Quidditch turned out to be excellent telekinesis training, and even though I only used it in critical moments, it exhausted me considerably. But I have to admit, it was fun.
After that, all the days flew by like carbon copies again: meditations, lessons, learning to read Pixie, reading tons of textbooks on artificing and related disciplines, plus training new spells. However, there were some quite memorable moments.
…
"Children, today we'll be brewing Pepperup Potion. If any of you don't know what that is, you can read page sixty-three in your textbooks 'Magical Draughts and Potions.' In short - it's a cold remedy with a side effect of smoke periodically pouring from your ears for three hours. The recipe is on the board, ingredients are on your tables, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask," said our Potions teacher - a slender girl about twenty-five with bright red curly hair and freckles on her face.
"Madam Potion, what's the difference between stirring potions clockwise and counterclockwise?" I asked a question that had long interested me.
"That's a good question. As I said in the last lesson, the ingredients themselves, no matter how you mix them, won't turn into a potion. It's precisely such characteristics as magical energy, knowledge, and the wizard's will that create a miraculous elixir from poisonous swill."
She continued with inspiration and love for her subject:
"Knowledge allows you to select the right ingredients and their quantities, as well as how to cut them or prepare them otherwise. Your magic dissolves the necessary substances, binds them, transforms them, destroys unnecessary impurities and strengthens the needed ingredients. And will allows you to achieve exactly the result you want."
"In fairy tales and legends that have come down to us, they speak of wizards who with a single thought, without any spells, changed reality and turned water into an elixir of immortality. A bad potioneer masters only one characteristic well. An ordinary one-two. A good one-three..."
"And an excellent one?" I couldn't help but ask.
"And an excellent one also has intuition, which isn't necessary, but it's precisely what allows making a legendary potion from an excellent one," after which she continued.
"So, the stirring itself has nothing to do with it, it just helps regulate the flow and saturation of mana in the potion. If you rotate clockwise -you're feeding energy, and if counterclockwise - you're dispersing it. This is an unconscious reflex, and often bad teachers don't tell students about this during training, which results in yet another mediocre potioneer who can only brew mass-produced stuff by recipe."
"A true master doesn't need stirring, he can regulate both flame temperature within fractions of a degree and the magical saturation of the potion with will and desire alone. Moreover, the best of them can change recipes on the fly and create new ones, thanks to their experience and intuition, and correct errors with their will and invested desire."
It was clear that her dream was to become one of such masters. A poor soldier who doesn't dream of becoming a general, as my grandmother used to say in my past life.
I thought about it and realized that by will, the teacher meant precisely direct magic control, when you don't need rituals, concentrators, or spells. And in potionmaking this is most useful, because just one ingredient can have a dozen effects, and their combinations... millions of them. And if you don't know the exact recipe, then direct control becomes the best way to get the desired result.
"Thank you for the answer, Professor Potion, may I ask another question?"
"Of course, I'm pleased that there are students who are genuinely interested in potionmaking. Five points to Mr. Pierce!" Not bad, points are good. But earning them isn't so easy. For excellent studies they're awarded automatically, but to get extra - you have to try.
"Do you filter potions?"
"Why? Unreacted substances usually precipitate, and draining the finished potion usually isn't a problem. Especially since the more experienced the wizard, the fewer impurities he leaves in principle. You can filter it, of course, but in that case it will be weaker. Such a procedure is done in hospitals when you need to cure a magically exhausted person who can't remove the remaining impurities himself," she informed me.
So you shouldn't consider wizards idiots - they know everything, there are just reasons to act one way or another.
"Thank you," and I continued brewing the fairly simple potion.
Generally, I studied potionmaking only superficially. The problem is that its practice takes a huge amount of time, and sometimes it's easier to buy a ready product than brew it yourself for several weeks or even months. Especially since some potions have a short shelf life.
And while this is solved by stasis magic and enchanted dishes, I didn't delve deeply into this direction of art. I studied and recorded recipes in my ersatz grimoire, which looked like a thick notebook with charms of imperishability and page copying when the book runs out.
I repeat, too little time, and I didn't want to mess with magic unknown to the rest of the world at school.
