The Terrifying Power of Wizardry and the Vastness of the Wizard System

Chapter 22: The Terrifying Power of Wizardry and the Vastness of the Wizard System

Ryan felt mentally stuffed, as though he had eaten and drunk so much that even breathing took effort. A faint dizziness came over him, and he instinctively grabbed the bookshelf beside him.

The Supernatural Knowledge he had once found impossible to understand became clear after the Eye of Truth analyzed it.

Countless Natural Energy Particles existed throughout the world. They had different attributes—some inert, some active, some elemental. Life came from nature, and the particle energy within a Wizard carried those same properties, though it was far harder to detect and existed in minute quantities.

A Wizard's Spiritual Power was the source of his supernatural abilities. Refined through Meditation, it could gradually affect reality.

Fearful Flame Wizardry used Spiritual Power to stir the particle energy within the body and release it.

Everyone was different, and the Elemental Particle Wizardry suited to them differed as well.

If someone's particle energy was more compatible with Fire Element Particles, casting Fire Element Particle Energy Wizardry would take less effort and produce greater power.

"Elemental Particle Affinity," Ryan murmured.

He wondered whether the particle energy in his body leaned toward that attribute. He also gained a new understanding of the choice of a Wizard's path described in the books on the shelves.

And this was only one branch of the Elemental Energy Wizard System.

The broader systems included Bloodline Wizards, Mechanical Wizards, White Wizards who studied life, and Black Wizards who pursued souls. Each of those systems had finer divisions of its own.

That was to say nothing of the Wizard Systems lost to history.

At that moment, the Wizard World, as vast and deep as the Endless Sea, revealed the tip of its iceberg to Ryan.

He took a deep breath. Whatever Elemental Particles he was attuned to, he had to give this a try.

The Eye of Truth continued analyzing a new Low-level Wizardry spell: the Fire Elemental Particle Energy Shield.

Ryan began learning to master Fearful Flame Wizardry.

Five days passed.

Outside, the sea remained much the same, apart from changes in the waters and the unpredictable sky.

The storm they had endured the previous night had left every freshman aboard the Wizard Ship shaken.

Thunder cracked, lightning flashed, winds howled, and waves surged. Amid it all, the enormous Wizard Ship was tossed about like a toy.

Everyone knew what would happen if the ship capsized.

Even Ryan had stopped studying Supernatural Knowledge for once. Harak huddled in a corner. Lightning flashed through the closed window, casting white light across Ryan's pale cheeks and revealing his fear.

Beyond the window, something terrifying seemed to lurk among the raging waves. Its body was unimaginably vast, and as it rolled at will, even the seabed trembled beneath it.

"So this is the Extreme Power of Nature."

They made it through the storm to blue skies, white clouds, and soaring seabirds.

There was more good news: Ryan had thoroughly mastered the theory of Fearful Flame Wizardry and perfected his particle energy calculations. He could now attempt to cast it.

The hardest part of the spell was controlling the particle energy and keeping each Energy Flame stable.

One slip, and it would explode, reducing the whole room to ruins. If he was lucky, it might leave his charred corpse intact.

The number of Energy Flames depended on how much particle energy the Wizard supplied. So did their power.

Ryan would never cast the spell in his room. To be safe, he joined that day's Sea Beast Hunt.

Harak circled overhead, keeping watch and looking out for any Wizard freshmen swimming his way.

A cluster of reefs rose from the sea, an unusual and rarely seen sight. The largest had endured sun, wind, and pounding waves, yet remained hard and solid.

Ryan stood on that reef, his gaze fixed on another that broke the surface a short distance ahead.

He was curious about Fearful Flame Wizardry's power rating.

Generally, it was judged by the number of Particle Energy Units a Wizard supplied.

According to the Legacy Wizardry Book, a fully cast Fearful Flame Wizardry spell could reach a power rating of at least 13.

Physical resistance could defend against a spell's power to a certain extent.

Of course, if the gap was too great, the target would only become charcoal.

Even steel could be reduced to liquid in an instant by the Energy Flames.

The second Wizard Rune had also raised his particle energy stat to 1.6.

Ryan steadied himself and used his Spiritual Power to sense the Natural Particle Energy around him.

It was a trick for mastering and casting unfamiliar spells: use the elemental properties of the world to stir a reaction in the particle energy within his body. It could even increase the spell's power a little.

But it took time, making it especially clumsy in combat.

He raised his pale hand. A great deal of particle energy gathered in his palm, and with the help of his Supernatural Spiritual Power, a flash of crimson bloomed there.

Fwoosh!

At first, the flame was tiny, like a seed. As more particle energy flowed into it, it grew larger, and its flickering gradually steadied.

At last, a crimson Energy Flame the size of a bowl's rim hovered above his palm. It wavered in the sea breeze, as though it might go out at any moment.

It had consumed at least eighty percent of the particle energy in his body.

Ryan's expression changed slightly. Flecks of blue light flashed in his pupils.

Highly concentrated particle energy was packed inside the flame, tightly contained and barely kept in balance by his Supernatural Spiritual Power.

But each bit of Fire Element Particle Energy was highly active. It moved and collided of its own accord, threatening to break that balance.

Ryan's scalp prickled. He hurled the flame away.

The next moment, the swelling flame shrieked through the air and burst into light and heat, engulfing an area roughly five meters across. The reef lay within its reach.

Hiss!

Steam rose from the sea. The spell was still too unfamiliar, and Ryan could not sustain it for long—only two seconds.

Ryan narrowed his eyes. The flames had died, leaving the reef charred black.

The Eye of Truth saw beneath the surface. The reef's interior had been thoroughly destroyed; a light squeeze would crumble it like loose soil.

Inside, however, the intense heat had also created a Crystalline State.

Target: Fearful Flame

Power rating: 13

Duration: 2 seconds

Casting time: 10 seconds

Perhaps the sea was partly to blame. The surrounding elemental medium favored water and was in an inert state.

Drawing it in through Spiritual Power was too slow.

In ten seconds, even an ordinary person could have run up and stabbed him seven or eight times.

Ryan frowned. The power rating met the standard, but both the casting time and duration could be improved.

The environment inevitably affected Wizardry. On land, the spell should be somewhat stronger.

With the Eye of Truth's help, he should be able to skip drawing on the surroundings with his Supernatural Spiritual Power and cast the spell directly using the particle energy in his body.

Fortunately, its analysis of Fire Element Particle Energy Wizardry was nearly complete.

It would be finished tonight!