After two days of travel, the group finally arrived at this remote manor. The housekeeper of the manor had already received instructions and was eagerly waiting for their arrival.
The two-day journey was nothing but ordinary for the Advance Team, but for the Hunter Squad it was quite tough. They have always stayed in the academy before this, and never had the chance to experience such outdoor camping.
They have traveled from the information society on Earth to this Otherworld that lacks even electricity. They initially struggled to adjust, particularly due to the inability to use electronic devices, which left them frustrated. However, the members of the Advance Team had already become accustomed to this world of scarce resources.
This manor was located in a remote area, beyond which lay endless tea gardens. The tea farmers had formed a small village near the manor. The entire manor did not have many servants; apart from a housekeeper, only two servants were responsible for the daily maintenance of the manor.
Once everyone was settled in, Li Si immediately started arranging the training. According to the previous plan, the two mages in the Advance Team needed to serve as trainers for the Hunter Squad, and the remaining three men had to carry out necessary training themselves.
Of course, while it was said that they needed training, aside from daily running, most of the time the three men were actually quite idle. Hence, Luo’er voluntarily took up the responsibility of meals for everyone.
The resources in the manor were not lacking, but the culinary skills of the chefs from the Otherworld were worrying. Particularly for those who came from a gourmet country, the meals prepared by these otherworld chefs were just staples. So Luo’er decided to cook for everyone.
The Otherworld had not been exploited yet, so there were many birds and beasts in the mountains and forests. Hu Daoke often went hunting in the mountains with Baiyue’s sniper rifle, the results of which were decent.
Tangmo and Baiyue were instructors for the first time and they were somewhat apprehensive facing the Hunter Squad. So on the first day, they begged Luo’er to help them with a lesson.
In the open space outside the manor, Luo’er was facing the five members of the Hunter Squad, and behind him were the instructors, Tangmo and Baiyue. Li Si was very interested in magic, so he watched from a distance.
As a Earthling, he couldn’t get too close, otherwise the excessive flow of magic power could potentially intensify the damage caused by magic power erosion.
"Let’s start the class," facing the Hunter Squad, Luo’er didn’t feel shy at all. Apart from his familiar Murong Shangguan Jiu and Zhuanzhu, the other two members of the Hunter Squad, one called Wu Tairan and the other Xuzhong Qi, were silent for half of the day, so he found these two quite unfamiliar.
"The world we live in is filled with magic power, which you must have sensed when you entered the Otherworld," Luo’er said, waving his hand in the air, then continued, "Usually, the distribution of magical power in the air is relatively uniform. If someone uses magic, it will cause a disturbance in the magic power. Those who have learned magic power sensing can perceive this disturbance and thus infer if someone nearby has used magic. Some sensitive people can even perceive the direction of the magic power disturbance, the level of the magic used by the caster, etc. Now let them demonstrate for you."
With that, Luo’er turned around and signaled to Tangmo standing behind him. Tangmo nodded in understanding, then began to silently chant spells while holding her magic wand. She was activating a very simple defensive magic spell, but during her time at the Sacred Heart Magic Academy, she had raised the level of the shield to three.
Watching Tangmo instantly activate a level-three shield spell made Shangguan Jiu very envious. One should know that her magic affinity was not as good as Tangmo’s, and that it would take her at least two seconds to guide such a three-level spell.
When competing at the academy, she was caught off guard by Cheng Ziang because her guiding time was too long, and she still feels pained to this day.
"Focus on sensing," Luo’er reminded them when he saw the members of the Hunter squad murmuring amongst themselves, "There has already been a certain degree of magic power disturbance. I don’t know if you can feel it."
Shangguan Jiu closed her eyes and began to concentrate on sensing the magic power disturbance in the air. She indeed felt something was off. In the Otherworld, magic power penetrates the bodies of Otherworld natives as well as their half-species without hindrance. Usually, the speed at which magic power passes through the body is relatively constant. But when someone uses magic, the magic power in other places quickly supplements the magic-deficient area, thereby accelerating the speed at which it passes through the human body.
This principle is just like the wind, but the difference is that the wind cannot pass through the human body, whereas magic power can easily penetrate it. Of course, for Earthlings, magic power is still unable, but the thing that differentiates magic power and wind is that the wind rushes past the human body, whereas magic power attempts to erode it.
Once magic power erodes the organs, that Earthling is more or less doomed. Luo’er’s father, Luo Chuan, died due to organ failure caused by magic power erosion.
