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The professor enlarged the drawing.
"This method works."
Then she smirked.
"But it is horribly impractical."
"It requires long incantations, complex hand signs, and a ridiculous amount of concentration."
She shrugged.
"Unless your opponent is a rock, you'll probably be dead before finishing the spell."
Several students laughed.
"It is the magical equivalent of trying to carry an entire lake with a single bucket."
The professor crossed her arms.
"Just because something is possible does not mean it is efficient."
As Ash listened, realization suddenly struck him.
Inside his mind, Raphael immediately reached the same conclusion.
"So that's where we were wrong," Ash thought.
For years, he and Raphael had tried to force Tier Four spells by simply increasing the amount of mana used in the spell structure.
Whenever they attempted it, the spell became unstable, inefficient, or outright failed.
They had been trying to create a bigger bucket.
Exactly as the professor had described.
Raphael quickly began reviewing all their previous experiments.
"I see the flaw now," she said.
"We focused entirely on increasing mana output while ignoring the extraction process itself."
Ash nodded slightly.
No wonder all their attempts had failed.
They had been approaching the problem from the wrong direction from the very beginning.
"The second method is only taught in one of the Six Great Academies."
The professor paused, making sure she had everyone's attention.
"What I am about to teach you has its roots in the multi-casting techniques of First Magic."
She glanced around the classroom.
"Professor Trasque already emphasized the importance of First Magic, correct?"
The entire class nodded.
"Good."
The professor turned back toward the board.
"Multi-casting is the ability to form and control more than one 'bucket' at the same time."
She drew two buckets beside the silhouette.
"Let's assume a mage capable of double-casting can control two buckets simultaneously."
She tapped the drawing.
"That is the minimum requirement for most Tier Four spells."
A murmur spread through the classroom.
Some students immediately understood the implication.
Others looked confused.
"Certain Tier Four spells may require three buckets, while Tier Five magic demands even greater multi-casting capability."
The professor raised a hand.
"And before any of you ask, yes, the bucket analogy is a gross oversimplification."
A few students laughed.
"In advanced magic, mental visualization becomes a key factor in success."
"You don't have to imagine buckets if you don't want to."
She shrugged.
"You can imagine jars, chests, rivers, wine bottles, or whatever helps you visualize the process."
"What matters is consistency."
The professor then drew multiple arrows branching from a single bucket.
"The advantage of this method is speed."
"Instead of creating one massive bucket and slowly pulling out mana, you create several smaller buckets at the same time."
She pointed at the drawing.
"The result is significantly faster casting."
"However, the price is increased mental strain and greater concentration requirements."
Several students immediately began taking notes.
"It is your responsibility to learn how to form and control multiple buckets simultaneously."
"The first bucket is still formed through traditional spellcasting methods."
"After that, you must sense it, replicate it, and maintain control over the copies."
The professor's expression became serious.
"Those who fail to learn this method before the end of the academic year will be dismissed for insufficient talent."
The classroom instantly became tense.
"Money won't save you."
"Status won't save you."
"Only talent and hard work will earn your promotion."
The lesson continued for another two hours.
The professor explained the fundamentals of multi-casting, mental visualization, mana control, and concentration techniques.
While many students struggled to understand the concepts, Ash felt as though a missing piece of a puzzle had finally fallen into place.
He and Raphael had spent years trying to force their way into Tier Four magic.
Now they finally understood the missing requirement.
It wasn't about creating larger spell structures.
It was about controlling multiple streams of mana simultaneously.
As the lesson continued, Raphael was already reviewing hundreds of previous experiments and redesigning their entire approach.
By the time the lecture ended, both of them were eager to begin testing the new theory.
Soon, the professor dismissed the class.
The students slowly stood up and began making their way toward the dining halls.
It was finally lunchtime.
Thanks to the academy map stored within Raphael's memory, Ash was able to navigate the castle faster than most of the other students.
While many first-years were getting lost or asking for directions, he managed to reach the dining hall before almost everyone else.
Once again, the craftsmanship of the Forgemasters left him impressed.
The dining hall was nothing like the cafeterias from his previous life.
There were no cash registers.
No waiting lines.
No trays.
The room itself was enormous.
It had a rectangular shape, roughly five meters high. The longer sides stretched for nearly two hundred meters, while the shorter sides were around one hundred meters long.
Aside from the entrance and the floor, every wall had been transformed into massive windows overlooking the outside world.
Ash knew there were several floors above him, including those belonging to the higher-year students.
Yet when he looked upward, he could still see the bright midday sunlight shining through the magically designed structure.
Like the rest of the academy, the room was perfectly illuminated.
Hundreds of dining tables filled the hall.
Each table could comfortably seat six people.
They were arranged neatly, leaving enough space for students to move around even when the dining hall was completely full.
Ash chose a table in one of the corners.
With a wall behind him and another on his left side, nobody could approach from his blind spots.
Not that he was particularly worried.
It was simply a habit he had developed over years of living around magical beasts.
"Interesting," Ash thought.
"They designed the dining hall more like a panoramic restaurant than a cafeteria."
"It probably helps students avoid feeling trapped inside the academy all day."
Once he sat down, he discovered another surprise.
The chair was fixed firmly to the floor.