A few hours have passed since Erea borrowed the scripture {Beryl's Aqua Spells} from her teacher Dane. Ever since she received the scripture, she had been reading and digesting the information contained in the scripture while cross-referencing what she already knew from the previous scripture she read, as well as fused some theories regarding the two scriptures in her mind.
"To think that the two are actually connected…" Erea could not help but mutter as she closed the two scriptures on the floor, letting out a sigh of contentment before looking at the covers of the two scriptures. "{Beryl's Aqua Spells} actually expounds on the intricacies of the [Aqua Sphere] spell, which means that it's a scripture focused on the basics of the [Aqua Sphere] spell. As for the scripture Teacher wanted me to buy, it did not occur to me that it was an extension of the theories of the [Aqua Sphere] spell in {Beryl's Aqua Spells}."
Glossing over what she understood and concluded from the two scriptures as she closed her eyes for a while, she then stood up as she grabbed the two scriptures, placing both on the slanted table before heading back to the center of the room she was in.
"Huu…haa…" Erea took in a deep breath as she extended her left arm outward, summoning all of the Water energy particles that were inside the room she was in. Not long after, a faint blue haze covered her body, to which she manipulated towards the extended arm as she started muttering the incantations for the [Aqua Sphere] spell.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Starting from her feet, the faint blue haze made its way towards her extended arm like a slithering snake, transforming into a lump of blue energy at the instant it had arrived on her left palm. It did not take long for all of the blue haze to make its way towards her left palm, with the lump of blue energy hovering over her left palm undergoing a qualitative change as it turned into a solid ball of water.
Glurg. Glurg.
"[Aqua Sphere]!" Erea shouted as she focused all of her willpower towards the water ball hovering over her palm, remembering the new theories and ideas she had obtained from the scripture she had borrowed, as well as the old theories and ideas she had obtained from the scripture she had bought, combining them as one while the water ball mimicked the natural movement of water.
At the moment the water ball had maintained its form for over 12 seconds, Erea's concentration had intensified by a few notches, trying her best to make sure that the water ball continued to maintain its natural flowing form. What she did not know was that she was applying too much stress on herself, with cold drops of sweat flowing down her forehead as she hoped that the water ball would maintain its form for at least 30 seconds.
Splash!
Eventually, Erea's concentration had been broken, with the water ball starting to move erratically as a result of this loss in focus. But although that was the case, a weird expression was plastered on Erea's face as she looked at the water ball that was currently rotating clockwise in front of her.
It was an expression of happiness.
"I did it…" Erea muttered in slight disbelief, wondering if what she had done was just a dream. Fortunately for her, she could feel the reaction of her body, the state of her mind, as well as the breeze that blew inside the room she was in, letting her know that she had truly succeeded this time. "A time of 34 seconds…"
"I did it!" As she screamed in joy, she subconsciously squeezed the water ball tightly, only realizing what she had done at the exact moment the water ball had burst under the pressure of her hand. Nonetheless, this did not stop her from being elated with what she had done, hastily conjuring a fireball before manipulating it to sweep around her body, drying off the robe she was wearing.
Rather than go ahead and tell others about this achievement, she went ahead and sat down on the chair in front of the slanted table, closing her eyes as she pondered on what she could improve upon, realizing that she was utilizing a lot of mana for a spell that did not cost that much mana in the first place.
With this in mind, she muttered, "If I were to try and cast [Fireball] and [Aqua Sphere] at the same time, with my current mana capacity, I could do that but I could only do it once or twice before being my mana runs out. I should reduce the amount of mana I use for the [Aqua Sphere] spell while making sure to achieve the same level of effect. After that, I'll do the same for [Fireball]."
Soon after, she stood up and started optimizing the mana usage of the two Level 1 Spells she owned, taking over a half a day to reduce the mana consumption of both spells to a level where she was satisfied. Nonetheless, the number of times she had conjured and dispelled these two spells in that half-day could not help but make her gasp for air heavily as she lied flat on the ground. Then again, while she lied flat on the ground, a smile was still plastered on her face, letting anyone that saw this face know very well that she incredibly enjoyed what she was doing.
Surprisingly, as she continued to lie down on the ground, her eyes started to droop as she yawned. It did not take long for her eyes to completely close as her breathing slowed down soon after. In other words, she was now sleeping. To be honest, it was quite understandable for her to sleep after what she had been doing for the past few days, assiduously reading, expounding, and fusing theories and ideas from the two scriptures so she could fluidly control the [Aqua Sphere] spell.
And with that, many hours had passed by as the sun rose from the east, illuminating the room where Erea resided with its rays.
"Mngh…" Erea could not help but mumble as a few of the rays hit her face, making her frown as she gradually opened her eyes. At the very instant she did, she hastily squinted as the sunlight directly hit her eyes, slowly standing up in the process as she started to do some light stretching.
"Haaa…Did I fall asleep on the floor?" Erea muttered in slight wonder, the frown on her face intensifying as her back ached while she stretched. Feeling this, she let out a sigh before saying, "Yep…I fell asleep on the floor."
She then went outside the room she was in, heading towards the lower floors of the Arcana Tower to freshen herself and eat some breakfast. After around twenty minutes or so, she then went back to her training room, heading one of the windows near her room to take a look at what time it was.
"Past noon already…" Erea muttered as she looked at the sun that had already passed the peak. After doing so, she went to the center of the room, closing her eyes as she tried to remember what she had done before she slept. The sensation of letting [Aqua Sphere] move like water for over 30 seconds, the reduction of mana usage for the [Aqua Sphere] and [Fireball] spell, she recalled all of these before opening her eyes once more.
