Chapter 41: 【Message】

"Alright, switch out."

The instructor called out to Xia Duo, "I have two points: first, your actions are not decisive enough, you're dragging your feet; in battle, no one will accommodate you. Second, when casting support spells, start from the front row. Next!"

A blonde Apprentice was called out, and Xia Duo returned to the pile of Apprentices. While the blonde Apprentice performed the coordination training, the instructor, besides shouting orders, also softly pointed things out to the other Apprentices—what to pay attention to during coordination, how to save one's life in actual combat, and so on.

Combining the explanation with the movements of the Apprentices training in the 10-person squad, it was quite useful; Xia Duo nodded silently while listening.

"Remember, whether in strength or speed, Orcs far exceed ordinary humans. The only thing we can utilize is our brains: excellent tactics, fine equipment, and powerful Magic. Remember what I have taught you; when you survive, you will be grateful to me!"

Soon, the Apprentices no longer needed the instructor to call them; one would return, and another would immediately go up. As for the others, once they heard the battlefield Knowledge imparted by the instructor repeat, they determined that no new content would be taught today and stopped waiting idly.

Instead, they chose to leave and practice on their own—the Spell Laboratory really could not accommodate two 10-person squads training at the same time.

……

Xia Duo did not leave. Although he could not train in tactics, he could practice Magic. It was rare for the Spell Laboratory to be open for free, so he had to make good use of it.

Several other Apprentices also stayed behind, seemingly with the same intention as Xia Duo.

All the details of the 【Message】 Spell had been fully recorded in his Spell Notes in the morning, but learning through a Scroll was still a few times faster.

Thus, Xia Duo did not care that there were others in the Spell Laboratory; he found a corner, took out the Scroll, and began to practice.

"Xia Duo." An Apprentice approached Xia Duo and asked softly, "May I sit next to you?"

Xia Duo glanced over, saw the name "Halun" embroidered on his Mage Robe, and said in a flat tone, "Within two steps, 15 Gold Coins."

Two steps—this was the furthest distance an Apprentice could clearly "see" all the details of the Magic Net structure induced by a Learning Scroll while in a focused state; beyond that, one could not see all the details—

Even in the Spell Laboratory where the Magic Net was very calm.

Clearly, this Apprentice named Halun had not mastered 【Message】. Seeing Xia Duo take out a Learning Scroll just now and identifying from afar that it was 【Message】, he wanted to share it.

Unexpectedly, Xia Duo wanted 15 Gold Coins. Halun hesitated, "I don't have that many Gold Coins right now; would Spell Notes work?"

"I need the notes for 【Daze】?"

Halun took a deep breath, agreed, and directly tore two pieces of Parchment from his personal notes and handed them to Xia Duo.

Xia Duo took a look; it was not recorded in secret script, so he put it away and let Halun move a little closer.

Immediately after, two more Apprentices came to ask, and Xia Duo agreed to them as well. Afterward, the four of them surrounded the Magic Scroll; Halun and the others began to copy, while Xia Duo attempted to practice.

It was still a matter of first deconstructing the Spell structure, practicing step-by-step, and then practicing as a whole once proficient.

A 0-Ring Spell is also commonly known as Apprentice-level Magic, or simply a Trick; the difficulty of learning it is not high, but the difficulty of obtaining the Knowledge is very great.

Having had the experience of learning 【Acid Splash】 and 【Light】, Xia Duo entered the door quickly. By the time evening approached, he had already begun to attempt whole-practice.

Looking around the Spell Laboratory, most Official Apprentices had long since left, but quite a few Ordinary Apprentices had come to receive training. Xia Duo searched carefully among the crowd.

Huh—

Suddenly his eyes lit up; he discovered a somewhat familiar face—it seemed to be an Ordinary Apprentice who had once joined Donald's group of five and eventually "was" made to leave.

You're the one!

Xia Duo focused his mind to perform Spellcasting, coordinating with hand gestures for Guidance, and immediately felt that he had connected with that Apprentice seven or eight meters away. The threads of the Magic Net constructed an invisible channel between the two.

"Hey!" Xia Duo recited silently in his heart, while observing the person's expression.

Sure enough, the person seemed to be startled, looked left and right, but did not find anyone talking to him. Since others were not in a focused state, they could not even detect that someone was casting a Spell here—

【Message】 has no accompanying sound or light effects.

"I'm behind you!" Xia Duo sent another message over.

The person turned around instantly, staring at the people behind him again and again, but did not find any sign of the other party having opened their mouth. The people nearby also looked at him strangely, so he had to turn back with a suspicious expression.

Success on the first try!

Xia Duo was so excited he almost wanted to shout out loud; this was the fastest he had ever succeeded in learning a new Magic.

Previously, whether it was 【Acid Splash】 or 【Light】, it had taken him at least a week to release them for the first time, and it took even longer to master them.

Of course, this had something to do with him not devoting all his time to research and practice, but today, counting the hour or so of research after finishing the transcription in the morning, the afternoon of deconstruction practice, and then the whole-Spellcasting.

All in all, it was no more than 5 hours.

This delighted him greatly, but beyond the delight, he realized even more the importance of the basics. There was much repetition in operating the Magic Net when casting 0-Ring Spells; deconstruction practice kept Xia Duo's vision from being limited to a specific Spell, but rather considering it systematically.

He had a premonition that if he mastered the operation of more 0-Ring Spells and integrated them, he might be able to cast a Spell based solely on a description, or even develop brand-new Spells on this foundation.

……

Soon the tactical class for the day ended, and this Spell Laboratory was about to close. Xia Duo prepared to go get dinner, but Halun and the other two had not yet finished transcribing 【Message】.

Seeing that Xia Duo wanted to leave, they panicked, "Xia Duo, we haven't finished transcribing yet!"

Xia Duo thought for a moment, did not put away the Learning Scroll, and instead said: "I'll give this Learning Scroll to you all; it can probably last for about another 2 hours. Hurry up and transcribe it; you should have enough time."

After saying this, he left.

The Spell effect actually released by a Learning Scroll is no different from an ordinary Magic Scroll, but almost no one would use this kind of unencrypted Scroll specifically for learning to actually release a Spell.

However, the time used for learning cannot be used indefinitely; it can only maintain its unfolded state for about 8 hours. During this time, the Spell details can be recorded separately, but if it is not finished within this time, one can only get another copy.

After Xia Duo's use of this Learning Scroll last night, this morning, and this afternoon, there was not much time left; it would likely be completely ineffective once these three finished transcribing.

Since the benefits paid by the other party were already in his pocket, he might as well just give them the Scroll, saving himself the time.