"Thank you, teacher," said Saleen with a heart full of joy as he picked up the money bags and returned to his room. He had put the money bags and Qin Empire bank deposit notes into his box which still contained the outdated collection slips, documents and his family badge. Saleen stuffed the money into the box, but felt that it was not right, so he took it out again, unsure of where to place it.
After wavering for a short while, Saleen felt that he was being a little ridiculous. What thief would dare sneak into the house with Jason around?
Recollecting how his teacher had, at the City Guard Department, release one spell after another without chanting, Saleen felt his excitement mounting. If he could do the same, no one would dare to bully him!
Magic was the only principle in this world. Those who had the magic ability were above the law.
At the thought of this, Saleen could not sit still. He put the money on the bed and went to the room with the magic books.
Looking at the rows of bookshelves in the room, Saleen was impatient to read each and every book. He walked to the back and stood before the shelf displaying the Grade 0 magic books.
Grade 0 magic was the largest shelf, yet it did not have the largest number of spells. It had less than Grade 1 magic had. Despite this, there were four books to "Principles of Grade 0 Magic" and each was extremely thick.
Saleen took a book and sat himself down. He leaned against the shelf, and began reading.
Reading Magic, Illumination Magic, Burning Magic, Detection Magic, Poison Detection, Invisible Shield...
Reading on, Saleen was a little overwhelmed. He realized that, without the support of a theoretical system, he did not know how to choose what to learn. As he leaned on the bookshelves in a daze, Saleen felt out of control. Even if one were eager to increase one's strength, one should not be overly ambitious. The teacher had asked that he conduct his learning in order. If he had skipped the foundation, it may cause unknown issues in future.
At this thought, Saleen placed the "Principles of Grade 0 Magic" back onto the bookshelf, returned to the beginning and started to gather the basic knowledge of magic in a systematic manner.
Magic is categorized into six types, but in practical terms, when learning magic, most conduct the learning according to the uses. The six types included the Attack Series, Protection Series, Therapy Series, Alchemy Series, Potions Series and one other. In addition to the six types, there was also the Summon Series, which was not a popular form of magic. It had originated in recent times, no more than 10,000 years ago. However, it declined some 5,000 years ago. The deployment of each magic spell had three stages - the preparatory stage, completion stage and release stage.
The preparatory stage referred to the chanting of spells, use of gestures, pooling of elements, and resonance of magic - all of which required the mage's use of his mental power to control. With practice, the mage could shorten the time needed to prepare the magic by chanting silently and omitting the hand gestures.
The completion stage referred to the spell being formed and ready for deployment. This stage could be extended. The mage could keep the ready spell on standby, while preparing for the second spell to achieve the effect of an intensive attack. For example, after the mage had prepared a fireball spell, he could choose not to deploy it while preparing a second fireball spell. When the second fireball spell was ready, he could deploy both at the same time. This skill was known as Double Release, and was a method commonly used by mages to magnify their attack.
Similarly, the Double Release would require the mage to have powerful mental power. Without strong control, the mage could cause severe harm to himself should the elements emerge in a disorderly manner.
The release stage was about more than just the deployment of a prepared spell. This stage comprised the locking in of the target, the final cutting of the elements, and time control.
These three parts all relied on mental power for completion, with locking in on the target being the most basic ability. If a mage did not have tracking ability, there would be no distinction between him and an archer. The final cutting of the elements was the key to expending the spell. Without this ability, the mage's expenditure would always be at the maximum. Lacking good control, a Grade 1 mage could use up his magic chords by simply releasing two Grade 1 spells instead of 12 ordinarily.
Time control referred to the continuous control used while the magic was being released, allowing the magic to complete its release at the most appropriate time. This skill was also known as Grade 2 Execution. Senior mages were skilled in the use of Grade 2 Execution to control the momentum of the battle. Similarly, Grade 2 Execution was also used in the making of the magical scroll and alchemy.
The mastering of these abilities would be the absolute minimum for one to be a qualified mage.
Saleen also understood that the values of the basic attributes of each spell were not fixed.
Execution time, execution distance, and energy units were three variable components. The execution time of the spell was not measured in seconds, but in frames. Each frame was equivalent to 1/60 of a second.
Instant execution was not of zero frame speed but of two frames. While it was commonly said that magic was instantaneous, it basically meant that it took two frames for the three stages to be completed — preparatory, completion and release — which was 2/60ths of a second. No matter how powerful the mage, he could not compress this time further.
The cause of the zero frame illusion was the Double Release. That is, the mage would not release the spell after it had been completed, but stored it for release at the same time as the second spell. Basically, the post-completion release stage of this spell took place concurrently with that of the release of the second spell. This required the mage to have resilient mental power.
