Chapter 141: A failed education system that must be changed
"Haha, it seems you finally understand," said Hardrial, drawing his attention away from the river. In a few minutes, the beasts would begin to appear.
"The problem is that you’ve focused so much on creating and creating correctly that now your subconscious does it independently."
"Shouldn’t that be a good thing?" asked Louis, puzzled.
"It’s not in some contexts. The most powerful spells can’t be created that way. They consume a lot of mana, and you must be careful about many more things, so it’s good not to delegate everything to your subconscious. It’s a great friend in certain circumstances, but you must learn to control it," Hardrial replied.
"Control the subconscious?" Louis was stunned. Was that even possible?
"How do you think you’re going to create magic in milliseconds, the way you want and at the level you want, if you don’t control the things you do unconsciously?" Hardrial asked, shrugging.
"The human brain is limited, you know? Its reaction speed when conscious is practically the same as that of ordinary people. Now you may ask yourself, how did we overcome that innate human capacity? Even you have achieved it. Part of it comes from statistics. The other part, the greater part, is thanks to training the subconscious and controlling everything we do unconsciously."
"That’s why it’s so essential to train it. It’s the only way we can break our humanity," he said.
Louis frowned and stared at him. "Could it be that something like that is required to...?" He didn’t finish the question because he knew Hardrial understood.
Hardrial smiled, nodding approvingly that he could understand it so clearly.
"Yes, eventually you’ll be grateful you learned this, just as I would have been grateful if someone had ever told me." He proceeded to sit down on a rock. Louis sat on one side to listen to him, and Laura sat on the other.
Hardrial then continued. "The problem is that currently, the education system is meaningless; it does not train magicians, it trains people dependent on Fabrics and Elements, and although it sounds similar, it is not the same."
"What is magic? Magic is what the world gives us to understand its mysteries, to delve into its universal learning, and to make possible what should be impossible for our race. Humans were not created to fly, but spells are made for that. Humans were not created to destroy mountains or cities, but there are ways we can do so thanks to magic."
"If we depend on the Fabrics and the Elements for everything, then we are not magicians, we are simply using magic for its basic function, not to understand it," he said, looking at them both.
"Do you know the real reason why I have been banned from many classes?" he asked.
"I understand that you are not very welcome because you are an Armamentalist. The conservatives are in the middle," Louis said, looking at Laura for confirmation. She agreed with him, so they both looked at Hardrial.
He smiled.
"That’s just an excuse they use. The reality is that I am more powerful than anyone else at the Academy, and normally, they don’t place restrictions on the strong. The issue is that my goal is to change the current educational system."
"I have discovered ways to teach my students to prepare themselves to transcend humanity, one of the most difficult things for any Ascended Being. But that goes against the system."
"They are afraid of me teaching it, so I am barred from being a proper teacher." At this point, he smiled and looked at Louis.
"I can teach them this now because the Tower protects me and Lord Dan backed me up outside. He pulled some strings to permit me to enter the Tower and not be spied on."
’My uncle?’ Louis raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "Well, it’s hard to refuse what a Lockward says," he said.
"Haha, you’re right."
"Professor," Laura spoke up. "Do they do this because they’re afraid they won’t be able to control the magicians?" she asked, interested.
"Yes." He nodded. "Most castles right now are full of hypocrites, and they support the Academy, making them even more hypocritical. They say they long for the arrival of a Magical Era, but no one wants to improve."
"They believe that a Magical Age will come if they wait for it sitting around. They don’t realize that it is by trying to improve what we already have that a new age will come. Knowledge does not come from following the same path linearly. It comes from experimentation, change, and reforms that make sense."
"If all magicians improve from childhood, if they begin to prepare to transcend humanity, the place where most magicians fail, wouldn’t we achieve a great era? There would be monarchs and gods more often. Maybe we wouldn’t be a Lockward, but magic would rise again." He let out a long sigh.
Everything he said was true, but the powerful of this world don’t want it because they are afraid.
They are afraid that a force will rise up that is difficult to control or that will control them. They are afraid of losing control.
They fear magical development because they would lose power.
But, in Hardrial’s eyes, what’s the point of ruling a small backyard when you could create a better world that turns that backyard into a great royal empire?
"Are they conservatives?" Louis asked. He’s had quite a few problems with those guys lately, and they’re the kind of people who tend to reject change.
’Although the Nevilles didn’t look like that. Even the Priestleys don’t seem to care about this,’ he thought.
"Haha, that question has two answers: yes and no," Hardrial replied.
"Why?"
"True conservatives, or the older ones, don’t tend to reject this. They simply like to maintain traditions and beliefs and advocate for consistent progress in all areas. They tend to oppose the Armamentalists a little, but if someone proves to be strong or worthy, they accept them. The problem is a new group that has risen up, larger than the previous one, who claim to be conservatives."
"They just want to prevent progress because they’re idiots and love power. Unfortunately, the leaders of the academy and the members of the Royal Castle belong to this group of idiots."
"I see." Louis nodded.
’A perfect plot for those guys to belong to a strange and powerful organization, like in fantasy novels,’ Louis thought, smiling to himself. He hoped it wouldn’t be like that this time, but his hopes might be dashed.
There was no logical reason for such an uprising to take place without everyone’s agreement. The problem now is not knowing that it was a movement orchestrated by some organization, but rather understanding which organization it was.
"Well, you don’t need to worry about this. I’m just telling you so you understand the importance of this training. Although it’s tedious, the truth is that it’s one of the most important things for us as humans seeking greatness."
"We understand." They both nodded. "Thank you for your teachings, Professor Hardrial."
"Haha, it’s okay. I want to go fishing. Want to join me? Although we brought food, there’s nothing better than eating local food when you’re on an adventure, right?" he said, laughing heartily.
Soon, the three of them were hunting peacefully. As the professor had said, the beasts in the river didn’t take the bait, so after a while, they roasted fish and ate.
That night, they didn’t practice much magic, as Hardrial was advising them on how to take care of themselves and also provided them with valuable information about different organizations they should be wary of.
Thus, the night passed quietly, filled with magical stories that Louis loved and advice on specific topics and magic.
The next morning, intensive training resumed.
Trying to master his subconscious was more difficult than Louis had expected. Even though he knew this and could create some failed Fabrics, Hardrial told him he had done it wrong, and he had a reason: he did it simply by eye. He didn’t let his subconscious work, and that didn’t make sense for learning.
They had improved considerably in the correct way to create the fabrics in recent days, so going back to how he did it at the beginning, when it took him many minutes to create one, was an insult to himself.
That’s why he had to take on the difficult task of controlling the subconscious.
Even for him, who learned rapidly, this was a difficult challenge.
That day, Laura could finally create 10 Orbs underwater within the stipulated time: 5 hours.
She completed it in 4 hours and didn’t hesitate to come out immediately.
"Professor!" Laura ran towards him with the ten Orbs in her hand.
Hardrial smiled at her, genuinely proud of her achievement. "As expected of you, that was quick."
She lifted her chest proudly. "What’s next?" she asked.
"You’ll have to do the same thing, but this time with the current hitting you head-on." He pointed to the spot. "Right next to Louis. The current is quite strong on that side, so the difficulty will teach you the most effective and fastest way to do it."
"Okay." She nodded with determination. Although she was happy about her achievement, she quickly swallowed that happiness, as she had barely passed the first level.