CHAPTER 430: Defending against the Unseen

Setting up a possible trap for Illestrian assassins would take some time. Meanwhile we had classes to attend. One of them was magical defence and most students looked really unhappy when Irene walked into the room with a smile.

"Ah, I see everyone is looking forward to another lesson!" Irene said. "Sadly, I don't have anything for you to drink today. No, we are focusing on a different topic while you hopefully train yourself to better resist a magical intrusion. If you want more of the poison, for yourself to train, come to me after the lesson."

No one looked very enthusiastic about that. Would anyone really want more of the substance that made them nauseous?

"Of course, in our coming lessons you will have to be prepared to face worse attacks. If you are still struggling with the basics I highly recommend you to train in your free time." Irene added.

Some students paled at the thought. I guess it would be better to train now than to suffer even more later.

"Anyway, back to today's topic: Illusions!" Irene said. "Today we start working on some ways to detect hidden assassins. Illusions fool your eyes but you do have more sense, like hearing, feeling and smelling."

Helena raised her hand.

"Helena."

"What do you mean by feeling?" She asked.

"Wind, or the absence of it, for example. It's subtle but someone moving fast can create a slight draft, or someone standing in the wind can block it. This requires enhanced senses on your part and would be more noticeable to an air mage. A fire mage could feel a heat source, however that takes some training and can be countered by cooling yourself. Just like the wind can be altered by a wind mage. You have to remember that an illusionist could be working with other mages, or they could have a dual affinity." Irene explained.

"Before we go any further, I need to tell you a bit more about light magic. How does one become invisible?" Irene pulled a clear crystal from her pocket and held it up. "Light passes through this so you can see what is on the other side. However, you can't truly make your body and clothing translucent. What light magic actually does, it reroutes the light around you to create the same effect. That can create distortions, especially around a fast moving target. And I don't just mean the illusionist themselves, any fast moving object can create distortions. If you have a rider on a fast horse passing an illusionist who is hiding, you will notice, if you pay enough attention."

Listening to this through a text-to-speech channel? The story was copied, and the author never agreed to it being read out here.

Irene pocketed the crystal again. "So keep your eyes open and use all of your senses. Watch for disturbed grass, footprints, or any other movement where none should be. However, you can also use some more advanced magic to spot anyone getting too close. Essentially you can fill a bubble around with your element and look for anything disturbing it. With an air affinity you could surround yourself with a small breeze and you will feel if it's disturbed by anyone, since it will increase the mana upkeep. With fire you can heat the air, with water you can create a very fine mist while earth will allow you to focus and any disturbance in the ground. As a light mage you would have the easiest time sensing opposing light magic and with death… You have a problem. You can't run around with a death cloud."

Florence raised her hand.

"Florence."

"Why are we only learning this now?"

"Because it's not as easy as it sounds. You need to cast a complex spell, which is an ongoing spell, and keep an eye on its mana consumption to see if it interacts with something. The larger the area is you cover the more tiring it will be and you will just end up with magical fatigue." Irene replied. "All of you are now ready to learn some more complex spells and should be capable of focusing on one while fighting. Keep in mind that this method is for a short range and prevents someone from stabbing you. It won't help against a crossbowman."

Leo raised his hand.

"Leo."

"What about necromancers? We are the real targets of Ilestria, after all."

"True, however that doesn't change the fact that death magic isn't great at detecting an assassin. What your magic can do is find corpses if you try to cast a raise undead spell and see if there is a target it latches onto. Which would only help if an assassin had killed someone close by already. Your best defence are either specialised undead or other soldiers. In the military you will have your own squad which will provide some protection." Irene answered.

"So how am I supposed to train this then?" Leo asked.

"For training purposes you are allowed to create a limited form of death fog around you. It's something you could use if there are no living allies around you but it will be limited in many situations. I would also advise you to keep your undead close, if you are worried. An assassin can't just walk through them and they provide nice obstacles, especially if you order them to move erratically."

With all of my tier threes I had a much easier time in that regard. Especially since some of them had exceptional senses. My vampires could smell blood rather well, Garm and a great nose and Nyx had sensed a few hidden goblins in the past in some way. And I had a water affinity so I could learn the mist cloud. If we wanted to catch an Illestrian all this training would be important.

"For our training we won't use an actual invisible attacker for now. Instead you will be attacked from behind, which works just as well. And we have the perfect attackers for this!" Irene said, while looking at me.

"Mistress Koyuki does have a group of undead goblin assassins." Kaito stated. "While they cannot disappear like their living counterparts they are rather sneaky."

And they could survive Leo's death cloud without any issues. Maybe the whole exercise could help me train my assassins as well. I was curious how they would perform against my fellow students.

"Since Koyuki can feel her own undead she will have a different opponent. Me." Irene said with a smile.

I shuddered.