New Arcane Spell: Numb

The stone statue's transformation had already caught the Lizardfolk's attention. Those nearby immediately fell to their knees and began to pray.

More and more Lizardfolk slowly joined them. By the time the Lizardfolk Chieftain arrived with the tribe's warriors, Borne's new spell was nearly complete.

1st-Circle Spell: [Fog Cloud]

The spell created a dense fog over a certain area. For a point of comparison, think of Zabuza's Hidden Mist Jutsu in Naruto.

[Fog Cloud] was one of the few spells that only required a spell model and incantation. It didn't need material components.

Any formal spellcaster could cast it. Aside from the caster's strength, the spell's effectiveness depended on the environment.

It would certainly work better beside a lake or in a swamp than in a volcanic region. Even so, [Fog Cloud] was now widely considered one of the most useless spells.

Spellcasters weren't ninjas or thieves. They generally relied on ranged attacks, so fewer than a hundred people had checked out this spell from the academy's spell library.

According to the Chip's analysis, [Fog Cloud] wasn't actually without a medium. Its main component was water, and everything from the air to the human body contained some moisture.

During the spell, it only borrowed a portion of that moisture. Even in a volcanic region, using water from the body wouldn't affect it.

But Borne saw it differently. What if he changed the spell's medium to a designated target?

For example, a small lake. If he enlarged the target, could he turn the lake directly into clouds and create a different kind of artificial rain?

Of course, this would require changing a lot of the spell's formula. It might even count as creating an entirely new spell.

And spells that could affect the climate were generally high-level magic. That was still too difficult for him.

But that didn't stop him from trying something on a smaller scale first, such as changing the designated target.

The Weave still considered a fresh egg to be alive, so Borne had prepared a dead one. He replaced some of its contents with a specially mixed potion.

This also served to test another of his theories. The Chip's projections gave it a 70% chance of working.

Everything was going according to Borne's plan. The only unexpected factor was his current location: beside the stone statue worshipped by the Lizardfolk.

To the Lizardfolk, the statue was the focus of their faith.

However, after Borne used the Chip to simulate resonance with it, the resulting false miracle had stirred up most of the Lizardfolk.

After their tribe's migration, the war, and the deaths of their companions, the Lizardfolk had fallen into an atmosphere of panic and confusion. Their faith in the statue gave them something to cling to. Just looking at its shape made it clear that most of the tribe didn't even know the name of the deity they worshipped.

When they suddenly saw the sacred stone they believed in manifest a miracle, many Lizardfolk became certain that some unknown deity had answered their prayers. Their fervor flared up in an instant.

An incredibly pure faith converged on the statue. And Borne, resonating with it through the Chip, was enveloped by the power of faith as well.

In that instant, he felt the source of magic once more—but this time, the experience was different.

Azure lines appeared before his eyes, quickly tracing out a spell model. It was the formula for Fog Cloud.

As the formula fully appeared, Borne's consciousness split in two. One part, carrying all his emotions, watched from the sidelines; the other was pure, emotionless reason.

His rational mind swiftly analyzed and extrapolated the formula. As his reason willed it, the entire spell began to change.

The framework of the model grew larger, and countless blank spaces filled themselves in. Its simple structure grew increasingly complex.

Soon, a completely new spell model appeared before him. His divided consciousness rejoined, and his awareness was instantly ejected from the Weave.

When his consciousness returned to his body, Borne blurted out, "[Stinking Cloud]!"

The Weave was stirred once more. Faint ripples spread out from Borne!

At the same time, the members of the Arcane Society, far away by the edge of the swamp, felt the disturbance in the Weave. They stared in shock toward the Lizardfolk tribe.

"Again?!"

Cook's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"So this was his plan? Cast a new arcane spell directly, then use the world's amplification to increase its power..."

Belon could hardly believe it. The only thought in his mind was: Is this guy even human?

He could churn out arcane spells like this...

"Could this be what a true genius looks like?"

Stars seemed to sparkle in Jennifer's eyes.

Dalena was also shaken by the sudden development. Her mind seemed to short-circuit, as if she'd been struck by lightning.

President Lisper felt a prickling sensation on her scalp. Cursing under her breath, she thought, This guy's insane. How long has it even been, and he's already made another new arcane spell? Is he trying to make the rest of us feel useless?

The Ranger, a half-trained spellcaster, was equally astonished. Even without understanding the details, he knew that "Primal Magic" wasn't some pebble by the roadside that you could just pick up.

Before long, faint gray mist began to appear across the swamp.

Swamp gas?

No!

