Chapter 262 : Chapter 262

Chapter 262: Actually, from the moment you enrolled until now, you've had nothing.

When the Magic Power Source is limited and cannot be infinitely restored, one faces two choices when confronted with a massive and endless stream of enemies.

Either achieve more with extremely little energy, or instantly kill more enemies to achieve a deterrent effect.

Both choices cannot escape one concept, which is the utilization of energy.

Speaking of utilization, without modding, it would naturally be transformation spells and summoning spells.

The one I chose at this moment was summoning, but it was not the Shadow Legion Summoning Spell, but another spell.

My ever-growing spell library, excluding the newly acquired spellbooks, also had two summoning spells that I hadn't used in a long time, namely the Spirit Cat Summoning Spell and the Falcon Summoning Spell.

I had always underestimated the Spirit Cat Summoning Spell.

After the Spirit Cat entered a combat state, the force of its attacks was frighteningly high.

A heavy blow from its claws enhanced with transcendent power could subdue an undead.

I naturally still remembered the time I tried, a single Fireball couldn't kill an undead.

The precise kill of the Spirit Cat and the effect of a thrown Fireball created a stark contrast.

At this moment, the undead in the trial secret realm were constantly emerging.

There was a slight difference from the scene I had envisioned, which was like a sea of skeletons.

Instead, skeletons were intermittently drilling out of the ground, meaning there was a certain monster spawn rate.

If consumption was not a concern, theoretically, as long as my killing speed was faster than the monster spawn rate, I would be safe.

My use of summoning spells right now was also to buy myself time.

As time passed, I could feel the speed at which the skeletons appeared was gradually increasing.

So, even if I had infinite magic power, there would still be a moment when I was overwhelmed by the undead.

Therefore, I had to constantly improve my methods and techniques to suppress them in turn.

This was my initial thought.

When the Fireball that I had completely mastered took another step forward, reaching the level of a Rune Ritual, I felt a vast new territory from the Fireball.

But facing such a large leap, I felt a sense of powerlessness.

This vast new territory was supposed to give me a brand new way to master the Fireball, but I had a fatal flaw that I couldn't overcome.

That was, my mental power could not control magic power.

At this stage, my use of the various magic powers of the spellbook, whether it was resonance or conversion rate, was all based on the structure of the spellbook platform as a means.

At this moment, it was as if I had reached a state where the sky's the limit for birds to fly, only to find that I was not a bird, and I had no wings to fly, how awkward.

But there were ways to play without wings.

Things like mental power couldn't be rushed.

Neither potions nor elixirs could improve mental power overnight, just like having a baby, you can't have ten women give birth for you in a month, right?

I was constantly fighting using the Fireball as an example, and the portable Earth Vein system that I hadn't used in a long time was also taken out and activated by me.

Now, I was going to carry out a new construction on the previous Fireball spellbook model.

It was no longer a structural level of modeling, but a reconstruction based on the Rune Ritual.

This meant that many of the previous things needed to be overturned and redone, but I didn't feel heartbroken, because at this moment I understood that those previous things were already obsolete for me.

Although doing this kind of thing while fighting was a bit hectic, this was also a time to fully mobilize the whole body and attention.

This state was also one of the easiest to spark inspiration.

“The gap between a single spell and a spell within a spellbook is huge...”

At this moment, I recalled my previous attempt to independently construct a spell ritual without a spellbook.

Although the released Fireball only produced some sparks, it at least proved that the method was correct.

But it was obvious that the spell constructed by the rune ritual within the spellbook was more complex than a simple spell.

From the beginning until now, apart from the reason of insufficient energy supply, I had always felt that this was another reason why the spellbook could cast normal spells.

But when I reconstructed it on the Earth Vein system and took it out separately, I discovered something was not right.

This seemed to be a spellbook "limiter" wrapped in layers of runes!

At least, this kind of rune ritual could not be defended against by my Floating World level of Spirit Vision, but I couldn't open it either.

It seemed to form a ritual that required me to meet certain conditions to open it.

