Chapter 141 - 140: Profound Accumulation

Chapter 141: Chapter 140: Profound Accumulation

Ten level-zero basic runes. For a Second-Class Mage Apprentice who had never been exposed to Rune Science to successfully draw all of them... from comprehension and memorization to successful execution, ten days would be considered an excellent result. This was also the expected timeframe Jose had set for Gaode. Mastering one basic rune per day as a complete beginner in Rune Science was an immense pressure, but the old man believed Gaode could do it.

Gaode didn’t disappoint the old man’s expectations. He just did a little too well.

He had actually mastered all ten level-zero basic runes in just a single day. Moreover, the basic runes Gaode drew were incredibly standard. If it weren’t for the failed rune drawings cast aside, and if the unpolished novice Pen Technique wasn’t glaringly obvious in the finer details of the strokes, Jose would have assumed this was the work of a seasoned Rune Master.

Looking at the impeccably standard basic runes on the magic paper, Jose didn’t doubt whether Gaode had actually completed them himself—the Magic Array in the Rune Workshop hadn’t reported a third person’s arrival. Thus, he began to doubt the credibility of the information he had received about Gaode.

According to the academy’s records, Gaode’s Mage Level was still only a Second-Class Mage Apprentice. Learning to master basic runes, although only the most fundamental part of Rune Science—roughly equivalent to the relationship between writing a novel and simply recognizing words—was still constrained by the physiological foundation of a Second-Class Mage Apprentice. There was no way a Second-Class Mage Apprentice could master ten level-zero basic runes in a single day.

Drawing runes consumed Mana, and precisely controlling the flow of Mana consumed Spiritual Power. These were rigid requirements that could neither be simplified nor skipped.

The Spiritual Power of a Second-Class Mage Apprentice was insufficient for highly precise Mana control. Without precise control, the drawing process would naturally expend more Mana—and a Second-Class Mage Apprentice’s Mana reserves were just as impoverished as their Spiritual Power. Historical experience had long proven that for a Second-Class Mage Apprentice with some rune aptitude, mastering one basic rune a day was already exceptional. A Third-Class Mage Apprentice, on the other hand, could learn two to three basic runes per day.

The former would need two years to master all 651 basic level-zero runes. The latter could accomplish it within a year. Thus, it was most optimal to begin studying Rune Science only after reaching the Mage Level of Third-Class Mage Apprentice or higher.

So, what did it mean for a Second-Class Mage Apprentice to master ten basic level-zero runes in one day?

If it were true, it could only mean... this guy wasn’t human!

Jose shook his head, casting aside the inappropriate joke. It could only mean that this person possessed an astonishing intuition and control over runes. This allowed him to instinctively regulate his Mana flow while drawing. That was how he achieved a level of precision absolutely impossible for the Spiritual Power of a normal Second-Class Mage Apprentice, reducing his Spiritual Power consumption to an unimaginably low value.

Jose was well aware of the background of Gaode, the student the academy had forcibly shoved onto him. He was a lucky dog and a country bumpkin who had managed to enter the academy on the strength of a recommendation letter from the former dean. As a country bumpkin, it was naturally impossible for him to have been exposed to Rune Science prior to enrollment, simply because Rune Masters were too Rare. Therefore, he had never doubted Gaode’s claim yesterday that he had never encountered Rune Science before.

However, the manuscript paper and the interference constant Gaode left behind yesterday made Jose absolutely certain of one thing: although Gaode had never touched Rune Science, he undeniably possessed an incredibly high aptitude for the field. He might even be... quite possibly the only person in the world who could understand, accept, and master his Rune Logic and Computation.

If Jose previously only wanted to teach Gaode a few things out of a basic sense of responsibility, after yesterday, he genuinely wanted to cultivate him into an outstanding Rune Master—perhaps even a fellow pioneer on this path.

Turning a country bumpkin into an excellent Rune Master was no easy feat. Of course, he didn’t mean to look down on country bumpkins. To him, everyone in the Sean Duchy, including the Nobility who considered themselves superior, were all country bumpkins in reality. But in short, facts were facts.

Because of this, Jose had already taken deriving the interference constant and cultivating Gaode as the two most important and difficult subjects of his remaining lifespan. Yet now... it seemed this second subject wasn’t nearly as difficult as he had imagined.

By the time Gaode finished his meal and arrived at the Cultivation Building, it was nearly six in the evening. Truthfully, a full day of rune studies had left him deeply exhausted. However, this wasn’t an excuse to neglect his daily cultivation. More importantly, after tentatively drinking his specially made Leakless Water fruit beverage, he was pleasantly surprised to find that his fatigue quickly faded significantly.

The minor molecular changes brought about by fruit fermentation were not enough to alter the potent efficacy of the Leakless Water. This was spectacular news, causing Gaode’s Spirit to involuntarily surge with excitement. It meant that for the next month, before his stock of the Leakless Water beverage ran out, the progress of his Guiding Technique cultivation would be even faster than if he were drinking Basic Magic Potions.

At the front desk, Gaode waved his hand and handed over 10 Gold Coins, directly purchasing forty hours of usage time for a One Tier Cultivation Room.

When Gaode left the Cultivation Room, even having consumed the Leakless Water beverage, the deep fatigue etched into his face lingered. The thought that he still had one more task to complete made his heart grow even heavier.

[Poisonous Insect Cultivation].

As Gaode hurriedly arrived at the Cultivation Room, unlocked the hardwood door with his secret key, and saw the more than two hundred eggs quietly lying there waiting for his inspection, a sense of melancholy inevitably rose in his heart.

Goodbye, leisurely days.

Gaode first used [Detect Poison] to transfer the newly discovered six soon-to-hatch eggs into the large incubator in the Cultivation Room. He then inspected the eggs he had moved into the large incubator yesterday and found that one Fire Pattern Ant larva had already hatched. The surfaces of the remaining eggs were covered in cracks and slightly bulging; they weren’t far from hatching either.

The hatched larvae didn’t require Gaode to feed them. The nutrient solution specially concocted by Shore inside the incubator provided all the necessary components for their growth. All he needed to do was ensure no accidents occurred and screen out any defective products.

Following the details Shore had instructed, Gaode carefully examined the newly hatched Fire Pattern Ant larva.

"Body surface is smooth and flawless. Pass.

"No physical deformities, no sluggish movements. Pass.

"The fiery-red patterns on the back... Hmm? They aren’t clear. Most of them are blurry... Fail."

A single failed criterion indicated that this Fire Pattern Ant larva was a so-called defective product and needed to be disposed of promptly. Gaode didn’t hesitate. He directly used Mage’s Hand to scoop the Fire Pattern Ant larva out of the nutrient solution. Then, keeping it seven or eight meters away, he effortlessly crushed the less-than-a-day-old larva to death with the Mage’s Hand.

The larva’s bodily fluids splattered out, mixed with a crimson fire toxin. As it splashed onto the ground, it emitted a SIZZLE and a thick puff of white smoke, causing Gaode’s heart to clench. If he hadn’t taken these larvae seriously and had handled them directly with his bare hands instead of using Mage’s Hand, he would have already fallen victim to the poison.

Having wrapped everything up, Gaode prepared to call it a day, his heart and spirit focusing on Wind Spirit Moon Shadow.

A new entry had already appeared.

Origin:

0th Ring—Fire Pattern Ant (1/7)