Chapter 120 Drawing Problems

After returning to his room, Shaoke took out the 'Spell Record' and wrote down the questions about magic practice he had heard that day in Chinese characters. He found that the seventh-tier mage's explanations were much more detailed and easier to understand than those he had heard from Mage Roman, which made him even more eager for the next day's lecture.

Just as he was writing, Mage Roland, a familiar guest, interrupted him again. Seeing Mage Roland looking better, Shaoke felt that he had recovered from the fatigue of battle, which immediately eased his worries.

"Mage Snow Night, sorry to disturb you," Mage Roland said naturally as he sat on the crate serving as a chair, glancing at the writing tools on Shaoke's writing desk and realizing he had interrupted again.

"Welcome, Mage Roland," Shaoke shrugged, tidied up his paper and pen, and smiled at him, indicating he didn't mind. "You look much better than yesterday. Is there something you need?"

"Ha!" Mage Roland was familiar with Shaoke's direct manner of speaking, so he wasn't embarrassed by it. He thanked Shaoke again for the medicine he had given him the day before, then hesitantly asked, "Shall we go to the tavern later? I think we both need to relax a bit." He added, "If you have something to do, I'll go alone."

Shaoke thought for a moment. He didn't want to go to the tavern just yet; he wanted to firmly memorize the knowledge he had heard that day and mull it over carefully. "I'm sorry, Mage Roland, but I don't have time to go to the tavern today or for a while in the future. I have more important things to do."

Seeing Mage Roland's puzzled expression, Shaoke organized his thoughts and recounted what had happened that day, ending with a wry smile. "Isn't it ironic? Trading our lives for faster promotion, spellcasting techniques, and precious magic materials, only to return to the battlefield again."

"No, I would only feel happy. As you once said, we have become military mages and will always end up on the battlefield. Death—death is normal. If we can receive extra rewards after the war, every mage would be willing to do it," Mage Roland argued heatedly. "To receive guidance from a seventh-tier mage for a period of time—I believe this is something all low-rank mages have long desired."

"After all, not everyone has the chance to advance. Perhaps with his guidance, there might be an opportunity for promotion," Mage Roland suddenly mumbled gloomily under his breath.

After discussing Shaoke's recent experiences a bit more, Mage Roland left, knowing that Shaoke now needed quiet to fully grasp everything the mage had explained.

"Mage Roland, if you see Mage Roman at the tavern, please tell her I won't be going there for a while. Explain the situation to her—I think she'll understand," Shaoke awkwardly asked him to pass on the message as he turned to leave, hoping he would help.

Mage Roland was curious about the relationship between Shaoke and the female mage. He truly didn't know how Shaoke had met her or why they seemed so familiar.

So he readily agreed, not just out of duty as a companion but also hoping to learn more about the two of them.

After Mage Roland left, Shaoke resumed his recording. Fortunately, this time he only needed to infuse a certain amount of spiritual energy into the text to preserve it and prevent the ink from fading quickly. By the time his spiritual energy was nearly depleted, he had finally recorded all of that day's questions in detail.

After recovering his energy, he read through what he had written a few more times and then began attempting to inscribe the second-tier spell structure according to the method taught by the seventh-tier mage.

He carefully recalled the spell fluctuations of 'Blazing Ray' and slowly adjusted his spiritual and magical energy to match those fluctuations. Then, he began carefully inscribing it.

This time, he felt the inscription went very smoothly. Although it still failed in the end, he knew that with a few more attempts using this method, he would surely succeed.

After dozens of attempts, when he resumed inscribing after recovering his energy, he finally succeeded in drawing the spell structure onto the paper.

Examining the newly successful structure, Shaoke couldn't suppress a laugh—he had finally succeeded.

A layer of silver-white glow slowly flowed over the characters, making Shaoke suddenly feel that something was wrong. This error left him deeply puzzled.

It was only then that he realized the spell structure was different from the one he had copied into his 'Spellbook.' Confused, he hurriedly took out his 'Spellbook' to compare.

After a detailed comparison, Shaoke confirmed they were indeed different. He remembered that when he had drawn spell structures in the 'Spellbook' before, he had never adjusted the fluctuations of his spiritual and magical energy. Yet, when inscribing on ordinary paper, such adjustments were necessary. He thought for a long time and even reviewed his old notes but still couldn't figure out why.

