156 Simple formation (1/2)
”While it is possible to use different materials for a formation, the energy circuits have to be the same. Of course, I only drew them glowing to help you learn them. Usually, we would draw them invisible so anyone who goes against the formation wouldn't be able to easily understand it.”, she continued to explain after she had finished drawing the energy circuits.
”Finally we use the activation phrase to activate the formation. I'll speak it out loud but normally you should only say it out in your mind, which is enough to activate the formation while hiding important information about it.”
”Krz'ds ter nam”, she then spoke out clearly in a language that they hadn't heard before and which didn't seem to be easy to pronounce.
As soon as she had finished that short sentence, the outer circle of the energy circuits lit up and a thin membrane appeared about it, which then closed at the top, forming a perfect half-sphere.
Mrs. Mertinez knocked lightly against it. ”This is a simple formation, which is called 'Simple Defense Shield Formation'. It uses the energy stored inside the gems to make this barrier. While activated it will constantly consume energy and if stressed it will consume an amount depending on the stress it experiences. As such it is a simple yet effective defense, with power that only depends on the energy available.”
She looked at the students who were intensely studying the formation in front of her.
”This is something you will have to always do when using formation. Find out their weak points, because if you aren't aware of them, then you might not even know how you died.”, she warned them. Everyone nodded. It wasn't something new to them. Skills to had weak points and only by knowing them themselves were they able to compensate for them and thus reduce the risk of using them.
”Alright, then can anyone tell me the weak points of this formation?”, she asked her students.
A few students raised their hands, with Irena a part of them. Ivan had some guesses as well, but he hesitated to raise his hand.
She looked at those who had raised their hands and then selected one of them.
”The shield should fail, if its energy is depleted, so by attacking it repeatedly it should be possible to exhaust the energy stored in the gems.”
”Correct. This is the most obvious method of breaking this formation and it is something that works with just about any formation. If they are exhausted they will stop working.”, Mrs. Mertinez praised the student who had answered. ”Then let's first hear some other weaknesses you can guess before we talk about how to fix these flaws.”
The number of hands in the air had been reduced after the student answered since it was an answer many had guessed. Of course, there were also some who had just put up their hands, like Ivan.
”Ivan, what's your guess?”
”The barrier should break if it is attacked by a powerful enough attack, that is above the capacity of the gems to provide energy to the formation. I just can't guess if it will break permanently or restore itself.”, Ivan voiced out his guess.
”Good. For simple formations, such as this one, they will permanently break if the maximum energy has been exceeded. Better formations may be able to repair themselves.”, the teacher explained. ”Of course this requires them to shut down before the drain can destroy the gems.”
”So the better the gems, the better the defense?”, one of the students asked.
”Generally yes. But there are some differences in gems. Some of them have higher energy storage, while others have a better capability to transfer energy. So it is important to choose the right gems since those that have both are always much more expensive and rare than those that have only one of those attributes.”
”Then can't we just combine them?”
”A good idea and something that is usually done. But for many formations, it leads to problems if some of the materials are of higher quality then others.”
”Oh”, the student who had asked the question looked disappointed.
”Then would it be possible to use gems with a high transfer rate for the formation and some with high energy storage as a battery?”, someone else asked.
”You mean something similar to how smartphones work?”, another student asked.
The formerly orderly class had started to become a discussion round, as it often did.
”Yeah. After all, they too have a battery that powers the other components. So shouldn't it work with formations as well?”
It should, but the question is how the energy transfer would be done.”
”Well I would propose a mixture of PCC and runes.”, another student suggested.