Chương 113: Chapter 070 The Secret Link Between Spell Scrolls And Mage Skills (Part 2)

Jack spent the early evening with his family, eating good food and chatting while [Perfect Recall] and [Multitasking] studied mage skills he'd memorised. Afterwards, he returned to his room to inscribe more novice-level mage skills.

"Okay." Jack finished inscribing the [Improve Concentration] skill onto a scroll.

"Let's see if my hypothesis holds any water." He willed the [Improve Concentration] skill into his right hand. Since it was a self-buffing skill, he could've willed it anywhere, but as a new Novice Mage, it was easier to guide the skill to his hand. He smiled as he felt a small amount of his mana drain away.

"Looks like another success." He didn't feel any different, but at level 0, [Improve Concentration] would increase his concentration by around ten per cent. Jack felt giddy as he opened his class screen to confirm the new skill. [Class Screen-Internal View] Class: Novice Time Mage (0) Compatibility: 82% Novice Secondary Skills —Create Water (0) —Cleansing (0) —Remove Creases (0) —Improve Concentration (0)"Yes!" Jack clenched his fist in celebration.

"That's weeks of work achieved in under two hours." He scratched his chin in thought. Will this have a negative impact on my understanding of magic? It was a good question. Since mages had to spend weeks trying to understand the fundamentals behind a low-level skill, he was skipping that process by registering a new skill without understanding it. It had been discovered that the power of the core mage skills like [Shield], [Reflect], [Foresight], and [Chronos Touch] varied between different mages.

A level 1 [Shield] of a prodigy mage who truly understood the principles behind the [Shield] skill could be twice as powerful as a level 1 [Shield] of an incompetent mage who levelled through use, but never studied the skill. This difference in power increased with levels. A level 5 [Shield] of different mages could vary by over a factor of ten. Jack shook his head.

"As long as I also study hard, I'll keep up with other mages." He looked at the time.

"Half-nine… I can do one more before bed." With a smile, he grabbed a blank scroll, activated [Inscribe Spell] and began crafting an [Improve Memory] spell scroll. As he inscribed the [Improve Memory] spell scroll, his pseudo [Cross-Reference] skill highlighted another novice-level mage skill, [Share Memories]. The skill, when paired with [Improve Memory], allowed the mage to transfer small fragments of memories to another person.

"Interesting." Jack considered the applications for the skill.

"Could I teach others the things I've understood?" His first thought was passing on knowledge to those he cared about, but his kind, thoughtful expression soon morphed into a wicked grin when he realised he could pull a prank on Polly.

"I can give her scary memories." He chuckled.

"No. That's too cruel." For just a moment, he'd considered transferring the memories of the large bug crawling across his face as he hid beside a warm corpse. He shook his head.

"If I learn the skill, I won't use it for evil purposes… Probably." Adding [Share Memories] to the list of skills to learn, he chuckled again, imagining his sister's reaction. He couldn't help but smile as ink and paper met, and the complex runes of the [Improve Memory] skill began to take form. I'm so glad I still get to use my scribe skill s. A feeling of joy swept over him as he became one with the pen. Just under two hours later, the skill scroll was complete.

Jack sighed as he admired the [Improve Memory] skill scroll.

"It's a shame there isn't a market for these." He put the skill scroll to the side and willed the [Improve Memory] skill into his right hand. He smiled as he felt the now familiar drain on his mana, followed by a system notification.

"What the hell!" Jack was in shock as he read the message. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. [System Message-Internal View] [Novice Time Mage Class Levelled] [Novice Time Mage (1)] He shook his head in disbelief.

"That's not possible." He'd been a Novice Time Mage for only two days and had only cast a handful of skills. It should've taken him around twelve days to gain his first level. And that assumed he studied and practised every day. The first level was always the fastest, but afterwards it became slower. The next level should take around three and a half weeks, and the one after that over five weeks. Jack opened his class screen.

[Class Screen-Internal View] Class: Novice Time Mage (1) Compatibility: 82% Novice Secondary Skills —Improve Concentration (0) —Improve Memory (0) He smiled, despite being in shock.

