I made up magic and taught a world-destroying witch?

Chapter 78 Students, Starting with Professors

Brewster looked at Joseph with a very serious expression and said, "Your new magic is very powerful, but it also exposes a clear problem: it lacks a stable casting framework. The casting trajectory, target lock, and external form are all obviously uncertain."

Joseph didn't respond, mainly because whenever this little weasel spoke in that tone, what followed was usually not something pleasant.

Sure enough, Brewster continued, "Traditional old magic may not be able to deal with abnormal targets like black lines in terms of power and special characteristics, but old magic has a mature structure and training methods."

Joseph: "————" You can just say it's flying around, you don't need to be so considerate of his feelings.

"So I think perhaps we could try using the stable framework of old magic to assist new magic in achieving overt control, allowing the new magic to retain its unique properties while reducing the risk of it going out of control. What do you think?"

Joseph was momentarily at a loss for words.

Isn't this idea a bit too audacious? Using old magic to assist new magic—he, the head of the new magic revival project, hasn't even thought that far ahead, while Brewster, a practical professor, has already started considering system integration. So who is the real theorist here?

If this got back to the ears of those old professors at the academy who were upholding the old magic, they would probably remove Brewster from the training list overnight and check if he had been brain-damaged by the black threads in the well.

"Professor Brewster," Joseph said tactfully, "your idea is valuable. However, my new magic project is still in its early stages, and there are still student training, association reviews, and other things to deal with."

I'm afraid it's not the right time for me to explore new directions.

I have no money and don't want to get involved. Go have fun by yourself.

Brewster looked at Joseph as if he had expected Joseph to say that.

"I understand," he said.

Joseph: "?"

"You really can't expand the topic anytime soon," Brewster said. "Especially after the new magic has just demonstrated its effectiveness against the black lines, introducing the old magic too early could compromise the purity of the original system."

Joseph: "————" What purity? Is that what he meant?

  

"Furthermore, any additional issues before the association's review will distract you from the student and spell slot observation program," Brewster continued. "Your refusal is perfectly reasonable."

"I'm glad you understand."

Joseph was just about to end the conversation and have Brewster take his documents and leave the lab, preferably closing the door behind him, when Brewster spoke again.

"So, I'll make a different request."

"What request?" Joseph had a bad feeling.

"Please guide me in learning new magic."

The office suddenly fell silent. Joseph looked at Brewster, and Brewster looked at him. The two of them stared at each other for a while.

Joseph wondered if he'd just been overwhelmed by the sweetness of the church cakes, and he asked hesitantly, "Professor Brewster, what did you just say?"

"Please guide me," Brewster repeated, his expression serious, even more so than when they were discussing the joint project.

"I want to understand for myself how this new magic is formed."

Joseph: "—"

Has this weasel gone mad? No, maybe he has. He can now hear a practical professor, who used to try and find fault with him every day, standing in his office asking him to guide him in learning new magic!

In a normal story, shouldn't they first question each other, go through several events, and finally barely reach an understanding? How come Brewster skipped so many steps in between and directly prepared to go from being a colleague to his student?

Joseph tentatively asked, "Professor Brewster, haven't you always had many questions about my project?"

"Yes," Brewster said.

Joseph: "————" You didn't have to admit it so quickly.

"I still have many questions," Brewster continued. "I don't think the new magic has formed a complete system, nor do I think your theoretical explanations are clear enough. There are still many vague parts in your arguments that need explanation."

Joseph: "————" Maybe you shouldn't learn it.

Before it even officially started, they had already asked him questions he had absolutely no idea how to answer.

"However," Brewster changed the subject, "what happened down in the well is real. I saw with my own eyes those black lines absorb my fireball, absorb Knight Allen's protective white light, and also devour Sister Evelyn's blessing light patterns."

In that situation, only your new magic will work.

He paused here, his already serious face tightening, and said, "I hate theories that can't be verified, but I hate even more ignoring facts that have already happened because of my own prejudices."

"So you want me to teach you?" Joseph asked.

"Yes," Brewster said. "If I could personally experience the training process for the new magic, I might be able to more accurately judge the differences between it and the old magic. I think hands-on participation is more valuable than observing students and reading your reports."

Joseph: "————" Do you have to be so scientifically minded?

Oh no, how can he refuse?

To say directly that he wouldn't teach would seem like he was holding back, but if he were to teach, he himself wouldn't know how to teach this practically-minded professor with his amazing brain circuits.

Joseph felt that just imagining Brewster sitting in the training room with his eyes closed, trying to understand "what you really want to become," was a bit too much for him.

And the problem is very real: what if Brewster really can't learn it? Will he then question whether the new magic is only effective on two problem students?

If he learns it, that would be even more terrifying. A practical professor who already knows the old magic, if he learns the new magic, what if he can use it even better than Joseph? Would Joseph, the person in charge of this project, still have any face left?

Joseph quickly weighed the options in his mind and finally decided to stall for time.

When faced with student applications that exceed the current teaching plan, an experienced tutor's first reaction should be evaluation. In other words, if you're unsure what to do, just keep putting it off!

"Professor Brewster," Joseph said, "the new magic is not an ordinary course."

"I know."

"No, you may not know this yet. It's not like the magic system you're familiar with, where they give you a spell, tell you how to pronounce it, and then you can master it by practicing a hundred times."

That's true, because he had no spells to give.

"The new magic is closer to a reconnection between personal experience and magical expression; everyone gets here in a different way."

Joseph observed Brewster's expression as he spoke, and seeing that the other man was listening intently, he continued to deceive him.

"The magic of my two students came from their understanding of their own experiences," Joseph said. "So if you want to learn new magic, I can't give you a direct answer. I can only assess whether you have the capacity to re-understand your own magic."

"So, I need to clarify my direction first?" Brewster asked, seemingly puzzled.