CHAPTER 24: CHAPTER 24: LIFE-AND-DEATH STRUGGLE

"Shenlan, how long does it take him to cast Partial Petrification and Fireball Technique?"

"Partial Petrification: 1.9 seconds."

"Fireball Technique: 2.5 seconds."

Herag was calculating something in his mind, and just as he observed, spells cast through demonized items were slower, while his own spells were a bit faster.

A map appeared in his vision, an overhead view of the crater provided by Shenlan.

The red-haired boy didn’t act rashly, nor did he dare to approach Herag easily.

Herag didn’t dare show himself easily either; after all, the power of the Fireball Technique was too great, so he had to be cautious.

Herag hunched down and circled to the side of the dirt mound, using the overhead view to ensure he stayed in the opponent’s blind spot.

The red-haired boy’s senses were keen, noticing Herag’s change in position, the ring on his hand faintly glowing green, always ready to attack.

Herag’s lurking spot came closer and closer to the red-haired boy. When he estimated the position to be about right, he nocked three arrows on his Fine Steel Bow, then flashed out for a quick shot.

As the three arrows flew out, he tossed aside the Fine Steel Bow and drew his Longsword to press forward.

The red-haired boy’s pupils shrank slightly, and while dodging to one side, he cast Partial Petrification on his chest area.

One arrow landed where he had originally stood, one landed to the side, and the other hit the spot on his chest.

Seizing this opportunity, Herag quickly approached, the cold gleam of the Longsword already reflected on the red-haired boy’s face.

The ring on the red-haired boy’s right hand flared with green light, and a fireball floated before him; at this point, he was only a few meters from Herag.

As the fireball shot out, Herag neither dodged nor retreated; instead, he accelerated forward, using the Longsword as a shield.

Bang!

The fireball struck Herag’s Longsword, resulting in a massive explosion and spraying a shower of sparks.

"Looking to die!" the red-haired boy sneered upon seeing Herag’s actions.

A figure rushed out of the sparks at great speed, his hair ablaze, clothes mostly destroyed, and burns on his shoulders and arms.

Yet Herag seemed entirely unaware, charging forward with his sword towards the red-haired boy.

The red-haired boy had a look of astonishment, a hint of fear rising in his heart.

As he was about to cast Partial Petrification Technique, he found the world before him rapidly spinning, finally seeing his own headless body, and his consciousness fell into slumber.

Herag continued to strike vital points of the corpse several times before finally sitting down heavily and taking out the pocket watch.

The white light flashed once more, and Herag’s burns quickly healed, leaving only some noticeable scars.

"Remaining Magic Power: 40%."

He had decided from the start to adopt a desperate fighting strategy; if he held back, there was a good chance the red-haired boy would toy him to death.

The red-haired boy was clearly not prepared for a desperate fight. When Herag charged out enduring the Fireball Technique, it was too late for him to react.

A wizard apprentice is human too; being decapitated would mean death.

Herag pulled the ring off the corpse, and like the pocket watch, as soon as he took the ring, a stream of information flowed into his mind.

"Sorlo’s Fireball Ring: Enchanted with Level 0 Spell Small Fireball Technique."

Besides the ring, Herag found a few dozen Gold Coins and a book in the red-haired boy’s backpack.

"Level 0 Spell: Partial Petrification Technique Detailed Explanation"

Herag found nothing else of value. He held the ring in his hand and injected some Magic Power into it.

A Fireball Technique quickly formed, then directly hit the corpse on the ground.

"Remaining Magic Power: 5%."

After using the Small Fireball Technique, Magic Power was down to only 5%, and his brain felt extremely fatigued, as if he hadn’t slept for a day and night.

Herag gathered some dry wood nearby, adding it to the burning corpse, then left.

From the red-haired boy’s words, Herag understood the boy had a master. Herag didn’t want to deal with the master after defeating the apprentice, so after destroying the corpse, he quickly departed.

On the way back on horseback, he encountered a caravan. Herag, in ragged clothes, spent ten Copper Coins to buy a set of clothes.

His robust physique caught the attention of many women in the caravan. Some ladies even directly lifted the curtain of their carriage, inviting him in.

Herag chuckled and politely declined, then changed clothes and nudged the horse into a gallop back to Swan City.

Upon returning home, the house was empty; Melissa was likely at the academy at this time.

He took out the Meteor Grass and cleaned it, following the record in the Starry Sky Meditation Technique, which required boiling water for consumption.

A stalk of Meteor Grass could be boiled three times in water for effectiveness, after which the effect would become very weak.

The crater, which covered such a large area, only yielded this one stalk, which Herag had obtained at great personal risk.

Boil the water, and consume.

The water boiled with Meteor Grass turned a verdant green and had a pungent odor, making one doubt its drinkability.

Herag took up the kettle and poured himself a cup. After it cooled a bit, he took a sip.

The taste was indescribably nasty.

Herag grimaced as he swallowed it, then began to meditate.

The Starry Sky Meditation Technique did not require night time to practice; observing stars once was sufficient, unless finding new stars to observe required nighttime.

The effect of the Meteor Grass was evident as the stars in his mind solidified much faster.

Herag estimated based on this progress that meditation speed was increased five to six times with the consumption of Meteor Grass.

"The difference in meditation speed with resources is huge." After meditation, Herag opened his eyes and picked up the book "Level 0 Spell: Partial Petrification Technique Detailed Explanation."

This was the only spellbook on the red-haired boy, and Herag guessed this was the only spell he knew.

He opened the book and read carefully; the Partial Petrification Technique was derived from a type of Snake Monster.

If one made eye contact with this Snake Monster, petrification would occur; a wizard dissected the Snake Monster and researched the principles of petrification.

Based on the research findings, the Partial Petrification Technique was developed.

The Partial Petrification Technique could temporarily petrify parts of the body, enhancing defensive and offensive capabilities, without causing negative effects on oneself.

Learning a spell required constructing a Spell Model first. The learner needed to solidify the Spell Model in their mind to use the spell freely.

The Partial Petrification Technique was a Level 0 Spell, learnable by a First-Class Wizard Apprentice.

The Spell Model for this spell wasn’t very complex, but for Herag, who was encountering Spell Models for the first time, it was somewhat complicated.

The Spell Model included the routes and methods of Magic Power operation, with numerous parameters and spell-related formulas.

The higher-level the spell, the more parameters in its Spell Model, and more formulas, resulting in a greater amount of computation.

Herag was unfazed by these challenges: "The path of a wizard, I must see through to the end. I’ve tackled far more complex topics in my past life; can a mere Level 0 Spell stump me?"

"Shenlan, analyze the Level 0 Spell Partial Petrification Technique and construct its Spell Model!"

"Task archived. Estimated remaining time: 25 minutes. Estimated Magic Power consumption: 34.7%."