Paying Really Does Make You Stronger

Learning Scroll—a scroll made from specially treated parchment and inscribed ink, with its spellcasting speed slowed so that the workings of mana were revealed step by step.

The assistant brought over a Magic Detection scroll, led Rorschach to the Practice Room on the top floor of the guild, then took away the tube of letters.

The Practice Room was also windowless. Its walls were built from northern blue square stone and engraved with protective magic circles—they required no additional charging, only the stray mana released by practitioners to trigger weak protective and soundproofing effects.

A very good venue.

Rorschach fed mana into it, and the patterns on the scroll gradually lit up. His proficiency in Mana Condensation proved extremely useful. Now, even with a slow infusion, Rorschach could sense the movement of mana. It was equivalent to charging one scroll and being able to "play back" Magic Detection twice.

There had been understandable reasons why Rorschach had specialized in Fireball at the academy:

Even with royal subsidies at the academy, Learning Scrolls for beginner spells started at ten Golden Eagle Yuan. Rorschach could not afford that, so he could only seize the opportunities when teachers demonstrated spells in class and ask Teacher Caroline for guidance.

Meanwhile, apprentices from other noble and wealthy merchant families could simply buy Learning Scrolls after class if they had failed to master a new spell during lessons.

Didn't learn it? Buy another one!

So, in truth, during the apprentice and beginner mage stages, paying really could make you stronger! Or rather, without spending money, you could only be like the original Rorschach, awkwardly mastering a small number of spells with the best affinity.

Rorschach had learned from the captain of the Special Defense Force that two tails had been following him. They were likely people sent by the Agency Chief, half to protect him and half to monitor him.

He needed to master a detection spell, and the Mage Guild sold the most comprehensive selection of Learning Scrolls.

Rorschach had another reason for coming to the guild: the "spinning circle" on his panel, which had remained locked since the Battle of Nameless Valley, had finally unlocked. The number of slots for creating spells had now increased to four. The Mage Guild was a good place to experiment with and practice new spells.

Magic Detection (White)—"Mana Diffusion (White)" "Feedback Perception (White)"

The patterns on the Learning Scroll gradually faded and collapsed, while the parchment became brittle, scorched, and yellowed. It had completed its mission. The spell was now on Rorschach's panel.

Mana Detection was a simple and straightforward spell. Within the conical field of view projected by mana, all magical items, mana nodes, and Spellcasters with high concentrations of internal mana appeared as "auras" in his vision. The detection could even penetrate common thin walls and wooden doors to a slight extent.

A little wallhack didn't count as cheating!

He had unlocked the spell, but that was not enough. Judging from his experience with Water Creation, White-level proficiency could not even guarantee a successful cast.

Without hesitation, he immediately dragged the newly appeared entry into a slot on his panel.

Rorschach's Mana Projection (White)

What a terrible name. Its effect was terrible too. Just as the name implied, it projected mana into a cone-shaped area. It was a trash spell for people who thought their mana bar was too long.

Rorschach frowned slightly. The second entry had failed to form a spell on its own. After thinking for a moment, he added "Feedback Perception (White)" after Hand of Magic.

This time, it succeeded: Rorschach's Qilin Arm (Blue)

This panel had a bizarrely wicked sense of humor.

Rorschach deliberately opened the panel's annotation: "Rorschach's Qilin Arm; whether in terms of strength or range, the young man's Mage Hand has surpassed the normal limits of this low-level spell. Now that it has gained its final missing piece, the Qilin Arm has finally been born! Like the Qilin, the divine beast of the Far East, this third hand possesses surging strength and unparalleled dexterity!"

Fine. Rorschach tried it out first and found that he still preferred to call it Mage Arm. In terms of sensation, it was no different from his actual hands. With "feedback" taking effect, his hand made of magic had gained a sense of touch and become even more nimble, as though he had been born with it!

"Somewhat useful." As it brushed over the Practice Room's wall, Rorschach could feel the texture of the stone through the invisible hand.

"It can be used for scouting. Touch can convey information too."

Repeated casting brought the familiar swelling pain back to Rorschach's temples. He took a deep breath. He was going to attempt something dangerous but highly significant.

Mana Drive could forcibly draw massive amounts of environmental mana into his body. Its side effects were already obvious: after a brief burst of exhilaration, he would fall into a prolonged coma.

But what if he absorbed external mana little by little—carefully and controllably? It naturally would not produce an explosive effect or allow him to cast spells wildly, but it could at least extend his mana bar.

Mana Drive guided external mana slowly into his body, and his spirits immediately lifted. Not only did the swelling pain in his temples fade, but his earlier fatigue was noticeably alleviated, and his thoughts sped up significantly.

He practically had a power-gathering ring now. First tier was stronger than level sixty-three!

Amid his excitement, Rorschach was also a little worried—if this world had "Magic Addiction," then he would really be digging his own grave!

"Right, where is the station master here?" Before leaving the Mage Guild, Rorschach suddenly remembered that the one receiving him had always been the assistant. He had never seen the master of this branch.

The assistant revealed an awkward expression. "As I told you before, our branch Guild Master and the resident mage attended a banquet together on Carnival Night.

"When the sacrificial incident occurred, the branch Guild Master was already dead drunk from excessive drinking. He is currently under investigation for suspected dereliction of duty."

Unuk came out with a flushed face. Apparently, he had left early because he could not hold his liquor. By chance, he had encountered the sacrificial incident and avoided punishment for dereliction of duty.

"May I ask whose banquet it was?"

A look of disgust appeared on the assistant's face. After the turbulent Night of Collapse, his emotions seemed easier to expose:

"There is no harm in telling you. The banquet was hosted by this city's governor, along with other nobles and wealthy merchants. They are all locals, swarming and scheming as they occupy the Empire's fortress city while maintaining ambiguous ties with the Holy Kingdom."

"Thank you for telling me, Assistant. I do not want to know the rest."

"My apologies, Mr. Rorschach. My mental state is a little out of control right now."

"You have worked hard, Assistant. Goodbye!"

"Take care, Mr. Rorschach!"

Rorschach had gained another very important result: for Rorschach's Magic Detection, the first step in constructing it was no longer "Mana Projection (White)," but the familiar "Mana Condensation (Purple)." Although its detection range was shorter, under Rorschach's control, Mana Condensation could cover his entire body, granting him a small-scale detection field with no blind spots.

However, there were simply too many magical items and other mana nodes within the Mage Guild. Rorschach did not want Magic Auras to blind his eyes.

By observing the Mage Guild through his detection vision, Rorschach gauged the effective range of the new spell.

One step, two steps. About three yards. The distance seemed rather short. Rorschach forcibly condensed and dispersed more mana, extending it to a radius of five yards.

During the experiment, Rorschach discovered something unusual.