Zero-level Spell

Chapter 24: Zero-level Spells

"I succeeded?"

Even though Zhao Xu was sure of the result, he couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"Halfway there."

"Halfway?" Zhao Xu almost didn't react. Was the ritual only half done?

"It's probably because you're all projections. To truly complete it, you'll likely have to wait for a suitable opportunity for materialization in the future. Only then will you truly obtain this ability. For now, it doesn't affect anything; it's enough for you to memorize spells."

Zhao Xu finally felt relieved. As for the 'true materialization' the other party mentioned.

It likely referred to everyone transmigrating to Arthur a year later.

In his previous life, Zhao Xu had always harbored suspicions. Many Earthlings even believed this game itself was a preliminary screening.

If billions of Earthlings were to suddenly arrive in Arthur, even though the prime material plane was vast, almost boundless, it would still be difficult to manage such a sudden influx of population.

Therefore, those players who had experience with Arthur would be the vanguard guides.

As for how tc managed to develop this game just right, firstly, the game content was all derived and defined by AI.

Secondly, Arcane had countless charm and control spells that manipulated minds, so that wasn't a problem.

Some even suspected that avatars of deities had visited Earth within this past year.

However, none of this had anything to do with Zhao Xu. Even if he knew who was an avatar of a deity, he wouldn't do something as suicidal as trying to befriend them.

He just needed to wait patiently.

It was just that no one knew, even ten years later, whether the super meteorite that descended upon Earth and destroyed humanity was a coincidence or a deliberate arrangement.

From the server's opening on Monday evening to the following Monday, a full seven days, the first Mage in the game finally emerged.

Although the vast majority of players already knew about the complexity of Mage training from the complaints posted by Mage players.

The fact that it took nearly seven days still exceeded many people's expectations.

Furthermore, the level one spell power and the limited spell slots of Mages greatly disappointed those who knew the inside story.

The forum's sample surveys showed the same trend: among the new players joining the game daily, the number choosing Mages kept declining, ranking almost at the bottom.

This data was still influenced by the traditional online gaming perception of Mages.

No one knew that once Mages reached level 5, they could generally contend with or even surpass combat classes, and by level 10, they would far outstrip them.

The environment the players were in made it impossible for them to know how high-level Mages fought.

As for Zhao Xu, besides browsing the forums and maintaining a certain amount of exercise, he spent most of his time on "Arthur."

He had finally overcome the hurdle of memorizing basic models and various incantation postures.

He had reached the stage of truly beginning to study zero-level spells.

Zhao Xu wasn't too far behind the first player to complete Mage training.

Each of the three level one spells required 24 hours of study. Excluding the four hours of deep sleep per day.

That would take three and a half days.

This meant the first Mage player only took three and a half days to complete the learning of models, incantation postures, and the two abilities of summoning familiars and copying scrolls.

As for the subsequent skill training, it was heard that the player had temporarily given up, planning to make up for it later, all for the sake of this record of being first.

Everyone had seen that not only in all of Arthur, but even the first person to complete training in a local area would receive some rewards from the local association.

However, there were no halos above their heads or extra titles.

Zhao Xu was also stuck on zero-level spells after three and a half days. Moreover, he didn't need to learn the abilities of summoning familiars and copying scrolls at all.

This made him realize the gap between himself and those truly talented Mage players.

However, Zhao Xu later didn't hear much about these top-tier talented players who stood out in the early stages.

Including the player who was the first to complete Mage training.

The five Resurrection Stones were both the players' hope and a paralyzing poison.

When it came to gambling with their lives, who could compare to these players who could resurrect?

Slumped over his desk, beside the eternally unsetting magical lighting fixture, Zhao Xu propped his chin with one hand and spread open the "Compendium of Zero-level Spells" with the other, reading.

From Read Magic to Mage Hand, there were a total of nineteen zero-level spells, all of which were spells that all novice Mages should master.

Some wild Mages might miss a few.

But as long as they found a Mage Association in a large city, copying these zero-level spells wouldn't be difficult.

Zhao Xu had heard of the Read Magic spell from Antinoa right from the start.

After casting it, one could read Arcane texts without needing to perform Spellcraft, with a duration of 10 minutes per caster level.

Although Zhao Xu hadn't officially become a level 1 Mage yet, he could be considered level 1, so casting this spell would last exactly 10 minutes.

At a reading speed of one page per minute, it was just enough to read ten pages.

If the previous models were about defining concepts, then the specific spells he was learning now were formulas that could solve problems.

Transcribing a zero-level spell into a spellbook only takes up half a page of space, essentially just finishing the model.

However, this Compendium of Zero-level Spells dedicates dozens of pages to each zero-level spell, detailing predecessors' experiences, concepts, and potential pitfalls.

It was only then that Zhao Xu realized the supposed 24 hours of study time didn't include reading these supplementary materials.

If a mage couldn't decipher a spell within 24 hours, some mages would turn to predecessors' notes or introductions, resources available in the local Mage Association's library.

This compendium in Zhao Xu's hand was one such book.

Otherwise, Antinoa would have only needed to provide him with nine and a half pages for his spellbook.

The mark of a mage learning this spell was successfully transcribing it into their own spellbook.

If it could be transcribed, then the spell could be prepared the next day.

Therefore, whether Zhao Xu could proceed to the next stage of learning first-level Arcane magic was simple: it depended on when he transcribed these nineteen zero-level cantrips into his mind.

Zero-level cantrips were also the only spells that Zhao Xu could transcribe without using that mentally stimulating ointment.

First-level spells were different. Three vials of mentally stimulating ointment, each worth 50 GP, were placed on his desk by Antinoa while he was studying the zero-level cantrips.

As far as he knew, any mage with the alchemy crafting skill could afford to make these ointments themselves, and the availability of materials wouldn't be a constraint for mages.

This was also true for the materials used in simply transcribing spells into spellbooks; at higher levels, mages could even create them using magic.

Aside from needing guidance from predecessors to learn spells, mages faced the fewest restrictions in other aspects. At worst, they could simply learn a Feat to craft things themselves.