“Hello, distinguished judging professors, fellow students, and Lady Saintess Veronica. I am Greg Sass, a second-year student at Glory Cael Magic Academy.”
Greg stood on the podium, his gaze sweeping over the dense crowd below, lingering for a brief moment in Veronica's direction.
He saw the expectation shining in her slightly open eyes, like an apprentice waiting for a master's teachings.
Taking a deep breath, he began his defense.
Instead of starting with definitions like most students, he threw out a thought-provoking question right away:
“Since its inception, Elemental Resonance Theory has been regarded by academia as the core method of enhancing magical power. But I want to ask everyone here a question—when we speak of elemental resonance, are we talking about the stacking of power, or are we talking about a qualitative change in power?”
This opening immediately grabbed everyone's attention.
Several professors on the judging panel put down their pens in unison, their gazes locking onto him.
Veronica leaned forward slightly, her hands clasped over her knees, her focused expression making it look as if she were terrified of missing a single word.
Greg continued:
“I believe that the essence of elemental resonance is not a simple stacking of power. Rather, by matching the frequencies between different attributes of mana, we create a completely new form of mana with higher-level properties. This qualitative change is where the true value of elemental resonance lies.”
Using this core concept as his starting point, he began to systematically explain his theoretical framework.
Greg turned around, picked up a piece of chalk from the podium, and drew a simple diagram on the blackboard:
“Like the students before me, I will use the traditional resonance of fire and wind elements as an example. The common understanding is that the wind element accelerates the dispersion of the fire element, thereby expanding the attack range.”
“However, this understanding remains at the level of 'quantitative stacking.' In reality, when fire and wind elements achieve resonance at a specific frequency, they produce a phenomenon known as 'Blazing Vortex'.”
“At this point, the flames are no longer ordinary fire. They gain stronger adhesive and piercing properties, and can even continue to burn underwater for a period of time.”
A low murmur rippled through the audience.
Some students looked astonished, clearly having never heard of this concept before.
Ignoring the whispers, Greg pressed on:
“I call the critical point where this qualitative change occurs the 'resonance threshold.' In my research, every combination of elements has its own specific resonance threshold. When the resonance intensity is below this threshold, the effect is merely quantitative stacking. But once it reaches or exceeds this threshold, it triggers a qualitative change, generating entirely new properties.”
He turned and wrote a string of data on the blackboard:
“This is the data I obtained after repeated testing in the lab. Taking the fire-wind resonance as an example again, when the resonance frequency stabilizes at around one hundred and twenty times per second, the temperature of the flames suddenly increases by about threefold, while simultaneously gaining adhesive properties.”
“Meanwhile, the threshold for water-earth resonance is around one hundred and eighty times per second. Once this threshold is reached, it produces a highly viscous mire effect, which is perfect for restricting enemy movement.”
He listed them one by one, with detailed data and clear reasoning, each conclusion backed by ample experimental evidence.
The students below listened in stunned silence, as this content far exceeded the scope of their textbooks. Even a few judging professors began to lower their heads to take notes.
Victoria, however, frowned.
“Hmm?”
“When did he quietly run these experiments behind my back again?”
Every student present could understand what Greg was saying because his train of thought was incredibly smooth. He first analyzed the resonance patterns between the five basic elements, and then introduced a concept that was still relatively foreign to current academia—the resonance threshold.
Next, he pointed out that when the resonance intensity of two elements reaches a certain critical point, a qualitative change effect is produced, fundamentally altering the properties of the resonated mana.
Finally, using the data he had 'personally' obtained through testing, he explained in detail the variation patterns of the resonance thresholds for different elemental combinations under various environments, demonstrating to everyone that this was not due to some random, accidental factors.
“Of course, what I have gathered here does not come entirely from theory, but also from actual combat.”
Then, Greg shifted his focus and began to analyze the application of these theories in actual combat.
He didn't use his experiences in the dungeon as examples, as that would be far too crazy and would touch upon his most core secrets.
Therefore, he chose to combine numerous battle scenes from the original game and real-life combat cases he had seen on the forums, placing himself in those scenarios to give an example:
“In one of my past battles, I encountered a lava lizard with high fire resistance. Ordinary fire magic was virtually useless against it. However, by adjusting the resonance frequency of the fire and wind elements to above the threshold, I produced a Blazing Vortex and successfully dealt effective damage to it.”
“This shows that when facing enemies with specific resistances, a qualitative change through resonance is often our key to breaking the deadlock.”
However, he did not blindly boast about the advantages of elemental resonance either, choosing instead to objectively analyze its limitations:
“Yet, a qualitative change through resonance is not a cure-all. First, reaching the resonance threshold consumes a vast amount of mana. For casters with insufficient mana reserves, forcing a qualitative change might lead to mana depletion, putting themselves in danger instead.”
“Second, qualitative resonance changes have certain environmental requirements. For instance, in areas with thin mana or in unstable magical environments, the difficulty of maintaining high-frequency resonance will rise significantly.”
“Finally, relying too heavily on elemental resonance will make a caster's tactical thinking one-dimensional, causing them to overlook other equally effective combat methods.”
Every word Greg spoke was highly persuasive and logically linked. Every point was supported by ample evidence, and every conclusion followed a clear line of reasoning.
What was even more commendable was that he maintained an unhurried, calm composure throughout the entire process, as if these profound theories were as natural and routine to him as daily meals.
“So this is a Heroic Spirit who once fought alongside Lady Serafina...”
Veronica's breathing grew softer and lighter.
Her hands clasped tightly over her knees, her gaze followed Greg's every movement without blinking, and every word he spoke sounded like precious nectar to her ears.
Her admiration for Greg was climbing at a speed she herself had never anticipated.
This knowledge, this level of insight, was absolutely beyond the reach of ordinary scholars.
In just a few minutes, she had already learned so much that she previously knew nothing about.
This was the true role model she needed to learn from!
Rate on N.U.