Then, gritting his teeth, he prepared the necessary drawing materials again and opened the oversized 'Spellbook' with blue and gold gilt edges that Mage Francis Walton had given him. Focusing his energy, he began inscribing the spell structure for 'Blazing Ray' on a later page.

Without adjusting the fluctuations of his spiritual and magical energy, he found the inscription went smoothly, which left him even more puzzled. Finally, he tried adjusting the fluctuations before inscribing and found it easier than without adjustments, and it succeeded as well. After several repeated experiments and wasting two pages, Shaoke, relying on his strong spiritual energy, discovered that the spiritual and magical energy infused into the characters naturally adjusted to match the spell's fluctuations after entering the text. This explained why he had succeeded without adjusting the fluctuations beforehand.

Carefully cutting out the two pages with a knife, Shaoke hugged the 'Spellbook' and spaced out.

His fingers traced the patterns on the pages as memories of his interactions with Mage Francis Walton came flooding back.

The next day, after breakfast, Shaoke went early to the large room in the military compound. Although there were still few mages inside, Shaoke noticed they all looked eagerly at the seventh-tier mage seated in the center, waiting for his signal to ask their magic practice questions. It seemed yesterday's session had greatly helped these second-tier mages.

After a short wait, the mage signaled for everyone to begin asking questions, which he then answered slowly. Shaoke made a point to memorize these questions and answers, sometimes quickly jotting them down with a quill on temporary paper to avoid missing anything.

"Respected Mage, why is the method for inscribing spell structures in a 'Spellbook' different from that on ordinary paper?" Shaoke recounted in detail what he had encountered the previous night and then focused intently, awaiting the answer.

"Hmm! Few low-rank mages have noticed this," the mage nodded. "Due to the effects of the magic arrays, the paper of a 'Spellbook' undergoes special reactions with the auxiliary magic materials, resulting in this phenomenon. However, I don't have a comprehensive understanding of these specific reactions, so I can't explain them to you," the mage apologized with a smile. "Tomorrow, I'll find some books on this topic for you. If you're interested in researching this, I can introduce you to a third-tier mage. I recall he has extensive knowledge in this area."

After hearing the mage's explanation, Shaoke understood that this was because the 'Spellbook,' during its formation, was influenced by the magic arrays and materials, similar to chemical reactions in his previous life.

After thanking the mage, Shaoke again listened attentively to the other mages' questions. Thus, the day passed quickly amid focused questioning and answering.

When Shaoke returned that evening, he found Mage Roland waiting at his door. Shaoke quickly invited him inside, fed the coals in the fireplace to warm them both.

"Mage Snow Night, that female mage seemed a little put out when she learned you wouldn't be going to the tavern for a while," Mage Roland warily mentioned the outcome of his message delivery, worried it might affect Shaoke's studies.

Shaoke smiled, not believing the female mage would be angry over such matters, but he thanked Mage Roland nonetheless. After chatting briefly, Mage Roland whispered, "Mage Snow Night, could I copy some of your records from these past two days? I know it's presumptuous, but I..."

"Don't say that, Mage Roland," Shaoke quickly interrupted. "We're companions. I don't consider these records the most precious things. However, you'd better not copy what's in the 'Spellbook,'" Shaoke added with a hint of humor, a rare occurrence. "It belongs only to me."

"Thank you!" Mage Roland looked at Shaoke with gratitude, momentarily at a loss for words.

This was a last resort he had made after feeling hopeless about receiving guidance from a high-rank mage. He knew that everything he copied from Shaoke had been paid for with his life. For Shaoke to allow him to copy without asking for anything in return made him feel he shouldn't do it. "I... I'll pay you fairly. One second-tier spell for each question, or more..."

"Enough," Shaoke said loudly, stopping Mage Roland. "Don't mention this. We came here together, and we're companions now. Besides, you've always looked out for me. If you consider me your companion, don't bring up payment again."

Mage Roland looked away, ashamed, apologizing softly and thanking Shaoke again for his generosity.

After returning to his room to fetch his own 'Spell Record,' Mage Roland copied the notes as Shaoke dictated them, working side by side.