“It’s Princess Ellaria, Her Highness, she’s stepped forward.…”
“Is she challenging the teacher’s authority……?”
Low whispers spread from below, laced with nervousness and anticipation.
Sefina’s gaze settled on the princess with dazzling golden hair and emerald eyes, a faint smile of amusement curling at the corner of her lips.
She spoke calmly, her voice steady and unshaken: “Tell me your thoughts.”
Ellaria rose gracefully in response:
“As everyone knows, magic has always been a solitary endeavor. The focus of one’s mental strength, the guidance of mana, the construction of the spell formation — all must be completed independently by a single mage.”
“Since ancient times, there has never been a reliable case of low-rank mages cooperating to cast high-rank magic. Casting spells beyond one’s tier goes against the Basic Law of Mana Capacity and Mental Strength.”
“No genius has ever achieved this, not even the Legendary God of Mages in history left such records. Yet you, Teacher Sefina, claim that a third-rank mage can cast fourth-rank magic. I… I simply cannot believe it.”
Her challenge was clear and forceful, echoing the feelings of most students in the classroom.
Indeed, this was an ironclad rule repeatedly emphasized in Basic Theory of Magic classes.
However, Sefina did not immediately refute her. Instead, she turned around, back to Ellaria, and walked steadily back to the center of the podium.
Her petite figure was swathed in the somewhat loose student uniform, yet her steps were remarkably steady.
Ellaria watched that silhouette and, for some reason, a strange thought flickered through her mind.
She thought this new teacher’s appearance was a bit…………. cute?
But that fleeting thought was quickly shattered by Sefina’s cold and confident words.
“If it’s not that it can’t be done…” Sefina stopped, turned her head slightly, her wine-red eyes casting a sidelong glance behind her.
“But rather, no one’s willing to do it, or no one dares to think about it?”
“What?!” Ellaria’s pupils shrank slightly; she whispered in disbelief, nearly doubting her own ears.
Sefina turned completely to face all the students, her voice clear and ringing:
“The magic world is far too bound by tradition and history, addicted to the glory of dusty old tomes, stagnating for long periods, treating many possibilities as taboos or fantasies. In reality, the scope for magical development is far beyond that.”
“Are you serious….”
Ellaria’s tone still held doubt, but looking at Sefina’s utmost confidence, the strong walls of her deepest convictions seemed to crack just a little.
After all, this teacher had effortlessly wielded sixth-rank magic and precisely caught all the pranksters in the class.
“Words alone prove nothing.” Sefina seemed to see through everyone’s thoughts and lightly clapped her hands.
“Practice is the only criterion for truth. I will prove it to you now. I need five third-rank mages willing to try — please come to the podium.”
Most first-year students were first or second rank; those who had reached third rank at this point were all exceptional prodigies.
There were nearly ten such geniuses in the classroom, which explained their usual arrogance.
Soon, five third-rank mages—Ellaria among them, her curiosity now fully ignited despite inner doubts—walked up to the podium.
Sefina handed each of them a sheet of paper inscribed with complex patterns, explaining lightly:
“It’s simple. You four need to strictly follow the patterns on the paper and use your Array Drawing Technique to construct your individual spell formation arrays.
Once completed, maintain stability and channel your mana through your formations toward Ellaria.
Then,” Sefina glanced at Ellaria, “Ellaria, you will receive the converging mana and use the pattern on your paper to draw the final Core Array, guiding and releasing the magic.”
Ellaria glanced down swiftly at her sheet.
She was surprised to find the spell formation patterns were not extremely complex—in fact, they were quite simple, nothing like any fourth-rank magic she knew, which always had numerous intertwined nodes and circuits.
She had seen almost every common formation pattern up to third rank, but these patterns on the sheets………….. looked very strange and unfamiliar, their structures entirely unlike traditional ones.
Though deeply skeptical, she was used to executing before questioning.
So she nodded, and along with the other four, began focusing on the patterns in their hands.
The four spread out, surrounding Ellaria at the center, and started drawing.
Mana light flowed from their fingertips, tracing glowing lines on the floor. Soon, four arrays with similar structures but unique details took shape.
