Infinite Mage

The students were stupefied.

“G-Get down to business?”

They were bewildered because the power Samuel had shown just now was enough to really showcase the power of Incantation magic.

“Earth of furor.”

Samuel recited the same poem again.

One difference was that the speed at which he spoke became faster.

“I borrow thy power so touch my hand. Looking down at the sky, the history of achievement, be captured in a moment.”

It was almost frightening how fast he sped up. His words were almost incomprehensible.

“Thesacredlandoftheskyexistsinthyheart,andthewillofthemageistoextolandsingsongsofpraiseintheworld…!”

And finally, a sound that could not be considered as language broke and spread out.

Samuel’s face distorted terribly while the sound he was creating resembled that of a dolphin’s cry.

The speed of the incantation seemingly reached its limit.

He recited the phrases that took 2 minutes to complete in 4 seconds.

He cast the magic while clutching his chest.

BOOOOM!

A huge whirlwind with a mixture of dirt and dust soared through the sky.

“AAAHH!”

The loud shouts of children from the lower classes were heard, and a strong wind swept past their seats.

By the time the dust disappeared, Samuel had a peaceful expression with a soft smile on his face.

After the tinnitus disappeared from the ears of the students, Samuel explained calmly.

“That, everyone, was the basis of Incantation magic. It’s called Supersonic magic.”

“It is an indispensable skill in battle. Of course, it’s not just about speaking fast. It may have been simply a noise to you, but I ruminated over and over the full meaning of the phrases. I think the power of the whirlwind that every one of you has seen serves as proof of that.”

As they were still in a daze, nobody replied back, but everyone agreed with Samuel’s words.

It was the same for Shirone.

‘The Power of Incantation…’

‘The last whirlwind that was 10 times more powerful than the first.’

‘Is this the level of the Advanced Class?’

Not to mention, he was the teaching assistant that Ethella chose, so he must have been in the top ranks in the Advanced class.

But regardless, he was still a student.

The thought that Amy was competing with such people made him nervous, but at the same time, something hot flared inside him.

‘I'll definitely reach that position.’

The other students seem to have felt the same way because their eyes looked slightly different from before.

This was the exact reason why Ethella called a teaching assistant.

“Good work, Samuel. The students should have picked up a few things. Thank you for following through despite the difficult request.”

“Not at all, Ms. Ethella. Just call me up anytime, I’ll be happy to help.”

Compared to the comfortable way the Intermediate class acted around Ethella, Samuel bowed his head politely.

‘That is the kind of world for mages.’

Shirone realized anew who he was taking lessons from.

Once Samuel eventually graduated, he would be a non-certified Grade 10 mage. However, the instructor in front of him was a Grade 6 mage, and a state-certified one at that.

‘How strong is she, our teacher?’

The other students must have registered this fact as well, as even after Samuel left, they were filled with reverence.

“Okay, everyone. Did you enjoy the demonstration of Incantation magic?”

“Yes!”

Hearing the louder-than-usual reply, Ethella nodded, satisfied.

“The reason why I decided to show you Incantation magic is because it’s closely related to the strengthening of your Spirit Zone that you will learn about today. Now, do you think you can answer this question? What is the best way to strengthen your thoughts?”

The students responded unanimously.

“Through words!”

“Correct. Because thoughts are made up of words. So in other words, what does this mean?”

Class 4 was the one who answered.

“You can materialize your thoughts.”

“Yes, exactly that. Whatever you think, you can see it with your own eyes. Now, close your eyes and try. See if you can see your thoughts.”

The students who actually tried realized what it felt like to see their thoughts.

“If you can see it with your eyes, it means it’s real. That’s the main point of Incantation. Incantation mages materialize the words they speak.”

Ethella raised her index finger and explained.

“The basic system of Incantation magic is simple. Speak and ruminate. Speak and ruminate. They continue to amplify the meaning of the words this way and strengthen the magic.”

A student from Class 7 asked.

“Ms. Ethella, then can we learn Incantation, too?”

Ethella smiled.

“Would you like to?”

“Yes. That older brother just now was really cool.”

“Right. Choosing a major is important. But unfortunately, since Incantation magic is a major, it will not be covered in Intermediate class.”

“Then how do we strengthen our Spirit Zone? Weren’t we gonna do it through Incantation?”

“And that is what I will explain starting now. Incantation is used to increase the power of certain magic. There are countless kinds of magic in the world, and there are also different languages to express that magic. However, the Spirit Zone purely operates through mentality, so there’s no need for you to learn linguistic or supersonic techniques.”

Ethella paused for a moment and entered the Image Zone.

“In order to strengthen your Spirit Zone, a unique concentration method called the Sequence method is required. Raise your hand if you have ever counted from 1 to 100 either in your head or through your mouth.”

Most of the students raised their hands.

“Good. How about 1 through 1,000?”

* * *

* * *

Those who lowered their hands looked around.

All of the Class 4 students raised their hands, but only a few from the lower-level classes were seen.

“The Sequence method is literally a technique that expands numbers. Contrary to language, numbers are symbols in the state of axiom. So it meshes well with the Spirit Zone.”

“So you’re saying that counting increases concentration?”

