Carrie fell into contemplation.
Taking this opportunity, Lucian quickly washed his hands and then picked up his glass of water, using the act of drinking to mask his discomfort.
Gulp... Lucian downed several mouthfuls, suppressing the nausea that had surged up within him. To ensure he didn't reveal his discomfort, he discreetly pinched his thigh through his clothing a few times.
He had to adapt!
This wasn't just because he was a mentor; in the world of sorcery, blood and darkness were everywhere. Compared to this world of sorcery, the "Overachiever's Paradise" he came from was practically a utopia.
After a few deep breaths, Lucian turned back to Carrie, ready for her response.
"I... I think we could achieve this by adding some specialized deconstructive models…" Carrie recalled the way a third-level apprentice had cast spells and spoke uncertainly.
Lucian smiled at her.
"Half right. Typically, adapting a biological model directly into a usable spell requires three steps: imprinting, simplifying, and modifying."
"The models in these supernatural creatures tend to be more complex, which helps them keep their spell-casting organs stable over long periods. However, our mental deconstruction for spellcasting doesn't need that level of stability. Therefore, a lot of the natural model patterns contain redundancies we can remove."
"Through countless studies, wizards have organized, simplified, and categorized these natural patterns, forming what we call 'runes,' which is the foundation of a separate branch of study known as runology."
With a wave of his hand, Lucian conjured a mental model in mid-air.
At first, it looked exactly like the markings from a Rockfire Lizard's throat, but as he continued to simplify it, it quickly turned into three basic runes connected by threads of mental energy.
"This is the simplest level-zero spell, a fire-based sorcery derived from the Rockfire Lizard's natural pattern," Lucian said, smiling as he held a pinch of sulphur powder. With a small explosion, the spell model condensed into a gel-like substance, floating in his palm. "It's called Scorching Fire."
Carrie's eyes shone with excitement.
[Your student Carrie feels a deep reverence for you. +1 Reverence Points]
Lucian nodded approvingly, gesturing to a nearby cage. "Now, it's your turn."
Carrie hesitated, glancing at the dissected sample on the table, then at the Rockfire Lizards still lively in the cage. She seemed to want to say something but kept silent.
"It's okay; we'll go step by step. I'll correct your mistakes as you go." Lucian felt a bit soft-hearted but held firm, giving her an encouraging smile.
...
Seven days flew by.
"Not bad." Lucian observed Carrie, her hands still a little stained with blood but her face beaming with anticipation, and gave her a small nod.
"Yes!" Carrie cheered, giving a little jump.
In addition to meditation and studies, she'd spent almost all her time with these hard-scaled lizards. She was starting to feel numb to her "lizard mentors."
"Of course, there's still one last thing." Lucian placed an intact fire sac in her hands, smiling.
"Combine it with your research and cast your first spell."
Carrie looked at him and nodded solemnly.
Closing her eyes, she visualized the spell model she had gradually simplified over the past days under his guidance. Her mental energy coalesced and linked with the fire sac in her palm.
The final activation!
Bang—
With a light pop, a small glob of gel, glowing like fire, appeared on Carrie's hand.
"I did it! I finally learned it!" she exclaimed, ecstatic. Lucian hadn't directly taught her the spell structure; instead, he'd made her repeatedly trace and simplify the Rockfire Lizard's natural patterns, which gave her a solid understanding of spell construction.
"Well done. Now, look at this—this is the Scorching Fire spell model. Compare it with yours, and study the differences." Lucian handed her a crystal ball that contained the standard spell model.
"Yes!" Carrie nodded enthusiastically, clearly much more confident than she'd been at the beginning of her studies.
Now familiar with the spell principles, Carrie quickly mastered the spell, and in less than ten minutes, she returned the crystal ball to Lucian.
"Lucian, I'm ready!" she said, her head held high as if waiting for praise.
[Your student Carrie has mastered Level-Zero Sorcery: Scorching Fire. Congratulations on learning the upgraded version of Scorching Fire!]
Just then, the system panel in Lucian's mind appeared, showing a new spell. Knowledge surged through him, forming the upgraded spell model.
Using his mental energy, Lucian quickly grasped the improvements in this upgraded spell. Like the modification he made to the Greybone Meditation Method, this upgraded spell was more complex but also significantly more powerful.
To what extent it had improved, however, he would have to test it to know.
As he glanced at Carrie, he noticed her eyes shining, as though she yearned for more encouragement.
"Good job," he said warmly. Boosting her confidence was much better than the timid, uncertain Carrie from before.
Receiving his approval, Carrie beamed with satisfaction. "Hehe…"
[Your student Carrie feels deep reverence for you. +5 Reverence Points]
"But…" Lucian smirked slightly, shifting his tone. "There's still a lot of room for improvement."
Carrie froze, recalling the look he had when he first taught her the meditation method.
"No… it can't be…"