Deep underground at Base No. 2.
Holding a memory crystal, Li Xiuman controlled his mana to continuously trace out a complex, red, three-dimensional magic circle before him.
But every time he reached a critical moment, it failed.
“Logically speaking, this shouldn't be happening.”
“Is it impossible to use Tier 4 Magic without reaching Tier 4?”
Li Xiuman picked up a quill pen, spread out a sheet of draft paper, and began sketching and scribbling on it.
The magic circle he had been trying to form was the Tier 4 spell recorded in the memory crystal, “Flame Spear of Judgment.”
Li Xiuman felt that with his current mana reserve—several times larger than that of Mages of the same tier—he might be able to support the cast of a Tier 4 spell.
But after experimenting, he realized he had taken it too much for granted.
To cast a Tier 4 spell, one had to master the corresponding magic model, then engrave that model onto one's magic circle.
If Li Xiuman were to master the magic model of “Flame Spear of Judgment,” then whenever he cast the spell in the future, the corresponding red runes would be engraved onto the magic circle.
High-Tier Mages often determined the number of spells an opponent knew by recognizing the magic runes on their magic circles, using that to judge their strength.
The more magic runes imbued upon a magic circle, the stronger the spell of the corresponding element would be.
At the very least, compared to before, Li Xiuman was now able to completely memorize the magic model of “Flame Spear of Judgment.”
“One more time...”
Li Xiuman controlled his mana output, attempting once again to form the magic model of “Flame Spear of Judgment.”
The result was no different from before.
“...Maybe I should change my approach.”
Looking at the three-dimensional magic circuits within the memory crystal, Li Xiuman felt a stroke of inspiration and flipped open a new sheet of paper.
As a Tier 3 Mage, directly casting a Tier 4 spell was naturally impossible for him.
But what if he broke a Tier 4 spell down into multiple Tier 3 spells, cast them separately, and combined them together?
Wouldn't that allow him to cast a pseudo-Tier 4 spell?
This was similar to Li Xiuman's specialty, Fusion Magic—merging multiple spells into one.
When it came to Fusion Magic, Li Xiuman was a pro.
Except this time, what he needed to fuse were several Tier 3 spells of the same element, derived from splitting a Tier 4 spell.
“Theoretically feasible!”
“Time to put it into practice!”
For a skeleton like Li Xiuman, the pitch-black underground depths couldn't be more comfortable.
For three days straight, Li Xiuman didn't leave even once, focusing entirely on drawing magic circles.
At the same time, he ordered his underlings to borrow several spellbooks from the library.
Referencing the spellbooks, Li Xiuman finally split off the first Tier 3 spell.
A vast amount of magic knowledge filled Li Xiuman's head.
This knowledge was rapidly integrated, understood, and put into practice.
Furthermore, despite studying for such a long time, Li Xiuman felt no exhaustion whatsoever. His thinking didn't degrade in the slightest; instead, the more he learned, the clearer his mind became.
In the past, studying for this long would have been unbearable for his mind, causing his comprehension and imagination to plummet sharply, like a brain on overload.
This feeling was as if a liquid cooling system had been installed inside his head...
Probably... definitely a function from his evolution!
Li Xiuman certainly wouldn't think of it as a curse.
“Success!”
“Tier 3 Magic, Fire Spear!”
He tested the magic circle.
Mana flowed perfectly without any issues.
It was much better than the magic circles he had designed before.
This boosted Li Xiuman's confidence even further.
He really was a true genius.
Thus, without stopping, he began simplifying new spells from the magic model.
A week later.
Devouring the borrowed spellbooks, Li Xiuman finally simplified three Tier 3 spells: “Fire Spear,” “Flame of Judgment,” and “Extreme Temperature.”
Next up was fusing these three spells together.
This was right up Li Xiuman's alley.
In less than a day, Li Xiuman skillfully fused the three spells together, completing the Tier 3 Magic: Lesser Flame Spear of Judgment.
“Now let's test its power.”
Li Xiuman raised his wand, and his mana burst forth in an instant, releasing an astonishing aura from his body.
Visibly red mana flowed continuously from his body, coiling around the wand.
A magic circle expanded, spewing relentless flames that condensed into a massive fiery spear.
The entire underground space became scorching hot.
Then came the second magic circle.
Crimson flames erupted, surging around the fiery spear.
And as the third magic circle opened, the three fiery red magic circles slowly overlapped.
The mana aura reached its peak.
As the three magic circles overlapped, they transformed into a simple, faint magic rune that slowly etched itself onto the magic circle.
“Tier 3 Magic, Lesser Flame Spear of Judgment!”
“BOOM—”
“RUMBLE—”
The entire underground turned into flowing lava, startling all the vampires nearby.
Li Xiuman's mana was also drained by more than half with this single spell.
Looking at the masterpiece he had created, Li Xiuman was extremely satisfied.
Its power far surpassed that of a Tier 3 Magic, yet hadn't quite reached Tier 4.
Could it be considered Tier 3.5 Magic?
He really was a genius.
By pioneering the Tier 3.5 Mage, his place in this world's history of Mages was bound to be secured.
He drew Crystal Orchid and lightly stroked its blade.
A steady stream of icy cold air emanated from the blade.
“Freeze!”
As the blade thrust into the lava, the scalding molten rock began to cool rapidly, quickly solidifying into black stone.
After cleaning up the mess, Li Xiuman pulled out Crystal Orchid and looked at the vampires who had rushed over.
“I was merely testing a spell.”
To cover up his internal awkwardness, Li Xiuman feigned nonchalance with a casual line.
No, as expected of Master! Merely testing a spell caused commotion loud enough for the entire Base No. 2 to hear!
All the vampires looked at Li Xiuman with idolizing eyes.
Dismissing the vampires...
Li Xiuman took a deep breath, gripped his wand tightly, and a circular magic circle opened at the tip of the wand.
Examining his magic circle...
Li Xiuman discovered a conspicuous faint red pattern along the edge of the magic circle.
It was simple in design, looking like a simplified spear symbol.
“A magic rune?”
“Did that count as forming a complete magic model just now?”
Looking at the magic rune, Li Xiuman was a bit bewildered. This was a symbol possessed only by Tier 4 Mages who had mastered Tier 4 Magic.
Even among Tier 4 Mages, not all of them necessarily had magic runes on their magic circles.
The overwhelming majority of magic models were held in the hands of nobles, so not just anyone had the opportunity to obtain a Tier 4 magic model.
Unless one sold themselves into service to a noble for a few years, or took a Tier 4 or High-Tier Mage as a master.
“No, it seems a bit fainter and simpler than a standard magic rune.”
Li Xiuman had seen magic runes of Tier 4 Mages in spellbooks, and had also seen Tier 4 Mages in person.
Therefore, he noticed some differences with his own magic rune.
If he had to put a name on it, this seemed like a simplified, half-finished magic rune?
Rate on N.U.
