#10 - Spell Test

‘Obstacle Curse,’ also known as the Impediment Jinx, is described in textbooks as, “Casting the ‘Obstacle Curse’ quickly can delay opponents or prevent a magical creature from moving for a short time. This spell is a crucial part of a dueling wizard's arsenal.”

However, when Anduin actually cast the spell, he discovered that it essentially conjures an invisible barrier in the direction the caster is looking, like a magical wall. Its duration ranges from a few seconds to over a minute.

By adjusting the magic output, this wall doesn't even have to be solid. The opponent can even pass through it, but their speed will be reduced accordingly. The degree of reduction depends on the density of the barrier. If a weakened Obstacle Curse is cast horizontally across the ground, it feels like walking through mud.

But if the Obstacle Curse is manifested as a solid object, it can even be used as a defensive spell. It can also be propelled at the opponent using magic, turning it into a form of attack.

Anduin decided to put the ‘Obstacle Curse’ into practice immediately, casting one in the open space of his room.

“First, I need to understand the nature of this spell,” Anduin said, walking towards the Obstacle Curse he had cast and touching it. He had conjured a solid, invisible wall.

“It feels very hard to the touch, and it's less than an inch wide. Impassable from either side.” Anduin brought his hands together until they touched the wall, roughly measuring its width.

“Let's test its physical defense strength first.”

Anduin picked up a dumbbell from his luggage and knocked it against the invisible wall, producing a “thud, thud” sound.

“The sound doesn't have a metallic or stone-like quality. It's more like hitting the surface of water.” Anduin was amazed by the sound the spell made, which was different from what he had imagined.

After hitting it hard several times, Anduin put down the dumbbell and started using his bare hands, using his fists to feel the invisible wall.

“Thud, thud, thud.” After several consecutive punches, the invisible wall began to change.

“The hardness is comparable to a normal stone wall, and the force feedback on my fist proves it. But why does it soften after being hit multiple times? It doesn't shatter like glass, but instead starts to soften. Is it because the magic within the wall is being consumed?” Anduin wondered, looking at his slightly red fist.

After continuing to punch it a dozen more times, the now-soft invisible wall was broken through. However, Anduin discovered that even after being broken through, the spell still had an effect, just that it could no longer stop solid objects from passing through. It still had a buffering effect.

Anduin simply charged straight at it and slowly passed through the wall.

“It's like passing through a non-Newtonian fluid, except without the stickiness. What a magical spell.” Anduin felt the Obstacle Curse, but soon the spell's duration ended, and the entire wall disappeared into thin air.

Anduin pulled out his notebook and recorded the data and sensations from his experiment. Then, he cast another ‘Obstacle Curse’ in the empty space.

“Next, let's test its magical defense.”

Anduin came to a spot about two meters away from the conjured invisible wall and began casting attack spells at the wall, starting with ‘Expelliarmus.’

As expected, the invisible wall blocked the spell. The light of the spell shattered and scattered upon hitting the wall, wandering along the transparent surface until it lost its magic and dissipated.

“Let's try different angles.” Next, Anduin tried shooting the wall with spells from various directions, even running to the other side to try different angles until the spell expired.

“Hmm, there's a lot of information here. If a spell hits head-on and isn't strong enough, it will shatter directly. But if there's a certain angle, it will start to deflect? And spells from both sides can't penetrate. So, I can't cast an ‘Obstacle Curse’ first and then stand safely on the other side to counterattack?”

Anduin cast the Obstacle Curse several more times, testing its effectiveness for attacking.

“The ‘Obstacle Curse’ feels a lot like a modified version of the Mage Hand from my previous life. It can be solidified in place, or it can be used to hit people by guiding it with magic. When it's ethereal, it can also slow down enemies. And calling it an obstacle is a bit of a misnomer; it's more like magic shaping.” Anduin summarized the characteristics of the spell while constructing the possible applications of the Obstacle Curse in his mind.

Overall, Anduin was very satisfied with this spell. It had a lot of potential.

“The next training will be divided into several parts: casting speed, positioning, strength control, shooting speed, or the speed of pushing the obstacle, and then trying to shape it freely. It seems like I'll have to undergo a period of intense special training.”

Anduin began to arrange a new training plan and recorded his ideas about the spell, preparing to test and practice them individually.

For the next ten days, Anduin spent every morning reading textbooks and learning new spells, and all afternoon practicing the ‘Obstacle Curse.’ He also took the time during the day to go to Flourish and Blotts and buy several books related to spells.

He originally wanted to buy more, but books in the magical world were too expensive. The cheap ones cost several Galleons, and the expensive ones cost a dozen or twenty Galleons, more expensive than many alchemy tools and potions. Therefore, Anduin only bought three books: 《Barnabus Finkley's 7 Methods of Spellcasting》, 《The Origin of Spells—Introduction to Ancient Runes》, and 《Elegant Steps in Dueling Competitions》. This cost Anduin 22 Galleons, and there were several books that Anduin liked but didn't buy because they were too expensive.

Anduin was now like a sponge, quickly absorbing all kinds of magical knowledge. His soul was inherently stronger than normal peers, and combined with years of targeted training, both his magic strength and total magic power far exceeded his peers, so his progress was rapid.

One day in early August, in the evening.

“Bang!” In the small courtyard behind the Leaky Cauldron, a target made of several chairs was smashed into pieces by a transparent ‘cannonball.’ Anduin slowly approached, raised his wand, and said to the fragments, “Reparo.” The broken pieces of wood flew into the air and returned to their original state before being broken.

“Looks like the effect is good. The ‘Obstacle Curse’ shaped ‘cannonball’ can now be reduced to the size of a washbasin, and the trajectory speed has gradually increased. The cast animation can be faster. Next, let's see if we can shape the fired magic bullet even smaller.” Anduin imagined that if he could reduce the ‘Obstacle Curse’ ‘cannonball’ to the size of a fist, that would be best. Then he could name this move ‘Air Cannon.’