Magic Silent Casting is an advanced super-magic technique that most grand magicians have not mastered. It only begins to be more widely learned at the level of archmages, and the tier and quantity of silent-casting spells are important indicators of a grand mage's combat power.
Based on the prevalence of this technique, Charlie speculated that perhaps even archmages did not fully understand the essence of Magic Silent Casting. They may have simply reached a level of proficiency with magical applications that allowed them to naturally grasp some methods of silent casting for lower-tier spells.
If Charlie were to reveal this discovery, he might become famous throughout the Warglan continent, and his name could be recorded in the history of magical development as a significant milestone.
However, people are inherently selfish, especially when Charlie found himself in a dangerous situation. He decided to keep this secret buried in his heart until he had enough personal power for self-protection. This would be Charlie's most trusted trump card.
The speed of thought is always faster than that of speech, and Charlie had yet to calculate the efficiency improvements brought about by Magic Silent Casting.
Extending the concept of Magic Silent Casting further leads to Instant Magic, which is the caster's ultimate pursuit of speed, and Charlie had already found a path forward.
At this moment, it was three in the morning, and Charlie was wide awake, unable to sleep due to his excitement. He planned to study other lower-tier spells, to explore their silent casting principles, and then gradually refine those principles, aiming for the limits of casting each low-level spell.
Charlie had seemingly discovered a path to magic that suited him: a large number of quickly cast lower-tier spells, combined with physical attributes comparable to those of combat professionals, would make a wizard's offensive capabilities flexible, unpredictable, and elusive.
Thus, Charlie tirelessly began to experiment with the patterns for each elementary spell, challenging himself one after another, achieving victory time and again.
In a state of deep concentration, time seemed to fly by…
When the magical alarm buzzed, Erin woke from her sleep. Rubbing her eyes, she turned over and noticed that Charlie's room was brightly lit.
"Hmm! When did he come back? Up so early?"
After tidying herself up, Erin went to Charlie's room and found him sitting at his desk, his eyes bloodshot, looking somewhat tired yet extraordinarily joyful.
"Charlie, did you stay up all night?" Erin couldn't help but ask.
Charlie snapped his fingers, and a small flame blossomed at his fingertip, startling Erin. However, given his magical prowess, she was not too surprised by it.
Seeing Erin's expression, Charlie silently felt lucky and, unable to contain his joy, silently cast a Flame Hand.
It was no wonder Charlie was feeling triumphant; after a night of hard work, the results were remarkable.
He had managed to cast an Arcane Missile in 0.5 seconds, with three missiles released in half a second, the first appearing at 0.3 seconds—Charlie's fastest attack spell yet.
He achieved a Mana Shield in 0.6 seconds, a Basic Light Barrier in 0.7 seconds, Natural Healing in 0.9 seconds, Arcane Armor in 0.8 seconds, Nature Summon in 1.1 seconds, Water Dragon in 0.5 seconds, and Rainfall in 0.8 seconds...
Most first and second-tier spells were basically controlled within one second, while third-tier spells hovered around 1.1 seconds, with a general efficiency increase of 50%.
More critically, this was just the preliminary silent casting attempt, and there was still room for improvement.
Additionally, Charlie had particularly refined the Fireball spell, which he relied on most due to its cost-effectiveness in damage.
He spent nearly an hour and a half researching to compress the Fireball spell to under 0.5 seconds, achieving a 65% increase in efficiency—an extraordinarily terrifying number. Paired with "Mana Storm," he could unleash 11 Fireballs within 5 seconds, delivering a denser explosion that would significantly enhance the burst power of the Fireball barrage.
Charlie considered purchasing some potions that could increase his fire affinity from the points market. If he could raise his fire element affinity above 30, the Fireball spell would gain inherent "spell enhancement," making its power comparable to a "Fireball spell." At that point, even grand magicians might hesitate to give Charlie enough time to cast.
"Charlie, what's wrong with you?" Erin called out when she saw him standing there with a silly grin.
"Nothing." Charlie extinguished the flame and smiled, "You look pretty good in your pajamas."
Erin blushed, holding her flushed face, looking at herself in the mirror, realizing that the outfit seemed not much different from usual.
"Has the teacher come out yet?"
"Not yet!"
It seemed that Teacher Anthony, like Charlie, had found some inspiration. Erin looked forward to his breakthroughs in research.
Erin asked, "You stayed up all night; are you going to sleep now?"
"No sleep; it's already daytime, what's the point in sleeping now?" After a pause, Charlie asked, "Did the teacher assign any tasks?"
"No, I am also waiting for his instructions!"
"Alright then! I'll do some magical meditation for a while. If the teacher comes out, you call me."
Erin was surprised, "Charlie, you're working so hard! Won't you hurt your body by pushing yourself like this?"
