In less than a month, the triennial "Pillow Sword Meeting" will be held in Salyuhi. Universities such as Tiede, Portsley, and Shefford in the city of Saliushi, as well as Teshedali in Maine, and Einz in Fuz province will send students to participate in the competition. Each institution of higher learning The number of entries is determined by the results of the previous session. One hundred and twenty-eight contestants went through rounds of duels to determine the winner of the pillow sword medal. At that time, the Royal Guards, Royal Knights, Court Mages, and even the Guangzheng Church will send people to identify contestants. Contestants who perform well at the meeting can work in the above-mentioned institutions without even graduating from the academy.
Therefore, every aspiring student hopes to go to this "Pillow Sword Meeting". The lecturers of the college are qualified to recommend to the dean, such as "Eagle Falcon" and other core professors. If recommended, the dean of Tide College will naturally give it priority.
However, Alvin has only entered the intermediate level at the Magic Academy. Logically speaking, he would not be recommended to participate at this stage. However, Professor "Falcon" is very fond of Alvin, so he has been giving Alvin evil every day recently. To make up for it, whenever Alvin comes to the academy, he has to go to "Falcon" to make up lessons after class.
Taking advantage of the dark stone lamp in the Magic Court, Alvin walked through various classrooms on the first floor and walked straight to the instructor's office on the second floor. "Falcon"'s office is in the innermost room. Before Alvin could knock on the door, he heard a voice calling him in. A magician of the level of "Falcon" could notice it as soon as Alvin walked up the stairs. An old senior magician faced the people around him. Everything is perceived with sensitivity and vigilance.
Alvin pushed the door open and walked in. He saw that "Falcon" was wearing a pair of gold-rimmed round glasses on his protruding aquiline nose. Matching his natural curly hair, he had the posture of a justice reviewing the case file, and also like a hawk. The huge eagle stared at a book, ready to eat the book at any time. In fact, "Eagle Falcon"'s eyesight is excellent, but it's just that it starts to deteriorate as he gets older. Alvin glanced at the bright candlelight in the room, sighed, and took out the "Laws of Space and Time" from his sheepskin satchel.
"Falcon" put down the book in his hand and looked up at Alvin.
"Today, let's review the basic rules of magic." Falcon took off the round eyes and rubbed the ridge between his eyebrows.
"Okay, Professor Fetimo." Alvin sat down on a small desk next to the bookcase.
"What is magic? What is the essence of magic?" Professor Fetimo looked at Alvin quietly.
"The essence of magic is to occupy and change the original matter in the world." Alvin answered skillfully. He thought that this is a principle that everyone who has studied magic courses knows. Is this a question?
Fetimo then asked: "Then can you explain what occupation and change are?"
Alvin thought for a moment and replied, "To put it simply, instant magic occupies a certain space around it. The greater the occupation, the greater the damage of the spell, and the difficulty of casting the spell becomes greater. Therefore, general instant magic Magical damage is limited because the various elements in the space are limited."
Fetimo nodded when he heard this and motioned for Alvin to continue.
"But such as magic, the essence is to form magic by changing the material in the space. Casting magic needs to be driven by chanting or magic scrolls, so casting magic takes time, but the magic damage is high. As the magician's magic power increases, you can Shorten the time for casting spells." Alvin replied fluently.
"What about martial arts? Can you tell me the difference between martial arts and magic?" Fei Timo
"Um...the difference between martial arts and magic is that it can cause damage at close range by shortening the distance with the opponent." Alvin didn't know much about martial arts and couldn't give an answer.
"It's too superficial. Think about it again, think about the martial arts part." Fetimo glared at Alvin.
In Alvin's impression, all martial arts students are doing kung fu to shorten the distance between themselves and their opponents. So what is the biggest difference between martial arts and magic?
"Let me remind you, do you still remember the agility technique you blessed yourself with?"
Alvin must have remembered that battle, otherwise he wouldn't have to live such a miserable life of tutoring now. Alvin thought about it carefully and realized that the method of using the agility technique is very simple. It is to use the body to sense and capture the substances in the surrounding space that are beneficial to one's body shape, thereby changing the speed of the body's movement in the space. Thinking about it this way, the methods of using martial arts are somewhat similar to magic, at least in terms of using the body to sense the surrounding space materials. What's the difference?
