NOVEL WEB Chapter 17: End of Class
Roger Davies was the only one still hanging upside down; the other students were just a little uncomfortable, but he was truly suffering.
Seeing him turn red from the blood rushing to his head, Tver quickly used a basic levitation charm to bring them all down.
Nearly got myself sent to Azkaban for murder...
Giving them some time to recover, Tver casually dispelled the surrounding magic.
"I believe you've experienced a real battle now. Share your inner thoughts," Tver remained seated at his desk, watching the students' expressions shift back and forth, but no one spoke up. So, he resorted to calling on someone.
"Davis, I believe you have a deeper understanding. Care to share some insights with your classmates?"
When Davis heard his name called, he visibly paled, and after glancing around at the expectant faces, realizing no one would speak up for him, he nervously said, "Don't just stand there like an idiot?"
"Exactly!" Tver nodded approvingly. "No matter how fast your opponent's magic is, its trajectory is mostly straight. This means that as long as you move effectively, you can dodge most spells. Of course, if you foolishly run into a spell, not even Headmaster Dumbledore can save you."
The students chuckled happily.
"But there's another issue here. Who can tell me what it is?" Tver allowed the students to laugh for a moment before asking.
George was about to speak but got his mouth covered by Fred. "You need to raise your hand, you dummy!"
Then, much to George's disbelief, Fred raised his hand.
After getting Tver's nod, he spoke up loudly.
"Professor, I think if we step on traps while moving, it's worse than standing still."
Tver applauded him appreciatively.
"Exactly. The battlefield is often complex; when we move, we need to not only pay attention to our opponents but also watch our step. Gryffindor, plus five points. It seems you two have some experience in this."
Fred and George proudly lifted their heads, welcoming their classmates' laughter.
At that moment, the bell for the end of class rang, and the students felt for the first time how annoying it was. They wanted to hear Professor Fawley talk more about battle tactics.
So cool!
The kids in their adolescence were filled with a desire to show off, eager to learn various combat techniques now and replace Professor Fawley, who had just faced multiple opponents single-handedly!
"All right, in this class, you've roughly grasped the four key points of battle: movement, casting speed, self-protection, and teamwork. But don't worry; we still have a year to learn these four skills. In a year's time, we can have another battle to test everyone's progress."
The students' morale immediately soared.
Crush Hogwarts, capture Tver alive!
Tver was very pleased with the students' enthusiasm, but why did he feel like he had grown horns on his head?
"First, let's focus on the first key point—movement. Your homework is to think about how to effectively move and at the same time make your opponent's movement ineffective."
"The next part is for those willing to use their brains. Special rewards await those with good ideas," he gave them a standard professorial smile, igniting even more anticipation among the students.
A few of the studious students exchanged glances, their eyes gleaming with enthusiasm greater than that of battle itself.
Professor Fawley's reward was as good as theirs!
"So, all you need to do is write a paper about your ideas. There's no word limit, even if it's just a few words. But please note, it must be your own ideas."
No word limit was the most sinister part; the students didn't have the courage to submit a paper that was just a few words long. They'd always be worried about not having enough words, which would ironically make their papers longer!
Tver clapped his hands to dispel their reluctance.
"All right, class is over for today. Hurry up and leave, don't be late for your next class."
Classes at Hogwarts were quite tight, especially since the next class was Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. They'd rather be hanging upside down than be late for Transfiguration.
But Tver had some free time now. He only had to teach one class today, so the rest of the time was his own.
Tver grabbed his copy of "Wizard's Chess Basics" and leisurely made his way through the castle toward the library.
The castle was much quieter with the students in class, with only occasional sounds of spells being cast in classrooms.
Similarly, there weren't many students in the library; there were few students who didn't have classes, and even fewer on the first day who decided to come to the library.
He didn't choose books on wizard's chess; it would be a waste to play wizard's chess here when Hogwarts had some of the oldest books in the world, some dating back a thousand years.
He picked up a book called "Spellcasting Techniques."
Tver glanced at the contents of the book briefly; it was quite simple, covering various spellcasting techniques. Similar to what he taught in class. The only thing unusual about this book was its age—it was written eight hundred years ago.
Back then, Hogwarts had only been founded for two hundred years. Such ancient books were usually kept in special collections; if Tver weren't a professor, he wouldn't have been able to access them.
Tver found a corner near the window and began reading the book written in ancient magical script.
Indeed, books from Hogwarts were extraordinary.
In this book, Tver also found only fragments about the four elements.
The author greatly extolled the theory of the four elements, yet after years of research, made no progress and could only rely on personal understanding, hence crafting this introductory "Spellcasting Techniques."
It encompassed various aspects of the four elements, albeit with rudimentary insights. Its sole advantage lay in one statement:
Mastery of the four elements does not rely on ancient magic; it transcends magic, drawing closer to the essence of magic itself.
Regardless of the method of spellcasting (back then, there were various methods, with ancient magic being just one of the more widespread ones, alongside methods such as blood magic), they all comprised the four elements.
Tver wasn't sure if modern magic was included, but this eased his mind somewhat. He had assumed that learning the four elements would entail ancient magic.
After all, the decline of ancient magic stemmed from its difficulty in learning and mastering.
Even a seasoned scholar steeped in ancient magic for years couldn't guarantee proficiency in more than ten ancient spells.
It was akin to a Muggle attempting to learn magic from textbooks, a method of spellcasting that greatly restricted the number of wizards.
In ancient times, only those with innate talent could become wizards. So, even though ancient magic might offer slightly more power, Tver had no desire to learn it.
After all, his abilities no longer required the slight enhancement ancient magic offered; modern magic could achieve the same effects.
After spending an afternoon perusing the entire "Spellcasting Techniques" and searching the library for more valuable books, Tver decided to leave for the Great Hall at dinner time.
However, the students' attitudes toward him had taken a 180-degree turn.
"Professor Fawley, hello!"
"Hello."
Another unfamiliar student greeted him, and Tver, suppressing his confusion, nodded and smiled.
They were just pointing fingers at him this morning, and now, in the afternoon, they were suddenly warm and courteous?
Professor Flitwick appeared out of nowhere and patted his waist.
"Tver, heard you hung up a whole class of students and gave them a beating?"