The Art of Spring Return

Lilin heard how dire the situation was from Laria and sighed, "Is it truly this severe? What are we to do now, sister? We cannot simply stand by and watch them be consumed by the shadow."

Laria pondered for a moment before saying, "Next, I intend to perform a ritual to call upon the power of Elune to cleanse the curse from their bodies."

"However, this ritual requires a great deal of time, and I fear some of them may not last that long. Do you know how to brew potions?"

Lilin nodded, "I do. While studying at the headquarters of the Temple of the Moon, I learned quite a few basic formulas from the apothecaries."

Laria smiled, "That is excellent. My mount, Lida, has a pack containing many herbs, some of which can be used to brew shadow protection potions. Go retrieve them, brew a batch, and feed it to them."

Lilin nodded, "Very well, I shall go at once." She then turned and walked briskly out of the hall.

Seeing that Lilin had moved away, Laria turned back to Kalei and asked, "Kalei, have you learned Rejuvenation?"

Kalei was startled, then shook his head, "No, I have only just begun studying that spell; I have not yet mastered it."

Laria smiled, "Is that so? Rejuvenation is not a dangerous spell. This is the perfect opportunity; you may practice it to your heart's content, and you will master it soon enough."

"While I am confident I can heal these patients, the shadow energy within them is constantly eroding their vitality. I fear that even if they are cured, they may suffer from severe lingering effects."

"Therefore, you will need to cast Rejuvenation on every companion whose life force is weak. Can you do that?"

Kalei sensed the natural energy around him and touched the Crescent Staff on his back, saying, "If that is the case, then I will try my best."

Laria said with satisfaction, "Very good." She lowered her voice suddenly, "Kalei, while saving our companions' lives is important, do not let yourself fall into danger. Remember to always keep enough mana in reserve for yourself, just in case."

Kalei asked in surprise, "Priestess Laria, have you discovered something?"

Laria looked through the window toward the outside of the temple and said softly, "I do not know the specifics yet, but I have a premonition that this matter will not be so simple. Perhaps there is a trap waiting for us ahead."

As expected of someone who has lived for thousands of years, Kalei thought to himself. Though she appears calm and indifferent on the surface, her heart is as clear as a mirror, seeing everything. He nodded, "I understand, Priestess. I will proceed with caution."

Having finished her instructions, Laria said no more. She went to the base of the statue of the ancient priestess, sat cross-legged, and began the preparations for the ritual.

Seeing this, Kalei also began his work.

He drew the Crescent Staff gifted to him by his teacher from his back.

Influenced by the nearby Moonwell, the light radiating from the staff grew even brighter.

In the world of Azeroth, the essence of spellcasting is the caster using their own energy to sense and guide the energy in the surrounding environment, condensing it, and constructing it according to a specific spell model before finally releasing it. The entire process does not actually rely on incantations or specific gestures; these are often merely auxiliary means.

Therefore, the main factors affecting spellcasting include: the caster's own energy reserves, the concentration of energy in the surrounding environment, the speed of sensing and absorbing energy, and the efficiency of using mental power to construct spell models.

The value of a high-quality staff lies in: first, it can store energy, effectively increasing the available energy temporarily; second, the special material of the staff makes it easy to resonate with surrounding energy, accelerating the absorption speed; third, the inscriptions and magic circles carved on the staff help the caster focus their mind, reducing the mental consumption when constructing spells.

Thus, a suitable staff is crucial for a caster.

After receiving the blessing of Elune, the energy within Kalei's body had increased significantly, and his speed in sensing and absorbing surrounding energy had also greatly improved. Now, with a new staff, both his spellcasting efficiency and the power of his spells had increased several times over compared to before.

Holding the Crescent Staff, Kalei circled the wounded to inspect them, finally stopping in front of a male elf who had suffered a severe abdominal injury.

The elf's stomach had been torn open by a bear-man; it was a miracle he was still alive.

However, having persisted until now, his vitality was less than thirty percent of his usual level. If it continued to drain, an unexpected tragedy might occur.

Kalei raised his staff toward the wounded man and began to sense, absorb, and condense natural energy. These processes went smoothly, and the next step was to construct the spell model.

For a caster, constructing the spell model is always the most difficult part.

A spell model is the result of countless trials accumulated by predecessors over hundreds of years. Unless one has mastered the spell, it is best not to make any changes, or the consequences could be unpredictable.

Some people, in order to achieve better spell effects, often use specific gestures while mentally constructing the spell model.

While this is conducive to spellcasting, performing such actions while casting would surely expose one's position.

Therefore, despite the many difficulties, Kalei insisted on not using gestures when learning spells.

The only gesture he used when casting was pointing his staff at the target.

Kalei waited until the Crescent Staff emitted enough green light before beginning to construct the spell model according to the information for Rejuvenation.

In the past, when he practiced new spells, he would often fail at this stage.

But this time, he found that condensing the spell model was extremely smooth. His thoughts were clear, and the mobilization of energy was fluid. The spell was successfully condensed quickly, and a green light flew from the tip of the staff toward the elf.

At the same time, information began to appear on his panel.

You have mastered the intermediate profession skill: Rejuvenation. This spell can heal severe wounds.

Your current Rejuvenation (12/100)

Nourished by the Rejuvenation spell, the elf's previously haggard face immediately became ruddy.

Success at last. Kalei was overjoyed as he watched the man gradually recover.

He had not expected this casting of Rejuvenation to go so smoothly. His progress had jumped by 12 points, which meant his basic spellcasting skills had been greatly strengthened and his cultivation speed had increased significantly. How could he not be happy?

Having succeeded once, the second time was much easier. However, Kalei still kept Laria's instructions in mind and maintained a steady rhythm.

By the time Lilin returned from outside with the supplies, Kalei had already treated eight people.

Rejuvenation is not a simple spell; it requires refining and condensing free-roaming natural energy into a more concentrated and pure life force. The process is quite mentally taxing.

Having cast the spell eight times in a row, Kalei still had half of his natural energy left, but his mind was somewhat exhausted, forcing him to sit down and meditate to rest.

Lilin was very surprised to see that Kalei had treated more than half of the people with Rejuvenation in such a short time, but she did not speak, simply handing the basket of food she was carrying to Kalei.

Having come from Maestra, Kalei had not eaten for half a day and was indeed hungry. He accepted it, nodded in thanks, and then picked out some sweet potato bread from the basket to eat.

Lilin smiled and set the basket down beside Laria.

Laria did not eat, opting only to drink a little Peacebloom Tea to aid her spellcasting before continuing with her preparations.

Lilin knew that when a priestess performed ritual magic, she had to be fully devoted, sharing her entire being with the Moon Goddess, so it was indeed inappropriate to eat; thus, she did not try to persuade her.

She set down the basket and began her own work.

The crowd gathered outside the temple saw that the three were each focused on their tasks and, finding it inconvenient to disturb them, gradually dispersed.

In the vast temple, only the low sound of Laria's prayers, the faint clatter of Lilin grinding herbs, and the intermittent sounds of Kalei's spellcasting remained.