a runic decipherer, you know? It is a job that translates runes or ancient languages into our common tongue. You can say that I want to work on historical projects, and Caer is the perfect academy to start that journey."

"Hmm... Well, since you mentioned history, do you know anything about Arkan Valis?" I tested to see if the name is still relevant.

"Hmm. To be honest, I don't have enough knowledge about who this Arkan Valis is. I only know that he probably existed a long time ago and formed the Valis Magic Institute. That's all the history books say." She shrugged.

Tsk! What the heck happened?! I clearly don't remember establishing that kind of organization in my past. And also, why am I only known for that?! I'm the one who discovered magic!!! AAAAAAHHHH!!!

"L-Lugh? You seem heated up..."

"Ehem! Don't mind me. So I presume that this magic academy is focusing more on history?" I confirmed.

"Yes. Out of the four magic academies established, it is the only institution that plays a role in investigating ancient magic and such. Why? Are you interested in enrolling in it as well?"

Hmm... History Magic, huh. If I want to know more about what happened in the past, then that place is probably the best starting point. Maybe I could ask the scholars there about Codex Arkanum and me. Yeah, that should be my priority. After all, from what I heard so far, no one knows about Codex Arkanum, so there's a possibility that it was destroyed hundreds of years ago.

"Yes, I'm interested. I kinda want to learn more about history anyway." I scratched my head.

"Hee hee, you and I are the same. And don't forget about our promise, okay? That you'll explain the truth to me." She reminded.

"Of course. I won't forget about it. Anyway, let's end our session for today and let's meet back here again the day after tomorrow." I started to pack up.

"Got it. I look forward to learning more about magic, Professor Lugh~!"

"Hah, it's been a while since I heard the professor title..."

"Hmm?"

"Nothing, let's go."

***

Year 2113 Era Nebula
Five Years Later

Five years have passed since I taught Miss Vanessa Codex Arkanum. She's now 17 years old, while I'm 12.

She's grown a lot. Not just in magic but also different... umm... areas.

"Lugh! Right here...!" She called out from the edge of the river.

For the last five years, I've exposed her to a variety of magical exercises which shaped not just her senses and magical energy but also her body and constitution.

Standing in front of me right now was a grown woman with long brown hair styled with two pigtails and side-swept bangs clipped together on one side. She was wearing a dark purple high-low dip hem dress, with an armor-like outer corset, highlighting her fine shape, feminine curves, and perfect posture.

I must say, nobility always makes me curious about how they style their fashion. The combination of Miss Vanessa's clothes makes her elegant and dazzling, and I take great pride that I have a beautiful, smart, and strong student! I think even Miss Elvainne would like her as well!

"So, why did you call me here?" I asked, hands both in my pockets.

"What? Can't I just hang out with my Master and friend just once?" She winked. Her tone is playful, but I knew she was plotting something.

"Hang out, huh? When did you even have the time to plan such things when we're always training?" I replied while walking down the stone stairs.

"W-Well, umm...! A-Anyway, just come down here...!" She exclaimed.

Upon reaching the end of the staircase, I felt something molded beneath me, and I stepped aside on instinct. A low-level earth magic formed a spike and then shot me on the side.

"What—!" Before I could dash, the spike had slit my left cheek causing my blood to splatter.

She then manipulated the rubble just beside the staircase and rained more spikes at me. It was a classic tactic to bring your opponent down without giving them time to rest or think. However, before it could hit me, I conjured several Silpheon (lit. Wind Barrier) and fused them altogether to form a wind shield, causing the molded spikes to bounce off.

"Not bad for an ambush!" I shouted as I defended myself.

"I'm not done yet!" Miss Vanessa then snapped her fingers, forming multiple balls of fire in the air, and fired them at me in quick succession.

"What the—!" Thanks to my quick reflexes, I was able to hop onto the river and dodge the remaining volley. However, as I was pushed back on the opposite edge, another incoming volley was already behind me.

