“You have one hour to finish this book. I will return in an hour to check your learning results.”
After saying this, Marguerite turned and went upstairs without looking back, leaving Ian alone in the hall staring at the Basic Analysis of Fireball Spells in his hand with a subtle expression.
Well, it felt a bit like his tutor from his past life telling him to perform an experiment.
Ian opened the pages. Inside were standard spell diagrams, incantation syllable breakdowns, Mana circuit guidance diagrams, and cautionary notes.
Although it looked like some sort of advanced discipline, Ian could unexpectedly understand it. In fact, those cryptic magic circles automatically turned into simple arithmetic like 1+1 in his eyes.
Thus, Ian finished reading the grimoire, which was as thick as an elementary school workbook, in just ten minutes.
He even felt a sense of being insulted.
Is this magic? It doesn’t seem that hard. It’s not even as difficult as the Pythagorean Theorem.
Was he truly a genius?
With a skeptical attitude, Ian tried to manifest a Fireball himself according to the principles in the book.
Ian extended his palm and moved his mind slightly.
Puff.
A fist-sized, orange-red Fireball instantly manifested above his palm. It was warm and bright, the flames dancing playfully, and its structure was incredibly stable.
“Hmm?”
***
Upstairs, Marguerite, who was about to drink some water to relax, felt something. Her movement of pouring water paused almost imperceptibly.
How long has it been? This kid already conjured a Fireball?
Furthermore, the Mana stability of this Fireball didn’t look like a first attempt at construction at all; it looked like it had been practiced hundreds or thousands of times.
An astonishing learning speed…
She had really picked up a treasure this time.
Surprise and delight began to sprout in Marguerite’s heart simultaneously.
The Duke of Connalt might have truly sent an extraordinary talent this time.
Just as Marguerite took a satisfied sip of black tea, Ian, downstairs, suddenly had a bold idea!
Ian looked at the “tame” Fireball in his palm, but a bolded remark from the book involuntarily surfaced in his mind:
“Note: After forming a stable Fireball, the amount of Mana the caster continuously pours into it will directly determine the final power of the spell. The Fireball is a basic spell with a simple structure. Theoretically, the more Mana input, the greater its power, with no upper limit.”
It was like spending money to enhance a weapon; the “Fireball” weapon was equivalent to something you could infinitely enhance as long as you had the money.
However, the same amount of money could be used to directly buy a more powerful divine artifact.
Therefore, most people, rather than investing their limited money into the enhancement of a Fireball, would find it more practical to buy a more powerful weapon.
There were only two situations where someone would choose to spend money to enhance a Fireball.
First, that person was crazy.
Second, he had “infinite mana.”
Ten seconds later…
Whir—!
The orange-red Fireball in Ian’s palm shuddered violently, its color instantly turning incandescent white, and its volume expanded rapidly like it was being inflated!
In the blink of an eye, it grew from the size of a fist to the size of a washbasin, with no sign of stopping.
“Oh?”
Marguerite’s hand, holding the bone china teacup, froze in mid-air as the aroma of the warm black tea drifted up.
As a 6th-tier Legendary Mage, she could naturally sense the Mana fluctuations coming from downstairs.
Marguerite tilted her head slightly, her deep blue eyes seemingly able to “see” through the floor into the hall below through her lenses.
What is that kid doing? Just maintaining a stable Fireball, how could it generate such a sustained and sharply rising energy reaction?
She set down her teacup; the bottom of the cup clicked softly against the saucer.
She didn’t get up immediately; instead, she leaned back into her high-backed chair, tapping her fingertips thoughtfully on the armrest.
“Interesting… He knows the principles, can practice them immediately, and even… wants to explore the boundaries? Quite bold.”
Marguerite did not stop him; instead, she focused more intently on sensing the rapidly expanding source of scorching energy below.
Coincidentally, she also wanted to see for herself where this young man’s Mana capacity truly ended.
As a future mentor, understanding a student’s limits was necessary.
Downstairs, the Fireball in the hall had already expanded to the size of a water vat, hovering in front of Ian and emitting a scorching heat wave that distorted the air.
Yet it still maintained a perfect spherical shape, with a solid structure and clear edges. The incandescent light illuminated the entire hall like daylight, even overshadowing the soft glow of the magic crystals on the walls.
Marguerite nodded slightly.
This child not only possessed massive Mana, but under such nearly violent energy output, he could still maintain the stability of the basic spell structure. This instinctive control over Mana forms had already surpassed the vast majority of so-called geniuses.
That old fellow Connalt had truly sent a piece of unpolished jade this time.
Marguerite was already imagining the scene of showing Ian off to those old fogies at the Imperial Royal Magic Academy after training him well.
***
While the Master Marguerite’s lips curled up upstairs, downstairs, someone’s Fireball was still expanding.
It grew larger and larger, going from the size of a water vat to a giant sphere of light large enough to hold several people.
The incandescent core began to turn pale gold.
The temperature inside the hall rose sharply, and even the Water Spirit Essence on the distant walls began to emit an overloaded hum.
“Ho ho, not bad. This kid’s total Mana has actually reached the level of a third-rank middle-level mage. But if I let you continue, my house will be gone…”
Then Marguerite snapped her fingers. Ian, who was still in the first-floor hall, only felt his vision blur.
In the next second, he arrived at the top of the Tower of Stars.
Knowing it was Marguerite’s doing, Ian didn’t mind and continued to test whether this basic Fireball could truly accept an infinite input of Mana.
Marguerite was testing Ian’s Mana capacity, while Ian was testing the Fireball’s Mana capacity.
Under the deliberate indulgence of this elder and youth, the Fireball in Ian’s hand grew larger and larger.
Twenty minutes later, the Fireball in Ian’s hand had become a miniature sun.
The amount of Mana Ian had input reached the total capacity of an average fourth-rank high-level mage.
Marguerite began to seriously consider whether to intervene.
An hour later, the total Mana Ian had input reached the total capacity of a Fifth Rank Chief Magician.
The Fireball had directly turned into a white-gold supernova nearly ten meters in diameter.
Beneath Ian’s feet was the protective water magic cast by Marguerite.
But even with the protection magic of this 6th-tier Legendary Mage, the entire high tower was still vibrating slightly.
The tower’s ancient Defense Magic Array was passively activated, runes appearing faintly on the walls, emitting a wail of resistance.
Marguerite stood up abruptly, her chair making a harsh scraping sound against the floor.
The interest on her face had turned into horror.
Dammit, is this even a human?