Wizards begin by accessing the Inspiration panel.

Chapter 20 Prelude to the Prelude (Please continue reading)

After returning to the school's headquarters, Richard and Melo first went to the school's security office to report the news of Nicolo's accident.

After the statement was taken, they were no longer responsible for the follow-up matters, which would be handled by a designated person from the security department, including on-site investigation, collection of remains, and notification of family members.

Exhausted, the two agreed to meet again in three days and then returned to their respective dormitories. Before leaving, Meiluo took the heart of the Dead Swamp Crocodile and gave Richard five magic stones as compensation.

The next morning, as dawn broke.

Richard was awakened by the intense soreness in his legs. He finally understood why the incredibly effective Swiftness Potion only cost five magic stones—because the side effect was just too painful.

Moreover, the pain lasted not just one day, but a full three days!

You get what you pay for!

I remember the potion that Senior Meiluo used; it seemed to make the body feel lighter. I can ask her about it next time I see her.

After witnessing Emilia's powerful level-0 magic yesterday, Richard decided he absolutely had to go to the library and choose a suitable level-0 magic spell to study intensively, so as to avoid encountering a situation where he couldn't break through the monster's defenses again!

The library of the Ignis School is located in the center of the teaching area and has a rich collection of books. However, every library has its own borrowing rules, and the Ignis School is no exception.

The library grants different borrowing privileges to students of different levels. A first-level wizard apprentice can borrow a maximum of two books on witchcraft at a time, for a period of one month, at the cost of one magic stone.

In other words, if you borrow two books at once and return them a month later, the fee is two magic stones.

What if I pay it back early?

That also costs two magic stones.

However, general knowledge books such as "A General History of the Continent of Byas", "The Travels of the Bard Oleg", and "A Pictorial Guide to Commonly Used Herbs in Pharmacy" can be borrowed up to five at a time without consuming magic stones.

Despite the aches and pains, Richard limped to the front of a tall, imposing building in the teaching area. It was the library of the Ignis School, its exterior walls made of rare gray stone, giving the entire library an ancient and majestic appearance.

At this time, the library has just opened, and there are very few students.

Richard arrived at the counter, where a hunched old man with gray hair was sitting casually, flipping through a book in his hand.

The old man's exact age was unclear, but his aura was far stronger than Richard's. According to Richard's observation, the other party was likely at the peak of a third-level wizard apprentice, the kind of old student who had not been able to advance to a formal wizard for one or two decades, but who possessed proficiency in multiple levels of wizardry.

Second and third-level wizard apprentices, as the backbone of the school, are not subject to expulsion if they fail to advance within five years.

While there are assessment requirements for second-level wizard apprentices, the school basically has no restrictions on third-level wizard apprentices, giving them time to fully strive for the formal wizard level!

The old man didn't even turn his head or lift his eyelids, continuing to look at his book as he asked, "Level 1 Apprentice? You must be a newcomer! If you know the rules, you should follow the ghost servants to find the book yourself, and then come here to register."

"Yes, sir." Richard politely bowed to the old man and began to tell his needs to the ghost servant in spirit form beside him. After a short while, the ghost servant quietly led Richard to the two middle rows of bookshelves on the second floor.

These two bookshelves contain level 0 sorcery spells in the Shadow and Undead schools, respectively.

Richard came here to find a relatively powerful offensive magic spell. He plans to study it seriously and try to understand and master it as soon as possible to fill the gap in his offensive magic spells.

If one could directly learn top-tier level zero sorcery such as Shadow Grip and Death Bite, that would be ideal.

Richard had a clear understanding: only by increasing his strength could he safely complete the mission, thereby earning points and magic stones to feed back to him, forming a virtuous cycle.

Otherwise, it would be quite difficult to handle unexpected events.

The last time I encountered a giant crocodile in the swamp was a good lesson!

After nearly two hours of skimming through it, Richard discovered that the Shadow faction had several powerful level zero attack spells, such as Lesser Shadow Bolt and Shadow Shock.

There are also many undead spells, such as Death Bite and Corpse Explosion.