This kind of thing that was clearly in front of my eyes but I couldn't touch was a complete slap in the face for me, who prided myself on having completely understood the Fireball spellbook.

The Fireball spellbook I was playing with was incomplete?

But based on my current shallow understanding of runes, this kind of combined ritual seemed to have a considerable gap with a limiter.

But for the spellbook to have such a thing that was completely useless at this stage, it couldn't be a tumor, right?

Or was the person who created the spellbook out of their mind?

No one was a fool, and the person who created the spellbook was even less so.

So, the fool could only be me.

At this moment, I had discovered something more important than killing enemies and sparking inspiration, and that was to try to destroy this ritual rune and see what other secrets were hidden within this spellbook.

This was something I had never seen before, and it was worth a try.

In the end, it was just a basic consumption Evocation spellbook.

Thinking of this, I didn't do anything else and directly started to use my mental power to interfere in various ways, but in the end, everything ended in failure.

Even the guiding Floating World level of Spirit Vision was useless at this moment.

It wasn't until I imported magic power that this rune reacted.

As long as there was a reaction, it meant that the path was right.

But soon, I was hit again.

Continuously supplying energy could indeed activate this rune, but the spellbook couldn't withstand such torment.

The last Fireball spellbook that I had broken was still vivid in my mind, but I was still unwilling to give up, until I pushed the Fireball to its final limit, and that rune also seemed to have reached its last shred of limit.

It seemed that as long as I crossed this limit, this rune would be unlocked by me.

This was simply a joke!

If I went any further, the spellbook would explode.

This rune definitely wouldn't need to be unlocked then, so was this still a dead end?

Having hit a dead end, I also instantly reacted.

Usually, at this time, it was a case of breaking through to stand anew.

But… I didn't have the ability to break this spellbook and then restore it to its original state...

Giving up on this idea, I completely converted the wasted magic power into the destructive power of a Fireball, throwing it directly into the pile of skeleton monsters.

The terrifying Fireball explosion instantly blew away and shattered several undead, consider it my final gift to these undead before I prepared to leave, a huge Fireball.

And I was also preparing to exit the trial secret realm.

After all, I hadn't forgotten what I came to the trial secret realm for, which was to "stretch my muscles" and try to see if, after understanding runes, I would have new sparks of inspiration for the art of spellbook modding.

There was one sentence Teacher Ji Niang said that was very right.

If I found something more important than the current matter, then I should go do it, without hesitating.

Just like this past week when I disappeared, who would have thought that I simply learned and understood all of Runology?

And now, I seemed to have fumbled my way to the great door that would make the spellbook even more powerful, but I lacked the key.

Now... the only one who could answer this question for me was probably Teacher Ji Niang, right?

And before exiting, I still had to take some spoils of war.

Of course, the so-called spoils of war were naturally not those bones or rotten wooden shields and rusty iron swords, but the stone tablets.

Stone tablets that were vastly different from the tombstones stuck in the wilderness, on which were inscribed unknown notes and records.

After taking all the magic power from the trial secret realm, it would no longer produce Magic Power Sources for the week, but would be replaced by other rewards.

These inscribed words were one of them.

After finishing taking pictures with my phone, I left without any lingering attachment.

I glanced at the time, it was already late.

After all, I had been reading in the library for most of the day before, and was also delayed in the trial secret realm for a while.

I hoped Teacher Ji Niang was still there.

If not, I wouldn't mind asking her on my phone, but asking like that was ultimately not as clear as asking in person.

Soon, I rode my broom and arrived at the teaching building.

“Oh? You finally came to see me? You've been missing all these days, how was your harvest in the library?”

Teacher Ji Niang looked at me as I pushed open the door to her office and asked, as casually as if she were making small talk.

“The harvest was not bad, at least now, when I see common runes, I can roughly recognize them, and can also recognize many combination patterns.”

I replied simply.

After all, I hadn't gone to see Teacher Ji Niang these past few days.

I didn't know if Teacher Ji Niang missed me.

Her Grand Spellbook plan was still on hold because of me.

But perhaps it was precisely because Teacher Ji Niang was a Transcendent Witch, a long-lived species, that she was really not in a hurry now?