“Now, channel your mana to flow toward Ellaria.” Sefina’s voice was like a conductor’s baton.
Four slightly different-colored mana streams, like tamed mountain brooks, slowly flowed into the magic field enveloping Ellaria.
She immediately felt a huge but controlled surge of mana entering her body, seemingly preprocessed by the four strange arrays, making it exceptionally docile and manageable.
She did not dare delay and began drawing the crucial “Core Array” pattern on her sheet.
The moment her final stroke completed the formation and connected with the glow of the other four arrays—
Buzzzz—!
All five formations burst forth with intense light, resonating with each other to form an extremely complex and precise Composite Magic Array!
Massive mana whirled, integrated, and ascended within.
Ellaria felt her Staff grow scorching hot; a tremendously powerful spell had already formed, its might far beyond any magic she could cast alone!
Almost instinctively, following the final guidance on the sheet, she thrust her Staff toward the open space above the classroom—
“Boom—!”
A deafening roar—not an explosion, but the fierce release of highly compressed mana.
A scorching torrent of flame burst forth from nowhere, like a freed fire dragon, surging upward with the force of a violent tempest.
The blistering heat made the classroom’s temperature spike instantly; the Defensive Array on the ceiling activated, rippling faintly, barely resisting the devastating thermal impact.
The entire classroom fell into sudden, deathly silence.
Several seconds passed before a student’s distorted, trembling scream broke out:
“Fo… fourth-rank magic! It’s [Flame Tempest]! It’s really a fourth-rank offensive spell!”
“How is this possible……….. five third-rank mages… really cast it?”
“Did it succeed? Did it really succeed? I’m not dreaming, right?!”
On the podium, the four third-rank mages who had channeled their mana collapsed onto the ground, pale-faced and drained, but their expressions were full of disbelief, ecstasy, and shock.
Ellaria, standing in the center, stared wide-eyed with emerald eyes, her hand gripping the Staff trembling slightly as she blankly watched the lingering flames and scorch marks above.
A storm of emotions surged inside her.
How was this possible…… the five sheets, when separated, didn’t resemble any complete spell formation she knew, and some patterns looked utterly meaningless.
But combined, through a specific mana flow, they truly formed a complete fourth-rank spell!
This completely overturned everything she had known about magic for over ten years!
It was simply unbelievable!
Sefina’s lips curved slightly—everything had gone exactly as she expected.
As a science and engineering man from another world, after delving deep into this world’s magic system, she had long ago stumbled upon an unexpected truth—
The fundamental rules of magic were as rigorous and logical as a gigantic computer.
Spell formations were essentially source code files waiting to be executed, and those seemingly mysterious patterns and nodes were, in essence, code!
The principle behind cooperative casting of high-rank magic was much like modular programming.
Breaking down a complex high-rank spell into several simple “subroutines,” then having a “main function” unify, coordinate, and call them.
Through clever “interface” design, mana could be transmitted and integrated like data streams, ultimately outputting a powerful “result”!
“This is my personal research area,” Sefina’s crisp voice broke the classroom’s silence, pulling everyone out of shock.
“I call this theory and technical system [Source Code].”
Her gaze swept over the astonished, passionate, and eager faces, especially Ellaria’s fixed stare.
“Theoretically, this profound study exceeds the understanding scope of first-year students, and even many advanced mages. It is beyond my regular teaching.
But………….”
She paused deliberately, and countless eyes immediately lit up.
“I will make it a special reward for the top five students in the final grades this semester. Only the most outstanding students will have the privilege to get initial contact with it.”
“Really?!”
The classroom instantly exploded with excitement, voices buzzing with uncontrollable cheers and excitement!
“Is there really a chance to learn this amazing casting method?”
“Oh my god! So awesome…….. I want to learn it!”
“This is a world-class magical research breakthrough! Teacher Sefina is amazing!”
The atmosphere completely reversed, from initial defiance, doubt, and fear, to now worship, frenzy, and endless longing.
With absolute strength and revolutionary knowledge, Sefina had conquered this group of arrogant prodigies in one fell swoop.
Ellaria stood by the podium, dazedly watching that small figure.
It was the first time someone had so thoroughly humiliated her.
This feeling… hah, it’s kind of interesting.
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