Teaching Qualifications

"Of course, Teacher," Linetta agreed.

"Very well; then, I will begin," Vaan nodded before quizzing her, "What are the four classifications of offensive magic called? List them in order from worse to best and explain why they are ranked accordingly."

"Yes, Teacher," Linetta complied.

"The four classifications of offensive magic are Preparation, Charge, Chant, and Battle Magic; they have been ranked accordingly due to their battle-readiness and execution."

"Very good," Vaan nodded approvingly before quizzing her further, "Now explain what each of them does; why are they called as such? Start with Preparation Magic."

"Yes, Teacher. Preparation Magic has the slowest execution and cannot be readily used in battle because it requires time to prepare due to its complexity and multitude of other magic involved."

"Unlike other offensive magic which focuses solely on destructive power, Preparation Magic has more diversity in its usage depending on its magic combination."

"It can be long-lasting like Construct Magic, sustaining like Trap Magic and Illusion Magic, or short-lived but powerful like Activation Magic."

"Impressive; you've completely summarized Preparation Magic," Vaan nodded with praise before urging her to continue, "Proceed with Charge Magic."

"Charge Magic comes after Preparation Magic because of the time it takes to gather mana from the surrounding atmosphere to increase its destructive power," Linetta answered.

"Charge Magic can take even longer than Preparation Magic, but it is ranked above Preparation Magic because it can be prematurely activated at the expense of its destructive power not reaching its peak."

Listening to Linetta's answer, Vaan nodded with acknowledgment.

As expected of a member of a noble household, Linetta's foundational knowledge was solid.

Nevertheless, it was too early to arrive at a conclusion; there were two more classifications of offensive magic.

"Chant Magic is next; go on," he said.

"Yes, Teacher," Linetta obliged and said, "Chant Magic, as its name implies, is magic that requires chanting to activate; it comprises of simple magic, but witches can easily invoke them with as little as a single word."

"Nevertheless, it still cannot hold a candle to Battle Magic which can be activated instantaneously with a single thought."

"And of these four classifications of offensive magic, which classification do you think your specialized magic, Earth Acceleration, falls under?" Vaan quizzed her.

However, Linetta furrowed her brows at such an obvious answer.

"All specialized magic falls under the Battle Magic classification because they can be activated with a single thought," she answered, nonetheless.

"That's right," Vaan agreed with a nod before saying, "Since your specialized magic, Earth Acceleration, falls under Battle Magic and can be activated with a single thought, why do you still need to chant Rock Bullet?"

"This…" Linetta furrowed her brows.

Vaan finally asked her a tricky question that she could not immediately answer.

Nevertheless, her hesitation only lasted a short moment before she came up with an answer after a bit of pondering.

"It's not necessary to chant, but I find that vocalizing my magic allows me to execute it even more quickly," she said.

"Do you know why that is the case?" Vaan continued to quiz her while they were on the topic.

"This… I'm not sure…" Linetta replied before throwing the question back at Vaan, "Do you know the reason, Teacher?"

"If you don't realize it yourself, I believe they will teach you this after you become a Senior Witch; all magic is simply a manifestation of your will, given form," Vaan stated.

"Because you are still relatively new to magic, your mind has yet to develop strong imagery of your spells. This is why you rely on vocalization to give power to your magic and hand movements to guide it."

"It's that simple?" Linetta uttered with surprise and disbelief.

The truth seemed so painfully obvious, yet she did not realize it until it was finally mentioned by someone else.

Why was it like this?

"Sometimes, the simple truth is hidden in plain sight yet goes seemingly unnoticed by everyone; this is because everyone has their own sphere of logic. Unless you develop a habit of looking beyond the box you build yourself in, you won't see what exists out there," Vaan explained.

"Nevertheless, this isn't exactly the focus of our lesson, nor what I am trying to point out. What I want to say is that you have realized vocalizing your spells still gives power and speed to your specialized magic."

"So, what does this tell you?" he asked.

As the magic lesson continued, Linetta began to develop a genuine respect for Vaan's theoretical knowledge of magic.

His knowledge of magic was so firm that he made her, who she thought to be quite adept in learning magic, feel like a beginner again.

"I don't know, Teacher," Linetta answered with a wry smile after failing to come up with an answer.

"What am I supposed to realize?" she asked shortly after.

"You gave up too readily, my Lady. If you think a little harder, you will realize it," Vaan shook his head wryly before saying, "If you still seek the answer from me, I can tell you. However, this isn't beneficial to you in the long run if you remain dependent on others for answers."

"You see, learning magic is a process of self-enlightenment and realization. Established answers can point you in a certain direction and allow you to reach it quicker, but if you want to proceed further, you will have to rely on yourself."

"Thus, I believe as a teacher; my job is not to simply give you answers to things that you don't know, but to guide you into arriving at the answers you seek on your own."

"That being said, do you still want to hear the answer from me?" he asked.

"No, Teacher," Linetta shook her head before saying firmly, "I will try to figure out the answer on my own."

Nevertheless, she was extremely shocked in her heart.

She thought she had evaluated Vaan highly, but she realized that her evaluation of him was still far, far too low.

Is this really his first time teaching magic? Why does he seem even more qualified in teaching than veteran teachers? Why does he know so much about magic? What exactly is his background?

As Linetta had these thoughts about Vaan, her curiosity and interest in him grew.

At the same time, her anticipation in regards to the offensive magic he would teach her also rose to a new peak.