Chapter 162: Spell Slot Experiments

"Storing a spell for the first time isn't so hard after all!"

Following this, Xia Duo stored four 【Steam Ray】s in the Magic Net in one go, but when he tried to store a fifth, he could not succeed no matter what.

Xia Duo knew this was the limit of his current Spell Slots—four 1st Circle Spell slots.

And he knew from books that most New Mages only had one or two 1st Circle Spell slots, while he had four, which was enough to prove his potential.

Generally speaking, the number of Spell Slots one currently possesses at the highest level is approximately equal to their Spellcasting Level.

That is, a Level 1 Mage has one 1st Circle Spell slot, Level 2 has two; a 3rd Level Mage has three 2nd Circle Spell slots, Level 4 has four.

Of course, it is not just the highest-level Spell slots that exist; higher-level Spell slots can be converted into lower-level ones.

For example, a 2nd Circle Spell slot can be converted into two 1st Circle Spell slots; a 3rd Circle Spell slot can be converted into one 1st Circle Spell slot + one 2nd Circle Spell slot.

Currently, Xia Duo's highest Spell slot is 1st Circle, so he cannot verify this, but something that can be written in black and white in a book and is so easy to verify should not be false.

Moreover, he will be able to verify this as soon as his Spellcasting Level reaches Level 3.

The so-called Spellcasting Level is also quite interesting; it does not have much to do with the individual strength of the Spellcaster, but is based on the spells they have mastered.

Mastering one 1st Circle Spell counts as Level 1; mastering multiple counts as Level 2, but even if one masters ten million 1st Circle Spells, it is the same as a Spellcaster who has mastered two 1st Circle Spells—

It is still Level 2!

Only by mastering 2nd Circle Spells does the Spellcasting Level count as Level 3, and so on thereafter.

With Xia Duo now having both the ordinary spell 【Steam Ray】 and a Bloodline Spell, he could actually already be considered a Level 2 Mage.

However, dwelling on this doesn't have much meaning; anyone below Level 5 is an Intermediate Rank Mage, and there is no difference in benefits among Intermediate Rank Mages; only by reaching Advanced Rank can one graduate.

This is the regulation of the Tower of Time; if it were the students of some famous Great Arcanist, perhaps they would only graduate upon becoming an Archmage, or perhaps they wouldn't even be qualified to be an Apprentice if they didn't become an Arcanist?

Regarding these things, Xia Duo only has the luxury of thinking about them for now; continuing his experiments is what he needs to do.

He has now completed the spell storage portion, and the results were surprisingly smooth; he succeeded in everything without a single failure, and possessing four 1st Circle Spell slots also left Xia Duo overjoyed.

Moving on to the release of the stored spells, surely that won't disappoint him either!

……

The fact is—it truly didn't disappoint him!

Just with a thought, the 【Steam Ray】 stored in the Magic Net was released, and a high-temperature steam ray the thickness of a finger shot out from Xia Duo's fingertip, impacting the target dummy.

It made a sizzling sound, and at the same time, a puff of water mist rose up.

When the mist dissipated, the dummy had no damage at all; this is a normal phenomenon, as the true target of 【Steam Ray】 is living beings, not targets.

Carrying high heat itself, along with the temperature released when the steam condenses, the instantaneous contact is enough to scald or even cook the hit area; it is a highly efficient non-lethal incapacitation spell.

Instant casting is indeed instant casting, but in terms of operability, stored spells are relatively mechanical; basically, whatever state it is in when stored is the state it is in when released.

Spells like 【Steam Ray】 that take effect immediately are fine, as you just fire them and forget them, but if it were a spell that required continuous Guidance, then this kind of stored spell would not be as flexible as manual Spellcasting.

But regardless, instant casting is an unparalleled advantage.

……

After releasing the first stored spell, Xia Duo immediately released all the remaining ones as well. For a time, this not-so-large Spell Laboratory was filled with warm water vapor.

Xia Duo felt a bit uncomfortable and subconsciously used his Bloodline Ability to gather it together, finally forming a water ball the size of a fist, which Xia Duo then dispersed.

Although the water created by this kind of spell can be drunk, it is also very easily dispersed by spells.

After doing all this, Xia Duo realized that his current spellcasting ability is not just 4 1st Circle Spells; as for exactly how many he has, he actually hasn't tested it.

He only knows that during a normal rest cycle, he never has the chance to use up all his spells.

Since it is currently night and he can rest soon, Xia Duo decided to test his limits.

Of course, the first step is to use up his Spell Slots, otherwise, if he waits until tomorrow, he will waste tomorrow's spellcasting opportunities.

And this time, Xia Duo did not store 【Steam Ray】 in all his Spell Slots, but instead used his Bloodline Ability to shape an 【Ice Blade】 spell, and then stored this spell in a Spell Slot.

Although Xia Duo cannot instantly cast 【Steam Ray】, spells from his bloodline can be cast instantly, and even Bloodline Spells can be stored in the Magic Net.

It is just that a stored Bloodline Spell becomes an ordinary spell, losing its characteristics of being versatile and easy to control. If one wants to control it flexibly, one still needs to understand its Principles and practice a lot, just like with ordinary spells.

Simply casting spells with Bloodline Ability does not require understanding the Principles, nor does it require practice; the proficiency is pulled straight to "full," allowing him to master spells at the 1st Circle level so easily.

Of course, for now, this is limited to spells related to "water," and the specific effect of this spell largely depends on his imagination.

To summarize, it is just one sentence: Sorcerers are born able to cast spells, but the specific effect relies on imagination.

This is the ability of a Sorcerer; such a simple, brutal way of gaining power almost made Xia Duo waver in his path as a Mage.

But Xia Duo also knows that his Sorcerer ability will likely remain at the 1st Circle level forever, while the power of a Mage has a traceable path and almost no limitations.

He cannot abandon the path of a Mage for the sake of an illusory Bloodline Ability.

If his Sorcerer ability could also be upgraded in sequence, then Xia Duo would have to carefully consider whether wasting so much time researching spells is worth it.

Xia Duo is not a born seeker of truth; his original intention for learning Magic was very simple, and that is to gain power, the power to protect himself, and even the power to gain certain benefits.

Of course, in the process of learning Magic, he also experienced the joy of it; if his Sorcerer ability could really be improved, he might not abandon the path of a Mage, but relaxing because of it would be very likely.

Having been in the Mage Tower for so long, he can be considered to have a relatively good understanding of the profession of a Mage; he says profession because some people really treat it as a profession, similar to a butcher or a craftsman.

As long as you can make money, that's enough.

But there are also some who truly pursue the ultimate of Magic, it's just that they are very rare, and Xia Duo does not consider himself such a person.

He stored 1 【Ice Blade】 spell and 3 【Steam Rays】 in his Spell Slots; storing 【Ice Blade】 was also with the thought that he might need it sometime.

In reality, the power of this 【Ice Blade】 might not even be as good as him taking a knife and hacking away! His current one-handed strength has long exceeded 100 pounds, and his old fists could beat a person to death.

The 100 pounds here is not Xia Duo's limit of strength, it just means that holding something around 100 pounds does not feel too strenuous.

That is to say, he can use weapons of around 100 pounds quite flexibly; other people's heavy weapons become light weapons in his hands.

And once he puts on armor, he feels he could challenge an Advanced Rank Warrior; his lack of technique can be completely compensated for by strength.

It's just that since one can be a "Mage Lord," who would want to be a "loser warrior"!

And even with a physique and strength like Xia Duo's, as long as he cannot fly or teleport, he will eventually fall in the face of human-sea tactics.

Xia Duo will always insist on the path of Magic without wavering!