Chapter 4
Roxy adjusted her hat slowly.
Her eyes never left Rudeus.
"…Today, we move to advanced magic."
Her voice was calm—
But there was tension beneath it.
Because she already knew.
This wasn't teaching anymore.
This was observation.
"…Advanced magic requires large-scale mana control," she continued.
"…Even with chanting, it's difficult to stabilize."
She paused.
"…Without chanting, it should be impossible."
Rudeus nodded.
"…Then I'll try."
No hesitation.
No doubt.
Just intent.
He stepped forward into the yard.
Closed his eyes.
Not to concentrate—
But to define parameters.
Scale.
Density.
Range.
Containment.
"…Water."
He raised his hand.
And the air changed.
Moisture gathered instantly.
Not drawn slowly—
But assembled.
From everywhere.
Within seconds—
A massive body of water formed above the yard.
Suspended.
Perfectly stable.
No distortion.
No collapse.
Roxy's breath caught.
"…That's advanced-tier…"
But even that wasn't the problem.
The problem was—
"…There's no instability…"
Because large-scale spells always had fluctuation.
Even masters struggled to maintain shape.
But this—
Was flawless.
"…Lower it slowly," she said.
Rudeus did.
The entire mass descended—
Controlled to the smallest detail.
Not a single drop spilled.
Silence.
"…You didn't cast a spell."
Roxy said it quietly.
Because now—
She was certain.
"…You created the result directly."
Rudeus looked at the water.
"…Yes."
And that answer—
Confirmed her worst suspicion.
That night—
Rudeus didn't repeat the exercise.
He improved it.
"…Why limit it to one element?"
He raised both hands.
Water formed again—
But this time—
Fire appeared within it.
Not extinguished.
Not chaotic.
Contained.
Balanced.
"…That shouldn't work…"
Even he recognized that.
But—
It did.
Because he wasn't following rules.
He was defining them.
"…Then combinations aren't limited either."
And just like that—
A new category of magic was born.