"The skill registered, and I gained a class level. How?" Jack spent the next few minutes considering all the variables before making a hypothesis.

"I registered five new novice-level skills today. For most mages, that would take anywhere from a few months to years." The speed of registering a skill was down to the mage's understanding of magic.

"It must mean registering five new skills and little else was worth around twelve days' worth of practice." He grabbed his notebook and did some quick calculations based on the assumption that understanding five mage skills was worth twelve days of study.

"If I spend ten hours a day registering new skills, then levelling speed will be twelve times faster than normal." He put the calculation for the first ten levels on paper. Mage Levels 1 to 10: Assuming 5 Skills a Day Level | Normal | Cheat Level 1: 12 days = 1 day Level 2: 24 days = 2 days (3 days total) Level 3: 36 days = 3 days (6 days) … Level 10: 119 days = 10 days (55 days) Only 55 days to reach level 10… WOW!

"That's ridiculous!" Jack's hands trembled at the implications.

"Only fifty-five days." He tapped his finger on the notepad. How long for level 25? It was well documented that the difficulty on each new mage level increased according to a complex formula: (((Previous Levels Adjustment Factor + 0. 08) x Level) x 15) + (Level / 2) To go from level 9 to level 10, for example, it would take ((0. 72 + 0. 08) x 10) x 15) + (10 / 2) = 17 weeks. To go from level 10 to level 11 would be ((0. 8 + 0. 08) x 11) x 15) + (11 / 2) = 18. 7 weeks.

In the case of reaching level 10, this would be added to the previous time taken to reach level 9, which was 76. 5 weeks, taking the total to 93. 5 weeks, or 1. 79 years. Add 16 years to estimate the age of an average Novice Mage to reach level 10. 17. 79 years of age. If his earlier assumptions were correct, that five registered spell scrolls would be worth twelve days' worth of studying magic. He'd only need to register ten skills to reach Novice Mage, Level 2.

In effect, his levelling speed would be twelve times faster than average if he inscribed five new spell scrolls a day. Jack extended the list to include levels 11 to 25, again assuming he did nothing all day but understand and inscribe spell scrolls for hundreds of mage skills. In reality, he wouldn't be able to spend twelve or thirteen hours a day just inscribing spell scrolls. Unlike his first life, this time he had a good life to live and protect.

Level 11: 131 days = 11 days (66 days) Level 12: 143 days = 12 days (78 days) … Level 25: 298 days = 25 days (325 days) Only 32 5 days to reach level 25… DOUBLE WOW! Jack paced the room. I could become an Apprentice Mage in under a year. This, of course, assumed his twelve-day assumption was correct.

"Fuck!" He continued to pace the room.

"How has no one else figured this… shortcut out?" There was no reason why this wouldn't work for others.

"Ah." He sat back down.

"You have to be an Apprentice Scribe with the [Inscribe Spell] skill before choosing Novice Mage. No wonder." That would mean studying as a scribe for around seventeen years before taking a Novice Mage class. Other than the long-lived races like elves, it was unlikely for a human to go that route, so no human had figured it out before now. Or if they had, the knowledge wasn't spread to the general public. Jack calmed down and looked over his calculations.

"I'll get another class level in around… two days if I understand and inscribe five new skills a day." He grabbed a blank scroll to inscribe another spell before remembering the time.

"It's gone midnight." Jack looked at his scribe supplies.

"No. It can wait. I'm not missing my walk with Dad." He destroyed his notes and calculations, having already memorised them via [Perfect Recall]. Jack lay in bed and realised a problem. If I'm scanned by an inquisitor again, they'll see my mage level. He spent the next half hour tossing and turning, trying to find a solution before it hit. He remembered seeing a few skills that allowed the mage to modify and even fake their skill screen.

He didn't know if they'd work with the Inquisition, but he put learning them next on the top of his list of priorities. With the blood mage pin, perhaps I'm worrying about nothing. As long as he wore the pin, the Inquisition should leave him alone.