Chương 20

When I got home I went straight to work. Practicing Mage Armor to try and level it up even more, and all the while I was casting I worked on bringing in more mana, more shifts in the sort of negative charge I'd given my mana. I went through plenty of water, and breaks, but I was super engaged, this was very interesting! But eventually I was called in to stop playing in the back yard, and I ate dinner and went to sleep… With only a few castings while laying in bed.

And so the next morning much improved in the spell and skill I'd learned the day before I went to find El'Tela and once more found her in her breakfast nook. She looked me over, her eyes as always glowing with power, and I had a feeling she was looking a bit deeper than I could understand.

"You have Mage Armor on."

"Yep! I was full of Mana when I woke up, and I was eating breakfast so I figured I should use it, I worked hard on improving my skill with it when I got home."

"Hmm. Show me." I nodded and recast the spell, enjoying the feel of mana still flowing into me while casting and then re-activated the spell.

"You have improved." She offered, and I just grinned. Yep! [Mage Armor Lv 3 18/30] For a spell I could only cast like three times before needing a break I had worked really hard on it!

"I see." She whispered, and then pushed across a piece of paper.

"Learn this spell before I finish my breakfast."

"Ooh!" I took the paper and looked it over. Hmmm! Oh! Oh I know this one! You process Arcane energy through your mind, and it lets your brain run a bit faster! This is Arcane Intellect! I've wanted this spell… Forever! A buff spell! Buffs are life! Finished reading through it and thankfully this was a much easier spell, at least at the start. There were no mana issues here. I just needed to grind it out! So I tried to cast it, flubbed it badly, as the spell fizzled, and tried again, and again.

Hmm, This one was a bit tricky, but… I lowered the mana I was using for the spell even more, and the structure held. [Spell Learned: Arcane Intellect] I breathed a sign of relief looking up and this time she wasn't even finished! El'Tela continued eating her breakfast, so I relaxed, focusing on my spell… +2 Intellect. Not anywhere near what the spell could do, but it was fine for the start. I brought my hands up and cast the spell again feeling it out.

I didn't feel any smarter, but I could tell something had changed, a clarity that you can't notice without it. The lightest hint the spell was working. My Mana had been lightly expanded thanks to it as well, which was good, but I would have to do more. No, I would have to make it more! I cast it again, then again, a grind. I opened my eyes to see El'Tela watching me as she sipped a cup of tea, and there in front of her was a Crystal Decanter.

"Is that for me?"

"It is, I'm curious what you are doing?"

"Learning." I said, as I reached for the yummy water and drank it down, returning myself to an even higher level than I had before. 2 extra Intellect was cool. Then I cast the spell again, and again. Then finally on the tenth time. [Arcane Intellect Lv 2 1/20] I opened my eyes, and I understood, the flow of the Arcane that made up the spell could be enhanced, altered, finding the appropriate flow for yourself was something only the user could do.

I cast the spell again, the last time as El'Tela had finished and then grinned. +3 Intellect? Nice.

"You changed it."

"I improved the flow… Just a little."

"I see… Come. We have work to do."

"Yes!" I agreed and rose up. More spells!? More skills!? We returned to the Glyph room, and she pointed me inside.

"Read the book." She told me, and I was more than happy to listen! More spells? Not more spells. It was a dry book talking about Arcane Meditation, the skill she had taught me, and after flipping back to the cover, it was written by Magistrix El'Tela Arkhana'Shola. I looked up. This was like college teachers making students buy their books, wasn't it? Either way inside the pressure room I sat down cross legged and started reading, quickly figuring out the goal here. It wasn't to read the book.

It was to learn how to cast in a way to push the mana away, train my meditation and read the book. It was… Rough. I ended up casting the weakest Holy Light, just to keep the pressure back, but that was distracting. But I wouldn't give up! Not because I cared what was in the book. I didn't. But because more spells! Gimme gimme! So I kept myself in the bubble fighting off all the different effects, reading the slow boring book that didn't tell me anything I didn't already know.

Or maybe it did, but it was so dry I couldn't tell.

"Come out." She eventually said and I blinked looking up, eyes blurry and realized I'd probably been on the same page for a while. I pulled myself free of the glyph with a groan and flopped on the floor.

"That was hard."

"Hmm? Put the book away and head home. We are done for the day." She said, almost sounding disappointed. Aww. That hurt. I thought I was doing well! —-- Obviously I needed more Arcane Meditation. That was the secret to the Glyph Room, if I could balance out my positive and negative charge, I should be able to remain unbothered by the mana pressure inside. I looked at my current skill with a sigh. [Arcane Meditation Lv 3 4/30] I had actually gained another level up in the glyph, but only level 3?

And it hadn't really helped against the pressure. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. So I had no choice but to sit down and grind…

"Heeeheeeehehe!" I definitely didn't grin and giggle like a loon as I ran around the house preparing for another grind session! Drinks, lots of drinks, I even snuck an entire jug of Lemon Water, just so I could get this done. I headed outside into the Enchanting gathering area, and sat in one of the Glyps. It wasn't anywhere near as good as El'Tela's but if she put me in the Glyph, it was for a reason so I'll keep doing it. Then I sat down cross legged and took a breath. The Mana was stronger here. Good.

