A few seconds later, he "heard" a cry of pain from beside him.
An apprentice suddenly opened his eyes, clutching his forehead.
The Rune he was constructing collapsed before it could form. The backlash of Spiritual Power caused him a sharp, momentary pain.
In another direction, a girl successfully constructed a Rune, but she was too hasty when channeling her Magic Power. The formless energy went out of control instantly, not blowing toward the candle, but messing up her own hair instead.
Vera's brow was furrowed, and fine beads of sweat dotted her temples.
She could clearly "see" the arrowhead, but no matter how hard she tried, the lines she drew with her Spiritual Power were always crooked and twisted like a worm, collapsing halfway through.
Colin's situation was even worse. He was too nervous, and his Sea of Consciousness was in turmoil. He couldn't even focus his Spiritual Power enough to "pick up the brush."
'Control, not brute force,' Allen said to himself.
He mobilized a wisp of Spiritual Power and, following the path provided by DSeek, began construction.
First step: construct the shaft of the arrowhead.
His Spiritual Power was like a precision scalpel, slicing through the dark space of his consciousness, leaving behind a stable and perfectly straight trail of light.
Second step: construct the two barbs of the arrowhead.
His Spiritual Power forked, extending to both sides simultaneously and connecting perfectly with the tip of the shaft.
The entire process took less than half a second.
A stable, clear, faintly glowing arrowhead Rune floated in his Sea of Consciousness.
It wasn't as complex or profound as the "anchor point," filled instead with simple directionality.
Next, he guided the gentle wisp of Magic Power within his body and injected it into the end of the Rune.
HUMMM...
The Rune activated. Accelerated and guided by the arrowhead, the wisp of Magic Power was instantly converted into a pure, directional "push."
In the outside world, on the desk in front of Allen, the flame of the white candle didn't flicker at all. Instead, it was instantly "snuffed out."
There was no sound of wind, no disturbance in the air. The flame simply vanished into thin air, leaving only a wisp of blue smoke rising straight up.
Simultaneously, the "Release" Rune in his Sea of Consciousness completed its task. With a flash of light, it dissolved into specks of light and vanished without a trace.
The entire process was clean and efficient, the consumption negligible.
Allen even had the spare capacity to quantify the cost of this casting: the Spiritual Power consumption was about two percent of what it took to construct the "anchor point" in the morning, and the Magic Power consumed was only one-twentieth of his current total.
"Excellent!"
Teacher Colvin's voice sounded in his ear.
Allen opened his eyes and saw the Wizard standing by his desk, watching the wisp of blue smoke with great interest.
"Outstanding control! The first time most new students succeed, the candle gets blown away, or the papers around it are sent flying everywhere. Yours... was more like you 'extinguished' it, rather than 'blew it out.' How did you do that?"
"I just tried to focus the force a little more," Allen replied in the simplest terms.
"Focus..." Colvin nodded thoughtfully. He clapped Allen on the shoulder. "Good kid. What's your name?"
"Allen Wesren."
"Allen... very good. I'll remember you."
Colvin's gaze lingered on Allen for two more seconds, a flash of approval in his bright eyes.
Colvin's announcement drew gazes mixed with envy, jealousy, and surprise from the other apprentices who were still struggling.
Vera and Colin also looked at Allen, their faces filled with disbelief. 'So this is what an S-rank genius in memory and concentration looks like?'
Allen ignored them. He turned to the still-troubled Vera and said in a low voice, "Don't try to 'draw' with your Spiritual Power. Treat it like your finger and 'touch' the shape. Go from start to finish in one stroke, without hesitation."
He then looked at Colin. "Forget the candle, forget the credits, forget everyone around you. In your Sea of Consciousness, there's only you and the arrowhead. For now, just think about drawing a straight line. Don't worry about anything else, just draw it."
His words were simple, but they cut straight to the core of the problem. Vera and Colin were stunned for a moment, then immediately tried again following his guidance.
Half a minute later, the candle in front of Vera was extinguished with a POOF by a sizable puff of air. Though it was a clumsy success, it was a success nonetheless. She opened her eyes in pleasant surprise, her gaze toward Allen filled with gratitude.
A moment later, the candle flame in front of Colin also flickered violently a few times before finally going out.
He let out a long breath, his whole body relaxing. A hint of color finally returned to his pale face.
Spurred on by Allen's "demonstration" and encouragement, more and more apprentices succeeded over the next half hour.
Although most of their results were just a gentle breeze, the successive sounds of extinguished flames and suppressed cheers made the atmosphere in the classroom lively.
Once the vast majority of students had experienced casting for the first time, Colvin clapped his hands to quiet everyone down.
"Very good! You've proven you're not useless fools who can't even pull a trigger."
He said with a smile, "A single 'Release' Rune can only produce the simplest of pushes. But what if we combine several different Runes in a specific order and structure?"
Before he had even finished speaking, he waved his hand, and a complex, three-dimensional model made of light appeared above the lecture platform.
It was woven from five different Runes, linked by pathways to form an intricate and stable structure.
"This is a basic 'Magic Model.' You can think of it as a 'blueprint' for Witchcraft. During the low-level apprentice stage, every time you cast a spell, you need to temporarily draw this blueprint in your mind and then infuse it with Magic Power. We call this process 'construction'."
"The more powerful the Witchcraft, the more complex its Magic Model, the more Runes it requires, and the more spirit and time it takes to construct."
"Once you become Advanced Apprentices and your Spiritual Power is strong enough, you can permanently inscribe some Magic Models into your Sea of Consciousness, just like an 'anchor point.' At that point, you won't need to reconstruct them to cast a spell; you'll be able to do it instantly with just a thought. This is the fundamental difference between an Advanced Apprentice and a low-level apprentice."
Colvin pointed at the Magic Model in the air. "This is the first formal piece of Witchcraft you will learn—'Wizard's Hand.' It's a cantrip, not even considered a Low-level Witchcraft, that allows you to manipulate light objects with Magic Power."
"In the public classes, I will teach you a total of five such cantrips: 'Wizard's Hand,' 'Light Magic,' 'Cleaning Spell,' 'Tiny Spark,' and 'Communication Magic.' If you want to learn more, sorry, you'll have to spend your own Magic Stones to buy them from the library."
Allen's gaze was locked on the Magic Model for "Wizard's Hand."
Five Runes. It was several times more complex than the simple "Release" Rune.
[DSeek: "Wizard's Hand" Magic Model detected. Deconstructing structure... Model is composed of five basic Runes: "Shaping," "Propulsion," "Linking," "Stabilization," and "Guidance." Requesting authorization for in-depth analysis and to establish a learning plan.]
'Authorize,' Allen thought.
His mind was already racing.
'The five free instances of Witchcraft are all utility-based for daily life.'
'For new students, "Wizard's Hand" and the "Cleaning Spell" would undoubtedly make life much more convenient.'
'As for combat Witchcraft, with a low-level apprentice's Magic Power and proficiency, it would probably be useless even if I learned it.'
'If I can quickly master the knack for these Witchcrafts and turn it into an efficient learning method...'
'A business plan seems to be taking shape.'
"Alright, that's all for today's class."
Colvin waved his hand. The Magic Model in the air dispersed, replaced by images of five individual Runes. "Your homework is to burn the forms of these five Runes that make up 'Wizard's Hand' into your brains! In subsequent classes, I will teach you how to combine them. Class dismissed!"
The bell rang right on cue. Colvin picked up his thick book and, with a WHOOSH, vanished.
The new students were still immersed in the excitement of learning their first piece of Witchcraft and their longing for "Wizard's Hand." They chattered in small groups as they excitedly walked out.