Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

As for Fire-type Spells, there was nothing revolutionary. Nonetheless, the Father of Spellcasters had some new thoughts, he believed that fire is a material releasing stored energy within. Both light and heat are forms of energy release. Fire-type Spells replace flames to accomplish energy transmission.

Later on, Antoine-Laurent felt it was necessary to establish a mathematical system for magic, however, the content of the notes ended abruptly, as if some unexpected event had interrupted his research.
Your journey continues with empire

Winters read and copied these notes in a state of complete bewilderment.

The content of this notebook should be accurately categorized as magic philosophy and magical principles. The majority of it consists of Antoine-Laurent's conjectures and explorations regarding the essence of magic.

Practical information, such as how to improve a spellcaster's level of expertise in spells or which training methods are more effective, is not mentioned at all.

But perhaps this cannot be blamed on Antoine-Laurent, for the Father of the Alliance Spellcasters himself was not a spellcaster and lacked magical abilities. His research was entirely theoretical, with almost no focus on practical applications.

In the entire notebook, the most practically valuable item might be only the hastily sketched diagram of a magical talent testing device by Antoine-Laurent.

"The essence of magic is altering the energy state of an object."

After finishing the notebook, Winters remembered this one line. He didn't know whether it was right or wrong, but even if it was correct, his spellcasting level wouldn't skyrocket simply from knowing the "essence" of magic.

Winters, with tears streaming down his face, said, "General Antoine-Laurent was indeed not deceiving, 'The power of a spellcaster comes from knowledge and diligent practice.' There are no shortcuts, so what if one knows the essence of magic? Doesn't one still have to earnestly practice the Arrow Flying Spell at night?"

However, Antoine-Laurent's analysis of sound-related Spells did bring Winters great benefit; he had originally thought that sound-related Spells only worked on sound itself.

It was after Antoine-Laurent specifically pointed out that the essence of sound is vibration that he opened a new door for Winters by suggesting sound-based magic should be called vibrational magic.

He even tried practicing the "Resonance Spell" a few times as recorded in the notes. Antoine-Laurent was not a spellcaster himself; the "Resonance Spell" was merely a spell concept he recorded, just like the blood vaporization spell Winters had imagined, never tested in reality.

The so-called Resonance Spell was inspired by an accidental discovery from Antoine-Laurent's military career. When marching over a small bridge, the synchronized trotting of the warhorses caused the entire bridge to tremble violently, eventually collapsing and causing many casualties.

After observation and consideration, Antoine-Laurent concluded: the bridge was already vibrating leisurely, and the rhythm of the warhorses' steps overlapped with the bridge's natural vibration frequency. It was akin to swinging the bridge like a pendulum, leading to its collapse.

Therefore, he hypothesized that if a spellcaster's abilities were strong enough to enhance the natural vibrations of structures like bridges, they could destroy such structures. However, achieving this effect would require magical abilities beyond imagination, so this remained only an idea Antoine-Laurent put down on paper.

Winters certainly didn't have the magical ability to demolish bridges or buildings, but he cleverly validated the feasibility of the spell in another way.

He bought some thin glassware for experimentation and had Elizabeth tap the glass with a spoon while he attempted to use sound-based Spells at full force to amplify the sound produced when the glass was struck.

After dozens of failed attempts, the glassware finally shattered with a brittle sound magnified many times over by magic. This meant that Antoine-Laurent's statement was correct—the essence of sound-based magic is altering the vibrational state of an object, and such spells should indeed be renamed as vibrational magic.