Chapter 225: The Distinction of Comprehensive Systems

Chapter 225: The Distinction of Comprehensive Systems

“Eh?” The next day, feeling a light tap on his head, Zheng Yichen abruptly woke up. This gentle tap had the effect of refreshing and clearing his mind. After opening his eyes, Zheng Yichen also saw a magic hammer that had not yet dissipated in the air. Standing up and looking down, he saw that it was Irene standing right in front of him, still wearing the same outfit as before. “What’s the matter?”

“Help me with some research,” Irene said.

“Huh? Is the Fate-Killer research finished already?” Zheng Yichen asked in surprise. It had only been a few days—this girl’s efficiency was quite high.

“That can be set aside for now; it won’t run away on its own. On second thought, I’d rather start with you first,” Irene said. The fact that Zheng Yichen could cast magic while ignoring magical barriers made her feel threatened, and it also sparked her strong curiosity.

“So, how do you need me to help with your research?”

“Well… I heard you’re particularly good at grabbing things?” Irene lightly tapped the air beside her, and the magic hammer that had seemingly tapped his head earlier reappeared. “Catch it.”

Eh? A Magic Arms?

Zheng Yichen shook the hammer in his hand with slight surprise. There was no mistake—this thing was indeed a Magic Arms, and a low-level one at that. However, what surprised Zheng Yichen was that this hammer contained another attribute, seemingly a low-tier Ice Attribute spell. It wasn’t impossible to incorporate other types of magic into existing spells, but the difficulty was enough to kill off brain cells in large numbers for all kinds of geniuses.

Zheng Yichen, who cheated by relying on his own abilities, was an exception. And now, he had indeed encountered another case that didn’t seem to rely on cheating with abilities but rather used genuine skill to create a composite spell.

“Incredible!” Zheng Yichen examined the Magic Arms, clicking his tongue and exclaiming in awe.

Irene’s lips curled upward slightly. Composite spells, especially ones so long-lasting and stable, were something she believed only she could accomplish… Even if others managed it, it would only be a temporary effect… except for that freakish existence who created the Magic Weapon Summoning Book!

Others might not be able to tell, but she knew as soon as she touched it—the Magic Arms within the Magic Weapon Summoning Book were all magical constructs, and the spells embedded within them were all unmodified original versions. Of course, as people used them, the embedded spells gradually improved. That wasn’t the important part. What mattered was how those Magic Arms could incorporate more than two spells.

Even she found it difficult to achieve. Just one was already quite challenging—more than two? Wasn’t that just asking to blow oneself up? Of course, it wasn’t due to a lack of ability on her part, but rather the nature of magic itself. If it were a Magic Arms with a physical carrier, Irene could embed more than ten spells in it and avoid direct conflicts between them.

But doing so with magic alone was a completely different matter.

“Wait!” After feeling a bit of pride, Irene suddenly noticed with astonishment that she had completely lost control of the magic hammer at some point… When exactly? Uh, it seemed to be within two or three seconds after Zheng Yichen grabbed it? “Let me take a look at it.”

Feeling somewhat conflicted, she took back the magic hammer that Zheng Yichen handed over. To prevent any traces from being damaged, she didn’t even revert the magic hammer to a size suitable for her own stature. After examining it briefly, Irene looked back at Zheng Yichen, and a strange thought suddenly surfaced in her mind—This creature absolutely must not be allowed to live!!

The mana that constituted the magic hammer was still of the same nature as her own mana, but the ownership of this portion of mana no longer belonged to her. Instead, it belonged to this dark little dragon before her. Just what kind of special ability was this? Any Witch… no, anyone with special power s would feel threatened by Zheng Yichen’s existence.

After all, if you spent so much effort cultivating your own power, and someone else could just grab it and make it their own, or if a spell you cast was caught and became theirs… This guy was practically a Mage killer.

Immediately, Irene pushed this thought aside. What was she thinking? Even if he couldn’t be allowed to stay, he had to stay for now. She was well aware that even though Loris and Dan Marina hadn’t shown themselves, she was being watched by two Witches. If she made even the slightest wrong move, the annoying trouble that Dan Marina, as a support type, could bring was one thing—but if Loris cared about Zheng Yichen to an extreme degree, that would be real trouble.

