Chapter 136: It Was Just an Experimental Accident
The first Monday of November.
Professor Silf finally returned from her trip. In class, she briefly mentioned the progress of that incident and then severely criticized the students for their enthusiasm for labyrinth adventures.
She announced that she would deploy Golems into the secret passages and increase the intensity of night patrols.
Any student caught wandering the passages at night would have a large number of credits deducted.
If caught after curfew, they would also be placed in confinement!
Furthermore, Professor Lily would no longer dispatch "Guiding Fairies" to lead people out.
Anyone who got lost in the secret passages would be fully responsible for themselves!
…
"So, as long as I don't go into the passages at night, or if I go at night but don't get caught by the Golems, and I make sure not to get lost, it's totally okay?"
Dark felt he was correctly understanding Professor Silf's meaning.
The academy didn't directly seal the entrances to the secret passages, which was, in itself, a statement.
They didn't oppose students adventuring in any location, they were just intentionally reducing the number of people entering the passages.
For most people, this didn't have a major impact.
After all, most hadn't found anything in the passages, so not going wasn't a big deal.
After so many days, the initial passion had more or less faded.
Only a small group of students with strong objectives would probably have to play hide-and-seek with the Golems in the passages now.
In any case, Virt and Robert looked distressed from beginning to end.
…
After Professor Silf assigned more than double the usual amount of homework, the Summoning Arts class was dismissed.
The first-year students finally welcomed the long-awaited Magical Engineering class!
They temporarily set aside their complaints about the extra homework, brought their large bags of materials, and waited early in the Magical Theory classroom.
Professor Kazel entered the classroom just as the bell rang and joked with the students below, "It seems everyone has plenty of credits to spare, bringing more materials than the next person?"
If nothing else, they had certainly brought a lot.
After all, a single set of materials for the [Magic Bullet Spell] cost about 100 credits, so bringing one or two extra sets to account for failure was normal.
Most students weren't overly ambitious—their credits wouldn't allow for it anyway.
In short, starting with the [Magic Bullet Spell] and then, after mastering the method of imprinting the spell, attempting more difficult and expensive spells like the [Push Spell] or [Barrier Spell], was a relatively rational choice.
And to ensure they could complete the crafting of at least one card during class, bringing two to three sets of materials was a safer bet.
Diana and Rose, for example, had brought five sets of materials for the [Magic Bullet Spell] and three for the [Push Spell] between them, costing a total of 1100 credits.
For them, this was a significant expense.
Others, like the credit-rich Emma, had prepared three sets for the [Magic Bullet Spell], two for the [Push Spell], and one for the [Barrier Spell] all by herself.
Of course, there were also credit-nouveau-riche students like Virt, who had bought two full sets of materials for the [Blink Spell].
However, Robert next to him was rather poor, having only bought two sets of [Magic Bullet Spell] materials and one for the [Push Spell].
Regardless, it seemed Virt was dead set on creating the [Blink Spell].
…
Professor Kazel only needed a single glance to understand what each student was thinking.
He was very experienced in teaching and could almost immediately foresee the outcome for some of them.
But sometimes, paying a price to learn a lesson is a privilege of the young.
Unlike older people, who gradually lose even that privilege.
A flicker of melancholy crossed Professor Kazel's face before he smiled again and announced loudly, "Alright, just as you've all been thinking, in this class, we will learn the orthodox method of creating Magic Cards—specifically, Spell Cards!"
…
"Professor, hurry up!"
"My materials are itching for action!"
"Shoot it down, Magic Bullet!"
Alright, someone was already fantasizing about the moment they would use their [Magic Bullet Card].
…
As a teacher, what one hopes for most is to see students show their most enthusiastic side in class.
Professor Kazel didn't waste time on pleasantries and went straight to the card-printing part.
He explained in detail how to imprint a spell onto a blank magic card while writing the instructions on the blackboard.
A "swish-swash" sound filled the room from below the podium.
It was only at times like this that the students needed no supervision.
About half an hour later, the entire blackboard was covered in dense writing.
But even this wasn't enough.
