Pearls with Custom Spells (Please keep reading)

Seeing that the haul was good, Kroya immediately led the dolphins away to the beach where he had planned to plant the Air Coral.

He couldn't drain the pond to catch every last fish. He could take his time with the rest.

Sitting on the soft sand, he looked at the five enormous clams, each the size of a millstone, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Very nice!"

He praised the dolphins, ducks, and fish, then eagerly prepared to open the clams.

If he wasn't mistaken, these were second-level magical beasts called Sea-Pattern Clams. Their pearls were said to bear naturally formed sea magic patterns.

These natural magic patterns could gather mana on their own and cast basic water spells. The more intricate and advanced the patterns, the more terrifying the spells they could unleash.

Supposedly, a Legendary Mage from the Mage Association had once obtained a legendary-grade sea-pattern pearl and fashioned it into a magic artifact.

It was one of the Mage Association's hidden reserves. Given enough time to gather mana beforehand, it could even unleash forbidden spells such as World-Destroying Netherfrost Calamity.

To think these wondrous clams actually lived here. How could a place like this be considered poor in resources?

He really had no idea what those people at the Mage Association were thinking.

The presence of these Sea-Pattern Shells alone meant the place had a specialty worth developing.

Of course, the ones before Kroya were surely ordinary specimens. It wasn't as though he could crack one open and find a legendary pearl...

At most, they probably cast second- to third-level spells such as high-pressure water jets or ice blasts.

Even that would satisfy him.

They would make a fine addition to his magical reserves, whether he sold them or fashioned them into magic artifacts.

Now it was time to open the clams.

"I remember it going something like this..."

He wanted to avoid damaging their shells, and he also intended to keep raising them so they would continue producing pearls.

That ruled out killing them and taking the pearls by force.

He would need a little trick.

He carefully drew a magic circle on the sand, sprinkled mana-conducting powder throughout it, then infused it with mana.

With a whoosh, faint flames sprang up inside.

A crimson ring of fire surrounded the Sea-Pattern Clam and heated its shell. The flames were weak enough not to injure it, but strong enough to make it feel the heat.

Soon, the shell opened a crack from dehydration.

Kroya swiftly wedged a prepared iron rod between the shells, revealing a pearl that still gleamed with blue light despite being wrapped in the clam's flesh.

It was smooth and round, shimmering with magical radiance.

"The quality seems pretty good."

Although the pearl was half buried in flesh, Kroya had come prepared. With a slice of his knife, he removed both the pearl and the flesh around it.

The poor clam shuddered in pain, helplessly watching the robber steal the pearl it had painstakingly nurtured. Deprived of seawater and scorched by flames, it had no strength to resist.

"Phew, that went pretty smoothly."

Once the pearl was out, Kroya removed the iron rod and told the ducks to carry the clam into the water. It was a second-level magical beast, after all. A few days of recovery would restore the little bit of flesh it had lost.

He repeated the process, removing the pearls from the other four Sea-Pattern Clams in turn. But as he extracted the last pearl, he suddenly sensed something.

His puzzled gaze lingered for a few seconds on the egg-sized pearl in his hand. It was lustrous white, perfectly round and flawless, but otherwise unremarkable.

"Huh." Kroya was immediately puzzled.

The other four pearls all had naturally formed magic patterns. Why didn't this one?

A magical beast with something wrong with it? Could I...

He immediately looked at the Sea-Pattern Clam whose pearl he had taken. With a thought, he activated the Astral Body Inscription Technique.

As expected, he sensed the Sea-Pattern Clam's consciousness-

I'm so stupid. I can't learn anything...

My pearl... has no magic patterns...

Why? Why don't I have my innate spell?!

Kroya blinked. Well, well.

He hadn't needed a prompt this time. Did that mean he was gradually gaining mastery over this spell?

So the magic patterns on Sea-Pattern Clam pearls come from their innate spells? No wonder this one doesn't have any. You don't know how to cast yours.

