Chapter 186

"Do you want to promote directly once you reach a third-rank mage apprentice?" Hearing Gao De's statement, He Xi confirmed, "Not settle down a bit more?"

According to common sense, after reaching a third-rank mage apprentice, it is best to settle down for a period of time before starting the promotion.

"I had already settled down enough before becoming a third-rank mage apprentice," Gao De felt embarrassed to completely brush off He Xi, so he told some truth, "I learn things quite quickly, including spells."

"I see..." Regarding this statement from Gao De, He Xi indicated he could not refute it.

He thought for a moment and took the initiative to say, "Do you need me to provide any help?"

"Mentor, I mainly want to ask for your insights from when you promoted to a first-circle mage."

Gao De hesitated for a moment before speaking, "If possible, could you see if you have any cantrips in your hands that the academy library does not have..."

He was a bit hesitant saying this; taking the initiative to ask He Xi for spell formulas was somewhat "offensive."

After all, in most cases, the spell formulas in a mage's hands are among the spells they have mastered.

Furthermore, spell formulas that even the academy does not have are clearly rare spells.

However, He Xi clearly did not take this to heart.

He thought for a moment and said to Gao De, "Wait a moment."

He Xi walked to the experimental table in the center of the workshop, picked up paper and pen, hand-wrote two spell formulas for Gao De on the spot, and then handed them to Gao De.

【Druid Trick】 (Transmutation, 0-circle):

Whisper to the spirits of nature and create one of the following effects:

Create a tiny and harmless sensory effect and use it to forecast the weather conditions at your location for the next 24 hours. This effect can manifest as a golden orb representing clear skies, a cloud representing a rainy day, snowflakes drifting for a snowy day, etc.

Can immediately make a flower bloom, a seed crack its shell, or a leaf bud sprout.

Create a tiny and harmless instantaneous sensory effect, such as falling leaves, a breeze, the movement of a small animal, or the faint scent of a skunk. This effect can only take effect within a 5-foot cubic space.

Can immediately light or extinguish a candle, a torch, or a small campfire.

【True Strike】 (Divination, 0-circle):

You extend your hand and point your finger at a creature within spell range, and use magic to instantly see through the target's defenses.

"Actually, there were more than just these two spells that the academy didn't have that I could learn back then, but..." He Xi said righteously, "I am a runemaster, and most of my energy was spent on rune learning, so I was slightly negligent in spell learning."

So he is just a master of a side profession with rank but no combat power... Gao De thought subconsciously, then hurriedly took the two handwritten spell formulas and expressed his gratitude to He Xi.

Adding these two spells, the number of spells he had mastered would reach "44," infinitely close to 45.

Basically stable.

"As for promoting to a first-circle mage..." He Xi thought for a while, seriously recalled things from hundreds of years ago, and spoke slowly, "The process of circle advancement is actually divided into four stages in total. The first stage is washing the blood and increasing vitality."

"Generally speaking, when promoting, the younger you are, the more vigorous your blood energy, and this step will be smoother, which is why it is said that the golden age for promoting to a first-circle mage is before twenty."

"And the function of this stage is to allow your lifespan to increase after you promote to a first-circle mage."

Lifespan increase is a term that is extremely tempting to anyone.

Whether it is emperors and generals, practitioners of the Dao, or even just a monkey, all are seeking longevity.

Likewise, Gao De could not be an exception.

"How much will the lifespan of a first-circle mage increase to?" He couldn't help but care.

"The theoretical maximum lifespan for both mortals and mage apprentices is 75 years; the theoretical lifespan of a first-circle mage will increase to 150 years, a second-circle mage is 225 years, a third-circle mage is 375 years, and a fourth-circle mage is 600 years... and so on."

150 years... and that's just a first-circle mage.

Lifespan increase has always been the superiority of supernatural power compared to technology. Gao De felt a little emotional.

After answering Gao De's questions, He Xi continued, "The second stage is mana liquefaction."

"At the mage apprentice rank, the mana you cultivate and the magic power wandering in the outside world are actually not much different."

"Such mana is of too low quality, which leads to the extremely limited amount of spells a mage apprentice can cast; even a third-rank mage apprentice can only cast twenty cantrips in one breath."

"However, once you promote to become a first-circle mage, even if you have just promoted, the amount of cantrips you can cast will reach over 80."

"The reason the gap is so large is that during the circle advancement process, the mana you cultivated undergoes liquefaction, and its quality undergoes a transformation."

"At this stage, the higher the concentration of magic power in the environment you are in, the higher the success rate of mana liquefaction."

According to Gao De's popular understanding, it is "energy" reprocessing, and "endurance" has therefore been greatly improved.

"The third stage of circle advancement is removing impurities from mental power."

"Once the third stage is completed, you will possess precise perception ability, be able to perceive every tiny improvement and change in yourself, and even be able to use precise numbers to measure the growth of mental power."

"Finally, it is expanding the spell sea of stars and opening up the first-circle sea of stars, which is considered a successful promotion to a first-circle mage."

"This is also the reason why mages determine their rank by the number of circles."

"And Spirit-Ascension Water is a comprehensive magic potion that can provide you with assistance in each of the four stages, increasing the success rate of circle advancement."

"Of course, you don't need to have pressure; even if the circle advancement fails, it won't affect anything."

"Anyway, before twenty is the golden age for promoting to a 1st-circle mage; you can just try again in a year," He Xi comforted Gao De a couple more times, telling him not to be too nervous.

For someone like He Xi who has been through it, promoting to 1st circle naturally doesn't count as a big deal, but he still remembers the nervous mood he had when he was advancing circles.

To make an analogy, promoting to 1st circle is like the "college entrance exam"; although there are many tests in life afterward, most people always have a particularly deep impression of the college entrance exam.

"I understand," Gao De thanked him.

"Wait, I have something for you," He Xi said again.

After speaking, he walked into the laboratory and took out a document after a short while, handing it directly to Gao De.

It was clearly prepared long ago.

Gao De took it and looked; it was actually an application for the use of a third-rank cultivation room, and at the bottom of the document was He Xi's signature.

"When promoting, doing it in a third-rank cultivation room, plus the assistance of Spirit-Ascension Water, can almost guarantee that you will successfully complete the second stage," He Xi said.

"You don't need to worry about the cost; the academy allocates a certain amount of free usage time for third-rank cultivation rooms to us mentors every year. I haven't used it once this year, which is enough for you to use," he said again.

That is indeed a bit wasteful... this was Gao De's first reaction in his heart.

Then, he hurriedly expressed his gratitude to He Xi.

"No need to be so polite with me," He Xi said with a chuckle, "I have no wife and no children; you are my student. After I pass away, everything should naturally be inherited by you. For these things that cannot be inherited, hurry up and use as much as you can while I am still here."

When saying this, He Xi looked around at some details in the workshop.

Everything here was pieced together by his own hands.

"Don't let the academy take advantage of it," he said finally.

"Okay." Gao De thought of his previous mentor, "Master Seda," at this moment. While feeling some emotion in his heart, his peripheral vision subconsciously sized up He Xi.

Although the old man's spirit had been excellent recently, as if he had become decades younger, what was visible to the naked eye was... the yellow-brown spots on his face were becoming more and more numerous.

This gave Gao De a bad premonition in his heart.

(End of chapter)