Chapter 64: Three Spells

After receiving the appointment letter, Shao Ke walked without hesitation down the passage the female mage had indicated. Behind him, the conversation he had interrupted resumed, though this time the topic shifted to the young mage who had just arrived. Some expressed pity for him, while others were gloating. Regardless, Shao Ke paid no mind to any of it, believing that once a decision was made, it should never be abandoned or regretted, no matter the reason.

Passing through the corridor, he entered a room larger than the hall he had first stepped into. Two young female mages stood at the door and promptly approached him upon his arrival. "Sir Mage, how may we assist you?"

Shao Ke only noted that the gray robes of the two female mages were embroidered with patterns representing the Second Rank, without paying much attention to their looks. "I need a scriptorium and a resting room. Could you take me to the place where spells are stored?"

One of the mages replied, "Of course. Let me first show you to a scriptorium. Here, the scriptorium and resting room are combined, and it's quite nice inside." She then looked at Shao Ke with a questioning look.

Shao Ke nodded. "Alright, thank you for your help."

The young female mage smiled. "It's our job. Whatever you need, just let us know, and someone will be assigned to assist you immediately." She then turned and led Shao Ke to a room at the corner of another passage. "Sir Mage, will this work for you? If not, we can arrange another room for you right away."

After inspecting the room that served as both a scriptorium and a resting room, Shao Ke nodded in satisfaction. "Thank you, this is perfect. I'm very pleased." Upon hearing this, the young female mage took out a sheet of high-quality elemental paper from within her robes and handed it to him. "You can write your name here and indicate how many days you plan to stay, so we can prepare the necessary items for you."

Shao Ke sat at the writing desk and wrote down the duration of his stay in the common magical script. He then asked, "I settle up at the very end, correct?" The young female mage smiled. "Yes. Please follow me. This corridor ahead leads to the spell storage area. If you need anything, you can find me in the main hall. I'll be there all day today." She handed Shao Ke a jade token about half the size of a palm, engraved with several intricate patterns and stamped with peculiar symbols below. "This is my work permit here. If I'm not around, show it to the other mages, and they'll inform me."

Baffled, Shao Ke accepted the jade token. After seeing the scriptorium the mage had mentioned, he bid her farewell, as this area was outside her purview.

The serving staff here were also female mages. After finding the spells he needed, Shao Ke had already been handed seven or eight small jade tokens by the female mages. He also noticed that other mages received even more. Shao Ke shook his head helplessly, having roughly guessed the meaning behind these tokens. He touched his plain, unremarkable face, then felt the money pouch in his robe, and smiled wryly.

At the entrance, he recorded the spell scrolls he had taken on the elemental paper given by the first female mage. Shao Ke then asked a female mage with a somewhat innocent face to bring the necessary transcription supplies to his room. After giving her a common gold coin, which earned him profuse thanks, she hesitated for a moment before taking out a jade token from her robe and handing it to him. "You... if you have any other needs, use this to find me." She then lowered her head, gently closed the door, and left.

Back in his room, Shao Ke did not immediately start transcribing the scrolls. Instead, he copied the spells from his previous 'spell record' onto the large-format 'spellbook' given to him by Mage Wodun, because he now had the ability to transcribe spells onto it.

A black swan quill with a gold nib, lamb blood for writing, gem powder to speed up drying, fine sand for absorbing stains, a silver knife for trimming paper, and lamb blood mixed with special drugs for drawing spell formations—all these were Shao Ke's transcription tools.

After arranging these tools one by one on the writing desk, Shao Ke slowly adjusted the light of the magic lamp in the room to a comfortable level. He then locked the door and began his transcription.

Once immersed in his work, he gradually forgot about the existence of Mage Wodun. Whenever he ran short of transcription materials or felt hungry, he would press a small button on the table to summon an attendant to prepare everything he needed. Each time, the female mages not only meticulously recorded the materials he used but also tossed him a small jade token, hoping he would seek them out when he wanted to relax. Of course, Shao Ke, engrossed in his work, had no time to think about such distracting thoughts. This continued until he had transcribed all the spells he knew into the new 'spellbook,' which brought a temporary halt to his work.

Shao Ke had no idea how long he had stayed in the room. Each time he grew tired, he would use Meditation to restore his drained mental energy. Only once, after meditating to recover, did he still feel exhausted, so he slept for a short while on the large bed beside the writing desk before resuming his work. If not for the supplementary herbs and pills that came with each meal to enhance his constitution, he probably would have collapsed from his failing health.

