62: Five Combat Spells

Greene sat on the large sofa for over two hours, deliberating for a long time, repeatedly considering, and then incorporating Mentor Jordan's suggestions for building a combat system.

Finally, he made up his mind. First,

were the three classic Wizard Apprentice spells standard at Plant Heart Wizard Academy.

They were:

0-Ring Intermediate Spell – Thorn Entanglement.

Spell Intensity: 5 * 8 * 1.5 = 60 Intensity.

(The Spell Intensity of a 0-Ring Intermediate Spell = Spiritual Power Strength * Base Spell Template Intensity * Magic Trait Amplification.)

5 J: Hand grenade (226 grams of TNT charge), setting: 1 Intensity power is similar to one hand grenade.)

It materializes several elemental thorn vines to strangle and control enemies, primarily for control and secondarily for attack, a standard plant-type control spell.

Greene chose the high-end, luxurious version with a base spell Intensity of 8. At 8 Intensity, it conjures 8 elemental thorn vines, 3 more than the 5 Intensity version, making it more powerful, but also more difficult to cast and more costly.

0-Ring Intermediate Spell – Praise of the Heart of Plants.

Spell Intensity: 5 * 5 * 1.5 = 37.5 Intensity.

It can restore allies' stamina, heal injuries, and eliminate the invasion of negative and Xenomorph spell energies. It's an essential skill for healers and the core safety of a team.

Greene will most likely become a muscle Wizard like Gandalf in the future.

He'll use spells for ranged combat and can pick up his staff and fight in close quarters. Therefore, this healer skill wasn't his main focus, but it couldn't be omitted entirely. Greene chose the lowest difficulty 5 Intensity version.

(The higher the base Intensity of a spell, the more complex the runes and structure of the spell template. Therefore, the casting difficulty, mastery difficulty, and consumption of a spell are positively correlated with its base Intensity.)

...0-Ring Intermediate Spell – Silence of the Withered Wood.

Spell Intensity: 5 * 8 * 1.5 = 60 Intensity.

Casting this spell on oneself allows one to hide their aura and disguise themselves as a piece of withered wood, an essential spell for 'Old Sixes'. In the vast Mist Coast, one can perfectly conceal oneself by utilizing areas of dense mist.

According to shared experiences from predecessors, unless an Apprentice has cultivated a specialized tracking spell and obtained some medium from you, such as blood or hair, no Wizard Apprentice has ever seen through this stealth spell.

Cultivating this spell requires a specially treated piece of withered wood as an aid, valued at 300 magic stones.

Magic stones were a minor issue; preserving his life was paramount. Greene decisively chose the highest difficulty 8 Intensity version.

In addition to these three plant-based spells,

Greene also selected two highly favored non-plant-based spells.

One was the fire-element spell Greene had been longing for:

0-Ring Intermediate Spell – Exploding Fireball.

Spell Intensity: 5 * 8 = 40 Intensity.

Casting the spell summons a fist-sized, light-red fireball that possesses explosion, burning, and splash damage.

The art of explosion and the characteristic of burning were, in Greene's eyes, the embryonic form of the Five Fireball Divine Cult, truly an essential spell for overcoming challenges, arson, destroying corpses, and for home and travel.

The 8 Intensity Exploding Fireball template Greene chose was also a signature spell imported from Radiant Fire Wizard Academy, of excellent quality and good reputation, worth owning.

...The other was a common spell used for escape:

0-Ring Intermediate Spell – Zephyr.

Spell Intensity: 5 * 8 = 40 Intensity.

Casting the spell summons a ball of magical wind that surrounds the Apprentice, greatly reducing their weight and helping them increase their movement speed.

It is truly an essential spell for outdoor exploration, fending off enemies, hurrying on journeys, and fleeing for one's life.

For such a life-saving spell, Greene also chose the 8 Intensity version, the one with the highest power.

...In total,

the five combat spells Greene chose had a combined Intensity of 37. If calculated at 100 magic stones per 1 Intensity, it would cost 3700 magic stones.

Awkwardly, Greene was out of magic stones again.

Greene asked the work Mentor unwillingly,

"Mentor, I don't have that many magic stones. Can I get a loan?"

The male work Mentor looked at Greene strangely and said,

"Of course you can."

"Every Apprentice has a certain loan quota when choosing combat spells."

"Give me your identification badge, and I'll check your loan quota."

"Alright, Mentor."

Greene immediately pulled out his identification badge. He could fleece the Academy again. The good thing about the Academy's loans was that you could repay them after you graduated.

The male work Mentor checked for Greene on the spot.

Soon, the results came out.

"Greene..."

"As a 2-Star Apprentice Alchemist, you have a 2000 quota..."

"And as an Academy reserve talent, you have another 2000 quota..."

"You can also refine intermediate knight-class potions, which adds another 1000 quota."

"Currently, your combat spell loan quota is 5000 magic stones."

"Do you want to use your loan quota? All of these will need to be repaid after you graduate."

..."Mentor, I'm sure."

"I'll use a 3700 magic stone loan quota to purchase these five spells."

Greene pointed out the five selected spells in the catalog to the male work Mentor.

"Are you sure?"

The male work Mentor's tone couldn't help but rise considerably.

"Student, did you not pay attention in Elemental Studies class?"

"Four of these spells are the highest 8 Intensity, which is more than double the difficulty of ordinary 5 Intensity spells?"

"And you've chosen 4 at once. Usually, one 8 Intensity spell is enough as a showpiece and a trump card."

"Mentor, am I not an Apprentice Apothecary?"

Greene explained. The Academy's Mentors were too considerate of their students. If Greene didn't explain clearly, this responsible Mentor probably wouldn't sell the spell crystals to Greene.

"After I graduate, I'll also stay in the Academy to refine potions; I won't be going out to fight."

"I just thought, since I have the opportunity, I should definitely practice the most powerful spells."

"In the short term, I don't have an urgent need to master these combat spells."

"Even if these spells are very difficult, I can slowly grind them out, practice them for decades. Am I afraid I won't master them?"

...The male work Mentor thought about it.

That made sense, but why did it feel like something was off?

Still somewhat uneasy, he advised,

"You don't know, these enhanced intermediate spells are dozens of times harder than the lower-grade plant-type spells you've encountered before."

"Moreover, once this spell crystal is used, no second person can use it, and you can't return it either."

"Greene, I, your Mentor, still advise you to be more down-to-earth."

"Don't blindly choose high-Intensity spells just because you see great power and strong effects. For you Apprentice Apothecaries, this is a burden."

"I've never seen an Apprentice Apothecary choose so many 8 Intensity spells."

..."Mentor, I've really thought it through."

"Thank you for your concern. It's just a bit more difficult, isn't it?"

"I'm confident I can overcome all difficulties with time."

"Learning these powerful spells, for me, is just a nice challenge."

Greene replied confidently.

His confident demeanor was practically saying: "It's a piece of cake, don't worry about me."

The male responsible Mentor looked at Greene's domineering and confident face and said no more.

He muttered to himself,

"Good words are hard to persuade a dying ghost."

"If you insist on hitting your head against a brick wall, you can't blame me."

"Young people still need to suffer a bit more. The Academy protects them too well now."

"Forget it, I've fulfilled my duty as a Mentor to warn him."

..."Alright, take your spell crystals and identification badge."

The male responsible Mentor quickly processed Greene's loan.

"Thank you, Mentor."

Greene took the spell crystals, very excited.

He would go back and start practicing combat spells.