"Deep Blue, how long does it take him to cast Partial Petrification and Fireball?"
[Partial Petrification: 9 seconds.]
[Fireball: 5 seconds.]
Helag calculated in his mind. Just as he observed, spells cast through enchanted items took longer, while personal spells were quicker.
In his vision, a map appeared, a bird's-eye view of the meteorite crater provided by Deep Blue.
The red-haired boy didn't make any rash moves, nor did Helag dare to expose himself recklessly. The power of Fireball was too great, requiring caution.
Helag crouched and moved to the side of the dirt mound, using the map to stay in the boy's blind spot.
The red-haired boy, with keen senses, noticed Helag's position change. His ring glowed faintly green, ready to attack at any moment.
Helag got closer to the boy, then, estimating the right moment, nocked three arrows on his steel bow and shot quickly.
As the arrows flew, he tossed the bow aside and charged with his sword.
The red-haired boy's pupils contracted. He dodged while casting Partial Petrification on his chest.
One arrow hit where he had stood, another missed, and the third struck his petrified chest.
Helag seized the opportunity, closing in with his sword reflecting cold light on the boy's face.
The boy's ring flashed green, forming a fireball between them, only meters apart.
As the fireball shot towards him, Helag didn't dodge. Instead, he accelerated, using his sword to shield himself.
Boom!
The fireball exploded on Helag's sword, sending sparks everywhere.
"Suicidal!" the red-haired boy sneered at Helag's actions.
A figure burst through the flames, hair burning, clothes mostly destroyed, with burns on his shoulders and arms.
But Helag seemed unfazed, charging at the boy with his sword.
The boy, shocked and fearful, tried to cast Partial Petrification but saw the world spin. His last sight was his headless body before his consciousness faded.
Helag stabbed the body a few more times for good measure, then sat down, taking out the pocket watch.
White light flashed, healing his burns, leaving only scars.
[Remaining magic: 40%.]
From the start, Helag had decided to fight recklessly. Holding back could have gotten him killed by the red-haired boy.
The boy clearly wasn't prepared for a life-or-death fight. Helag's charge through the fireball left him no time to react.
Wizard apprentices were still human; a beheading was fatal.
Helag took the boy's ring, which, like the pocket watch, transmitted information into his mind.
"Sorrow's Fireball Ring: Enchanted with Level 0 spell Small Fireball."
Besides the ring, Helag found several gold coins and a book in the boy's backpack.
"Level 0 Spell: Detailed Explanation of Partial Petrification."
Finding nothing else valuable, Helag held the ring and channeled a bit of magic.
A fireball quickly formed and hit the corpse.
[Remaining magic: 5%.]
Using the small fireball spell left him with only 5% magic, making him feel extremely fatigued, like he hadn't slept for days.
Helag gathered some dry wood, added it to the burning corpse, and left.
From the boy's words, Helag deduced he had a teacher. Not wanting to face a stronger opponent, he destroyed the evidence and fled.
On the way back, Helag encountered a merchant caravan. He bought a set of clothes for ten copper coins.
His muscular physique caught the attention of many women in the caravan, some inviting him into their carriages.
Helag politely declined, changed clothes, and rode back to Swan City.
Back at the house, he found it empty. Melissa was likely at the academy.
He cleaned the Meteor Grass and prepared it according to the Starry Sky Meditation Technique, which required boiling it in water.
One plant could be boiled three times before losing its effectiveness.
The large meteorite crater had yielded only one plant, which Helag had risked his life to obtain.
Boiling the water turned it green and gave it a pungent smell, making Helag doubt if it was drinkable.
He poured a cup, let it cool slightly, and took a sip.
The taste was indescribably disgusting.
Helag grimaced but swallowed and began meditating.
The Starry Sky Meditation Technique didn't require night; observing the stars once was enough. Only finding new stars needed to be done at night.
The Meteor Grass had a noticeable effect, speeding up the solidification of the star in his mind.
Helag estimated that using Meteor Grass made meditation five to six times faster.
"The difference in meditation speed with and without resources is huge," Helag thought, finishing his meditation and picking up the book "Level 0 Spell: Detailed Explanation of Partial Petrification."
It was the only spell book the red-haired boy had, and Helag guessed it was his only spell.
Reading the book, Helag learned that Partial Petrification originated from a type of basilisk.
Looking into a basilisk's eyes caused petrification, and wizards had dissected them to study the process.
Based on this research, they developed Partial Petrification.
The spell allowed parts of the body to temporarily turn to stone, enhancing defense and attack without negative effects.
Learning a spell required constructing a spell model, which had to be solidified in the mind before the spell could be used at will.
Partial Petrification was a Level 0 spell, learnable by first-class wizard apprentices.
The spell model wasn't very complex, but for Helag, who was new to spell models, it was still challenging.
The model included magic pathways and methods, with numerous parameters and corresponding formulas.
Higher-level spells had more parameters and formulas, increasing the complexity.
Helag wasn't daunted. "I will walk the wizard's path to the end. I've tackled Computer Science hardest subject before; a Level 0 spell won't stop me."
"Deep Blue, analyze the Level 0 spell Partial Petrification and construct its spell model!"
[Task created, estimated time: 25 minutes, estimated magic consumption: 7%.]