"There are no classes this afternoon. I can set out the direction of your efforts next for you." As Marin spoke, he took out several books from the bookcase behind the table and placed them on the table.
"Do you have any ideas of your own? Is there any spell you want to learn or something you have heard of before? We generally believe that interest is the best teacher. Many novice mages become mages because of Transfiguration. Those kids love this spell to death. Although Transfiguration is the spell most prone to catastrophic accidents in Azeroth, it is easy to learn but difficult to master. The process of practicing Transfiguration is indeed very helpful for the growth of a novice mage."
"What about you? Do you also want to learn Transfiguration? Or... Blink? Another extremely popular but also very prone to serious mistakes magic."
Jess is not very interested in Transfiguration. He now relies on the Fear spell to control the enemy. If he chooses another control magic, and it's arcane magic, it seems redundant.
As for Blink... Jess admits that this magic is quite tempting to him. After all, he especially likes to use it in the game, let alone really learning it in reality.
And in the abandoned fishing village on the north coast, he also witnessed the power of the naga using Blink... Suddenly jumping from behind him to the front position. It is extremely deterrent.
"Unfortunately, Blink is currently not open for apprentices to learn at the Wizard's Sanctuary." Marin immediately poured cold water on his enthusiasm: "There was once a 13-year-old apprentice who used Blink and ended up fusing his chest cavity with a box at the port. It took two days just to separate the body. After this terrifying accident, the teaching of Blink at the Wizard's Sanctuary is now very cautious, and the display of the Blink spellbook in the library has also been restricted."
Is that so? It's a pity that Jess was too far away when being chased by the naga at that time and didn't hear the spell clearly. Otherwise, he might be able to figure it out on his own.
But hearing what Marin said, figuring out Blink on his own is even more dangerous than testing shadow magic by himself.
"Master, I have heard of a spell." Jess said: "I heard it from Lordaeron. It's called Mage Armor."
Marin nodded and asked, "Why do you want to learn this spell?"
"When I was on top of Stonewatch Keep..." Jess said: "I was injured by shadow magic. The scar on my hand still hasn't disappeared. That time was really quite dangerous. I heard that Mage Armor can resist shadow magic, so I want to learn this."
Marin said: "Mage Armor can not only resist shadow magic, but also almost all magic damage. This can be regarded as one of the top spells of protection magic, Mr. Sethor. Of course, except for light. But if you say that the Holy Light is a kind of energy in Stormwind City, you may be beaten up by priests. In short, I suggest you first take a class from Master Andomas. If you plan to aim for Mage Armor, you can sign on the textbooks of the protection school and learn related magic principles and so on. It will be very helpful for you to successfully learn Mage Armor."
"So, I can't learn it now, right?" Jess asked tentatively.
"Unless you are Medivh." Marin said: "When he was still an apprentice in his early teens, his magic level was already able to crush a mage like me like a bug. Fortunately, he was just an innocent and kind child at that time. So instead of touching tens of thousands of living people in the entire city, in the end he only accidentally killed his father."
"So innate magical ability and powerful magical talent are extremely dangerous, Mr. Sethor. Learning magic that is not suitable for one's own ability... is even more dangerous. Although the Tirisfal Council once greatly restricted magic learning due to the abuse of arcane magic, it now seems too extreme. But it has to be said that their original intention is absolutely reasonable."
"But if I want to participate in your research in the future, for example, going deep into the Wetlands." Jess said: "At that time, when encountering Dragonmaw orcs, Dark Iron dwarves or even red dragons, I must have the ability to protect against both shadow and fire, right?"
"Are you making conditions?" Marin said helplessly: "You may not understand yet. I don't let you learn Mage Armor for your own good. Especially for this kind of magic that takes effect on oneself, one must be more careful."
Jess asked: "So, what problems might arise?"
Marin said: "The activation of Mage Armor is similar to the Frost Armor technique that ice mages are good at using. They both use arcane magic to condense elemental shells and partially assimilate external magic attacks of the same type... And the dangers are similar. Frost Armor is very easy to freeze the caster himself, especially those who are not proficient enough casters. Spelling mistakes, gesture mistakes, etc., can all lead to such consequences."
"And Mage Armor is much more complex. Its casting process is very long because it has to weave a colorful outer layer with multiple magic protection effects to protect the caster. And every color error will cause a series of reactions. Once there is a mistake, you may have to face the joint backlash of five or six different elemental magics at the same time. In comparison, the demand for energy is secondary."
"I want to give it a try, Master." Jess said firmly.
Marin didn't reject him again as Jess had expected. Instead, he just sat behind the table and looked at Jess. After a long time, he asked, "You have already made up your mind, right?"
"Not too early." Jess said: "In about a day or two. After I feel that I have learned the Light spell almost well enough. So, Master, is there any prohibition for apprentices to learn Mage Armor?"
"There is no hard and fast rule like Blink." Marin said.
"Great." Jess said: "Then, the next magic I want to learn is Mage Armor."
Looking at Jess's resolute appearance, Marin fell into hesitation again.
Perhaps thinking about the red dragon, perhaps thinking about the focused look of Jess when he cast the Light spell just now, or perhaps considering whether this big boy in front of him will become another poor person who dies tragically on the road of madly chasing supreme power in the future.
For Jess, he thinks very simply.
If his affinity with arcane energy is not as close as he imagined, then the number of arcane magics he can choose is very limited.
Specialize in a sufficiently universal protection spell, a sufficiently useful and irreplaceable auxiliary magic... Practice them to perfection instead of wasting energy memorizing a large number of messy spells that can replace each other's functions.
Marin's words also confirm this. A lasting resistance bonus is more universal and can protect you from fatal injuries in various complex situations. In contrast, various elemental protection barriers require much higher casting skills and energy.
"Well, two conditions." Marin finally said: "First, learn the spell of Arcane Intellect. You must practice this spell under the blessing of Arcane Intellect. This can greatly enhance the accuracy of your spell chanting and your energy limit, thus reducing the degree of danger. Second, you are not allowed to practice secretly on your own when I am not present. I must watch you to prevent accidents that you cannot control on your own and even harm others."
"I agree to everything." Jess said decisively.