Chapter 152 - 151: [Insect Swarm Spawn+]

Chapter 152: Chapter 151: [Insect Swarm Spawn+]

After Mage Falon left, the students gradually dispersed. Gaode did the same. He first went to the dining hall for dinner, then returned to continue constructing the Magic Model for [Insect Swarm Spawn].

Yesterday, he had exhausted his Spiritual Power but still failed to construct the Magic Model for [Insect Swarm Spawn]. Today, it seemed his luck had finally turned. On his very first attempt, everything clicked into place, and he succeeded instantly.

Seeing the Magic Model of [Insect Swarm Spawn] appear in the Magic Star Sea, Gaode felt a surge of subtle joy. "Wind Spirit Moon Shadow," he mentally called out, instantly summoning the rudimentary information interface.

The Origin column indicated that he still had two fully accumulated but unused Origin points. As for the Magic List, a bunch of un-upgraded Magic flickered, seemingly trying to "seduce" him.

Gaode remained unmoved, his goal clear. Out of a boundless ocean of choices, he only needed one drop.

Although to be fair, he only *had* enough for one drop...

Gaode’s gaze locked onto the newly appeared [Insect Swarm Spawn] in the Magic List. With practiced ease, he tapped the flickering yellow "+" sign next to its entry. He had been saving his Origin points precisely for these Rare Magic.

SWISH!

The "Big Dipper" representing the Scorpion Origin instantly flew out of its nest. The old Magic Model expanded and evolved, rapidly transforming into a new one. Soon, [Insect Swarm Spawn] in the Magic List changed to [Insect Swarm Spawn+].

[Insect Swarm Spawn+] (Curse Magic, 0th Ring):

You cause mites, fleas, mosquitoes, and other insects to temporarily appear on a creature you can see within range (30 feet). Depending on the target’s physical constitution, they will suffer a certain amount of poison damage and experience negative status effects such as itching and paralysis.

Bonus: You can cause parasites—such as midges, gnats, horseflies, and ticks—that evade Detection to permanently appear on a creature you can see within range (30 feet). This causes the creature to randomly contract various diseases, including hemorrhagic fever, typhus, tick-borne encephalitis, and more.

This was the most significant change brought to a Magic out of all the point allocations in Wind Spirit Moon Shadow so far. It was practically equivalent to gifting a brand-new Magic, splitting Insect Swarm Spawn into two distinct versions: Poison and Disease.

[Insect Swarm Spawn+] (Poison) was Combat Magic, while [Insect Swarm Spawn+] (Disease) was more like a utility Magic. In a fierce and brief battle, the latter wouldn’t be very effective; he would still have to rely on [Insect Swarm Spawn+] (Poison).

Its true strength lay in sabotage. If someone offended Gaode and he couldn’t openly exact revenge, [Insect Swarm Spawn+] (Disease) would come in extremely handy. Regardless, increasing the versatility of his abilities was always a good thing, so Gaode was overall quite satisfied.

The next day.

After finishing today’s Basic Cultural Course and his cultivation, Gaode once again arrived at the Magic Experiment Field. He had taken Mage Falon’s advice from yesterday to heart, and he was also highly intrigued by the functions of the Trial Puppet. He indeed needed to test the Magic he had mastered more thoroughly. Especially since several of his Attack Magic had been upgraded by Wind Spirit Moon Shadow. To be honest, Gaode didn’t completely understand the specific changes they had undergone.

Approaching the front counter, he inquired, "How much for a private room?"

"Five Silver Coins per half-hour for a Mage Apprentice, one gold coin per half-hour for an official Mage. Minimum rental is half an hour," the staff member replied.

Unlike other facilities in the academy where the staff were young, pretty ladies, the worker at the Magic Experiment Field was a burly bald man. He looked quite intimidating, perfectly suited for keeping order.

"An official Mage far surpasses a Mage Apprentice in both Magic Power and the total volume of Magic they can cast. This causes greater wear and tear on the Trial Puppets, so the price is correspondingly higher," the bald man added as an explanation.

Gaode nodded and handed over five Trifoliate Flower Silver Coins. "I’m a Mage Apprentice. I’ll rent it for half an hour."

"Alright, please show your identity nameplate."

Gaode handed it over. The identity nameplate contained his "student registry information," including his Mage Level. The bald man took the nameplate and first swiped it on the Alchemy Machine on the counter. Only after confirming Gaode’s Mage Level did he accept the five Silver Coins and quickly complete the registration.

"Second room on the left, Room 8." He soon handed a Magic Card—similar to a hotel room keycard—along with the identity nameplate back to Gaode.

Taking them, Gaode found his rented private room and swiped the Magic Card in the slot by the door. The corresponding Magic Array immediately drove the heavy door open.

He stepped inside. Although it was called a private room, it was actually about the size of a basketball court from his previous life. Inside stood three Trial Puppets.

He thought, "I’ll first test the power of the Magic I currently master."

Aiming at a Trial Puppet, Gaode willed it, and an emerald-green orb of acid in his hand hurled straight toward it.

SIZZLE!

A sizzling sound emanated from the Trial Puppet as white smoke rose, accompanied by a pungent, sulfuric smell. Subsequently, text promptly popped up on the "display screens" of the Trial Puppet’s eyes:

"Category: Strong Acid Damage."

"Attack Power: 6-gram Magic Crystal equivalent."

This was the instantaneous data. Even though both were Tricks, [Acid Splash] had barely half the sheer power of [Magic Energy Burst]. However, the residual acid clinging to the Trial Puppet’s surface continued to inflict corrosive damage with an attack power of 1 degree.

It lasted for a full ten seconds before the acid from Gaode’s [Acid Splash+] was completely depleted. Calculated this way, the total power should be 16 degrees. Of course, this calculation did not take enemy resistance into account. If an enemy had a certain level of resistance, the continuous 1-degree corrosive damage might fail to pierce their defenses entirely.

Afterward, Gaode tested his other Attack Magic.

[Flaming Arrow+]: Fire Damage, Attack Power of 8 degrees.

The Flaming Arrow was currently still the highest damage-dealing Magic Gaode had mastered. In most situations, higher power equated to higher damage. Thus, to this day, Flaming Arrow remained Gaode’s most frequently used Attack Magic.

[Frozen Ray+]: Frost Damage, Attack Power of 7 degrees.

Its power was slightly higher than Acid Splash but slightly weaker than Flaming Arrow. But if the Trial Puppet had already endured two Frozen Ray attacks, the third Frozen Ray cast on it would have its attack power increased to 10 degrees.

Calculating the sum of three casts, the 7 + 7 + 10 degrees of [Frozen Ray+] was exactly equal to three casts of [Flaming Arrow+] at 8 degrees each. However, the first two casts of [Frozen Ray+] would slow the Trial Puppet’s speed. The third [Frozen Ray+] would condense a thin layer of ice on the Trial Puppet’s surface, temporarily freezing it in place.

This meant that for the exact same amount of power, it came with two soft crowd controls and one hard crowd control. Looking at it this way, [Frozen Ray+] was highly cost-effective. Especially in inherently freezing environments, it wouldn’t even need the first two Castings as a build-up; it could directly trigger the freezing effect.

[Insect Swarm Spawn+]: Poison Damage, Attack Power of 6 degrees.

As a Rare Magic, Insect Swarm Spawn’s attack power was not high, matching that of Acid Splash. As for [Insect Swarm Spawn+] (Disease), since the Trial Puppet was an Alchemy Creation rather than a living creature, it would not contract nor register diseases. Therefore, it could not be tested for the time being.