Karl took a deep breath and nodded confidently, meeting his eyes.
......
On the vast plain outside the academy, the wind rustled through the lush grass.
Hen stood to the side, patiently observing his student during his first real spellcasting practice.
Prior to this, he had already thoroughly taught Karl the most basic and representative offensive spell.
The incantation syllables, the gesture paths, and most importantly, the mental guidance and methods for concentrating on Chaos magic had all been carefully studied by Karl.
Karl followed the instructions, made a slightly sharp gesture, and recited the Elder Speech text on his lips.
He concentrated all his energy, trying to perceive, guide, and focus the chaotic magic that permeated the heavens and the earth.
However, the process was extremely difficult, and the magic felt like sticky glue.
Driven by his thoughts, it flowed slowly, making it hard to compress and smoothly cast the spell.
After dozens of attempts, a pitiful, weak little flame finally burst from his fingertips.
The flame flickered in the air a few times before reluctantly going out, not even as good as Geralt's Igni Sign...
This was several times different from the fireball that could melt rocks and blow them to pieces, the size of a head, that Hen had casually demonstrated earlier.
The subsequent failures made Karl frown, and he even began to wonder if he had any talent for magic—perhaps he was simply not suited for this path.
"Don't be discouraged, Karl." Hen's voice was calm, carrying a soothing power.
"The reason for this is most likely related to your unique physique."
"Your body holds and reacts to magic differently than ordinary sorcerers."
"This may make it more difficult to absorb mana and construct spell patterns, and since you are just starting out, it's inevitable that you lack skill."
Hen stepped forward and personally corrected a few subtle gestures for Karl.
He also re-demonstrated those key ancient syllables, emphasizing their unique resonant frequencies.
"Pay attention, raise your wrist a little higher. The guidance of mental power should be like a flowing stream, not a collision of brute force... And this sound... the position of the tongue tip..."
Karl adjusted according to Hen's words, and indeed he felt that the invisible sense of blockage had greatly diminished, and his magic became slightly more obedient.
He practiced the spell repeatedly, tracing the gestures to guide the magic.
......
Time passed quietly on the plain, focused and repetitive—from the scorching sun to the setting rays.
Hen watched Karl, who was persistent, assessed the time in his heart, and was about to end today's lesson.
He reminded him that learning was not a matter of a day or two, and no student could go from beginner to master of spellcasting in half a day.
At that moment, Hen's brows slightly lifted. He felt the already thin Chaos magic in the surrounding environment
converging towards Karl. It was extremely slow, but indeed abnormal.
This way of convergence was very strange, too calm, and not at all like the magical agitation that the violent fireball technique should cause.
"Is he going to fail again?" This thought had just crossed Hen's mind.
Suddenly, the temperature around Karl rose sharply without warning, and the air in front of him distorted from the heat.
Hen's expression changed, a flicker of surprise in his eyes, and he suddenly looked at Karl in the field.
At this moment, Karl's expression was unprecedentedly focused, as if the whole world remained only him and the spell in his hand.
For the one hundred and second time, and the last time that day, he finished reciting the final syllable of the incantation completely and accurately, his hands tracing the perfect gestures.
BOOM! In his outstretched palms, a spark burst from nowhere, no longer the weak light of before.
Instead, it was a fiery and active fire element, and these sparks quickly converged, collided, and merged.
Almost instantly, it expanded into a fist-sized sphere, a constantly burning, glowing, hot orange-red fireball.
"He... he actually succeeded?!" Hen's heart was shocked.
How long had it taken him to master his first offensive spell? Over a month...
It included a long process of getting familiar with spells, practicing gestures, understanding magic, and receiving instruction.
And Karl had only needed half a day of contact with the spell to successfully release it—what a terrifying magical talent!
Although the scale of this fireball was significantly smaller than the one he had cast, its stability and heat already met the standard.
Hen forcibly suppressed the shock in his heart, tried to keep his face calm, and even said with the necessary amount of support: "Yes, you've touched the threshold."
"But don't relax. You still have a lot to learn, and this is still far from the level of my first spell..."
He said this to temper Karl and prevent him from becoming complacent.
When Karl heard this, the joy that had appeared on his face quickly faded, and he solemnly nodded.
He knew that Hen's magical attainments were extremely high, and since the teacher said so, it meant he hadn't mastered it deeply enough.
And just as Hen was about to ask Karl how he felt when casting the spell, to analyze it against an ordinary sorcerer's experience, he suddenly changed.
Karl's expression suddenly twisted, as if he were experiencing intense pain.
Suddenly, he let go of his hands, and the fireball he had just formed was unconsciously thrown forward.
At the same time, he covered his ears with both hands, let out a suppressed low roar, and his body slightly curled from the stabbing pain in his brain.
BOOM! The fireball traced an arc and struck a large tree in the distance.
With a powerful explosion, the trunk was instantly blasted to pieces, and sawdust flew everywhere.
A scorched pit over two meters in diameter was left at the site, and the soil at the edge of the pit was even melted.
But the damage caused by this fireball was now of no concern.
"Karl, what's wrong with you?" Hen hastily stepped forward.
His first reaction was that Karl's spell had backfired; magic was extremely dangerous for novices.
"Ugh!" Karl was like an agitated beast, letting out an even more pained roar.
In his hearing, Hen's anxious question was no different from thunder exploding in his ears, shaking his brain to a buzzing, nearly splitting.
He suddenly raised his head, and in his eyes, the originally deep pupils now emitted a terrifying, lava-like crimson light.
His vision began to flicker and distort violently, and the surrounding scenery rapidly alternated between the real plain and an underground scene.
What surprised him even more was when he looked at Hen.
The dark robe and undergarments on Hen's body instantly became transparent, directly revealing the bones wrapped beneath.
The contracting muscles, peristaltic internal organs, and distributed fatty tissue were all visible to him.
Karl couldn't withstand the impact of this sudden, comprehensive sharpening of his senses.