Projection Spell

A librarian position at the academy library was a fairly easy part-time job, far better than her work copying books. Naturally, competition for it was fierce.

She had no connections, no influence, and no money for gifts. Even though she was qualified, she was quickly eliminated. Of course, there was still a way to turn things around... if she offered herself up. But she refused!

Seeing that Petty had reasons she found hard to discuss, Zheng Yichen nodded and asked no more. It seemed this kind of deal happened everywhere, regardless of borders.

He set several trigger-based warning spells around them, then turned his attention back to his real body.

Opening his eyes in the middle of the night, he immediately saw several hazy white figures drifting through the lightless castle. This was no illusion. He was seeing ghosts!

When Zheng Yichen "woke," a Ghost Maid floated over and gestured with both hands, asking whether he wanted something to eat.

He declined the Ghost Maid's kind offer and asked quietly, "Has Lolise still not come out of her room?"

The Ghost Maid nodded gently.

"She hasn't left, has she?"

The Ghost Maid promptly shook her head.

"No point thinking about it. I'll make another Magic Weapon after a while," Zheng Yichen muttered. Without moving from his spot, he settled down and went back to sleep.

Once he was asleep, the Ghost Maid who had spoken with him smiled softly. Two more Ghost Maids floated down from the second floor, one of them unmistakably carrying the wooden tiles Zheng Yichen had made not long ago... his version of playing cards.

The rules were fairly simple. After making them, Zheng Yichen had taught the little Ghost Maid several games. He had thought it would take some time for the cards to catch on among the Ghost Maids.

Without his noticing, more and more Ghost Maids had gathered in the castle. Several who looked younger had no patience to wait quietly for their turns and scampered about, playing silently.

Even Zheng Yichen's back became their "battlefield."

Despite spending several nights here, Zheng Yichen had never noticed how lively the castle became at night. He slept on, none the wiser, until the next morning. His punctual internal clock woke him as the first ray of light entered the castle, which was, as always... spotless!

Nothing seemed amiss. He tapped the bands around his wrists and ankles, raising the gravity enhancement on himself a little. Lolise had taught him how to use them. He could remove them or turn off the gravity enhancement whenever he wanted.

"Huh? Didn't sleep well?" As Zheng Yichen left the castle for his morning exercise, he noticed that a Ghost Maid accompanying him seemed a little listless.

"..." The Ghost Maid shook her head and gestured with both hands, leaving him staring in confusion.

"Lost too much... uh, lost too much what?"

The Ghost Maid raised her little hand, and an image of a playing card appeared above it. Seeing this, Zheng Yichen took out Bonnakane's magic book from where it hung on his back. He quickly found a similar spell: a basic illusion spell that created a phantom image.

How clear the image appeared depended on the user's ability. Generally, the smaller the object, the sharper the image.

But what did she mean she had lost too much at cards?

Zheng Yichen parted his lips, then found himself at a loss for words. In a sense, he was the culprit behind her losses. "Invite me next time you play."

His words came out a little stiff. What a joke! He had made the cards, yet he still hadn't played a single hand. If he got bored again, he could make a mahjong set too. He had plenty of ways to pass the time tucked away in his head.

When he used Dream Entry Magic, the computer in his dream bedroom still worked. Many of a computer's real functions were unavailable, but the ordinary ones he knew well still worked. At the very least, he could use it as a notebook.

The knowledge he recorded there was hard to forget, just like the Common Tongue he had learned in the dream. But there were risks. It was hard on the mind, and frequent use could even permanently damage the essence of his mind.

That was the main reason Zheng Yichen had felt mentally exhausted after learning the Common Tongue in a way that was practically cheating. An ordinary person would probably have lost their mind...

The things he recorded there, however, were all things he already knew. He was only writing them down so he wouldn't forget them later, not learning anything new. Under those circumstances, the strain on his mind was much lighter.

The Ghost Maid nodded. After finishing his daily exercise, Zheng Yichen returned to the castle for a look. Lolise still hadn't "come out of seclusion," so he shifted his attention back to Petty.

She had returned to the academy that morning and was now in class, though she didn't seem to be doing well. Every so often, she gently rubbed her shoulder, as if she had slept on it awkwardly.

"Good morning, Connor," Petty whispered when she felt a slight movement in her roomy pocket. Zheng Yichen had only shifted his attention back to his real body last night; his Summoned Projection had not vanished. When she woke that morning and saw that he had not "woken" yet, she hadn't wanted to disturb him.

She had hurried back to her dormitory to change. As for Zheng Yichen, she couldn't bear to leave him there. If someone found him, they might take him away—no, they certainly would. So she had brought him along to class...

She was attending class with a dragon. Beneath her unease, she felt an excitement she could hardly put into words.

"Mm, good morning." From inside her pocket, Zheng Yichen could feel her trembling faintly. He tried to poke his head out to see what was happening, but Petty noticed and immediately clamped a hand over the pocket.

"Please don't, Connor. Someone will see you," she urged in a voice barely above a breath.

Zheng Yichen shook his head helplessly. If he wanted to look out, he could just poke two holes through her pocket. "All right. Call me after class."

Only then did Petty breathe a sigh of relief. Zheng Yichen had struck her as remarkably good-tempered, but that didn't mean he had no temper. He was a dragon, after all. She had regretted snapping at him the moment she did it. Thankfully, he wasn't angry...

Zheng Yichen returned his attention to his real body, shifted to a more comfortable position, and continued reading the magic book. He had no idea how much was recorded in it. He could easily finish a novel of over a million words in a day or two, yet he had been reading this book for days.

"Hmm, Projection Spell, Projection Spell..." Zheng Yichen compared the entries on the pages. There were quite a few projection-related spells. Some were innate racial abilities that couldn't be copied; they were included only as records, so readers could understand them rather than remain entirely ignorant.

Aside from those, the book contained Projection Spells of several different ranks. The Magic Array Pattern for the advanced Projection Spell was the most complex, and its effect was naturally the best. The next rank down was much simpler, though he could still see many similarities to the advanced version.

Only with enough to compare could he make new discoveries. Leaving special spells aside, low-level and even basic spells of the more common kinds looked as though they had been simplified from the Magic Array Patterns of higher-ranked spells.

Of course, that didn't mean higher-ranked spells were necessarily the original ones. It was like writing: couldn't strokes taken from one character form another? There was no need to dig too deeply into which came first. He couldn't go wrong by mastering the basics!

The basic Projection Spell was much like Summoned Projection in nature, but it had a limit. At best, the projection it created possessed only one-twentieth to one-tenth of the user's strength. It could project only the user and ordinary items they carried; anything even slightly unusual could not be projected.

The number of projections was limited too. Without the ability to divide one's attention, one was the maximum, since the user had to control it personally. In battle, a projection would do more harm than good if the user lacked the skill, scattering their focus. The magic book's notes also explained that Projection Spells were generally used to test for hidden dangers or conduct hazardous experiments...