But none of them seem to compare to the book he has in his hand, "The Grip of Shadows".

The greatest advantage of Shadow Grip is that, if used well, it is a sorcery spell that combines offense and defense.

Death's Bite is also good, but its characteristics are strong and continuous attack power. However, given the limited energy points available at the moment, and the premise that he should learn one skill first, Richard thought that it would be best if he could master Shadow Grip first.

Opening the cover, you arrive at the introduction section, which reads: Shadow Grip, a level zero attack spell of the Shadow element. After constructing the spell model, it consumes a certain amount of mental power to condense a large hand of dark elemental energy to attack or restrict the enemy.

Those with strong mental power can freely manipulate dark elemental energy to change its form.

Prerequisite courses include: "Basic Manipulation of Mental Power" and "Application of Dark Energy Particles".

Richard's face immediately darkened!

Could it be like the "Rodriguez Meditation Method," where you can't directly get started and need prior learning or practice?

Richard quickly searched for books related to his prerequisite courses and soon found books related to the prerequisite course "Fundamentals of Mental Manipulation".

But after flipping through a few pages, Richard's face darkened even more, and his brows furrowed into a deep frown!

Continue browsing

After a long time, Richard learned that in order to learn any powerful level zero magic, one must first practice meditation. Without meditation to refine and enhance mental power, it is almost impossible to support the casting of a level zero magic.

Therefore, if Richard wants to acquire magical attack power as soon as possible, his only option is magic tricks.

The reason why magic tricks are called magic tricks is because they have little power, so they do not involve the construction of witchcraft runes, and the requirements for mental strength are relatively low.

This allows apprentices to practice meditation before learning the methods themselves.

Richard then realized what Stefano had said earlier.

"Some children are born with extraordinary mental strength and can perform magic tricks without having learned meditation. Many five- or six-year-old children unintentionally perform light magic because they are afraid of the dark."

But some children, afraid of the dark, instead used their fire magic, setting the house ablaze.

It seems that the idea of ​​directly learning powerful level zero sorcery is also not feasible.

To improve one's skills in witchcraft, one must begin with magic tricks!

Fortunately, this book mentions that one of the best training methods for mental manipulation within the Ignis school is learning the art of manipulation [skeletal manipulation].

When your mastery of the trick "Manipulating Bones" reaches a proficient level or higher, it means you have reached the basic level of mental power manipulation, which is considered to meet the basic requirements for learning Shadow Grip.

Wait a minute! Doesn't this point somehow corroborate what Teacher Seras commented on regarding the Rodrigo meditation method?

Hmm! Seeing this, Richard seemed to understand a little.

It is likely that the more powerful the witchcraft, the more prerequisites or conditions need to be set.

Sure enough, Richard looked at another powerful level zero sorcery spell, Death's Bite, which also had prerequisites.

No wonder Meiluo said last time that only a handful of people in their group learned Death Bite; this must be the reason.

Therefore, whether learning the Rodrigo Meditation Method or the powerful level zero sorcery Shadow Grip, I need to master the trick of [Manipulating Bones] first.

That's not bad!

Once I mastered the magic trick to control the skeleton, I could kill three birds with one stone!

It allows one to directly master a magic trick, thus filling the gap in one's knowledge of witchcraft, and also lays a solid foundation for future learning of Rodrigo Meditation and Shadow Grip!

What? Magic tricks don't count as witchcraft?

Don't underestimate the value of steamed buns!

It's easy to use.

Finally, Richard went downstairs with two spellbooks: the Trick Book "Manipulating Bones" and the Level 0 Spellbook "Shadow Grip".

However, when Richard casually flipped through the book of magic tricks, after reading the introduction to "Manipulating Bones," he was surprised to find that this kind of magic trick actually had prerequisite learning content: "Human Skeleton" and "Common Animal Skeleton".

Richard's mind went blank for a moment, and he almost fell headfirst down the stairs!

Thank you to readers Lantingyou and Nagu Fengshuang for the many recommendation votes!

(End of this chapter)