"Professor, in terms of letting the body feel the elemental substances in the surrounding space, magic and martial arts actually have something in common." Alvin pondered.
"Indeed, what's the difference?" Fetimo asked, staring at Alvin, the candlelight reflected in his pupils shimmering.
Alvin thought about the feeling of using the Swiftness Technique again. In addition to the physical substances that are beneficial to body movement, there are also fewer constraints on movement in space.
"Oh, martial arts not only absorb the surrounding substances that are beneficial to the body, but also eliminate the obstructive substances in the space." Alvin finally realized.
"Okay, okay, even though I'm a little dull, I still figured it out after all." Fetimo sighed.
Alvin was furious.
"So let's talk about a battle between a magician and a martial artist. What's important?" Fetimo asked.
"Um... Try to reduce the absorption benefits of martial arts, and you can also increase the blocking substances in the space...?" Alvin's throat felt dry due to his stare.
"Then what is an obstructing substance? Tell me about it," Professor Fetimo asked inquiringly.
"Um... Gravity, and negative states like slowness and paralysis?" Alvin raised his eyes and looked at the other person uncertainly.
"Then you, a mid-level magician who likes to use instant magic all day long, can do this? Do you know high-level magic like gravity field array? Your instant magic doesn't even have basic negative effects, right?" Fetimo His tone was unkind, and he looked like he hated iron.
After being humiliated by "Falcon" like a barrage of bullets, Alvin lost his voice. No matter how shameless he usually was, he was speechless.
Fetimo saw that Alvin was silent, and thought that he couldn't hit him too hard. After all, he was the student he chose. However, every time he smelled the scent of a female concubine's perfume from this boy, he couldn't get angry. Come somewhere.
"When you encounter a martial arts player who is stronger than yourself, don't think about changing the material elements of space to defeat him. I'm afraid your life will be gone before you can use magic." Fetimo said angrily.
That's not why I went to the Pillow Sword Club voluntarily, Alvin cursed, but now I have to come to make up classes when I have nothing to do, and I have to be ridiculed in all kinds of ways.
"So haven't I learned the splitting of the sky in the first chapter now?" Alvin pointed at the "Laws of Space and Time" and said with a smile.
The matter in the space is consumed through instant magic, thereby creating a materialless route in the space. Since there is no substance on the route, time flows statically, thus achieving instantaneous displacement from one end of the route to the other without consuming time. This is the essence of Rifting the Sky.
"Hmph, if you still haven't made progress in physical transformation, you will always be stuck in the first chapter." Fetimo glared at Alvin again.
Alvin didn't dare to say anything.
"I really don't understand that you young people, if you have time to spend your time drinking and drinking, it's better to spend more time on the study of magic. Life is short, and there is no end to the sea, understand?" Fetimo sighed heavily.
Alvin nodded in agreement with a look of shame on his face.
"Professor, what if you use martial arts to absorb light from the elemental matter in the space?" Alvin thought that not only magicians would use the empty matter routes in the space.
"Then what can you do? When you see a martial arts technician holding an ax appear in your face instantly, or an ax comes out of the air and appears on your head, it is estimated that then you will remember what I said. ." Fetimo said coldly.
Alvin couldn't help but shudder when he thought of that scene.
"Let you pay more attention to it. As a magician, you are not sensitive to changes in the surrounding materials. Naturally, you will not be able to react even if your head is chopped off." Fetimo's tone was a little sarcastic.
“But you can be more relaxed at this stage,” Fei Timo explained. “As mentioned before, most martial arts techniques focus on discarding material obstacles in space, or absorbing material in space to accelerate strength and body. Shape. In terms of quantity, the amount of elemental substances absorbed by martial arts is much less than the elemental substances required by magicians. At least this is the case among the martial arts masters I have seen."
However, it has been less than a month since he arrived at the Pillow Sword Club. At his current stage, even if he trains hard every day, his magic power cannot catch up with the high-level magicians. In addition, his opponents also have high-level martial arts. He couldn't help but have a headache.
"Don't worry too much. Just do your best and don't look bad if you lose. After all, I didn't give you much time to prepare. They have been preparing for three years." Fetimo said lightly.
"Anyway, I'm here to embarrass myself, so why don't you scold me all night?" Alvin said angrily.
