Counterspells, it turned out, were available to most schools of magic but were regarded as only occasionally useful.

  “It’s rare to know your opponent’s casting style well enough to disrupt it. Praying to the goddess for intercession will often lead to success, but depending solely on meta magic is ineffective at higher tiers,” Eire explained, as she restored the room’s lighting to its original brightness.

  A few hands went up, but none belonged to those who had just joined the coven, Orion noted. They were either shy or unsure of how much they could ask of the powerful witch teaching them.

  Reflecting on it, he realized that this was probably a rather unconventional setting for them. He hadn’t even blinked, being more than used to a learning environment, and his cohort had been raised within it. However, for anyone coming from outside, being offered this much knowledge freely from someone who could have wiped their town from the map if she woke up on the wrong side of the bed must have felt surreal.

  “Yes, Luna, what is your question?”

  “Magistra, what is metamagic?” She asked.

  Eire sighed, as if she knew such a question was likely to come, yet she had still hoped it wouldn’t. “Metamagic is not the subject of this lesson, despite my mention of it, but I can see that I won’t be able to go on without at least giving you an answer.”

  Luna just smiled back, all innocent and cheerful. Sometimes, Orion forgot that despite her appearance as an almost cherubic girl, she had been by far the most proactive in getting into trouble among their little group.

  “We call metamagic all spells, rituals, potions, and other practices that directly affect other magical effects, rather than producing their own. It can be anything from enhancing metamagics, often used to empower artifacts, to negative metamagics, such as counter spells.” To her credit, Eire shifted topics back to her original lesson with great ease, always maintaining an air of composure.

  “Commonly known as Negation, the spell I showed you earlier is the Light magic’s version of a counter spell, which is a spell meant to disrupt another piece of magic. Every branch of magic has its own; from necromancy to the druidic arts, each has developed something to prevent another caster from using their magic in the first place. And yet, magical duels are not a constant back-and-forth of counter spells. Can anyone tell me why?”

  Silence reigned for a moment before it was broken.

  “More powerful spells are harder to disrupt?”

  “Different schools of magic are more resistant to interference?”

  “Because you’d never win by just negating your opponent?”

  Eire paused for a moment to see if anyone else wanted to add to that before nodding, pleased.

  “All three of those answers are valid and, in fact, related. A tier one counterspell can disrupt a tier one spell. But that same counterspell will fail to achieve anything against a tier two spell. Additionally, there are elemental interactions to consider. As Dorian here said, a witch who focuses entirely on disruption to master enough to deny her opponent is a witch who has not trained in anything else. Consequently, she is very vulnerable to spells designed to resist tampering.”

  “Then is that meta-metamagic?” Orion asked out loud. He didn’t often speak up in class, but sometimes he couldn’t help himself.

  Despite the interruption, Eire smiled in amusement. “In a way, they could be called that, though everyone agrees that it is simply better to lump it in with regular metamagic.”

  It took her some time to return to her original train of thought, but eventually, she managed to resummon her Negation spell, allowing it to float in her hand.

  It bobbed steadily, appearing no different from a regular Torchlight. Yet, Orion could see the way it interacted with the Mana Field, recognizing the disruptive purpose it was imbued with.

  Unsurprisingly, instead of following the chant of “Let there be only Light, as is her will,” the spell lacked any specific instructions to produce visible light. Any luminosity it emitted was merely a side effect of the mana it contained.

  What was even more interesting was the mechanism by which it was supposed to neutralize other spells—and through that, Orion quickly saw why such a spell wouldn’t be effective against more complex magic.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  It was fundamentally a magical TED, or an EMP, if one preferred a broader term.

  Essentially, Negation released a pulse of Light mana through the Field, briefly tainting it enough that any other magic had to either match its exact frequency or could not resolve at all. It wasn’t too different from what Asteria had used against him, but it wasn’t exactly the same either.

  She had been much more precise, using a counter designed specifically for his lasers, whereas Negation was a blunt instrument.

  No wonder it can’t work on more powerful spells. It basically does nothing to disrupt the spell itself, only its passage. So any magic with enough oomph behind it can simply brute force its way through.

  It had not escaped his notice that while this specific usage of counterspells wasn’t inspired, his [Verification Principle] complemented the concept perfectly.

  He had no need to be so general. His trait allowed for specific knowledge about any piece of magic he focused on. If he could only be quick enough to craft a personalized counterspell after understanding its workings, no one would be able to do anything in his presence.

  Of course, it probably won’t be that easy to adapt the formula on the fly. However, perhaps I can create a general-purpose formula and simply add the data as I receive it. I might be able to overcome everything that cannot just smash my magic away.

  Combining what he’d learned from his mother with Negation would likely yield a workable prototype. He’d need to test it, of course, and a problem still existed regarding the speed of deployment.

