"Thank you, teacher." Salin was filled with joy as he returned to his room with the money pouches. He placed the pouches and the Imperial Bank deposit slips in his box, where expired promissory notes, documents, and his family crest were stored. Salin stuffed the money into the box but felt uneasy about it, so he took it out again, unsure where to put it.
After fussing for a while, Salin felt a bit ridiculous. With his teacher around, who would dare to sneak into this house? Thinking about Jason at the City Guard, effortlessly releasing one spell after another without even chanting, Salin's heart swelled with excitement again. If he could do the same, who would dare to bully him!
Magic was the only truth in this world, and those with magical abilities had surpassed the law. Thinking this, Salin couldn't sit still. He casually placed the money on the bed and went to the room where magic books were kept.
Looking at the rows of bookshelves in the room, Salin grew impatient to read through them one by one. He walked back to the shelf holding the 0-level magic books.
0-level magic wasn't the most abundant category; in fact, it was fewer than the 1st-level magic. Nevertheless, "The General Guide to 0-level Magic" had four thick volumes.
Salin picked one up, sat down on the spot, and leaned against the bookshelf to start reading.
Reading, Illumination, Flame, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Invisible Shield... As he went through the list, Salin felt a bit dizzy. Without a systematic approach, he didn't know how to choose what to learn. Leaning against the bookshelf, Salin felt he was losing control. Even though he was eager to enhance his power, he shouldn't aim too high. The teacher had advised him to learn systematically, and skipping the basics would surely leave hidden dangers.
Realizing this, Salin put "The General Guide to 0-level Magic" back on the shelf and returned to the beginning, methodically studying the basics of magic.
Magic was divided into six major categories based on attributes, but in practice, it was classified according to its purpose: attack, defense, healing, alchemy, potion-making, and so on. In addition to these six, there was also the summoning category, a truly niche form of magic that had emerged less than ten thousand years ago and had declined since five thousand years ago.
Casting a spell involved three stages: preparation, completion, and release. The preparation stage involved chanting spells, gesturing, gathering elements, and resonating magic power, all controlled by the mage's mental strength. Through training, a mage could shorten the preparation time and even chant spells silently, skipping gestures.
The completion stage meant the magic had formed and was ready to be released at any time. This stage could be extended by mages who kept prepared spells while also preparing a second one for intensive attacks. This technique, known as dual casting, was a common method for mages to increase their striking power.
Similarly, dual casting required strong mental strength; otherwise, without control, it could cause elemental disturbances and severe damage to the mage.
The release stage wasn't as simple as just releasing a prepared spell; it involved targeting, final elemental manipulation, and timing control, all relying on mental strength. Targeting was the most basic ability; without tracking, a mage was no different from an archer. Final elemental manipulation was crucial for managing magic power consumption; without it, a mage's consumption would always be at the maximum, risking depletion after just a few spells. If poorly controlled, a 1st-level mage might consume all their magic power after casting just two 1st-level spells, instead of the usual twelve.
Timing control meant continuing to control the magic even after release, allowing it to be fully unleashed at the most opportune moment. This skill was also known as 2nd-level casting. Advanced mages skillfully used 2nd-level casting to control the pace of battle. Likewise, 2nd-level casting was applied in the manufacturing of magic scrolls and alchemy.
Fully mastering these abilities barely made one a qualified mage.
Salin also learned that the numerical values of a magic's basic attributes were not fixed. Casting time, casting distance, and energy units were all variable. Casting time wasn't measured in seconds but in frames, with 1 frame equivalent to one-sixtieth of a second. Instantaneous casting wasn't at 0 frames but at 2 frames. The phrase "instant magic" actually referred to the total time of preparation, completion, and release, which amounted to 2 frames, or two-sixtieths of a second. No matter how powerful a mage was, they couldn't further compress this time.
What created the illusion of 0-frame casting was dual casting. After completing one spell, instead of releasing it, the mage retained it. This first completed spell would be released simultaneously with the second spell. In reality, the release stage of this spell occurred simultaneously with the release stage of the second spell, requiring extremely high mental strength from the mage.
This skill was called advanced control, and it was a very dangerous practice.
As Salin read on, he realized how ignorant he had been, thinking that magic was just a powerful means of attack. He hadn't expected the basic knowledge of magic to be so complex. Without proper learning, his future progress would likely be exceptionally difficult.
