Intermediate Magic

Tian Di's little scheme was not lost on Saine.

But from beginning to end, he had never proclaimed anything to the outside world.

As for how long Tian Di could keep wearing that tiger's skin, it depended on her own fortune and ability.

And if something truly came up in the future that troubled Saine, not only would he deny it, he would turn hostile.

There were no truly good people in the Black Wizard Academy.

Saine was not a good person either. He merely had certain bottom lines.

But if someone exploited those bottom lines and did something that harmed his interests, Saine would show them with the flames of magic what true cruelty was.

Aside from Mentor Moxidu's classes, where Saine had vaguely become the center of attention.

Di'ersi, the Formal Black Wizard teaching another Public Classroom, also seemed rather interested in Saine.

This Formal Black Wizard, whom Saine considered the most beautiful in the Black Wizard Academy, had publicly questioned Saine in class on several occasions.

Saine did not believe Master Di'ersi paid him such attention because of her disciple Meili, who sat not far from him.

He guessed it was most likely related to his mentor, Moxidu.

Although Saine had been visiting his mentor less and less lately, on several occasions when he went, he found Master Di'ersi visiting as well.

Did these two Formal Black Wizards often associate with one another?

Or did this female Black Magician have some special relationship with his mentor? Saine could not help but secretly wonder.

Though Master Di'ersi was beautiful, her way of doing things still conformed to a Black Magician's style.

More than once, Saine had witnessed Master Di'ersi publicly make several Entry-Level Apprentices "test medicines" during class.

Some apprentices were lucky. Nothing happened after testing the medicine, and they might even gain a few benefits.

But more apprentices were not so fortunate. Mere bodily pain or lingering aftereffects were already the lighter outcomes.

Saine had seen one apprentice explode into a mist of blood before everyone's eyes, leaving the entire classroom splattered with blood. The scarlet trace at the corner of Master Di'ersi's lips was deeply memorable.

Whether becoming her disciple was a good thing or a bad thing for Meili, no one could say.

Learning in the Public Classroom had made Saine's days much fuller and busier for some time.

But while attending the Public Classroom, Saine had not forgotten about constructing and mastering several intermediate spells.

The Public Library—this was already Saine's fourth visit this month.

The hundred Academy Points he had earned from the Grade Assessment were enough for him to exchange for knowledge related to two intermediate spells.

In truth, among the five Magic Books his mentor had given him, Fire Element Shaping Characteristics and Ankeda Annotations each contained an intermediate spell.

They were Flame Hand and Object Control Art, respectively.

Flame Hand was an offensive spell with obvious characteristics. Its attack range was greater than that of Minor Fireball, and it struck targets with greater precision.

A huge hand of Fire Element would ultimately emerge amid the Spellcasters' chants, fiercely seize the enemy, and even possess a slight enemy-locking function.

Object Control Art, on the other hand, was a functional spell. Its greatest use was not in battle, but in helping apprentices handle trivial tasks in daily life and during magical experiments.

Commanding a broom to clean the room by itself, or making an experimental beaker float at one's side, ready at any moment to mix the necessary reagents—these were all wonderful uses of Object Control Art.

Therefore, although Object Control Art had little combat utility, the more advanced a magic apprentice was, the more likely they were to specially learn it.

Even those Formal Black Wizards often displayed this ability during experiments and Public Classrooms.

What Saine had mainly been studying lately was Flame Hand, because his academy's mandatory mission was about to arrive.

Saine did not want to carry out any garrison or patrol mission within the city. He wanted to take a look outside the city. This would also be a chance to prove his actual strength after advancing to an Intermediate Apprentice.

Lina had been the one reading Ankeda Annotations, the Magic Book that recorded the intermediate spell Object Control Art, more often lately.

Magicians valued knowledge and were possessive about their inheritances. If Mentor Moxidu found out that Saine had let someone else read his Magic Notebook, this mentor would likely personally teach Saine a lesson.

But Mentor Moxidu did not know.

And given the close relationship between Saine and Lina, he did not feel that sharing one of the Magic Books his mentor had given him with Lina violated any taboo.

Just as Lina had once taught him knowledge related to Fireball Spell, along with other magical knowledge.

Once Saine had something good, he never minded sharing it with Lina.

Perhaps it was precisely Saine's nature and his consistent actions that had gradually warmed and melted the heart of that "crazy woman," Lina.

It made the two of them a pair who truly shared weal and woe.

Merely mastering the intermediate spell Flame Hand was not enough. After experiencing many battles and having the good fortune to witness a battle between Formal Black Wizards, Saine felt it was necessary for him to learn a defensive spell.

Magicians' shortcomings in close combat and their frail constitutions meant that although they wielded powerful Elemental Power, once enemies closed in on them or their defenses were breached, they would fall into a passive position.

Saine was not like his mentor Moxidu, who possessed so much magical equipment.

Likewise, as merely an Intermediate Apprentice, Saine did not have sufficient wealth or foundational knowledge to create any puppet meat shields.

Therefore, Saine had to blaze another trail and use magic to provide himself with shelter.

According to Lina, most shield-type spells are Spell Models that only advanced apprentices or above can master.

And among the limited number of lower-level Magic Shields, the protection they provide is pitifully small, while their difficulty to master and mana consumption are astonishingly high.

After all, unlike offensive spells, which are cast only once, shield-type spells require apprentices to continuously maintain a stable output of mana.

Those few low- and intermediate-level shield-type spells have little value in learning. Then which spell should I choose to provide myself with some defensive power?

Walking among the massive bookshelves on the third floor of the Public Library, gazing at the densely packed rows of Magic Books in front of him, Saine's finger finally stopped on a Magic Book with a reddish cover—Basic Spell Model Construction Explanation of Fire Wall.

Strictly speaking, Fire Wall counted as an offensive spell.

Its function was to summon a wall of fire in battle and press it forward.

In terms of magical coverage, Fire Wall was even somewhat wider than the Flame Hand Saine had only roughly learned to control, and could barely be considered an area-of-effect attack spell.

But in terms of actual lethality and precision-strike ability, it was not only inferior to Flame Hand, but even somewhat weaker than Saine's own Enhanced Minor Fireball.

This also showed that the several Magic Books Mentor Moxidu had given Saine had all been carefully chosen and possessed tremendous value.

Though both were intermediate spells, Flame Hand was worth at least twice as much as the Fire Wall offered in the Public Library.

Yet after careful deliberation and consideration, Saine still chose to exchange for the intermediate spell Fire Wall.

For no other reason than that, under certain circumstances, Fire Wall could completely serve as a defensive spell and block attacks coming from one direction for Saine.

Moreover, whether in terms of Spell Model construction difficulty or the Mental Strength and mana it consumed, Fire Wall was within Saine's acceptable range.