280: [Bonus chapter]Defence Shield

[Bonus chapter]Defence Shield

2Forming ancient runes using one's own magic power was the most basic type of formation, and witches would often use catalysts to strengthen their spells.  2

Divine blood was one of the strongest and rarest ingredients as the catalyst, as it was most effective when freshly harvested from the body, and divine beasts were uncommon and difficult to capture.

'But I can't risk taking the Queen's blood. At least, not now.'

The greed in Rosetta's eyes faded. 

'If I do so, it will weaken her and use up her lifespan. She won't be of any use if she becomes crippled. Also, since she is a witch, then it compromises the purity of her divine blood. I can't be sure how it will affect my spells. 

'I need to first check her blood in an experiment. Fortunately, I have a sufficient sample from what I collected yesterday during the oath of blood. Even so, I prefer to have her by my side as a powerful tool rather than using her like Myra. 

'Which reminds me, I wonder where Myra's son is now. I should capture that eagle soon to replace her before his mother runs out of blood. Maybe I can use this little student of mine to lure the Queen of Megaris as well?' 

A smirk painted on her lips. 

Once Oriana stopped, Rosetta didn't comment. Oriana understood this witch would never praise her for anything. 

"Now you have discovered your energy core, let's continue our lesson."

Oriana was happy like an obedient student. "Yes, Teacher."

"First, you will learn the spell casting a defense shield. You must have read this in the book."

"Yes, Teacher."

Oriana remembered it due to the design of that energy shield. It was mesmerizing. If she knew this spell back when they were in the temple, then Rafal would have probably not gotten hurt. She could not wait to try forming it on her own.

"Before learning to attack, one needs to learn how to protect themselves," Rosetta explained. "Life is one's most precious possession. What good is being powerful when you are dying, don't you agree?"

Oriana agreed. Though Rosetta was mean, Oriana could see now that Rosetta took her role as teacher seriously, wanting her student to learn well. Her approach was strict and tough, but it was within Oriana's tolerance.

"Do you remember the ancient runes from the book, needed for making a shield?"

Oriana was not sure entirely. "I can try remembering…"

"Watch me," Rosetta spoke. 

Rosetta lifted her hands, with her fingers emitting the darkness moving in sync. 

"Oh, shield of magic, certain and strong.

This sacred barrier, my soul's embrace,

Darkness, protect me in this enchanted space.

"Shield," she pronounced the last word in the ancient language, her voice seemingly twisting the rules of the world as her magic formed the rune in the air. " 

A magical shield formed in front of Rosetta and it looked mesmerizing just as Oriana saw in the book. Translucent circular shield emitting black light, large enough to cover half an adult's body with ancient rune symbols written on it as they circled inside the shield, forming a beautiful divine-looking design. 

"At the beginning stages, chanting the spell out loud will help you visualize the ancient rune better." 

After she said those words, Rosetta dispersed the black shield, before flicking her fingers once more. This time, the exact same shield appeared in front of her. 

"When you master it, you do not even need a chant and the shield will materialize even without forming the rune first."

Oriana could only gasp in amazement.

"Try using your powers against this shield," Rosetta ordered., "Since you cannot cast an attack spell yet, use divine power."

Oriana obeyed. In fact, she could not wait to try, now that she had an excuse to hurl attacks towards the nasty witch. 

However, Oriana had only made things fly so far with her divine power. She could try recreating the tornado she casted back in the temple, but she was not sure if it was feasible.

An image of an arrow popped in her head.

'What if I imagine the wind as an arrow?'

Oriana implemented it without hesitation. She willed the wind to attack the shield but each of her attacks were seemingly swallowed, ineffective against Rosetta's defense. Rosetta remained unaffected, looking bored behind the beautiful black shield. 

Rosetta explained, "Shields formed from other attributes need to be thick and sturdy to protect their owner, but for Black Witches and those of the darkness attribute, ours only need to be large and cover enough area of our body. The destructive nature of our magic can cause the attacks to weaken the moment they touch the shield. A variant version of the spell could even swallow attacks and return it…"

The black-haired witch continued to point out things that Oriana needed to watch out for, like how much magic to input, among other practical advice that were not in the book. 

The shield disappeared as Rosetta cut off its source of magic. 

"Did you observe well?"

Oriana nodded.

"Then give it a try. Focus on your energy core, recite the spell chant and pronounce the ancient rune. Your mind where you think and your heart where the energy core lies, they need to be one when you cast the spell."

Oriana took a deep breath. She closed her eyes, focused on her energy core and chanted the spell. 

"Oh, shield of magic, certain and strong…"

As she tried to recall the ancient rune, she found her magic responding as if summoned out of her body. Surprisingly, everything she read about the 'shield' flashed in her mind clearly and Rosetta's earlier example was vivid in her memory. The actions and the chant felt familiar, just that she was not aware of it until now. 

The ancient rune for 'Shield' appeared in the air in front of her, but it would fade after several seconds. She tried but failed a few times to make an entire shield. Rosetta, though claiming to be an impatient person, didn't disturb Oriana from trying and simply watched her, instructing her once in a while to help her create an entire shield. 

After more than ten attempts, Oriana could form the entire shield. She could feel it connected to her soul.

"It…It worked," Oriana mumbled with happiness. 

Her first successful spell!

She was finally a witch who knew a spell!

"Do not be distracted and try to hold the image steady. Pour more magic into it to keep its existence," Rosetta instructed. 

Oriana followed, and soon, the shield grew in size, protecting Oriana entirely behind it. 

The black-haired witch walked around her to nitpick on the shield. Her student looked at Rosetta but instead of a praise, Rosetta's lips curved into a smirk. Oriana had a feeling it was not a good sign. 

Her instinct did not fail her.

"Hold your ground, Oriana," she heard Rosetta say as she stood in front of Oriana, facing the shield.

Oriana wondered what she meant as she watched the woman in front of her through that protective shield and found Rosetta voice chanting as her wicked gaze fixed on Oriana.

Realization hit Oriana. 

'She is going to attack me!'

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