"I hope it works out this time." She then took in a breath as she attuned her body to the Fire energy particles within the room, using her mana to call these particles and congregate on her body. It did not take long for a faint red haze to appear all over her body as she extended her right arm while muttering the incantations for the [Fireball] spell.
At the instant she was finished chanting, all of the red haze on her body made its way towards her right palm, hastily transforming into a ball of fire that radiated a lot of heat and light.
"[Fireball]," she muttered as she attuned herself to the sensation of having such a spell continuously consume her mana, as well as her mental power in order for the spell to be stable. She then let out a long sigh as she extended her left arm this time, softly saying, "And now, the second spell."
Sucking in a cold breath of air, she then attuned her body to the Water energy particles in her room, making sure that a part of her body was still attuned to the Fire energy particles. After that, she used her mana to call these Water energy particles to coalesce around her body. At this point, she felt a strain on her mind, thinking that it was very hard for someone at her level to make sure that a spell did not go berserk while casting another spell at the same time.
"But that's what would allow me to achieve greater power at the same class!"
Enduring the strain she felt on her mind, she muttered the incantation for the [Aqua Sphere] spell, with the blue haze all over her body gradually making its way towards her left palm, turning into a lump of blue energy before undergoing a qualitative change to a ball of water.
Swish! Swish! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
Seeing that the [Aqua Sphere] was hovering over her left palm, Erea did not dare to let her emotions get to her as a holographic screen appeared on her face at the very instant she was able to hold both spells at the same time.
Ding!
'Please make sure to hold both spells for at least 30 seconds. If this condition has been achieved, a new skill hidden within the user's potential shall be unlocked.'
Seeing this notification appear on her screen, she commanded the system to close the screen in her mind as she took in a deep breath, making sure to utilize both halves of her brain to the fullest as she made sure that the two spells on her palms did not go berserk.
Although there were times where one or both spells she had on her palms were about to go berserk, she was able to deescalate their volatility, eventually allowing her to hold both spells for over 30 seconds.
Ding!
Hearing a notification sound resound throughout her mind one more time, Erea let out a sigh as she dispelled both spells at the same time before massaging both of her arms from the strain of having them stay at the position she had them for too long. Nevertheless, this did not stop her from becoming excited inwardly as she hastily commanded the system to show the latest notification she had received.
Whoosh!
'Congratulations to the user for holding both spells for at least 30 seconds. A skill hidden within the user's potential has been unlocked.'
'The passive skill [Dualcasting] has been unlocked.'
At the instant she read the name of the skill she had obtained, Erea's eyes could not help but widen as she looked at her teacher from a new perspective. "Although I had the feeling that the reason why Teacher wanted me to do that was because of this skill, I didn't expect that I'd actually have it in me."
Not long after, a grin spread across her face, unable to hide the excitement she was feeling. She then went ahead and raised both of her arms once more, opening both palms as she muttered the incantations for [Aqua Sphere] and [Fireball] consecutively.
Swish! Fwoosh!
And just like that, a ball of fire and a ball of water had appeared on her left and right palms respectively, leaving Erea in awe as to how the passive skill she had obtained made the process multiple times easier than before. She then dispelled both spells before pondering over something. After doing a bit of pondering, she then muttered with a slightly excited tone, "If my predictions are correct, with this passive skill, a class that has set off waves even in ISE in the early days would now be my own class."
Ding!
'Would you like to transition to a higher-ranked class?'
"It seems the system thinks the same. I've reached the limit of what my Rank 2 class can do." Erea grinned at the small holographic screen that appeared in front of her field of vision. Not long after, she responded to the system's question, saying only one word.
"Yes."
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Not long after her confirmation, the holographic screen in front of her field of vision disappeared as the aura emanating from her body had intensified by a few notches, enveloping the room she was in with an aura that she could control anything in this room with a single thought.
But it did not stop there.
A few seconds later, her aura expanded far beyond her room, enveloping the whole floor her room was in with her aura, making all of the mages, that were on the same floor as her, look at the room she was in with curiosity and awe. Nonetheless, they all had the same idea in their minds.
A supreme mage was about to be born.
While the aura was still enveloping them, the mages in the same floor as her started contacting their mentors, telling them of this phenomenon, which surprisingly aroused the interest of their mentors very much.
As for what was happening inside Erea's room, at this moment, she was already floating a meter or so off the ground, sensing that her body was undergoing a great change as every part of her body was nurtured by the mana she had trained. The last part that was nurtured was her brain, undergoing a great change as she could sense everything that was happening outside and inside her body with a single thought after her mana nurtured her brain.
Whoosh!
Eventually, the aura that had expanded to cover the whole floor her room was in hastily shrunk back, condensing into her body as she gradually floated back to the floor on her two legs. After all of that, she could not help but clench her fists, feeling immense power flowing throughout her body, all of it stemming from the mana she had, as well as her brain.
Ding!
Not long after, a notification screen appeared in front of her field of vision, detailing the changes that had happened to her body. At the very instant she finished reading it, a smile was plastered on her face as she muttered, "I was indeed right. That legendary class has now become my class."
"I wonder how far I can go."
Whoosh!
'The user has ascended to a higher class.'
'The user's class has been changed from Rank 2 Mage to Rank 3 Dual Cortex Mage.'
'The user has gained access to Level 0 Spells of the Fusion variant.'
'The user has obtained [Fusion Affinity] and [Spell Fusion].'
'The user's stats have been greatly increased.'
'A god seems to be greatly interested in your abilities.'