"You must have met Kalot." Akara, who was beside me, couldn't help but interject.
"Yes, he claimed to be Kalot, that's right. Wait, you said 'must have', could there be someone else?" I immediately widened my eyes, looking Incredulous at Kashya.
"That's right." Cain answered on her behalf; he seemed to be holding back with great difficulty.
"Besides him, Old Drunkard has another student named Seattlek, who is also one of 'those three'. Old Drunkard has only ever truly put effort into teaching these two people in her entire life, except for Sharna, of course." Everyone present knew that Kashya had never treated Sharna as a student, but rather as her own Daughter.
"If you had met Seattlek, that would have been dangerous. Looking at your Appearance, I guessed it must have been Kalot. That child still has Propriety." Akara and Cain spoke one after another, making Kashya's old Face turn completely red.
Now, my Gaze towards Kashya also became strange. It must have been the same Gaze Akara and Cain had just now. Her only two treasured students whom she taught with effort both ended up joining the Fallen Alliance. Should I burst into laughter, or would it be better to show a little sympathy?
After officially starting the research, Fara's ubiquitous Figure was rarely seen. The Mage Guild suddenly gained many unfamiliar white-bearded old Sorcerers. Each of them had a scholarly and ethereal Presence, looking like Experts no matter how you looked at them. When they used Teleport, it was truly a scene of numerous Ghostly figures and Demons dancing wildly. Within a few days, the Rogues started spreading rumors that the Mage Guild was haunted, and the children were so scared they didn't dare approach within ten kilometers of the Guild.
Aside from Fara getting busy, everyone else remained quite calm. Cain, as always, busied himself with literary research and writing Notes/Journal; Akara's shop was booming. However, she would occasionally disappear, only returning after a long while, acting Mysterious and nobody knew what she had gone to do. As for Old Drunkard, I don't need to say it, do I? She's one of the two great villains of the Rogues, capable of anything from Drink Alcohol to causing trouble, she's involved in almost every incident that happens.
And so. Under the wear and tear of such ordinary days, a month passed unknowingly.
Not far from the Camp, there was a white Chapel. The first time I practiced my Skills, I borrowed the Key to this place from Akara. Later, Akara never asked for it back, so I just treated this place as my own Private Training Base.
Behind the Church, there was a large empty space. At this moment, I stood silently in the Center of the empty space. With my Eyes closed, I stood like a Statue, not knowing how much Time had passed.
Suddenly, the "Statue" came to life. After a deep breath, I suddenly opened my Eyes wide.
"Firestorm!"
As the simple yet rhythmic chanting Voice sounded, a mass of Chaotic Fire about two meters high, under my control, blazed up from the ground. The high temperature emitted by the flickering Fire Serpent seemed capable of melting even Diamond.
Under normal circumstances, the release form of the Druid's First Tier Elemental Skill, Firestorm, is as follows: first, a mass of Flame ignites on the ground, this mass of Flame spreads forward in irregular straight lines, then randomly splits into 2-3 paths, continuing to spread for a certain Distance before disappearing. The Size, Speed, and spread Distance of the Flame are related to the Skill Level and character Level.
The spread direction of the Flame is irregular; the Spellcaster can only determine a general direction, and how it spreads is beyond their control. It's possible that an Enemy is standing In Front of you, but the Firestorm will inconveniently split away from their feet, or it might hit them directly even from far away.
But at this moment, this mass of Chaotic Fire miraculously stayed beneath my feet. Then, it quickly circled around me with me as the Center. Because the Speed was very fast, it looked as if a ring of Fire had appeared in my Surroundings. This lasted for about three seconds. This ring of Fire finally dimmed and gradually extinguished.
It worked!!
The moment the ring of Fire extinguished, I immediately became overjoyed.
That's right, the first Magic Engraving I discovered in my Soul a few days ago, after continuous Teachings from Three-No Princess, was finally successfully "deciphered" by me. It was the Firestorm I just cast. But after the initial joy, I realized that deciphering it was only the first step.
First, I had to be able to enter the Soul State even while Spellcasting Magic. This would help me carefully observe how the Magic Engraving absorbed Mana: in what sequence, at what absorption Speed, and then how it formed the Magic and released it. Only then could I consider the second step complete. Just achieving this alone almost consumed half a month of my Time.
Once the second step was achieved, the final and most crucial point was to understand how the Magic Engraving formed and released the Magic after absorbing Mana. Based on this step, I could then perform the initial Optimization of the Magic.
The first step of Optimization I devised was to make the irregularly spreading Firestorm extend in a straight line. With the assistance of Soul Magic, this process became unexpectedly simple. I only spent a short two days figuring out the basics. Although I wasn't very Proficient yet, the spread trajectory could Reluctantly be considered a straight line.