Without this foundational knowledge, not only is the ability of the mage himself limited to a very small range, but it's also impossible to judge the abilities of others. For example, minimizing and maximizing the numerical values of casting time, converting numerical values between casting distance and attack power, and the relationship between energy units and elemental segmentation, and so on. Advanced mages can instantly calculate and determine the effects of their own spells, rather than leaving it to chance.
Control! The power of magic lies in control! Sarin patiently read on and began to study mathematical knowledge, learning how to calculate these magic formulas. This mathematical knowledge is also the key to drawing magic arrays.
Another three months passed in the blink of an eye. Sarin hardly stepped out of his room except to eat and relieve himself. The more he studied, the more frustrated he felt. His intelligence and mental power were so perfect, yet his affinity with elements was lacking. Even if his elemental affinity was only at the level of an ordinary person, it would still be enough to become an excellent mage.
But unfortunately, he was a waste in terms of elemental affinity, making it difficult to form magical strings. Without magical strings, everything was just empty talk.
A year had passed, and Sarin still met the standard of a level 1 apprentice, with the abilities of a level 2 apprentice. He had now learned five level 0 spells: Read Magic, Detect Poison, Acid Splash, Flame Ignition, and Elemental Fusion. He had also mastered the Rule of Meditation, allowing him to quickly recover lost magical elements through meditation.
The reason for this effect was that the magical elements deposited in Sarin's body were too sparse. Even with natural recovery and doing nothing, it only took him 10 minutes.
What could three level 0 spells do? Nothing. If used for combat, it would be better to give Sarin a small knife. After a year of recuperation, Sarin's health had improved a lot, although he still looked frail, his strength had actually increased.
The food sent by the red-haired swordsman last time was already gone, so Sarin had to go back into town. Now he no longer had the ridiculous thoughts from half a year ago, like fancy clothes, trendy hairstyles, or decent carriages. For a mage, all of this was so foolish. Only knowledge was the mage's only reliance.
Putting on that ridiculous robe and changing into the black boots Jason had bought him, Sarin greeted Jason and left the ancestral home. Jason gave him two bags of gold coins, a total of 100, and a list of items. Mage experiments required a large amount of low-level materials, and Jason's laboratory was almost always running. Over the past year, he had consumed almost all of his basic materials.
Ceylon City was a port city where many things not available locally could be ordered. It only took a week to get the goods. This was also why Jason chose to stay here. It was a relatively remote city, yet essential items could be purchased.
Returning to Ceylon City again, this dilapidated city looked completely different in Sarin's eyes. When the guards at the city gate saw Sarin appear on the main road, they straightened up from afar.
The gate guards belonged to the Lord's Mansion and had nothing to do with the City Guard, but everyone hadn't forgotten the lesson from half a year ago. When the mage went on a killing spree, the Lord acted as if nothing had happened. That terrifying mage still lived outside the city, and the son of the Metatlin family had become the mage's student.
The eyes of the two guards were strange, mixed with envy, jealousy, and fear, squeezing out a flattering smile.
"Good morning, Young Master Metatlin!" Sarin nodded, unsure of how to respond. The guards from the Lord's Mansion were much better than those from the City Guard. Before, when he entered the city, no one had ever bothered him. Back then, he was like a gust of wind, and a tasteless one at that. As long as he didn't go looking for trouble, no one would notice him.
Young Master Metatlin? Half a year ago, Sarin might have been proud. After the incident with the City Guard, Sarin matured a lot. He understood that these people were afraid of the teacher, afraid that a level 5 mage would blast their heads off.
Facing the sunlight, Sarin walked towards the pier along the main road. There was a long street at the pier, full of various shops. The only equipment shop in Ceylon City was here, and Sarin walked in, almost colliding with a young boy.
The boy opposite Sarin was about the same size, seemingly startled by Sarin. He stumbled and almost fell, but ended up bumping into Sarin. Despite being only an apprentice mage, Sarin's mental power was comparable to that of a real mage. He sensed keenly that the boy's hand was reaching for his money pouch.
The movement of this hand was very subtle, making Sarin amused. Was he having bad luck today, encountering a thief as soon as he left the house?
He gently pushed the hand away, a flash of fire, pressing it against the boy's hand. The boy on the opposite side felt a sharp pain in his hand, as if it had been branded by an iron. He looked up in amazement and suddenly shouted, "Sarin, is that you?"