"Then did I let you go to Fireworks Willow Alley?" Fetimo glared at Alvin again.
"Is there any quick fix?" Alvin asked indicatively, his opportunistic nature revealed.
"You can't become a person in a hurry. You spend all your time in idleness. How can you master the practice of magic quickly?" Feitimo's blood pressure was high. From the bottom of his heart, he wanted to hang up the student in front of him and give him a beating.
"What about the laws of space? Is there any method in it?" Alvin didn't give up.
"Hmph, then you have to study it yourself." Fetimo surprisingly did not refute his students, but he did not see the book "Laws of Space" as a person who is still going to be a great magician. It has to be deeper than Alvin understands.
This "Laws of Space" is difficult and obscure, and even a person with a clear mind like Alvin has not made any achievements in the second chapter.
In fact, what Fetimo didn't tell Alvin was that many magicians in the first chapter of this book may not be able to understand it thoroughly even after several years. For example, Alvin can understand the cracking sky in just a few months. Skills are rare.
"The speed of time in space is not constant..." Alvin glanced at the "Laws of Space and Time" in his hand, raised his head and asked, "Professor, what do you think of this sentence?"
"Is this the essence of the second chapter you summarized?" Fetimo squinted at Alvin, and Alvin could see the candlelight dancing through the winding slit in his eyes.
Fetimo couldn't help but frown after thinking for a while. He looked at the playboy in front of him carefully and sighed deeply. Magical power is indeed obtained through accumulated practice over time. However, some people are uniquely qualified to study material time and space. For example, one of the few great magisters in the Yafei Empire, such as myself, faces this book "Time and Space". I have been studying "Laws" for a period of time, but I haven't found a reason yet.
However, this promiscuous student who hangs out in romantic places all day long was able to understand the essence of the second chapter in just a few months. If the first chapter is just about the child's outstanding talent, then being able to study the essence of the second chapter is not just about talent. It requires a clear understanding of the basic theory of magic, and more importantly, a clear understanding of magic and time and space. Relationship.
"Most magicians only have an infinite thirst for magic power, and their understanding of higher levels of material time and space is too superficial." Fetimo has always kept this sentence in mind. This was when he was in the Tide Magic Court. When I was a student, I heard something said by a talented classmate, and for some reason, I just remembered it for the rest of my life. However, what I feel ashamed of is that even though he studied with great concentration, he did not make any breakthrough in the understanding of time and space. The young man in front of him now comforted him.
"You bastard, you usually seem to be very lazy and laid-back. I didn't expect that... I didn't expect that..." Fetimo held up one cheek and sneered unabashedly, with a hint of disapproval in his laughter. Known bitterness.
Alvin looked at the professor in front of him with some confusion. He thought that Fetimo would make some remarks based on what he said, but Fetimo's weird tone made him confused.
"As for "The Law of Space and Time", I told you when I gave it to you that I would not point out any confusion in the book, because regarding this book, I... may not have studied it more thoroughly than you." Fetimo suppressed his emotions and said seriously.
Seeing him saying this, Alvin had no choice but to give up.
"But since you can understand the second chapter, it seems that you have also put some thought into your usual magic classes." This was probably Fetimo's first compliment to him all night.
"However, this is far from enough. Meditating in meditation and understanding the wonderful principles is futile, understand? You just think too much and practice too little." Fei Timo concluded his case.
Alvin felt a little ashamed when the professor hit the nail on the head with his fault. Alvin never took their comments to heart. However, for a professor like Fetimo, who had a sharp gaze, Alvin was still open-minded and accepted the teachings.
"There will be a pillow sword meeting in less than a month. How are you prepared?" Fetimo suddenly changed his mind and asked.
"Anyway, I'm here to embarrass myself. How can I be prepared?" Alvin's implication was, "Anyway, you were the one who pushed me out. To embarrass me is to embarrass you."
"Nonsense, are you ready with all the equipment?" Fetimo glanced at Alvin questioningly.
"No, I don't even know what to prepare," Alvin said calmly.
"You...you don't even know how to prepare a staff or a ring? What are you thinking about all day long?" Fetimo roared, his blood pressure rising again.
"I usually only cast some instant magic, I don't need a staff or something like that." Alvin quibbled in a low voice.
"Hmph, you really said it right. How could I be so blind as to take a fancy to a student like you?" Fetimo continued to scold.