It was the effect of magic. What kind of spell had such a wide area? He quickly alerted the members of the Arcane Society.

Only then did they come to their senses. They watched as the gray mist thickened over the swamp.

Knowing this was Borne's new arcane spell, they understood that he had cast it without testing it first in order to maximize its effect.

Primal Magic—the first arcane spell—was amplified by the Weave the first time it was cast after being created. Its power also increased according to how complete the spell model was.

That was why there were so few high-level Arcanists. Plenty of people got hurt just learning ordinary magic, let alone researching new spells.

New spells were generally developed through experimentation. Using one directly on a battlefield was practically suicide. In Nether's history, those who had dared to do so had either blown themselves up on the spot or damaged their minds and become idiots.

When the Weave's disturbance reached them, they knew Borne had succeeded with his new arcane spell. That was why they were so shocked!

"This spell looks a lot like [Fog Cloud]."

Lisper sounded a little puzzled.

Not many people checked out [Fog Cloud] in the first place, and even fewer practiced it. Unless someone had more points than sense, they wouldn't even consider learning it.

Only President Lisper had seen descriptions of Fog Cloud in the notes left by previous research-room presidents. It had been rated as one of the most useless spells.

Then she remembered what Borne had said before leaving.

"There are no useless spells, only useless spellcasters."

As the mist grew thicker, it also darkened. The entire swamp was soon enveloped in fog, which continued spreading rapidly into the wilderness. It was drawing closer to them by the moment.

A bird flew over the swamp. Before it could even pass through the mist, it dropped straight down. Only then did the others remember Borne's warning.

"Quick, we need to get out of here!"

The Ranger shouted. As he hurriedly surveyed the area for a route out, the members of the Arcane Society began quietly chanting spells all at once.

A moment later, the members of the Arcane Society flew away, leaving the Ranger gaping in disbelief.

"Holy crap... You can all fly?!"

The Ranger was instantly beside himself. "Wait, no—hey! Wait for me!"

Watching the mist draw closer, the Ranger scrambled down the tree faster than he ever had in his life and fled in a panic.

At last, the gray mist stopped after spreading five hundred meters into the forest. The others stopped a hundred meters from the fog, all secretly astonished by the spell's enormous range.

After being shocked by Borne time and again, they were gradually getting used to it.

"This range is nearly as large as a 5th-circle spell's, at least."

Belon sighed.

"You've seen a 5th-circle area spell?"

"No!"

Everyone else: "Tch..."

By the time Borne had successfully cast his arcane spell, his Invisibility had already worn off. But the System Chip was resonating with the stone statue, and a layer of light from the power of faith enveloped him as well.

With the light of faith radiating around him, he looked so impressive that even a priest in a temple would have thought a deity had descended!

The Lizardfolk Chieftain and the other Lizardfolk warriors were so frightened that they threw themselves on the ground and begged the gods for mercy.

Seeing that the Lizardfolk had been fooled, Borne finally breathed a sigh of relief. The Chip's analysis showed that the Lizardfolk Chieftain had nearly the strength of a high-level warrior. With the other Lizardfolk warriors, they posed a serious threat to Borne.

And [Fog Cloud] truly deserved its reputation as the most useless spell. Its casting method was enough to make anyone tear their hair out. The caster couldn't move while the spell was being activated, or the fog would stop forming.

Fortunately, there were no shamans or priests among the tribe who could cast spells. Otherwise, Borne would have had no choice but to run.

It didn't take long for the Lizardfolk Chieftain to grow suspicious, but he didn't dare question what was happening right away. After all, their ancestors were "the heavens."

That bought Borne a lot of time. Once the gray fog began to spread, many of the surrounding Lizardfolk started collapsing one after another.

The Lizardfolk Chieftain finally realized something was wrong, but he was closest to the statue and had inhaled the most fog. Even a high-level warrior's resistance to poison wasn't all that strong. His vision began to double, and his legs started trembling.

He drew the two spears at his side and hurled them one after another toward Borne.

According to the System's analysis, Borne dodged them with two quick sidesteps. Then he watched impassively as the Lizardfolk fell one after another.

After letting out an angry roar, the Lizardfolk Chieftain's limbs stopped obeying him, and he dropped to his knees.

The potion was a neurotoxin Borne had carefully prepared. Even a high-level warrior couldn't withstand it. As long as you weren't a legend, you were still a living creature—and neurotoxins worked every time!

Even with his powerful will, the Lizardfolk Chieftain could only lie there helplessly and watch as the neurotoxin spread through his body, slowly robbing him of consciousness...