Chapter 280: Overcoming Fear
Chapter 280: Overcoming Fear
"Apparition!"
Ivan uttered the incantation.
In an instant, he felt the space around him squeezing him, as if his body was losing control. Then, this sensation vanished.
Did it work?
Ivan turned around and looked at his surroundings. He was still in the same place.
"Did I fail?" Ivan said awkwardly.
"Failure is normal. Practicing this magic isn't easy!" Sirius Black said with a smile.
Ivan quickly adjusted his mindset. Apparition was a very difficult spell to learn, and expecting to master it on the first try was unrealistic.
Without using Merit Points to cheat, Ivan estimated that his talent and magical affinity, after two bloodline fusions, were at the level of an excellent student.
Being able to master Apparition proficiently within this week before school started would be a good achievement.
"Let me guide you through a few Apparitions. Try to remember the feeling; it might help", Sirius said after some thought.
With that, Sirius grabbed Ivan's wrist, waved his Wand, and performed Apparition several times, moving between two targets.
Ivan tried his best to memorize the sensation of instant movement.
However, when he attempted it again, Ivan realized how difficult it was to perform spatial displacement.
He also fully understood why determination was the most important aspect during practice!
Every time Ivan sensed the space and attempted to Apparate, he felt an overwhelming fear surge through him. It was a sensation of being flattened, compressed, and sliced into pieces.
His mind was flooded with terrifying images of failed casting, making it impossible to focus entirely on the destination.
After practicing for over an hour, Ivan stopped, exhausted, as a system notification sounded in his head.
[Ding, after some practice, your Apparition proficiency has improved. Current progress: 29/100]
"Take a break. Attempting Apparition when your mind is unstable can easily result in splinching", Sirius stepped forward, patted Ivan on the shoulder, and advised.
Ivan nodded, and the two found a place to sit down.
Sirius patiently explained Ivan's mistakes during the casting.
Finally, Sirius jokingly mentioned that when he was learning Apparition, he was so impatient that he once split himself into two halves during practice.
Many students were terrified at the time, but fortunately, a professor was nearby and promptly reattached his body.
"Then what happened?" Ivan asked curiously.
"I've always been brave. So what if my body was split in two? It couldn't scare me. I was the first in my class to master Apparition!"
At this, Sirius was very proud. James and Lupin were much slower, and Peter, with his average talent, was even slower.
Thinking about the traitor, Sirius's expression darkened.
At this moment, Ivan asked curiously, "How long did it take you to learn this spell?"
Ivan's question interrupted Sirius's reminiscence. He quickly regained his composure and said provocatively,
"Excluding theory classes, it took about five or six lessons. What? Do you want to compete with me?"
About ten hours, really fast!
Ivan thought with a sigh but accepted Sirius Black's challenge. Pressure makes diamonds!
After a brief rest, Ivan resumed his practice of Apparition.
As the system prompt kept sounding in his mind, Ivan gradually overcame the sense of disconnection from space, striving to establish a connection between the two locations.
"Apparition!"
A few hours later, the sky began to darken. During one of his attempts, Ivan suddenly felt his body squeeze into a narrow space.
His consciousness seemed to be stripped away, his body spinning inside, and a growing sense of fear detached from reality began to overwhelm him.
But Ivan's mind remained focused on the location of the pit, shouting inwardly.
I need to get to that spot, right now!
Ivan soon felt his body being kicked out of that place, experiencing a dizzying spin. When he stabilized, he found himself at the target location.
[Ding, Apparition has reached level one, current proficiency (9/200), awarding five merit points!]
With the system prompt, Ivan realized he had successfully completed a spatial transition and had initially learned this spell.
Clap, clap, clap
Sirius Black clapped and walked over, praising him. "It looks like you succeeded! Much faster than I expected."
"It was just a lucky success." Ivan shook his head, looking at the darkening sky. He had probably practiced for about seven hours.
This speed was indeed faster than the five or six class periods Sirius had mentioned.
But Ivan was well aware that this was the progress made under one-on-one tutoring. When Sirius had learned Apparition, he didn't have a personal tutor.
"With this successful experience, I believe you just need to practice more to be able to cast this spell at will." Sirius patted Ivan on the shoulder, encouraging him.
Ivan's ability to learn this spell in half a day far exceeded Sirius's expectations.
Sirius knew the difficulty of learning Apparition all too well. Besides requiring sufficient magical power and excellent spatial awareness, the most crucial part was overcoming fear!
Each time a wizard used Apparition, they risked being splinched, traveling through the narrow spaces between dimensions.
The stronger a wizard's spatial awareness, the more they would feel that fear, making determination and confidence all the more important during the spellcasting process!
When learning this spell at Hogwarts, students had ample time to adapt because classes were spaced out by a day or two.
Sirius had planned to spend a few days practicing with Ivan, expecting him to last only one or two hours before giving up.
But Ivan not only persevered but also successfully cast Apparition!
One successful casting, of course, wasn't enough to satisfy Ivan.
However, after such extensive practice, Ivan was both physically and mentally exhausted, his magical power nearly depleted. He had to call it a day and continue tomorrow.
Sirius then took Ivan on a long-distance Apparition back to their temporary Safehouse.
(End of Chapter)
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