Alvin thought to himself that I didn't force you, but he didn't dare to say it.
"Then I can usually cast spells with my hands, so I really don't need these." Alvin explained.
"Ignorance can also make you emboldened, right?" The professor stared at Alvin with hawk eyes, as if he wanted to eat people.
Fortunately, Alvin was not surprised and kept his head down without speaking.
The professor and the student were just in a stalemate, with no one speaking. Alvin was flipping through "The Laws of Space and Time" one after another, and Fetimo was loudly flipping through the book at hand, the pages of the book were rattling, and he stared from time to time. He glanced at Alvin, but Alvin kept his head down tactfully, not giving him a chance to look at him.
The two of them were in a stalemate like this for almost an hour. Alvin was already a little sleepy. He felt dizzy after looking at the various formulas and symbols in the book and the long arguments. His head was pounding, and he was ready to fall asleep on the desk at any time. go. Upon seeing this, Fetimo waved his finger, and an instant paralyzing lightning spell hit Alvin's waist. The strength was masterfully controlled, which would neither hurt him nor prevent him from falling asleep comfortably.
Alvin couldn't bear the blow and immediately fell off the chair, screaming in pain. While rubbing the flesh on his waist with his hands, he looked at Feitimo fiercely.
Fetimo was relieved to see him like this.
"Come here, let me tell you about the uses of the staff, rings, necklaces and other equipment." Fetimo sighed and waved Alvin to come forward.
Alvin rubbed his waist angrily, unable to get angry again.
"As you said, in fact, all magicians can cast spells with their hands. They can feel the changes in the surrounding materials with their hands. The most clear and direct way is to use most instant magic to release it directly with your hands," Fetimo explained.
"But magic involving material transformation usually uses a staff. Come on, come and try it." Fetimo pointed to a staff on the table that was three fingers thick and one cubit long.
Alvin picked up the staff and looked at it carefully. There was a ruby on the top of the staff. Judging from the color, it should be a high-grade reddish brown stone. Alvin held the staff and released an intermediate fire spell. The front part of the staff suddenly burst into flames, and a fireball had gathered. Alvin was secretly surprised and canceled the spell.
"You have also seen that high-grade red brown stone has high flame perception properties. It casts fire magic much faster, right?" Fetimo explained, "Each staff has different properties and different property perception. But using the method The purpose of the rod is the same, to accelerate the transformation of matter around it.”
Alvin nodded and asked, "I saw some students in the Magic Court using long staffs. Is there any difference?"
"A long staff will increase the casting distance and range of spells. It is suitable for large-scale combat and is not suitable for close combat. The short staff has stronger attribute perception and the casting speed is faster than the long staff. Which one you choose is up to you. It depends on the needs of the battle," Fei Timo explained carefully.
Alvin felt that he was a bit too "layman".
"Then if my magic power grows high enough in the future, can I not use the staff?" Alvin suddenly asked.
"Unless you are completely confident, casting spells with your hands will be faster than your opponent using a staff." Fetimo glanced at his student, "I have to remind you that in a life-and-death game, any help is good. .”
Alvin nodded and took note of it. He still wouldn't have thought that the professor's words would save him countless times in the years to come.
Alvin wanted to ask Fetimo what kind of staff he used, but he didn't dare to ask for fear of provoking a fit of anger.
"Try on these rings again." Fetimo raised two hands and waved, and a copper jewelry box flew down from the top of the bookcase.
Alvin dusted off the box with his sleeves. Although it was a little dirty, he could still tell that the jewelry box was very exquisitely made. When he opened it, he saw several silver rings and necklaces mixed in. They were all covered with dust and looked like they had not been used for many years.
Alvin saw that the rings were all about the same, so he picked one at random, blew away the dust on it, and found that the silver ring was densely engraved with spell runes. After wearing it, he tried some magic and it didn't feel the same as the original one. Any difference. He glanced at Fetimo consultatively.
Fetimo still raised his finger and cast a spell, and a magic doll glowing with blue light appeared in front of Alvin.
"Try using the instant magic you usually like to use." Fetimo instructed.
Alvin nodded, and as soon as he raised his hand, several small fireballs shot out towards the magic doll. He was already familiar with this kind of magic. Something surprised him. After the small fireball hit the puppet, it was burned. After a while, the entire puppet was ignited.
