Chapter 28: Experimenting with New Spells

It was midday in mid-summer. The sun was almost scorching people, and no one in the entire estate wanted to go outside. The surviving Corrosion Jackal followed Ace like an ordinary lapdog.

When people on the estate saw Ace, they bowed in salute. They were used to seeing the Corrosion Jackal following him like a lapdog.

At some point, the jackal began to circle Ace like an ordinary lapdog. Ace casually threw a stone. The jackal ran over happily, picked up the stone in its mouth, and circled Ace cheerfully.

The man and the dog walked further and further, reaching a forest outside the estate.

Ace took off his shirt and began to wrestle with the jackal bare-handed. After about 10 minutes, the jackal was pinned to the ground. Ace pounded its head with dozens of consecutive punches, and the jackal whimpered, begging for mercy.

Ace stood up and moved away from the jackal. He held his Spell Book, and his mental power directly communicated with the Calm card. Through training, he could now activate the spell on the card without flipping the Spell Book open.

The Spell Model activated, and the mysterious magical rhythm followed. As Ace’s mental power locked onto the jackal, Calm! The effect of the Lesser Charm Creature spell on the jackal was lifted. It no longer ran or jumped happily, nor did it bark like a lapdog.

Its eyes began to turn red, and corrosive acid liquid dripped from its mouth. It was about to spray the acid.

Ace activated the Lesser Illusion Gaze card. Rune structures flashed in his eyes, and his gaze locked onto the jackal. Suddenly, the Ace in the jackal’s view quickly jumped to the left, and the jackal turned its head to follow, spraying acid liquid.

Ace remained still, watching the jackal spray left, then right, tearing, biting, and pouncing. Before long, its energy was exhausted, and it was as worn out as a dead dog.

This was the Lesser Illusion Gaze. Once activated, the spell model would be projected into the eyes and last for about five minutes. The person or creature gazed upon must pass a mental power check. If their mental power is weaker than the Spellcaster’s, they will be completely manipulated by the illusory eyes.

If their mental power is stronger than the Spellcaster’s, they will still be severely distracted, unless their mental power is significantly stronger. Ace speculated that one would need more than twice the Spellcaster’s mental power strength to completely break free from the influence.

Ace reversed the activation of the Lesser Illusion Gaze card, and the effect in his eyes was canceled. This was a recent discovery: if a Spell Model could be successfully activated in a specific way, then reversing the activation method could cancel the spell.

Ace cast a Lesser Stun spell, knocking out the poor jackal. He climbed a tree and took out his ever-present Magic Diary.

“After multiple sparring experiments with the Corrosion Jackal, my current strength can completely crush the Corrosion Jackal in all aspects. My mental power strength is much stronger than the jackal’s. I cannot quantify the exact difference, but based on perception, it is at least three times stronger than the jackal’s.

My physical strength should be stronger than the jackal’s. When fighting it after charming it, I can consistently defeat the jackal when it does not use supernatural abilities.

The weakness is also obvious. If I encounter enemies who are completely or partially immune to illusion spells, my combat options are very limited.

Excluding illusion spells, I only have two long-range options. Close combat relies entirely on brute force. Although I can consistently defeat the jackal in close combat and should be comparable to a Noble with awakened bloodline power, it is still insufficient.

If illusions do not work, the outcome against powerful Monsters and Heroes would likely be tragic. Applying the analogy of games from my past life, I have plenty of crowd control spells and some ranged spells, but I lack close combat, defense, movement, and a high-damage finishing move.

Close combat, defense, and movement cannot be solved with existing runes. Perhaps I can look for ways to learn the Nobles’ special martial arts to improve.

The finishing move can only be improved by modifying the Acid Splash. To increase damage, I must focus on enhancing Mana and the corrosive strength of the acid. The rune structure can be researched by sacrificing attack distance and increasing the reinforcement of the Lesser Acid Conversion Rune effect and the Mana Siphon time.”

Ace closed his Magic Notebook and put it into his clothes. He cast a Lesser Charm Creature spell on the jackal, kicked it awake, and rode it back to the estate.

A few days later, Ace received a letter from Peter.

“Ace, you are a disciple who makes me proud. How have your experiments been going in your ‘experimental field’ these past few months? Have you gained anything? Your views on medicine still resonate in my ears. I hope you can achieve your ideal and pioneer the New Medicine.

The Logic you proposed has caused increasing discussion in the city-state’s academic circles in recent months. Scholars are all looking forward to your subsequent viewpoints.

This is an excellent opportunity. I suggest you return to Medimus City-State next week to meet me and arrange a meeting with the scholars to discuss Logic face-to-face.”

The letter was brief but contained a lot of information.

The New Medicine had been put aside for several months, and even the planned hospital had not yet been established. Ace had been completely immersed in the world of runes. The only human body examination he conducted was probably not presentable.

Ace thought it over and decided to return and talk to his teacher about how to farm, thus shifting his attention. Agronomy is also a very important subject; having a full stomach is crucial.

As for the fermentation of Logic, it was expected. It was time to talk about things beyond concepts. Perhaps judgment would be a good choice.

He hadn’t returned to Medimus City-State for a long time, and Ace was constantly thinking about Peter’s treasured mirror. It was time to borrow it for research.

Bringing Monsters into the city requires registration. Ace decided to put the jackal in a cage before leaving. The jackal had been driven insane by Ace and willingly jumped into the cage, tail tucked between its legs, looking very docile. Ace shook his head. It seems I’ve ruined this one.

Early in the morning, Ace, accompanied by two hired veterans, took a carriage back to the city. Marina was left on the estate to supervise and manage. With so many slaves and mercenaries, the master’s family could not be absent.

After returning to the city and meeting Romon, Ace went straight to Peter’s villa. He deeply missed Peter’s treasured mirror and wanted to get up close with it tonight.

“Welcome back, Ace. You’ve grown quite a bit taller.”

As soon as Ace entered Teacher Peter’s house, Morton came to greet him and opened his arms for a hug.

“Long time no see, Mr. Morton.”

Ace politely gave him a brief hug. Morton took Ace’s hand and enthusiastically led him inside. A group of students who had come for literacy lessons were leaving. Ace glanced at them; many were familiar faces.

Nearly two years had passed in a flash. He had become a famous scholar in the city-state and had even pioneered his own path to the supernatural, while the classmates who started literacy the same year had not yet finished their studies.

Such is life. Once the distance is pulled away, it is difficult to catch up.

Ace met Peter in the second-floor living room. This was the first time Peter had received him in the living room. According to Morton, Peter often hosted other city-state scholars here.

“The scholars of the city-state, and the Nobles and Citizens who love knowledge, are eager to see you. This is an excellent opportunity. I would like to arrange for you to lecture on Logic at City Hall next week through the Ministry of Culture and Education to promote your theories to the public. How does that sound?”