Chapter 177: Lord Lord Kuku's Chain Fire Rain

"The snake, gone again?"

Summoning a Heroic Soul had turned out like raising a stray cat; for most of the time, it was nowhere to be seen, making Li En feel quite unaccustomed.

But from another angle, it might not be without benefits.

Without the state or personality shifts brought by a Heroic Soul possessing the body, and without a new power system or knowledge to learn, Li En could finally be at peace.

He had time to further digest the "treasures" of Su Er and Lord Lord Kuku.

After Lord Lord Kuku arrived immediately following Su Er, Li En's attention turned straight to the spellcasters, leaving no time to digest Su Er's "legacy."

If not for the snake's reminder, he hadn't even realized he was actually not far from the practical application of the "Wallbreaker (Su Er's Soul)."

Dimon's progress also reminded him that he, holding Su Er's inheritance, was actually progressing slowly on the path of the Paladin.

With Su Er's final gift, he should have had no pressure at all for the first three tiers.

But the newly acquired Lord Lord Kuku "legacy," with its vast amount of magical knowledge, required more time and energy to digest.

"I see, your understanding of the Humanoid Hold spell is already quite mature; you should master it very soon."

At lunchtime, Li En did not take his leave but directly invited Luo Yisi to lunch, considering it a "thank-you to the teacher."

Luo Yisi, who already intended to befriend him, naturally did not refuse; while talking and chatting, Luo Yisi was actually continuing to "test" Li En.

In this world, there were many secret arts, Special items, and even potions that could force one to master the "borrowed" magic of spells, which was completely different from magic acquired through study.

As a teacher for a short-term class, he had no reason or motive to block Li En (his wages weren't enough for him to offend people).

Even if Li En used a Second-Ring spell brought by a Magical item, as long as he cast it smoothly before him, he would let him pass.

Actually, many noble children obtained their "certificates" this way, but if it involved an "Apprentice Recommendation" concerning one's own reputation, that was a different matter entirely.

Some things become clear with just a question or a chat, yet the more Luo Yisi chatted, the more alarmed he became.

He originally thought Li En had accelerated his learning by some method, but his accumulation of magical knowledge was unexpectedly solid.

From the casual chat, it could be heard that the knowledge accumulation for several Second-Ring spells had actually reached completion, needing only the final push.

Especially regarding knowledge involving Evocation and Transmutation, there were profound insights distinct from the contemporary mainstream, clearly the result of instruction by a Grandmaster.

"Uh, why don't you simply become a disciple of that Grandmaster who taught you magic?" Finally, Luo Yisi asked.

"He left, went to a very far place." Li En responded with a smile.

"Oh, this person must be a very powerful Archmage." Luo Yisi asked casually; he was also curious about what Ring Archmage this was.

"Yes, he is the most outstanding mage I know."

Luo Yisi nodded, not taking it seriously; for an apprentice, the mentor is always a god-like figure.

The mage world is actually relatively dull to the outside; the noble circle's amusing tale of the "Lift-High Knight" had not yet reached Luo Yisi's circle.

After some time, when the news of "Li En encountering a Ninth-Ring Lich" spread along with this anecdote, Luo Yisi would learn the true worth of the "most outstanding mage" in Li En's mouth.

Actually, Li En's unhesitating choice of Evocation had another reason: Lord Lord Kuku's magical knowledge base actually contained an Easter egg.

"Lord Lord Kuku's Chain Fire Rain is truly a very difficult assignment."

This was a spell created by Lord Lord Kuku himself, a rare instance of him leaving his own name in the history of magic.

And because the creation was relatively early, it still used Lord Lord Kuku's original name.

In Li En's knowledge base, these spells were not the original "Lord Lord Kuku Fire Rain series," but improved versions he had combined himself with the latest magical knowledge over these days.

The original versions had already been eliminated by later generations; this is the root cause why mages mentioning Lord Lord Kuku do not know.

And because Lord Lord Kuku lacked high-Ring practical casting ability in the previous few days, these spells were "theoretical concepts" rather than finished products, so Li En needed to learn and perfect them himself.

This was also a test question spanning time and history that he was willing to complete.

To be honest, from the perspective of a science-and-engineering man, it was quite romantic, but the completion difficulty seemed absurdly high.

"One Third-Ring, one Fifth-Ring, and one Ninth-Ring..." The Ninth-Ring was the most outrageous; the original was actually Seventh-Ring, but after Lord Lord Kuku added too many new theories and concepts, the difficulty skyrocketed, and the theoretical casting difficulty reached Ninth-Ring.

But from another angle, with a Ninth-Ring magical knowledge sitting in one's mind, how many spellcasters could refuse?

"I'm afraid I also need to dual-study Transmutation, but that is not urgent."

The Fire Rain spell was obviously Evocation, but most spells were originally "impure."

Magical school classification only roughly divides the basic attributes of a spell's nature, casting technique, and activation method; the higher the Ring, the more complex the spell, naturally utilizing magical knowledge and casting techniques from other schools, differing only in quantity.

The most obvious is actually the entangled relationship between Evocation and Conjuration; Evocation is the art of controlling elements, but the elements controlled in many spells are actually summoned from other planes via elemental plane coordinates, expending mana, which naturally involves knowledge of the Conjuration school (space).

