Chapter 15: The Draft Selection (V)

"That tall, thin boy is General Charles Gates’s youngest son. I heard he followed his eldest brother into the military camp for rigorous training from a very young age. If he hadn't accidentally awakened his arcane talent, he would be in a military academy right now, undergoing knight training."

Thomas spoke in a low voice, introducing Edward Gates's background to Joanne.

"Edward, that kid, must have spent too much time in the barracks; he struts around like an officer at the drop of a hat. He can't stand anyone overshadowing him, nor can he bear anyone being better than him. You'll need to keep an eye on him from now on and try not to provoke him."

"I never pick fights with others," Joanne said with an earnest expression.

"Even if you don't want trouble, it doesn't stop others from coming looking for it!" Thomas sighed, half-joking. "A genius is like a bright lamp, always casting light in the dark and attracting swarms of moths."

Joanne remained silent, his gaze fixed on the general's son, Edward Gates, as he guessed what spell the other would demonstrate.

The first spell Edward Gates displayed was "Magic Missile." This did not surprise Joanne, as he was also proficient in the same spell.

However, when Edward casually waved his hand and released two purple orbs of light that dragged two arcs of light as they roared across the sky, striking opposite targets a hundred paces away simultaneously from different angles, Joanne still couldn't help applauding his exquisite casting technique.

"Eh? Is that student casting the 1st-level arcane spell 'Magic Missile'? Why did he fire two missiles at once?"

A confused murmur came from the crowd. Joanne didn't need to turn around to know the speaker was merely a minor apprentice who barely understood 0-level cantrips; otherwise, he wouldn't have asked such a naive question.

"As caster levels increase, the number of magic missiles also increases. It is said that up to five missiles can be fired simultaneously, and they can even attack five different targets separately! Although Mr. Gates is only a 2nd-level wizard, he specializes in the 'Evocation School.' When casting evocation spells like Magic Missile, his effective wizard level increases by one, making him equivalent to a 3rd-level wizard, which is why he can launch two missiles at once."

Someone offered a detailed explanation, prompting the apprentices to burst into another wave of envious admiration.

"Look at these pathetic kids, is that really worth making a fuss over?" Thomas scoffed, shaking his head.

Joanne twitched the corner of his mouth and remained silent.

If he hadn't experienced a series of miraculous encounters over the past three months—first miraculously picking up the "Tears of God," and then drinking the Water of Wisdom under the guidance of Yrminsul and Mimir—he would probably still be just a minor apprentice who barely understood cantrips. If he had witnessed Edward Gates casually waving his hand to blast out two magic missiles, wouldn't he have been struck with awe and gasped in admiration, too? How would he be any different from the "making a fuss over nothing" and "pathetic kids" that Thomas despised?

A person's destiny is truly unpredictable.

Just as Joanne was secretly lamenting the impermanence of fate, Edward Gates on the athletic field had already begun demonstrating his second spell.

"Untupa!"

The lean, tall young wizard coldly uttered a Quenya syllable representing "covering and protection." The invisible weave of magic distributed in the space around him twisted and deformed accordingly. The magical threads forming this small patch of the weave suddenly glowed, becoming clearly visible, and tangled together at an indescribably fast speed. After a mere three seconds, they wove from a disordered mess of chaos into a translucent coat made of magic, fitting tightly over Edward's body, wrapping him securely from head to toe and providing him with impeccable, comprehensive defense.

"Mage Armor?" Joanne guessed in a low voice.

"Spot on. This is the strongest defensive spell among all 1st-level arcane spells, 'Mage Armor,'" Thomas said, crossing his arms over his chest and reluctantly acknowledging Edward's casting skill. "Mage Armor is actually an invisible forcefield barrier with a defensive capability comparable to wearing a real suit of scale armor. What's even more precious is that Mage Armor has no weight, so it isn't heavy, cumbersome, or restrictive to casting gestures like real armor. It's a very practical defensive spell, and all 1st-level wizards prioritize learning 'Mage Armor.' But not many can do it as skillfully as Edward; at the very least, I can't manage it."

Joanne felt his face burn slightly. Thomas had called "Mage Armor" a compulsory course for 1st-level wizards, yet he was already 2nd-level and had not yet touched this foundational spell. It was somewhat embarrassing.

The third spell Edward demonstrated was called "Shield." Similar to "Mage Armor," it was also a spell used to enhance a wizard's own defense. However, the spell did not create a suit of magical armor, but rather a tower shield composed of a forcefield, providing a defense identical to that of a physical tower shield.

In addition, "Shield" had two major advantages over a real tower shield.

First, this translucent forcefield shield had no weight, floating like a suspended wall directly in front of the wizard. Wherever the master walked, the forcefield shield followed. It neither increased the burden nor required holding, freeing the master's hands to cast spells with ease.

The second advantage of "Shield" lay in its "forcefield" attribute.

Solid tower shields made of wood and metal could only block physical blades and arrows, but they could not block forcefield spells like "Magic Missile," nor could they prevent incorporeal undead like "ghosts" from approaching; the forcefield tower shield created by "Shield" could perfectly defend against attacks from magic missiles and incorporeal undead. Especially for the former, this made the spell an indispensable choice in wizard duels—if you dared not cast "Shield," your opponent would dare to turn you into a sieve with a relentless barrage of magic missiles!

The profession of a wizard is actually very contradictory: both powerful and fragile.

The powerful aspect lies in having countless spells available to cast, capable of anything from ascending to the heavens to diving into the earth. The fragility lies in the fact that wizards must spend all their energy studying knowledge and researching spells, making eight or nine out of ten bookworms with no physical strength.

To ensure they could execute somatic casting gestures flexibly, physically frail wizards usually could not support heavy armor, let alone waste a hand holding a shield, making their personal defense extremely weak. If someone forced their way into close quarters, depriving them of the space to cast spells comfortably, their situation would become extremely dangerous.

To make up for this defensive shortcoming, wizards throughout the ages have created many spells specifically designed to enhance their own defense. Among them, the two most basic and practical 1st-level spells are "Mage Armor" and "Shield."

Just as Thomas said, "Mage Armor" and "Shield" are compulsory courses for all wizards. After all, safety supersedes everything else; only by protecting oneself first can one speak of dealing with the enemy.

Joanne could neither cast "Mage Armor" nor did he understand "Shield."

This was not because he was trying to be eccentric, but because he had no opportunity to learn these two crucial defensive spells.

In fact, from the very first day he came into contact with magic, Joanne had struggled with a lack of textbooks and mentors.

Compared to aristocratic young masters like Edward Gates, who had followed tutors to study magical knowledge step-by-step since childhood, Joanne was like a starving beggar, picking up whatever spell he could find to learn—where was there any room for pickiness?

The spells he had mastered were numerous, miscellaneous, and lacked a systematic structure, which precisely reflected his background as a self-taught practitioner.