Charlie smiled lightly, "For me, meditation is like resting. Don't worry about it!"
…
Not long after, Charlie was awakened by Erin. He opened his eyes to see the extremely tired yet exceptionally excited Anthony.
Seeing that Charlie was awake, Anthony couldn't contain his excitement and said, "Charlie, my research has finally made a breakthrough!"
Charlie immediately stood up, delighted, "Congratulations, Teacher!"
For Anthony to refer to it as a breakthrough, it must be something significant!
"Let's go! To my laboratory; we need to verify it properly."
Charlie and Erin followed the enthusiastic Anthony into his laboratory.
Due to the prolonged seclusion, Anthony's laboratory was filled with a suffocating stench. Erin quietly covered her mouth and nose, glancing at Charlie, but seeing him unbothered, she slowly lowered her hand.
The three of them reached Anthony's workbench, where the scattered documents were carelessly piled on the ground. His desk was equipped with a complete set of unusual glass apparatus, all connected as one, with colorful liquids simmering in the flasks under the heat of alcohol lamps.
Anthony dramatically raised his arm, grinning, and said, "I want to thank Charlie for his inspiration. Ever since that time, I've been revisiting my notes from twenty years ago, trying to rediscover myself.
I realized that while my younger self may have been immature in many aspects, my thoughts were truly free-spirited and unrestrained. Some ideas were absurd and childish, but within the absurdity, there were indeed some shining points. Now, however, I've become rather timid."
Anthony shook his head, letting out a self-deprecating chuckle, and continued, "This potion is the product of rediscovering a spark of inspiration. I've decided to name it: Blood Boil."
It sounded pretty cool!
Charlie asked, "What effects does it have?"
"According to my pharmacological analysis, it will temporarily unleash a person's maximum potential, creating the strongest offensive. It may feel like time is speeding up; your strength, agility, reaction speed, and casting speed will all increase exponentially. However, the specific effects are still uncertain as it hasn't been tested frequently."
"That sounds very interesting!"
Anthony's greatest wish was to improve personal fitness and awaken human potential, allowing apprentices with poor talent to have a relatively inexpensive opportunity to change their fate.
Although this wish had not been realized, coming up with a potion that could temporarily stimulate potential was a step forward, even though its application scene differed from the previous one.
Anthony sighed, "It's a pity about Jerry. If he were here, I could have him try the potion's effects. He has the talent for potion enhancement, so perhaps the test results would be more ideal."
Charlie shook his head and said, "To test the true efficacy of the potion, he wouldn't be a good choice. His talent might exaggerate the potion's effects. We need to test real data for it to be valuable."
"True!"
"Teacher, why not let me try the potion?"
"You? Aren't you afraid it might be harmful? Trying an unknown potion is a very dangerous thing."
Charlie explained, "Teacher, my advantage is that I can sense subtle changes in my body. I can feel them; this could be considered a small talent of mine!
Like last time, when you had me try the 'Basic Strength Potion,' I noticed an increase in strength of 120%, and I can quite accurately predict bodily changes. Maybe I can determine the true effects of this potion."
"Since you've requested it, I won't stop you."
Soon, Anthony took the potion and led the two of them to the testing site. As a teacher without enough status, Anthony did not have his independent testing area and could only rent a space at the academy.
Since it was still early, Anthony managed to get a medium-sized testing room of 100 meters in radius. The room was equipped with various testing instruments, and one side had a few rudimentary iron automatons in an empty corner.
Charlie took a bottle of crimson potion and walked about 30 meters away from the automaton, while Anthony and Erin retreated to the side of the room.
"Let's begin!" Anthony declared seriously and added, "You try the potion first, just a little bit."
Charlie uncapped the crystal bottle, dipped a glass stick into the potion, licked it, and then closed his eyes...
After a moment, he opened his eyes and expressed his feelings: "It should be harmless; just a bit dizzy, like a slight buzz."
"Alright then! Now you should give it a try!"
Charlie tilted his head back, and in the surprised gazes of Erin and Anthony, he gulped down the potion in one go. His stomach immediately began to churn, as if he had drunk a bottle of fiery magma. He fought against the discomfort, resisting the urge to vomit.
Suddenly, Charlie's eyes flew open, and his vision ignited with flames. His insides felt like they were boiling; his blood surged violently with every pulse, causing him intense pain. Every vein was throbbing with increased pressure, as if they might burst at any moment.
His personal magic pool felt like a volcano on the verge of eruption, continuously spewing out massive amounts of magical energy, becoming increasingly volatile.
Charlie let out a beast-like roar, and with a sudden swing of his right arm, a wave of intense energy surged forth. In the blink of an eye, it coalesced and took shape at an incredible speed.
In the next moment, a column of fiery energy erupted from his fingertips...