Dimensions Collide: Destiny Bond

Chapter 222: The Art of Teaching

The twins, strangely, seemed rather enraged. Not in a violent anger type of way, but more in the sense that they were riled up. Then, perhaps it would be wrong to call them upset to begin with?

Still, they did seem angry to some extent.

“Taking us easy, huh?” Lilith exclaimed, a bright smile on her face. “You’ll regret that!”

It was good to see she was the same as always.

“Alright! Take this!”

She began chanting, and from the words, it seemed an ice spear would be coming Prota’s way. Immediately, she began to respond, forming a barrier of dense flames before the spell was even complete.

As such, when the ice spear was chucked, it melted before it could even reach Prota, rendering the attack useless before it had even formed.

“...sis,” Ryan said quietly. “That, uh…”

“H-hey! You do something, then!”

“You got it.”

He, too, began chanting, but like his sister, it was painfully obvious what the attack would be. For the first time, Prota was beginning to really appreciate the advantage of chantless casting. To begin with, her mobile combat style would be impossible if she didn’t have the ability to cast without chanting, but even while fighting like a traditional caster…

“Go!”

A wheel of flames suddenly began spinning in Prota’s direction. Her eyes widened. She’d been so caught up in her thoughts that she had gotten distracted. Quickly, she formed a thick barrier of ice, but the properties of Ryan’s spell were suited to penetrate defence.

Its spin helped it carve through the barrier without losing much energy, slowly but surely making its way toward its target. If Prota hadn’t been so restricted, she could have easily dodged, but that wasn’t allowed right now.

She had to think fast.

Immediately, she summoned a ball of wind, similar to the setup she used to create larger explosions.

“Prota-” Anta started, but immediately realized her body’s intent.

It was risky, but it just might work.

From the way the mana was gathered in this spell, it was meant to penetrate defence, but was smaller in size to compensate, meaning it was easier to deal with. Additionally, it was slow, which was perfect for what Prota needed. Her barrier had bought her just enough distance.

Another barrier was erected, and Prota threw the airball.

Immediately, there was a massive explosion as the heat and oxygen mixed, combusting and releasing the once pent-up energy. Had John been here, he might’ve complained about realism, but John wasn’t here to complain, and Prota was doing what she thought would work.

And work it did.

The barrier shattered, but the spell had been destroyed. The defence penetration aspect had been effectively removed by combining the spell with another, ensuring Prota could maintain her self-imposed challenge.

“...what?” Ryan frowned. “How- how did you do that?”

“Magic,” Prota said, a hint of a smile on her lips.

“Well, yeah, of course it’s magic!” Lilith exclaimed. “But- hey, you’re not taking this seriously, are you?”

“...no.”

“Tch… fine,” Ryan grunted, gritting his teeth. “We’ll make you regret that.”

Prota nodded. “Good. Make me.”

“Huh?”

“Take you seriously. Make me. You can do it. So just try a little harder.”

The twins looked at each other, a slow smile forming on their faces.

“Oh, you’ll regret saying that,” Lilith said, a wide grin forming. “Ryan!”

“Got it!”

Prota’s eyes immediately narrowed. Something big was coming.

A vortex of flames sat in Ryan’s hands, and another of ice sat in Lilith’s. Prota had seen this before. It was the spell they’d used in her last life. But something about this seemed different. The way the mana flowed…

“Go!”

The two spells merged.

Somehow, the intense cold and heat didn’t cancel out. They existed, not in harmony, but in a violent struggle, bound together not by synergy but by sheer force of will. Prota needed to deal with this, and fast.

Behind the spell, she could see the twins, exhausted and pale. Well, this was definitely a step up from their last life. Prota wasn’t sure how they’d managed to learn this spell, but… well, it was an interesting challenge.

“Ok,” she muttered.

Immediately, mana surged into her nervous system, slowing down time, giving her a much-needed break in order to analyze the attack headed her way.

The mana was somewhat crude. If she had [Deus Ex Machina], even a sliver of it, she would’ve been able to dismantle the spell with Soul Steal, but that wasn’t possible at the moment.

Then, she needed to dismantle it in some other way.

Her mana was draining quickly. She’d forgotten how quickly this spell drained her resources. If she didn’t finish this soon, she would lose. She wouldn’t die, but she would be forced to move, and that was a loss in her eyes.

The first step was to try physical force. She summoned a giant icicle, and time shot back to normal as she cast the spell. The ice did manage to hit the vortex, but it wasn’t enough to disrupt the spell to the point of destruction.

She tried an explosion using a combination of fire and wind, but that, too, failed, only causing the spell to waver just a little.

