Chapter 14: Magic Demonstration?

The door to practice room eight opens up and Samantha steps inside.

“Perfect timing,” Chloe says. “Let’s get started.

“Even if you can’t use magic, it is important to learn how to fight it. Therefore, in this class I will teach you how to deal with magic.

“The purpose of this demonstration is to teach you how to deflect and repel magic, so I will focus on offense and Samantha will focus on evasion and defense.

“During the demonstration, I will focus on wind magic, with a bit of earth, fire, and water magic mixed in.

“Every magic user has a single element they are most proficient in, and for me that element is wind.

“While it is possible to raise one’s proficiency in other elements, it is a slow process, so most mages don’t bother. Because I’m an elf, a race that’s blessed with a long lifespan, I’ve been able to raise my proficiency with several of the elements I’m weaker with, but I’ve still only raised four elements up to the level required for combat.

Chloe and Samantha face off across practice room eight. Samantha is dressed in her battle gear from earlier, and Chloe is dressed in a loose fitting tunic and trousers.

“For this demonstration,” Chloe says, securing her hair in a ponytail with a long black ribbon, “I will be slowing down my casting speed to make it easier to see what’s going on. This delay will bring my casting speed inline with the average mage.”

As soon as she finishes speaking, Chloe’s eyes flash purple, and a fireball, the size of a small watermelon, streaks across the room towards Samantha.

The fireball is mesmerizing, beautiful. A white hot ball of fire that heats up the entire room.

Even though Chloe said she would slow down her casting time, the delay between when her eyes flashed and the fireball appeared was imperceptible.

If it had been aimed at me, I would already be a human torch. There’s no way I could have reacted in time to evade.

The instant before the fireball burns her face off, Samantha unsheathes one of her short swords and slashes through it. The force of the cut splits the fireball in half, and the two pieces slam into the wall behind her.

The force of the impact shakes the room. I clasp my hands together and silently pray to the goddess of mining, if there is such a goddess, for protection.

Chloe’s eyes flash purple and she unleashes her next spell.

The spell, a giant blade of wind, slices through the air towards Samantha.

Instead of deflecting the attack, Samantha rolls underneath the blade and closes the gap between herself and Chloe. In response, Chloe sends several jets of water into the floor in front of Samantha, forcing her back.

“Didn’t you promise to stay on the defensive?” Chloe asks, lobbing several boulder sized chunks of rock at Samantha.

“Did I?” Samantha asks, deflecting several pieces of shrapnel with her swords, “I don’t recall ever saying something like that.”

“Battle junkie,” Chloe says, combining fire and water magic to send a stream of scalding hot steam towards Samantha.

“You’re just afraid of losing,” Samantha says, sticking out her tongue.

“You think you can win against me?”

“Of course.”

“Remind me, what was our record again?”

“Ten wins to you, and zero to me,” Samantha says. “But, that’s about to change, because today it’s going to be my win.

“Alright,” Chloe says, “I’ll fight seriously. Don’t come crying to me when you lose.”

Chloe’s aura changes. Her presence grows, and she fills the room with killing intent.

Chloe’s casting speed increases. Before, there was a small delay between each spell, but now that gap has disappeared.

A pillar of flame erupts from the ground at Samantha’s feet. She dashes through it, and uses her swords to deflect the dozen wind blades that Chloe sends flying towards her.

Samantha accelerates, evading and deflecting each of Chloe’s spells. She circles around Chloe, slowly closing the distance between them.

A fireball slams into the wall next to my face, blowing me off my feet. I shield myself from the heat, the acrid smell of singed hair filling my nostrils.

“Samantha,” Chloe shouts, “Be careful of your positioning. I might accidentally hit the students if you stand in front of them.”

“Sorry,” Samantha says. “My bad.”

My bad? My bad?!

I almost died. Show a little more concern.

With a shout, Samantha kicks off the ground and disappears, reappearing a moment later in front of Chloe. She brings her swords down in a vertical slash, preparing to cut Chloe in half.

