Freya soon left her room to go to the laboratory.
It was located at the basement level of the Second Magic Tower. Only authorized members of the tower were allowed entry into the room. However, visitors could spectate through the soundproof glass on both sides of the room.
Besides the dozen Elite Mages, there were apprentices and wizards from the Wizarding Program of the Tower as well. They were spectating from above. They probably heard that Freya was going to do a practical test with the spell.
It didn't matter if they spectated since the glass they were standing behind blocked all sound from getting out or coming in. Seeing everything alone was useless if you couldn't hear anything. Freya didn't want anyone besides her elite mages to learn about the spell, after all.
Inside the laboratory were all the Elite Mages employed by the Second Magic Tower.
Freya didn't have time to waste so she immediately began speaking, "Let's begin since I have other business to attend to."
Freya walked past them. She ignored them even as they greeted her. Freya grabbed a nearby chair and climbed onto it.
She was very short so she wouldn't be able to see all of them.
"I'll only begin the introduction of the spell today since I have to go to the Theocracy to handle that matter I discussed with all of you."
She was referring to the group of people who would slay the Demon King. Naturally, only the Elite Mages knew what she meant. The others were left to wonder in confusion.
"Take out the magic sheets I gave all of you."
All of them did as she instructed and took out the magic sheets. The magic circle on the sheet was an 11th rank spell called [Void of Force].
It was a spell that Freya discovered in one of the diaries from her predecessors. That person wrote that the spell was kept in an old book located in the Imperial Library in the capital.
Freya spent two days and nights learning the spell from start to finish. She didn't even sleep at all and only used rejuvenation spells.
"First I want to see if any of you can handle the spell. It's a known fact now that it's possible for a mage to use a spell above their natural limits. This is an extremely rare case. There has never been anyone capable of doing this without losing all their mana in a single second and be minutes away from dying due to mana exhaustion. So, this is in theory accurate."
They gulped hard.
Although not common, mages and wizards from the past had proven that one could use a spell above your own limits using magic sheets. A person attempting this only needs to fuel the spell to use it.
Like Freya said, if your mana reserves weren't that high then you'd be exhausted in under two seconds at least.
What was impossible though was someone being able to use the spells, control it, and increase the potency of the spell. Even Freya couldn't do that. She also had limits to what she could do.
It wasn't known by anyone but Freya could only cast up until 15th-rank using her own abilities. There was a way for her to become capable of casting up to 17th rank but the risk was huge. Because of this Freya decided to not use 16th and 17th rank spells or even think of learning them.
"It all comes down to talent. That's what will determine whether any of you will be able to use this spell without collapsing within seconds." Freya looked at Melissa and Adrianna. The two of them would definitely be able to use the spell.
They were the most gifted young magic users of the Academy back in the day. Both were currently trying to break through 10th rank magic, something that few Elite Mages and famous wizards had been able to do.
"Five seconds is the goal," Freya pointed to her five fingers on her fight hand.
"Five seconds of what?" one of them asked curiously.
"If there is someone capable of containing the spell for five seconds then I will allow that person to accompany me in closing any portals which may appear."
Their eyes brightened when they heard that. Freya could see their determination all over their faces.
"Of course, if there is someone capable of handling it much longer then a promotion is in order. One of you might become my right-hand and assist me in my projects."
"A promotion!?" Melissa was the first one to respond to what Freya said.
Unlike her predecessors, Freya had never hired personal assistants since she was cautious of letting others learn her methods of using magic. They might even figure out that she didn't deserve the title of Archmage.
That would be bad.
But Freya knew that she couldn't always work alone so she mentioned getting an assistant to help her when needed. The Archmage's Hand referred to someone who would have to be with her daily and carry out tasks for her. It was kind of like an assistant but the difference was that the responsibility Freya would give that person weighed more than any ordinary assistant.
In addition, this supposed right-hand might just be the next Archmage candidate. If that's the case then Freya had to be vigilant if someone like that ever showed up.
Not just for the safety of the person in question but for the people as well.
"As my Hand you will be given a lot of responsibilities. You would have to assist me in experiments since I always have to review new spells sent from all the magic towers. The experiments are time-consuming since the there are always way too many. As you all know, I lead all seven magic towers across the entire continent which means a lot of work come in every week. I don't need sleep so I can go through them on my own. But just because I don't need sleep doesn't mean I don't want it. In addition, I have other duties to attend do."
Freya had many spells that could fight against her drowsiness and keep her cognitive levels balanced even if she did go weeks without sleeping. The problem was that she found it troublesome to do so much paperwork when her duties were more to do with fighting monsters or level 5 National threats. If she had someone to share her responsibilities with as a chairman then things could get more convenient for her.
"Quick question, lady Freya," Adrianna raised her hand when Freya finished, "If one of us does indeed exceed the five seconds goal and that person becomes your Hand then can we bring our own assistants as well?"
"Of course," Freya nodded, "But I will have to review their profiles first. I don't allow non-mages. This is because many of the tasks requires you to be able to use magic and understand the theories we put into practice."
"I see. Thank you very much for answering my question." Adrianna bowed.
"No problem. Let's begin then. I can't stay long so we'll cover the basics." A magic circle appeared in front of Freya.
From a normal person's point of view it would look like a circle similar to a carriage wheel with writing inside. The magic circle was actually inscribed with ancient language or better known as Runic language.