Time for plan two.

There were a few other ways Prota could think of that involved directly disturbing mana. Jinae’s unique magic, for one, was something that could destroy the structure of spells entirely. However, she wasn’t at the stage that she could replicate that with her own skill.

However, she had just found that magic could force other magic to react in certain ways.

She herself had just messed around with the properties of a spell. Combining fire magic with wind magic could result in explosive properties that removed penetrating properties. In a similar vein, her Frozen Flame applied a brittle property onto its target before exploding. Frozen Cannon needed to apply stronger ice magic in order to withstand the wind.

Even when fighting normally, it was always a combination of fire and ice magic that had paired well together.

Then, if this was a spell of fire and ice, two opposites that cancelled each other out…

A spell of equal power would surely interfere properly.

Prota used mana reinforcement on her nervous system one more time. She had to hope this worked, because if it didn’t, she’d feel really stupid. Still, Scholaris was a place to learn. She might not accomplish her goal of teaching the two very well, but she would teach herself something new, and that was fine.

She started her spell with the structure of a Frozen Flame. However, she couldn’t make it as she usually did. Brute force would not solve this issue. Instead, she tried to structure the ice-based part of the spell as she did an Absolute Zero, preparing it to freeze the surroundings upon impact. Similarly, the flame part of the spell was meant to cover an area and apply heat rather than explode.

Her mind was beginning to crack under the pressure. She could feel pressure building up in her nose, meaning she’d likely be getting a nosebleed soon.

But she couldn’t give up.

All her knowledge. All her practice. If she could create new spells, if her power was truly that of manipulating energy rather than simply a fine mana control, then this should be possible.

Suddenly, a memory came back. A memory of a system no longer used.

[Creation levels up!]

Back when her system had things like “magic” and “creation.” She hadn’t understood what those were back then.

But she understood now.

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Creation. Essentially, the ability of a [Writer]. If she needed any more proof that a small part of her bore John’s power, it was this.

Eventually, she couldn’t hold on any more. Time came rushing back as she deployed the spell. If this didn’t work, that was fine. She was proud of it nonetheless.

Slowly, the spell flew forward. A simple rose with a blue flame inside. It looked so fragile and weak compared to the raging storm.

The two made contact.

There was no grand explosion. The rose simply shattered, like a hollow, glass flower that had been dropped. The ice and fire slowly expanded, as if dissipating on their own.

But then something extraordinary happened.

The vortex, once raging strong, began to vanish. Slowly, calmly, it died down, and soon, it was as if it had never existed at all.

“Wh- what?”

The twin’s voices were no longer fired up, but they weren’t quite dejected, either.

It was simply the sound of one in awe.

Prota struggled to pull herself back together, draining a mana potion in one gulp. As usual, it tasted absolutely awful, but in this moment, she didn’t really care. She cast mana recovery, drank another potion, and repeated the process, reserving her mana only on the third potion.

“Good… good spell,” she gasped, trying to stand tall. “Normally… would win.”

“How- how did you do that?!” Lilith suddenly exclaimed. “Wait, are you some kind of hidden test set by the professors? Are we going to pass with flying colours if we beat you?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Ryan snorted. “As if we could beat that.”

“Wh- what was that spell?”

Prota didn’t answer. She just raised her staff again, this time a little less high.

“Try again. Simple spell.”

Hesitantly, the two obeyed. Chanting, they summoned a fireball and an icicle, and the two flew in their wobbly paths toward Prota. This time, she didn’t even bother to block them. She just knocked them away with her staff.

Right. That was what first circle magic was supposed to be. Not the lethal weapons Prota wielded, but flimsy things that any decent warrior could deal with.

“...you can make vortex,” Prota sighed. “But… nn.”

It wouldn’t do. Prota wasn’t a teacher. She didn’t know how to teach properly.

But if she could just force them into a situation where they’d have to react, then maybe, just maybe…

“Anta,” she said quietly. “I’m breaking the rule.”

“Yeah, you did fine,” Anta said cheerfully. “Go for it.”

She immediately began to move. Her body felt like it was tied down with heavy stones, but she pushed through, picking her legs up by force.

“Wha- are you a fighter or something?” Ryan cried out.

To his credit, he managed to cast another fireball in a quick chant, but like before, its trajectory was wobbly and off. Now that Prota was moving, it had even less of a chance of hitting her.

“Ryan,” Lilith said carefully. “She’s… she’s not attacking.”