"The use of magic is very simple. When the caster chants spells, magic power flows through their body and is then released through a medium called a magic wand. The type of magic changes according to the spell." Luo’er began reciting the magic concept that they had memorized to the point of vomiting back at the academy, "When the magic power in one area is guided and released by the caster, the magic power from other areas will compensate for this area, thus balancing the magic power. The process of magic power movement is magic power disturbance, they will accelerate through the human body, and can be noticed as long as one pays close attention."
Hearing this, all members of the Hunter Squad closed their eyes to sense the magic power disturbance in the air. Luo’er wasn’t sure if it was due to Murong’s presence, but he felt that Zhuanzhu had sobered up a lot recently and had stopped being insolent.
"Next, I will have them engage in a magic duel to increase the flow of magical energy. That way, you should be able to sense it." Seeing the puzzled expressions on their faces, Luo’er waved his hand and turned to signal the two girls.
Both nodded and took a few steps back. Then, Tangmo uttered the incantation and activated a level-three defense shield magic. Baiyue then muttered a spell and a flaming blaze appeared in front of her, roaring towards Tangmo. The searing heat made even Luo’er step back a few times.
This spell was taught to Baiyue by Tangmo, and she could only trigger a second-level spell at present. The scorching flames smashed into the invisible shield in front of Tangmo and disappeared instantly.
Tangmo had launched a magic defense shield. This kind of shield magic analyzes the opponent’s spell and reverses it into a magical energy state. Therefore, when facing such a shield, one needs either to drive a more powerful spell to make it overload, or use physical attacks, because such a shield can’t withstand physical attacks, which they had learned about at Haiya Academy.
Shangguan Jiu brow-furrowed, sensing the disturbance in the magic. The feeling was different from what he had experienced in the Earth virtual machine. The virtual machine’s magical disturbances were merely human wishes and did not represent the real magic turbulence. Hence, this was why the Orion team needed to practice magic in the Otherworld.
Seeing the team’s worried expressions, Luo’er waved the two girls to stop demonstrating. Tangmo saw their puzzled faces, then beckoned to Shangguan Jiu, "Jiu’er, come over here!"
"Alright," agreed Shangguan Jiu, running over to Tangmo.
"Memorize this incantation I’m about to recite," said Tangmo, and she started sharing a new spell that she had recently learned at Sacred Heart Magic Academy.
"Did you get it?" asked Tangmo after she finished reading the spell.
"Uh-huh," Shangguan Jiu nodded hesitantly, having somewhat memorized the incantation.
"Good, now cast it!" directed Tangmo, pointing to a patch of empty ground.
Shangguan Jiu nodded, raised her magic wand towards the spot, and began uttering the recited spell. She could distinctly feel an unusual sensation in her body, as if something strange was flowing into her.
"Good, the magic has been gathered," Tangmo praised with a nod. Although it took Shangguan Jiu much longer to guide the magic than it took Tangmo, she was still satisfied. After all, instant-casting enthusiasts like her were not common, even Baiyue needed some time to guide her spells.
"This..." Shangguan Jiu was about to speak when the guidance for the spell was suddenly interrupted.
"That’s the feeling when magic flows through your body. Don’t stop, keep guiding it," Tangmo advised from the side.
"Okay," Shangguan Jiu acknowledged, continuing to recite the spell.
A few seconds later, she could feel an unusual sensation where her wand was pointed. Suddenly, without any warning, an explosion flashed in front of her. Thankfully, Tangmo quickly activated a physical shield spell to block the shock wave and debris produced by the explosion.
"What is..." Shangguan Jiu stared in shock at the spot in front of her, where a pot-sized hole had been created with bits of earth flying around.
This was the first time she had used real magic. They had been practicing spells in a virtual machine on Earth, which was simulated by a computer. Now, being able to use magic personally was indeed a shock for her.
The spell Tangmo taught Shangguan Jiu was pinpoint explosion, a technique she learned at the Magic Academy. It doesn’t need to be converted, just directs the magic to gather one point and then release it, creating a force equivalent to TNT explosive of the same volume.
When they first arrived at the academy, Cheng Ziang was hit by this spell and miserably defeated, having to resort to guns for resolution. Of course, he did not dare to mention such an embarrassing incident to others.
Hu Daoke and Cheng Ziang, both swinging leisurely on a meadow faraway, were watching the Orion team’s practice. When they saw Shangguan Jiu use the pinpoint explosion, Cheng Ziang’s face darkened.