Chapter 108: Three Years Later

Qiu Nuoya had no idea either. Yet this world seemed to have a strange rule. If someone tried to activate a spell without an incantation and there was a spelling mistake in the spell name they imagined in their mind, the spell would fail. But if they actually recited the incantation aloud, that mistake was somehow ignored.

Even more surprisingly, spelling mistakes could be compensated for through imagery. If the caster could clearly visualize the phenomenon they wanted to create in their mind, the spell could activate even if the incantation was incorrect, or even if they used no incantation at all.

That was probably why almost anyone with an aptitude for a particular element could use simple spells.

Magic naturally had textbooks as well. Even if the contents of one of those textbooks contained errors, a spell could still activate if the caster could perfectly visualize what they wanted to create in their mind.

However, casting spells through imagery alone required more magical power, so it was generally discouraged.

Advanced magic already consumed a large amount of magical power, and its incantations were also much longer. On top of that, casting advanced magic without an incantation consumed roughly one and a half times as much magical power.

That was why incantations were generally considered essential. But Qiu Nuoya began to wonder.

Are they really necessary?

The advanced spells found in textbooks contained numerous typos and often had unnecessarily long names. Looking at all those pointless strings of words, Qiu Nuoya could not help feeling that there was no way all of them were actually contributing anything useful to the incantation.

Could shortening these incantations reduce the amount of magical power required while keeping the spell’s power unchanged?

Qiu Nuoya came up with the hypothesis and began conducting repeated experiments.

The results were an enormous success. Before he even realized it, Qiu Nuoya had discovered a way to cast most of the advanced magic commonly taught in this world without using an incantation.

"Nuoya, at your age, you have already managed to construct entirely new magical formulas..."

Viktor had gone beyond being exasperated. He simply stared into the distance with a faraway look in his eyes.

Come on. Viktor knows I’m not actually the age I look, right?

Then again, forty years old was apparently still considered practically a baby by elven standards.

Maybe that’s what he means by "at your age."

Still, Qiu Nuoya had simply figured out how the system worked. Once he understood the rules, experimenting with them had been practically inevitable.

"Please, above all, make sure that..."

"I won’t tell anyone about this, and I will make an effort to use incantations when casting magic in front of other people." Qiu Nuoya cut Viktor off as though he already knew what Viktor was going to say.

"Your understanding is reassuringly quick." Viktor nodded.

...

Life in the dungeon city of Oraria passed peacefully at its own leisurely pace. Before Qiu Nuoya knew it, three years had gone by.

Clearing the dungeon was not something that could be accomplished overnight.

Qiu Nuoya and Warren were still too weak to help Viktor and Igor much, so they spent their days training relentlessly to improve their own abilities.

After three years of living that way, Qiu Nuoya and Warren had finally been promoted to Rank D adventurers.

"Nuoya! I finally managed to clear the twentieth floor by myself!" Warren rushed into the house with a delighted expression and threw his arms around Qiu Nuoya.

"Wow, Warren! Congratulations! Then we definitely have to celebrate tonight!" Seeing Warren’s radiant smile, Qiu Nuoya could not help feeling happy for him.

The first twenty floors of Dungeon Castle were essentially like a commercial facility with staff stationed throughout them. Even so, clearing those floors alone was far from easy. That was precisely why it had been adopted as a promotion test for adventurers.

After three years, Warren had finally managed to pass the promotion test as well. Meanwhile, Qiu Nuoya had already passed several months earlier. He had imposed some pretty severe restrictions on himself during the test. He was forbidden from using holy magic, forbidden from using non elemental magic, and even forbidden from casting magic without an incantation. Those restrictions had made the challenge considerably more difficult.

As Qiu Nuoya reminisced about it, Warren, who had been hugging him, suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him away. He then stared intently into Qiu Nuoya’s face with an unusually serious expression and said, "Nuoya, there’s something I wanted to tell you after I passed this test..."

"Huh? Really? What is it?" Warren’s words were so sudden that Qiu Nuoya tilted his head in confusion. Warren looked away slightly, repeatedly opening his mouth as though he wanted to say something, only to fall silent again.

Warren has really grown a lot...

Warren had been older than Qiu Nuoya from the beginning, so naturally he had always been taller. However, over the past three years, he had grown so much that he looked like an entirely different person.

When they first met, Warren had been thirteen years old, only three years older than Qiu Nuoya. Warren had seemed so mature that Qiu Nuoya had assumed he was older, so he remembered being slightly surprised when he learned his actual age.

Now Warren was sixteen.

He was still right in the middle of his growth spurt, and his height had continued to increase rapidly. By now, he was almost as tall as Viktor.

Qiu Nuoya had grown quite a bit over the past three years as well, but he still could not catch up. If anything, the difference in their heights seemed to be getting larger.

This body is supposed to be in its growth period too!

Warren had not yet developed the same heavily muscular physique as Igor, but he had certainly gained more muscle and become much more robust.

I’m seriously jealous.

Of course, there was also the difference between their professions. Warren was a swordsman, while Qiu Nuoya was a mage.