Chapter 55: Arcane Mark, Magic Permanence

With the aid of the Learning Scroll, plus Xia Duo's previous understanding of the essence of Ring spells, a mere Arcane Mark was no challenge at all.

The so-called Arcane Mark is to leave a mark with personal characteristics on an object or creature; this mark can be text or a graphic.

The most critical point is that Arcane Mark can be used for the Positioning of certain specific spells, such as Sending; if there is no Arcane Mark to assist with Positioning, then the target must be within the Spellcaster's line of sight, and the distance must be relatively short.

After a simple study, Xia Duo understood the Principles of the existence of Arcane Mark and the details of Spellcasting, and he also discovered the difference between the Magic of Arcane Mark and other Ring spells.

In short, the other Ring spells Xia Duo had mastered, such as Light, Acid Splash, or Ghost Sound, Mage Hand, and the like, seemed to have a duration, but they were all one-time Magic Effects.

However, once an Arcane Mark is formed, it can exist for a long time, or even permanently.

This could not help but make Xia Duo think of a very sophisticated Magic technique—Permanency; it is just that Permanency can make a Magic Effect constant, while Arcane Mark can only make a mark without a Magic Effect constant.

However, Xia Duo speculated that Arcane Mark might be an initial stage leading to Permanency, but it was a pity that it could not be verified at the current stage.

……

Casting Arcane Mark was not difficult; Xia Duo only practiced a little before leaving a smiley face mark on the handle of his new Dagger.

In the state of Spellcasting Focus, this mark connected with the "threads" structure of the Magic Net, emitting a faint Magic Aura, but once he exited the state of Spellcasting Focus, this smiley face mark disappeared.

Afterwards, Xia Duo cast Arcane Mark again, leaving a triangular mark in the palm of his left hand; this time he chose to keep this triangular mark in a visible state.

It could be seen without entering the state of Spellcasting Focus, and even ordinary people could see it, similar to the portrait on the back of the Badge obtained earlier.

Of course, entering the state of Spellcasting Focus, Xia Duo could still see this mark emitting a faint Magic Aura.

This constant state of Arcane Mark has no direct connection to what the mark looks like, but is related to the elements of this Magic.

There are only 12 elements to casting Arcane Mark; through these twelve most basic "actions," the operation of the Magic Net is completed, but through these operations, the Spell structure above the elements forms a circular state.

As for the other Ring spells Xia Duo already knew, their Spell structures were all in an open state.

Because the essence of Magic is the operation of the Magic Net; where there is operation, the Magic Net will naturally have feedback. The Spell structure in an open state is constantly in confrontation with the restoration trend of the Magic Net.

However, the Spell structure in a circular state seems to have become a state of symbiosis or parasitism with the Magic Net; as long as there is no abnormality in the Magic Net, the circular state will always exist.

This is probably the reason why Arcane Mark can be preserved for a long time.

In an instant, Xia Duo thought of so many things that he wished he could immediately transform into a Great Arcanist and start verifying them one by one.

But the human voices and shouts, and the sounds of weapons clashing coming from the camp, made Xia Duo realize his situation—he must first survive this Orc Tide.

Xia Duo had already fully understood Arcane Mark, but he was not yet proficient when casting it, but Arcane Mark itself did not need to be very fast or in large quantities; as long as it could be used, it was fine.

On the contrary, it is key Spells like Sending that need a lot of practice, otherwise, by the time the enemy rushes to the front, the message still hasn't been sent out, that scene—

Xia Duo dared not imagine it.

Fortunately, having understood the Spell Principles, he only needed to improve his proficiency when practicing, to achieve skill through practice; this is a slow and steady effort, and there is nothing to take shortcuts with.

When a person is focused on doing one thing, time always passes very quickly; in the blink of an eye, the light in the room had dimmed, and the drilling sounds outside had gradually subsided.

Xia Duo rubbed his sore eyes and was about to get up to stretch his hands and feet when the voice of the big guy Jiexi came from outside, "Mage Xia Duo, the Captain asked me to inform you that it is time for dinner."

"So fast?"

Xia Duo walked out of the room in two or three steps, just in time to run into Jiexi who was preparing to knock on the door, "How was the training this afternoon? Is Aiwa back?"

"It went quite smoothly. Except for Yidimu and the others, everyone else has combat experience and only needs to be familiar with some Army formations and routines. As for Aiwa—"

Jiexi also revealed an expression of dissatisfaction, "After he came back, he talked to Captain Jibu for a while and then disappeared again. The Captain said he went to scout for information, and I didn't dare to ask more. Why don't you go ask the Captain, Mage Xia Duo?"

"Hmm."

Xia Duo nodded and agreed; Aiwa's matter must be asked clearly, otherwise such a maverick team member would always be a trouble.

……

After dinner, Xia Duo found Captain Jibu and spoke to him about Aiwa. Jibu did not feel surprised by this and took the opportunity to explain Aiwa's actions today.

"Aiwa has undergone professional training and is an excellent Rogue. He went to Task Area 12 today to scout the situation. If he were placed in the formation to fight the Orcs head-on, that could only be said to be our squad's loss."

"Hmm."

Xia Duo nodded, but he was not satisfied with this answer. What he cared about was not what duties Aiwa undertook in the squad, but that Aiwa always disappeared without a word, which made him very uneasy.

And he felt that Jibu seemed to be hiding something from him.

Xia Duo stared at Jibu with burning eyes, as if if he didn't speak, Xia Duo would just keep staring like this. Jibu was silent for a moment, but in the end, he still couldn't say what Xia Duo wanted to know.

"Mage Xia Duo, please do not inquire about Aiwa anymore. I can swear on my life that Aiwa is absolutely reliable."

Afterwards, he started playing the emotional card, "My family died at the hands of Orcs. I wish I could kill all Orcs. I will not make a joke of the mission."

Since things had reached this point, Xia Duo did not pursue the matter further, but Aiwa's existence was always like a thorn, making it difficult for him to feel at ease.

Everyone else was someone whose background he knew, only Aiwa, who had not said a word the whole time and played disappearing acts from time to time; how could this make people feel at ease?

After thinking it over, Xia Duo decided to ask Mage Huosite, who had distributed the Badges earlier; no matter the result, he had to get some peace of mind.

After parting ways with Jibu, Xia Duo left the camp under the pretext of looking for Dien.

The place where Mage Huosite was located was not far from Xia Duo's current camp; he only needed to go around two Training Grounds to reach it.

And just as he turned the last corner and was about to see Mage Huosite, Xia Duo suddenly felt a cold breeze blow past the back of his head, followed by an eerie voice sounding from behind—