Clara Campbell is a sixth-year student of the Rituals Branch. She appears quite harmless but her set of Dark Spells made Vale realize how this branch greatly differs from the other Dark Arts Branch…
Over the past month, Vale had seen numerous duels among students of different branches and concluded a few things.
The Necromancy Branch focuses on Undead Creatures and spells that contain Negative Energy. It can be very nasty the stronger the spell they learned. They also seem to have the strongest physique among all the practitioners of Dark Arts.
The Essential Corruption Branch focuses on Darkness Abilities, Evil Aura, and Destruction or Corrosive Energy… They seem to have the weakest physical capabilities but their spells can be so devastating.
The Dark Alchemy Branch, on the other hand, was quite complicated. After all, the Alchemy Branch was further divided by a few specializations. They can be pill-making, potion concoctions, variant or golem creation, poison arts, and lastly, mutation techniques…
All of them can be learned by Dark Alchemist but only one or two of them can be mastered unless you spend decades of study in each of them.
As for the Dark Magic Branch, they seem to have the most balanced abilities among other branches since they have a wide range of choices in their Dark Spells… You just have to be smart with your selection of Dark Spells.
Lastly, the Rituals Branch where Clara belongs focuses on chants or incantations, spirit techniques, and some dark ceremonies… They seem quite weak but if they have made enough preparation in their battles, they can become unbeatable.
"What are those spells she used, Senior Nadine?" Vale asked curiously after seeing how Clara defeated her opponent in such a strange but beautiful method.
Vale saw how her opponent cast a couple of Dark Spells at the same time. One of the spells was the Rotting Chains while the other is called Blind Apparition if he wasn't mistaken.
The opponent's dual cast was quite incredible and he was also moving while he was casting to potentially avoid any quick spells.
As Vale thought that Nadine would be on the defensive because of how troublesome the Rotting Chains can be, Nadine simply spoke two words in Oardic--No, he wasn't even sure if that was Oardic. However, it sounds like it was so Vale was a bit confused about what happened.
Anyway, after saying those two words, two gorgeous Spiritual Beings appeared out of nowhere and protected her from harm!
Then, those two simply destroyed her opponent in less than a minute…
"Hmm… If I answer you, you'd probably choose the Rituals Branch as your specialization in your fourth year."
Nadine said with a teasing smile. She wasn't the Referee or Corner Judge of the duel. She simply came here to watch and support her friend like Vale.
"Really? Is that a spell suitable for me?" Vale asked.
Nadine thought for a moment before nodding at his question.
"Well, it might be very compatible with you since I've heard about your Dark Spirit…" She answered.
Vale then looked at her with interest waiting for further explanation.
"You have to treat me… and Clara for lunch if you want to learn more about it." Nadine said after seeing Vale's expectant gaze.
"Alright!" Vale immediately answered. With his money, he didn't mind treating them to a buffet a few times.
Clara chuckled at Vale's quick answer as she replied. "It's called Name Evocation… Days or weeks prior to the date of your duel, you can form a temporary contract with some Spiritual Beings through Sacrificial Rituals or Spirit Calling Ceremonies. After the contract, you can use Name Evocation to call for their names and they can be instantly summoned."
Vale's eyes widened after hearing this ability.
It has similarities with the power of Summoning Undead or other Summoning Techniques… However, it also feels similar to how he was connected to Lotus where he could summon her out whenever he needed as long as she has enough energy.
'No wonder she said that it could be a suitable branch for me…'
"Name Evocation… What an awesome ability. However, I'm guessing that those Rituals or Ceremonies can be costly. Am I right?" Vale asked.
"That's correct… But these costly rituals allow you to find the suitable Spiritual Being that you needed in a specific battle. As long as you have enough time to prepare, you can easily beat up your opponent if learned about their abilities, weaknesses, and mystical items they're using…"
"Indeed… Those two beings she summoned weren't just beautiful, they're also powerful… None of the man's Dark Spells worked against them."
"Right… That's what having enough preparation does." Nadine said with a proud smile as if she was the one who won the battle.
After Vale watched three more battles, he finally returned to his room.
However, he didn't return to rest… He attempted to record the Light Absorption Spell Model in his Spell Light but after one hour of attempt, he lost his concentration again and made a mistake in the Spell Model he was creating…
He doesn't have a problem with the amount of Dark Energy he needed because of the Animus Haven Magic Circle he was using. However, he was having trouble with the complicated design of the Spell Model he needed to record.
The Light Absorption Spell Model was approaching the difficulty of the Spell Dispersion Spell Model.
'Should I purchase a mystical item that helps with my Concentration?' Vale mused as he believes that his 5 Contribution Points should provide him a decent lower-tier mystical artifact for this.
Chad had previously given him a silver pocketwatch that can increase his Focus but it wasn't enough…
In the end, Vale decided to just give up for the day and try again on another day. Anyway, he has a whole Academic Year to record this Dark Spell… It's better to take his time since he doesn't have to compete on this.
In addition to that, he doesn't think that Light Absorption Spell would help him in his fight against the Slender Zombie next week.
As he recalled his duel against Mad Larkin, Vale sighed as he looked at his shadow.