Chapter 347: Impossible Trial
’Maybe the library itself is a hint,’ Alex considered, remembering that even written words could be regarded as drawings.
By surrounding him with countless empty books, the System might have been deliberately directing his attention toward the only source of knowledge available. If that was true, then the diagram wasn’t merely decoration but something he was expected to understand.
The more Alex considered the possibility, the more reasonable it seemed. He approached the board and began recreating the spherical formation using his mana, carefully arranging the wisps according to the illustrated structure.
As before, nothing happened, but Alex didn’t stop experimenting. He adjusted the positions of the wisps, corrected their movements, and repeatedly reconstructed different portions of the formation, attempting to understand the principles behind their arrangement.
His instincts continued responding to the diagram, encouraging him to keep experimenting even when his attempts produced no visible results. Gradually, Alex became so absorbed in the process that he stopped paying attention to his surroundings.
Without realizing it, he slowly entered a trance.
The world around Alex disappeared from his awareness, leaving behind only the mana he was manipulating. The diagram had already become deeply ingrained in his mind, allowing him to reproduce its structure without looking at the board.
Despite failing countless times, Alex continued experimenting without showing any intention of stopping. The Star Plum Arasia should have suppressed nearly all his desires, yet his desire to understand this mysterious magic was growing stronger with every passing moment.
As his trance deepened, Alex gradually began to understand something about the diagram. It wasn’t merely depicting an unusual mana formation, but rather a method of utilizing Will.
His instincts were telling him that this was how Will was actually supposed to be used. Although he couldn’t explain the underlying principle, the feeling was so strong that he decided to follow it.
Since a Mage’s Will could only travel outside the body while contained within mana, Alex began moving both together according to the diagram. He carefully adjusted their arrangement, attempting to reproduce the countless tiny wisps that formed the spherical structure.
His SSS Rank Origin Spell Physique had already activated, which should have allowed him to understand the magic almost instantly. However, despite receiving its assistance, Alex found himself completely unable to learn the technique.
He continued experimenting, repeating the same movements and adjusting his control whenever something went wrong. Yet no matter how many times he tried, he couldn’t even properly begin the process required to understand the spell.
Eventually, his Physique helped him realize what was preventing him from progressing. If the magic depicted by the diagram was comparable to a method of completing a computer game in record time, then his mana manipulation ability was the computer’s CPU.
His Physique could immediately teach him the most efficient method, but his CPU was so inadequate that it couldn’t even run the game, which meant he couldn’t be taught the method as the game couldn’t be opened.
In other words, the problem wasn’t his understanding of the magic but his inability to perform its most basic requirements.
“Ah, so that’s the problem,” Alex muttered as he suddenly snapped out of his trance. The moment his concentration broke, the assistance provided by his Physique disappeared.
Since its activation was unpredictable, he had no idea when he would receive another opportunity to learn the magic so easily. Without that assistance, completing the diagram within his remaining time would be considerably more difficult.
In fact, considering how complicated the method appeared to be, Alex suspected that he might not even succeed within the Trial’s full thirty-day limit. Despite understanding that, Alex was smiling, and his heart was pounding with excitement.
His Physique might have failed to teach him the magic, but it had revealed something far more important about the diagram. It represented the next step in utilizing Will.
The first step was learning how to generate and use Will, while the second involved imposing Will onto Spells to produce the desired effects. Methods such as hardening mana through Will were also applications of that second step.
However, the diagram represented an entirely different level of Will utilization, one that Alex had never encountered before. Considering that the System had placed it inside a Trial specifically designed around his Runesmith Class, he suspected that this third step was somehow related to Rune construction.
’If that’s true, then learning this could completely change how I construct Runes,’ Alex thought, becoming even more eager to understand the technique. Fortunately, his Physique had already identified the obstacle preventing him from learning it.
If he could improve his mana control sufficiently, he believed he could eventually reproduce the diagram even without another activation. However, the improvement required was enormous, and his available methods weren’t nearly powerful enough individually.
’I still have some Stat Points available, but investing them into Mind won’t provide nearly enough improvement,’ Alex considered.
Simply evolving Advanced Battle Instinct Spell wouldn’t be sufficient either, since the difference between his current mana manipulation ability and what the diagram required was too great.
However, after considering his available Spells, Alex soon arrived at another possibility.
’If I combine two Spells and then evolve Advanced Battle Instinct, the resulting improvement might be enough.’
He was fairly confident that such a powerful spell would allow him to learn the method on the board. More importantly, he already knew which two spells he wanted to combine.
Advanced Battle Instinct Spell and Lightning Reflex Spell were both currently Level 7, and Alex already possessed the theoretical knowledge required to advance them toward Level 10.
Since the two spells focused on improving different aspects of his reactions and information processing, combining them seemed particularly promising.
Alex immediately began training Advanced Battle Instinct Spell, focusing on improving how efficiently he utilized Will to process information. At the same time, he started experimenting with Lightning Reflex Spell, attempting to increase the speed at which his nervous system transmitted information.
Fortunately, the knowledge he had gained from Superior Body Reinforcement Spell made improving Lightning Reflex considerably easier.
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