Chapter 38: Spell Linking
Under the gaze of the twenty or so people in the classroom, Ezio calmly gave a simple self-introduction. He saw a few familiar faces here. Besides Cedric, everyone he had met in the Transfiguration Club was present. The selection of new third-year members had not yet begun, so it was normal for Cedric not to be there.
"Daniel, you are in charge of organizing the opening-of-term test for the students of the fifth year and above," Professor Flitwick called on the male Ravenclaw prefect. "The scoring rules are the same as before. If anyone slacked off during the holidays, you will note it down for me."
"No problem, Professor," Daniel nodded and turned to start gathering the others towards the back of the classroom, where there were many dummies for practicing spells.
"Fourth-years, your task this year is to learn non-verbal casting and to master the advanced casting techniques of at least five spells. I hope you can transform the theoretical knowledge you learned here last year into your own. Charms is an applied subject; practice is the standard for testing proficiency."
After assigning the tasks, Professor Flitwick beckoned to Ezio. "Come, my boy. I'll give you some private tutoring. Compared to your seniors, you are still lacking in many things. But for the simpler content, I don't think I need to worry too much. As long as you continue to practice the basic spells and improve your familiarity and proficiency with them, you will quickly catch up."
Unlike Transfiguration, Charms had the saying that as long as you could use it correctly, it was considered a success.
Some wizards didn't like to delve into the advanced casting techniques of charms, but a very high proficiency in a spell could allow them to defeat all of an opponent's counterattacks with the simplest of means. Take the Fire-Making Spell, for example. Some people could only use it to light a bonfire. Even if such a person mastered all the advanced techniques, it would only make the flame a bit more flashy. But some people's Fire-Making Spell could truly set a prairie ablaze.
There were two focuses for practicing charms: one was to strengthen the power of the spell, and the other was to add to the means of casting. But a truly talented wizard could grasp both, and be strong in both.
"But before we begin, Ezio, do you have any questions you'd like to ask?" Professor Flitwick looked at Ezio with a smile. He had already noticed in class that Ezio had many things he wanted to know, but due to it being a classroom setting, he hadn't asked much. After all, Professor Flitwick couldn't just revolve around him during the lesson.
"Yes, of course I do," Ezio said at once. "What I want to learn most is how to customize spells. I want to develop some combat magic that is more suitable for me. I hope that one day in the future, I can learn to master it."
Professor Flitwick nodded slightly. He was not surprised by this. He himself had tried to develop spells as a student.
"Also, I'd like to know how to optimize this method of casting."
Ezio flipped his hands, and eight throwing knives appeared in them, four in each. But unlike the matte black throwing knives used for assassination, the knives in his hands now had a translucent blue color, like fragile crystal products, emitting a faint light.
"Ah, I haven't seen the technique of solidifying spells used by anyone in a long time!" Professor Flitwick said happily. "This is a magical technique that was born a thousand years ago, used to compensate for the shortcomings of wizards in combat. Before Apparition was invented, wizards were often forced to fight at close range because the accuracy and casting distance of the newly born magical runes were very poor."
"So, some wizards engraved runes on arrows or other things, and then solidified the magical effect, turning them into things like arrowheads to extend the effective range of the magic and indirectly increase the accuracy."
"But this method has a major flaw. The magical effect on the arrows made in this way often disappears before they even hit the ground. A spell begins to be consumed the moment it is released. And a spell that has left the wizard is like water without a source; their existence may only last for one or two seconds. The closer it gets to its maximum range, the weaker the spell's power."
"But yours... should have been made with reference to the method of curse materialization, right? By keeping it close to your body, you maintain the form after solidifying the spell. You then keep it on your person, using the magic naturally emitted by the wizard to maintain their form and extend their preservation time. Without a physical magical carrier, this is the only way."
"How long can you maintain it at most?" Professor Flitwick asked with great interest.
"After solidifying and shaping, the longest preservation time is one day. But if it leaves my body, even without activating the spell's power, it will dissipate within half an hour. If activated, it will not exist for more than five seconds," Ezio said. He had tested it carefully and was very clear about these data.
"That's already a very good result. The solidification method you are using is quite mature. Although there should still be room for optimization, I guess that the true prototype of a spell had already been perfected by that time. After rune magic passed its most difficult initial period, it eliminated all the casting methods that had been used before and became the sole mainstream."
"Why do you want to learn this... somewhat outdated technique?"
"Because..."
Ezio turned around and, with a casual flick, sent four throwing knives flying in a sharp arc through the air. They accurately struck the hearts of four dummy targets fifteen meters away, exploding in a burst of magical flames.
"Because spells don't curve, but my knives can."
"Incredible!" Professor Flitwick was so surprised he jumped up on the desk, his face filled with curiosity and amazement. "This is a technique I have never seen before. If you were on a dueling platform, you would definitely be able to catch your opponent off guard!"
At this point, Professor Flitwick's eyes lit up. He himself was a renowned dueling champion, but he had never encountered an opponent like Ezio on the dueling platform. If he did, the first time he faced such an attack, he would definitely be in a flurry.
"It's just a minor skill. You flatter me," Ezio said modestly. For him, this was an operation that anyone with hands could do; he himself didn't feel any pride in it.
"Is throwing knives difficult to learn? To be honest, I'm a little tempted," Professor Flitwick said, blinking. It seemed he really wanted to learn this cool ability. "But now doesn't seem to be the time to talk about this. Are you planning to participate in dueling competitions in the future?"
"I probably won't participate in dueling competitions. These techniques are part of my family's craft. Mastering them is also a way of mastering a means of livelihood."
"Alright," Professor Flitwick's face showed a slight regret. "If you are interested in dueling in the future, I can help you get in touch with some competitions. The prize money is very generous."
"But now, do you have any specific needs regarding the solidification of spells?"
"Weight," Ezio said, lining up the remaining four knives on the desk. "Although they have a physical form, they have no weight. This makes them very difficult for me to control when throwing. If they had mass, I could use some relatively more complex throwing techniques, such as changing direction in mid-air, and the like."
"Perhaps I have a way to solve that," Professor Flitwick said. His research in Charms was fully worthy of the title of Master. He only had to think for a moment to find a solution to the problem.
"We just need to add a little bit of a physical carrier, and then use a little trick when solidifying the spell."
"I think you should be able to start learning combination casting now. For example—the combination casting of the Summoning Charm and the Levitation Charm."
Professor Flitwick drew his wand and gave it a light flick. As he summoned a book, the book floated quietly in front of him. But he had only used one Summoning Charm, not two separate spells.
"Combination casting, also known as spell linking. After the effect of the previous spell takes effect, we can add an additional linked spell that includes the effect of another spell. Of course, you can also have them trigger at the same time, like this."
Professor Flitwick waved his wand again, pointing at an unused wooden target to the side. A freezing chill spread out in an instant, and at the same time, a fiery explosion occurred. The wooden dummy turned into a pile of frosted and smoking debris.
*****
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