"Green!? With just a kick?"
The class was stunned into silence, the professors display was something that no one would have expected. Since they were mages, the teens merely focused on spells—believing all else to be inferior.
This wasn’t an anomaly, most of the world thought this way. After all, physical strength was limited by a humans potential, whereas magic felt infinite.
But in a single swift display, the professor had turned their understanding on its head, illuminating a new kind of power that utilized the mana within their bodies differently.
Professor Quinn raised a hand, putting a stop to the hushed whispers around the class, a small smile still resting on her lips. "What you just witnessed is called physical enhancement magic—a relatively new discovery in the art of magic."
"Paired with martial arts, this technique can be devastating," she continued, her expression taking on a fanatical look. "In the time it takes your opponent to chant their incantation..."
The professor moved like lightning, striking the dummy beside her with a straight punch to the chin—causing another flash of blue from the hexagonal shield covering it.
"The fight would already be over." She announced with a grin.
Michael watched in awe, barely able to see the aftermath of the strike, let alone the strike itself. He, like a lot of students had never thought of applying mana this way, merely seeing it as a means to cast spells. The source of thɪs content is novel-fire.net
Which begged the question, how was it possible to enhance one’s body to such a level? The professor had not chanted any incantations, nor did a magic circle appear prior to the enhancement.
Michael raised his hand, his curiosity defeating his fear of being punished.
"Mr. Ellis," the professor called out with a smile, "what is your question?"
He felt the entire class turn to him in that moment, their awe swiftly replaced by glares filled with warning. It was the self-policing policy in full effect, warning him not to say anything stupid and attract punishment.
Feeling a little trepidation, he cleared his throat and asked, "Professor, I never saw a magic circle—is there perhaps a unique method to physical enhancement?"
The class’s attention turned back to the professor, some of their gazes filled with curiosity, while others just gauging her mood.
"Great question," she clapped her hands together, "Indeed, the physical enhancement you just witnessed is not technically a spell," she beamed. "While there are in fact spells that have similar results to strengthening the body—the methods are completely different."
Professor Quinn raised her arm, as if to show the class. "Spells like stoneskin and ironblood directly fortify one’s body, whereas fleetfoot increases one’s speed by imbuing the legs with mana."
"This new method however..." she said, flexing her arm—causing the air surrounding it to distort. "Bypasses the spell phase, filling the muscles and tendons with mana directly. Not only does this allow for much more utility, it is also not limited by a spell tier—instead it is only limited by the mages body and mana purity."
What!? There’s such a thing?
Michael who had a keen interest in mana theory felt his mind explode. He knew that it was possible to manipulate mana without the use of spells, but he thought it was just limited to small things like telekinesis and other miscellaneous tasks.
He looked down at his own arm, his curiosity bubbling forth.
Would he also be able to strengthen his own body with his current level of mana control?
"Now be warned," the professor spoke up, "the method is still not fully understood. Professor Max and I have been working on this for some time, intending to create the perfect balance between mana control and the human anatomy."
As she said the last phrase, Professor Quinn’s face flushed slightly, her tone sounding a little odd.
Michael’s eyes twitched, an image popping into his head of the eccentric mana theory professor and the sadist in front of him working in tandem. In his mind, he saw Professor Quinn carrying the handsome man in a princess carry while he stared at her with awe.
Michael shuddered, quickly trying to remove the image from his mind.
He felt a nudge from beside him, it was Rudy who was wearing a crooked smile. He opened his mouth to say something—likely about to comment on the professor’s relationship.
However, Michael knew that whatever came out of his mouth would probably get the whole class another round of gravity exercises. He swiftly covered the guys mouth before he could even let out a peep.
"Save it for later," he advised him, giving a knowing look.
Professor Quinn cleared her throat, recovering her composure, "Of course none of you are well equipped enough to begin trials for this type of physical enhancement just yet—I just wanted to show you the results."
"For now, we will continue our physical exercises, but we will also be teaching you some martial arts techniques. When I, and Professor Max have deemed you ready, you may then begin the proper physical enhancement training."
Michael nodded, understanding the situation.
It sounds new type of physical enhancement is dangerous, he thought, his curiosity increasing. Is it because there is no underlying spell to set the parameters of enhancement?
The implication was both scary, yet exciting. With no limitations imposed by a spell, the physical enhancement magic would have far more versatility than regular magic.
Even Michael who only had limited knowledge of magic could see the value of the discovery. His eyes fell upon Professor Quinn, his appreciation growing tremendously.
If his hunch was right, this woman was probably one of the discoverers of the technique—hence why she was working closely with the mana theory professor while trying to perfect it.
"Well? What are you bastards waiting for!?" Professor Quinn bellowed, letting out a long peel of laughter. "It’s time for your tor—ahem... physical training session!" she corrected herself.
Michael’s eyes dulled, his newfound appreciation for the woman quickly getting eclipsed by the dread of her character. A few groans and cries of despair called out from the crowd, but that only made the woman’s smile grow wider.
"What’s that? You want to train in two times gravity again?" She asked, cupping her ear with exaggeration.
Everyone in the class quickly moved, beginning their run around the perimeter of the field with haste.