Chapter 249: Chapter 249: That’s Not How You Do It… (2)

My grumbling didn’t stop the class from continuing.

Shortly after the monsterology class professor, who had noticeably become more depressed compared to when he first came in, left, the next subject’s professor, Ethan Bailey, entered the room.

Ethan, who exchanged a brief greeting, immediately transitioned into the lesson.

“In the first semester, we focused on understanding your mana patterns and learning how to enhance the efficiency of your magic. From the second semester onward, we’ll be covering an essential skill for real combat: mobile casting.”

Uh… I can already do that.

Murmurs spread throughout the classroom. No wonder, since the students of Class A had suffered so much at my hands during sparring sessions that many of them had at least a rudimentary grasp of mobile casting.

“Of course, some of you may already be able to cast spells while moving to some extent. However, the mobile casting I’m referring to isn’t just about moving while casting spells; it’s about casting while moving as vigorously as if you’re in a battle.”

The surrounding students nodded in awe at Ethan’s additional explanation, which made Ethan smile with satisfaction before continuing.

“Initially, it will be very challenging. You need complete control over your mana and unwavering composure to maintain your chanting. But I believe that my students are more than capable.”

The professor’s gentle tone of encouragement and the students’ enthusiastic expressions as they straightened their postures created such a pleasant scene. However…

“Uh, Professor Ethan?”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“I can already cast spells while fighting, so what should I do?”

“…”

“I can even cast while tumbling.”

“…That’s possible, I suppose. Then Yandel, why don’t you practice minimizing mana interference next?”

“Mana interference…?”

When I tilted my head, Carla whispered softly beside me.

“It’s called Dispel Resistance, Master.”

“Aha.”

When a magician fights another magician, if the skill level difference is significant, the stronger magician can disperse the other’s magic.

This is called a Dispel… but it’s a technique that’s rarely seen in H&A.

Only a high-ranking magician can erase a lower-ranking magician’s spells. So, to dispel an intermediate-level spell?

You’d naturally need to be at least an Archmage.

Honestly, if there’s that much of a gap, you don’t need to worry about Dispel; just overpower them with sheer firepower.

They wouldn’t even be able to break through the shield, so there’s no need to dispel anything.

That’s why Dispel in H&A is a technique you’d see more in cutscenes than in gameplay.

You’d know it exists, but you’d rarely see it. Like when the Director made his first appearance.

When he appeared and nullified all the magic in the area, it was so cool. It really gave you that sense of what it meant to be a magician.

…The problem was that to replicate that scene, I’d have to reach Archmage status.

Did Ethan notice what I was thinking from my subtle change in expression? He shook his head with a faint smile.

“Even if it’s not Dispel, interfering with your opponent’s mana and disrupting their spellcasting is common in magician battles. For example, the magic-blocking cuffs used on high criminals work on the same principle.”

“Oh, I know about those.”

Carla, Elisha, and Iris were wearing those right after I won them at the auction.

Magical tools were essentially items with specific magic inscribed on them. If there were magic-blocking cuffs, then it meant there was also magic that interfered with magic.

Ethan was about to teach us how to resist that.

“First, let me explain the principle. Despite its grand name, mana interference refers to any act of using your own mana to disrupt the opponent’s mana control.”

“Is shouting really loudly with a lot of mana also mana interference?”

“It’s an unsophisticated method, but yes, that too is a form of mana interference.”

According to Ethan’s following explanation, there were two main methods of mana interference.

One was to subtly align your mana with the opponent’s mana wave, synchronize it, and then collapse it from within.

Kind of like planting a spy.

The other method was to smash the opponent’s mana arrangement with overwhelming force.

The shouting with a lot of mana that I mentioned earlier fell into this category.

The principle behind magic-blocking cuffs was to emit mana that scatters within the wearer’s body, making it difficult to control their mana…

It was just making it difficult, not impossible. So, if you had enough skill, you could still cast spells even under the interference of such magical tools.

That was probably why Iris was wearing several interference tools. One alone wouldn’t have been enough to suppress the power of a high-ranking magician.

“Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s give it a try. Cast a simple spell, but imagine it being as solid and tightly bound as possible.”

