Chapter Thirty-Six: Simulation

“But now that you can make potions, you won’t have to worry about magic stones anymore.” Billy sounded a bit envious of Hughes. Even with his family’s support, the resources would never be solely his; he could only claim a small portion in the end.

“When I reach Second Level Apprentice, how about we do some missions together?” Billy looked at Hughes expectantly.

“Sure!” Hughes agreed without hesitation.

“Really?” Billy’s surprise and joy were evident at Hughes’s answer.

After chatting idly with Billy for a while longer, Hughes bid him farewell and left.

Teaming up with Billy to do missions was something Hughes had considered. It would be a way to sell his potions under the guise of his alchemist status. If he gave all the potions he brewed to Lindsay alone, it was bound to draw suspicion. He needed an alternative plan.

Hughes quickly returned to his dormitory, changed out of his gray robe, and donned the black one he’d just acquired. Placing his bag of magic stones on the table, he saw that half of them were already gone. Hughes felt wise for his choice—fortunately, he’d taken up alchemy. Otherwise, what could he rely on to earn magic stones for spell templates? Brewing a potion once was far easier than risking his life on missions.

After a bit of tidying up, Hughes sat in his chair, holding the two spell templates he’d purchased. The books felt substantial in his hands, adorned with intricate designs. At the center of one was a lightning symbol, the other a snowflake; both covers felt cool to the touch.

“Slakarcu—open!” Hughes recited the activation incantation in Arlenian for both spell templates.

As the syllables left his lips, the books slowly floated into the air. The symbols on their covers began to glow, light spreading into the surrounding patterns, illuminating lines that coiled around the volumes.

The books opened of their own accord, pages fluttering one by one though there was no wind.

“Chip! Start scanning and recording!” Seeing the spectacle, Hughes hastily commanded the chip to record everything.

“Beep! Recording in progress!”

“Beep! Recording complete!”

After about five minutes, Hughes heard the chip’s alert and promptly closed the two hovering books. As the covers shut, he saw the spell template inscriptions within slowly fading away. Opening them again, he found only blank pages.

“That was close!” Hughes was relieved he had the chip; otherwise, twenty magic stones would have been squandered.

“I might be the first to open two spell templates at once,” Hughes joked to himself.

“Chip! Analyze and simulate the spell templates!”

“Beep! Task established! Estimated analysis and simulation time: three days, four hours, and seventeen minutes!”

“Three days isn’t bad,” Hughes remarked, satisfied with the chip’s projection.

Constructing a spell template was a complicated process. Unlike mental rune construction, any error in a spell template could damage his spiritual strength, requiring at least half a month’s rest to recover.

Spellcasting was a complex transformation, and even the most basic zero-level spells were far more destructive than anything Hughes could do by manipulating elemental energy alone. Usually, it took three to six months of practice to master a single zero-level spell template, with constant correction through repeated drills. But with the chip, Hughes’s time and risk were greatly reduced.

He sighed. For the first time, Hughes truly felt the difficulty of the wizard’s path. Without the chip, even the greatest talent would have to invest a tremendous amount of time and effort.

He also worried about his future direction. Lightning-element spells were exceedingly rare in the entire Shadow Ring; he’d seen only a handful. There were more ice-element spells, but the scarcity of lightning spells troubled him, though he was reluctant to give up their formidable offensive power.

“Well, one step at a time. Just because there aren’t any lightning spells here doesn’t mean there aren’t any elsewhere.” Hughes rubbed his temples, putting the matter aside for now.

He put away the two books, now empty of their spell template scripts, and returned to his alchemy station, intent on brewing more potions. The half-year mark was approaching, and he had to prepare for the assignment the academy would soon issue him, even though its nature was unknown.

In the days that followed, Hughes remained in his room brewing potions. Before long, a week had passed, and Wizard Matt had returned.

At dawn, as usual, Hughes went to Wizard Matt’s laboratory on time.

“Good morning, teacher. You’re back!”

“Yes, I’ve returned.” Matt recognized Hughes by his footsteps and, turning to see Hughes in a black robe, looked rather surprised.

“You’ve advanced to Second Level Apprentice?” Matt knew those in charge of registration rarely made mistakes, but he couldn’t resist confirming with Hughes.

“Yes, teacher. I’ve just advanced to Second Level.”

“Excellent. Your spiritual energy is stable too; you must have broken through a while ago.” Matt seemed pleased as he sensed the steadiness in Hughes’s spiritual fluctuations.

“Have you chosen your spell templates?” Matt asked, resuming his experiments.

“I have. Lightning Strike and Ice Spike,” Hughes answered honestly.

“Good choices—especially Lightning Strike. Its effects are quite remarkable, and its power is significant. Among all elemental spell templates, lightning is one of the strongest offensively in the early stages.” Matt nodded approvingly.

“Teacher, why are there so few lightning-element spell templates?”

“Because those with an innate affinity for lightning are extremely rare. In comparison, fire is much more common and widely attuned to.”

“Hence, lightning-element spell templates are scarce. I’ve only met a handful of lightning wizards myself, and the Shadow Ring specializes in shadow and dark sorcery.” Matt explained.

“But you needn’t worry. With your talent, you have a strong chance of becoming a formal wizard. You can use your knowledge and research achievements to exchange for spell templates from other academies. Truly.”

“Would other academies be willing to exchange their spell templates with me?” Hughes asked uncertainly.

“Remember, Hughes: among wizards, if the benefit is sufficient, there’s nothing that can’t be traded!” Matt declared.

“Yes, teacher, I understand!”

“Good. Today, help me extract the sap from the moonflowers,” Matt instructed.

“Yes, teacher!” Hughes promptly began the extraction process.

“Clearly you haven’t neglected your training in alchemy.” Matt was satisfied with Hughes’s deftness in handling the moonflowers.

“I practice brewing in my dorm, so I’m quite familiar with processing ingredients,” Hughes replied modestly.

“You’ve been at the Shadow Ring for nearly six months, haven’t you? At the half-year mark, the academy will assign you a task—it’s mandatory. You haven’t forgotten, have you?”

“No, teacher. I remember,” Hughes replied, though he didn’t understand why Matt brought it up.

“In that case, I’ll speak to a few friends and arrange for your assignment to be within the academy. You won’t have to leave the grounds.” Matt kept his eyes on the beaker in his hand.

Hughes was surprised and grateful; he hadn’t expected Matt to go to such lengths for him. He’d originally thought of using the assignment as a chance to see the world outside, but with Matt’s arrangement, he couldn’t refuse. Besides, staying in the academy was advantageous—everything he needed was available, and it benefited his meditation.

“Really? Thank you, teacher!” Hughes looked at Matt with genuine delight.

“Mm.” Matt, absorbed in his experiments, had little time for further conversation.

Hughes finished processing the moonflowers, and seeing that Matt was still busy, he gave a respectful bow and quietly left the laboratory.