Chapter 6: Cultivating the Lesser Fireball Spell

Chapter 6: Practicing the Lesser Fireball Technique

With fifty silver coins in hand, Li Wei spent them all without a second thought to purchase five incense sticks of soul-soothing fragrance.

Five sticks of soul-soothing incense were enough to sustain his cultivation twenty-five times.

Returning to his dormitory in the Mage Tower, Li Wei could not wait to light a stick of soul-soothing incense and begin his meditation.

Inhaling the faint, calming scent, it took Li Wei a mere two or three minutes to enter a state of deep meditative focus.

Nearly half a month had passed since he first manifested mana; his mental energy had grown considerably, extending his training session to fifty minutes each time.

In less than an hour, the meditation drew to a close.

Opening his eyes, Li Wei watched as two lines of text materialized upon the floor.

[Basic Meditation Method (Proficient)] 198/1000

[Lesser Fireball Technique (Tier 0 Initiate)] 0/1000

Sensing the swelling mana within his body, a restless curiosity seized him, prompting an urge to attempt casting a spell.

Recalling the spell model etched in his mind, he began to use his mana to construct it, just as his instructor had taught.

Once the spell model was complete, the magical elements of the world would automatically fill it, thereby unleashing the magic.

Construct, fill, and fire.

None of these three steps could be omitted.

On his first attempt to manipulate mana and construct the spell model, Li Wei found the task exceedingly arduous.

His mana resembled a handful of scattered quicksand; on one hand, he had to guide its flow along a specific trajectory to form the spell model.

On the other hand, he had to restrain the mana, preventing it from dispersing and losing its shape.

He felt like a mason attempting to build a house out of dry sand, utterly at a loss.

After trying for a brief moment, Li Wei gave up.

The following morning, a fully refreshed Li Wei prepared to begin his meditation practice.

Yet, remembering his failure to cast the Lesser Fireball Technique the night before, he felt a stubborn reluctance and decided to try again.

The instructor had noted in class that while mana was the foundation of spellcasting, mental energy was equally crucial.

Should one's mental energy be depleted, magic could likewise not be unleashed.

Right now, his mental energy was at its peak.

If he could not manage it even now, it would prove that his mana was indeed still too weak, requiring continued, diligent cultivation.

The moment he began to manipulate the mana within his body, Li Wei instantly felt a difference.

Yesterday's mana had been like scattered quicksand, refusing to obey commands.

Today's mana felt like sand mixed with water; though his control remained crude, it could now form a specific structure and shape a rough spell model.

Taking over ten minutes, the spell model for the Lesser Fireball Technique was finally complete.

Li Wei's mana was also entirely drained.

The fire elements of heaven and earth rushed into the spell model automatically, and a spark of fire gradually kindled.

Just as Li Wei thought the spark would grow into a fireball, a soft pop echoed; the spell model collapsed, and the spell failed.

The spell model was simply too crude to withstand the rapid influx of fire elements, leading to its destruction.

Despite the failure, Li Wei was overjoyed.

[Lesser Fireball Technique (Tier 0 Initiate)] 1/1000

This was a breakthrough from zero to one!

Following the failure, he reflected and summarized.

"Mana is like uncontrollable quicksand, and mental energy is the water within the sand. Water binds the sand, making it easier to construct and shape. Is this why spells cannot be cast when mental energy is depleted?"

"Let me think further!"

Li Wei tapped his forehead, lowering his head in deep thought.

"The spell model, mana, and mental energy?"

"The essence of casting a spell is no different from building a house. The spell model is the blueprint, the mana is the brick, and the mental energy is the mortar."

"Meditation increases mana, constantly altering its nature to make it easier to construct spell models."

"With sand, one can only build a toy sandcastle; only with stone and brick can one build a true house—a powerful spell model."

"Meditation practice is absolutely indispensable!"

"If one's mental energy is strong enough, a complete spell model can be built even if the mana is weak."

"It is just like mixing mortar with sand to build a house; the only difference lies in the quality."

Li Wei now more or less understood the path he needed to take. Meditation practice would enhance his mana, turning "sand" into "stone," "brick," or even "steel rebar."

Strengthening his mental energy would turn the "water" binding the sand into "glue" or "cement."

This would allow his mana to construct more powerful and complex spell models.

"Oh no! I'm late again!"

Li Wei suddenly snapped back to reality, hurriedly grabbing his textbook and running toward the classroom.

Arriving late, he endured a brief scolding from the teacher before returning to his seat.

The instructor continued the lecture.

"As a mage, the most important trait is composure. Only with a stable mind can you steadily construct a spell model and release magic..."

"In your daily practice, you can try incorporating soul-soothing incense into your spell training. It possesses the effect of stabilizing one's emotions..."

"A true mage must possess powerful psychological resilience, capable of remaining calm under various perilous circumstances to steadily cast spells..."

"For a mage, the most vital aspect is stable casting!"

"A Tier 1 spell that works only half the time can never match a Tier 0 spell that can be cast with absolute stability!"

"Stable casting?" Li Wei pondered carefully.

After practicing the Lesser Fireball Technique once, Li Wei's greatest realization was that his casting speed was far too slow!

In actual combat, it was impossible to have over ten minutes to unleash magic.

Never mind ten minutes; even a few minutes would be too long, as victory or defeat is often decided within seconds.

Stable casting did not mean a hundred percent casting success rate; it meant a hundred percent casting success rate within a specified timeframe.

The requirement for an apprentice mage was to unleash a Tier 0 spell within ten seconds.

Over the next few days, Li Wei meditated in the morning. In the evenings, he would practice spells first, and then meditate once his mana was depleted.

He discovered that meditating after completely draining his mana yielded far better results.

Meditation practice increased his maximum mana capacity.

Once his mana was exhausted, meditation would prioritize restoring it.

In a meditative state, mana recovered swiftly. Even after reaching its maximum, the rapid recovery persisted briefly, allowing mana to accumulate faster rather than slowing down due to the need to replenish expended energy—progress accelerated instead.

This was an unexpected delight.

The only drawback? Cultivation had become significantly more expensive.

Previously, one calming incense stick lasted five sessions; now, it burned out after just four.

[Basic Meditation (Mastered)] 218/1000

[Minor Fireball (Zero-tier Initiate)] 2/1000

Staring at the Minor Fireball progress, Li Wei frowned.

Each practice drained his entire mana reserve. Even with immediate meditation to restore it, he could manage no more than three or four sessions per day.

At this rate, advancement would take forever.

"One whole year to master a single zero-tier spell?"

Li Wei scratched his head.

He'd once believed that manifesting mana meant becoming a true mage was within reach.

He hadn't expected learning spells to be the real obstacle.

A sudden spark of inspiration struck him—the "magic potions" his teacher had once mentioned.

Potions that accelerated mana recovery.

More practices per day. More efficient training.

The only cost? Money.

Four days passed in the blink of an eye, bringing the second week of October.

The Starfire Literary Society announced new plans: from today onward, their novel *Dragon Knight* would be released in individual weekly installments.

The moment the news broke, ravenous readers rushed to buy copies.

On its first day alone, sales surpassed the total monthly revenue of last month’s Starfire Anthology.

Gus was ecstatic.

During class, Li Wei noticed classmates secretly passing around copies of *Dragon Knight*, and his heart swelled with anticipation—for next month's royalty payment.

(End of Chapter)