"Arcane Intellect." I whispered, casting the spell, letting it flow over me, and another dot pinged upwards, as I focused on gathering Mana while I sat. Between Mage Armor, and Arcane Meditation a chunk of the mana in the air still flowed into me, but it had to be more. More. There was something here, something I was missing about what El'Tela wanted, and so the only choice was to keep grinding.

"Heeheeehehe!" I laughed as I worked. New spells! New skills! A challenge! And the future for even more! —---"Good morning!" I greeted as I came into the breakfast nook, but to my disappointment there was no paper with a spell on it.

"Sit." I was ordered and I slid into a chair as El'Tela ate her breakfast quietly. Realizing she wasn't going to tell me what to do, I shrugged and got back to practicing. Mage Armor was already on, and so was Arcane Intellect, so I quickly started casting the spell again, trying to get to the next rank. Unfortunately before I could, the quiet clink of a spoon on a teacup and I looked up. Breakfast was done.

"Come along." I did just that following her back up to the Glyph chamber, and she once more ordered me inside. Alright! This time I'll definitely figure out whatever trick she is trying to teach me, so I can learn even more spells! I settled in, to read the book that I hadn't finished, once more casting Arcane Intellect, slowly grinding up the ranks, as I drank when needed and continued trying to suck in more mana from the air. A ding rang out in my mind, and I grinned.

[Arcane Intellect Lv 5 1/50] Recasting it once more I let the buff wash over me. +6 Intellect now. I wasn't sure it would be enough to complete whatever task I was in here for, but until then? Just grind. I started casting it again. —-- Once again the day ended and I was told to go home. I was tired, really tired, but it was eating at me that I hadn't succeeded yet! I checked my character sheet, despite trying hard, Arcane Meditation wasn't advancing very quickly.

[Arcane Meditation Lv 4 33/40] Maybe at the next level I would figure it out? There was only one way to find out. I would go, and I would grind! My steps might be heavy as I headed home, but there was nothing but eagerness in my heart! I was getting stronger, and that was always fun. Now if only someone would actually teach me a Fireball spell or something. Oh right, that might not exist. Ice and Fire, Elemental magic was more a human thing. I wonder if we had any elemental spells, or did we focus only on Arcane?

Did we know them and consider them weak so we taught the humans, or only barely know of them and the humans focused on them? I'd have to find out… Could I ask? I realized suddenly that… I hadn't actually just asked. I could totally just… Ask. Questions were things that people might know. Huh. Oh well, maybe tomorrow for now? Let's grind Arcane Intellect! More mana, more problems! Well… Less problems! Yeah that song didn't fit. —---"So…

I'm trying to improve my Arcane meditation and stuff, and my Arcane Intellect, thank you for teaching me that by the way, but… Am I supposed to be something that I'm just missing?" I asked El'Tela after another quiet breakfast as I followed her up to the Glyph room.

"Hmm… You are very slow."

"What?"

"It usually only takes a single session before my students are demanding answers from me. Interesting you are more patient than I expected… Is it because you are even younger? Perhaps I should have taught children if this is the amount of effort I get from them." She seemed to muse to herself as we entered the room and I just followed not sure what else to say.

"I don't know?"

"What do you think you are doing?"

"Practicing Arcane Meditation? The Glyph is so full of Mana it's much easier to feel when I am gathering more, so it makes it easier to figure out how to improve… And I'm practicing arcane Intellect."

"An acceptable answer.. You are meant to improve your Arcane Meditation, and I am seeing improvement from you. You practice outside." I waited a moment before realizing that was meant as a question? Maybe?

"Yeah. I mean… It's fun. Learning magic is great. So I've got all these cool new spells to learn, and Arcane Intellect gives me more mana, so I can cast more spells, which means I can learn even more. So I practice them both."

"Hmm."

"Hmm?" I repeated, but she ignored me.

"Enter the Glyph and continue. I spoiled you with new spells, but they were necessary. Now you put in the work to have earned them."

"Cool." I agreed instantly. As long as that was what I was doing, and not like being judged for missing something obvious. Grinding a skill to mastery was absolutely something I could do! I skipped into the Glyph wincing a bit at the pressure as I entered and then took a spot. Taking the book and settling in. The book was sooo dry. But there were a few segments that talked about Arcane Meditation and how it was developed and improved. I could use that. —-- I ran into an issue.

Arcane Intellect was getting more expensive, so it wasn't a very efficient grind… So I switched. I had a few other spells, I could still grind out. First while at home. I worked on Create Tiny Fire. The fact El'Tela had given me spells was known to Mama and Papa, and my excuse of "I need to practice to impress El'Tela had given me enough leeway. [Create Tiny Fire Lv 4 33/40] There was only one path towards Pyromancy. Thankfully it was a very energy efficient spell.