All Witches knew about certain traits of Witches. If Loris truly cared that much, it would lead to a life-and-death struggle between Witches. There was no need to create such conflict. Perhaps… it would be better to build a good relationship!

Dan Marina and Loris didn’t get along, but the two of them were now working together. The link connecting them was this dragon with special abilities right before her. Dan Marina was annoying, but she wasn’t evil. Loris’s power was highly destructive, but she wasn’t insane or evil either. And what about herself?

Irene believed she wasn’t that kind of person either; otherwise, she wouldn’t be quietly “farming” here alone. So, given the current situation, establishing a friendly relationship wasn’t out of the question… No, it was even a great idea!

After quickly weighing the situation in her mind, Irene completely abandoned her earlier thoughts. Don’t think that just because some Witches didn’t interact often with the outside world, they would be naive. Which of the veteran Witches who survived were naive? Those Witches who were naive and couldn’t quickly adapt to their identity as Witches were either eliminated by the Sanctuary Church soon after their Awakening or were tricked to death by their own kind or other forces.

“A very powerful ability. Come on, let’s go to my Workshop.”

“Wait, I need to take care of something first.” Zheng Yichen went over to Lily, who had just woken up, and whispered for a while. Irene’s manor was quite desolate, but it had ample supplies—at least she did a good job of providing meals.

Arriving at Irene’s Workshop, Zheng Yichen nodded slightly. This was a truly Otherworld-style Workshop. Unlike his own Workshop, which was a mishmash designed entirely based on his Earth-style preferences—a laboratory built according to his whims.

“What’s the matter?”

“This is what a proper Workshop looks like,” Zheng Yichen said sincerely. Irene shook her head slightly. When it came to Workshops, most Mages’ were similar. The difference lay in the structure. Take the lowest level, for example—ordinary Mages couldn’t afford Workshops with Spatial Expansion. After all, Workshops were places for research.

Using Spatial Expansion made things much more difficult because overly strong magical fluctuations could cause the expanded space to become unstable. This tested the abilities of the person expanding the space. The higher their ability, the more they could ignore this issue. No one wanted to end up crushed to death inside their Workshop just because the expanded space became unstable.

“Hmm? Are you also interested in the Magic Weapon Summoning Book?” Zheng Yichen asked with slight surprise, looking at a book placed on a desk.

“The person who made this book is very impressive,” Irene said honestly. Leaving aside the spells embedded in the Magic Arms—which she saw as worthless, like bricks—the technique of embedding spells into Magic Arms was something she couldn’t compare to at all.

“Uh… Haha, I think so too,” Zheng Yichen scratched his head and said with a strange smile. Given the current situation, he probably could show off a little, right?

“It’s just that the spells embedded in it are completely worthless!”

The smile on Zheng Yichen’s face instantly froze. “Well, perhaps the main focus was on researching Magic Arms, and this aspect was overlooked.”

Better to defend himself a little first. Never mind other spells, but at least for the Magic Weapon Forging spell, Zheng Yichen was very proficient, and his understanding and mastery far exceeded that of other spells. Along with the Projection Spell, it was one of the spells Zheng Yichen was most skilled in.

“That’s possible. If I get the chance, I’ll discuss it with the Creator of the Magic Weapon Summoning Book,” Irene nodded. If someone devoted all their energy to researching Magic Weapon Summoning, it wasn’t impossible to spend a lifetime researching just that… but mass-producing so many? Absolutely impossible!

“By the way, you seem to be very skilled with magic, right? Why not try using those Magic Arms more often?” Zheng Yichen asked pointedly. Aside from mana limitations, the strength of the spells within Magic Arms was also influenced by the user.

If a magic expert used them, the embedded spells would be greatly enhanced. Wasn’t the person before him a magic expert?

“Why should I? Enhancing Magic Arms would affect all Magic Weapon Summoners,” Irene said flatly. She summoned Magic Arms only for her research, not because she intended to use them exclusively. It would take a very long time for these Magic Arms to catch her eye, even if their strength increased rapidly!

So, she had no reason to use these Magic Arms extra, “leveling up” the Magical Structure of the embedded spells. Even if the magical structures of the Magic Arms had great expandability and could record all the best traits of the current user, that made her even less likely to use her true skills with them.