He hadn't expected even clams to have their share of fools.

Upon discovering this, an idea immediately struck him. "Wait, does that mean I can set one up for you?"

After he inscribed a spell onto it, would it be able to reproduce that specific spell on its pearls, allowing for mass production?

Would that mean he could have whatever spell he wanted?

He immediately considered which spell to inscribe.

First, this creature was a water-element magical beast, so it would have to be a water spell. Its level couldn't be too high either, or the pearl would probably take ages to grow.

The Sea-Pattern Clam that had produced the pearl for the artifact called the Netherfrost Crown had probably lived for at least ten thousand years.

So, something that would show results quickly, yet still be special...

"Water Luminary Magic!"

Kroya clapped his hands, convinced that Water Luminary Magic was the best fit. With the spell model mastered and enough Water Luminary Power available, even an idiot could cast it.

The Water Luminary spells he had learned so far were Water Luminary Sword, Azure Water Jet, Diamond Water Dust, and Water Restoration Art.

After a moment's consideration, he decided to inscribe Water Luminary Sword.

The reason was that this spell could persist for a long time. Once summoned, a Water Luminary Sword could remain indefinitely as long as it had a supply of Water Luminary Power.

It was effectively an enchanted water-element weapon.

He could give them to his subordinates and create an entire army equipped with magical weapons-just imagine seemingly harmless soldiers suddenly conjuring magical weapons at their sides.

Never mind the boost in combat strength; it would certainly be enough to show off. Anyone who didn't know better would think every last one of them was a magic swordsman.

Just imagining the sight was wonderful.

It also suited his prestige as a mage lord.

"That settles it!"

He immediately began inscribing Water Luminary Sword onto the Sea-Pattern Clam. The process went remarkably smoothly, and soon a notification appeared-

[Inscription successful: Sea-Pattern Clam (Water Luminary Sword · Sage)]

[When the Sea-Pattern Clam nurtures a pearl, it will reproduce magic patterns on the pearl according to the power of the inscribed Water Luminary Sword.]

[Water Luminary Sword requires Water Luminary Power. A sufficient supply of Water Luminary Power is required while nurturing the pearl. Its duration depends on the quality of the Water Luminary Power within the pearl.]

Kroya stared at the successfully inscribed Sea-Pattern Clam, recalling the pearl-farming methods from his previous life.

Magical beasts like this already possessed basic intelligence, so simply placing a suitable Pearl Core inside would generally prompt them to begin nurturing a pearl.

That would save him plenty of trouble.

As for the Pearl Core, Kroya decided to use waterlight essence and a small piece of charged crystal. The latter could hold mana of almost any attribute, making it perfect for continuously supplying the pearl with Water Luminary Power.

He had chosen waterlight essence because of the notification's mention that duration "depends on the quality of the Water Luminary Power." Was there anything better than waterlight essence?

Obviously not.

But he would have to return to the laboratory to obtain both the waterlight essence and the charged crystal, so he could only suppress his urge to try it immediately.

If this experiment succeeded, it would prove his theory correct. In the future, he could inscribe spells using other sustainable sources of power rather than being limited to Water Luminary Sword.

"I'll deal with it later. I can't let outsiders into the laboratory..."

He stood, took out the Air Coral he had been carrying with him, then dove underwater and planted them in a triangle on a flat stretch of seabed.

Finding themselves in a new environment without bubbles, the Air Coral immediately began producing them with eager haste. The three bubbles gradually expanded, and before long, they would likely merge into one.

With his planting plan complete, he returned to the beach in satisfaction. He had accomplished everything he had set out to do on this trip.

But when he saw the enormous pile of things the dolphins had brought to the beach, the corners of his mouth still twitched-not from exasperation, but delight.

Thank you to Youling Zhuyu q Dimensional Interferer p for the monthly ticket, and to everyone for the recommendation votes. Thank you~