Chapter 60: Magic Incantations and Gestures

Although Ace was very familiar with the Crown Prince, this matter could absolutely not be spoken of. The power of the secret pact also made it impossible for him to speak. Ace laughed it off, maneuvering the conversation around the topic. Fortunately, Teacher Peter had no intention of pursuing it further and merely offered a few words of criticism.

The two quickly walked into the reception room. A refined and handsome middle-aged man, dressed in a white robe with a red ribbon, and wearing the crown of thorns reserved for high public office, was sitting in the main seat of the reception room.

Ace’s senior student, Morton, stood behind the middle-aged man, holding a bronze scepter.

“This is the highly respected His Excellency, the Grand Regent. Ace, hurry and salute!”

Peter released Ace’s hand, gesturing forward, and spoke.

Ace stood firm, his back straight, his right hand clasped over his chest. He performed a deep 90-degree bow and said in a clear voice: “Your Excellency the Grand Regent, hello. I am Ace. I am deeply concerned that I have made you wait.”

The middle-aged man smiled gently, waved his hand, and said, “It’s alright. Ignorance is no fault.”

He then immediately stood up, straightened Ace, took Ace’s hand, and led Ace to sit in a side seat, saying, “I read your Intensive Farming. Our city-state truly lacks young people with your knowledge, vision, and, more importantly, execution ability. How about you join me first to participate in government affairs?”

He paused, then continued, “I have heard that you will obtain formal Citizenship in less than two years. At that time, I will directly nominate you in the Council of Five Hundred to serve in a mid-level public office. You can personally implement your New Medicine ideas and establish a public hospital for the city-state!”

Listening to the Grand Regent, Ace couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. If he hadn’t discovered the path to the supernatural, he would probably have enthusiastically followed the Grand Regent right now.

Unfortunately, the mundane affairs of the city-state could not move a supernatural practitioner. He could only politely decline.

“Thank you for your recognition and mistaken affection, Your Excellency the Grand Regent. I am deeply humbled! I have already set my mind on practicing medicine throughout Salia, spreading the knowledge of the New Medicine, and collecting medicinal recipes and materials from all regions. I simply cannot divide my time, making it impossible to follow Your Excellency the Grand Regent.”

Peter listened. He was both satisfied and regretful. Refusing such a great opportunity was a tremendous pity.

The Grand Regent listened and smiled magnanimously, not taking offense. He tried to persuade Ace several more times. Seeing Ace’s firm resolve, he stopped trying to convince him.

“Although it is quite regretful that I cannot work with Scholar Ace, my door is always open for you. When you finish your travels and return to the city-state, you must come find me. Tonight, let us have a heart-to-heart talk!”

Ace was reluctantly dragged into talking with His Excellency the Grand Regent for the entire evening, offering many suggestions on agriculture, medicine, and education. The next day, the Grand Regent and Ace walked out of the room, both with dark circles under their eyes.

“Scholar Ace, after talking with you, I am even more convinced that genius knows no age. Even at your young age, you possess such clarity and are so insightful about current issues. It is truly admirable! You must come find me when you return.”

Ace mechanically nodded. He was finally able to send off the Grand Regent. His original intention was merely to have Teacher Peter promote the Elementary Mathematics series within academic circles. Intensive Farming was just a throw-in, yet the throw-in was valued so highly by the Grand Regent. Life is unpredictable.

Ace returned to his residence feeling somewhat exhausted. He took a short nap and then began to meditate. The overall effectiveness of his meditation had been declining recently. He might need to find a way to improve his meditation method.

While contemplating this, Ace took out the barbarian hides Athena had given him. He examined them carefully. They were all Lesser Rune structures, quite crude. He tested them one by one, then rubbed the ring (the main body of his Grimoire), recording these Lesser Runes and the improved Spell Models into the Rune Page and the Spell Page. These would all be the foundation for building his Wizard organization later.

The improved Lesser Spells would be very useful up until the Advanced Wizard Apprentice level.

Lesser Fortification drastically strengthens overall physical constitution for five minutes. The drawback is a two-hour period of weakness (50% attribute reduction) after use.

Lesser Vine Entanglement is a life-attribute Magic. It rapidly stimulates specially cultivated magical seeds to grow, surrounding and attacking enemies for a short duration.

Lesser Detect Hostility identifies hostile creatures within a certain range (about a 40-meter radius) and marks them with a Lesser Imprint that lasts for 20 minutes.

Lesser Repair repairs minor damage to ordinary items.

Lesser Magical Trickery is a comprehensive Magic. Based on a set of special runes that simulate effects, it can simulate multiple effects. The simulated effect depends on the Spellcaster’s understanding of the original rune and the strength of their mental power and Mana. It is generally slightly weaker than the simulated rune’s effect. This is a very peculiar spell!

Ace speculated that this spell might be the Shamans’ secret weapon. If one’s mental power and Mana were strong enough, any Lesser Rune magical effect that could be imagined could be simulated.

Given Ace’s current Advanced Apprentice Mana level, using Magical Trickery to simulate most known and unknown Lesser Runes was well within his capabilities.

It could be said that this Magical Trickery greatly enriched Ace’s methods and simplified his life.

This spell was not only useful for combat; it could also be used to magify daily life. Almost any daily task could be handled with it.

Ace activated the Lesser Magical Trickery Spell Model, gently smoothing his robe, and said in a voice carrying a magical rhythm: “Fresh and Clean!”

As his words landed and the Mana pulsed, his clothing was cleaned, making his clothes look as if they had just been washed.

Ace immediately tried a few other things and found that the effect of Magical Trickery was better when combined with specific language and gestures. The simulation rune array in Magical Trickery is essentially a relatively low-level general-purpose rune.

One method is to have a deep understanding of the simulated spell, but in that case, it would be better to use the simulated spell directly.

The other method is to ignore the principle and use one’s will, mental power, and Mana to achieve the desired effect through imagination. This requires auxiliary means.

Ace called these auxiliary means Magic Incantations and Magic Gestures. This was an inspiration derived from the rituals. Although the most important components of a ritual are the Ritual Rune Array and the Equivalent Exchange Rune, the rites, offerings, gestures, and ritual items are almost indispensable.

Ace had not yet fully understood the true principle behind this, but since there was similarity, he could use analogy, and a quick experiment would verify it.

He recorded the verification results in his Grimoire. The original Three Treasures (Rune Book, Spell Book, Magic Diary) were all merged into the Grimoire. This Magic Item was epoch-making, a support Magic Item that could be upgraded and possessed infinite possibilities.

“Master! Master! I smell the scent of knowledge.”

Fuwa emerged from the top of Ace’s head. He was usually transformed into a single strand of hair and worn on Ace’s head. The little fellow liked to sleep a lot, only waking up automatically when new knowledge appeared.

Fuwa circled Ace a few times, recorded the new knowledge, and then transformed into a cowlick, sticking to Ace’s head.

Ace gently shook his head, and the cowlick moved with it.

Knowledge, technology, and out-of-the-box thinking were the only advantages Ace had over the people of this world. Just like Magical Trickery, even the Shamans who had used its primitive version for so many years did not understand it as clearly as Ace did.

If Lesser Spells were classified by rarity—White Cloud, Blue Sky, Epic Purple, Legendary Orange—this one would be at least Epic Purple, or perhaps even Legendary Orange!

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