"What kind of magic has given you such trouble?"

The Lord of Thunder was curious too.

It’s not unheard of for a high-level mage to fail with low-level magic. Indeed, the path of magic is vast like an ocean; even he wouldn’t dare claim mastery over all low-level spells.

But for a high-level mage to be brought to such a state by learning a low-level spell...

Usually, it involves decoding ancient magic, magical runes on magical beasts, or delving into the deeper principles of magic, which would cause one to be so disheveled.

Learning a self-created spell from a fifth-level mage shouldn’t be this difficult!

"So, what spell is it?"

The legendary mage reached out to his disciple. Archmage Carlisle, with a pained expression, obediently presented a stack of papers. He knew it, he knew it, thankfully he had made copies before coming!

The Lord of Thunder smiled and pushed up his monocle, flipping open the first page, then the second, then the third...

Soon, his gaze became focused, and he was silently immersed in the papers.

Archmage Carlisle stood beside him, hearing his teacher’s monocle crackle. Line after line of pale blue text chased each other, swiftly flowing across the lens.

Some words even floated out of the confines of the monocle, gently undulating around the Lord of Thunder:

Cells, electrical current, heart, drive, waveform, probing...

Archmage Carlisle held his breath, careful not to disturb his teacher’s contemplation. The Lord of Thunder pondered as he read, and when he reached the one-third mark, a flicker of electricity, almost tangible, flashed beside him.

Archmage Carlisle was startled, thinking the emotional surge had somewhat unleashed his teacher’s power, and quickly erected a defense. High-level energy protection, high-level mage armor, high-level...

Before the third spell could manifest, a blue-white Thunder Heart had already formed in front of the Lord of Thunder. Thump, thump, it gently pulsed, with tiny sparks rhythmically flickering on its surface, ceaselessly circulating.

"Emmm...this spell is very interesting, indeed quite interesting..."

After a while, the blue-white heart turned into a streak of lightning and shot into the edge of the monocle. The Lord of Thunder chuckled, turning to look at his disciple with a half-smile:

"How’s your learning going?"

"The casting isn’t hard, but the interpretation is too tedious..."

Archmage Carlisle answered honestly. The Lord of Thunder flipped through the papers, flipping a few times and chuckling each time. When he reached the end, he couldn’t help but laugh out loud: ṚαƝȱꞖÈᶊ

"It seems ten more days wouldn’t be enough for you to finish learning it. —By the way, how’s the little guy doing? Has he gotten fancy with his Fireball Spell yet?"

"Should I go summon him for you?" Archmage Carlisle asked cautiously. The Lord of Thunder nodded, then thought better of it and shook his head:

"No, let’s just go and see for ourselves. —Mr. Hermunculus, where is Garrett Nordmark now?"

Following the guidance of the Tower Spirit, they arrived at the fifth floor of the Thunder Tower, a practice room reserved for mid-level mages. Just as they approached the door, from afar they heard:

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"See, he’s learned."

The Lord of Thunder shrugged at his disciple, his tone unexplainably pleased. Archmage Carlisle barely resisted rolling his eyes, unwilling to respond:

Yes, yes, teacher, I know, he’s learned, and I’ve been ruined––

But why are you so happy? Are you pleased to see me fail?

Of course, the Lord of Thunder didn’t wait for his response. This legendary mage briefly concentrated, sensing the fluctuations in the room, and exclaimed:

"What are they up to?"

Saying this, he had already pushed open the door. Garrett, now unlike before, rich and powerful. Last time he had been in the hall, but this time, he decisively opened a private room.

With the Tower Spirit controlling it, other mages couldn’t even enter, much less sense what was inside. This setup was particularly suited for mages needing secrecy, and, of course, those developing new spells.

No mere permission could stop the Lord of Thunder. He casually pushed open the door, only to see Garrett crouched on the ground, head touching heads with Aurora, whispering:

"It seems nitrocellulose is still the best..."

"Similar to nitroglycerin, but easier to control..."

"Exactly, the combination of bat guano and sulfur, it’s just nitrate and sulfur."

"One sulfur, two nitrate, three charcoal, if you want to explode, clearly nitrocellulose is better!"

"Right, let’s try aluminum powder next?"

The Lord of Thunder and

his disciple, each cloaked in invisibility, stood silently in the corner, watching with interest. Aluminum powder? Seemed like something the young one had come up with last year, a metal powder, usable as casting material?

Aurora set up a balance scale, then took out a small bottle, carefully extending a spoon into the glass bottle, scooping out a bit of white powder. Garrett kept suggesting:

"Use less for the first time, 0.5 grams is enough... if successful, try 1 gram, 1.5 grams, 2 grams..."