So for the second step, I began attempting to control the spread direction of the Flame. This was much more Difficult than the first step. When I first experimented, my idea was to split the Firestorm into two paths and then, under my control, form a "heart" shape. The Result was that at the very beginning, it was crooked and twisted; the heart shape became a square, and at best, a rhombus. It took me over ten days just to roughly form a recognizable "heart" shape.
And that ring of Flame just now was the final Target of the second step. It's also the Move that can unleash the greatest Power from the original Firestorm form. Its characteristic is that it's cast when surrounded, because for some unknown reason, I always seem to get surrounded by Enemies during every Battle (otz).
Having achieved this point, the second step was considered mastered. Next, I Plan to experiment with the third step: accumulating the Power of the Firestorm's Flame without releasing it, and instead attaching it to myself to cause continuous Damage to Enemies. The inspiration for this came from Blizzard's other somewhat awkward work, the Sacrifice Skill of the Demon Hunter in Warcraft. However, achieving this seems much more Difficult than the second step; I still don't have a single Clue about it yet.
As for the fourth step, I already have an Idea/Thought. It's to directly imbue the Chaotic Power of the Firestorm onto a Weapon, just like the Sorceress's Fourth Tier Skill, Enchant. However, the Difficulty seems to be quite a bit higher than the third step. Whether it can be achieved is one question, and whether it will be practical is another.
Of course, as the Enemy's Strength/Power increases, the effectiveness of the First Tier Skill Firestorm is actually diminishing. To truly make a qualitative change to it, the most important thing is to increase its Power, which means High-Level Optimization. For example, compression, or consuming more Mana in exchange for greater Damage. But these are still relatively distant for me, even with Soul Magic. You have to eat your food one bite at a time, and walk your path one step at a time.
I currently can't find a Clue/Idea for the third step concept for Firestorm, so I Plan to put it aside for now and try again when my understanding of Magic is deeper. Next, I Plan to Give it a Try optimizing my second Skill—the Tier 2 Elemental Skills Skill I just discovered and researched a few days ago—Molten Boulder. This Skill is much more practical than Firestorm, and its Power is also greater. In short, if used well, it's quite insidious.
"What, not practicing anymore?"
Little Ghost sat on the Church's Roof, her two fair little feet dangling casually in Mid-air, making one feel parched. Seeing me stop, she couldn't help but ask curiously.
"Yeah, my Mental Power is a bit depleted."
I wiped the Sweat from my forehead and said with Helplessness. Annoying, my Mana is now arguably more than that of a Wizard at Level ten-plus, and I have as many Mana Potions of all sizes on me as I need. But I'm just limited by my Mental Power, especially when using Soul Magic; my Mental Power drains like a waterfall, and my Head starts throbbing faintly after just a short while.
"But you, Little Squirt, are really clingy. It seems Sarah's title of Little Clingy Bug should really be given to you."
I gave Little Ghost a look. She's clearly already familiar with Velas and the others, yet she still idly follows behind my Buttocks all the time, giving me no peace even when I go to the Restroom. Don't girls usually have a lot of heart-to-heart talks?
Regarding my Statement, Little Ghost's explanation was that her Dwelling was hanging around my neck, so naturally, she had to follow closely. But I know that if I were to give the Necklace to Velas and the others, let alone going to the Restroom, I wouldn't even be able to sleep peacefully. This Little Squirt has clearly latched onto me, although this Feeling isn't bad.
"What, what are you saying? Clearly, you're the one clinging to me, right? Clearly, you're the one who said you were afraid of the dark when going to the Restroom, right?" Little Ghost puffed up her rosy cheeks and started being stubborn.
This really is a subtle Gap/Difference. I was immediately confused. When it comes to arguing, I'm nowhere near her Opponent/Rival. I really want to see what kind of Face the guy who trained her to be so sharp-tongued has.
"Yes, yes, yes, I'm afraid of the dark, so I need you to accompany me even when I go to the Restroom." I surrendered helplessly.
"That's right, that's right, just like that! Ride this wave of Presence and swear loudly to the Ocean under the Sunset! Swear to become Her Highness Alice's eternal Servant!" Little Ghost started twitching her nose and puffed out her Chest.
"Alright, I swear to the Ocean, to forever be a slave to Her Highness Alice's Chest." Taking advantage of her smugness, I had already jumped onto the Rooftop and, with a lewd grin, grabbed a handful of her prominent peaks.
"Big Pervert!!"
Little Squirt, both shy and angry, grabbed my hand and bit down hard.
"Ah, bite if you want to bite, but don't bite there, you Little Squirt..."