[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-above-the-mage":3,"chapter-above-the-mage-above-the-mage-chapter-15":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Above the Mage!",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2257019,4404,"Chapter 15: Spell Model","above-the-mage-chapter-15",15,"\u003Cp>Gao De returned from the spell formulas with three in hand, arriving at the herb garden just as the evening meal was being served.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suppressing his eagerness, he went to the dining hall and force-fed himself the same bland, over-familiar staple: rye bread and pea soup, before heading to his workshop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Evenings were the apprentices’ private cultivation time, free from interruption.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De took out the three spell formulas from his robe, paused for thought, then opened the first: [Acid Splash].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before him was a diagram composed of intersecting lines—a spell model with nine nodes, resembling at first glance a three-dimensional constellation chart, beneath which was the official description of the spell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The description on the yellow parchment Yeom had given him had been copied directly from this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The right page showed a magnified section of the model, accompanied by detailed textual explanations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Turning the page revealed another magnified section and its corresponding textual explanation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The spell model for a cantrip was not complex, and since no corresponding magic potion was needed, the potion formula section was omitted, making the entire spellbook just five pages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In just a few minutes, Gao De had skimmed through it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that wasn’t enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first step in building a spell model was to memorize it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normal mage apprentices would stall at this step for one or two days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De himself had exceptional memory, and his previous body’s memory was no slouch either—it seemed 1+1 was greater than 2, pushing his memory from outstanding to extraordinary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In less than half an hour, he had firmly memorized the [Acid Splash] spell model in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De then closed the [Acid Splash] formula, closed his eyes slightly, and swiftly entered meditation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Five days of cultivation had made entering meditation far more natural for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His spirit sank into the world of the spell star-sea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the dark depths of his consciousness, countless stars drifted, beautiful and dazzling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To construct a spell model, one must use one’s spiritual will to guide and link these stars, forcing them to halt at specific positions, then connecting them with spiritual energy into a spell model.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once built, the mage could channel mana through the model to manifest the spell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But these stars moved randomly; guiding and fixing them at precise distances and directions was no simple task.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The [Acid Splash] model required nine stars—not many, but not few either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, 99% of cantrip models never exceeded ten stars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De began attempting to construct the model according to the diagram and path recorded in the [Acid Splash] formula, using his spiritual will.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He randomly locked onto one star; his spiritual will crept forward like a hunting serpent, silent and stealthy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he drew closer, his spiritual will surged forward, pinning the star—previously drifting aimlessly—in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It went smoothly, no unexpected issues.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With his current spiritual strength, controlling one star posed no risk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But a star didn’t stay still once pinned—it continued to struggle, meaning Gao De had to constantly counter its resistance until the model was complete.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If any star shifted out of position during construction, the entire model collapsed, and he had to start over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The saying goes that the first step is the hardest—but for building spell models, it’s the opposite: the first star is the easiest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because now Gao De had to hold the first star firmly while splitting his attention and spiritual will to lock onto the second.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the final step, he would need to hold eight stars steady while controlling the ninth—imagine the difficulty. And this was only a cantrip; higher-level spells—first-circle, second-circle—would require hundreds of stars. The thought was terrifying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No wonder a mage’s two most critical metrics were mana and spiritual strength: without mana, you couldn’t cast spells; without sufficient spiritual strength, you couldn’t build the model; without the model, even vast mana meant no spell could be cast—both were indispensable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that wasn’t Gao De’s concern now. His task was to control the second star.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He tried splitting off a strand of spiritual will, just as before, to seize another star drifting near the first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this second star wasn’t just to be held still—it had to be moved to a precise position relative to the first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De took a deep breath; the spiritual thread wrapped around the first star extended outward, forming a straight stellar path that directly connected to the second star.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, per the formula, Gao De guided the second star, using the first star’s position as the origin, to begin moving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Forward one, right one-third, up one-quarter.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Any movement involves two elements: direction and distance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A star’s direction had only three possibilities: “forward-backward,” “left-right,” and “up-down.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Distance was expressed as pure numbers, with no units.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the distance between every star in a spell model was fixed proportionally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, if the distance between the second and first star in a certain direction was two chi, and between the third and second was four chi, changing them to four chi and eight chi wouldn’t affect the model’s structure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, the “one” in “forward one” was a ratio—each mage’s actual distance varied, but the ratio remained identical, ensuring model consistency.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The spiritual star-track connecting the two stars stretched and lengthened as the second star moved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, the second star reached its designated position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De pressed on, capturing a third star near the second, forming another spiritual track linking the second and third, then guiding the third star to move from the second’s current position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The spell star-sea contained nothing but stars—no reference points, no measuring tools.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the relative positions of each node in the model had to be absolutely fixed and precise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, controlling the exact distance each star moved seemed an impossible task.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in truth, controlling distance was the easiest part of building a spell model.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the spell star-sea resided within each person’s consciousness, and within one’s own mental space, one possessed mechanical precision in perceiving distance, size, direction, mass, and other physical properties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The real difficulty lay in controlling the star’s movement and maintaining its stability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was because stars constantly struggled, whether moving or still, generating immense resistance whose direction shifted randomly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Forward half, right two-thirds, down half.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Again, this second star-track stretched and lengthened as the third star moved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De focused his spirit entirely on controlling the third star.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The third star moved at a steady pace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, suddenly, the star-track connecting the first and second stars began trembling violently, the shaking intensifying rapidly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Gao De could react, the track snapped under the violent oscillation; without its restraint, the second star shot off like a runaway horse through the star-sea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like dominoes, the collapse of the second star’s track caused the third star-track to break, and the third star naturally slipped from control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first attempt to construct the [Acid Splash] spell model ended in failure! (End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1155,"2026-06-19T14:28:48.629Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","e7fbdce4e0103648946b720d1b7bf0b04b4826d3f6e1a324449bd37d0ef517e3","above-the-mage-chapter-16","above-the-mage-chapter-14",529,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fabove-the-mage-cover.jpg"]