This young man had quite a few tricks up his sleeve. The Lord of Thunder chuckled, remembering his own days studying the Fireball Spell, just like this:

Grinding sulfur and bat guano finely, sifting, weighing each component on the balance scale, mixing evenly. Testing the effects of spells with different ratios and amounts.

Back then, many fellow mages would just clump a small ball and use it. Only he, each time he went out, carried precisely measured, specifically proportioned little packets...

Garrett slightly closed his eyes, his lips moving as if chanting a spell. In a moment, he pointed forward, and a bright white little fireball, conjured from thin air, swiftly flew forward.

"Not quite proficient enough." Archmage Carlisle muttered. The Lord of Thunder glanced at his disciple, smiling slightly:

"Testing new materials, being slow is normal..."

And besides, this powder didn’t seem easy to burn. He hadn’t yet spoken when he looked forward, his eyes slightly narrowing:

Ahead, the blast zone erupted with a loud boom.

Using aluminum powder as casting material, actually able to launch a Fireball Spell, and... quite fiercely?

Although the spell’s requirements were higher, ordinary mental strength hardly easy to trigger an explosion...

"Another batch! Another batch!"

Aurora called from behind. The Lord of Thunder watched as the two youngsters, one casting and one weighing, recording readings, tried from 0.5 grams up to 5 grams, then down to 4.8 grams. Yet that wasn’t all; soon, Garrett had another idea:

"Magnesium-aluminum powder! Mix some magnesium powder with the aluminum powder and try!"

This time, the Fireball Spell exploded with exceptional effects, even mixing in an unusually bright white light.

...His teacher was right; in just a few days, Garrett had not only learned the Fireball Spell but had also played it up.

Archmage Carlisle quietly observed, feeling a calm within him, like a still well. Whatever new tricks Garrett pulled, no, whatever new innovations, they shouldn’t surprise him anymore.

Like...

Boom!

"Mixed with nitrocellulose... this effect doesn’t seem so good. The explosive power feels reduced..."

Boom!

"Mixing with nitroglycerin doesn’t work either..."

Boom!

"That’s what burning with white phosphorus looks like! Is this a white phosphorus bomb? No, this research can’t be released!"

After the Fireball Spell exploded, the white flames stuck to the stones, the floor, the magic barrier, burning long and unceasingly...

"Let’s try that one!" Finally, Garrett held a handful of magnesium-aluminum powder and an oxygen test tube in one hand. Looking left and right, he carefully made up his mind:

"That’s the last one for today! We’ll leave after this! Aurora, suit up!"

High-level mage armor, energy protection, shield spell, distant protection...

Magical light flickered. The Lord of Thunder stood behind, watching the two youngsters hang all sorts of protections, chuckling inwardly:

This is being very confident in oneself, believing that one’s own spell power couldn’t be contained by the practice room’s shield. Reminded of his youth, when he experimented with self-created spells, it was much the same...

After all the protections were up, and the practice room’s magical shield was raised, Garrett still felt a bit uneasy. Thinking it over, he loudly asked:

"Mr. Hermunculus! Mr. Hermunculus, are you there?"

"Here." The Tower Spirit’s voice floated calmly, undulating and even, sounding exceptionally peaceful:

"Maybe what you need is to open a high-level practice room?"

Uh... that’s not just about 50 contribution points anymore...

Bargaining even with the Tower Spirit and still losing... I feel so useless, my combat ability is so poor, it’s simply embarrassing...

Garrett hung his head in dejection, heading to the magic circle to swipe his badge. Immediately, the practice room’s floor silently flowed, forming a trench nearly half a person tall.

Perhaps as a complimentary service, steps were thoughtfully made on Garrett’s side to facilitate movement up and down. Otherwise, Garrett felt that with his physical prowess, he might need to cast a Featherfall Spell...

To prevent spraining an ankle.

The two young mages looked at each other, then both stepped down, checking their defenses one

last time. Then, Garrett crouched in the trench, half his head and one palm out:

"Three, two, one!"

The Fireball, slightly larger than a standard fire orb and much brighter, flew out rapidly. Its flying speed hadn’t changed, nor had its distance, just flying and flying and flying...

Confident in his own defenses, Archmage Carlisle didn’t reinforce his barrier. Out of the corner of his eye, though, he saw his teacher stretch out a hand, thumb pressing against the middle finger, flicking outward.

Shield after shield unfolded, nearly transparent. Positioned directly across from the blast center, parallel to the trench, every five meters. Just before the fire orb exploded, the Fireball Spell unleashing its full power, they quietly appeared, stretching all the way to the practice room’s wall.

Then—

Boom!!!

Shield after shield silently shattered. The entire practice room shook with it, a rush of hot air rolling over the trench, over the heads of Garrett and his companion, all the way up to Archmage Carlisle.

"This..."

Archmage Carlisle slowly opened his mouth.

This Fireball Spell is way too unreliable!

Range 200 meters, blast radius 300 meters!

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