  If he couldn’t cast it quickly enough, it didn’t really matter how finely crafted a spell was. But this was a positive step in the right direction.

  Overall, the lesson had been one of the most interesting that Orion could recall, and given that he had an eidetic memory, that was saying something.

  Eire concluded with a warning. “Counterspells can be very useful in the right contexts, but many witches and wizards have fallen because of them. They all become assured in their superiority when they manage to stop their opponents in their tracks, and get completely blindsided when someone adapts to their tricks. Every spell has its use, but that doesn’t mean they can be applied in every circumstance.”

  She then filed out of the classroom, likely hurrying off to another meeting. The Sanctum had seemed like a kicked anthill as of late. Whether that was due to Seraphina’s actions or the vampire cell they had discovered in Silverpeak, Orion didn’t know, but it sparked his curiosity.

  “He has that look again; he must be plotting something,” Luna muttered, side-eyeing him, while Dorian snickered.

  Orion rolled his eyes, trying his best to ignore them. He did not have a specific plotting expression, thank you very much.

  Someone cleared their throat from behind him, and he turned, surprised. It wasn’t often that the four of them were approached, after all. Groups formed early on, and it was rare for anyone to reach out beyond their own circle.

  But then again, there are some new people around, aren’t there?

  “Good morning, I am Tevor Orson III, mage of the light and son of Tevor Orson II, Warden of Riverside.”

  The speaker was a tall teenage boy whose slightly chubby cheeks were clearly giving way to some pretty sharp cheekbones. He had a cleft chin, which, combined with his styled blonde hair, gave him a somewhat pompous appearance. Or perhaps it was his slightly nasal voice, or even the way he was looking at them, as if he were assessing pieces of meat.

  “Hello?” Orion answered, confused about why the guy had come to talk to them.

  A hand was practically shoved in his face, and he blinked at it.

  “You are supposed to shake it,” Selene said mock-quietly from his other side, and Orion huffed, rolling his eyes again.

  He still took it, shaking it twice, before making to pull back.

  Tevor, however, had other plans, because he squeezed, preventing him from freeing his appendage. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Orion Voidwalker. I was told you are at the top of the class.”

  The way he said it was almost like a title, a badge of honor. And it was clear this guy wanted it.

  “I wanted to let you know that I, Tevor Orson III, will be taking that spot. It is nothing personal, just bad luck on your part of being part of the same year. But there hasn't been an Orson of Riverside who hasn’t graduated from the Sanctum at the top. We are the designated Wardens of the Lunar Waterways, and as such, we are among the greatest of its elites.”

  Orion’s lips twitched upward, but he resisted the urge to laugh in his face through sheer will.

  Out of curiosity, he activated his glasses just to see what this so-called elite was working with.

  [Tevor Orson - Lv. 21] [Light Mage - D-Rank]

  Uh, not bad, actually. He’s not nearly as good as I am, or even some of the others, but he’s definitely above average for the Sanctum-born.

  Given that the guy had been born outside and therefore hadn’t been able to enjoy Seraphina’s meddling, it was surprising to see him so advanced.

  But if he was telling the truth, he was the scion of local nobility. It made sense that he would stand above most others. Money could go a long way even in this world.

  “That sounds fun, I wish you luck,” he said eventually, after realizing he’d been silent for a bit too long and that Tevor had been waiting for his answer with increasing impatience.

  The kid appeared stunned by his lack of hostility, probably having anticipated a much more combative response.

  If he had truly been thirteen years old, born and raised within the coven, Orion might have felt the stirrings of hometown pride. However, since he didn’t intend to spend a day longer than necessary within these walls, he probably wasn’t the best standard-bearer.

  And really, what are the chances that either of us ends up on top by the end of the lessons? I don’t have nearly enough free time to dedicate to every pointless bit of religious history they teach here, so someone else will probably surpass me soon enough. And considering how biased the Sanctum is toward girls… Yeah, even without me, I doubt it will be him.

  “You should probably look out for these three here, then,” he added belatedly. Tevor, who had been working himself up to some kind of rant, deflated, looking even more confused. “I’m okay with practical magic, but if you want to be the best, Selene here is the one to beat.”

  “Hey, don’t drag me in!” She exclaimed, batting at his shoulder with an annoyed look.

  Given how much she enjoyed teasing him, Orion didn’t feel the least bit guilty.

  With that, he walked away, eager to escape Selene’s revenge, completely ignoring the heated looks directed not only from Tevor but also from a few others.

  He had a counterspell to work on and a few tests to run to determine the baseline speed at which he should operate.

  Then he could ask his mother for another training session. He still had bruises from the last one, but he’d learned a lot from being defeated, and perhaps he could inquire about all the activity among the higher-ranked witches.

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