Chapter 97: A Familiar Aura

“Hmm, the best magic for those who have Reached the Tier is Complete Magic…” Flying through the air, Zheng Yichen flipped through a book. This thing was found in the Library. It was about the development path for Professionals after Reaching the Tier. It described in detail some precautions after Reaching the Tier, including the choice of Magic…

Complete Magic was the kind of Magic without prefixes, not divided into low, mid, or high levels. Magic with such gradations had certain simplifications and could be learned without needing to Reach the Tier. After all, this world also had many Outsiders who couldn’t Reach the Tier but kept accumulating Mana Capacity and Mental Energy!

Zheng Yichen estimated he was such an Outsider too, but his situation was different from those people. His conditions were met, and he also had characteristics similar to Reaching the Tier. “Only Complete Magic has a truly complete structure. Adjusting and modifying it into Magic suitable for oneself is also the easiest…”

This made sense. After all, those graded Magics had certain simplifying effects within them. They were already simplified versions. Making further modifications and adjustments afterward could easily lead to problems. Their Magic framework itself was already lacking, wasn’t it?

Especially low-level Magic. It was already Magic simplified to the extreme. If you still wanted to modify it further, trouble was inevitable! Rather than choosing such Magic, wouldn’t it be better to choose low-tier Magic without level prefixes?

“Hmm~ Fireball Spell!” Zheng Yichen stared at a fireball that ignited from nothing in his hand. Don’t look down on low-tier Magic. Many mid-tier or high-tier Magics evolved from low-tier Magic. Who knows how long Magic development in this world has been? How could there have been such rich elements in the beginning?

It must have evolved over a very long period. Such a rich and complete Magic system couldn’t have existed from the start. Zheng Yichen guessed that when Magic first appeared, it was probably just about pitting small fireballs against each other, or water arrows, wind blades, and the like. Later, as understanding of Magic deepened, more efficient ways to use Magic were researched, leading to mid-tier and high-tier Magic.

As for why Zheng Yichen had such guesses, the many books in Loris’s Library weren’t for nothing.

The construction of the Fireball Spell’s Magic Rune Array wasn’t difficult. Once you understood it well enough, you could make some deletions, additions, or fine adjustments to its structure. If you reduced it, that would be downgrading this Complete Magic… As long as its structure could still maintain casting the Magic, you could, based on the Fireball Spell’s structure, delete and divide it into low, medium, or high-level Fireball Spells… But who would be so bored as to do such a thing!?

Any Professional could master this Magic with some effort. Why bother learning a downgraded version!?

Magic downgrading usually only happened with mid-tier and high-tier Magic. It was rare with low-tier Magic. As for adding new Magical Structures, that was so-called upgrading the tier! But this was even more difficult. The Magic structure was already quite complete. Adding poorly would be like drawing legs on a snake. It wouldn’t increase the Magic’s power; instead, it would increase casting time and mana cost.

Of course, even low-tier Magic involved many aspects. Leaving aside power and effects, the structure also included shaping. Making a fireball take form was a shaping effect. Without this shaping step, the released Fireball Spell wouldn’t be a fireball but a scattered flame.

Such a Fireball Spell would only be good for lighting fires. It completely lacked the concentrated explosive lethality of a proper Fireball Spell. Shaping was also a very important part of Magic. It directly determined the Magic’s cohesion and power… But Zheng Yichen could basically ignore this. Even without shaping, as long as the mana amount was large enough and he held it in his hand, he could forcefully squeeze it into a compressed, super-strong form!

Adjusting and modifying Magic was done to suit one’s own needs. If you couldn’t modify it to suit yourself, then it was better not to bother at all.

What type of Magic suited him? Of course, the kind with higher output intensity was better!

He could ignore the shaping step. As long as the released Magic passed through his hands, he could directly grasp it and perform subsequent compression. Also, he wasn’t Human. His formidable body allowed Zheng Yichen to cast Magic without desperately racing against time to release it.

He didn’t need to!

In fact, just based on his sufficiently strong body, Zheng Yichen could fight without using Magic. Of course, as a Transmigrator, he still had to have the right ideas. Using Magic could enhance combat power, so why not use it? Even if not for ranged purposes, he could create his own unique close-combat Magic.

Staring at the fireball in his hand, about half a meter in size, Zheng Yichen’s palms began to close. The half-meter diameter fireball rapidly shrank. After it shrank by half, he felt obvious resistance. Continuing to shrink it to only a quarter of its original volume, Zheng Yichen felt like he was holding a spring compressed to its limit. But his current physical strength had greatly increased; he could definitely keep squeezing!

Of course, after being compressed to this point, every bit of further compression caused the rebounding force to multiply! Finally, this fireball, compressed to its limit by Zheng Yichen—its size would be considered ‘malnourished’ even among Human Professionals—was thrown onto the ground. The moment the fireball touched the ground, a powerful flame explosion, like a dozen Hand Grenades detonating simultaneously, made the observing Zheng Yichen involuntarily scratch his ear.

Indeed, as long as the Magic output was sufficient, shaping could be managed by himself! Glancing at the mark left by the fireball, Zheng Yichen nodded silently. Next to this large crater was a crater from a Fireball Spell he had released earlier with the same amount of mana for comparison. The difference between the two was about double.

This didn’t mean the compressed fireball’s power was exactly double the original! The compressed fireball’s power was concentrated. The crater was blasted out because the explosive force was too strong. The main power was still at the center. As for the power… it couldn’t be judged solely by the area of effect. Even if the area was large, if the erupted power was scattered, someone with a tough enough body could withstand it. What use was a large area then?

“I’ll follow this path for now.” Zheng Yichen nodded. Having a clear goal for adjusting the Magic he mastered, he took flight again. He continued flipping through the Magical Grimoire he had only read halfway… Just then, Zheng Yichen sensed an unusual aura. This aura made him curiously perceive it for a moment. He then stuffed the book into the bag hanging from his neck and flew toward the direction the aura came from. This aura… he was very familiar with it!