The entire process took about two seconds, which Vizette defined as the "casting pre-animation".
With a duration of only two seconds, plus a two-second "casting animation," the word "instant" in "Ancient Magic: Instant Shield" seemed somewhat misleading.
If this was the only effect it could produce, its effectiveness in actual combat was not significant. It would be better to cover the entire body with Devil's Snare, which might provide better protection.
Vizette went to the window, looked at the lush grassland outside, and wondered if it was possible to simplify it.
"Perhaps using a wand as a medium could shorten the 'casting animation'..."
He murmured and pulled his wand out of his pocket.
Casting the Guardian Meditation Technique...
A feeling of sudden inspiration...
Vizette gently raised his wand, and a bubble-like magical barrier appeared, enveloping him within it.
The reduction of the "casting delay" to one second proved that his conjecture was correct.
The wand could shorten the duration of the Guardian Meditation's control over the Obscurus, thus reducing the "casting animation".
Moreover, the wand seemed to also function as a "receiving antenna".
He was able to sense the process of controlling the core of meditation by holding the wand.
Although this feeling was extremely faint, it was better than nothing. With more recording and summarizing, he believed he could continue to reduce the "casting animation" in Ancient Magic: Instant Shield.
Vizette had a feeling that the "casting animation" could be shortened by another half.
Once he was familiar with the control process, he might be able to shorten the "casting animation" of this spell when he was without a wand.
With this in mind, he continued to practice the magic.
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"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. I hope you have a pleasant day."
As the bold male voice faded, the Viking warship statue slowly moved aside, revealing a beautifully carved spruce wood door depicting Viking warships conquering the seas.
The middle-aged man with a goatee smiled slightly, his fingertips lightly tracing the door. "The valiant Viking wizards of yesteryear are gone; now they're just a bunch of cowardly Swedish wizards, aren't they?"
The fair-skinned man beside him lowered his eyelids, a hint of hatred flashing in his eyes. "Yes...that's right!"
The man with the goatee nodded in satisfaction. "Then let's begin! The Department of Mysteries..."
"I know." The fair-skinned man waved his hand. "I want that gun, and if there's still time, I'll take the eyeballs too."
"Alright, welcome to the Ministry of Magic, please!" The man with the goatee opened the wooden door and made a welcoming gesture.
Inside the wooden door was a space the size of a telephone booth, with a ship's wheel hanging on the wall. A string of words on the wheel's handle lit up: Ministry of Magic Main Hall (Lobby and Reception Area).
Each of them grabbed one of the handles, and blue light instantly burst forth from the space, engulfing them.
The main hall of the Swedish Ministry of Magic resembled a huge ship's cabin, with soft, fluffy carpets on the floor and walls decorated with various brightly colored tapestries and fabrics.
In the very center was an ice sculpture depicting a tall, robust wizard.
The statue would occasionally wave its wand, altering the ocean environment on the ceiling, sometimes making it turbulent, sometimes calm.
Many bubbles floated on both sides of the hall, through which wizards either left or entered.
They passed through security like normal visitors and arrived at a small cabin on the side, which also contained a ship's wheel.
Most of the text on the ship's wheel handle was lit up, except for the text for the Department of Mysteries, which was dim.
"Visitors can't get in there..." the man with the goatee sighed softly, "Looks like I'll have to put in a little more effort for you..."
The fair-skinned man questioned, "Didn't you arrange for anyone to be there?"
The man with the goatee retorted, "Our members are all valuable, and besides, the only target is eyeballs, so why bother assigning manpower for this?"
"The reason I'm here is simply to urge you on and, incidentally, to act as your guide... Please forgive me for being so blunt."
"Hmm." The fair-skinned man nodded and let out a soft breath. "It doesn't matter."
He appeared calm and composed, but his fists were clenched tightly, the veins on the back of his hands bulging menacingly.
The small cabin was already full, and as the ship's wheel turned, the group began to move within the Ministry of Magic...
The fair-skinned man's body began to tremble, and the trembling became more and more obvious, like an epileptic seizure, with wisps of black mist seeping from his facial features.
As the fair-skinned man trembled, the small cabin began to shake violently. The wizards around him sensed something was wrong and looked back, only to find a huge cloud of black mist behind them.
The black mist resembled a raging, gloomy rain cloud, flashing with streaks of scarlet light.
"What is that thing...?"
"What's going on? How did the Ministry of Magic let this thing in?"
"It's...the Obscurus! It's the Obscurus! It will kill us!"
"Hurry up," the man with the goatee said softly, then screamed, "I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"
As he spoke, he pushed his way into the crowd, a joyful smile spreading across his face.
The goatee-bearded man's meddling only made the already chaotic situation worse.
The surrounding wizards screamed in terror, trying to grab their wands to fight back, but because of their companions' panic, there wasn't enough room to cast their spells.
The small cabin, already rocking violently, was now like a lone boat on a raging sea, on the verge of capsizing at any moment...
The piercing alarm shattered the tranquility of the Ministry of Magic, and the entire ministry seemed to tremble as deafening crashes echoed through the halls.
The black mist around the Obscurial surged, turning half of the cabin into dust, sending debris flying everywhere.
Countless fragments of bricks and stones fell with a crash, but they could not cause any damage to it, turning into scattered dust.
Without lingering, he crawled straight down, passing through six walls, until he arrived at a dark, circular room with several doors leading to other, deeper rooms.
The Department of Mysteries was a part of the Ministry of Magic in almost every country.
This place was responsible for conducting secret research, and the vast majority of the research topics were highly classified. Even among Ministry of Magic employees, very few people knew the specifics of what was going on here.
Silently, he transformed back into a fair-skinned man. After a moment's thought, he closed his eyes, and the black mist around his body once again spread, but in the next instant, it transformed into an extremely faint silver-blue light.
The light slowly converged into an arrow-like symbol, which began to rotate and point towards one of the doors.
The fair-skinned man suddenly opened his eyes. His face was completely bloodless, and even his eyes were much dimmer.
"Cough cough cough..."
He coughed painfully twice, then vanished again, rushing towards the room indicated by the arrow…