Chapter 22: Demon Skin and Face Skin

Magic Skin Technique, a Zero-Circle Spell.

The Magic Skin Technique is a relatively common Zero-Circle Spell, but its effects differ in the hands of most Spellcasters. When cast normally, the skin generates a layer of demonic skin under the spell's stimulation, able to protect the Caster to a certain degree. Besides that, prepared Spell Materials can also be used for directional casting, such as using the bark of a Blackthorn Treant, various kinds of Demon Skin, and so on; with Spell Materials assisting, the spell effect is better, and one can also obtain a portion of the corresponding Spell Material's supernatural traits.

Theoretically speaking, using Spell Materials matching the Caster's rank, aside from some special circumstances, can all lower the Magic Skin Technique's casting cost and casting difficulty.

Similarly, if a Caster selects Spell Materials far above their own rank, the casting difficulty will increase sharply, and they must also face a not-insignificant risk of casting failure.

Luge spread open the Magic Skin Technique's book in his hands.

Since the Half-Man wanted him to learn the Magic Skin Technique and had even prepared the Spell Materials, he naturally had no reason not to learn it.

Originally, he had already ranked the Magic Skin Technique after the Freezing Ray in his mind.

With this small frame of his, he didn't mind having more protective measures in the slightest; if he got the chance later, he wanted to learn at least ten or eight more spells that could take a beating from every aspect and angle. Of course, the matter of expanding his shorts into armor also had to be hurried along.

Right now was his last period of calm before he broke through the Freezing Ray; he casually flipped through the Magic Skin Technique's book for a bit to switch up his brain.

Yesterday, when that female elf left, he had planned to drink a bottle of Spirit Heart Potion the Half-Man had given him earlier, to give his brain a speed boost, but after thinking it over, he felt his condition wasn't great, so he spent another day reading books to organize himself.

He first ate a section of slightly overcooked Meat Worm, then took out the White Bottle's Spirit Heart Potion, raised his head, and drank it down.

Sour and a bit bitter, with a hint of sweetness returning within the bitterness.

In Kalu's Diary, every time he used a Spirit Heart Potion, he would also eat something; in his words, using a Spirit Heart Potion would enter a transcendent state of extreme focus, and the body's consumption would naturally intensify; if, during the potion's effective duration, in that self-forgetting state of enjoyment, one's train of thought was interrupted by hunger or such things, that would simply be too stupid.

The potion began to take effect.

Luge had never experienced this feeling in his life.

He held the Freezing Ray's tome; those places that previously required multiple steps of reaction and were easy to misjudge now looked extremely laughable to him, and at the same time he also understood a bit of the difference between whether a spell was compatible or not; compatible spells often didn't need to be laboriously mastered through pure rational deduction like this; it was closer to reading, naturally understanding with those mischievous little fellows, instinctively comprehending the rules within.

After breaking through several previously difficult-to-grasp sticking points in succession, he simply directly flipped the book back to the first page.

Starting from that first page he had long since mastered, he carefully read, felt, and understood again, beginning to organize everything from the start.

That inexplicable Spiritual Light flashed past, making him feel he should do exactly this.

As if he had figured something out.

Clearly already mastered, the earliest and simplest stage, yet in his hands he didn't immediately flip past it; this opening instead became the slowest, and then page after page, after the book was past the halfway point, it instead became faster and faster, like a galloping ferocious beast. This was a complete reversal of his usual performance; normally when flipping through this book, the page turning only got slower and slower.

Swish-swish page-turning sounds echoed as if lost in the quiet Passage all around.

Hu—

He raised both hands, snapped the whole book shut with a pa, and simultaneously let out a long breath.

Then he raised his head, turned his neck, producing a series of crisp cracks.

He didn't delay for a single moment at this time, casually placed the book beside his leg, immediately began Meditation to recover Spiritual Power, adjust his state, and immediately after began constructing the Freezing Ray's Spell Model.

Ever since he started learning this Zero-Circle Spell, he had tried who knows how many times midway.

But he could never fully grasp the overall situation.

That state of not completely internalizing it into subconscious instinct, where every tiny detail had to be deduced by himself, simply let one experience a kind of despair; fortunately, a Wizard Apprentice's Spiritual Power is tough enough. Otherwise, learning a spell would produce a pile of heart-lost Madmen.

But this time, he finally experienced that kind of carefree pleasure; what deduction, isn't it understandable at a glance? And he could even see the chain changes many steps ahead.

He completed the Spell Model's construction in one go, and the medicinal effect surprisingly hadn't worn off yet.

He immediately performed simple Meditation to recover, randomly stuffed a piece of worm meat into his mouth without chewing carefully, and opened the Magic Skin Technique's tome.

The Spirit Heart Potion's preciousness is reflected in the amount of ink the proud Kalu Diary devotes to it, and moreover this kind of potion cannot be taken continuously. Although Luge still has one bottle left, it's best to space it out by a few days.

So he wanted to master the Magic Skin Technique as fast as possible, counting on just this while.

Although when he originally chose spells, the Magic Skin Technique didn't receive Spirituality's guidance, he felt this spell was several times more compatible than the Freezing Ray; the Spell Compatibility gap was at least several-fold.

In the blink of an eye, the Magic Skin Technique's tome had already been mostly eaten through by him.

Just as he wanted to press on, the cross-legged he suddenly dazed and nearly toppled over.

Abnormal dizziness followed close behind.

"This Kalu, the discomfort after using the potion, wasn't written in the diary at all……"

He covered his forehead, lay spread-eagled on the ground, completely unable to move for a while.

The Freezing Ray completed Empowerment; he casually cast it at the nearest stone corner, and after a few seconds he got some shaved ice scraped off by fingernails, pa-ji a slap on his forehead. Regarding low-level spells' uses in daily life, Luge thinks it's very necessary to publish a book; Kalu's Diary also writes about some stupid people — of course, that's Kalu calling them stupid. These people sometimes forget to use spells in daily life, yet sometimes over-rely on spells.

For example, an Apprentice who long studied the Phantom Sound Technique, it was when Kalu had just entered the academy; when danger occurred and a companion needed waking, this Apprentice's first reaction was actually to cast a spell; Kalu directly angrily shouted at the top of his lungs, simultaneously startling the other into breaking off the spell and successfully waking everyone. There was also an Apprentice skilled in the Giant Strength Technique, because he was once a Knight, he basically only used spells in battle, and his chosen spell types were also extremely limited by his thinking.

And Luge right now also faces a difficult-to-decide situation.

Whether to continue here and learn the Magic Skin Technique, then go see the Half-Man, or follow the original plan, go treasure-hunting outside after mastering the Freezing Ray.

Picking up Inheritances is naturally the sooner the better, but the Half-Man's side is also the first time letting him go meet, and learning the Magic Skin Technique makes going out safer.

But he has a premonition that after seeing the Half-Man, some things will definitely happen.

At that time, he'll probably be unable to extricate himself in a short time.

So, after hesitating again and again, he finally decided on safety first, first wholeheartedly learn the Magic Skin Technique, then go out and finish picking up those nearby Inheritances, offer sincere blessings to those dead Wizards, then return at the fastest speed to see the Half-Man.

(Chapter End)