"I told you before, the three essential steps in a wizard's spellcraft are: imprinting, simplifying, and modifying," Lucian said, smiling as he looked at Carrie. "The last step, modification, isn't as simple as you might think."
With that, Lucian gave a light flick of his hand.
Whoosh—
A flame gel similar to Scorching Fire, yet distinctly different, appeared in his right hand.
Yet, as Carrie gazed at the "Chuchu Gel," an inexplicable sense of dread washed over her; she felt certain that if she were struck by it, she wouldn't survive.
"Observe it closely, but don't touch," Lucian said as he extended his right hand toward her to give her a better view.
Then, he threw the "Chuchu Gel" toward a nearby stone.
Boom! Instantly, pale blue flames wrapped around the stone.
Crack—a faint cracking sound echoed, and the stone shattered as it continued to burn.
Carrie held her breath, watching the blue flames quietly consuming the stone, feeling a deep reverence in her heart.
"You see, this is a simple modification of Scorching Fire," Lucian said, withdrawing his right hand.
"Wizards are scholars who use knowledge as a lever to pry open the rules of nature, seizing power," Lucian repeated what he had said to her on her first day, glancing at Carrie, who looked thoughtful, and snapping his fingers lightly.
"You could say that by understanding the natural rules—the natural spell patterns of the Rockfire Lizard—I used my knowledge to cleverly manipulate these rules, multiplying their power."
"That's why I told you before, for a wizard, knowledge is true power."
With a wave of his hand, Lucian used mental energy to sketch the modified Scorching Fire model mid-air, placing it beside the original Scorching Fire model for comparison. "What you've mastered is only the first step."
Carrie's mouth fell open slightly.
[Your student Carrie feels deep reverence for you. +5 Reverence Points]
"Of course, besides having the necessary knowledge, truly mastering a spell requires continuous practice," Lucian said as he gently closed her slightly open mouth with a finger.
"In actual combat, opponents won't give you much time to prepare your spells. You need to repeat the process of constructing spell models until it becomes muscle memory, allowing you to cast it with a single thought."
Carrie looked at Lucian, nodding slowly.
"Keep practising and learning new knowledge," Lucian said, patting her shoulder gently.
"Okay." Carrie nodded, beginning to examine and compare the structure of the Scorching Fire II model.
As she practised, Lucian watched her progress, correcting any mistakes she made while building the model.
However, in his mind, Lucian wasn't entirely satisfied with the modified Scorching Fire.
For Carrie, a first-level apprentice, this modified level-zero spell was certainly powerful and precious, but from Lucian's perspective, it was still lacking.
To put things into perspective, even within level-zero spells, the weakest had an energy output of just 1P (pawa), while the strongest could reach 300P. In extreme circumstances, aided by spellcasting tools or explosive potions, a third-level apprentice could even unleash a forbidden spell with 500 to 800 pawas.
The modified Scorching Fire, with its 30 to 50 pawas, was only mediocre among level-zero spells. For Lucian, mastering such a spell was barely worth mentioning.
But Lucian was undeterred; in fact, he felt a flicker of anticipation.
After all, the Scorching Fire spell was one of the weakest spells to begin with. With one "upgrade" from the system, it had already grown tenfold stronger. Once Carrie fully mastered the modified Scorching Fire, would the system offer another upgrade, as it did with the Greybone Meditation Method?
Lucian couldn't help but look forward to it.
Besides, he felt that Carrie would master the modified Scorching Fire much faster than she had the meditation method!
With his one-on-one guidance and the system's instructional prompts, Carrie would likely need no more than a day to learn it!
...
Night had fallen as Carrie walked alone down the paths of Greybone Academy, stifling a yawn.
She was truly exhausted. Aside from meal breaks, she had been practising Scorching Fire non-stop since the afternoon, which had drained her substantially.
Although mental energy could be replenished through meditation or potions, mental fatigue could only be relieved by rest.
She needed a good night's sleep… Closing her eyes halfway, Carrie's expression grew a little lazy.
After settling into Greybone Academy, she was no longer as anxious as she had been upon arrival, and now even found the night breeze soothing.
"The wizarding world isn't as frightening as I thought…" Carrie mused, growing excited as she saw a group of four fellow newcomers sitting together in the distance, deep in conversation.
"Wayne!" she called, quickly running over. These four newcomers were all friends of hers, part of the same intake at Greybone Academy. Like her, they had been assigned to the lowest-level accommodations due to their mediocre qualifications, and over time, they had formed a small circle of friends.
"Where's Tina?" Carrie asked, but as she scanned the group, she realized that Tina, her closest friend, was missing.
The others were unusually quiet, their expressions sombre and downcast.
"Tina's dead." The tallest and most muscular of the group, a young man named Wayne, finally spoke, his voice rough and hoarse.
He wasn't just friends with Tina; they had shared a connection that went beyond mere friendship. Now, with his head bowed, Wayne's face showed a desolation that matched his tone.