"Oh, this ring can enhance the negative state of magic." Alvin said with wide eyes. He secretly thought that this was very practical, and he thought of making it his own.
Later, I tried a few more rings, which opened the eyes of Alvin, an ignorant student. It turns out that some of these rings can enhance magic tracking, some can enhance magic damage, and some can even be used to strengthen spells when casting. Spell shield.
"Try wearing a necklace." Fetimo ordered.
Alvin picked up a square carved necklace with a silver base and put it on. A transparent rough stone was surrounded by the hollow rune carvings. Because it was surrounded by carvings, the material could not be seen.
When Fetimo saw that Alvin had put on the necklace, he shot an instant lightning spell at Alvin with just a snap of his fingers.
The original part of the necklace suddenly shone with light, the hollow runes circulated rapidly, and the circular lines connecting the inside and outside rotated rapidly. When the lightning flew around Alvin, a magical fantasy had been generated. He caught this forcefully.
Alvin stared at the necklace in his hand dumbfounded, but the necklace had returned to its original state, and the original stone had lost its color again.
"The runes in the necklace are inscribed with the illusion spell, and are activated by this rough stone?" Alvin asked in surprise, "Then what kind of material is this rough stone made of, so that it can actually feel magic attacks?"
"Evening Shadow Stone," Fetimo explained, "This kind of magical raw stone has resonance. Once a damaging magic approaches, it can trigger its own stored magic power, and the illusion runes driven by magic power will be activated."
"Then it won't trigger when I cast the spell myself?" Alvin asked in surprise.
"Otherwise, if I let you wear it, the Sunset Stone will absorb magic power and regenerate nearby. Once it absorbs your magic power, it will be equivalent to integrating with you, and your magic will naturally not trigger the resonance of the original stone. "Fetimo sighed, "I'd rather go to the library to read more classics. It's okay to be ignorant and incompetent."
Alvin cursed in his mind that this old man would teach him a lesson whenever he got the chance.
"Does that mean this necklace can be used repeatedly, you just need to provide it with some magic power at the beginning?" Alvin asked, blinking.
"There is a cooling time for activating the runes, which takes about a quarter of an hour at a time." Fetimo naturally knew what Alvin was thinking, and said coldly, "I just said it, activating it once will consume your own magic power. Fighting The medium loss of magic power is very large, and with your current magic power, I'm afraid you won't be able to drive it a few times."
Alvin let out a frustrated "Yeah" after hearing this. He originally thought that it would only be triggered by a magic attack skill, but he didn't expect that the rune has a cooling time, and each time it is triggered, it consumes his own magic power.
"Professor, I think these jewelry are quite good. Why are they gathering so much dust when you hide them and don't use them?" Alvin took out the remaining necklaces and looked at them carefully.
"They are all children's toys. I don't need them." Fei Timo couldn't help but feel funny when he heard this. He looked at the students in front of him, all the nonsense was backed by youth, and he thought that he was already over fifty years old. What a shame, old man. Looking at these once-used jewelry, I can’t help but lament how time flies.
"Then I won't be polite to you, Professor. I guess even if I go to the equipment store in the East District to buy it, it won't be as good as yours." Alvin smiled shamelessly, "Anyway, it was you who pushed me to go to the Pillow Sword Club. , I can’t embarrass you, can I?”
"Hmph, I'm afraid it would be embarrassing for you to bring these with you." The professor mocked.
Alvin shook his head, expressing his usual frustration at the professor's usual ridicule.
"You can choose the rings and necklaces yourself. You don't need to take the staff from me. You have to use this kind of thing by yourself." Fetimo was very generous.
Rings are easy to talk about. Alvin's favorites are the ones that enhance the negative status of spells and spell tracking. As for the necklaces, after listening to Fetimo's explanation, I feel that every one has its use, but I am embarrassed to take them all. After thinking about it, I still think I picked the one that can trigger the illusion spell just now.
"For the staff, you can go to Haven Street in the east district of the inner city. There is a "Luzheng" equipment store at the end of the walk east. You should be able to buy the staff you want there." Fetimo glanced at Alvin and said Put the remaining rings and necklaces into the copper jewelry box.
Alvin nodded, thinking about getting all the jewelry in this box sooner or later.