“Solid and tightly bound…”

Even if it followed a similar pattern, made sure that no external mana could sneak in, and that it wouldn’t collapse even in a fierce storm.

I focused on completeness rather than power as I recited the incantation.

“Tinder.”

Whoosh.

A small flame, like that of a matchstick, bloomed from my fingertip. Maybe it was just my imagination, but it seemed clearer than usual.

“Good. Now I’ll try to match the wave. First, I’ll infiltrate it and try to collapse it, so pay attention to how it feels.”

With that, Ethan lightly spread mana around him.

Is this… a search spell? No, it’s too faint for that.

Search was a basic detection spell. It spreads mana around the caster, who then perceives the surroundings based on the feedback.

But the mana Ethan just released was so thin and faint that I wouldn’t have noticed it if I hadn’t been paying attention.

Ethan might be more knowledgeable than he is powerful, but still, he’s an academy professor. This level of control must be standard.

While I was thinking that, a corner of my mind that was maintaining the Tinder spell started to itch.

It felt like my brain was being gently tickled by something soft, like cotton. Is this what it feels like when someone else tries to infiltrate your mana?

Determined not to miss anything, I focused my attention on the part where Ethan’s mana and my mana were touching.

And so, a minute passed.

“Hmm…”

Two minutes had passed.

“Ugh…”

For some reason, Ethan was drenched in cold sweat and frozen in place. The students around him began to murmur.

I cautiously asked Ethan, who was still standing there.

“Um… Professor?”

“Just a moment! Everyone, please be quiet!”

“???”

I tilted my head in confusion at Ethan’s sudden outburst, but I stayed silent and waited.

After about five more minutes passed,

“I did it!”

Gone was his usual calm demeanor, as Ethan exclaimed with a voice full of pride.

At the same time, an odd energy shook my mana.

The flame of Tinder flickered dangerously, as if it might go out at any moment.

The spell wasn’t completely dispelled, but its power was nearly halved. So this is mana interference. It’s impressive, but…

“If it takes this long, it might be difficult to use in actual combat, don’t you think?”

“…Ah.”

Realizing what I said, Ethan checked the watch he pulled from his pocket and responded with a deflated expression.

“You’re right. It shouldn’t have taken this long. This was just a simple basic spell with no prior defenses… Yandel, I think the problem lies in your mana pattern being too precise.”

“My mana pattern?”

“Yes. When infiltrating someone’s magic, you need to somewhat mimic the caster’s mana pattern, but… your pattern was far more intricate than I expected. Usually, such complexity is only seen in people with unique constitutions or when encryption is applied. Have you learned any special techniques?”

“No, I haven’t…”

I tilted my head, denying his assumption, when I felt a slight tug on my sleeve.

I glanced over to see Carla, her ruby-colored eyes sparkling with something she wanted to say.

I briefly asked Ethan for permission and leaned in close to Carla, who then spoke in an excited tone.

“Master, do you remember when I taught you about magic circles and told you to always envision one in your mind even if you don’t actually draw it when casting spells?”

“Of course. You said that way, when you deploy a magic circle later, you’ll immediately recall the spell, making it more efficient, right?”

“Yes. But a magic circle is like a code that only the caster can understand, right? The Lindelheit family’s magic circle system is particularly unique in that regard.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“…Really?”

“That’s right. Just by envisioning the magic circle while casting, you can nullify most forms of interference. It’s not classified as an esoteric art for nothing, you know.”

I never thought of that.

I just assumed that the reason it was considered esoteric was because once the method of interpreting the magic circle was known, the spell would be easy to identify!

The basic elements of magic were image and mana, after all. The rest were just auxiliary factors to enhance accuracy or power.

So, theoretically, just imagining the magic circle while casting might indeed have an effect.

In theory, at least.

Creating a magic circle that actually had such an effect must not have been easy.

As Carla said, it wasn’t classified as an esoteric art for no reason.

While I was dumbfounded, Carla smiled with satisfaction, as if she had been waiting for this moment.

“Master, you’ve already learned how to resist mana interference. That’s because I’ve been teaching you from the start… I mean, I’ve been guiding you well!”

“…”

What’s with the ulterior motive?