The moment before Samantha’s blades bisect her, Chloe sticks out her tongue and snaps her fingers. In an instant, a box made out of rock rises out of the floor, encasing Samantha in an earthen tomb.

“Great,” Chloe says, clapping her hands together. “Now that that’s finished, let’s continue with today’s lesson.

“In addition to normal magic, there are three other types of magic, buff, debuff, and recovery magic.

“Recovery magic is pretty self explanatory. It allows mages to heal injuries and cure sicknesses.

“Buff and debuff magic are a little more complicated. Buff type magic improves an individual’s physical or mental abilities, while debuff magic does the opposite.

“It’s kind of hard to explain, so let me show you an example.

“Here’s my normal jump.” Chloe jumps several meters into the air. For a “normal” jump, the amount of air time she gets is pretty crazy, but I guess that’s the norm for high ranking adventurers.

“And, here’s my jump with strengthening magic.”

Chloe’s eyes flash purple. A faint light surrounds her body, then she bends her knees and jumps straight up into the air.

In my previous life, there were videos online of people jumping over the heads of other people. At the time, I thought those people were crazy athletic, but now I’m not so sure.

Chloe’s jump is more than double the height of her previous one. In fact, it’s so high it looks cartoonish.

“Pretty cool, right?” Chloe says. “Now, let me give you a demonstration of debuff magic.”

Chloe snaps her fingers and the tomb around Samantha disappears, leaving her standing there blinking in confusion.

When she sees Chloe, Samantha raises her swords and charges towards her, but before she can get within striking distance, Chloe’s eyes flash purple and Samantha’s movements slow to a crawl.

“Time stop magic,” Chloe says, gesturing towards Samantha, “slows down time for the target.”

“I can also make her swords heavier.” Chloe’s eyes flash and Samantha’s swords clatter to the floor.

“And, I can make her body weaker.” Chloe’s eyes flash and Samantha collapses to the ground.

“As you can see, buff and debuff magic are extremely powerful. Due to their power, their use is banned during most organized competitions.

“However, there are no such regulations governing real battles, so if you ever find yourself fighting another person, you must always be on the lookout for it.

“The only sure way to deal with these types of magic is to kill the mage casting them. Buff and debuff magic is energy intensive to cast, and most mages can’t move while they are casting them.

“Most mages can only cast these types of magic on a limited number of targets, so have all of your unaffected party members kill the mage before the mage’s party can kill you.

“If you don’t have party members, debuff nullifying armor and clothing can be acquired, but it is expensive, so most people can’t afford it. In general, numbers are the best way to deal with debuff magic.”

After releasing Samantha from her debuff magic, Chloe continues her lecture.

“If you have the chance to join a party with a mage who can use buff or debuff magic, take it. Mages who can use buff or debuff magic are rare, so in general, only the highest level adventurers get the opportunity to party with one.

“In addition, while MSPDs are relatively commonplace, there are three types of magic that researchers haven’t been able to integrate into them: buff, debuff, and recovery magic. So, while any party can use magic thanks to MSPDs, only parties with mages can enjoy the benefits of buff, debuff, and recovery magic.

“Speaking of parties, let me explain party composition to you.

“Unless they are stupid or super low level, most adventurers join a party.

“There are several reasons to join a party.

“First, when you’re in a party your likelihood of survival increases.

“For example, if you get injured during a quest, you have people to carry you home, and when you are sleeping at night, you can take turns keeping watch.

“Second, you can split up tasks to lighten everyone’s workload.

“This one’s pretty self explanatory, but the implementation depends on the party. Some parties take turns cooking, while other parties delegate tasks based on each members’ strengths.

“Third, you’ll have friends to keep you company during quests.

“Many higher ranked quests take you out into the middle of nowhere for extended periods of time. When you’re in a party, you’ll never be alone for better or for worse.

“In addition to these benefits, there is another reason to join a party: party composition.

