No matter how many tangled thoughts filled Carpenter's heart, she still knew what mattered most to her.
Compared to the past, she had already set foot on a better path. With her fairly steadfast nature, she would never waver because of those mistakes.
Therefore, just as she had promised Russell... half a month later, Carpenter quietly became an Official Mage.
And she truly inscribed that composite spell, formed by combining Dancing Lights, Illusory Sound, and Demoralizing Gaze, into her Mental Sea as the foundation of her advancement.
Before learning Fast Casting, Mages did have certain special tricks that allowed them to bypass restrictions such as incantations... lengthy spells existed to resonate with the laws and bring them under a Mage's control.
And for spellcasting to succeed, it naturally had to be controlled with mental power.
Everything had to pass through the Mental Sea.
Therefore, once one became a Mage, it was possible to condense special sets of Runes within one's Mental Sea to achieve rapid casting or even instant casting for certain spells... but such condensation could only be accomplished when making a major breakthrough.
Some people were naturally gifted at rapid casting, so they could quickly grant their Mental Sea the ability to condense specific Runes... even such people had to begin by condensing a basic spell Rune set for themselves.
Most people chose this method to lay their foundations when advancing to Official Mage.
Many Mages ended up without a single special talent in their later years because of that initial choice... Mages without guidance often chose Mage Hand as the foundational Rune of their Mental Sea.
That was actually a perfectly standard choice.
After all, as the Mental Sea grew stronger and stronger, Mage Hand would be able to accomplish more and more tasks.
Many times, when