NOVEL WEB Chapter 23
Chapter 23: Dark Demon’s Cat Also Climbed Into the Box
“Alright! Let’s start the class.”
Professor Kazel walked to the center of the podium after the bell rang.
He looked at the students in the classroom, who were like hungry lambs, and couldn’t help but reveal a warm smile as gentle as sunlight.
“I believe all of you have already heard from the seniors about today’s topic. As you might expect, today’s lesson on Mana Theory will involve practical work, specifically the creation of your first Mana Spirit Card!”
…
“Awooo!”
Whether they were from the Noble Academy or the Knight Academy, the students were all excitedly howling.
It had been a month since they entered Saint Maryan, and this was their first time making their very first Mana Spirit Card!
The students were already too eager, inevitably filled with excitement.
Of course, if this were Professor Shylph’s class, they wouldn’t dare to be so noisy…
Professor Kazel gave them two minutes to calm down before he continued with a smile, “Excitement is good, but don’t slack off during class. This lesson is deeply meaningful for every young Magus. The first Mana Spirit created by a Magus often becomes a lifelong companion.”
With a snap of his fingers, a Mana Spirit Card between his thumb and index finger glowed faintly.
Then, without reciting any spell, a Mana Spirit Card naturally emerged a Mana Spirit. It had snowy white wings, a small horn on its forehead, golden eyes, and looked like a little cat.
“This is my initial spirit, Snow Feather Golden Eye Beast.”
“Professor!” A female student from the Knight Academy raised her hand to ask.
Professor Kazel nodded, and she continued, “Is our assignment today about this Snow Feather Golden Eye Beast?”
But Professor Kazel humorously replied, “Of course not. It seems the seniors didn’t give away much. Our assignment today is — Magical Beasts!”
…
“Magical Beasts?”
Dark stopped flipping through the textbook.
The students began whispering among themselves.
A Magical Beast was an illusory beast of indeterminate form, said to be ethereal and elusive, even invisible to the naked eye!
“No way? (?°?°?)”
Diana asked naively, “Isn’t it written in the book that Magical Beasts are invisible to the human eye?”
Professor Kazel smiled and said, “The fundamental form of a Magical Beast is indeed invisible to the naked eye. But with some effort, we can make it visible, and this is what a Magus does. Alright, put the textbooks aside; what I’m going to teach today isn’t in the book.”
He wrote “Magical Beast” on the blackboard and then drew a large, cat-like outline in the middle.
“The form of a Magical Beast is uncertain until it is seen by someone. It could be a cat, a dog, or even a dragon! Each person may see a completely different form.”
“But unlike real Mana Spirits, the moment a Mana Spirit is created, a Magus will immediately recognize it. Once seen by a Magus, it will forever remain in that form.”
“As for what form it will take, it depends on your deepest desires.”
“Today, I will teach you step-by-step how to create a Magical Beast Mana Spirit Card. You each have two sets of materials. If everything goes well, you might even end up with two Magical Beasts. If not…you’ll have nothing!”
…
No sooner had he finished speaking than the quiet murmurs in the classroom vanished.
Even Wit and Robert couldn’t help but tense up.
They temporarily forgot their current biggest concern.
Professor Kazel no longer cited ancient texts or legends in this class. Instead, he meticulously explained each step of creating a Magical Beast Mana Spirit Card and wrote them all on the blackboard.
After about half an hour, he finished explaining all the key points.
The remaining hour of class was for the students to practice hands-on.
This was their first time making a Mana Spirit Card, so it wouldn’t be smooth sailing.
That’s why they were given two sets of materials—to give them a chance to learn from mistakes.
Professor Kazel walked down from the podium, observing carefully.
…
In the corner of the last row near the window.
Dark had already started making the Magical Beast Mana Spirit Card.
Professor Kazel’s description of Magical Beasts made him think of Schrödinger’s cat.
Poor cat, dead for so many years yet still being repeatedly questioned about its state of existence.
With his rich experience in crafting Mana Cards, Dark was much faster than the others.
He quickly classified all the materials according to the instructions on the blackboard, cooking some, slicing others, and finally arranging them in small dishes on the table.
The core material for a Magical Beast was a transparent long hair sealed in a vacuum bag.
The label on the bag read “Magical Beast Hair,” but it had undergone special treatment before being sealed, slightly reducing its transparency so it could be seen with the naked eye.
There were only two hairs in the entire material package, indicating how precious real Magical Beast hair was.
The core array for creating a Mana Spirit Card was the 1st Array!
The 1st Array was also known as the “Merlin Array,” created by the great Magus Merlin and later perfected over generations!
High-level Magi could simply slap the 1st Array onto a statue and, with immense mana, “resurrect” it, transforming it into a life form similar to a Construct!
This was a miraculous array, not only peering into the Door to Truth but also the deepest secrets of life!
No one after Merlin could recreate such a miracle.
Before officially starting, Dark practiced drawing various arrays.
Only after confirming everything was correct did he begin the actual creation.
By then, many students had already started.
They boiled various materials, sliced them, and added ingredients to blank Mana Cards, almost wanting to cram everything into the Mana Card, hoping a Magical Beast would emerge…
Professor Kazel passed by them without saying much.
Some people need to experience failure to understand the value of success.
…
Wit and Robert worked like they were cooking curry.
Diana and Rose had learned their lesson and followed Dark’s steps without hesitation.
Though slower, they didn’t cause chaos.
Emma was the most efficient in the classroom, already adding the array to her blank Mana Card.
During the process, she occasionally glanced back at the corner of the classroom.
And in that corner, Dark finally sped up.