***
On top of everything else, I decided that an artificer without protective artifacts is like a cobbler without shoes. Fortunately, ready formulas for the most common ones were in Lerah's book.
I wouldn't say that modern artificing is bad, it's just that finding such formulas in open access is almost impossible - this is, you might say, the bread and butter of artificers, and no one will share their developments just like that.
So I didn't multiply entities and used what I already had. But I couldn't help showing off, right?
As a form factor, I chose a bracelet that could be worn inconspicuously on the shoulder or expanded. Plus, due to the reinforced metal lining into which square quartz crystals would be inserted, if the accumulators exploded, the fragments wouldn't harm the hand, but would fly forward as shrapnel.
I didn't provide for this in the wand, due to inexperience, and thank Merlin everything worked out.
Here are the spells I decided to put in the bracelet:
[Steel Shield] — a spell designed as an energy barrier that protects the caster from certain types of physical attacks. This magic apparently protects from various kinds of metal weapons.
[Shining Shield] — a spell designed as invisible energy covering the caster's body. Protects from any physical attacks.
[Ethereal Armor] — a spell designed as ethereal protection that guards the caster from standard combat spells of various power and direction.
[Armor of Ea] — a spell that protects from various kinds of poisonous substances and mixtures that are dissolved in air or water. Even the most dangerous and terrible poisons are neutralized.
[Armor of Inanna] — a spell that protects the caster and his allies from various kinds of infections for several hours, including diseases and epidemics.
[Elemental Armor] — a spell designed as ethereal protection that guards the caster from various kinds of elemental attacks. The power of this spell is so high that it allows ignoring attacks with stellar protuberance temperature or absolute zero cold without any trouble.
[Mental Protection] — special magic that allows the caster to protect his own consciousness from all kinds of mental attacks. In general, any wizard already has high psychic resistance, but there are always those who can interact at much higher levels that ordinary resistance can no longer withstand. In such cases, this magic is used.
[Healing] — a spell that allows a wizard to heal not too serious wounds. This spell also allows creating a basic cosmetic effect, restoring the body from various manifestations of old age, and even allows turning organs and body parts that have begun to rot into quite ordinary ones. Among other things, the caster can regrow torn limbs in moments if they're not too badly damaged.
[Dome of Secrets] — a spell designed as a dome that surrounds the caster and his allies. For the time the spell works, no one outside can spy on or eavesdrop on what's happening inside the dome.
I had to spread the spells across two bracelets because they wouldn't fit in one. I chose the last spells for their usefulness in training or to quietly finish someone off, bury them and not reveal my abilities in the process.
Personal Protection deserves special mention: this is a spell that grants its user a certain "safety net," and while this spell works, he cannot die. Any attack, effect, or even drunk poison is instantly neutralized and won't harm the wizard. However, after a single activation, the spell immediately disappears.
Plus, this magic doesn't protect literally from everything, but orients on what the wizard himself considers dangerous, connecting to his sixth sense. And if you affect the wizard with something he doesn't consider a threat, the spell might not work.
But you can't stuff such complex spells into ordinary quartz and they still need to be cast on yourself. So I usually keep one personal protection on myself, just in case.
Besides this, I made a protective amulet in the form of a round medallion for the neck. What is it?
[Protective Amulet] — this is a special artifact that, orienting on the user's sixth sense, warns him about various dangers. The amulet allows noticing hostile feelings, desires, or direct life threats. In case of serious threat, it starts heating up strongly, thereby allowing avoiding danger.
No, modern wizards aren't fools - they created an analog in the form of a Sneakoscope, but why remove spells from it, decipher them? Especially since a whistling top isn't the best warning method. it's like directly telling a criminal that his intentions are exposed.
This time I wasn't doing all this alone.
"Mom, hi, are you busy?" I entered the room allocated to Ariel for living and immediately left, catching her in a piquant situation with Ludwig. Nothing critical, they were just kissing, but I reminded myself that I'm no longer at home and need to knock.
"Sorry for interrupting your romance," I said to the Care of Magical Creatures professor who was coming out. "I'm really sorry."
"We're to blame for not locking the door," he scratched his head in embarrassment. "And you're quite understanding for a first-year."