“Really? But I still have to say, some knowledge is ultimately your own only when you learn it yourself. Tell me, what did you come to find me for again?”

Teacher Ji Niang tossed the pen in her hand, leaned back in her office chair somewhat lazily, and looked at me as she asked.

“Um… well, it's about the spellbook that I wanted to ask for advice.”

“Spellbook again, you haven't had another idea, have you? Let me state beforehand, your Memory Bookshelf spellbook last time was a special case. I won't help you complete any other spellbooks in the future, unless you have a valid reason.”

Teacher Ji Niang said seriously at this moment.

She didn't want to become Little Han's worker.

If it was for the sake of improving her strength, she definitely wouldn't help.

“No, no, I don't want you to help me mod any spellbook, teacher. I have a serious question to ask, but it's also about a spellbook, and it's the Fireball spellbook.”

I quickly waved my hands and said.

“Fireball?”

Hearing this answer, Ji Niang also became curious.

Didn't she remember that Little Han had already played the Fireball spellbook to death?

Why was she stuck on the Fireball spellbook again?

“Tell me about it, your time is short, it's already this late, I have to get off work too, or rather, I've already gotten off work, you understand?”

Teacher Ji Niang glanced at the time on her phone and said to me.

“I understand, I understand... It's like this.”

I nodded quickly and told Teacher Ji Niang what I had discovered in the secret realm earlier.

However, as Teacher Ji Niang listened to my description, her face also darkened, and then turned into a strange look.

“Alright, stop for a moment, I probably know.”

Teacher Ji Niang reached out her hand to stop me.

“You know?”

I also stopped immediately.

Hearing Teacher Ji Niang's words, I was overjoyed.

Sure enough, it was right to find a teacher when you encounter a problem!

“First, let me correct one point. This is indeed not what you guessed it was, some kind of limiter. Spellbooks don't have this kind of thing, unless for special purposes.”

Ji Niang said.

“Secondly, congratulations on touching upon a concept that you are not qualified to touch upon now.”

“There are two choices before you now. One is to ignore it and pretend nothing happened, just like with [Domain] back then. The second is for me to tell you about it and dispel your curiosity. Since I'm giving you the second choice, it's naturally because I think it's okay to tell you now.”

“Uh… since you've said so, teacher, I'll definitely choose the second one.”

I said helplessly.

If there was a chance to understand, I definitely had to understand it.

“Alright, I guessed you would choose that way… Before we talk about this, let's lay some groundwork with a digression.”

Ji Niang cleared her throat and looked at me seriously.

“The transcendent power you have come into contact with in the Witch Academy now, how do you think it should be graded?”

“Graded?”

I fell into deep thought at the question Teacher Ji Niang threw at me.

Because I also didn't know how to grade it.

Was it by the number of Magic Power Sources?

But that was just the Magic Power Source, representing the mana bar, not strength.

If the grade didn't represent strength or a division of other things, then just a simple stacking of numbers and stages, this kind of grading was meaningless, at least that's what I thought.

“I saw the answer in your conflicted gaze. One Magic Power Source for an entry-level witch, ten for a junior witch, a hundred for an intermediate witch, a thousand for a senior witch, and ten thousand for a prospective witch. This is the widely circulated grading system in the academy at present.”

“Huh? It's really by the number of Magic Power Sources… Wait, widely circulated?”

I was shocked by what Teacher Ji Niang said at this moment, but amidst the shock, I also caught the keyword.

Teacher Ji Niang never spoke imprecise nonsense.

“It's a tradition that has been passed down from a long time ago, but the academy adopted this classification method because it is also convenient for the academy. But no matter how many Magic Power Sources, all students are Reserve Witches in our eyes.”

“So it's meaningless, right?”

I confirmed.

“Yes, it's meaningless to us, but it's meaningful for managing the academy. You don't need to worry about it. This kind of thing is just for students to show off to each other. We teachers know what's important.”

“Mm.”

I nodded.

Teacher Ji Niang's explanation made me feel relieved.

At least this matter made me feel casual and absurd.