“Party composition is the combination of the roles of the adventurers that make up a party.

“Having a balanced party composition makes completing quests faster and easier. One example of a balanced party composition is: tank, melee attacker, ranged attacker, assassin, and mage.

“A balanced party composition allows each member to cover for the others weaknesses.

“The tank protects the party from the monsters by drawing their attention to themselves.

“The melee and ranged attackers kill the monsters before they can deal too much damage to the tank.

“The mage attacks the monsters, buffs the party, debuffs the monsters, and heals the tank and the other party members whenever they take damage.

“And, the assassin protects the other party members from any monsters that make it through the tank’s defense.

“Of course, this doesn’t work when a party is fighting bandits or rogue adventurers, but for most quests the role division remains the same.

“Many adventurers make the mistake of forming a party with their friends.

“While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, more often than not it leads to bad party composition. If you’re lucky, you’ll be friends with people who have different roles, but more often than not you’ll end up forming a party with four melee attackers and a ranged attacker.

“Now, I’m not saying that a party made up of four melee attackers and a ranged attacker isn’t viable. However, it will make completing quests more difficult, and in some cases impossible.

“If you ever find yourself searching for a party, ask a guild adviser. They’ll be happy to answer any questions you have.

“Do you have any questions?” Chloe asks.

“I have one,” Wolf says, stepping forward.

“Go ahead.”

“Last night, during your introduction, you used magic on Samantha that stopped her from breathing. How does it work, and is there a way to deal with it.”

Good question. I’m interested in hearing the answer too.

“Wind magic,” Chloe says. “I used a specialized form of wind magic that sucked all of the air out of her lungs.

“The best way to deal with that kind of magic is to interfere with the source of the spell. In Samantha’s case, covering her mouth and nose would have stopped the spell.

“However, the best way to learn is to experience it for yourselves.

“Prepare yourselves. On the count of three I’ll cast wind magic on each of you.”

Chloe’s eyes flash purple.

Instantly, a rushing noise fills my ears, and I can no longer breathe. It feels like someone placed a thousand kilogram weight on my chest, and ripped out my lungs at the same time.

Panic overwhelms my mind. I’m back in the river, slowly sinking into the abyss.

I feel like I was supposed to do something.

What was it again? I forget.

Oh, well… It doesn’t matter.

“Nose and mouth,” Chloe shouts. “Cover your nose and mouth.”

Chloe’s words are like a slap across the face. They shatter the panic overwhelming my mind and rip me back to the present.

I reach up and clamp my hands across my nose and mouth. Instantly, the horrible sensation assaulting my chest disappears.

Wiping tears from my eyes, I gulp down a lungful of air.

“Are you alright?” Bridget asks, placing her hand on my back.

“Yeah,” I say. “I’m fine now.”

“As Sage so graciously demonstrated, even if you know what’s coming, it can be hard to react. If you are ever the victim of a magic attack– No, if you are ever the victim of any kind of attack, the most important thing you can do is remain calm.

“If you are calm, you’ll be able to deal with the situation as it happens. Your state of mind can be the difference between life and death.

“Samantha’s class will help you strengthen your body, and my class will help you strengthen your mind. Pain and suffering are part of an adventurer’s everyday life, and during my class I will give you exercises to deal with it.

“Are there any other questions?”

“I have one,” Samantha says, raising her hand.

“Yes?” Chloe says, glancing down at Samantha where she’s seated on the floor.

“Why didn’t you teach me how to break out of your surprise attacks?”

“Because, you never asked.”

“Well,” Samantha says, wearing a triumphant grin, “Now you won’t be able to use them on me anymore.”

“I wouldn’t be so certain,” Chloe says, grinning back.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Samantha asks, hoping to her feet and draping her arms over Chloe’s shoulders from behind.

“Not telling,” Chloe says, sticking out her tongue at Samantha before turning back to us.

“You’re free to go,” Chloe says. “Sage. Bridget. Make sure you’re on time for class tomorrow.”