Close Combat Mage

Chapter 17 - The True Meanings of the Laws of Water

Puzzled at the dispirited and listless students, the female lecturer was very curious; why were the moods of these girls so weak? Only after questioning them did she find out; these girls had actually known that they should practice by themselves. Even though this was Holy Light Academy, Students practicing of their own volition was still something she had never seen nor heard of before…

Looking at her students, she was filled with a sense of gratitude. The female lecturer nodded: “The fact that everyone has been working so hard makes me happy. Here, I can now reveal to everyone that the most basic requirement for learning meditation is being able to consecutively activate 100 Moisture Techniques. Everyone should work hard!”

“One! One hundred times!” Hearing the lecturer’s words, everyone, including Suo Jia, opened their mouths wide. This was too extreme! Just earlier, the more powerful people in the class could only activate the Moisture Technique 13-14 times. Even though Suo Jia could consecutively activate 28 of them, he was a difference case. Nobody else had practiced as painfully as he had.

Seeing the dumbstruck expressions on the students’ faces, the lecturer smiled and said: “Yes, it’s exactly 100 times. Only the people who have enough spirit power to support 100 uses of the Moisture Technique are able to enter the meditation state and become a true mage. Before this, everyone is simply a water controller, not a legitimate mage.”

After a slight pause the female lecturer continued: “Based on historical records, the earliest a person was able to learn meditation was at the age of 10. A difference of thousands of years has already passed, and there has not been a single instance of this record been surpassed yet.”

Hearing the lecturer’s words, all the children’s faces turned blue. After a long time, Xue Er asked while trembling: “Teacher, didn’t you say before that water element attack magics could only be activated after learning meditation? Doesn’t that mean that at least before the age of 10, we have no way of learning attack magics?”

Firmly nodding her head, the lecturer said with certainty, “The most important thing to do while under the age of ten is to frequently practice the several types of auxiliary water magic. However that does not mean that we have no ways of attacking!”

“Let’s take a look at water magic alone. There are other spells in our repertoire beyond ice magic, and besides the obvious therapeutic branch -moisturization- there are other important supportive spells at our disposal. For instance the Swamp Technique! And of course the ever important defensive ability, Aqua Aegis.

“Doesn’t the Swamp Technique fall under earth elemental magic?” A short-haired girl asked doubtfully.

Curling her lips, the female lecturer said in disdain, “That is only an outsider’s misconception. In reality, the Swamp Technique falls under the water control arts. Although earth based magic can activate the Swamp Technique, they need to rely on a large body of water nearby to cast this magic. If the environment is water-less, then they cannot activate the Swamp Technique.”

However, water element mages were different, they could activate the Swamp Technique at any time. In reality, earth mages use their control over the earth to also gain control over the water inside of the swamp. Water mages are the exact opposite; they use their ability to control the water inside the swamp to control the entire swamp. Strictly speaking, earth mages only control swamps, while water mages are able to create swamps.

With a sigh, the female lecturer continued, “This debate has existed for a long time already. This type of conflict does not only exist between earth and water elemental magic. The truth is that within the six elemental magics, there are many techniques that share similar appearances. In order to avoid controversy, the Magic Hall has labeled these types as “shared magic” This Swamp Technique is a shared magic between the earth and water element.

Reaching this point in her lecture, the female instructor finally shifted to her main point, and said with a smile, “Besides the therapeutic Moisture Technique, the auxiliary Swamp Technique, as well as the defensive technique Aqua Aegis, as long as you are under ten years of age the only attack spell you have is the Water Sphere Technique!”

“Ah!” Hearing the lecturer’s words, all the students sighed in despair. Nobody knew more clearly than them that the Water Sphere Technique was weak and had no power. To want to use the Water Sphere to push someone to death is really too laughable.

“Heng!” Seeing everyone’s dead and disappointed reactions, the female lecturer coldly snorted, and asked in a low voice: “What? What? Do you all look down on the Water Sphere Technique? Do all of you not understand that even the tallest buildings begin from the base*? This Water Sphere Technique may have little power, but if all of you neglect to practice, to hone even the most basic of skills, you will suffer greatly for your negligence!”

Hearing the teacher’s words, all of the girls stopped complaining. The instructor’s cold glance swept across the room and said, “the Water Sphere Technique by itself does not have much attack power, but it is excellent for practicing water control, in addition…… the Water Sphere Technique is a prerequisite for casting ice magic. If there is no water, where would ice come from?”