As I practiced I kept a bowl of water I could dunk my hand into in case it got too hot, but the real advancement came from some old leather that I wrapped around my finger. This spell wasn't designed well. Or rather it was designed for exactly what it was meant for. Small fire into sticks and tinder to start a camp fire without time. The problem was, whoever designed it had the fire shoot out of your finger.

Which was not heat resistant, but thankfully it was designed by someone in the wilderness and gloves were part of that. While the flame came out of my finger it would pass through a glove reducing the heat. With a bit of water, and time. Boom. Flamey grind without burnt fingies! An afternoon of that and I once more completed a spell. [Create Tiny Fire Lv 10 Spell Mastered] [Mastery Benefit +5 Intellect] Which was very nice. Looking at my stats, there was a massive increase in my casting stuff.

Alah'Dorah High Elf Level 3 [10/300 XP] Strength 19 +5 Agility 18 +1 Stamina 20 +2 Intellect 11 +52 Spirit 12 +7 52 additional Intellect was a big jump, now, I just needed to keep the grind going. Arcane Intellect was starting to be a mana hog. I did have… Those spells. The spells that I was carefully not using much of, cause I'd almost gotten in massive trouble. Lock, and Unlock. It… Well it was my own fault.

One should not lock multiple things leveling up your spell and then locking something at a higher tier than you could unlock… Thankfully I'd only done it once, and the drawer in my nightstand wasn't used for anything, so Mama hadn't noticed. I dreaded the idea if I had cast it on my door like I had been practicing with first. Ugh. Fine. I'll just find something to grind through this until I can unlock the stupid drawer, and just make sure my Unlock was always higher than my lock spell. I needed the intellect.

—---"You've stopped practicing your Arcane Intellect." I looked up from the book that I'd finished by now, but hell, might as well keep going as El'Tela looked at me.

"Yeah… Oh, umm I haven't given up! It's just I've gotten to the point where it takes so much Mana that improving it has become very difficult! I'm practicing other spells, and trying to improve my Mana first, before I come back to it."

"Hmm. You do not believe it would not be worth it to continue working on it? It is a spell that improves your mana pool."

"Not enough to keep up with the cost. I'd love to keep working on it, but it takes up like… Almost everything I have in me to cast it once."

"You could simply cast it less. Examine more of the spell, perhaps form a written spell structure, examine it, and alter it as you need, find methods to improve that aren't just casting the spell over and over."

"I… I guess I could." I admitted, but my hesitance was noticeable.

"You do improve well with your method, but there are other methods. Fools will tell you a spell is a spell, that you simply must grow into using it better, but we are mages of the Arcane. If a numerical of a spell is nonfunctional, adapt." I blinked…

"Do you have some paper?"

"Of course." I took the paper and quill she flew over and went to work, sketching out the Arcane Intellect spell formula. It was basically the math behind it all. How much variance in each flow of mana that would prompt the spell… I knew spells changed. Every time I've upgraded my spells through level ups, I was basically using them slightly differently. I'd 'learned' how to better use them… But was that entirely accurate? I used more Mana sure, and they got more powerful, but were they actually better?

I'd always assumed so, because that was how it worked in the games, but this wasn't a game, and despite my system… Why couldn't I? I looked at my current Arcane Intellect spell framework, written out in plain ink. That was a spell put onto paper.

"Interesting." El'Tela muttered looking it over.

"You have managed to improve it. Quite well in fact, but the cost of your improvements are vast."

"Yeah I see that." It was… Effective, but not efficient. Power was gained by widening channels, but this… Was that the only way? I don't think so. I've seen lots of spells… Okay I've seen two dozen spells give or take, but not all of them had the same structure. Different people designed their spells differently, and different spells had different tricks. Holy Light was all Power. Which is why it cost so much. There was almost no refinement. Just add more power and get more. But Spell Steal?

Despite being Mana hungry it was also… The lines of power that made up the flow of Mana were smaller, and yet, it was not weaker than Holy Light. The spell instead used a different method to increase power. The Mana through those lines, those veins you could say simply flowed faster. That could cause a longer casting time, needing to create that oomph but Spell Steal was also efficient in a way most of the other spells I had were not. It was nearly instant because it needed to be.

But if I took some of those refinements. If I took the Arcane Intellect spell, and instead of just widening the mana channels, I instead increased the pressure, the flow rate? I brought my hands up and started casting, It was hard. I knew how to downgrade a spell instinctively, but altering a spell just out of nowhere wasn't easy, especially since I'd already gotten used to practicing the spell without it, but…

The mana flowed, and the spell rumbled to life, it sputtered and I had to adjust the amount of Mana flowing but after a few false starts, I tried again. Arcane Intellect at the 6th level flowed out. Less Mana, half the mana in fact. It retained the buff giving me the same +7 Intellect, but instantly I noticed the problem. The Buff was weakening faster, the arcane spell that flowed around my head was already started to disassemble itself. Probably five minutes max, instead of thirty or more…

"Heeheehhehehe!!" I giggled, losing control of myself because that wasn't all. [Skill Learned: Spell Refinement] Oh. This had potential.