And to have a student who could almost teach himself and deduce from one example,
Hen felt an unprecedented ease, mixed with a slight frustration, in his teaching.
There was almost nothing left to teach Karl in the study.
He only needed to provide the correct direction of knowledge and the necessary resources, and Karl could quickly digest and absorb it, even coming up with unique ideas.
When Hen realized that Karl's genius might be beyond common sense, he gradually felt relieved.
However, Hen never let go completely.
Every few days, he would specially test Karl's knowledge and have him demonstrate the spells he had recently mastered one by one.
Then he would carefully examine details such as stability and control of the energy structure, to identify possible flaws or deviations in understanding.
But the result always left him with mixed feelings; on one hand, it was a great relief.
Every one of Karl's spells was perfect, with meticulous energy control and flawless spell pattern construction.
Even in some details, it was better than the mentor expected.
On the other hand, he felt an indescribable sense of frustration and disappointment.
What he, as a teacher, could offer Karl turned out to be far less and faster than he had anticipated.
After this contradictory mood accumulated for a while, Hen made a decision.
......
That day, on the familiar training plain outside the academy,
Hen calmly said to Karl: "Alright, you've done enough with the theoretical knowledge for practicing magic on stationary targets."
"Today, I want to test, under real combat conditions, how well you have mastered your spells when facing an enemy."
He gestured for Karl to stand in the center of the clearing and stepped back about ten meters.
This distance was already quite dangerous for a sorcerer.
"Come on, use all your strength! Don't hold back."
"Don't be afraid of hurting me. Show me your true combat abilities."
Hen's voice was calm, with a note of encouragement and unquestionable seriousness.
When Karl heard this, he slightly raised his eyebrows, a bit surprised inside. Use all his strength? Was Hen serious?
He knew very well how unrealistic his strength and speed were, even if it was just an instant, it would be enough to break stone.
But seeing Hen's determined and serious eyes, Karl hesitated no longer, took a deep breath, and the muscles in his legs tensed instantly.
The next moment, his figure blurred like a specter.
In Hen's field of vision, Karl was almost an afterimage; when he became clear, he had already crossed the distance between them as if teleporting.
The speed at which he approached was beyond the limits of ordinary people's visual capture.
Karl now clearly saw, under this sudden approach,
in Hen's deep eyes, a flash of obvious surprise instantly appeared.
Then, beneath that surprise, a faint smile emerged, as if a plan had worked.
Just as Karl's palm was about to touch Hen's collar to complete the test with a control hold rather than injury, something suddenly changed.
In the seemingly ordinary grass at Hen's feet, a pre-drawn and hidden hourglass-shaped rune suddenly lit up, emitting a dark purple light.
A powerful and strange, slowing stance instantly enveloped Karl.
He felt as if he had suddenly plunged into extremely viscous glue; the air resistance around him increased exponentially.
His speed, which was far faster than a cheetah's, instantly slowed more than twofold, and his movements became sluggish.
"What?" Karl was shocked and immediately used his bio-field to try to compensate for the lag.
And just as his speed was rapidly decreasing, exposing his flaw,
Hen raised his hand with a low gaze and, seemingly casually, tapped the middle knuckle of his finger against Karl's chest.
BANG! A compressed and powerful magical strike, far beyond what that gentle motion suggested, slammed into Karl's chest like a battering ram.
And Karl only took half a step back. When Hen saw this, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he immediately intensified his magic.
Karl couldn't withstand this force and flew backward like a broken kite.
He traced an arc through the air and finally landed heavily on the grass a few meters away, kicking up a patch of turf and dust.
However, Karl wasn't hurt and simply stood up, just brushing off his pants.
Hen stood in place, the purple hourglass rune light beneath his feet slowly fading.
He looked at Karl, who was a bit confused as he got up, a slight smile on his face.
"How was it, Karl? First time facing an experienced sorcerer?"
"Especially when dealing with an old man like me, who doesn't even know his own age."
"Without probing to understand the other side's situation... you would rashly close in?" There was a note of admonishment in Hen's voice.
He stepped forward and explained: "When you first came to the academy, you said your physique was far stronger than a Witcher's."
"As a sorcerer accustomed to being fully prepared, I naturally paid more attention."
"This slowing rune was prepared in advance to deal with enemies who rely on speed or pure strength but lack effective means to counter magic."
Hen looked at Karl, his eyes full of a teacher's affection and guidance for a student.
"Remember this lesson, child. Strength and speed are your strengths, but wisdom and experience..."
"Especially when facing unknown opponents, they are often more important than sheer power."
"Battles between sorcerers have never been simple contests of strength."
Karl brushed the non-existent dust off his chest and looked at Hen, who wore a gentle smile but remained unfathomable.
The traces of anxiety in his heart, which had quietly grown due to the rapid increase in strength, vanished at that moment.
He deeply realized that there was still a long way to go before he was invincible; at least... he was not yet a match for Hen.
Karl nodded seriously: "I understand, Teacher. Thank you for your guidance."
At that moment, Hen relaxed, a smile returning to his face.
He said to Karl: "That was just a warm-up. Now, let's continue... I won't stop in the middle to give instructions."
"I will keep casting spells until you can no longer hold on and take the initiative to stop. Let me see where your limit is."
Karl nodded, his eyes sharpening, admitting he had been very careless just now.
Relying solely on speed, he had charged in a straight line, not even using his auxiliary abilities—Super Senses and Heat Vision.
Then they distanced themselves again, and this time Karl gave no warning.
His figure suddenly attacked, bursting forth like a cheetah, his speed still astonishingly fast.
At the same time, he secretly used his Super Senses, his Heat Vision piercing through Hen's robe to lock onto the subtle movements of his wrists and fingers.
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