Chapter 201 - Learning About Forbidden Spells

  Nathan Evenhart:

  Three days had passed siudying in the library, and I was nearly fully recovered. Finally, I’d rid myself of the bandages around my arms and could move normally again. The only lingering disfort was a slight pain when swallowing, but with the ongoing healing potioment, that should disappear today or tomorrow. The potion is extremely expensive and accessible to only a few due to political restris.

  Thankfully, my family is nobility.

  In my p, a cat was sleeping, occasionally sn.

  I was in a , but this time, roup was divided again, with other students attending a different css.

  "What’s this css about? It’s a ime slot we didn’t have before," Chloe asked.

  "Unfortunately, it looks like theory..." I replied.

  The only theory css that really ied me rofessor Sincir’s, which covered the Human Empire, but her lessons were sporadic. We’d had only one of her csses so far, and there was schedule for the . Besides being a teacher, she served as a military sultant and historian. She was important in all three realms, despite certairis. I’d heard that she often attended military meetings about the border.

  "Good afternoon!" The voiapped my attention back to the css.

  An elderly womaered the room. She was an aged elf and seemed to be our eacher.

  "My name is Obana, and today I’ll be giving a theory css on spells and entments." The teacher raised her hand, and leaves began to fall like a gentle rain.

  A pnt-element mage.

  The only mage of this element I’ve had tact with is my mother, so the prospeeeting another pnt mage, especially one who’s to be my teacher, is intriguing. Pnt magic has always fasated me—the way it shapes and maniputes the essence of nature itself, trolling life around it with a gentle or devastating touch.

  Then there’s Syvis, of course, but asking a prio demonstrate her abilities just because I find them iing would be somewhat improper. She’s always been generous in sharing what she knows, yet I ’t take advantage of her position to satisfy my curiosity.

  My mother also kept her pnt element a closely guarded secret; it was something few outside the family knew. Siiring from military life, she left her former fame and the weight of her title behind. I heard that, in her service days, she was a soldier feared by many. Her mastery of pnt magic was rare among humans—a skill that earned her the moniker “Head Cutter.” Therefore, I ’t go around revealing that I’m the son of this famous soldier or that my mother wields the pnt element.

  The leaves hovered in the air and drifted toward the students.

  "Please touch them lightly with your fiips, but be careful not to hurt yourselves," the teacher directed.

  The students began toug the leaves. Chloe and I brushed our fingers across a leaf floating in the air, and I was taken aback.

  Sharp... this leaf feels like a bde.

  Other students tested it as well, slig through feathers with ease.

  The elf snapped her fingers, and the leaves gathered, f five birds of leaves that flew around the room.

  "I am aer. What you’ve just seen is a deadly spell known as 'Green Bde Ravens.' It’s a forbidden spell."

  "Wow!" a student excimed, and others began whispering as the ravens disappeared wheeacher dispelled them.

  "In today’s lesson, I will discuss types of spells and the reasoning behind forbidden spells. How many of you cast a spell at this level?"

  Chloe and I raised our hands.

  My family is one of mage assassins... so knowing spells of this caliber is the bare minimum requirement.

  "So, only two students know spells of this level. I presume they are the high nobility," observed the professor.

  "We are," firmed my cousin.

  The rest of my group was in another css, but I was certain they also knew how to cast forbidden spells. Chloe and I couldn’t lie about it—it’s obligatory knowledge due to our positions in nobility.

  “Forbidden spells are primarily used by bat Mages and Shes. These spells are purely lethal and aren’t taught to just ahe kingdoms strictly regute what is taught within their armies, and these spells are restricted to ehey don’t fall into the wrong hands. Generally, only families of high nobility freely have such spells in their arsenal, passing them down to their children,” the teacher expined.

  There was also spell traffig on the bck market. Some spells were sold illegally, and acquiring them often involved using magical ruhese runes, sealed within books or scrolls, allowed mages to store their mana alongside the spell’s formu, enabling the knowledge to be transferred to es who studied the rune.

  Forbidden spells that had bee somewhat on could be found on the bck market, but the rarest ones remained restricted to noble families, especially high nobility. There were cases where nobles purchased spells from the bck market to expand their family’s magical arsenal. Some families were renowned for possessi spell knowledge uo them due to their own iions. The magical market was vast, enpassing everything from spell purchases to magical equipment, mostly accessible only to mages.

  Professor Obana walked over to a book oable and touched a specific page. She then approached the chalkboard, tapping it, which caused the board to dispy the page from the book. The page showed illustrations of two mages: oh a cheerful expression and the other with a vilinous look.

  “These spells aren’t taught to just anyone because their sole purpose is death.”

