Basics of Spellcasting

The next day, Natasha picked David up from his safehouse in Staten Island and drove to New Jersey. Sitting in the passenger seat, he looked at the scenery passing by outside the window and asked, "Where are we headed?"

Natasha replied, "I'll be teaching you the basics of spellcasting."

"Spells?" David's eyes lit up and he turned to look at Natasha. "You mean fireballs, lightning bolts, and ice spears?"

Natasha couldn't help but faintly smile seeing the youth's stoic persona threaten to break. "Yes, but we from Clan des Dragons specialize in spells that utilize Darkness and Shadow elemental particles."

"I see," David remembered he had an affinity for three elements, so he asked, "Are all the members of the clan born with Darkness affinity? Or are there outliers?"

"No, all of us have Darkness affinity," Natasha confirmed, then continued, "but there are a few born with an additional affinity other than the ones provided by the bloodline. But that's extremely rare."

David nodded and pondered his Dream magic affinity. On the other hand, Natasha was thinking about the other reason she was taking David to teach him how to cast spells.

She still didn't know what his talent grade was. And considering Elena's feelings toward him, it would be a problem if his talent was below hers. Thus, by teaching him how to cast spells, she would also be able to know just what his talent grade was.

After another thirty minutes of silent driving, their car finally reached the warehouse district. The pair alighted from the car and entered a massive abandoned warehouse. They walked to the center and Natasha began teaching David about the formation of magic spells.

"Each spell has its own spell model," she began. "In order to cast spells, you must first channel a minute amount of spiritual force in your mind and draw the spell model."

"Channel it to my mind?" David asked. "How do I do that?"

Natasha patiently explained, "Just like how you gathered the aether in the surroundings and created your energy core: through visualization."

David was curious as he thought about just how much could be achieved through a simple visualization technique. The next moment, Natasha gave him two scrolls that were made of old parchment paper.

As he unfurled them and viewed their contents, he heard Natasha say, "These are two basic Rank 1 spell models: Shadow Hand and Magic Missile."

David looked at the scrolls and saw that the spell models were made of mysterious runes and were enclosed in circles. He looked at Natasha and asked, "So I just need to carve these models in my mind with spiritual force, yes?"

Natasha nodded. "Imagine there's a thin tunnel that extends from your energy core to your brain. Next, visualize a stream of spiritual force flowing through that—" However, the words got stuck in her throat when she saw David point at her.

The next moment, a pair of hands made up of darkness elemental particles emerged from her own shadow and tightly grabbed her ankles! She was dumbstruck at how easily David was able to do it and couldn't help but think if he was a genius of some sort.

However, David was able to do it because he had a lot of experience casting magic in the dream he'd had of living life as a wyvern. The only reason he needed Natasha's help learning the basics of spell formation was that humans and magical creatures were fundamentally different when it came to spellcasting.

He then dissolved the spell model in his mind, causing the pair of Shadow Hands to dissipate. He rubbed his chin and muttered, "I see…. So the longer the spell model remains in my mind, the longer it'll remain active. But at the same time, it'll continue draining my spiritual force."

He felt the process to be overly time-consuming. He looked at Natasha and said, "I can't imagine going through the process of transferring spiritual force from my energy core to my brain in the middle of battle. I don't know, it just feels… imperfect."

Natasha snapped out of her shock and was once again amazed at David's speculation; it confirmed for her that the youth was indeed a prodigy when it came to mysticism. "You're right. Spell models aren't supposed to be carved with spiritual force to begin with."

"So what should we use, then?"

"Spell models are meant to be carved with soul power, and that can only be accessed when the barriers of your energy core have become liquid," Natasha explained.

Even though the energy core was ethereal, it still had a barrier that contained all the spiritual force within. For each of the four stages within a rank, the energy core's barriers went through a metamorphosis that signified the advancement in its stages.

For the initial stage, the energy core barriers were made of light. For the middle stage, they were made up of gas. In the upper stage, they were made of liquid, and finally, for the peak stage, the barriers were solid.

In other words, only when David had advanced to Rank 1 upper stage would he be able to access soul power. Because at that point, not only his body, but even his mind would undergo a metamorphosis.

David nodded as he listened to Natasha's lesson. The next moment, he walked into the distance and set up different items atop a large crate. They were the intended targets for him to practice on.

Then he returned to where he was standing earlier and began carving the spell model for Magic Missile. A few moments later, five orbs the size of his fists materialized above his head.

The orbs were made up of spiritual force and had an ominous dark tint to them, signifying the presence of darkness elemental particles in them. After the formation of the 'missiles', David pointed his hand at the targets on the crate fifteen meters away.

The five black orbs flew away at lightning speed and smashed the targets to smithereens. Out of five targets, David accurately hit four of them, while the last Magic Missile went straight through an iron pillar in the distance and left a large dent in it.

Once again, Natasha was surprised at the speed at which the teenager in front of her was able to comprehend and cast spells. Then, out of the corner of her eyes, she caught a glimpse of him panting.

She silently did the calculations and thought pensively, 'Two more Magic Missiles or another pair of Shadow Hands seems to be his limit. So his talent must be medium grade….'

All of a sudden, David's voice drifted into her ears. "So now that you know I only have a medium-grade talent, are you or the clan you speak of going to abandon me, too?"

Natasha looked at the youth, who had a cold look on his face, but she saw pain and distrust in the depths of his eyes. Knowing what he had gone through as a child and seeing his current state, she couldn't help but sigh.

"Your talent isn't the worst… but our clan indeed does abide by the law of the jungle. Only the best wizards are catered to, while the rest are left to fend for themselves," she explained.

Hearing that, David scoffed and sat down in a lotus position to start meditating.

"That said," Natasha continued, "my young miss would never treat you any differently even if you had a low-grade talent."

David's eyes glazed over ever so slightly as he muttered under his breath, "Elena…." He then looked at Natasha and asked, "Where is she?"

Sensing the slight concern in his voice, Natasha couldn't help but faintly smile. "She's gone."