Viren POV
Saturday Morning
I woke up and went through my usual morning routine.
Today, I decided not to take a mission. Instead, I chose to focus on magic. Soon, I planned to create my own spell. Although it would be difficult, the complexity was reduced by the fact that it would be based on an already existing spell, making the task far more manageable. Creating the formula would still require a significant amount of time, but in the end, it would provide an incredible increase in my combat strength.
For a mage, two things are of decisive importance:
1. Individuality of Magic
Every spell can eventually be countered. Given enough knowledge and preparation, someone can create the perfect pattern or spell to oppose it.
For example, my Earth Spikes emerge from one direction. With sufficient skill, an opponent can predict them, parry them, or block them with another spell.
2. Adaptability
Even unique magic can be countered if enough information is gathered. Talented mages are capable of applying their spells in unconventional ways or even altering formulas on the fly. However, below Rank 4, such feats are practically impossible. Even then, they require exceptional knowledge and understanding of both the element and the spell formula itself.
In my case, however, the increase in strength would come from a different reason.
Regardless, unlike dedicated battle mages, magic was merely support for my swordsmanship.
That could wait. For now, I was studying basic Rank 1 wind spells. One was a movement spell, the other an offensive spell. For offense, I chose the most common option: Wind Blade.
Wind Blade ★1
Rating (1–5)
Creates a blade-shaped stream of wind approximately ten centimeters long.
Damage: 3.5
Speed: 4
Area of Effect: 2
Mana Cost: 5
Cast Time: 0.8 seconds
Despite having higher ratings than Stone Hail in most categories, it was slightly weaker overall due to how much easier it was to block.
The movement spell was Wind Burst.
Wind Burst
Creates a surge of wind that propels the caster four meters in a chosen direction.
Cast Time: 0.5 seconds
It was a decent spell, though its movement was vector-based, and improper use could easily cause a loss of balance. Pure mages required extensive practice to use it effectively. Fortunately, battle mages and sword mages generally possessed enough physical ability to maintain their footing. The mana cost was also significant.
Still, for a pure mage, losing position and allowing an enemy to close the distance was often equivalent to death.
For now, I still needed to study the theory of wind magic in order to understand the element on a fundamental level. At least enough to create a Rank 1 spell.
In the end, magic in this world was a science.
No different from physics or chemistry.
Theory was simply too important.
The next eight hours were spent buried in books.
It was boring, but I had already grown accustomed to it. More than that, I had begun to derive a strange sense of satisfaction from studying.
The feeling of becoming stronger outweighed all the suffering brought by training and research.
Hah.
I really was changing.
That evening, I decided to train.
Magic was important, but neglecting physical training and swordsmanship would be foolish.
The training hall was enormous. As usual, it was filled with first-year students.
To prevent conflicts and bullying, each year had its own training facility, and students from different years rarely crossed paths. At this stage, every year represented a tremendous difference in strength.
I was a perfect example of that.
Of course, I had effectively stolen a cheat-level mana cultivation technique and enjoyed excellent conditions. Still, the academy's resources were no worse than those available to me at home. In some aspects, they were even superior.
Only the Imperial Family could truly compare.
The reason was simple: resources that aided training were extremely expensive. Rune Masters were also rare, and very few could create runes outside their own element. Those capable of doing so were geniuses among geniuses.
Naturally, their time and services were extraordinarily expensive, even for nobles.
On the training grounds, I noticed several familiar faces.
Eleris and Cecilia were, as usual, training together.
Jian Lei was practicing techniques alone.
Surprisingly, they completed their missions quite quickly or even didn't take them at all.
After greeting Cecilia, Eleris, and Jian Lei, I declined their offers to spar.
As unfortunate as it was, I simply didn't have the time.
Solo training would be more productive.
After two exhausting hours of practice, I barely managed to make it back to my room.
After washing up and resting for an hour, I returned to studying magic.
Sunday passed in the same way
At the very least, I had mastered the basic wind spells.
Finally, I could begin studying Rank 2 wind magic.
I couldn't help but feel excited.