17: Magical Memory

"The second-year spells are indeed more challenging than the first-year spells."

Ivan realized that he only needed to cast the first-year spells once to analyze the type of magical power required for successful execution.

However, the second-year Freezing Charm proved more complex than its first-year charms.

It took him a full hour to master the magical strength needed to release the Freezing Spell.

If the magic power of the Wand-Lighting Charm is measured at 1 scale, then releasing the Freezing Spell requires 3 scales, and during this process, maintaining sharp concentration is essential.

Ivan possesses the soul of an adult and has experienced two lifetimes.

Thus, his will is significantly more resolute than those of first and second-year wizards.

Moreover, these scales are referenced against the Wand-Lighting Charm as the basic unit.

According to Ivan's assessment, without the Wand, he can only safely release magic up to scale 2.

Beyond that, his magical power becomes unstable, potentially leading to various mishaps.

"Is it due to a lack of proficiency?"

Next, Ivan dedicated himself to practicing the silent Freezing Spell repeatedly, only setting down his wand when he felt nearly proficient.

By this time, dusk was approaching outside the window. Calculating the time, Ivan realized he had been silently practicing the Freezing Charm for over four hours by himself.

"Huh~~"

Ivan relaxed, relieved: "Fortunately, wizards in this world don't have a concept of mana. As long as they remain energetic, they can cast spells indefinitely."

Thinking of this, Ivan slid the wand back into his sleeve, positioning it in the easiest spot for quick access.

Pah.

Ivan clapped his hands a few times and took several deep breaths to fully relax his body and mind. "Now, let's try casting the Freezing Charm without a wand."

For this attempt, Ivan also performed a divination for himself.

The result...

Ivan didn't see an image of himself successfully casting the spell, but he did see himself having breakfast safely the next morning.

Beside him, Yuumi was also happily eating.

"Very good."

"Ok! First I need to cast Immobulus without a wand... Um, I've somewhat mastered casting it by just saying stuff like stop and slow down with a wand... Let's just see if I can do it wandless with the incantation 'Immobulus!'."

Ivan felt reassured by the outcome of the divination: "Then, let's begin."

"Yuumi!"

The ragdoll cat caught the hint in Ivan's eyes and promptly knocked the already battered box away.

This time, Ivan didn't use a wand or any gestures. He simply stood there, watching the flying box.

"Immobulus!!"

Ivan focused intensely and silently recited the incantation for the Freezing Spell with precise accuracy.

Hu~~

Silently, the box that had been falling quickly just 'stopped' in mid-air.

Upon closer inspection, it was apparent that the box hadn't stopped completely but was still descending, albeit very slowly.

This effect mirrored that of the Freezing Charm with a wand perfectly!

"It really worked..."

Ivan was thrilled by the success of his wandless casting!

"Sure enough!"

Ivan mused, "The mastery of spells is akin to muscle memory. Not only can spells be cast without incantation, but they can also be executed without a wand."

"But..."

Ivan sensed something amiss and furrowed his brow: "It seems that I can only cast this charm without a wand."

His ability to cast spells without a wand was still limited to a 2nd scale of magical power, which reflected his own innate capabilities.

The complexity of the Freezing Spell is rated at 3 scales, three times that of the Wand-Lighting Charm.

However, due to his high level of proficiency, Ivan managed to perform exceptionally well with his current magical capabilities.

This implied that even if Ivan didn't increase his magical power, as long as he could enhance his proficiency with each subsequent spell, he could manage to cast them wandlessly.

"This can be seen as solving one problem."

Wizards in the Harry Potter world are overly reliant on their wands.

Ivan needed to be prepared to manage without a wand or to fight in situations where his wand might be lost.

After dinner, Ivan fed Yuumi and his newly acquired owl, then picked up his wand once more to practice other spells from the spellbook.

This session was dedicated to refining his wandless casting techniques.

He did not opt for the more challenging spells from the second year, instead choosing the safer Levitation Spell from the first-year curriculum.

The Levitation Spell, known as 'Wingardium Leviosa', is perhaps the most famous spell in the Harry Potter world.

"The magic scale of the Levitation Spell ranges between 2 and 3."

Ivan discovered something intriguing—the smallest unit on the magic scale isn't represented by the Illumination Spell because the Levitation Spell requires a fractional value.

"Not 2.5, but rather one-third."

Specifically, to cast the Levitation Spell, one needs to utilize 2.3 times the magical power required for the Illumination Spell.

This too is a spell that exceeds Ivan's current ability to cast without a wand.

However, after extensive practice with the wand, once Ivan could control floating objects at will, he successfully mastered the wandless casting technique for the Levitation Spell.

But soon, Ivan encountered a frustrating realization.

He initially thought he could practice spells with a wand and then progressively transition them to wandless casting.

However, he soon realized that the number of wandless spells he could retain was limited.

Don't be confused. he can cast each spell effortlessly with a wand, but he couldn't do that without a wand. To compare, it's like a professional motorcyclist learning how to drive a jet on his own.

This limitation wasn't about skill slots or spell bars, but rather Ivan's "magic memory," akin to muscle memory, which has a capacity limit.

When Ivan masters a spell to the extent that he can cast it wandlessly, adding more spells to his repertoire causes the earlier ones to blur in his memory.

Ivan estimated that he could remember the magic flow of the spells when using a wand and cast about 10 spells without a wand.

Moreover, Ivan currently can't cast spells without a wand for spells that have a difficulty rating higher than 5 scales.

"Is it because the three attributes of thinking, will, and mind are too low?"

Ivan opened his attribute panel: "System, open my attributes."

[Attributes]

- Soul: 4 (Rare)

- Magic: 5 (Legendary)

- Physique: 1 (Ordinary)

- Thinking: 3 (Outstanding)

- Mind: 2 (Excellent)

- Will: 2 (Excellent)

A score of 1 is considered ordinary, while 2 is rated as excellent by the system.

"As far as I can surmise, the strength of magical power determines the upper limit for a wizard."

"Me—!? Meaw~~"

"Haah.." Ivan suddenly plopped on the bed, cradling Yuumi, stroking the cat while pondering: "Without sufficient magical power, no matter how hard you try, you can't unleash powerful magic."

Just like Ivan, he doesn't know the upper limit of the scale that the magic power associated with a 5-point magic attribute can reach.

Due to the scarcity of reference spells, Ivan can't ascertain the limit of his "Magic 5" attribute.

The difficulty of the Freezing Charm is just above 3 scales, and the spell with the highest magical requirement from the first to fourth grade basic spells tops out at about 10 scales.

For instance, the Shield Spell isn't among the basic spells, but is a spell that's typically learned in the fifth year.

Ivan, having read the original Harry Potter books, recalls the incantation for this spell—'Protego'.

Thinking about protecting your convictions, and upon reciting the spell, an invisible, transparent shield forms in front of the wand to block frontal attacks.