Characteristics of Spells

This was a long, dimly lit room.

Many stone pillars carved with coiling, entwined serpents rose to support a ceiling that melted into the darkness high above, casting long, eerie shadows across the entire room, which was filled with a mysterious, green haze.

A statue as tall as the room itself was pressed against the dark wall behind it.

However, this statue had an ancient, monkey-like face and a sparse, long beard that almost reached the hem of its stone-carved wizard's robe.

This made the man currently standing in the center of the statue's legs, amidst shattered fragments of chairs, seem a little lewd.

He was clearly well-proportioned and imposing, with black hair and pale skin that, combined with his handsome face, could make countless girls swoon.

His gentle, clear voice produced hollow, resounding echoes within the ghost-filled walls, which was exceptionally pleasant to hear.

Suddenly, a column of hot air, like a blast of heat, struck from the upper right of the back of his head.

Along with it came a clear male voice: "Does this count as a second-level spell?"

The man's wand automatically rose behind him, and a green light flashed.

Crack! A piercing explosion sounded where the green light met the column of air.

The man lowered his head and chuckled, "Very good, my lord. A pseudo-level 4 Alohomora, imbued with your mental power. This already surpasses a second-level spell."

It was clear that Basil was the one who had sent the column of air.

In the Fenrir Wolf Echo, the only spell related to attack that had been made into a Spell Card was Alohomora.

Was he supposed to use a Healing Charm to absorb blood?

The previous iteration of Alohomora had directly fired a beam of light to blast open the lock, and it already had a tendency to develop into an attack spell.

Using the Dragon Knight and the Grimoire, his mental power enhanced this +3 Alohomora.

Treating Riddle as a lock on a door, the intense desire to open it filled this spell with a power that seemed capable of breaking through anything.

The man was Riddle.

A youthful Voldemort.

As the first intelligent summon within the Grimoire, he held a unique position.

Since his birth as a Grimoire card, his subconscious held immense loyalty to Basil, and he also had a thorough understanding of the Grimoire's power.

He even 'remembered' some of the game's mechanics clearly.

Rather than a summon, he was more like a system sprite.

"My Killing Curse, when converted to a card level, is a second-level spell."

"At this point in time, I had only just mastered this spell, so it was still very crude."

Basil raised a question, "Even if my spell is pseudo-level 4, its corresponding damage is still at the level of a true fourth-level spell. It just lacks the characteristic of three transformations. How?"

Riddle replied, "The gap between spells is vast. Level is not the sole criterion for judging strength."

"And you underestimate characteristics too much."

"Do you still remember the four buffs of the Aguamenti spell in the game's Golden Forbidden Forest, Deadly Hunt?"

"'Stream of Water': Water column width increased by 50%; 'Cascade of Water': Number of water columns sprayed increased by 100%, and damage increased by 20%; 'Spear of Water': When hitting the same enemy unit, the damage increase is further amplified by 20%; 'Shield of Water': Damage increased by 30, and can knock back target units."

Hearing these familiar terms, Basil first felt nostalgic, then frowned, "Wait, are you saying characteristics are equivalent to these limited-time buffs in dungeons? Could it be that characteristics are also divided into white, blue, purple, and gold qualities? No, maybe there isn't purple."

Riddle nodded, "Actually, Aguamenti has another name. Water Creation Spell. It's just that its incantation is too easy to remember, so the name replaced it. Just like its name suggests, the main purpose of this spell is to create water. The damage is almost negligible."

"With the same spell, if you maintain an excited mood, and change the final gentle flick of your wand's trajectory to a straight poke forward, you'll find that what appears from your wand is no longer a clear spring of water, but a column of water that can shatter a porcelain cup within 5 feet."

"This is one of the characteristics of the Water Creation Spell's advancement."

"Depending on an individual's potential, willpower, and magical power, the characteristics that emerge are varied. Even for the same characteristic, the power can differ greatly."

"Perhaps, when your card levels up to two, and a characteristic is born, the card data will indeed have distinctions of white, blue, purple, and gold qualities."

Basil was rendered speechless and chuckled.

He then thought of another possibility.

"Reality is not a game. You can't spend money to upgrade the quality of characteristics. My spell transformations are relatively limited. If the first characteristic born is only white quality, will the transformation power during subsequent spell upgrades be wasted on upgrading the white quality characteristic?"

"Shouldn't I, like the protagonists in cultivation fantasy novels, build a solid foundation before upgrading?"

"That is to say, in the early stage, I should rely on learning more spells, practicing magical power, creating cards, and the bonuses from upgrading the Grimoire level. Only when I can no longer suppress it, should I upgrade the cards, so that the born characteristics directly reach the highest quality?"

"You just said that reality is not a game," Riddle said with a smile. "Although I don't have memories of my adult self, I can vaguely sense that after creating the Horcrux, my Killing Curse's characteristics also transformed."

"Characteristics are the embodiment of a wizard's self. If you are strong, they will become stronger."

"The collapse and degeneration of the self will also cause characteristics to change."

"Spells, or rather magic, originate from our beliefs."

"Adalbert Wulfing's Magical Theory, while accurate, states that magic is indeed a phenomenon produced by the interaction or independent operation of the magic field and the real-world field."

"But the magic field originates from the wizard, and its operation comes from our hearts. In Muggle terms, it's the fluctuation of brain electrical signals."

"In short, you don't need to suppress the instinct of spell growth at all."

"Wait," Basil noticed a blind spot, "are spells alive? Then what is the difference between a spell and its corresponding Spell Card?"

"I remember saying this before," Riddle said, rubbing his forehead in frustration.

"These two things are separate. Unless you use the cards in the [Grimoire] every time you cast a spell from now on."

"When casting spells, your wand and the [Grimoire] are like your two legs when you walk."

"But the difference is, you don't need to use your left and right legs simultaneously to 'walk' when casting spells. You can walk with just one leg."

"According to your habits, the leg you use less frequently will become weaker."

"Moreover, their fundamental natures are also different."

"Spell Cards, or rather your cards. You might as well think of them as magical artifacts in fantasy novels. Simply using them will indeed cause them to grow according to their mechanics, but it's negligible. This is also why you don't have any Level 2 cards yet. When you use them, you inject spiritual power to modify the released spells. It's like refining a magical artifact with your mind and spirit. This naturally leads to faster growth."

"Spells are like talismans inscribed in the soul. This is also why they are called incantations. Once you have honed the intent and form to perfection, it will be engraved in your heart and will gradually 'come alive,' absorbing your overflowing spiritual energy to grow. This, in turn, will affect you, or rather, make you more attuned to it. This is also why advanced spells, or rather dark and light magic, affect the mind."

"Spell Cards that have special properties after upgrading simply allow you to use spells with those properties without expending mental effort."

"And the spell corresponding to this Spell Card does not necessarily mean it is a Level 2 spell."

"It's like the right leg that moves less, which isn't as strong as the left leg that moves more."

"Although it will grow rapidly as your card reaches true Level 2, it won't immediately reach the corresponding level."