"Mom should have moved on long ago, and I'm glad she chose a normal man and not some scumbag. So I give my blessing, peace, and whatever else you need there," I shrugged.
"You're a good kid, no wonder the fairies love you."
"Oh, don't you start, they already call me the fairy favorite, good thing they don't try to dress me in dresses."
"What, there were attempts?" he asked with interest.
"A couple."
"And? What happened to them?" Ludwig guessed that it didn't just end there.
"They walked around in unremovable illusions of pink dresses until the end of the day and there were no more attempts. Amazing."
"Ha-ha-ha, well done, that's how it should be. Listen, if you have problems with older years, come to me, I'll help," he extended his paw for a handshake.
"Thanks, if anything - I'll ask," I didn't refuse. Sometimes it's really easier to ask for help.
After that, I still knocked and, after permission, entered Ariel's room. She hadn't given up her habit of changing interiors, and today it was baroque style in dark red and gold tones.
"Sorry, Mom, I distracted you," I apologized. It really turned out awkward.
"It's nothing," she smiled at me. I didn't cause her problems often enough for her to be angry. Well, and she loves me, what can you say.
"Did you want something?"
"Can't I just visit my mom?" I asked, skeptically raising an eyebrow.
"Come on, both you and I know you rarely come just like that. For training or to test new spells under my supervision. And just so you know, I don't approve of this," she said, frowning and trying to look stern. But she looked too cute to look menacing. Combat hamster.
"Yes, I remember, you said so. About nine thousand times, then I stopped counting."
"And what am I to do with you?"
"Love and forgive? I made some sketches here..."
"Oh, you're my onion grief, well show me," she said with poorly concealed futility in her voice.
She spent about thirty minutes reviewing my enchantment schemes.
"Did you do this yourself? How much time did it take?"
"Of course myself," I answered with pride. "And I did it in a month, though some ideas were long-standing, even before school."
"If everyone had such ideas, everyone would be geniuses. You're right. I looked through briefly and can say this isn't my level. I can help you, but I won't be able to identify possible enchantment conflicts, though, considering that each spell will be in a separate block, everything should work out," she said thoughtfully, putting her index finger to her lips.
"As always, I'll use doppelgangers. They're weak, but enough for testing. And when we refine it, I'll make two sets. After all, I only have one mom."
"Oh you little flatterer, come here, mom will hug you," does she do yoga? Why did I end up squeezed so quickly?
***
"I did as you asked," Apolline approached me with a devastated expression and desperate plea in her eyes.
"And how did it go?" I asked, sitting on the shore of the crystal-clear lake. I often just sat here, enjoying nature and solitude. Especially in moments when nostalgia for my past life and feelings of loneliness wash over me.
Too young for adults and too old for the young. Sometimes I thought, why do I need all this magic, training? I have money, go to the sea and live happily ever after until the end of my days, without bothering my head with problems I invented myself.
What's your goal, Vladimir? What's the meaning?
And I always answered my own question that the meaning is in the absence of meaning, or rather, in freedom. And the stronger I am, the fewer people who can hypothetically take away this freedom. Besides, I like magic, so why not?
"He forgave me," I wasn't surprised, he's head over heels in love with her. I was interested in something else.
"I wanted to know something else, what did you feel when you told everything?" I asked.
"Shame and... relief."
"I see. All this could have been avoided if you had told everything right away. I don't blame you for using spells on Delacour. Yes, you acted badly, but who is he to me? A stranger, and you're my best friend. I don't care that you have secrets - everyone has them."
"But you stayed silent about this when it was obvious that your problem affected me. If I had known everything in advance, I would have helped without problems. Was it worth waiting until they attacked me? And if I had maimed them? I would have been expelled to hell, and I wouldn't even understand why. Now do you understand why I'm angry with you?" I asked.
"I... I didn't want to, sorry. I thought it would be better this way."
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions. If you have problems, come to me immediately. Together even the burden is lighter," I said, turning around.
"Okay," she answered, and I just continued looking at the smooth surface of the lake, over which a satisfied and carefree Pixie was flying.
***
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Thank you for the help with the power stones!!!