Making Scrolls

Su Ran was calm as he set the tip of his pen down.

He did not move quickly; in fact, his movements were slow and steady. The ink flowed over the parchment's distinctive texture. It was not simply writing, but more like using mental power and ink

together to weave a miniature, stable structure of light energy.

The pen left faint silver traces in its wake. The traces did not remain static; as they took shape, they drew in the free-floating energy particles around them, their glow gradually receding.

It was a meticulous, mentally taxing process. He had to maintain intense concentration throughout, ensuring that the curve of every runic turn, and the thickness and connection of every energy pathway, were precisely right.

The slightest deviation or fluctuation in his mental power could destabilize the structure. At best, the scroll's effect would be greatly diminished; at worst, it would fail outright, wasting the materials.

The first scroll took nearly twenty minutes. When he made the final stroke, the silver runes glimmered, then their light receded, and the entire scroll gave off a stable, almost imperceptible fluctuation.

The [Light Spell Scroll] was successfully crafted.

Su Ran let out a soft breath. Fine beads of sweat had already formed on his forehead. He did not stop; after flexing his fingers a little, he began the second scroll.

As one scroll after another took shape beneath his pen, his understanding of the energy model for the basic [Light Spell] deepened, and his strokes became increasingly smooth and steady.

The drain on his mental power was still considerable, but his sense of control was gradually growing.

After finishing the fifth [Light Spell Scroll], he put down his pen and rubbed his slightly throbbing temples.

At the same time, an insight arose in his mind: how to gather light particles more efficiently, and how to simplify one of the nonessential stabilization circuits.

[Light Spell] level increased to Lv.2.

Effect: illumination range/intensity increased by approximately 10%; casting/channeling speed increased slightly.

The improvement was expected. Deepening his understanding by repeatedly crafting related scrolls was one of the usual ways for a [Basic Scholar] to raise the level of a corresponding spell, though it was generally a slow process.

Su Ran felt that his progress seemed a little faster than what others had described on the forums. Perhaps it had something to do with his exceptional concentration while crafting, as well as his subtly enhanced mental control.

After resting for a moment and taking a small sip of water, Su Ran's gaze grew more serious.

Next, he would attempt to craft the more complex and more valuable [Lesser Healing Spell Scroll].

He had only learned the spell from a scroll a short while ago, and his current mastery was only Lv.1.

The energy structure of healing spells was far more delicate and fragile than that of a simple illumination spell. It involved the channeling and conversion of life energy, demanding greater precision in mental control.

The first attempt.

Tracing the initial rune representing the channeling of holy light went fairly smoothly, but as he connected the first faint-light gathering circuit, his mental power output fluctuated ever so slightly.

The silvery-green ink lines on the parchment shuddered violently, and the entire structure began to flicker erratically. A few seconds later, the light dispersed completely, leaving only a lifeless blot on the paper.

It was a failure. One blank scroll and a small amount of ink were wasted.

Su Ran's expression did not change. He merely closed his eyes and thought back to where the fluctuation had occurred and what might have caused it. He cleared the table and spread out a second scroll.

The second attempt. While constructing the core healing rune, his understanding of one turning angle was off, and his pen lingered for half a second too long, injecting too much energy.

The scroll gave a soft "puff," and a small section of its edge turned charred black.

Another failure.

The third attempt. This time, he was even more careful, moving at a slower pace.

The process seemed to go much more smoothly, but as he finished up and stabilized and set the overall structure, his mental power faltered slightly, leaving him unable to complete the final closed loop.

The runes on the completed scroll were dim, and the healing fluctuations it emitted were so faint that it was practically a failed product.

Three consecutive failures left Su Ran breathing a little harder. The materials were being used up. But there was no discouragement in his eyes; instead, he grew even more focused.

Every failure gave him a deeper understanding of the vulnerable points and critical nodes in the structure of the [Lesser Healing Spell].

It felt as though he were feeling his way through the dark, gradually tracing the contours of a wall.

He rested again, this time for longer, until he felt that most of his mental power had recovered.

He spread out a fourth scroll.

His pen came down, steady and firm.

Silvery-green lines flowed across the parchment: initial rune, gathering circuit, conversion node... Critical structures emerged one by one beneath his pen, like the components of a precision instrument being fitted into place.

His mind was intensely focused, as though he had entered a state of self-forgetfulness. His eyes saw only the pen and parchment, and his ears heard only his own steady heartbeat.

He constructed the core healing rune. This time, his pen moved smoothly and precisely, and the energy flowed in evenly and steadily. The complex sigil lit up with a soft green glow on the paper, brimming with vitality.

Finally, he finished and set it. His mental power spread like fine threads, gently but firmly binding the entire structure into shape.

He lifted his pen.

On the parchment lay a complete, stable white runic array, quietly radiating a comforting aura of life.

The [Lesser Healing Spell Scroll] was successfully crafted!

Su Ran gently breathed out a stale breath, and the corners of his mouth finally curved into a faint, satisfied smile.

Without stopping, he immediately began his fifth and final planned attempt while he still had the feel for it and enough mental power to continue.

This time, although there was a slight hitch midway through, he adjusted his mental power in time to get through it smoothly. In the end, another successful healing scroll was born.

From ten blank scrolls, he had obtained two [Lesser Healing Spell Scrolls] and five [Light Spell Scrolls]. His success rate for the healing scrolls was two out of five.

Su Ran looked at the seven successful scrolls on the table, particularly the two white healing scrolls, and made an assessment.

Compared with the forum posts complaining that the success rate for [Scholars] crafting scrolls was outrageously low, especially for healing scrolls, where it was often less than one in ten, his success rate could indeed be called quite high.

Perhaps this was thanks to his mental power, which seemed somewhat more condensed than that of an ordinary person after his transmigration, as well as his tendency to grow even calmer and more focused under pressure.

He carefully put away the successful scrolls and cleared away the remains of the failed materials. Fatigue washed over him like a tide, but his mind was filled with a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction.

He rested for two hours, until exactly 20:00.

Su Ran used his personal terminal to contact the shield guard he had worked with last time.

The call connected quickly.

"Hello, shield guard. It's me, Scholar." Su Ran got straight to the point. "How are the preparations for [Skeleton Graveyard] going?"