Greater Gravity Spell

Although Morin's speculations about the laws were roughly the same as Arnold's own thoughts, Morin was, after all, only a Ninth-level Mage, not a Saint Domain Magus. Arnold would not completely believe Morin's words just because of that, so he set the matter aside for the time being. As Morin had written in the book, comprehending laws was something for at least Eighth-level or even Ninth-level Mages. Arnold was only a Fifth-level Mage now. Laws were not something he needed to consider. What mattered most to Arnold was advancing quickly.

After reading through the entire book, flames rose from Arnold's hand, and he directly burned the book. Although the book was of excellent quality and had lasted for centuries, it was only exceptionally effective at preservation. Before Arnold's flames, it was reduced straight to ashes.

Arnold had memorized the entire contents of the book. Having obtained it, he had many thoughts, but the Warcraft Mountain Range was not a suitable place for experiments. Thus, Arnold prepared to return directly to the academy.

Arnold had left Ernst Academy on February 1st. By the time he returned, it was already April 25th. After returning, Arnold and the four others, including Yale, gathered once more at the Wadeley Hotel.

Yale and the others asked Arnold about his battles and gains in the Warcraft Mountain Range. Naturally, Arnold was not stingy and briefly told them about some of the powerful magical beasts he had encountered and slain.

Time always passed quickly during pleasant conversations.

In the blink of an eye, it was the next day, and Arnold began his journey of study in the Ernst Academy library.

He spent most of his time meditating, with a smaller portion devoted to physical training and reading. As the number one magic academy on the continent, Ernst Academy had an immeasurable collection of books in its library. Naturally, Arnold mainly read books related to magic.

Just like that, two months passed. Arnold's breadth of knowledge expanded enormously.

Why did Arnold spend so much time reading books? Because he had an ambition: he wanted to create new magic.

When casting magic, most mages recited magical incantations and cast spells step by step. They knew how, but not why. However, if mages understood certain magical principles, or even managed to simplify their incantations or control their spiritual force more efficiently, they could raise the efficiency of their magical power to a greater extent.

But understanding magical principles and the mysteries of magic did not mean one could create magic.

The creation of magic was determined by several factors.

First, one needed a clear understanding of magical principles. Second, the effect the magic was meant to produce was crucial. The arrangement of magical elements was extremely important. Even for the same spell, different elemental arrangements could produce greater power.

After spending two months in the library, Arnold could no longer hold himself back. He ran to the back mountain and began his experiments.

The magic Arnold wanted to create was related to the Gravity Spell. When he had previously practiced the Gravity Spell, Arnold had wondered why it made an object's gravitational pull toward the ground exactly twice as strong, rather than 1.9 or 1.8 times as strong. Although the spell's effect grew stronger as a mage's level rose, it clearly did not achieve the effect Arnold wanted.

The first thing Arnold needed to do was improve the Gravity Spell, making the gravitational pull objects experienced stronger or weaker.

Arnold naturally knew the Gravity Spell's incantation by heart, and he was equally familiar with its elemental arrangement.

Again and again, Arnold cast the Gravity Spell on himself. During this process, based on the books on magical principles he had read in the library, he continuously adjusted the incantation and tested the spell's effects.

After a month of painstaking adjustments, Arnold achieved his first success. He cast a Gravity Spell that made gravitational pull five times stronger, while consuming the same amount of magical power as the original Gravity Spell.

With his first success, Arnold soon had his second and third. The gravitational pull exerted by the Gravity Spell on objects continued to increase, from fivefold to threefold... Another full month passed, and Arnold's improved Gravity Spell made gravitational pull three times stronger, while consuming only one-tenth more magical power than the original version.

Arnold was quite satisfied with making the Gravity Spell triple an object's gravitational pull, and he did not intend to continue experimenting with increasing it. Next, he turned in another direction, seeking to reduce the gravitational pull exerted by the Gravity Spell on objects.

Taken literally, the Gravity Spell was meant to increase an object's gravitational pull. What use was there in researching how to reduce it?

This was a direction of magical research Arnold had conceived from the Gravity Spell: attraction and repulsion.

The Gravity Spell was an application of attraction. The magic Arnold wanted to create was an application of repulsion.

When the Gravity Spell was cast on a living being, it made that being feel extremely heavy, and its speed would be suppressed. If a Repulsion Spell truly existed and was cast on a living being, would it not make that being feel lighter, perhaps even increase its speed? If they fought, would Arnold not be at a disadvantage?

Arnold naturally understood this. His ultimate goal was to develop magic that combined attraction and repulsion.

Suppose there were a space filled with gravity, where enemies of the same level had their speed drastically reduced while Arnold himself remained completely unaffected, or even gained a tremendous increase in speed. Would killing his enemies not be as easy as turning over his hand?

Just as people would feel very light on the moon, because the moon's gravitational pull was only one-sixth that of Earth's.

The repulsion Arnold envisioned was not aimed at his enemies, but at himself. People were accustomed to normal gravitational pull. If Arnold developed repulsion and applied it to a person, reducing the gravitational pull they experienced to 0.9 times normal, that person would surely feel somewhat lighter. If the gravitational pull were 0.5 times normal, it would be even more extraordinary. A lighter body was, in effect, an increase in speed.

Once the original Gravity Spell was cast, gravitational pull immediately doubled. For Arnold, reducing gravitational pull was simpler than increasing it.

In truth, whether gravitational pull was increased or reduced, the actual gravitational pull of the Geomagnetic Force remained unchanged. It was merely that the spell made people feel as though the overall gravitational pull had increased or decreased.

Arnold developed Gravity Spells that reduced an object's gravitational pull from twice normal to 1.9 times, then 1.5 times, and even 1.1 times, all within a single week. He called Gravity Spells with gravitational pull between 1.1 and 1.9 times normal the weakened version of the Gravity Spell—the Gravity Spell—and they also consumed less magical power. Arnold estimated that a Gravity Spell with 1.1 times normal gravitational pull counted as first-level magic; one with 1.2 to 1.4 times normal gravitational pull counted as second-level magic; one with 1.5 to 1.6 times normal gravitational pull counted as third-level magic; and one with 1.7 to 1.9 times normal gravitational pull counted as fourth-level magic. In fact, a Gravity Spell with 1.9 times normal gravitational pull consumed an amount of magical power somewhere between fourth-level and fifth-level magic.