Learning Failed, Level Insufficient

Because Severus had been taken away early, Manus had plenty of time to stay in his room and consider where to spend those Skill Points.

"I have no magic power right now, and my environment is relatively safe. With my parents protecting me, practicality doesn't need to be the first consideration."

Although Manus had once been an archmage, he had not forgotten that he was now in another world.

This world had neither a Weave, nor had Manus sensed the existence of an Elemental Plane during meditation. Under such circumstances, rashly attempting to draw in magic power on his own would be tantamount to suicide.

Therefore, there was no need for Manus to prioritize immediate practicality when choosing where to spend his first Skill Point. He might even need to prepare himself for the possibility that he would not use this spell for the next several years.

"Although the skill panel contains spells from the world before I crossed over, the spells in my own memories are already enough. Even Ninth Circle spells, compared with the value of a new magic system..."

As long as the chosen spell was representative enough, a single spell could open the door to an entirely new system for Manus.

"Sure enough, all one hundred Skill Points should be used to develop new magic systems."

Manus directly removed the magic system of his original world from the list of options.

"Qi Magic is based on the positive qi and black qi that exist within every living being. Within the same world, positive qi and black qi tend toward equilibrium..."

Manus came across another unusual magic system. After reading the descriptions of several spells, he evaluated the system, then shook his head.

"A magic system like this is built upon the uniqueness of its world. Even if it can be cast, the value it offers me would still be limited. It cannot be a priority."

Even if such spells could be cast in other worlds, they would be weakened to some extent after leaving their special environment. They might even become completely unusable. He could consider them if he had spare Skill Points later.

But on second thought, that was unlikely. One hundred Skill Points was neither too few nor too many.

Afterward, Manus eliminated more magic systems built upon the peculiarities of their worlds, systems founded on unique bloodlines, and systems that absolutely required the use of local specialties or even the incorporation of those specialties into one's body...

Among the remaining magic systems, Manus carefully selected several after considering his current circumstances.

Based on the descriptions of the spells within each system, Manus summarized them.

Sitting at his desk, Manus took out a child-sized quill and listed the magic systems and their characteristics in his notebook.

Nature Magic: Based on a simple animistic worldview, it emphasizes communication with nature and commonly incorporates elements of totem worship.

Note: Its methods are primitive and lack precision. Mastery is nearly the only threshold, while its effects mainly depend on factors such as materials, environment, and the target of communication.

Elemental Magic: Based on perception and control derived from elemental affinity, it focuses on creating, gathering, shaping, and otherwise controlling elements.

Note: Directly controlling elements without relying on the Elemental Plane may seem highly similar to the Evocation School, but it holds great practical value. Its overlap with past knowledge also makes it suitable as a starting point for researching a new system.

Fairy-Tale Magic: Based on the idealistic power of emotion and will, it also involves elements such as fate and destiny.

Note: It generally carries a somewhat positive inclination. The power of positive emotions such as true love, honesty, and restraint seemingly brings a caster's fate closer to that of a "hero" in a story. It is uncertain whether this is caused by the uniqueness of that world.

Without exception, all three magic systems had low casting requirements and could provide him with fairly long-term support.

The low casting requirements were because Manus did not know when he would obtain magic power. Once he learned them, he could cast them immediately as soon as he acquired it.

As for their long-term value, that went without saying. Manus did not want to waste a single one of his hundred Skill Points.

On that basis, Manus made his final selection.

"Although Elemental Magic can draw upon knowledge from the Evocation School, making it suitable as a priority for researching a new system, and only requires magic power to cast, powerful elemental spells require enormous amounts of magic power to support them..."

With one spell chosen from each system, Manus naturally preferred representative and powerful spells.

Manus then turned to Fairy-Tale Magic. He was not worried about whether his newly awakened self possessed emotions, but the problem was that he truly could not determine whether the part involving fate was caused by that world's uniqueness.

Although Fairy-Tale Magic still had sufficient value even without that aspect, its priority would certainly not be as high.

"...Sure enough, the order in which I wrote them already reflected the answer in my heart."

After reviewing everything once more, Manus looked at Nature Magic and made his decision—

"Learning failed, level insufficient?"

Manus froze, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Learning spells has level requirements? The current level cap is only Level 10, so I can't consider overly powerful spells."

The frustration caused by the sudden blow gradually faded during shallow meditation. Manus did not turn back to alter the Character Panel. Instead, he quickly adjusted himself.

"Since there's a prompt like this, the effect of the Skill Points really has been restored successfully. Otherwise, there shouldn't have been any response."

Confirming that alone was already the greatest success.

As for being unable to use Skill Points to learn profound spells, that was not the core issue. Manus had wanted to learn representative and powerful spells only to balance academic value with practical value.

Being unable to learn profound spells with Skill Points merely meant losing the practical value those points offered. Compared with their academic value, it was hardly worth mentioning.

Taking the magic system from before Manus crossed over as an example, there were also highly representative low-circle spells.

For instance, the Negative Energy Ray of necromancy was only a First Circle spell, but control over negative energy was the most fundamental cornerstone of necromancy.

With his mindset calm once more, Manus began deciding again which spell to learn.

Recalling the most fundamental basis of the Nature Magic system, Manus's gaze finally settled on a spell.

[Beast Blood Baptism] Bathing oneself in the blood of an animal, assisted by an incantation, grants the caster corresponding enhancements. Only one Baptism may exist at a time.

The reason he chose this spell was that, besides being simple to cast and sufficiently fundamental, it also possessed a clear path of advancement within Nature Magic.

To make an analogy, if this spell were considered a zero-circle spell, then beginning from the First Circle, every circle had spells that were clearly advanced or variant versions of it.

Such a spell was undoubtedly one of the core cornerstones of its magic system, just as in the Enchantment School, from Dazing Spell to Daze Spell, then Charm Spell, Suggestion Spell, Directive Spell, Domination Spell, and so on.

It's you, Beast Blood Baptism!