Such a skill was considered High Order Control, which was a very dangerous action.
Saleen read on, and realised that he was indeed ignorant to have thought that magic was merely a powerful means of attack. He had never imagined that the basic knowledge of magic would be so complicated. If he did not put in the effort to learn well, his future progress would be unusually problematic.
Without this basic knowledge, not only will the ability of the mage be confined, but he would also not be able to judge the ability of others.
One would not be able to determine whether the numerical value for the execution time should be at minimum or maximum, the numerical conversion between the execution distance and power of attack, the relationship between energy units and cutting of elements, and so on...
Senior mages could make the calculations instantly to determine the effect of their release of magic rather than to leave things to fate.
Control! The power of magic depended on control!
Saleen patiently read on, and began to acquire mathematical knowledge, such as how to calculate these magic formulae. This mathematical knowledge was critical to the creation of the Magic Array.
In a flash, another three months had passed. Saleen, beside taking his meals and relieving himself, had almost not stepped out of the room. As he carried on, he started to feel depressed. His intellect and mental strength were perfect, but his affinity to elements was lacking. If his affinity to elements were just of a normal standard, it would have been sufficient for him to be an outstanding mage.
It was obvious that where affinity to elements was concerned, he was useless. This made it very difficult for him to form magic strings. Without magic strings, all this was like castles in the air.
A year passed, and Saleen was only of Grade 1 apprentice standard, with the ability of a Grade 2 apprentice. He had learned five Grade 0 types of magic, namely Reading Magic, Poison Detection, Acid Sputtering, Flame Combustion and Blending of Elements. He had mastered the Method of Meditation, and through meditation, he could quickly restore the loss of magical elements.
The reason for this result was because the amount of magical elements being deposited in Saleen's body was too small. Even if he were to rely on self-healing, without doing anything, he would need 10 minutes.
What was the use of having three Grade 0 types of magic? Nothing could be achieved. As opposed to using the magic during battle, it would be more beneficial to give Saleen a knife instead. At the very least, after a year of being nursed back to health, Saleen's body was much healthier. Although he still looked thin and weak, his power had, in fact, increased.
As the food delivered by the red-headed swordsman previously was finished off, Saleen had to go into the city again. Now, he no longer harboured the ridiculous thoughts he had half year ago of exquisite clothes, trendy hairstyles, and nice horse carriages. Such things were all so stupid and ridiculous where mages were concerned. Knowledge was the only thing mages relied on.
Wearing the comical-looking robe and the black boots that Jason had bought for him, Saleen greeted Jason before leaving the ancestral house. Jason had given him two bags of gold coins, totalling 100 pieces, as well as a list of items to buy. Mages' experiments required large quantities of low-grade materials, and Jason's laboratory was perpetually operating. His basic materials had almost been exhausted within the year.
Ceylon City was a port city where items from overseas could be ordered. It took only a week to receive the goods. This was why Jason chose to remain here, in a relatively remote place where one could still buy the necessities. Entering Ceylon City again, this dilapidated city had looked completely different in Saleen's eyes. Having spotted Saleen on the road from afar, the soldiers guarding the city hastened to straighten up.
The soldiers at the city gate were affiliated with the House of the Lord, and were not linked to the City Guard Department.
The two soldiers' expressions were a mix of wariness, envy, jealousy and fear; they immediately put on fawning smiles.
"Master Metatrin, good morning!"
Saleen nodded, not knowing how to reply. Honestly, soldiers from the House of the Lord were much better than those from the City Guard Department. In the past, when he had visited the city, they would not make things difficult for him. He was like a mass of air with no scent. As long as he did not ask for it, no one would notice him.
Master Metatrin? If it were half a year ago, Saleen would probably be pleased. After the incident with the City Guard Department, Saleen had become more mature and understood that these people had feared his teacher, a Grade 5 mage who would make their heads explode.
Saleen followed the sunshine, and walked along the road leading to the pier. There was a long street in front of the pier, lined with all kinds of shops. Ceylon City's only equipment store was situated here. As Saleen entered the store, he nearly collided with a youth.
The youth opposite Saleen was about the same age as him. He seemed to have gotten a fright and almost fell, but caught himself in time. Although Saleen was just an apprentice of magic, his mental power was comparable to that of a real mage. With keen perception, he realized that the youth's hand was touching his money bag.
It was a well-concealed hand. Saleen was amused; it must have been his unlucky year for him to have bumped into a thief the moment he was out.
He gently pushed the hand, and a flash of fire pressed onto the juvenile's hand. The youth felt a sharp pain on the back of his hand, as though he were scalded by a hot rod. He was stunned and gave a sudden shout, "Is that you, Saleen?"