Ch. 41 - The path begins… now!

The school day flew by in a flash, and before we knew it, we were finished with the school day. Valde wasn't looking much better from this morning, and Ronald was still wrapped head to toe in bandages. The three of us got a lot of weird gazes today. First, I had the supposed alpha predator of male students on my right, and second, there was another student on my left who was wrapped in so many bandages that you couldn't see their skin at all.

Like yesterday, Valde and Ronald decided to start working on their homework, albeit in a more secluded spot, and I headed towards Professor Costanzo's office.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Come in."

I stepped into Master Costanzo's office after getting his permission.

"Oh, it's you. I thought you weren't going to be here for at least another ten minutes."

"Potion-making class ended early today."

"I see. How did you feel last night?"

"Terrible. It felt like there were thousands upon thousands of needles poking my insides."

"You must have eaten the Thunderwort poison last night then. You really have poor luck. That was one of the more painful poisons of the bunch I gave you."

"Why can't you just tell me what poisons I have so I can start from the weakest and end with the strongest ones?"

"It's more exciting this way."

"It's not exciting for me though."

"That's fine. Just bear with it."

"…"

"Have you been practicing the levitation spell in your spare time?"

"Yes I have."

"How's your progress."

"Not much master."

"That's good actually. That means you haven't yet gotten used to casting spells with a wand, which we don't want to happen. Hand me your wand Azrail."

"Here you go master," I replied as I handed him my branch-like wand.

Master Costanzo proceeded to tap my wand with the tip of his wand. Immediately after, I saw visible smoke spew out the end of my wand, and I heard a slight squeaking noise.

"What's happening?" I asked with concern.

"Nothing much. I'm just rendering your wand useless."

"Why?"

"Now you can officially start your path of becoming a body caster," Master Costanzo said to me as he handed me my now less than useless wand.

"What do I do with this wand now?"

"You pretend to use it. I've made it so that even though your wand is unable to function as a wand, from the surface, it still looks like a functioning wand."

"Why do I need to hide that I'm training to become a body caster?"

"First of all, if some specific individuals in this school found out that you were training to become a body caster, they will actively try to get in your way. Second, it will be your ultimate trump card. Imagine this. You're in a dual, and your opponent manages to disarm you. They will now think they have won, given that you're supposed not to be able to cast any spells without a wand. Then, all of a sudden, you cast a spell out of nowhere and catch them completely off-guard and win. This wouldn't have happened if your opponent knew you were a body caster. Do you understand why you must hide that you're a body caster now?"

"I understand now master."

"Good. Let's get you to start practicing body casting."

"Yes master!" I replied with great enthusiasm.

"Do you know why wand casting is much easier than body casting?"

"No, I do not know master."

"As you probably already know, unlike wand casting, body casting uses your body as the medium to cast magic. This requires incredible skill in your ability to control magic. If you had poor control of magic in wand casting, that would mean that your wand is more likely to break while casting a spell and probably won't last as long. Honestly, not that big of a problem, though it could be a costly one. On the other hand, poor control of magic during body casting could spell permanent damage to your body. The consequences are much more severe."

"How do I achieve a great control of my magic."

"I'm getting their Azrail. Remember that patience is key to success Azrail."

"I'm sorry."

"That's ok. I understand the cause of your impatience, and I felt the same way when I was in your shoes. Here take this," said Master Costanzo as he handed me a bag of glittering, bluish sand. "Use this to train your control of magic."

"How do I achieve that with this pile of blue sand?"

"If you knew the value of this so-called blue sand, you would take that back."

"What is it then?"

"This, my disciple, is supreme grade magic essence particles, the best magic conductor in existence. This 'sand' was the core of a supreme grade magic crystal before it was processed into dust."

The small bag in my hand now felt infinitely heavier.

"This is too much. I can't have this."

"Keep it. Otherwise, it's just going to collect dust on my shelves. Additionally, this will allow you to most effectively train your control over magic."

"Thank you master."

Master Costanzo smiled back in return.

"Here, let me demonstrate how to train with the sand."

Taking the pouch of supreme grade magic essence particles back into his hand, Master Costanzo proceeded to pour the particles onto the table.

"Watch," Master Costanzo said as he touched the spread particles on the table with the tip of his finger. The particles proceeded to contort and shift into the sculpture of a proud, imposing dragon. The statue was so detailed you could make out every single scale the dragon had.

"Wow."

"It's your turn now," Master Costanzo said as he pulled his hand away from the particles. The sculpture subsequently collapsed.

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"Just do your best and imagine what you want the final product to look like."

"Ok."

I approached the table where the particle was resting on and laid my hand on top of it. I shut my eyes and formed an image of the dragon sculpture Master Costanzo had shown me just then in my head. I opened my eyes in anticipation but was disappointed to see that there was no dragon sculpture. The particles didn't even move on the matter.