Finally, after transcribing all the spells he knew into the new 'spellbook,' Shao Ke performed a deep meditation to recover his severely depleted mental energy. He then pressed the button to summon an attendant. Searching for the mirror hanging on the wall, he looked at his reflection: a pale and haggard face, long hair nearly matted together from lack of washing, deeply sunken, somewhat terrifying eyes. If not for his dazed state causing the spell formations in his eyes to flicker occasionally, he would have looked like someone who had just died.

Shao Ke quickly splashed some cold water from a nearby pipe onto his face, rubbing it hastily, which made him appear slightly more spirited.

A mage attendant knocked and entered, showing no surprise at Shao Ke's appearance, as some mages, immersed in their work and forgetting to eat for extended periods, often lost a significant amount of weight within days due to their already frail constitutions.

The female mage brought Shao Ke a small plate of meat slices, a few pieces of thin bread, and a bowl of medicinal soup. "Sir Mage, please have something to eat first. You haven't eaten for a full day and night." She placed the tray on a dining table and waited for Shao Ke to eat.

Shao Ke pulled his cloak lower, not wanting his current appearance to be seen by a mage of the opposite sex. He asked hoarsely, "How many days have I been here? Has anyone been looking for me?" As he spoke, his stomach growled incessantly. Under the attendant's kind smile, he quickly took a few meat slices, sandwiched them between bread, and washed them down with the medicinal soup, temporarily satisfying his hunger.

The mage attendant stood quietly by, waiting for Shao Ke to finish. "Sir Mage, is there anything else I can help you with?" She pointed at the long hair peeking out from under his cloak. "For example, this—I can help you wash it."

Shao Ke blushed and nodded. "Alright, but could you bring me a glass of wine? I'd like a drink."

The female mage attendant nodded. "Please wait a moment. I'll have someone bring it to you shortly." She then examined Shao Ke carefully. "I think you also need a bath. You must be quite uncomfortable now."

Shao Ke shook his head. "Not for now. Bathing would take too much time. Just trimming my hair will do. Also, please remind me when there's only one day left in this room. Thank you!"

The mage attendant shook her head and smiled. "Alright, I'll prepare everything right away." She then excused herself to fetch the hair-trimming tools and the wine he had requested.

When the mage attendant returned, she found Shao Ke already hunched over the writing desk, carefully flipping through a book with intense concentration. The attendant called out softly, "Sir Mage, your wine is here."

Startled by the voice, Shao Ke trembled, grabbed the staff beside him, and looked over. Recognizing the attendant, he sighed in relief. "Sorry, I forgot how safe it is here."

Taking the glass of red wine from the attendant, Shao Ke, ignoring his status as a mage, drank it in one gulp. "You may leave now. From now on, always bring a glass of red wine with my meals. I like the taste." He then waved the mage attendant away, having completely forgotten about needing her to trim his long hair.

The mage attendant opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing. She simply followed his instructions, closed the door, and left, while Shao Ke once again immersed himself in his magical world.

After transcribing his previous spell knowledge, Shao Ke opened the scrolls he had left untouched on the table for a long time. One of them was the 'Blazing Ray' spell, which he had partially transcribed before. The other two were: 'Death Gaze,' a special category spell among Second-level Spells. This spell could be cast without the Spellcaster chanting or performing Gestures, but it required more than twice the mental and magical energy of a typical Second-level Spell to succeed. Moreover, the Meditation Method needed for its release was extremely complex, said to be no simpler than that of Third Rank spells. Its effective range was ten meters, making it one of the last-resort close-range attacks for mages. From what Shao Ke understood, this was one of the few eerie spells with follow-up effects; if an enemy was targeted by it, they would experience varying durations of paralysis depending on their strength.

The other spell was 'Flaming Stone,' one of the few area-of-effect attack spells among Second-level Spells. When successfully cast, it would cause a massive stone, three to five millstones in size, to fall from the sky at a location specified by the caster. Upon impact, it would shatter, scattering fragments that carried flames, inflicting continuous burning damage on targets within an attack range of over two hundred meters.

After studying them for a while, Shao Ke decided to first learn the 'Blazing Ray' spell, as he had already mastered the earlier parts and only needed to correctly interpret the spell's structure. Once he interpreted the structure and successfully transcribed it into his 'spellbook,' it would mean he could cast the spell. As for Spellcasting speed and success rate, those would require gradual practice in the future.