There were far too many details to pay attention to when imprinting a spell.
It was impossible to cover everything in just one or two classes.
The students needed to practice themselves, then ask questions based on their problems, which the professor would answer one by one during class time.
For this kind of experiment, without a professor to guide them, one could get completely lost just by reading books.
…
But finally, it was time to get hands-on.
Almost all students started with the [Magic Bullet Spell].
Because it was the foundation, the simplest magic tool card, and an essential card for beginners to master the basics.
In this regard, even Dark was no exception.
He knew very well the importance of mastering the fundamentals.
Even the tallest building needs a foundation.
In the entire classroom, only Virt was tackling the [Blink Spell]. Perhaps this is what it means to be a hero!
…
The creation of a Spell Card was quite similar to the process of making a Potion Card.
One of the core components for both was the concoction of an "ink."
For Potion Cards, the "ink" was the corresponding potion; for Spell Cards, a different ink had to be configured for each different spell.
Dark's experience in this area was far superior to that of the other students. He took five minutes to prepare the corresponding ink, a liquid with properties similar to "cola."
In Magical Engineering class, it was called "Expansion Water."
"Expansion Water" was made primarily from expansion grass.
By injecting magic into it, the "Expansion Water" would rapidly expand and then shoot out of its container, much like an erupting bottle of cola.
Young mages, in the process of making it, would sometimes inject too much magic, triggering this mechanism and causing the "Expansion Water" to spray out of the cup and all over their faces.
"BOOM!"
Diana's Expansion Water erupted.
She was drenched from head to toe.
Dark pursed his lips slightly, holding back a laugh.
Rose quickly took out a prepared towel to help her wipe it off.
A student in the front row turned to laugh, but then their own Expansion Water sprayed up!
As one cup after another of Expansion Water shot into the air, the classroom gradually filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
One person failing would be laughed at.
Two people failing would be laughed at by more people.
When ten, twenty people failed, nobody laughed anymore.
Dark opened the notes he had copied for the "Magic Bullet Spell" and began to imprint the incantation.
Professor Kazel had unknowingly come to stand behind him.
Besides mixing the ink, the most crucial part of imprinting a spell was ensuring that when writing the magical language with a magic pen, the amount and fluctuation frequency of the magic for each stroke were sufficiently precise and stable.
This was incredibly difficult for young mages whose magic had only recently awakened.
The higher the level of the spell card, the higher the requirement in this regard.
When young mages first learned to make spell cards, over eighty percent of their failures were due to this.
It was Dark's first time copying a spell according to the standard method. To become proficient as quickly as possible, he had specially prepared a large number of 10-credit magic cards. He made about five or six attempts on them before starting to write on the properly treated magic card.
There were many formats for writing spells.
The [Magic Bullet Spell] used a standard nine-square grid, requiring only nine characters to form the incantation.
But writing these nine characters was anything but simple.
Dark concentrated fully, spending a whole ten minutes to completely copy the spell of just nine characters!
Only after he successfully finished did Professor Kazel nod slightly and turn to look at the other students.
…
The young mages had greatly underestimated the creation of the [Magic Bullet Spell], thinking that "just copying" was something anyone could do.
They didn't expect to fail one after another so quickly.
At the rate some were failing, even thirty sets of materials, let alone three, wouldn't be enough to waste!
Fortunately, after the first failure, most of them learned their lesson and started practicing the transcription of the [Magic Bullet Spell] on blank paper first.
Although practicing on paper wasn't as effective as on a blank magic card, it at least helped to increase their proficiency slightly.
…
The final step of refining a spell card required a No. 5 transmutation circle called the "Demitri Transmutation Circle."
Demitri was one of the original developers of the magical language, having compiled the 63 magical characters that form its foundation.
…
After Dark successfully drew the No. 5 transmutation circle and placed the core material of the [Magic Bullet Spell] inside, the entire refining process was complete.
After waiting about two more minutes, the spell card was finally successfully created.
Dark then used the same steps to create a second [Magic Bullet Spell]. This time, the crafting speed was noticeably faster, and his proficiency increased further.
