Chapter 187: Battle arrays

"I too doubt that I will find anything, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try." Blake knew his chances were abysmally low, but there was no harm in trying, after all, he had the power of a locator.

On entering the doors of the 2nd floor, Blake closed his eyes and focused his thoughts on the objective.

He waited for the usual clairvoyance light, but nothing happened.

'That's it?' although he was expecting this, he couldn't accept it so easily.

He moved to different parts of the floor and tried again, but the results were still the same.

"Alright time for dinner." Blake left the library and returned to the Castle…

"So far is there anything you could help me with?" After Dinner, Blake returned to his room, and just like the previous day, he had nothing to do.

[Apart from the combat technique which I don't have much info on, I should be able to help you in every other thing.] The system said.

"That's great. So where do we start?" Blake asked in an excited tone.

[Hold your horses. I said I can help you doesn't mean right now.] The system quickly calmed him down. [You don't have enough information in any of the specializations and you know the rules.]

"Everything is a gradual process." Blake said in a disappointed tone.

In cultivation, everything was a step-by-step process, especially for someone who wasn't part of the realm.

The system knew almost everything about the different specializations, but it was better for Blake to progress at a gradual pace because some things were meant to be learned independently.

Unless something was missing or not added, the system was to educate him on it and give him extra tips, but apart from that, it wasn't to go farther than what Blake needed.

"I guess it's back to cultivating." Blake wasted no time and began absorbing energy from beast cores.

…

The next day, Blake woke up with the brightest smile on his face. Today was array mastery and he would finally have a chance to see professor Hoffenheim.

"Hello everyone I hope you all had a splendid break just like I did?" Professor Hoffenheim said with a warm smile.

"The school said I should step up my classes, but I for one think that array mastery shouldn't be rushed. So, we will continue with our current pace." The professor's words put a smile on the faces of every student.

'Yup, still the best professor.' Blake thought.

Professor Hoffenheim wasn't strict like the likes of Zirrack and Tacitus, automatically making him the students' favorite.

"We have extensively studied the basics of array mastery, this semester we will be looking at battle arrays and our main focus will be on dimension  magic. At least the basics of dimension magic." Professor Hoffenhiem said.

Battle arrays were not all-powerful but they were dangerous and never to be looked down on. Their effects ranged from offensive, defensive to even support.

"Battle arrays have one major disadvantage, and that is they are mana intensive. The level of mana consumption is dependent on the tier and scale of the battle array.

Students like you all don't have enough mana reserves to cast a battle array on your own. That is why we will be practicing in groups."

'Here comes the part I don't like.' Blake thought with a furrowed brow.

[You have almost twice the mana reserves as the others. So you should be able to cast a basic area by yourself, but what use will it be when you can cast the array but become unable to fight.] The system stated.

All through his stay in the school, Blake had been a solo kind of person. He wasn't a fan of putting his grades in the palm of immature and incompetent kids.

Also, not many were happy about his current position and he wouldn't be surprised if they tried to sabotage him.

''Casting a battle array required a level of trust and understanding between the casters. So, I recommend you all should pair up in 5's with your friends." This put a smile on Blake's face as he undoubtedly went to his group.

"Now you guys are all paired let's move to a suitable location." With a snap of his fingers, they all appeared in one of the Castle's practical room.

The room was the size of more than 3 football fields and it was equipped with arrays that help the professor change the room depending on the exercise.

"Alright, the first array we will be studying is the barrier array." Professor Mack said ignoring the bewildered expressions of the students.

"This is a basic one and all you have to do is learn a specific component of the array. I strongly advise that you learn the entire array." He made the array appear on different parts of the walls. 

"As usual, the first group gets more points." With that said, the groups were signaled to start.

"Alright guy, the center of the array is the most complex. So, I will be handling that." Blake's request wasn't denied and the others quickly chose the other components.

They had to memorize their individual components before they would be able to try the array.

The first part was very easy for the trio since they had the system that could give them the image in their minds, but they still had to wait for Luciano and Tessie.

"Alright are you guys. Let's do this."

On Blake's mark, the team started manipulating the mana in the environment to form their individual components of the array in mid-air.

After some trials and errors, the group was able to completely form their individual parts of the barrier array, but even after bringing them as close to each other as possible, nothing seemed to be happening.

"Any ideas of what we should do?" Castiel asked.

"We are draining our mana this way. So let's pause and rethink what happened." Blake said to the team.