“...fine. We’ll fight until we can’t, then.”

~~~

The professors in the balcony had mostly abandoned their view of any other students in the field. Many had been eliminated by now, and those remaining were already rejected or admitted.

But the view of that mountaintop… that was something they wouldn’t get to see for another century at the very least.

“That girl… what was that spell?” Orson muttered, peering closely. “I’ve never seen anything like it. A spell to negate another spell… does such a thing even exist?”

“The spell those siblings cast was a fifth-circle spell,” Leora said quietly. “Still, the ability to merge their spells together takes a skill of its own. That girl, however… I have not seen anything like it.”

“What?!” Yelena cried out. “You… you haven’t-”

“Ah. Perhaps it would be more apt to say I was incapable of analyzing it. As the world is a projection of their minds, for us to see the flow of mana is difficult. Then again, we did not expect to need such a function, hence why this view does not allow us to do so. An oversight, perhaps.”

Leora seemed calm, but inside, she was in awe.

A spell to negate another spell.

Not something like anti-magic, or some kind of brute force method to cancel the force of the vortex.

That girl had likely created a spell, on the spot, to destroy a spell headed her way.

And, based on how she was currently moving, there was no need to do such a thing. She could have easily run away and waited for the spell to run out of mana, and with her level of skill, she would have easily won.

But no. She seemed to be intentionally defending only, with no plans to attack.

“Leora,” Rion suddenly said.

The phoenix rushed back to the view. The fight was brewing again. But now…

“Her defense,” Lupin noted. “There are cracks.”

“Indeed,” Hikari muttered. “How unexpected. Perhaps she has run out of mana?”

“That spell must’ve taken a large toll on her,” Yelena said slowly. “It would make sense, then, that her formations are incomplete, especially if she is using chantless casting.”

The other professors nodded, muttering their agreements…

All except Sofya and Leora.

“You do not agree,” Sofya said calmly. “Why not?”

“That girl… is training them.”

The balcony went silent.

Leora was not nervous, but she did feel a sense of pressure on her. Not because she was afraid of messing up, but because of the implications of this girl’s actions.

“Look. Right there. The crack… is a perfect opening to hit her. Any other placement of the crack would simply deflect a first circle spell off to the side. Even if one abused the openings, it would do minimal damage.”

The other professors leaned in, trying to see what Leora was pointing out.

“Look. Again. Those weaknesses… if those two siblings were to abuse them, they’d be able to land lethal hits.”

The statement was ridiculous. No one would put a target on their own vitals intentionally. This was a fight. Moreover, these children shouldn’t be used to battle, and they would be even less used to death. Death was something to naturally be feared. Even if such a child was capable of placing intentional targets on her barriers, would she not do it in a place that avoided harm?

“Hey. That… she did it again,” Orson said.

Again. Again.

Each and every time, she would place the weaknesses in the same spots. And every time she blocked, the twins got a little closer to striking them.

“She’s… training them,” Leora said, breathless.

In the middle of an exam, where the qualification requirements were unknown, and the objective was unclear…

An examinee was daring to teach her competitors how to utilize magic.

“Ha… ha… haha! What a girl!” Rion suddenly exclaimed with a booming laugh. “Can that even be called a student? No, such an individual should be a professor at this school, no?”

Each and every Mystic, as well as the single dragon present, could only stare in awe.

That little girl, in her own way, was imprinting techniques taught at this school through practice. Such a thing was only possible if the mentor was confident in their techniques, and understood what their disciples were capable of. If either was off, such a feat would not teach things properly.

Forget talent.

This was a once in a lifetime genius. Not even in the lifetime of a mortal.

But in the lifetime of a Mystic.

“That girl… I’d like to talk with her later,” Sofya said quietly. “Leora. Is that alright?”

“Of course. I… do not believe there would be much for me to teach her to begin with,” Leora said with a smile. “But having such a child in this school… I suppose there will be an interesting time ahead for all of us.”

“Indeed.”

~~~

Prota could see it.

Their flow of mana was slowly improving.

Talent wasn’t something she’d thought about too much in her past life. After all, her talent and skills were so different from everyone else’s that she had a hard time understanding where she stood. In the Town of Beginnings, she’d been going up against opponents stronger than herself, which had blossomed into skill.

However, if real combat was the best teacher, then was her skill over these students a matter of talent? Or experience?

Now, however, she could see what “talent” was.

If it wasn’t these two, she didn’t know what else it could possibly be.

They were actively growing. Yes, she was indirectly showing them the path to take, but was it really as simple as that? She hadn’t even told them what to do. They were simply… doing it.

“It’s probably what John saw in you,” Anta laughed. “The difference in skill back then was about the same as it is now, too.”