Then.
Without paying any mind to the progress of the other students, Dark directly began crafting the [Push Spell].
The [Push Spell] was indeed a level harder than the [Magic Bullet Spell]. Despite being careful, he still failed once.
He was not discouraged, of course, and immediately proceeded to craft the second one.
In the middle of the process, the bell for the end of class rang.
But Dark was not affected and continued his work.
Most of the students in the classroom did the same.
This was quite incredible for young mages who usually wanted to dash out as soon as the bell rang.
But the experimental process of crafting magic cards had a charm that captivated people's hearts.
Time continued to pass.
Professor Kazel also did not leave the classroom.
Under his careful guidance, students began to complete their [Magic Bullet Spell] one after another.
This group of students, while gaining a huge sense of accomplishment, all wore smiles on their faces.
Some left the classroom, while others stayed to observe.
In the Knight and Noble Houses, the three most watched individuals—Dark , Emma , and Virt —were still fully concentrated, sitting at three different points in the classroom.
Emma's progress was not much slower than Dark's.
She had three sets of materials for the [Magic Bullet Spell], failed one, and succeeded with two.
Now she had also begun to study the crafting of the [Push Spell].
As for Virt Gold, he was still working on his first attempt at the [Blink Spell].
He seemed to be under great pressure, his brows tightly furrowed. He would ponder for a long time before each step, and when he couldn't figure something out, he would take a guess, making his progress abnormally slow.
The set of [Blink Spell] materials in front of him was worth a whopping 1000 credits!
Even though he had won second place in the Masquerade Ball event, he could only afford three sets of [Blink Spell] materials.
This resulted in immense pressure during the creation process.
The tension even spread to Robert beside him.
Robert stared intently, his toes curled tightly.
As for Robert himself, he had already successfully wasted two sets of [Magic Bullet Spell] materials and one set of [Push Spell] materials.
…
Twenty-eight minutes after the end-of-class bell rang.
Dark finally completed the creation of his second [Push Spell].
This time, he learned from the failure of the first attempt, did not repeat his mistake, and sure enough, he succeeded.
"So that's two [Magic Bullet Spells] and one [Push Spell]. I'll continue the next experiments this afternoon."
"Hmm, Virt seems to be crafting the [Blink Spell]? Maybe I can watch for a bit and gain some experience?"
As Dark packed up his materials, he turned his head to look at Virt on the other side of the classroom.
But his luck didn't seem to be very good.
Just as he thought of observing, Virt's crafting process went wrong.
It was unclear whether it was due to an excessive input of magic or something else, but the magic card, still in the process of being crafted, suddenly exploded!
"BOOM!"
Virt leaped backward with incredible reflexes.
Although he tripped over a chair behind him and fell, he managed to avoid the explosion.
But Robert next to him was not so lucky.
The black smoke from the magic card's explosion hit him almost directly in the face.
He sat there stunned, completely turned into a charcoal-black figure.
Professor Kazel took a quick stride, and a water elemental he summoned in an instant enveloped Robert in a bubble of water.
"It's not a very serious injury, just his hair is a bit singed."
Professor Kazel let out a sigh of relief and had the water elemental carry Robert out of the classroom.
"I'll take him to the infirmary. Don't forget to clean up the classroom when you leave."
…
The lab accident happened quickly and was resolved even faster.
By the time the students came to their senses, Professor Kazel had already taken Robert away.
And Virt, who had fallen to the ground, wore a dazed expression.
…
"It was just an experimental accident."
Emma glanced over once before continuing her own experiment.
…
"It was just an experimental accident," Dark thought to himself.
"He should be able to learn enough from this failure, right?"
…
"It was just an experimental accident," Diana muttered with a pout.
"I can't even manage to cause an experimental accident."
"Dark, Dark, save me!"
…
Dark had no choice but to enter teaching mode.
While Diana and Rose benefited greatly, he also came to understand the creation of the [Magic Bullet Spell] from another perspective: So, it's possible to make mistakes at these points too?
Thus, he accumulated an even deeper foundation of knowledge.