Sometimes, even misunderstandings and prejudices become common knowledge.

The most classic example is probably the "Fireball"; summoning an elemental ball from another plane and throwing it at an opponent looks like it should be Conjuration, yet it turns out to be Evocation.

Which school a spell is classified into is not necessarily fixed; introducing a large amount of knowledge from other schools into an improved version and changing the system is normal, so there is no need to obsess too much. And as an Alchemy Grandmaster, Lord Lord Kuku's Evocation spells also contained a large amount of Transmutation knowledge. By Li En's own assessment, Lord Lord Kuku's Fire Rain spells were quite suitable for him.

Mainly, just like Lord Lord Kuku's own habit, it was multi-stage area-of-effect flame elemental damage (multi-headed dragon), very suitable for triggering Li En's own "Wallbreaker Soul" ability.

The preset combat effect was somewhat similar to a combination of the classic Scorching Ray and Fireball spells; Li En himself was quite optimistic about it. The only drawback was probably that the standard mana consumption might be double that of ordinary spells of the same tier.

But for Li En, it was not a big problem; he was of the Red Dragon lineage, and flame spell consumption was naturally nearly halved.

After finishing the meal, Li En took his leave; his work schedule in the Radiant District for today was quite full.

Some things, some problems, were surfacing more and more; even if they could not be solved immediately, one needed to start trying to find ways to overcome the difficulties.

The top priority was the armor problem! Li En could increasingly no longer endure the predicament of casting spells while wearing armor.

"Just for maintenance and repair, it costs eleven gold coins? You might as well rob! I haven't even had it for half a month!"

Li En returned the armor to the dwarf shop, only to receive an astonishing repair fee and quote.

The dwarf craftsman tapped the armor, looked at the impact deformation and the marks left by dragon claws, yet his expression remained very serious.

"You know it's only been half a month... I suspect you slaughtered a dragon and wrestled with a giant within half a month. The fact that you are still alive proves the quality of my armor, doesn't it? The steel framework has deformed; the places hit by the dragon need re-coating. This price is already a loss-leader."

Li En sighed; what more could be said? He took out the money.

The dwarf was right; this armor had proven its own quality; it was the armor shell that deformed, not his own bones.

But unfortunately, mere hardness could no longer satisfy Li En's growing needs.

"Is there really no way to solve the problem of casting spells while wearing armor? I am already a Second-Ring mage?"

The dwarf glanced sideways at him? Two rings? Even nine rings wouldn't help.

"Dreams are for dreaming!" (a poetic translation of a dwarf's curse) The irate dwarf shoved Li En aside and began the repairs.

Just as he said, with such little time and the armor so badly damaged, even the basic frame needed to be reforged; the repair was already a losing bargain.

Charging this price was only because he saw Li En as a fierce warrior daring to clash with the Dragon Clan!

High-ring mage? What's there to respect about those tricksters?

Watching the dwarf craftsman hammering away with a clack-clack-clack, Li En shrugged and left the smithy. It seemed there was no way to solve the problem of casting spells while wearing armor through dwarves.

Before, Li En could endure it because zero-ring cantrips and one-ring cantrips had subtle practical effects; they really weren't better than him landing one more slash.

Now, two-ring spells were quite useful in combat, and the three-ring tier was full of overpowered, effective spells. Li En could endure this restriction less and less.

"I can't afford boots of speed, but once I reach three rings, casting a haste spell on myself before charging in will be the same." Li En truly dared not imagine the scene where, after finally finding an opening on the battlefield and completing the haste spell, he would suffer a spell failure right in front of an opponent standing close by.

The image was too beautiful; he dared not look.

"I don't believe there's no solution." This was a classic dilemma; with so many seeking solutions, there must be at least a mitigation plan.

It was just that Li En's public standing was too low; he seemed unable to find a way to solve it.

Li En had already determined that solving this problem was the top priority, the key to integrating his mage and paladin powers into a comprehensive combat strength; otherwise, they would always remain separate.

Whether a qualitative transformation in short-term combat power could be achieved depended on when this problem was solved.

"Where's the snake? When you need him, he's gone?"

"You're looking for me?" A familiar voice suddenly came from his shoulder.

Li En turned his head and saw the lazy little black snake, his body reeking of strong alcohol, as if he had just returned from some drunken revelry.

"Erk!" The snake suddenly let out a drunken burp; the overpowering smell of alcohol forced Li En to step back repeatedly.

"Stinking drunkard, stay away!" Li En even felt dizzy; this was already a magical attack, wasn't it? Could it be that the wine from yesterday hadn't worn off yet?

"Heh, ignorant kid. This single drop of wine could get you drunk to death. What do you want? I'm busy, busy going back to sleep."

Li En sighed and stated his problem.

For a problem that required "discovery" rather than "invention," the well-traveled snake should have a reliable answer, right?

"This one is quite simple; there are at least thirty classic approaches to solving it, but..." The snake's eyes were full of amusement; he had a new idea.

Don't fear if what you ask for is too difficult; fear if you have no request. Only with a request does cause and effect arise.

Only with cause and effect can a new story be drawn forth.

"... For your current self, there are only four or five options, just..."

"The price? It won't be everything, will it?"

"What would I do with that? Fun, new fun!"

(End of this chapter)