Chapter 198: Quasi-Level 3 Mage

While Xia Duo was still an Apprentice, because he could not obtain a 1st Circle Spell to become an Official Mage, he devised a method to seek a breakthrough by reverse-engineering 1st Circle Spells from 0 Ring Spells.

Although later, due to his Bloodline Awakening, he was able to directly "see" the first layer of the Magic Net, this method, which could be called the proper path, was ultimately not used.

However, in the process of this research, he still benefited greatly; the later 【Steam Ray】 was created based on his original research foundation.

Currently, 【Magic Missile】 is only a 1st Circle Spell; to touch the second layer of the Magic Net, one needs to have a deep understanding of the Principles of Spells and the essence of the Magic Net in order to "upgrade" it.

On this point, Xia Duo is temporarily still somewhat lacking, not as good as he was during his Apprentice stage. If described in game terms, that would be—

When he was previously researching the upgrade of 0 Ring Spells, his 【Mastery of Level 0 Spells】 and 【Surface Theory of the Magic Net】 skills were maxed out.

But now, his 【Mastery of Level 1 Spells】 and 【Level 1 Theory of the Magic Net】 skills have not yet been maxed out.

However, it doesn't matter if they aren't maxed out; Xia Duo dares to take a gamble and try his luck. Before today, he actually had several plans, but they were only theoretical designs and had not yet reached the stage of experimental verification.

After watching several foreign Mages duel and analyzing with Jianaer and Kaili, Xia Duo's understanding of 【Magic Missile】 has improved to another level.

Therefore, what Xia Duo calls "taking a gamble" is actually performing a process of elimination on those few theoretical plans, finally leaving two that he felt should be feasible.

Choose one of two!

It is possible that both will fail, or the one chosen might succeed; of course, it is also possible that both could succeed, but without verification in a Spell Laboratory, everything is an unknown.

The duel, while not overly intense, was a race against time, leaving Xia Duo with no extra mind to consider too much. With a powerful body as a foundation, plus the display of extraordinary talent, the Lord or Aiboke might lend a hand to save him.

Xia Duo decided to try the one of the two plans that was better at showing off skills, which was of course also the one with greater risk—the plan Xia Duo called 【Circulating Missile】.

The so-called "circulating" does not mean two Magic Missiles flying out while entwined with each other, but refers to the circulation of Spell Elements. As for the specific manifestation of the spell, Xia Duo himself is not clear.

He could only roughly infer that this spell has a very high anti-countering attribute; of course, more importantly, this spell could take him into the world of the Second Layer of the Magic Weave.

"It's starting!"

The moment Xia Duo focused on Spellcasting, Na Wei Ke on the opposite side paused for a moment; the ten-meter distance could not completely prevent him from observing Xia Duo's Spellcasting process.

Although it was only some minor details, he had already discovered that this spell of Xia Duo's was completely different from before!

Despite this, Na Wei Ke did not panic, nor did he change his strategy on the fly like Xia Duo; instead, he continued with his previous approach, slightly adjusted the Spell Elements, and released it.

On the other side, Xia Duo could already see the opponent's spell flying toward him, while the 【Circulating Missile】 he was weaving had not yet been completed.

A spell is a game of the mind, but even more so, it is the feedback of the Magic Net. A Mage can Control the Magic Net through willpower, but every action must have a reaction.

The Magic Net instinctively wants to maintain its original state.

A spell beyond one's own control, and being cast for the first time—Xia Duo truly experienced just how much difficulty was involved in this.

But since he had already decided, he had to continue.

Xia Duo struggled to weave the Magic Net String, but the Magic Net, which was usually very obedient, seemed like a naughty child at this moment, always refusing to follow instructions.

He knew that this was because there were errors and imbalances, or even contradictions and mistakes, between the Spell Elements and the structure. At this moment, Xia Duo was like a clumsy tinkerer.

Fixing here and patching there, he finally managed to successfully weave this trembling 【Circulating Missile】 before Na Wei Ke's Magic Missile hit him.

He truly had no intention of countering the opponent; at this point, he couldn't care less about the opponent's attack, counting entirely on the 【Circulating Missile】 to achieve success!

And just at the moment the spell was released, Xia Duo saw the Magic Net in front of him surging violently; immediately after, his consciousness entered a magnificent, gorgeous, and strange world.

Energy flowed here, rules were woven here, and mysteries were revealed here. Xia Duo looked at all of this greedily, having an urge to stay here for a lifetime.

But the Magic Net very quickly rejected him, and the endless mysteries were sealed off once again.

In an instant, Xia Duo's consciousness returned to his body. His body was still standing on the dueling platform. He clearly remembered everything from before, yet it was as if he couldn't say anything.

However, the Second Layer of the Magic Weave had already unveiled its veil to him. Xia Duo was ecstatic; it was truly a stroke of great luck. If he were to try it again, it might not necessarily succeed.

Just at this moment, a familiar voice came to Xia Duo's ear, "Xia Duo, victory!"

Only then did Xia Duo notice that Na Wei Ke on the opposite side had a flushed face and was walking off the dueling platform with some disappointment, while the person speaking beside him was none other than Aiboke.

What is going on? How did he win?

Xia Duo was completely confused, but he did not doubt, nor did he dare to doubt, Aiboke's judgment. He immediately bowed and also left the dueling platform. When he returned to his seat, Kaili began to speak with an excited face:

"Xia Duo, how did you do it?"

"What do you mean how did I do it? What did you see?" Xia Duo asked, puzzled.

Everyone knew, yet he, the person involved, did not know. He dared not ask Aiboke to his face, and since Kaili had delivered himself to his door, he had to ask clearly.

Seeming to feel that the puzzled expression on Xia Duo's face did not look faked, Kaili also had a few more doubts, so he described it vividly:

"Just now! You released a Force Sphere and wrapped it around Na Wei Ke's head. If Lord Aiboke hadn't stepped in to save him, he might have suffocated."

Force Sphere? And wrapped it around Na Wei Ke's head?

Xia Duo did not expect that the 【Circulating Missile】 would result in such an outcome; this was completely inconsistent with his expectations!

In his initial 【Circulating Missile】 plan, the specific manifestation of the spell was just two Magic Missiles flying out one after the other.

He didn't expect it to turn into a Force Sphere now!

Although the result was somewhat unexpected, the effect was surprisingly good.

Seeing that the last two people on the dueling platform had started their match, Xia Duo stopped chatting with Kaili and instead pretended to watch the match, while actually recalling the various Spell Elements of that 【Circulating Missile】 from before.

There were too many factors in his impromptu performance just now. Although the spell was ultimately successful, it was no longer his original plan. He felt that the Force Sphere was very interesting and very useful.

And it also had a bit of commemorative significance.

He needed to seize the time to organize this spell while his memory was still relatively clear!