Magic and Incantations

Aeon clicked his tongue. "Is this common knowledge?!"

Suri scratched his chin with a hand while he looked at the open sky. He thought for a while before responding, "Not really. Mainly because most mages can't achieve it so it's not common practice. But for someone like us who were able to enter the academy, it should be."

Aeon nodded. But then he questioned Suri's statement, "But how come many people were also shocked from hearing that, as well?"

"I don't know, too. Probably many of those who passed don't have access to these sorts of knowledge?" Suri said.

Thinking that Suri's answer was logical, Aeon did not comment further. If what Suri said was right, then the people he entered the academy with are strong enough to stomp those who are privileged despite lacking resources. And the professor probably knew as well, since he mentioned it in detail.

"Okay! Let's start with the mechanics," the professor said, "you must all understand that it all goes down to respondent conditioning."

"It's like when you are training your dog. Let's say that you trained it to sit down when you say 'sit'. But what if you trained it to sit down when you say 'get me some water.'"

"The command would be weird, but the dog will follow since that is how it was trained. The case is similar with incantations. Incantations are formed by words that relate to what we want to do with our magic. Just imagine that we, ourselves, are our own dogs when we practice incantations and we command ourselves."

"One of the most common spells begin with 'Spirits of fire' or 'Spirits of water' and etc., but we all know that there are no such things. The magic's origin is within us. But why do we say these words? It's just that when we say these, we think that we are calling out for something to appear; to manifest. It makes it easier for us to reach inside our bodies and form the magic we want."

"Going back to the example, I can replace the incantation 'Spirits of fire, gather upon my sword and grant it the power to breathe fire' with the statement 'get me some water' as long as when I say those words, I first think about, or focus on, enchanting my weapon."

"If this is so, why are incantations still relevant? Well, first and foremost, it is good for training. Knowing basic incantations makes respondent conditioning easier as you know what to feel for when casting. Second, there are spells that are really hard to pull out from your body, requiring more concentration. All A-ranked spells and up require one, but you won't have that problem for now."

"While casting huge spells, magic rages within the body, and there is a high possibility that the caster would lose his focus, rendering the spell useless. With the help of incantations, the level of focus would be maintained at a certain level, enabling the mage to pull it off. Of course, external factors are not considered when we say this, and the spells could still be interrupted. Though there is a theory that, at the highest level, one would not need any more incantations."

Faust ended his narrative.

Seeing almost everybody take notes, he was satisfied. Again, he let an emotion slip from his face and smiled. The fact is, he really did know that most of the new students are of low birth. Instead, those who came from famous families have almost all been dropped.

The fact that the current students were able to effectively use E-ranked spells to defeat those who had access to stronger ones really impressed him and all the other administrators. They were sad, however, that the new students were not getting the services that they should have been getting from the academy.

Most of the students had already started casting. They were already trying to improve themselves. Faust knew that they would fail, but at least they were eager to learn. He moved backward and sat near the statue. He decided to stick around in case a student needed him to clarify something.

Aeon paid really close attention, and immediately got the gist of what Faus had been saying. Despite being unawakened, he thought that it would be very beneficial for him to learn the mechanics, as early as possible, for his future. So basically, incantations are mere correlations. He wrote everything down in a little notebook he got from who knows where.

Suri and Korona were also doing the same. The example was so stupid that, ironically, it made them understand the mechanics even more. Be one's own dog. If it works, it works.

"Sir Faust, how do you suggest we break free from the older incantations and create new and shorter ones of our own?" a student asked.

Faust, who was leaning on the statue of Fria stood up. The question was good. He was one of those who transitioned from the common incantations to custom ones, so he actually had an idea, "When I first learned about this method, what I did was that every time I casted an E-ranked spell, I say the name of the spell. Then, eventually, I did not need the incantations anymore. I only needed to say the name of the spell. It's comical, but it works."

"It only works on E-ranked spells?" the student asked again.

"No," Faust responded. "With extreme focus, you would slowly be able to apply the same feature on spells at a higher level. Mr. Montis Leroux is the best example. Most of his B-ranked spells do not require cast-times."

The student bowed down, thanked the professor, and took his seat.

The class ended after a few minutes and the Remorans left the field to attend their element-specific classes.

