What Are Spell Slots?

"Arcane Missiles!"

"Urgh!"

[Quest: Defeat Thugs 2/5]

Another thug was struck hard by a missile, let out a scream, and collapsed unconscious.

The two thugs who had "survived" were instantly overjoyed.

"The boss said it! He's used up his spell slots!"

"He's finished! The reward money is ours!"

The boss in the distance, barely standing with the support of a wooden stick, also wore a smug expression. "Where did this rookie come from? So what if you're a mage? You dared to act alone—now you'll learn just how dangerous the Lower City is!"

As the leader of the five, the burly man naturally knew far more than the other thugs.

He had personally seen the few spellcasters employed by the gang before. The spells they cast were indeed immensely powerful.

Whether ice arrows, fireballs, or missiles, once they hit, they could basically render their target unable to fight in an instant.

However, mages were simply too frail. Whenever the gang needed a mage to act, they would always be accompanied by enough underlings to protect them, specifically to prevent someone from ambushing them at close range.

What was more, because of spell slot restrictions, the number of spells they could cast each day was limited. Most low-level mages recruited by Lower City gangs were used as deterrents or for decapitation strikes.

As long as they appeared in battle, the enemy leader would be on edge, because a spell could hit him and "decapitate" him at any moment.

Conversely, once a mage was alone, without anyone to protect them, and had used up all their spell slots for the day, they would be in an extremely dangerous situation.

The burly leader had decisively concluded that he should overwhelm Pete with sheer numbers the moment he confirmed he was a spellcaster.

If Pete had been a traditional mage who believed in the Goddess of Magic, then with five thugs charging him together, that would indeed have been the best approach.

Sacrifice a few unlucky fools, drain his spell slots, and then he would be at their mercy!

Unfortunately, Pete had stopped being the Goddess of Magic's most loyal believer several hours ago.

I, Pete Chinar, have always been the God of Knowledge Noven's most devout follower!

Who is the Goddess of Magic? Never heard of her!

What age is this? Who still acts like a traditional mage?

After casting Arcane Missile three times in a row, Pete still looked full of energy. His hands never stopped moving, and in the blink of an eye, the fourth Arcane Missile had taken shape!

"Arcane Missiles!"

Pete immediately began chanting again!

"Arcane Missiles!"

Bang! Bang!

[Quest: Defeat Thugs 4/5]

All four underlings fell neatly to the ground, each entering a far from peaceful sleep.

The burly leader was completely dumbfounded.

The moment he saw the fourth purple missile fly out, he realized something was wrong. By the time the fifth Arcane Missile formed, his mouth had opened wide enough to fit a duck egg inside.

"Y-you! I-I... No! What is going on?!"

The burly man's first thought was that he had misjudged him!

A first-rank mage only had three chances per day to cast first-rank spells.

Upon advancing to the second rank, they gained one additional spell slot that could be used to cast second-rank spells.

But even if that second-rank spell slot were used to cast the first-rank Arcane Missile, that still only made four casts at most!

Pete had not used any magic scrolls or magical items prepared in advance during his casting. He had cast every spell himself through chanting!

Five casts!

That meant the other party was at least a third-rank spellcaster!

The burly man's second thought was that he was doomed!

A third-rank spellcaster could live a fairly respectable life even in Greenport's Upper City. They were on an entirely different level from Lower City people like them.

The burly man began to sweat profusely.

"Sir, no, my lord, um, please listen to my explanation. If I said I was just joking with you earlier, would you believe me..."

As Pete leisurely walked toward him step by step, holding the already formed sixth Arcane Missile in his hand, three purple missiles circled rhythmically within a small area, leaving beautiful purple trails behind them.

Pete had never felt this good before!

Back at his family's baron's estate, the maids and guards feared him too, but that was because he was the baron's son. His status as a noble meant servants and commoners simply did not dare offend him.

After coming to Greenport, the nobles' laws of the Rayak Kingdom no longer held any sway. This place was full of people from every race across the continent. He could even see ogre bodyguards swaggering down the streets, dark elf technicians, and the like.

Since he had little combat ability and wanted to ensure his own safety, Pete had originally planned to spend three years with Karon, obtain third-rank spellcaster certification, and then return home to continue living as a noble heir. Thus, he had never experienced a real fight before.

Yet this time, relying on his own strength and without anyone else protecting him, he had defeated five thugs head-on!

So this is what fighting as a mage feels like! Awesome!

The sensation of simply standing safely in place, chanting spells, and then "calling roll" on enemies one by one to knock them down was a brand-new experience for Pete!

Pete was not some high-rank spellcaster as the burly man had guessed. His true strength was still that of a second-rank mage, with three first-rank spell slots and one second-rank spell slot.

As for how he had broken through the spell slot restriction and cast the first-rank Arcane Missile multiple times?

The answer was simple.

"Thank you, great God of Knowledge!"

When Pete had completed the casting of Hada's Hunger, he had discovered the vast difference between Noven's method of casting magic and that of mages who believed in the Goddess of Magic. Now, he was merely confirming it once again.

Traditional mages had to record their magic in spellbooks beforehand, and they were limited by spell slots each day. Once their allotted casts were used up, they could no longer cast spells.

But when the same magic was cast using Noven's method, there was no such thing as a spell slot limit at all!

Pete could feel that casting magic consumed his mental energy. Each use of Arcane Missile made him slightly more fatigued, leaving him drowsy and in need of rest.

But compared to the pitiful few spell slots of a traditional mage, casting at the cost of mental energy was undoubtedly far more generous!

Arcane Missile was only a basic first-rank spell, and it did not consume much mental energy to begin with.

By Pete's estimate, in his current state, he could cast Arcane Missile at least ten times in succession while still staying conscious, rather than having his mental energy drained dry in one go and falling unconscious like when he had cast Hada's Hunger.

With enough casts and enough distance from his enemies, no matter how many foes came at him, he could simply pick them off one by one!

The burly man tried to force a fawning smile onto his face, but it looked even uglier than crying.

"My lord, could you just let me go? I swear I'll never appear before you again..."

Pete was just about to speak.

Bang!

A loud crash rang out.

A damp, moss-covered stone brick slammed heavily into the back of the burly man's head. He did not even let out a grunt before collapsing unconscious on the spot.

[Quest: Defeat Thugs 5/5]

[Quest Complete!]

Pete froze as he looked at Rena, who had somehow silently circled behind the burly man, just completed a vicious "backstab," and was still holding that stone brick in her hand.

"Ah?"

Please vote for me~ Muah~