Constructing a spell model is the first and most challenging step in casting a spell. It requires the caster to use robust mental energy to inscribe a flawless model in their consciousness, imagining every detail—the shape of the runes, their sequence, the turns in the lines. Ordinary people, without training, can only inscribe simple geometric shapes in their minds.
Inscribing all the details of a burning fireball is no simple task.
Garon's mental power was sufficient, but as it was his first time formally inscribing runes from the school of Energy Sculpting, he failed twice due to lack of experience, taking over an hour.
On his third attempt, he finally breathed a sigh of relief as his tense spirit relaxed.
A lifelike fireball, composed of over three hundred runes arranged in a specific pattern, now hovered in Garon's mental world.
"It's done."
Garon's face showed pleasure as he extended his dragon claw.
He uttered the activation incantation for the Fireball spell, channeling magical power into the spell model.
The next second, a tiny fireball, merely the size of a pea, appeared on Garon's fingertip. Compared to his massive body, it looked like an insignificant speck.
The appearance of a third-circle Fireball spell seemed so harmless.
Yet, who could imagine it was one of the most potent lower-tier spells?
"Go!" Garon willed, flicking his claw, and the small fireball shot out, tracing a bright line in the air before hitting the icy wall.
Boom! Waves of heat rolled out as flames surged, covering an area with a radius of about ten meters, turning it into a fiery zone with impressive force.
"The power of a spell cast by my own hand is significantly stronger than that from a spell scroll."
Garon extended his dragon claw, roasting it in the flames.
A wave of heat reached him, but the brief contact wasn't enough to cause pain.
His constitution, primarily that of a Time Dragon, provided him with high resistance to elemental damage of all types, unlike a White Dragon, for whom fire attacks could inflict double damage.
After a while in the flames, Garon only felt a slight, negligible burning sensation—if he wasn't paying attention, he wouldn't have noticed it at all.
This powerful Fireball spell, comparable to a fourth-circle spell, inflicted minimal damage on him.
And he was just over two years old.
Garon himself was unclear just how high his magic resistance was.
The magic resistance of dragonkind tends to increase with age; an average ancient dragon could become immune to most mid-tier spells.
Garon felt that once he reached adulthood, perhaps only legendary spells would affect him, and high-tier spells would not be able to harm him.
After warming his hands, Garon exhaled a breath of frosty dragon breath, twisting his neck to freeze the rampant flames around him.
The burning flames were frozen into clusters of irregular ice crystals, looking like a work of art.
Then, not staying longer in the Ice Cliff Dragon Lair, Garon flew out to find a more open and flat area in his territory, planning to learn and test the power of spells there.
After all, a dragon's lair is meant for sleeping and resting.
At the moment, Garon held the fiery red staff thoughtfully.
Dragons, too, use magical tools to enhance their abilities. Although the staff was small for him, it was effective.
Holding the staff, which was akin to a toothpick for him, Garon focused and calm.
He cast the Fireball spell again, but this time, he didn't release the magic directly. Instead, he channeled it through the fiery red staff.
The staff lit up with fiery red elemental light as a vast amount of elemental energy was drawn into the crystal at its tip, enhancing Garon's magical power.
Finally, a fireball shot out from the top of the staff, hitting the ground forty meters away.
Boom! A fifteen-meter radius was instantly engulfed in flames, with the Fireball spell's power amplified by about fifty percent. The dramatically increased temperature melted a large area of snow, exposing the brown permafrost below.
"This power is already at the level of a fourth-circle spell, and it's stronger than the typical fourth-circle spell."
The two-headed ogre's Dragon Breath Mimicry, which Garon had witnessed, wasn't as powerful as this Fireball spell.
Holding the tiny staff, Garon was slightly moved.
The Fireball spell, enhanced by the fiery red staff, had its range and temperature of the flames significantly improved. Such a fireball could indeed cause some damage to him.
In the old mage's notes, the third-circle Fireball spell was considered the most basic.
Fourth-circle Bursting Fireball, fifth-circle Magma Fireball, sixth-circle Blazing Fireball—if further amplified by the fiery red staff, Garon was quite excited about the potential power.
Acceleration and Time
Stop had no direct lethal effects; he currently lacked powerful offensive capabilities.
At the same time, Garon wondered if the acceleration effect of time manipulation could be applied to spells. Most spells travel fast and are difficult to dodge; if he could attack at five times the speed... Garon's eyes sparkled with excitement as he began experimenting enthusiastically.
He cast the Fireball spell while expending Time energy, trying to extend the acceleration effect.
The initial attempts mostly ended in failure.
But as time passed, the Time energy slowly conformed to Garon's will, attaching to the Fireball spell he cast.
Whoosh! The speed doubled, and the fireball that was almost invisible in the air exploded on the ground, creating a large burst of flames.
After the flames erupted, the deafening sound reached Garon's ears.
"The speed has surpassed the speed of sound."
Garon's face showed both happiness and disappointment.
Happy because the acceleration state indeed worked on spells.
Disappointed because the effect of the acceleration state on spells was far less than on his body and was quite costly.
He used five times the Time energy, but the speed of the Fireball spell only increased by a little over one time.
Since it didn't take much time, Garon believed there was room for improvement in the accelerated Fireball spell. Disappointed momentarily, he quickly became invigorated again. Even if he couldn't achieve the same acceleration effect as on his body, achieving half would be sufficient.
His acceleration state is not static; its effect will improve with age.
In the following days, Garon's life became monotonous yet simple.
Studying spells, exploring the combination of Time energy and spells, and sleeping in the energy-rich dragon lair. Although it was a mundane routine, he found joy in it.