These ten layers of protection were very strong, but also relatively strong. A magical barrier that was difficult for ordinary wizards to break through was probably nothing to Voldemort.
Ivan estimated that if he used all of these protective rings, he would be lucky to withstand a few of Voldemort's charms.
Even so, Ivan was pleased, as it would greatly improve his room for error in battle, so that he would not be killed if he was hit by Voldemort's magic.
Seeing Ivan's confidence, Nicolas Flamel did not try to dissuade him.
These past few days of contact had taught him that Ivan was a very opinionated and rational man, unlike other children of his age, who tended to be careless and impetuous. The fact that he was able to forge so many protective rings at once showed that he was confident in being able to control them all at once.
Thus, Nicolas-Lémer quickly changed the subject and asked him if he wanted to test the ring's protective properties.
Ivan agreed without much hesitation.
Although he had learned the exact strength of the protective ring from the system inventory, the description was not as intuitive as trying it out himself.
"Are you going to fight me yourself, sir?" Ivan asked eagerly.
"No, that won't be necessary. We'll just try it with this…" Nicolas shook his head and reached for a block of silver.
Ivan was disappointed. He had always been curious about Nicolas Flamel's abilities. He had lived for over six hundred years, and even if he did not like to fight and was only interested in alchemy, he would not be any weaker than Lord Voldemort.
Yvonne had wanted to test her skills in a good fight.
"Are you ready? I'm going to do it…" Nicolas-Lemme asked suddenly, clutching the block of mythril in his hand.
Ivan cleared his mind of such thoughts and retreated to a relatively wide area, where he saw Niko's right hand jerk and throw the mithril block.
At first, Ivan was confused. He had been the one to bring the magical ingredients to the table, and he hadn't had time to engrave any runes on them. Was he going to use Nicolas Flamel as an experiment?
Even as Ivan thought this, a great sense of crisis came over him.
The mithril pieces that were floating in the air had some sort of refuting pattern on them, like fine cracks, through which brilliant red light was shooting out.
As soon as Ivan sensed the danger, he activated all of his defenses and lit up his ring, creating a barrier of magic around him.
Almost at the same time, a piece of mithril the size of a knuckle exploded.
A violent roar filled the lab, and a fiery tongue of fire, rapidly expanding with red light, filled Ivan's vision, colliding with the barrier of magic that stood between them.
The first layer of protection resisted for a moment before shattering, but it also weakened the attack to some extent. The second layer of protection at the rear lasted for a while, and soon the magic barrier was covered in cracks and shattered.
The aftermath of the explosion did not break through the third layer of protection, and Ivan, who was in the middle, slowly breathed a sigh of relief.
By the time the smoke cleared, the lab was in shambles. Tables and chairs had fallen to the floor, and magical materials such as yew and mithril were strewn all over the floor.
With a casual flick of his finger, the table and chairs that had been knocked to the ground quickly stood up, and the scattered magical materials fell back into place.
When he was done, he turned to Ivan and asked, "How was it? The explosion broke through several layers of protection."
"Two layers! If the attack had been any stronger, the third layer might have been breached." Ivan raised his left hand. The protective rings on his index and middle fingers were so dim that they could not be used for a day.
"It's good. Looks like it's at least three times as strong as it was before," said Nicolas Flamel, nodding.
He had deliberately gathered his strength for a while, almost as if he were attacking with high-intensity explosive magic while holding his wand. Even so, he had only broken through two layers of protection, indicating that Ivan's magical tools were more powerful than he had expected.
"Sir, how did you do that? Why did that piece of mythril suddenly explode?" Ivan asked curiously.
He was fairly certain that it was an ordinary piece of mithril, untreated, and was amazed when Nicolas Flamel simply threw it and it created an explosion-like effect.
"I just temporarily enchanted a piece of mithril and injected some of my anger into it…" said Nicolas Flamel, revealing the truth.
It was technically a high-end magical technique, but it required a lot of alchemical knowledge.
Once mastered, one would be able to instantly enchant the materials used to conduct the spell. It was very convenient for both attacking and defending against damage. One could even use Guidance Magic to increase its power.
Centuries ago, it was used by many powerful alchemists as a means of supporting their attacks.
The only drawback was that it burned a lot of money, and the mithril with the best conducting properties was worth a lot of money. For example, the one that Nicolas Flamel threw out was worth over ten Galleons.
However, this was acceptable to Ivan at the moment. After all, the wizarding market was profitable every day. A month's net profit should be enough for him to fight a few battles with all his might.
Even more interesting to Ivan was the fact that this instantaneous enchantment could be compared to casting without a spell.
Alchemy and magic were two very different things. Both involved the use of magic to achieve one's goals. If he could learn how to enchant quickly, it might help him master non-charm and non-stick magic.
With this in mind, Ivan pestered Nicolas Flamel about how to use enchantment.
"Even if you hadn't mentioned it, I was planning to include it in my class in the next few days," said Nicolas Flamel rather helplessly.
Ivan's learning progress was too fast, far beyond his expectations, and his foundation was very strong, so that in just two summers he had almost exhausted his foundation.
Ivan was pleased to receive the approval of Nicolas Flamel, who seemed to him to have a wide range of uses for quick enchantments, which might work in a fight.
"By the way, Professor, is there any way to make a wizard's magic improve quickly in a short period of time?" Ivan asked cautiously, suddenly thinking of the question that had been bothering him.
He believed that, having lived for over six hundred years and being able to brew the Elixir of Immortality, the Master Alchemist might have a way to enhance his magic.