Chapter 142 - 141: [Mage’s Hand+]

Chapter 142: Chapter 141: [Mage’s Hand+]

The 25th of the Dark Night Moon.

Gaode familiarly entered the quiet Gavin Hall. Passing through the long corridors and heading all the way up to the third floor, he encountered a total of only two strangers. There were no pleasantries; everyone seemed to have their own urgent matters, their footsteps hurried. Gaode quite liked this atmosphere.

He skillfully made his way to the Rune Workshop on the third floor. The moment he stepped inside, his expression instantly grew solemn. It was a solemnity akin to facing a formidable enemy. To the current Gaode, ten basic Level 0 runes were indeed formidable enemies.

It wasn’t that he feared the tedium of learning. On the contrary, he found learning runes to be quite a delightful endeavor. Whether it was the aesthetic beauty of the runes or the acquisition of knowledge, both brought him immense satisfaction. Yet, no matter how much he enjoyed studying runes, it didn’t change the immense toll the process took on his Physical Strength and Energy. This was the source of his solemnity.

The instant Gaode entered the workshop, that familiar, aged voice calmly rang out. The voice still didn’t greet him. Like a machine, it directly issued today’s "instructions."

"Read the materials on the desk first. You don’t need to complete your rune drawing in the Rune Workshop; just bring them to me for inspection tomorrow.

"You may take the Magic Paper, Rune Pen, and Magic Ink with you."

Compared to the previous two days, Jose O’Kenley’s words were finally no longer a simple "copy and paste." Gaode listened in silence, his hands already opening the materials laid out on the desk.

The first section covered the basic Pen Technique required for drawing runes. These included "dot," "release," "touch," "flick," and "lift." These Pen Techniques allowed a Rune Master to better control their strokes, thereby increasing stability, reducing Mana consumption, and so on. In addition, there was a basic method for channeling Mana. This would stabilize the flow of Mana during the drawing process, significantly increasing the success rate.

The more Gaode read, the more he felt that this was something he should have learned before drawing runes yesterday.

Of course, he didn’t know that this was exactly the sequence Jose had planned. Yesterday, Jose only wanted Gaode to familiarize himself with runes; he hadn’t expected him to instantly master those ten basic runes. The actual attempt at drawing runes was meant to happen today, after learning the Pen Technique and Mana channeling methods. Yesterday was Gaode’s first class in Rune Science. If the Strength and difficulty were maxed out right from the start, it would only breed resistance and fear in him.

In a sense, Jose was indeed a good mentor, aside from being a man of very few words. Although this couldn’t be considered a major flaw, he just had to encounter Gaode, who spoke even less. Thus, relying purely on his own understanding without asking any questions, Gaode had completely misunderstood the assignment and brute-forced all ten Level 0 basic runes in one breath. As a result, the logical teaching sequence had been completely inverted.

Naturally, this wasn’t a big deal. Gaode remained silent and continued leafing through the materials. At the end of the document, there were more rune diagrams accompanied by their deconstructed explanatory texts. The implication was simple and clear: just learn them.

However, today’s Level 0 basic runes... there were only five. This meant Gaode could finish today’s studies in a relatively relaxed state, leaving him with plenty of Energy and time to do other things. This made him breathe a sigh of relief. If every subsequent day was like this, his worries would vanish. He had elected to take eight other courses, all of which would begin intensively next month, which would undoubtedly consume much of his Energy and time.

With his mood slightly relaxed, Gaode even had the spare Spirit to ponder. Just what kind of person was this head of the Rune Department—a man he hadn’t seen once despite coming here three times, someone who constantly holed himself up in a small room? At least for now, the only two words Gaode could use to describe his impression of the man were "mysterious" and "busy."

While Gaode was guessing what kind of person Jose O’Kenley was, the old man was similarly thinking about the young trainee outside his door—or rather, his student. Whether in name or in fact, he had already taken on the responsibilities of Gaode’s mentor.

He had never imagined that a young man who had never even touched runes before could rely on mere "intuition" to propose the concept of an "Interference Constant"—a problem that had troubled him for years. Nor had he ever seen a young man display such a calm demeanor and astonishing talent amidst the dry, monotonous study of runes.

Undoubtedly, the young man outside—his first student in so many years—had already revealed boundless talent in the field of Rune Science. This kind of talent was something Jose had never seen, not even in his birthplace—the most advanced hub of rune technology on the continent. Therefore, the problem before him was: how to protect and nurture Gaode’s infinite talent.

Jose O’Kenley had thought long and hard last night, and the very first thing he decided to do was to lighten Gaode’s burden. His original intention was simply for Gaode to master ten basic runes within ten days, but Gaode’s misunderstanding had inadvertently revealed his own limits.

However, pushing him to such limits was unnecessary. He was still a very young child, with plenty of time ahead of him. Prolonged, extreme studying would only grind away a person’s Spirit, Energy, and passion, overdrawing their potential. Going too far is as bad as falling short—this truth applied to any field.

Of course, he couldn’t let Gaode off too easily either. Learning just one basic rune a day was far too little for such a "genius." Thus, after careful consideration, Jose O’Kenley set Gaode’s daily quota of basic runes to five.

In the time that followed, Gaode’s life gradually settled into a regular routine. Every morning, he would head to Gavin Hall on time to collect and review the day’s materials, then master five new Level 0 basic runes. This usually took him only a single morning.

The afternoons and evenings were dedicated to his cultivation, Poisonous Insect Cultivation, and reading the books he borrowed from the Library. Gaode cherished these days, because he knew that once his elective courses started, he wouldn’t have the spare time or Energy to read general books unrelated to his coursework.

His understanding of this world was rapidly improving alongside the volume of books he consumed. Improving just as quickly was his mastery over basic runes and his Origin progress bars.

The final day of the Dark Night Moon.

Origin:

0th Ring—[Fire Pattern Ant] (7/7), [Scorpion] (7/7)

1st Ring—[Illusory Thorn Centipede] (2/7)

Except for the Illusory Thorn Centipede, which was at the Same Tier of the 1st Ring and had a total of only 43 eggs, the Origin progress of the other two 0th Ring Poisonous Insects had already been completely filled.

Upon returning to his dorm, Gaode immediately sat cross-legged, holding his breath and focusing his mind as he silently chanted, "Wind Spirit Moon Shadow."

The crude Magic interface instantly popped up. Gaode’s gaze swept over the Tricks that hadn’t yet been upgraded with points; he had already made his decision. He skillfully used his consciousness to tap the flashing yellow "+" sign next to the Magic entry.

The next moment.

Wind Spirit Moon Shadow, activate!

The Big Dipper representing the Origin of the [Fire Pattern Ant] merged and expanded with Gaode’s original Magic Model...

A split second later.

[Mage’s Hand+] (Transformation Series, 0th Ring):

A floating Ghost Hand appears within the Casting Distance, persisting until the Magic terminates or is actively dismissed.

If the Ghost Hand moves beyond a distance of 30 feet (10 meters), or if Mage’s Hand is cast again, the existing Ghost Hand will disappear.

The Mage’s Hand can perform simple actions, such as manipulating an object, opening an unlocked door or container, or pouring out the contents of a small vial. However, it cannot carry objects weighing more than 10 pounds (approximately 4.5 kilograms) or activate Magic items.

Extra: You will be able to simultaneously control two "Mage’s Hands" and perform relatively complex actions, just as you would with your own two hands.