Prota ignored her soul, but the words did warm her heart.

For her to be taking the role of mentor this time around…

She’d come a long way.

“That’s right,” Prota muttered without realizing. “The mana. Move it… that way.”

The twins, pushed to exhaustion, had begun to cast their first circle spells without chanting. Prota had somehow forced them into chantless casting without them knowing that was their goal. It wasn’t a matter of teaching. It was simply that those two held the drive to grow.

The reason was obvious. Their broken family. They could not afford to lose, nor could they afford to be denied entry into Scholaris. Then, it was only natural to do your best against an opponent who clearly was holding themselves back. Thus, their improvement wasn’t logical.

It was simply born out of pure desire.

And Prota was the one guiding that desire on the right path.

“Move it… right here.”

She watched as fireball and icicle suddenly curved, their trajectories a smooth, straight line, headed right for the weakness she’d intentionally placed within her barrier. There was no need to watch any longer.

If she died here, that was fine. She had two lives left, anyway.

And her goal had been accomplished.

“Good job.”

The last thing she heard was the sound of ice shattering before her vision went dark.

~~~

The last bit of the exam finished smoothly. Prota died two more times on her own to avoid fighting any other students. Her body wasn’t necessarily exhausted, but her mind most definitely was, and she was confident that her skills had been enough to get her admitted. If anything, she was a little concerned that she’d been a little too strong in her talents.

Still, dying had been an almost pleasant experience. It’d been a while since she’d faced death, but it was good to know she could still do so without fear.

“Hey! Over here!”

Prota looked to see Lilith running toward her with a wide grin.

“Ah. Hello.”

“You were the girl who fought us on the mountain, right? That was a lot of fun!” Lilith exclaimed. “Thank you!”

“Thank… you?”

“I… I feel like I got a lot stronger. Hm… maybe it’s because I’ve never properly fought before? But that was really cool! So… thank you! I’m Lilith. Lilith Rose of the Rose household.”

Prota’s eyes, normally sleepy, snapped open.

“Rose… household?”

“Ah, are you not from Solaris? Then-”

“Your- your father,” Prota stammered. “Isn’t he…”

“Dad? He’s fine,” Lilith shrugged. “Recovering slowly. Why? Is that an issue?”

Prota’s mind began to race. What was going on? That shouldn’t have happened. They were hiding the fact that they were nobles, right? Then why was she revealing her family so openly?

“Lilith, she’s probably just wondering why we’re being so open about it now,” Ryan laughed. “It makes sense.”

“Huh? How does that make sense?”

“Well, if we were still weak, we’d be easy targets for other nobles from Solaris. So don’t be too confused. Thank you for your understanding…?”

“Prota,” she said timidly.

“Cool! Wanna be friends?” Lilith said excitedly.

“Sis, you can’t just-”

“Ok,” Prota said with a small smile. “Friends.”

“Cool! I hope I’ll see you in Scholaris when the school opens again!” Lilith exclaimed, running off.

“Sorry about that,” Ryan said apologetically. “She-”

“It’s ok. You too. Friends?”

Ryan flinched, but eventually, a smile formed in his lips as well.

“Yeah. Sure. And… thank you as well. For that fight.”

“Nn.”

Prota watched as they ran off, but something was bothering her.

“How…”

“John.”

Prota didn’t react, but the one word Anta spoke was enough.

“He’s the only one that could’ve changed things,” Anta sighed. “If I had to guess… he likely removed some noble household.”

“...what?”

“The Rose household was under a lot of political pressure. However, if another noble household were to fall, there would be an investigation going on. With that kind of pressure from the royal family, no one would dare to make a move on another household. Therefore, the Rose household must be much more comfortable.”

“But John-”

“Don’t you remember what he said? Well, you wouldn’t. He’s wiped out royalty before. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s caused entire nations to go extinct. That’s just the kind of power he has. Without someone like you to stabilize him, death is a first option for him. Or don’t you remember?”

Prota suddenly understood.

John, at the moment, was powerful. He was likely a lot stronger than when he fought her in their past life. Additionally, without Prota to give him emotions, he could likely utilize [Zero] much more than before. And, without someone to protect, there was nothing holding him back from killing anyone who got on his bad side.

Right. John had lost his memories. He didn’t remember anything from this life. And if it was the John before meeting Prota…

Something like that was definitely possible.

“Things are changing out of our control,” Anta warned. “Not that we can do anything other than prepare.”

“Nn.”

There was no more time for discussion, though. A new figure was approaching.

“Hello, child,” Sofya Ohrein said, walking up.

“Would you spare me a moment of your time?”