While speaking, the lecturer reached behind with her right hand and pulled out her staff that had been resting diagonally across her back. She narrowed her eyes slightly, and after muttering some type of incantation, a hedgehog-like ball of ice about the size of a football formed. It’s surface was full of long and sharp spikes, and it emitted dense streams of cold air. It shot out like lightning from the magic crystal at the tip of the staff, and with a sudden sound, the magic target next to the instructor was smashed into pieces!

Seeing the dumbstruck expressions the students had, the female lecturer smiled in satisfaction and said: “How about it? This Ice Sphere Technique is acceptable right? I can tell everyone right now, this Ice Sphere Technique is the transformation of the Water Sphere Technique. By actively lowering the temperature of a Water Sphere, this Ice Sphere Technique is formed. Right now…does everyone still think that the Water Sphere Technique is something that can be neglected?”

Facing the lecturer’s teachings through words and examples, all the girls enviously opened their mouths. That Ice Sphere’s power was really large, similar to that of some type of artillery. They had not expected that even though the beautiful female lecturer did not seem to be very old, she had already reached such an advanced level in magic instruction!

Enjoying the students’ expressions of admiration, the female lecturer said proudly: “This Ice Sphere Technique is something that official mages learn on the job and is proof of their abilities. Only those that can use the Ice Sphere Technique are counted as mages, and this also proves that you have already learned meditation!”

After a slight pause, the female lecturer mused for a bit, and continued: “Improving your Water Sphere Technique is not simply for the sake of transforming it into the Ice Sphere Technique. In reality, the Water Sphere Technique is the base of all water element magics. High-leveled Tempests and even the even higher-leveled Blizzards are all extensions of the Water Sphere Technique.”

Raising her staff once again, the female lecturer continued: “Once you complete the Water Sphere Technique training, then your control over water also grows stronger. Everyone observe, the next level after the Ice Sphere Technique is-the Ice Arrow Technique, which depends on your control over water to pull the Ice Sphere into the Ice Arrow form. However even though only the form has changed, the Ice Arrow’s power is many times higher!”

While speaking, a bright blue light quickly began collecting on the staff in her hand. After a short while, the female lecturer waved her staff, and a blue Ice Arrow shot out and traveled 50 meters in a flash, completely penetrating through the magic target that had been placed in the classroom for demonstration purposes.

Lightly putting away her staff, the female lecturer said proudly: “How about it? This is the Ice Sphere’s next level—the Mysterious Arrow of Ice, also known as the Ice Arrow Technique. If you cannot pass the level of control you need for the Water Sphere Technique, then there is no way you can complete this magic!”

After talking for a long time as well as activating two magics, the female lecturer was a bit tired. Casually using the Moisture Technique on herself, the female lecturer said patiently: “In general, the basics are the most important; this does not require me to explain further. Anyways…from today onwards until you are all able to learn meditation, you will all have to practice these few magic spells diligently. This is the training regime that all of you will have for the next few years!”

Using the Moisture Technique to recover the body’s condition, using the Aqua Aegis technique for defense, using the Swamp Technique to cut off the enemy’s movements, and using the Water Sphere Technique to attack the enemy; these were all of the abilities that a water element magic apprentice had to master.

Among the four elements, out of all the magic apprentices training to be mages, those with the water element were the weakest. Whether in terms of defense or attack, they were all equally powerless. If they wanted to kill their enemy, even using a knife to stab them would be faster.

However with regards to these four elemental arts, once you reached a certain level of cultivation, water arts became the toughest. The Moisture technique enables water mages to become a small undying force, Aqua Aegis Technique upon evolving into ice - covers the entire body in thorns of ice - freezing everything within their vicinity, allowing one’s defense to completely go under metamorphosis.

As for attack, nothing more needs to be said. Revolving Frozen Gas, Frosted Glacier Sword, Chilling Ice Hailstorm, Blizzard, Absolute Zero, no matter which one you chose, all of them were famous and well-known.

Even the most unremarkable Swamp Technique, once having reached the high-level realm, can cause a heavy warrior to perish in the quagmire. To high-level water mages, a swamp that is many meters deep and spans a width of hundreds of square meters can easily be created. Unless you can fly, you will just have to await your death.

Of course, once you reached a high-level of cultivation, the auxiliary aspects of the water arts become number one within the four elemental arts as well. Ice Seal, Freeze, Barbed Icicle Prison, there are so many that you can’t even count them all clearly! Within all six arts, water arts are the most annoying to deal with because their attacks are strange and immeasurable!

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