Chapter 41

Duke's Magic Genius - Chapter 41 (41/324)

41

The method I know.

When combined with the insights of an archmage, the power far exceeded my imagination.

'With this level of speed and power.'

Even an intermediate Expert knight, if hit once, would be sent across the Jordan River in one go.

I would fall into a state of near-exhaustion as a result, but still, what about it?

2nd Circle magic can produce enough power to kill even an intermediate Expert knight.

The difference between the original and the copy.

Since I had mastered the method of firing arrows and increasing heat, it was time to create a mixed activation method.

The current magic was incredibly powerful, but it could be considered a one-time use.

"Hmm."

After sitting down for a moment to rest, I immediately began comparing the activation method of Fire Arrow with the one I knew.

Indeed, 2nd Circle magic had a much more complex structure than 1st Circle magic.

If 1st Circle magic was as simple as addition and subtraction, 2nd Circle magic felt like it involved multiplication and division.

Although I had gained a lot of common knowledge about magic by understanding many 1st Circle magic books,

'Can they be mixed?'

This question was inevitable.

When I tried to create a mixed activation method for 1st Circle magic, if not for the Insight Eye, I would have become a cripple due to a mana explosion from mixing two methods.

Moreover, 2nd Circle magic would be even more difficult than 1st Circle.

Should I challenge it or not?

After a moment of contemplation, I made my decision.

'I have to try it at least once.'

The 2nd Circle magic I activated was so powerful.

However, using the basic method described in the magic book was very disappointing in terms of power and speed.

Once I tasted the sweet honey, I couldn't be satisfied with such basic magic anymore.

I would know if it would work or not by trying it.

Thanks to my diligent studies, I could roughly figure out the method.

I thought that if I mixed them this way, I could combine the two activation methods.

After entrusting my protection to Leonhardt,

I sat cross-legged and began moving mana according to the method I thought of.

The moment I tried to mix the two methods,

A message appeared before my eyes, and the Insight Eye stopped working.

'...Lack of knowledge?'

I tilted my head upon seeing the message.

Fire Arrow.

I had already interpreted this magic to 100%.

Yet, it still required knowledge.

'...Do I need to know other magic as well?'

I had no choice but to make this judgment.

Fire Arrow was already at the Master level.

It seemed that from 2nd Circle onwards, to create a mixed activation method, I needed to understand the theories of other magics as well.

Of course, I didn't need to understand all 2nd Circle magics.

2nd Circle magic wasn't at the level of an archmage.

'If I understand about five magics, can I try?'

I couldn't know exactly how many magics I needed to understand for the Insight Eye to create a mixed activation method.

But I thought I should aim for at least five.

I nodded shortly after.

'Well, it was too easy until now.'

I could memorize magic books just by looking at them, and I could easily strengthen magic using the knowledge I had.

It was like living a life where honey rained from the sky.

Of course, even while growing by sucking honey, I was still much weaker than the truly strong villains, so I intended to keep sucking honey.

'Still, some preparatory steps are necessary.'

As the circle level increased, the amount of knowledge needed to create a mixed activation method would also increase.

From then on, I would need to deeply analyze not only magic books but also various books containing magic theories.

Well, anyway.

Since the Insight Eye was doing the understanding for me, I only needed to supply the necessary mana.

Of course, this process of learning magic was so easy that other mages would curse if they knew, so I had no complaints.

'I need to seal Fire Arrow for a while.'

There was no need to announce that I had reached 2nd Circle, and the current power was too strong.

The moment I showed this magic, everyone from Adolf to various organizations would come running like mad.

After making this judgment,

'I need about ten days.'

I set aside about ten days to create the mixed activation method for Fire Arrow.

It would take that long to understand about five 2nd Circle magics.

Now that I knew what to do, it was time to act quickly.

* * * * *

Nine days passed.

During that time, I had completely broken through the barrier in the crown of my head.

The moment I broke through that part,

A feeling I had never experienced before in my life spread throughout my body. If I had to describe it in words, it was an extreme sense of bliss.

It felt like a very refreshing ice pack had been placed on my brain.

It was cool, and the heat that had been tightly blocked in my head seemed to flow out.

'The process of thinking seems a bit faster...'

It's quite difficult to explain in words, but it was a really good feeling.

After that,

Everything became much faster.

From the process of refining mana within the circle to the process of controlling the speed and form of mana flowing through my body, everything was faster.

It was as if I had broken through a wall that had been blocking my progress.

I thought there would be something when I broke through, but I didn't expect this level of effect.

'As expected.'

Breaking through the crown was the best decision. Thanks to this, the process of interpreting books with the Insight Eye also became faster.

While forcibly understanding magic books through the Insight Eye,

As my head became clearer, the ratio of deeper understanding of the content increased.

The proportion of self-directed learning increased compared to rote learning.