Unlike other spells, this 11th-rank spell had to be performed using the ancient tongue. Meaning that the spell would only work if one knew the phrase well.
Magic chants itself was used to make a suggestion in one's brain which would then make your mana flow through your bodies towards your hands. You would then have to imagine what kind of spell you wanted to cast.
"Otrok."
The word Freya spoke in ancient tongue meant, "Divine Call". It was used to speak with the gods to allow one to use their power.
A few seconds later a burst of golden energy surrounded Freya.
"The gods have given me permission to use this spell."
It was more like the power of divinity was accepting her. Were it any other mage then they would be coughing up blood as it would feel like thousands of needles were in their throats.
It wasn't easy for a person to use a nature of power different from their own. This was something that was proven with Sword Intent and Aura as well. It was difficult to make both exist in one's body.
"There's no need for all of you to do a Divine Call like I did since my mana is connected to the magic sheets. All I want you to do is listen to the incantation very carefully because I won't repeat it. Understood?"
"Yes!"
Freya spoke in ancient tongue. She had already memorized the incantation so it wasn't difficult to recite it.
The problem was whether the Elite Mages could get it right or not.
She was the one who said that she wouldn't say the phrase twice so it would be partly her fault if they couldn't get it the first try.
One would ask why it was necessary for them to use this spell specifically to close portals from the demon world. The spell was a divine spell so wouldn't it be better to have priests surround the portal and pour all their divine power into it, thereby destroying it?
But the problem was that the divine power wouldn't do anything since it wasn't in its offensive nature—meaning that it couldn't be used to attack.
The majority of priests only had the ability to heal and casts buffs so it was impossible for them to use this spell as effective as a mage. There were many exceptions but not many could compare to the powers of an Elite Mages.
"It's like water and oil," Freya began speaking after she finished the chant. They were frantically writing down what she said after she finished, "Oil and water don't mix because oil is made up of non-polar molecules while water molecules are polar in nature. The same can be said for divine power and demonic aura or energy. The divine power can mix with anything and not cause any negative reactions. This is due to the bonds in their molecular structure. All of you should know what Holy Water is made from. It's regular water infused with a priest's divine power. They mix together nicely but if demonic energy were to be added to water then it would become contaminated. This is the same as miasma poisoning or magic crystal erosion."
Magic crystal erosion was when a magic crystal was filled with too much miasma than mana.
All of them seemed to follow what Freya was saying as they were nodding.
"So what's my point for bringing water and oil into the formula of this spell? That's because the divine power in this spell can combine with demonic energy but it causes a negative reaction, causing the structure of the portals to break down."
"Does the size of the portal make a difference? Like if it was a single person who had to destroy a demonic portal the size of this tower?" Adrianna asked.
"The size doesn't matter in many cases. But the speed at which the portal breaks down is heavily slowed down compared to a portal that could fit in this room. The one creating the portal could simply add more power which will restore the portal quicker than it can be brought down. You would have to be someone with a big enough mana pool to bring the portal down on your own. As it stands, only you and Melissa can do this."
Freya jumped off the chair as she went: "Now then…"
She looked at all of them who was standing with their magic sheets ready.
"Begin."
"Orkret!!"
All of them shouted at once.
The room was filled with mana as the defense systems kicked in.
They suddenly started dropping like flies before even 2 seconds passed.
"Wha…"
"…"
Even Melissa and Adrianna couldn't last a second.
'Shit, now I look like an idiot for saying the two of them could last. Hmm… Maybe it's something wrong with the spell itself and not the level?'
Yes, that could be it.
Freya looked at the wizards who were observing then from the second floor. Every one of them was busy writing something in their notebooks.
'The reputation of the Second Magic Tower will plunder at this rate.'
"It seems I've miscalculated," Freya decided to take the blame with a heavy heart, "The spell is only suitable for me at the moment since I was the one who adjusted it in the first place."
She was leagues above them in terms of magic capabilities so it was obvious they wouldn't last long. She could even go for a day without rest and healing herself with potions.
There were only two times when she was in a condition of mana exhaustion. Both occasions happened when she cleared the portals that were spotted all over the continent. There were just too many. Some were small while others were massive.
"Does this mean we can't learn the spell?" asked Melissa.
"Not right now, I suppose. But in due time. There's no hurry, though."
All of them sighed in relief.
"I'll leave the notes I made on the spell, in my room. I'll have one of the servants being it here later. It's a hefty pile so I suggest all of you work together."
It was normally unwise of her to tell others about her methods of learning, decrypting and modifying magic formulas, both ancient and modern. Considering the fact that the demon portals were a great threat, she thought it wouldn't be so bad to share her knowledge on this particular spell.
"Can our assistants help us in researching about the spell? I feel like all of us wouldn't be enough for this."
'It wouldn't be bad to have some outside help, I guess. Maybe there's someone who can spot what's wrong with the spell.'
Even assistants could prove to be beneficial to an Elite Mage. Their jobs weren't just to clean or bring food to their superior. They could provide insight that even their superiors didn't have.
Freya met many of these kinds of students in her life as a professor before she became the Archmage.
"Alright," Freya answered that person's question, "But only your assistants. I don't want those guys from the other towers meddling in on our investigation."
The portal investigation was theirs and theirs alone. The portals were discovered in the empire after all.
"I need to go. All of you should begin immediately. Pause whatever work you have and focus on this alone."
"Yes, Lady Freya!"