“Look at you, all relieved. What are you afraid of? Does the classification of transcendent levels have to go through your approval? You don't have that ability yet.”

Teacher Ji Niang educated me a little before speaking again, “But upon reaching the transcendent, or in the void outside the world, the classification of levels is indeed directly related to the amount of energy one possesses. This energy refers not only to the Magic Power Source, but also many other things.”

“But… the amount of energy doesn't determine strength, right...”

“It does, it really does, but that refers to a qualitative change. But the stacking of quantity before the qualitative change doesn't affect it.”

“So don't let the large number of Magic Power Sources you currently have go to your head! I should have told you this before, the spellbooks don't belong to you, and the Magic Power Sources also don't belong to you, because at this moment, they are just items that can be replaced at any time for you, not the power you have mastered. They are just handy tools for you.”

At this point, Teacher Ji Niang's tone became serious.

“Things that are not yours are ultimately external objects. When the Magic Power Source was first introduced into the Witch Academy's teaching, it was just a tool for Witchification. It was only later that it was invested in spellbooks, allowing students to have the ability to cast spells themselves. Subsequently, students had the current situation of personally holding multiple Magic Power Sources. From beginning to end, the Magic Power Source and the spellbook are not the power you have mastered, but teaching tools, tools you need to advance to a Transcendent Witch.”

“Mm.”

“Looking at you, even if I didn't say it, you probably figured out the key to it yourself, so I won't waste any more words on this.”

Teacher Ji Niang glanced at me and went straight back to the topic.

“Back to the spellbook you mentioned, I didn't expect you to discover this thing about the spellbook so quickly after learning about runes. Logically speaking, not even many Transcendent Witches know about this thing.”

“Then you, teacher...”

“I am a theoretical witch, so of course I know.”

When Ji Niang said this, there was an indescribable confidence in her tone.

“In short, if I were to describe this thing to you, the abstract expression would be the seed of a spellbook.”

“Seed?”

“Yes, I'm explaining it this way to make it easier for you to understand. Let's take the Fireball as an example. When you become very powerful, do you think the Fireball spell is useless?”

Teacher Ji Niang asked.

“Um… a little. It has an upper limit. Too much energy will destroy the Fireball spellbook.”

I answered truthfully, and Ji Niang was very satisfied with this answer.

“But in reality, it's not. A Reserve Witch becoming a Transcendent Witch is called a witch's promotion. It is an elevation to another level, a qualitative change. The spellbook is also the same. This thing is the key to the spellbook's promotion.”

“Spellbook promotion!”

I was shocked to receive such a concept.

The spellbook… it could still be promoted?

“Yes, the spellbook is like a seed, and the power you possess makes it sprout.”

“But even with my Floating World level of Spirit Vision, I can't make it promote… Is promotion very difficult?”

I asked again.

“Half right. Promotion is indeed very difficult. Also, you indeed cannot make it promote, because the spellbook is not yours, and the Magic Power Source is not yours. You have not mastered the spellbook, nor do you have the power, so how can you make it promote? Getting something for nothing? Even though it is inside your body, it… is ultimately not yours.”

As Teacher Ji Niang spoke, she stretched out her hand and reached towards my chest.

I subconsciously went to block it, but Teacher Ji Niang's hand didn't grab me.

However, I felt something leaving me.

It was an unknown force that drove my spellbook out of my body.

“See?”

Ji Niang picked up a spellbook in her hand, it was my Fireball spellbook!

“It doesn't belong to you, and you have never truly owned it. This situation will continue until you become a Transcendent Witch. At that time, your spellbook will undergo a transformation. That kind of spellbook is the real spellbook. At that time, you will be qualified to own the spellbook and the Magic Power Source, not like now.”

As Teacher Ji Niang spoke, she stuffed the spellbook back, even placing it back in its original position on my spellbook shelf.

And at this moment, I was so shocked that I was in a daze… I still hadn't quite come back to my senses.

So from the beginning of school until now, I had never owned…

Just now… Teacher Ji Niang… so easily took away my spellbook.

This was the first time I had ever felt so truly how easy it was to lose something that wasn't mine.