Chapter 34: Breaking the Rules

Chapter 34: Breaking the Rules

After confirming that his Magic Weapon Forging could ignore random effects, Zheng Yichen tried twice and then got to the main task. Thin Mana Threads reappeared and attached themselves to the temporary magic weapon . Because Zheng Yichen needed to follow the Magic Rune Array drawings in the book, his speed was not very fast.

But he had no idea he was currently doing… something so unexpected!

Loris, who was standing on the second floor, narrowed her eyes slightly as Zheng Yichen did this. Zheng Yichen did not understand what his actions meant, but she knew very well!

Putting aside Zheng Yichen’s earlier display of ignoring the randomness of Magic Weapon Forging, applying new Magic Rune Arrays onto a magic weapon was not impossible, but it was an extremely difficult thing to do. Even with basic types of Magic, it was hard, let alone advanced Magic.

Each Magic had its own independence. Attempting to stack and merge multiple spells was like poking a red-hot needle into a balloon filled with air about to burst. The needle could not pierce the balloon; the moment the two touched, a violent reaction would occur.

Then there was simply using Mana Threads released from mana… Releasing Mana Threads was not impossible, but the difficulty was not low. Mana was like water, usually sealed inside the body as a container.

Once unused mana was released, it was like a drop of water falling into the ocean. It either had to be solid enough or there had to be enough quantity, or the mana itself had to have some other carrier. Otherwise, anything released would quickly vanish, assimilated. There was Magic for releasing Mana Threads too, but what Zheng Yichen was using now clearly was not!

He was simply shaping the mana and releasing it. The solidity was not enough to ignore assimilation, and the quantity… could be called tiny!

Yet even so, the Mana Threads he released still ignored the factor of assimilation. Perhaps those Mana Threads had no attack power or binding force, but they were already sufficient for drawing Rune Patterns!

What Zheng Yichen was doing now was like drawing a Magic Scroll in thin air… The Ghostly Little Maid behind Zheng Yichen also noticed his current actions. Her small mouth opened slightly as she nervously watched his every move.

Was it still the ‘stealing’ trait he possessed? Loris pondered, temporarily setting aside the idea of teaching Zheng Yichen more special Magic knowledge. Zheng Yichen was developing in a very unique way on his own. Letting him learn too much about this world’s Magic techniques might interfere with his ideas. After all, the characteristics of Magic mastery that Zheng Yichen had displayed already broke many of this world’s rules.

The ignorant are fearless. The more one knows, the more easily one becomes constrained. It was better to let him learn and explore his own path through study. Too much interference might waste the talent he possessed…

“Hmm~ strengthening enchantment, sharpness enchantment… what else? Oh right, for a magic weapon to last long, it needs a continuous supply of mana. Let’s add a Mana Gathering as well.” Flipping through the book beside him, Zheng Yichen looked at a low-level Mana Gathering Magic. The effect of this Magic was to gather mana within a certain range to one place.

It increased the mana density there, speeding up a Mage’s mana recovery. Higher mana density could also enhance the strength of released Magic. It was a type of field Magic, because the gathered mana would not move with the Mage’s change of position, nor would mana gather indefinitely—it would stop after reaching a certain level.

If you changed locations, you needed to gather mana again. But if you gathered mana into a carrier, it was fine… This Magic Rune Array was very complex. Zheng Yichen spent the longest time drawing it. His idea was simple: since maintaining the mana inside the magic weapon would continuously consume it, using Mana Gathering could replenish the consumed mana.

As for using this Magic to speed up cultivation and such, Zheng Yichen checked the notes in the book. Indeed, some people had such ideas, but while the ideal was beautiful, the actual practice was just so-so. No matter how high the external mana density became, one’s own absorption rate still would not change.

With no change in absorption rate, no matter how much mana flowed into the body at once, only a fixed amount could be absorbed. So, whether you used this kind of Magic to assist cultivation or not, it was the same.

“Done! Next time, I’ll think of a better shape.” Zheng Yichen looked with satisfaction at the finished magic weapon floating in his palm. For this first version, he hadn’t put much effort into the shape; it was more experimental. Now that the experiment succeeded, there was nothing else he needed to do for the moment. Zheng Yichen’s original intention for making this thing was for another matter!

Increasing the mana infusion, the longsword’s size quickly expanded. After it became suitable for his claws to hold, Zheng Yichen aimed at the wood pieces tossed aside and began carving them, shaping them into fifty-four small rectangular wooden cards.

He swung the magic weapon in his hand. Magic Arms produced were sized to suit the user, of course, and the user could adjust the size afterward. However, the larger it became, the greater the extra mana consumption. After readjusting the magic weapon’s size, making it like a carving knife fit for his palm…

These wooden cards were already quite sturdy due to the material, so he couldn’t be bothered to add any more enchantment Magic to them. He planned to start carving on them…

He scratched his head. In terms of imagination, he could come up with perfect shapes. Using Mana Threads to draw them was also possible, since this was linked to imagination and didn’t test drawing skill. But in terms of actual manual drawing skill, he seemed a bit lacking. He glanced at the Ghostly Little Maid, who had at some point climbed down from his back and was staring in stunned silence. Gently flicking the magic weapon in his hand, he asked, “Can you draw?”

“…” The Ghostly Little Maid nodded slightly.

“How good are you?”

Coming back to her senses, the Ghostly Little Maid gestured an “okay” expression.

“That’s fine then. Come here, come here. You just need to carve according to these. We’ll find some red and black pigment later.” Zheng Yichen used Mana Threads to weave out a full deck of playing cards…

The Ghostly Little Maid nodded and raised her index finger. A sharp fingernail grew out, making Zheng Yichen’s mouth twitch. He placed the unused magic weapon aside. Since he had the idea to test how long this thing could last, he didn’t actively dismiss it.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but after the magic weapon left his hand, it trembled lightly for a moment before quickly returning to normal.

“I’ll take it to have a look.” Loris came down from upstairs and picked up the magic weapon Zheng Yichen had placed aside. “Also, starting today, you’ll explore learning Magic on your own.”

“… Is it because I’m learning too poorly?” Zheng Yichen was somewhat shocked, the maintained Mana Threads almost scattering.

“It’s because you’re too outstanding.”

“…” That sounded kind of fake.