“That is correct. Of course, you can’t simply count numbers. That won’t do anything. Essentially, it’s the same as Incantation. Speak and ruminate. However, In the case of the Sequence method, you have to think and ruminate. The Sequence method will not work unless you focus on each and every number individually.”

Except for the fact that language was replaced with numbers, it had a similar mechanism to Incantation magic.

‘So that’s why we were shown a demonstration first.’

Ethella’s explanation continued.

“The faster the number expands, the stronger the Spirit Zone becomes. In other words, all parts such as the probability of a magic being activated and its precision are increased. However, you do have to keep a few things in mind. The Sequence method is not omnipotent. The Spirit Zone can only really be enhanced through rigorous mental discipline. So in the future, don’t rely too much on technical enhancements. That being said, I will now demonstrate the Sequence method myself.”

After the explanation, Ethella spread out her Spirit Zone but limited it to a diameter of about 10 meters for her demonstration.

“I will now perform the Sequence method. I will strengthen the currently visible Spirit Zone with only the Sequence method. Since this is not an Incantation, I will tell you the expansion of numbers in units and multiples of 10. Let’s begin. One.”

As soon as Ethella spoke the number, the Spirit Zone visibly grew.

“100.”

“100? Did she just say 100?”

Like Incantation, one needed to accurately perceive and recognize each number in order for the Sequence method to be effective.

Even so, counting to 100 in one second meant that the speed of her number expansion was insanely high.

“400.”

The students’ eyes grew to the size of saucers.

Suddenly, Ethella started to accelerate for it took her less and less time to pass an interval.

“1,000. 1,700. 2,400.”

Shirone was absolutely stupefied.

‘No way.’

How could a human being count that fast?

It did not even pass 10 seconds, but Ethella technically added 1+1 2,400 times while also ruminating on it.

As a result, the size of her Spirit Zone swelled into a sphere with a diameter of 30 meters.

It was only strengthened using the Sequence method.

When the sequence reached 10,000, the Spirit Zone gradually got smaller in size.

“Huuu…”

Her concentration which allowed her to count to 10,000 in one breath proved that she was worthy of her position as the youngest bishop of the Karsis Order.

‘She’s really amazing. How much do you have to train your mind to reach that level?’

The students were shocked. Even Ethella’s appearance seemed dim when compared to her abilities.

“Did you see? Depending on how quickly you perform the Sequence, the range of its enhancement increases. Since it is only a technique, if the Spirit Zone itself is insufficiently practiced, the method will also be inefficient. However, I think everyone here can use it effectively depending on the situation.

Shirone shouted Eureka.

‘That’s it!’

Shirone found the easiest way for him to use active magic despite his convergent and defensive tendencies.

‘To strengthen the Spirit Zone using the Sequence method.’

Ethella gave advice.

“The basis of the Sequence method puts 1 to 1,000 as the standard. Until you get used to it, focus on shortening your reach to 1,000.”

After the class was over, the students scattered and started immersing themselves in the Sequence technique.

After expanding the Sequence from 1 to 1,000, Shirone immediately checked his measured time.

‘Took me 48 seconds.’

It was an okay result considering it was his first try.

Most of all, the best part was that he finished counting up to 1,000 without stopping once.

In fact, it was normal for first-timers to lose concentration halfway through.

‘I have no problem with counting itself. Shall I expand the Sequence further…? No, teacher told us to focus on shortening the time it takes us to reach 1,000.’

Judging from Ethella’s personality, she must’ve determined that her previous demonstration was enough for her current class.

‘The 10,000 mark was just a model. An example. That must mean there’s a much higher level than that. Is it really possible through just counting numbers? If there is an actual special way…’

At that moment, a possibility came to Shirone’s mind.

The time fragmentation effect that he experienced while crossing the Bridge That Could Not Be Crossed.

‘Insight. Just as you can count the number of leaves, you can count numbers, but also feel them at the same time. I can group individual numbers into units and process them at once.’

Shirone did not know this, but what he thought of at that moment was the Concept of Modularity, which was the basic principle of Information magic.

Shirone immediately started putting it into practice.

‘Set the module unit to 10, and process the 10 pieces of information contained in that number in an integrated way…’

‘10. 20. 30……’

As he moved forward, savoring the gaps between the numbers using insight, he began to gain momentum.

‘1,000!’

Shirone had arrived at 1,000 much faster speed than before.

Shirone switched his Spirit Zone into Attack Form.

‘Photon Output!’

A strong feeling of something leaving was felt, and a ray of light shot straight towards the forest and stretched far.

“Whoa! What is that?!”

Strictly speaking, he shot a sphere of light, but in people’s eyes, it looked like a ray of light.

Shirone clenched his fist.

‘Yes! I did it!’

His classmates talked about it amongst themselves.

“It's a Photon Output. Is he preparing for the targeting exam?”

“But why go out of his way to learn that? Isn’t it a particularly useless magic? Though maybe he’s learning it to set foundations for Information magic?”

“It doesn’t matter because the target in the Image Zone activates upon any kind of magic. It is also said that it can be removed by recovery magic. Besides, it may be advantageous for the exam. That’s honestly super fast, isn’t it?”

The students nodded.

It was safe to say it had no power, but it was ideal for hitting fast-moving targets.