"Silpheon...!" I harnessed a large pool of magical energy and distributed it around me, shielding myself with a large net of wind barrier. As the fire reacted with the wind, it turned into a wall of flame in which I whirled to shape it into a tornado and then spread it around.

"Tsk!" Sensing the diversion, Miss Vanessa moved to the other side and fired another round.

This back-and-forth battle of spells caused the surrounding area to erupt in flames and damage the ecosystem. I have to stop her before she can cause more casualties.

"Ignivar! Volkaris!" (lit. Fireball and Lightning bolt).

This may come out as a surprise and potentially harm her since I haven't taught her this but she needs to adapt and come up with ways to stop it. After all, experience is the greatest way to learn.

Using the two generated fireballs and concentrated lightning bolts, I first started blasting the fireball at her proximity.

"Heh! Where are you aiming at?!" She provoked while dodging.

"Heh, you naive girl..."

With a flick of my wrist, I fired the lightning bolt on where the flames subsided, triggering a medium-sized overload effect or explosion.

"Aaaaahhh!" Miss Vanessa couldn't help but dive into the river. After a few seconds, she raised herself and coughed a few times. "Ugh! What kind of spell is that?! That's not fair!" She complained.

"Hahaha, it's not a spell..." I helped her get up. She then cast Ignivar to dry herself. "It's another variation of magic called Compound Magic."

"Compound Magic?"

"Basically, it's a mixture of two spells together, triggering a chemical reaction known as combustion. What you experienced right now is the elemental reaction between fire and lightning. You can also call it Firebolt."

Compound Magic is a concept that I normally don't use since it requires a deep and advanced study of its formula. But the basic premise of it is that you can technically mix two or more spells to create adverse reactions or side effects. It is most effective when you're working with pure elements like fire, wind, water, ice, and electricity.

I never explored that much because it is a branching concept of magic archetypes but I might expand on it later in the future if I have the time.

Her eyes widened for a moment. "Jeez, you never taught me that at all. Why did you keep it a secret until now?!"

"Learning magic is a long process. What's important is that you build a foundation first on understanding its components logically before branching into different concepts. Well, you don't need to actually learn Compound Magic for now. But you did achieve something grand, so rejoice. Haha..." I chuckled.

"Five years of training, and this is all I can do? Hah, I can't say it is worth it..." She sighed.

"What do you mean? You're literally the most powerful mage in this generation now that you can do polycasting (multi-cast) and no-chant."

"Yeah, but you still won in our duel just now... It's annoying. And I almost had you too...!" She stomped on the ground in frustration.

"I understand that you're upset, but in my eyes, you're now a fully fledged mage, Miss Vanessa..." I rise on my toes and pat her head. "You did a great job enduring the training for the last five years. For this, I congratulate you for completing our lesson..."

"Lugh..." She smiled and looked me straight in the eyes.

Ah, this takes me back. During my era, I wasn't able to have a student who managed to complete my lesson about Codex Arkanum. But now, my wish was finally fulfilled. And for the first time ever, after 1000 years, someone finally graduated.

"You're about to head to Thaloria, right?"

"Yes... I'm finally enrolled in Caer Thalor Institute. It's been a long process, but I'm glad I was able to learn a lot from you." She answered softly, and faint tears could be seen at the edge of her beautiful eyes.

"Mhmm..."

"I'll see you again, right?" She asked.

"Soon, yes. I'm also going to Caer once I'm ready. We'll reunite once again..."

Miss Vanessa stood up and patted my head as well. She then stared at the horizon, a grand smile can be seen on her face, almost as if she's satisfied and fulfilled.

"See you later, Lugh...!"

"Yes, I'll see you later, Miss Vanessa..."

Later that night, I saw the family of Hamilton's car on their way to exit the town.

I stepped forward and sat down at the edge of the cliff, feeling the cold breeze hit me.

There is no doubt that Miss Vanessa would be the key to sowing discord among them. But I must make sure that I can protect her before they can take her away. And to do that, I need help from a long-time companion.

"I wonder if you will still heed my call, Naden..."