  I had learned a few forbidden spells from my family over the years, in addition to the intensive lessons from Professor Adrihna, who trained me in military magic. She’d truly gone a bit overboard in what she taught my cousin and me, introdug teiques many would sider dangerous.

  There are various types of mages, but it all boils down to the distin between a age and a military mage. ages tend to focus on utility or academic magic, while military mages specialize in bat spells and magical tactics for warfare. As the daughter of a duke, Adrihna had an advanced uanding of magic, refined by her noble upbringing and the expectations that came with it. Her Special Eye, a rare gift allowio see beyond the ordinary, further enhanced her skills, makieags all the more valuable.

  Though I had trained in spells across various elements, I hadn’t received specific training for my primary element—thuhus, I created most of my thunder spells myself and even developed a few exclusive spells by bining different elements.

  My most powerful spell bihe primary elements of nature, but I could only test it once, and I nearly died in the process. My aunt cssified that spell as extremely dangerous and forbade me from using it agaio the risk it posed to both me and those around me—I couldn’t even trol its aftermath.

  That spell ed all my mana instantly, leaving me on the verge of death. It’s been two years since I st used it, and I’m eager to test it again with my current trol and mana reserves.

  The professor turhe book’s page, and the board dispyed several sequential images. In each image, a mage was f a ball of water, which grew rger in each subsequent frame until it became a massive sphere of water above the mage.

  “The mastery of aal domain allows us to perform simple feats, but to reach greater power, we o learn spells at different levels,” Obana expined, writing below each image that showed the mage and his increasingly rger water balls.

  The spell levels could be cssified as:

  0 - Forbidden

  1 - Beginner

  2 - Exceptional

  3 - Advanced

  4 - Epic

  5 - Supreme

  6 - Mythical (Banned)

  7 - Legendary (Banned)

  " Forbidden spells belong to a special css. They exist at any level, but their sole purpose is to kill. For instance, a mage skilled iing rivers and artificial rain might learn a Supreme river creation spell, but there could be an even more dangerous forbidden Epic spell. These spells are cssified as Level 0 precisely because they adjust to any level, and their use is restricted due to their exclusive io cause death. For example, a fire mage ignite a simple campfire, but the spell 'Red Meteor' summons a giant fireball capable of setting aire forest abze, or the spell 'Inferno Eel' creates a fiery serpent that coils around its victim, burning them alive."

  The professor turhe page, and the image on the board ged to that of a mage with his mouth open, indig he eaking.

  "The more plex the spell, the harder it is to cast. That’s why we use a process called 'ting.' Speaking the spell helps el our mana, serving as a form of mana muscle memory to activate the magic."

  That’s exactly what I do to activate the Celestial Aspects. Because of the plexity of cirg my mana through my body while direg it to my eyes, I o create activation meisms. After all, I possess both Special Eyes aial Eyes.

  The professor held a wand and jured a sphere of green leaves.

  "The more you practice, the better your trol over the spell bees, aually, you won’t o t it. However, the more powerful the spell, the greater the mana cost, so it’s rare fes to practice such spells casually."

  Most students here were from families of on nobility, without any military tradition. For them, the path to mastering powerful spells would be long and arduous. The academy, of course, will introduce more advanced spells iure, but I doubt it will teaything specifically tailored to military use. After all, not every student here is ied in a career otlefield.

  Many prefer more stable careers, aspiring to bee Builder Mages ineer Mages, specializing iing and maintaining magical structures and devices. There are also those with the rare gift of healing mana who pursue the path of Healer Mages, valued positions that offer a more peaceful and rewarding life without the o wield a on or face the dangers of direbat.

  The variety of aspirations within the academy showed that, for many, magic was a tool fress and creation, not for destru

  "That’s why Advanced spells and above are rarely used due to their plexity. You must also be mindful of limitations. Beyond a certain level, spells bee tied to specifia categories, meaning you won’t be able to cast them unless you possess the required category."

  Emitter and Summes have a broader range of spells, which is why they typically use wands or staffs and don’t often rely on ons. A skilled Transmitter mage cast a fireball, but it won’t reach the distance or potency of one cast by aer mage, who specializes in le spell attacks.

  As the spell level increases, it bees tied to its mana category. I could cast a fireball or a fire serpent, but I’d never be able to summon a fire golem without my special eyes, as it’s a plex Summoner-css spell. Summoners are the rarest and most gifted in magic, as their mana create living creatures made from their elemental nature.

  "Alractice ting spells in your free time and do it safely, along with mana manipution. This is crucial for training your mind to divide attention in bat."

  The professor turhe page, and the board dispyed a mage surrounded by rge fming spheres of earth, h in the air around him.