Even if she did use them… she would wait until after finding the Creator of the Magic Weapon Summoning Book. Her knowledge and skills were very valuable, and there was no need to waste them on such selfless contributions. Others? Well, if others chose to rely on Magic Arms to boost their combat power, it was fair for them to make such contributions. For her to do the same would be unfair to herself.

“I see,” Zheng Yichen shrugged and said nothing more. The existence of the Magic Weapon Summoning Book was a secret, known to no more than a handful of people. Even though the Witch before him could greatly enhance the Magic Weapon Summoning Book, they hadn’t known each other for long. In terms of trust, she wasn’t even on par with Dan Marina. Zheng Yichen couldn’t just reveal everything.

“What spells do you know how to use?”

“Uh… As long as my abilities are sufficient, I can probably use all of them,” Zheng Yichen scratched his head and said. That seemed to be his situation—with enough Mental Energy and mana, as long as he could construct the Magic Rune Array, he could cast the spell. Of course, spells with no understanding were just the most basic versions, with mediocre power and effects across the board.

“You remember that many?”

“I have a dictionary.”

“Dictionary?”

“Bona Kaine’s Magic Book, you know.”

“Oh… Cast a spell for me to see,” Irene nodded. She wanted to see what special effects Zheng Yichen’s spells had, given his abilities. The result disappointed her greatly. The spells Zheng Yichen cast were too ordinary. Even the obscure spells she randomly selected from the Magic Book were the same—like words typed out on a Computer, completely procedural, without any unique style or charm.

In the eyes of ordinary people, the words might look neat and good, but in the eyes of calligraphy masters, what kind of rubbish was this? Why would a perfectly good person do work that belonged to a Computer? With that kind of effort, it would be better to practice and develop writing with one’s own characteristics!

Every spell Zheng Yichen cast was like this… Well, not entirely. His Projection Spell was just average, and his fire magic was the same—probably because he used them daily. But that was about it.

Irene had comprehensive mastery of magic, and she was proficient in all areas. Zheng Yichen, relying on the Magic Book, also had comprehensive knowledge, but it was entirely templated. None of his spells incorporated the characteristics of his claw abilities. Overall, Irene was quite disappointed. However, this also confirmed that Zheng Yichen’s abilities didn’t affect magic itself. As for how he could cast spells in such a templated manner, it was likely related to his own abilities.

Magic, after all, involved using one’s own mana to create a structure and then attracting external Elemental Power to form the spell. This required skill, and Zheng Yichen’s abilities allowed him to ignore or reduce the need for this skill. His abilities directly replaced the process of attraction, given how special his power to grab others’ abilities was.

If he could do this with “owned” power, then “unowned” free-floating Elemental Power could naturally be “grabbed” even more easily.

After realizing this, Irene had no intention of involving Zheng Yichen in direct magic research anymore. What was the point of making an elementary school student solve math problems only a university professor could handle? You’d even worry if the elementary school student copied the formulas incorrectly. Since that was the case, it was better to continue researching the characteristics of his abilities. Irene had encountered similar abilities with such traits before… but never one like this. By researching it deeply, she might be able to develop some new types of magic.

Earlier, she had managed to embed a spell into Zheng Yichen’s magic hammer so easily because of breakthroughs gained from researching the Magic Arms in the Magic Weapon Summoning Book.

“Those notes aren’t particularly important. You can take a look if you want,” Irene said, noticing Zheng Yichen’s gaze resting on an open notebook on the desk. Most of the notes on the desk were casually written during daily research. The truly important ones weren’t kept here.

“Thanks a lot,” Zheng Yichen immediately nodded. He split off a Projection that crouched over the desk and began flipping through the notes. It didn’t matter if there wasn’t enough time… he would memorize them by rote for now. Things Irene considered unimportant could still be very helpful to Zheng Yichen. Even if he couldn’t use them now, he could record them in the Computer in the Dreamscape. As long as it was magic, there would always be a chance to use it someday.

Watching Zheng Yichen multitasking, Irene nodded slightly and said nothing. With such abilities, it didn’t interfere with her research.