Ch. 41 - Dual-Element Simultaneous Activation

Once again, Fore was the first to wait in the classroom for the next lesson.

The students and Eliza seemed to have gotten used to seeing Fore there and had no sense of discomfort. Everyone took their seats while discussing and chatting with those nearby.

Hmm, I didn’t see Principal Glenn. Was he absent today? I was under the impression he was aiming for perfect attendance… Ah, there he was, outside the front window. The students noticed but seemed to be pretending not to see him.

Well, in any case, everyone was here now.

After calling everyone’s name and confirming the attendees, I said, "Let's start the lesson. Continuing from last time, I'll teach you how to activate two elements simultaneously."

With that, the lesson began.

Previously, we had further developed the method of enlarging clouds, but there were two ways to proceed from here.

First, continue to use water magic alone to create thunderclouds over time.

Alternatively, accelerate the formation of thunderclouds by adding wind magic and use dual-element simultaneous activation.

I had given them the basics, so with daily practice, they should be able to master the first method. However, the second method would be difficult without the necessary knowledge.

I raised my chin and looked up at everyone. "First, let's learn about electricity. Electricity is actually present in many substances. However, pure water, which is free of impurities, does not conduct electricity. The water produced by water magic is considered to be close to pure water."

Was the explanation a bit too difficult? Everyone was silently looking at me.

"But pure water has high solubility and absorbs substances dissolved in it. Therefore, even with water magic alone, it will eventually generate a thundercloud. However, the process is highly inefficient. To address this, we aim to solve the problem by using two or more elements simultaneously."

I activated water and wind magic.

"While water and earth magic can speed up the formation of thunderclouds, using water and wind magic is much easier. Let's first learn the chant. If you understand the mechanism well and chant properly, you should be able to figure out how much mana to input into each verse."

I raised the temperature of the water ball created by water magic and increased its circulation speed with wind magic. I surrounded it with wind like a tornado and compressed it towards the center.

It formed a one-meter diameter sphere of water and wind.

In no time, the sphere accumulated static electricity, even to the point where it emitted discharges to the outside.

Although its force was terrifying, this was just the basics.

"This is the gateway to lighting magic, the [Electric Ball]. Now, let's give it a try."

I wondered if Fore would be upset. Contrary to my expectations, everyone seemed eager. A bit surprised, I proceeded to teach the chant.

"The chants consist of five verses: water generation, heating, wind generation, acceleration, and convergence. If we were to use the usual water and wind magic chants, the chant would exceed ten verses and likely cause a backlash. Therefore, this chant uses significantly different wording from typical chants. Make sure to understand each word's meaning and chant carefully."

Then I explained the meaning and effects of the chant.

At first, they were surprised, but soon, questions started pouring in. Even Fore eventually said, "I see," and began chanting earnestly.

Surprisingly, the first to successfully perform the spell was Dean, the youngest and most inconspicuous student.

"Ah, Aoi-sensei! Look at this!" Dean was panicking while holding up the sphere that had started discharging outside. If he were calm, he would have reduced the supply of mana and scaled it down, but he couldn't do it now.

"Try converging your mana. Doing so will further enhance the power of the lightning spell."

"Eh, is that it?!"

I approached the shocked Dean and examined the slightly unstable sphere. "While the expansion is successful, the mana balance is off. You put too much effort into heating. At this stage, if you direct 80% of the power towards acceleration and convergence, it will grow on its own. If it goes out of control, I'll handle it. Go ahead and give it a try."

"Out-out of control…?! Are you sure it’s safe?!"

"Don't worry."

With my answer, Dean, half-crying, focused his mind on manipulating his mana.

He quickly got the hang of it. Dean understood the mechanism of electricity quite well. That should make advancing to the next stage possible.

As the discharge amount increased, the internal energy became considerable. The sphere flickered intensely, and as the energy expended, maintaining its size became difficult.

Sweating profusely, Dean struggled to control it but was clearly reaching his limit.

"That's enough." I used an earth spell on the near-exploding sphere. "[Lightning Rod]."

A metal rod appeared, one end planted into the ground.

With a crackling sound, the uncontrolled electricity was drawn into the rod and dissipated. The thundercloud created purely by mana vanished with it.

After confirming its disappearance, Dean collapsed on the spot and muttered with a half-laugh, "W-whew… That was nerve-wracking…"

Then, realizing that he had attracted the attention of the entire class, he gasped.

Shenley approached with a smile. "Amazing, Dean-kun! How did you do it so quickly?!"

Dean blushed and shook his head vigorously. "Eh?! N-no, even if you say so… W-w-well, um… I just… Instead of rotating it in a straight line, I changed the rotation direction in several places… You know, like rubbing it together…"

Watching the flustered Dean try to explain, Eliza murmured with wide eyes, "Even though Dean-kun's strength is earth magic, he skipped grades just like Shenley-san…"

At her words, Speyside furrowed his brows. "Are you implying something about my teaching of water magic…?"

"You're wrong! But I'm sorry!" Eliza hastily apologized to Speyside.

Strass nodded slightly at their exchange. "That's true. When learning truly new magic like today, it feels like students learn faster than us teachers, regardless of their strengths or weaknesses."

His words resonated deeply.

I agreed and speculated. "Probably because they're not bound by preconceived notions of magic. To be honest, the basics of magic as taught feel rather cumbersome to me."

Fore looked at me. "What do you mean by that? No, I understand. Your lessons are entirely different from ours. It's not just because it's new magic. Your approach to chants, understanding mechanisms, and imagining things are also different. They’re clearly different from ours… and the fact that you don’t use chants much…"

In response, I put a hand to my chin and tilted my head. "Rather than memorizing the chants of magic, I focused on deciphering the magical language used in chants. That might be the difference. Also, my use of magic without chanting is a result of my research on magic circles."

"Magic circles?!"

"Have you deciphered magic circles?"

Eliza and Strass spoke, but Fore continued speaking without paying any attention.

"That's an extraordinary secret technique. I won't ask you to teach it, but please show us once, the legendary chantless magic."

I nodded lightly and wondered what to show.

Well, perhaps demonstrating all the elements would be good.

Thinking so, I began to speak.

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