Thanks to the ability to quickly generate pure mana, the efficiency of the Insight Eye also improved.

That's why I was able to completely analyze four 2nd Circle magics in the past nine days.

Today, as usual, after arriving at the library,

I received a 2nd Circle magic book from the librarian.

It was a simple and intuitive title.

When I activated the Insight Eye, unfortunately, it wasn't the original.

Well,

If the original could be found so easily, everyone would have the original.

The previous situation was just a stroke of luck.

Since I had already figured out the efficiency of the original, I planned to look for it when I had time.

Occasionally, the original of a magic book would appear at an auction, so I could compete with antique collectors when that time came.

Although I don't have much money now, if I can hold on for a few months, the gold from selling wheat would pour in.

Rustle.

As I turned the page, the content began to appear before my eyes.

"This magic, first revealed by the archmage Lauriel, is one of the 2nd Circle magics that prevent the opponent from moving. There are two types of activation methods for Hold..."

Hmm.

Indeed, the first page is easy.

It explained who the founder of this magic was and what kind of activation methods it had.

Why don't mathematics textbooks also leave the author's introduction and background on the first page?

It was a similar feeling.

Second page.

Third page.

The pages of the book began to turn faster and faster.

It's quite understandable.

Hold, which is explained over 150 pages.

I had understood more than 80 pages of it.

Although I didn't understand it perfectly, I could at least grasp what the author was trying to say.

Compared to when I first opened the Fire Arrow magic book, it was a significant improvement.

Back then, I couldn't understand what nonsense was being listed after reading about 30% of the book.

Page 81.

From this page, the difficulty level increased significantly.

Gee.

Why do I have to calculate such complicated formulas to activate a single magic?

This is why mages are much rarer than knights.

It was explaining some strange calculation formula similar to a cubic equation, and I had to understand it to some extent.

From here, the progress began to slow down.

After struggling for about twenty minutes, I immediately activated the Insight Eye.

It would be good to understand everything, but I don't know how long it would take.

If I had plenty of time, it would be different, but it was burdensome to invest more time in this.

As the Insight Eye activated, I began to understand what the author was trying to explain.

'Kya.'

The Insight Eye.

It was a truly lovely talent.

Thanks to the beautiful harmony of effort and a cheat, the understanding of the book gradually increased.

Forcing the understanding of parts I didn't understand.

After understanding it once, I slowly analyzed the understood parts and reorganized the content in my mind.

This was a slightly different study method from when I studied 1st Circle magic.

Back then, I thought I understood everything when the Insight Eye's understanding reached 100%.

But as I began to thoroughly study 2nd Circle magic, I realized the limitations of the Insight Eye's understanding.

'It's a superficial understanding.'

It was exactly that.

I understood it, but not deeply.

That's why I went through this process of thorough reading.

To create a mixed activation method for high-circle magic, I felt that a deeper understanding was necessary.

If I only relied on superficial understanding, I would likely hit a limit at some point.

Perhaps because I had a superficial understanding,

The content of the magic book was much more firmly etched in my mind before I increased the understanding with the Insight Eye.

The Insight Eye.

It was a truly excellent talent.

* * * * *

Ten days.

The period I had set was over.

During that time, I thoroughly analyzed a total of six 2nd Circle magics.

I had also gone through a thorough reading process, gaining a deep understanding of them.

'My head hurts from studying for so long.'

Since I entered this body.

I had been so successful that I had an unfounded belief in myself.

Well, actually, it's still somewhat the same now.

But by thoroughly reading magic books for ten days, I became a bit more self-aware.

I realized again that effort is as important as talent.

'This should be enough.'

Honestly, ten days is a lot of effort.

I couldn't keep worrying about a single Fire Arrow forever.

Moreover, during the past time, I had filled in a considerable part of the theoretical gaps by thoroughly reading various magics.

I had a certain level of confidence in my heart.

Now, it was time to create a mixed activation method for 2nd Circle magic.

The first magic I would create was, of course,

'Fire Arrow.'

The fire arrow that had gone through the original course.

I immediately closed my eyes and began to concentrate.

As I activated the Insight Eye, it began to analyze the content.

The difference from before was that

Based on my understanding, the Insight Eye analyzed the path.

'Got it.'

The next step was simple.

I just needed to activate the magic while avoiding the red-colored explosion points.

It wasn't difficult.

I already had a top-tier talent.

If I knew the minefield, moving to the destination wouldn't be difficult at all.

This time, the destination was my right arm.

The destination for the mana movement was the same, but the movement of the mana itself was clearly different from before.

To activate the magic, I needed to move the mana in a certain system.

As I moved the mana, creating various shapes needed to activate the mixed activation method while rotating at intervals,

Whoosh!

Once again, a fire arrow rose from my right hand.

The appearance of a pleasant message was a bonus.