….

"How did you find the class?" a lady in all black asked the person walking right beside her. She had a really amazing figure that was outlined by her fitting clothes. Her name was Selena, the Fire Remoran.

"It's better than yesterday. I learned a lot. How about you?" Levi responded. Although he said this, he did not sound like he meant what he was saying. He didn't sound happy nor excited about his new learnings.

"Nothing new. I have already started practicing this method a year ago. Though it really is hard," Selena responded while tucking her loose fiery red hair behind her ear. If anyone else looked at her move, that person would drool. Unfortunately, it was Levi who was walking right next to her, who did not even look up from his book. It was as if nothing was more interesting than reading for him. Selena sighed.

The two split after reaching the crossing.

Levi expected the words that came from Selena's mouth. He never had wide access to materials regarding magic theories and practices.

Because he was an orphan.

Usually, mages who were orphaned were immediately taken in by a family, despite being unawakened. Some were adopted because they were expected to help the family business after they do awaken. Some were expected to be trained and become a personal bodyguard. The list goes on. Levi, however, hid his magic which was very illogical for someone in his situation. After all, which orphan would not want to get adopted?

Apparently, Levi was that kind of orphan. Being adopted meant that he would have to take certain responsibilities, most of which are imposed by the family who adopted him. He didn't want that. He wanted to keep his autonomy, even if that meant he would remain lonely. He was someone who was always quiet, so he had no friends in the orphanage anyway and was already used to it. He watched as the people he ate and bathed with got sent off, one by one. After he fulfilled all his chores, he would enter the forest and train his magic in secret. He was a shrewd person, even when he was young, so no one ever found out.

After a few years, when Levi turned 18, he was supposed to be sent into a different institution as someone who failed to get adopted. The people who were sent there were expected to pay back his or her debt to the orphanage by caring for the elderly. Unfortunately, or fortunately for him, the orphanage was attacked by a group of bandits. Many people died, even orphans, but he escaped.

He wandered around the city nearest to the now destroyed orphanage. Having no money with him, he was forced to work in a pier that shouldn't even be operational due to heavy attacks from Magical Sea Beasts. He had no way to prove that he had a clean identity, so it was his only choice. He carried heavy crates that were illegally shipped from the other empires, north of Florentine.

With the tiny help from magic, he did quite well. One characteristic that made him special was that he did not cast spells. He trained his magic on his own so he never knew that incantations existed. The drawback for him, however, was that he never knew about more sophisticated spells. Naturally, training on one's own had its limits.

As he earned for a living, he bought a simple shed on the outskirts of the city. He also bought a book about magic. By reading over the worn-out pages of the book, Levi learned more about magic. He learned about incantations, and how it could improve one's magic. Inspired, he worked overtime for the succeeding days until he was able to buy another book. A book about wind spells and their corresponding incantations.

Levi read through the book and finished it in no time. He was able to perform some of it immediately, even though it was his first time. The amazing part was that, although he now had a book of incantations, he retained his old practice. He did not mention the incantation. It was all done inside his head. Moreover, his cast time was faster than expected.

After a year, in the pier, Levi suddenly overheard a conversation. A person from a remote town was asking a sailor about directions toward Sera City as he was about to take the magic examinations.

Levi's interest was piqued and he decided that he would also enter on a whim. He packed all his stuff from his rundown shed and left. He took the test, passed, and got to where he is in the present with newfound knowledge. His journey and hard work paid off.

In a sense, he was already a person who had an extreme level of focus, and this was shown by him not needing to voice out the spells as an expert would. He was already a level higher than most of the other mages in his batch. He thought that if he continued his practice, he would eventually achieve a higher level.

However, he learned from Faust that silent casting was not always better. Incantations still had their own importance, especially when using high-ranked spells as a low-level mage. It helped in maintaining a consistent focus. He figured that using incantations, although he was not used to it, would be very helpful to him. He would not need to get rid of his older practice but will still benefit. Levi prepared himself to practice his mouth.

Respondent conditioning. A learning procedure that associates a neutral stimulus to a specific spell. It seemed simple but he knew that it required lots of time to perfect.

Levi closed his book and sat on the seat by the corner of the room. He was about to start his next class.

….