Chapter 492: Spell Improvement Experiment (Six)

“Ahhh!!”

With a piercing scream, an orc slave inside the spell cage in Punk’s laboratory suddenly collapsed to the ground, clutching his head in agony. Due to the extreme pain, every muscle in his body convulsed violently, while thick gray mist resembling dense smoke billowed out continuously from his nostrils, mouth, and eyes.

In less than three seconds, this strong slave who had been violently pounding on the spell cage and shouting curses just moments before lay dead on the ground. The “smoke” lingering around his corpse grew increasingly dense, and as the thick smoke enveloped the orc’s entire body layer by layer, the corpse quickly dissipated into nothingness within the smoky shroud.

“Model 2254 has indeed shown significant improvement in stability. Compared to Model 1846, the new spell model has also achieved more pronounced effects in enhancing the summoned creature’s craving for devouring wisdom… However, the mana consumption remains slightly excessive. It would be better if we could further reduce consumption while maintaining potency.”

Holding a thick experimental log, Punk stood before the spell cage calmly watching the orc’s corpse rapidly vanish, while the quill in his hand recorded various data at such incredible speed that not even afterimages remained.

Improving spell model construction was complex work requiring patient experimentation – every rune modification could significantly impact the spell model’s structure. Particularly, spellcasters had to consider various unpredictable factors in actual combat: treatment of intelligent versus non-intelligent beings couldn’t be identical, distinctions between virtual souls and real souls couldn’t be overlooked, and Punk even had to contemplate whether his spell could still produce some effect if enemies employed countermeasures…

Thus, spell model improvement became extraordinarily complicated. Millions of experiments were indispensable, and comprehensive comparison of massive data couldn’t afford the slightest error!

Indeed, during these six hundred years of experimentation, Punk had consumed tens of thousands of ordinary intelligent beings and tested thousands of different spell models. During this period, he had even spent considerable resources to purchase dozens of Apprentice-Level professionals and one Formal-Level warrior slave for experimentation. Only through these efforts had he finally reduced the spell model’s “flaws” to the level of “imperfections.”

Admittedly, it was no wonder so many Master-Level mages stopped after achieving merely “usable” improvements in their spell enhancement experiments – researching a “perfected” spell model was simply too difficult.

No wonder mages capable of completing such work could gain a five percent increase in their success rate of advancing to Legendary rank. Truly, perfecting a spell tested a spellcaster’s wisdom, knowledge, willpower, and financial resources in every aspect. Falling short in any category would inevitably cause the spell improvement experiment to fail prematurely. Even for a “well-established” Level 19 Peak Spellcaster like Punk, it had taken such extensive time and substantial financial investment to finally see the dawn of success.Punk commanded the “smoke” hovering over the orc carcass to return to his hand. Watching the “dust” coalesce into a massive spherical form, he nodded in satisfaction.

“Master-Level Summoning Magic—Soul-Devouring Swarm: Summons a ‘Soul-Devourer’ that infiltrates the enemy’s body, rapidly consuming energy, soul, and flesh while multiplying exponentially through geometric division. Even if unable to swiftly eliminate powerful foes, their persistent parasitic nature and rapid reproduction continuously damage the enemy’s soul and body. Thus, as an offensive spell, ‘Soul-Devouring Swarm’ also delivers potent debuff effects.

Though considerations of mana consumption and soul-bearing capacity prevent Punk from allowing infinite proliferation for wide-area attacks, as a single-target annihilation method, ‘Soul-Devouring Swarm’ is undoubtedly a successful modified spell. Punk believes that upon its completion, this will become another powerful routine attack in his arsenal!

Overall, Punk is deeply pleased with the gains of these six hundred years. He can clearly perceive tremendous growth in his comprehension of various knowledge, control over magic, and application of wisdom—advancements that will prove invaluable not only at the Master-Level but even when he reaches the Legendary tier.

Of course, compared to Punk’s satisfaction, the Magic Raven Vector perched on his shoulder is nearing despair. No matter how much time passes, this fastidious alchemical creature cannot overcome its aversion to insects.

Now, observing the silently swirling “dust” in Punk’s hand, Vector feels the urge to smash itself against a wall until death—that dense “smoke” is entirely composed of insects! The entire cloud consists of countless dust-particle-sized semi-energy worms. Though they resemble ordinary smoke, every sight of them makes Vector’s tail feathers tingle with revulsion.

“Gah! Vector hates this spell! Hates it utterly!” Covering its eyes with its wings, the raven shrieked in a piercing voice, “Who knows what I’ve endured these six centuries? Bugs, bugs, and more bugs! Feeding them, watching them, cleaning up after them daily… Oh, damn these terrifying little demons that make my feathers crawl! And Boss, you keep producing more and more of them! Gah!”

Protesting hysterically in its childlike voice, Vector swiftly flew away from Punk’s shoulder. Clearly, such complaints have been repeated countless times over six hundred years—though its opinions evidently hold no weight in Punk’s considerations.

“Compose yourself. It’s merely a spell.”

Observing Vector’s trembling feathers, Punk slightly furrowed his brow. He deemed this excessive reaction highly inappropriate—potentially disastrous in combat situations. Thus, he spoke with measured patience to the magic raven now perched on the experiment table:”It’s just a summoning spell, all the insects are technically summoned creatures—they aren’t real worms! And… this spell may frequently appear in battles in the future. How can you keep acting like this when that time comes?”

“Gah gah! I don’t care, I don’t care! I just hate bugs, gah gah!”

Shaking his head stubbornly, the thoroughly displeased Vector completely ignored Punk’s explanation.

Originally, Punk had intended to help Vector gradually overcome these quirks unrelated to his virtual soul settings over time. But now… his spell was nearly complete, yet this magic raven remained unchanged. Growing impatient, Punk watched Vector’s uncooperative and unrepentant attitude, his eyes slowly narrowing.

This flaw must be corrected!

Punk had no intention of casting a spell during battle only to have this “tool” malfunction before the enemy could.

“Master-Level Conjuration Spell—Greater Mage Hand!”

He seized Vector, who was still fluttering his wings.

“Gah?!”

Ignoring the magic raven’s astonished expression, Punk unceremoniously stuffed Bighead headfirst into the “smoke” formed by the Soul-Devouring Swarm.

“GAH GAH GAH GAH GAH GAH GAH GAH GAH GAH GAH GAH…………”

“Don’t worry, these insects won’t harm you. They’ll even groom your feathers. I expect this will significantly improve your… condition.”

As always, Punk’s voice remained icy, sinister, and utterly emotionless…

(End of Chapter)