Chapter 204
"Before starting our lesson, I'll ask you a question . Please be honest about it, it will save us a lot of time . How many of you were too tired to practice the spell on page 22 that I assigned two days ago?"
Nalear's inquiry was followed by prolonged silence .
"There's nothing to be ashamed of, it happens every year . The first day is all about theory, so students get confident . The second day is all about practice and drains their energies . Take five minutes to study it, despite it being a tier four spell is very simple . "
Aside from Lith, Quylla and a few others, most of the students took out their books and read like madmen .
Lith used that time to practice it on the crystal mass . The spell was called Scope and turned out to be extremely similar to a diagnostic spell, but instead of showing the status of a patient, it allowed one to distinguish the single crystals that composed the mass .
Just like a mana blade, it hadn't a set duration . Once cast, Scope would last as long as the mage kept spending mana, requiring the constant use of earth and light magic .
- "Invigoration doesn't work on inanimate matter, yet it does on magic items and artifacts . I wonder how I should classify mana crystals . " - Lith thought while activating Invigoration .
His breathing technique revealed not only the crystals' outline, but also allowed him to see on their surface a series of lines and cracks, of which Lith was unable to understand the significance .
"All you have to do for today is to separate the cluster that I provided you into single mana crystals and then cut them into a usable form . Do not underestimate your task . Using the mana blade and Scope at the same time takes a lot of energy, while adjusting the blade's density according to the situation requires focus . "
Nalear closed in to the first row of desks .
"Use too little mana and you'll get sparks but no cuts . Too much and…" Her blade cut straight into a crystal, that emitted a bright light before crumbling .
"If this was a real mana crystal, instead of scraps of the lowest tier minerals, it would have caused the whole cluster to explode . The force of the resulting detonation would be proportional to the amount of mana stored .
"That's why Crystalsmiths require huge fees . The more powerful the crystal, the higher the risks . Since they are risking their lives on your behalf, don't be stingy with them . Never believe to those that offer their services for a reasonable sum .
They are either trying to rob you of your crystals or are so incompetent that they will lose more than half during the refining process . If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys . "
The first part of the exercise was easy . The crystals composing the cluster were big and didn't overlap much . Thanks to Scope the students could discern where a crystal ended and the other began .
The mana blade was capable of separating the conjoined sides without destabilizing the structure . Everyone managed to finish their task quickly .
"Excellent . Now comes the hard part, cutting a crystal into a usable form . In their natural state, most mana crystals are bigger than my fist . If you remember my first lesson, all those I showed you were the size of a walnut .
That's because bigger crystals not only are more brittle, but also the mana they contain is scattered along its whole structure . The cutting process allows compressing the mana crystal, making its power focused and more easily accessible to a good craftsman . Let me give you a demonstration . "
Nalear used Scope on a single gemstone and then activated her mana blade again . Her mana was ethereal, passing through the surface of the crystal without leaving a scratch . Yet each time the blade touched the gemstone, it would shrink more and more .
The final product, despite she had worked on scraps, was a bright red gem the size of a pearl .
"Don't get fooled by appearances . A mana crystal it's not a rock imbued with mana, it's pure mana that somehow took physical form . Removing even a small chip means making it weaker . The cutting process requires to use the mana blade to stimulate its structure, making it slowly collapse on itself .
To do it, you need to use Scope to see the keystone points and to make the mana composing the blade as thin as possible . "
Lith did as instructed, discovering that the spell showed the same lines highlighted by Invigoration, but they were fainter and there was no trace of the cracks . The hardest part of the exercise was to keep the mana flow as weak as possible .
Aside from healers, fake mages weren't used to such fine control, so many students ended up breaking one crystal or more . Lith's work was progressing smoothly, like for the rest of his group, so he exploited a moment when Nalear was helping a boy on the other side of the class to make an experiment .
He used Invigoration on the crystal and instead of applying the blade on the lines, he struck with it one of the cracks . The crystal didn't change its size, but he could sense his mana getting slowly sapped, being absorbed by the gemstone .
- "I can charge these things!" He thought . "I can turn scraps into perfectly fine crystals . Solus, we have struck a gold mine!"
"Yeah, right . Not to burst your bubble, but even scraps are rare . We never found one before . Not to mention that we would need a plausible excuse for the crystal's origin, otherwise it would blow your cover . This isn't a gold mine, more a way to spare some bucks on your staff . "–
Solus's cold pragmatism made Lith mind whimper .
The lesson ended in complete success . All the student had managed to cut at least three crystals, even though many of them had required several breaks to catch their breath .
- "This is odd . " Lith thought . "Despite their cores aren't at the level of Yurial's and the rest of the group, how can they be so exhausted for something like this?"–
He looked around, noticing that most of his colleagues from the Healer's specialization had no such problem .
- "Maybe it's just that their control is really poor . " Solus replied . "I don't know if you have noticed, but those who destroyed a few crystals are also the same that have yet to succeed to open a Warp Gate . They must have very low mana sensitivity . "–
There was only so much that even logic could do against Lith's paranoia, but in the end he didn't care for them . His priority was eating lunch and getting ready for the first practical Necromancy lesson .
***
White Griffon, Headmaster's office
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