Chapter 16: Wind-Style Magic
At Ernst Academy, classes were held for twenty-eight days out of each month, with only the last two days free.
Earth-style magic was from eight to ten in the morning, Fire-style from ten-thirty to twelve-thirty, Water-style from two to four in the afternoon, Wind-style from four-thirty to six-thirty, Lightning-style from seven to nine in the evening, and Light-style from nine-thirty to eleven-thirty at night.
However, most students were single-element mages and only needed to attend two hours of class per day. Linley was a dual-element mage, so he only had four hours of classes daily. Moreover, these classes were optional—you could attend if you wanted to, or skip them if you didn’t; no one forced you.
Earth-style was divided into six grades, each with its own building. Beginners and first-level mages were in first grade, second-level mages in second grade, third-level mages in third grade, and so on, up to sixth-level mages in sixth grade.
Sixth-grade students could apply for graduation at any time. Of course, if you didn’t apply, you could continue studying.
February 10th, in the first-grade Earth-style classroom.
The first-grade Earth-style classroom was very large, with hundreds of seats. At this moment, there were already over twenty students present. Linley found a seat near the front and sat down. By eight o’clock, there were more than fifty students in the room.
“I guess only some of these are new students. I wonder how many years the others have been studying,” Linley thought to himself.
After all, it usually took a beginner several years to reach the second level of a mage.
“Hello, everyone,” said a friendly middle-aged man with brown hair standing at the front of the room. “My name is Wendi, and I am your Earth-style magic teacher. Today, we have nearly twenty new students here. As usual, let’s have the new and returning students introduce themselves one by one, so we can all get to know each other.”
Immediately, the students began to go up and introduce themselves.
“My name is Geerhan, from the great grasslands of the far east.”
When Linley heard this young man named Geerhan introduce himself, he couldn’t help but feel surprised: “So they really come from all over the Yulan continent. Even someone from the great grasslands in the far east of the Yulan continent is here.”
In the geographical layout of the Yulan continent.
The Sacred Alliance and the Dark Alliance were located west of the Magical Beast Mountain Range on the Yulan continent. East of the Magical Beast Mountain Range were the four empires, and further east of those empires lay a vast grassland, which also contained three kingdoms. The distance from the great grasslands to Ernst Academy was no ordinary distance. Just traveling there would probably take two or three years.
“My name is Linley, from the Sacred Alliance,” Linley said as he walked to the front of the classroom and gave a brief introduction.
After all the students had introduced themselves, the Earth-style mage Wendi began to boast about Earth-style magic. It wasn’t until the second half of the class that Teacher Wendi started teaching Earth-style magic.
Linley and the other children listened attentively below, while beside Linley, Dellinger Cowart even appeared.
“This Wendi has a solid foundation. Although his strength isn’t particularly impressive, when it comes to teaching first-level mages, even an eighth-level or ninth-level mage might not explain things as well as he does,” Dellinger Cowart said with a nod of approval.
Linley was very familiar with Earth-style magic, so he found it quite easy to follow.
“But Grandpa Dellinger, his foundation is solid, yet his explanations aren’t as simple and clear as yours. They seem a bit complicated,” Linley remarked.
Dellinger Cowart nodded and smiled proudly, his white beard curling upward: “Of course. A Saint-level magus’s understanding of magic completely surpasses that of ninth-level or eighth-level mages. The Saint level is an entirely new realm. Naturally, my explanations are clearer and get straight to the essence of magic.”
After listening to the class, Linley made a decision.
“From now on, I’ll come to this Earth-style magic class once a month,” Linley thought. He didn’t want to waste time.
Linley also formed a plan in his mind: he would spend every day outside practicing magic. As for where to practice… Linley had already chosen a spot—the back mountain of Ernst Academy. The academy was located in a mountainous forest area, and there were indeed many mountains around.
Four-thirty in the afternoon.
Linley was in the first-grade Wind-style classroom, listening attentively.
“Hello, everyone,” said a handsome young man with golden hair, smiling cheerfully. “My name is Trey, a sixth-grade student at the academy. From today onward, I will be responsible for teaching you Wind-style magic. I live in dormitory 0298. If you have questions after class, you can come find me.”
Sixth-grade students were sixth-level mages who could apply for graduation at any time. They were qualified to teach first- and second-grade students.
“Before we begin, let’s all introduce ourselves,” Trey said with a smile.
This was the most basic part of the first class of the semester. One by one, the students went up to introduce themselves.
“Hey, Linley, have you noticed there are quite a few cute girls among the Wind-style students? Look, that blonde girl is even smiling at you,” Dellinger Cowart said beside Linley, gesticulating excitedly. “I heard her introduce herself—her name seems to be ‘Dilia.’ Dilia, what a lovely name. With my nearly 1,300 years of experience, I can tell that girl will definitely be a beauty when she grows up. Linley, smile back at her, build a good relationship! That way, you can take things further later on.”
At this moment, Linley completely ignored Dellinger Cowart beside him.
Linley stared at the Wind-style magic teacher, Trey, listening intently to his lecture.
“Wind-style mages are the fastest mages, the most agile mages. And they are the only mages who can fly without reaching the Saint level!” Trey said with great enthusiasm, his words filled with a love for Wind-style magic. “Do you want to soar through the sky under your own power? Flying through the heavens, overlooking the endless mountains and rivers—how wonderful, how enchanting that is!”
The children below had their eyes shining.
Fly?
Who didn’t want to?
“Becoming a Saint-level powerhouse allows you to fly, but in the entire history of Ernst Academy, it’s rare to produce even one Saint-level powerhouse in a century! However, a Wind-style mage only needs to reach the fifth level to cast the ‘Levitation Spell,’” Trey said confidently. “Moreover, Wind-style mages are the fastest, and the auxiliary spell ‘Extreme Speed’ can greatly increase your velocity.”
“Of course, those are just ordinary things. The legendary Wind-style forbidden spell ‘Storm of Destruction’ is the ultimate destructive magic, and the legendary forbidden spell ‘Dimensional Blade’ is also the ultimate single-target attack spell,” Trey said, his voice rising.
The young people below widened their eyes, their hearts filled with longing.
“‘Storm of Destruction’ counts as the ultimate destructive magic? What about my Earth-style ‘Heaven-Crushing Earth-Splitting’ and ‘Meteor Shower’?” Dellinger Cowart, who was listening beside Linley, muttered in dissatisfaction.
“Grandpa Dellinger, what about that ‘Dimensional Blade’?” Linley pressed.
In Linley’s view, since Grandpa Dellinger didn’t mention the Dimensional Blade, it must indeed be the ultimate single-target attack.
“That Dimensional Blade? It can cut through the spatial barriers of a material plane, so of course it’s very powerful. But although its attack power is ridiculously strong, it’s still just a one-time attack. Unlike our Earth-style ‘Earth Guardian,’ which can keep fighting the enemy continuously,” Dellinger Cowart argued defensively.
Linley could guess.
The Dimensional Blade was definitely terrifyingly powerful. And it probably wasn’t as simple as Grandpa Dellinger made it sound. A one-time attack? A one-time attack also depended on whether the opponent could dodge it.
“If I become a Dragonblood Warrior in the future and use Wind-style auxiliary magic, then…” Linley’s mind stirred.
However, as he continued listening, Linley became more and more interested in Wind-style magic. Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind—each element was as vast and profound as an ocean. The ocean of magic was boundless, and Linley couldn’t help but immerse himself deeply in it.