Chapter 202 - 197: Train of Thought for Self-Created Magic
Chapter 202: Chapter 197: Train of Thought for Self-Created Magic
’Balance... Order...’
In the dead of night, Jon lay alone on the large bed in the manor’s master bedroom, contemplating the creation of his own Magic while simultaneously reviewing the powers he currently possessed.
With his Warrior Apprentice and Mage Apprentice professions both at Level 19, his personal panel had received an update.
——
[Nickname: Joe Nide]
[Race: Human Race—Havia Northern Species]
[Life Value: 2235/2235, Magic Power Value: 780/780, Qi Value: 617/617, Will Value: 265/265]
[Attributes: Power: 24, Constitution: 74.5, Agility: 5, Intelligence: 25, Spirit: 26]
[Professions: Warrior Apprentice LV.19 (Locked), Mage Apprentice LV.19 (Locked), Sword and Shield Warrior (Locked), Dragon Blood Warrior (Locked), Immortal Venerable Master (Locked)]
[Sub-professions: Artisan LV.11 (2430/12000), Alchemist LV.10 (1320/10000), Blacksmith LV.13 (10/16000)]
[Talents: Omitted]
——
This was his panel without any equipment, and he was still putting all his points into Constitution. After the recent sneak attack by the mysterious Advanced Level Mage from the Blood Eye Association, Jon had become even more determined to see this path through to the end.
If his Constitution had been even a few points lower back then, his story would have likely come to an end.
As for the problem of being "lopsided" from his extreme point allocation, that would be remedied after he completed his Advancement Trial and obtained a new talent.
Additionally, his continuous crafting work had caused the levels of his Sub-professions to rise quickly. His Blacksmith level had even surpassed the others, thanks to the Old Dwarf’s tutelage.
Beyond Attributes, the next biggest factor related to his overall strength was his Skills.
His Warrior Apprentice class, as expected, had unlocked several skills at level 15. But aside from one Excellent-grade Passive skill, the rest were unremarkable Ordinary Skills not worth mentioning.
——
[Tenacious Shield LV.1 (Excellent): When blocking with a shield, gain one stack of "Tenacious Shield." Block Value increases by 3%, and shield Attack Damage increases by 3%. Stacks up to 3 times.]
——
It was a fairly balanced Passive skill that could synergize with the [Thorn Shield] he had previously obtained, raising both his offense and defense while wielding a shield to a new level.
The truly transformative Skills would have to wait until he completed his trial and reached level 20 to be unlocked.
His Mage skill bar, however, was vastly different from before. It was no longer sparsely populated with just a few skills but was now filled with all sorts of skill icons.
Under Claudio’s tutelage, Jon had already learned quite a few spells.
From the simple Arcane Arrow and Fireball Technique, to the relatively complex Acceleration Skill and Elemental Summoning, and even spells involving a degree of higher-level power like the Stasis Seal and the Invisible Wall...
The variety was dazzling, their effects covered all sorts of areas, and their rarity ranged from Ordinary Level to Rare Level.
After all, Claudio’s motto was basically "if you can learn it, I’ll teach it." It was a complete cram-style of teaching.
And since Jon had the panel to help him learn, he naturally accepted everything without refusal, taking it all in.
But learning a lot didn’t necessarily mean he was powerful. This large number of spells had served more to broaden his knowledge, giving him more options.
And the most important choice he now faced was how to create his own spell and complete the [Advancement Trial: Creation].
Unlike most professions that required "inspiration" to create their own Skills, Mages could proactively create Skills using the knowledge they had mastered.
This function also consumed Experience Points, but the result was relatively controllable. You wouldn’t get a completely irrelevant outcome, like investing a bunch of knowledge about controlling puppets only to create an explosion-type spell.
The price for this, however, was a higher demand on the creator’s own knowledge.
This was the source of Jon’s greatest frustration.
It wasn’t that he lacked knowledge. On the contrary, he had too much of it, which had thrown him into a state of analysis paralysis.
He was hesitating about whether to invest his understanding of [Balance] and [Order] into the spell creation process.
The [Balance] naturally came from the [Heart of Balance], while the [Order] stemmed from the new understanding he gained after raising [Seal of Light] to Level 10.
Level 10, the peak for a skill.
The same Divine Technique, when used by Reed, could only slow the spread of the Poison on Yed. But when Jon used it, he directly suppressed and sealed the Poison, which was imbued with the power of Evil Magic.
The difference was plain to see.
And as for the Heart of Balance, there was even less need to explain.
The [Dragon Flame Dance], which he had comprehended through the Heart’s power-unifying effect, had already become his strongest technique. It was his greatest asset, allowing him to fight against a host of Official Level monsters and demons as a mere Apprentice Level Professional. Furthermore, this skill would only grow stronger as he did.
But this was precisely the point Jon was struggling with.
The levels of both these concepts were too high. Investing them into the spell creation might lead to a final result that was beyond his ability to control.
Under normal circumstances, you could experiment freely. Even if you created an Epic Level skill as an apprentice, others would just praise you for being a badass.
But you couldn’t play around like that during an Advancement Trial.
This was because all Professionals who wanted to cross the threshold from Apprentice Level to Official Level needed to transcend their "selves" to obtain the power to reach a new realm.
Warriors had to defeat a powerful enemy they had already beaten once, but who had now become even stronger.
Mages, on the other hand, had to take the skill they created one step further and achieve a breakthrough.
This required Mage Apprentices to learn to control their thoughts, restrain their arrogance, and develop a reverence for Law and power.
Otherwise, if you let your imagination run wild and, by a stroke of insane luck, created a Perfect Level skill, it would be one thing if the trial only asked you to make a small improvement to it. But if it demanded you upgrade it to Epic Level, then you’d better be prepared to chew on a tough bone!
At this stage, you couldn’t "skip class" by just using Skill Points to upgrade it.
Among both players and native Mages, there had been cases of people creating an overly advanced spell in the first step of the Advancement Trial, only to get stuck on the final step as a result.
Of course, if you were truly talented enough to overcome such a hurdle, then a brilliant future would await you.
As far as Jon knew, the number one Mage in the *Yino* Hall of Fame, the Magic God "Kevinx,"...
...was just such a monster. He had created a Perfect Level skill in the first part of his Advancement Trial and ultimately succeeded in upgrading it to Epic Level.
Legend has it that on the day of his breakthrough, myriad rays of rosy light and a thousand streams of jade-green splendor filled the sky, and even the God of Knowledge and Intellect bestowed a blessing. Afterwards, relying on the power of his Epic Level skill, the man advanced unimpeded, fighting his way to the pinnacle of the player base.
The price, however, was that he was stuck on the final part of his advancement quest for more than three years.
While others were already starting to explore the Advanced Level Domain, he was still languishing at the Apprentice Level...
Jon did not want that to happen to him.
For him, getting his Mage level stuck for such a reason would be like losing a leg—everything would become inconvenient.
Without the bonus Attribute Points and Skill Points from his Dual Professions, and without the diverse arsenal of a Mage, how could he clear Dungeons with strict attribute requirements? How could he compete against those bosses that were basically cheating with hacks?
Just as Jon was considering whether to exclude the extremely high-level knowledge of [Balance] and [Order], a thought suddenly surfaced.
’Wait... the trial of spell creation. You can’t create a spell that’s too weak and lose Attribute Points, but you also can’t create one that’s too strong and lose time...’
’In a way, isn’t this also a form of balance that the Trial Taker must grasp for themselves?’
His gaze couldn’t help but drift to the one remaining chance he had to comprehend a [Balance]-type skill. A familiar feeling surfaced once more, making his heart race.