Chapter 32: Lesser Mastery Level Spell!

Chapter 32 Minor-Level Spell!

Li Wei returned to the mage tower.

A few men and women stood by the tower’s entrance, glancing around restlessly.

Suddenly spotting Li Wei’s figure, they hurried toward him.

“Magister Li Wei…”

Li Wei, seeing them, said nothing—only quickened his pace and dashed straight into the tower.

The group froze in bewilderment.

Noticing they hadn’t followed, Li Wei exhaled in relief.

All the way back, he’d been repeatedly invited with fervent politeness to visit homes as a guest.

How unbearable was that?

He merely wished to be a reclusive scholar, utterly incapable of enduring socializing with strangers.

After barely fending off those encountered on the road, he never expected to find another group lying in wait at the tower gate.

Back home, Li Wei silently resolved: absolutely no leaving for the foreseeable future.

Let this wave of attention pass first.

Even without revealing his true strength, people were already this enthusiastic.

If he ever demonstrated the overwhelming power that crushed Lyle, who knew what chaos might follow?

“Oh, right—the spellbook for Invisibility Armor mustn’t remain on my person. Return it to Orin soon.”

Li Wei could already foresee it: from today onward, Magister Ayl would harass Orin even more relentlessly.

Better to offload this burden quickly.

Under no circumstances should Ayl discover the spellbook had ever reached him.

That afternoon, Li Wei penned a letter to Leina, inviting her to meet again in the narrow alley where they first met.

He wasn’t even sure she’d receive it.

To his surprise, her reply came swiftly.

At dusk, hood drawn and body wrapped in long robes, Li Wei met Leina.

He handed her back the spellbook.

Leina took it, then asked, “You’ve become an apprentice mage?”

Li Wei nodded. “Mm. Just lucky.”

“Congratulations,” she said.

She studied him intently. “When you become a full mage… I want a real fight with you.”

Li Wei stared blankly. “Why do you always want to fight me?”

Leina hesitated, then said, “My master taught me a combat technique designed specifically against mages. But I can’t test it on others. So… I have to pick you.”

Li Wei, hearing this, felt a flicker of curiosity.

After a pause, he said, “Fine. I agree.”

“Good. It’s settled.”

Leina raised her palm. Li Wei, understanding, lifted his right hand and slapped hers—a pact sealed.

Li Wei was genuinely intrigued by Orin’s anti-mage technique.

He hoped to glean insights from it, so that if he ever faced a similar foe, he wouldn’t be helpless.

They parted ways.

As he turned to leave, Li Wei almost asked about Susan—whether she’d returned.

But after a moment’s thought, he let it go. Better not invite trouble.

Since neither he nor Leina had suffered any consequences so far, Susan probably wasn’t in grave danger either.

If it were truly some unspeakable secret, he’d have been silenced long ago.

Returning to the mage tower, Li Wei finally breathed easy.

“Phew… Finally rid myself of that mess.”

“Heh… Orin…”

Truthfully, Li Wei wouldn’t mind if Ayl caused Orin even more headaches.

He held no goodwill toward someone who’d once threatened him.

Before beginning cultivation, Li Wei went up to the third floor—the treasure vault of the mage tower—and donated nine gold coins.

In return, he earned nine contribution points.

Combined with his previous one point, he now had ten—enough to exchange for two vials of basic magical elixir.

Purchasing these two vials nearly emptied his savings.

Now, he had only three silver coins left.

This month, he’d likely survive solely on the free meals from the tower’s dining hall.

In his study, Li Wei gazed at the three vials before him and smiled.

These three elixirs would sustain him through a full month of intensive training.

Thankfully, after mastering the foundational meditation technique, he could now enter a meditative state within a minute—even without using calming incense.

His dependence on the incense had dropped dramatically.

Otherwise, the daily cost of one stick alone would have driven him to despair.

For the following days, Li Wei remained inside the mage tower, cultivating diligently.

Four hours each day were devoted to cultivating magical energy; the rest to practicing spells, studying the curriculum of a mage apprentice, and filling gaps in his knowledge.

Five days later, Li Wei stood within the spell training grounds.

He cast a Minor Fireball.

A small orb of flame formed in his palm. This time, he didn’t release it immediately.

Instead, he focused intently on the fireball, concentrating every shred of his spirit, carefully channeling more magical energy into it.

Gradually, the fireball swelled.

After a moment, he stopped. The fireball had grown to triple its original size—this was the limit.

Any further infusion would shatter the spell’s structural balance, causing immediate detonation.

With a flick of his wrist, the enlarged fireball shot forward, striking a wooden training dummy.

Boom!

An explosion of fire engulfed the dummy, reducing it instantly to countless splinters.

Looking out, not even a splinter of wood the size of a palm could be found.

The wooden dummy had been blown into a myriad of microscopic fragments.

A flicker of joy brushed across Levi's face.

On the ground, the scattered sawdust gradually converged to form letters.

[Basic Meditation (Grandmaster)] 1023/4000

[Lesser Fireball Spell (Rank 0 - Competent)] 16/4000

[Invisible Armor Spell (Rank 0 - Master)] 301/2000

Now that his Lesser Fireball Spell had reached the level of competence, Levi's understanding of the magic had ascended to a higher plane.

He could now govern the very potency of the spell.

By diminishing the consumption of his mana, he could release a weaker ember.

By swelling his mana reserves, he could amplify its destructive force.

Levi recalled the Rank 1 Fireball Spell cast by Mage Al, and a look of deep anticipation filled his eyes.

Perhaps, one day, he could elevate this minor spell to unleash a power comparable to a true Rank 1 incantation.

Leaving the spell training grounds, Levi fell into deep contemplation.

He had already become an Apprentice Mage, which signified that he was now eligible to learn Rank 1 spells.

However, procuring a Rank 1 spell required at least fifty contribution points.

The spell models for Rank 1 magic were vastly more intricate than those of Rank 0; an apprentice usually needed six to eight lessons to commit them fully to memory.

Fifty contributions per lesson meant that most apprentices would expend three to four hundred contribution points just to master a single Rank 1 spell.

Levi pondered whether he should accept a few missions to earn some contribution.

Otherwise, he simply could not afford a Rank 1 spell.

After a moment's thought, he decided against it; currently, he possessed no spare energy to cultivate new magic anyway.

His Lesser Fireball Spell and Invisible Armor Spell had yet to be pushed to their absolute limits.

He was also eager to see what transformations would unfold once the Invisible Armor Spell broke past the level of competence.

Levi intended to review next month's manuscript royalties before deciding whether to take on missions for contribution points later.

Jimmy had mentioned that the Spark Literary Society was expanding its market into other towns, which would likely cause his earnings to skyrocket.

Unwittingly, the month of March slipped away.

Levi had immersed himself in cultivation for a month, oblivious to external affairs, and the storm stirred by his prominence during the apprentice assessment had finally blown over.

The minds of the many nobles in Maple Leaf City were captivated by a new disturbance, leaving them no time to pay heed to Levi.

Sitting in Guze's room, Levi gazed out the window at the new class of apprentice mages returning home from school.

"There do not seem to be many newcomers this year?" Levi remarked.

Guze replied, "Many nobles have sent their descendants to Polar Night City, intending for them to learn how to become Ring Mages instead."

"That duel, because of you, the Maple Leaf City Mage Tower won, yet it also lost."

He let out a poignant sigh.

A moment later, Guze added, "Word has come that the Orc Kingdom on the border is massing its troops, intending to march south to plunder the Kingdom of Machir."

"Maple Leaf City is situated in the northern reaches of the Kingdom of Machir, and it is highly probable we will be swept into the fires of war."