NoveLight ™
[Growth Assistant]
Information
General Quest
Breakthrough Quest
▶ Rank advancement has increased the probability of rewards.
▶ 1500 hours of Orb of Time has been provided.
▶ Please select your additional rank advancement reward:
Leon hesitated for a moment as he reached to select the artifact reward. Normally, he would choose an artifact when it was of B+ grade, as there were still many magics left for him to learn.
‘Crescent Moon-Splitting Sword?’
He hadn’t expected this magic to appear as a reward.
Leon reconsidered and chose the grimoire instead. He was already well aware of the power of the Crescent Moon-Splitting Sword, and the synergy with his wooden sword was undeniable.
Sitting down, Leon picked up the dark-colored book.
The magic Leon had obtained from the old magic library for the Crescent Moon-Splitting Sword consisted of five spells.
Pierce, Swell,
The simple slicing spell Blade,
Split, which increased the number of swords like duplicates,
And Luna, which infused the sword with lunar energy.
However, all these spells had incomplete formulas, so Leon had been filling in the gaps with his own modifications.
The Crescent Moon-Splitting Sword [Intermediate] had all these incomplete formulas fully completed. What surprised Leon was how closely these completed formulas resembled the modifications he had made himself.
‘Could it be that someone with the same talent as me created this?’
One aspect was different, however.
Leon’s eyes widened as he read the subsequent formulas.
‘Combo magic!’
He had longed to be able to use Swell in combination with Pierce. The grimoire he received as a reward detailed how to link the five spells together.
And that wasn’t all—there were even more advanced magics beyond the basics.
A spell to change the shape of the sword, and a magic that unleashed a crescent-shaped sword wave.
And beyond that, there was secret magic…
“No way!”
The name of the spell was written: Moonflower Chaos Dance. But the most crucial part of the formula was half-erased.
‘Since it’s labeled [Intermediate], there must be a [Lower] version as well? The one I obtained from the old magic library was [Upper]?’
The intermediate volume also included details about grand magics that could be used by mystic-level magicians. However, the names were not listed, and most of the formulas were erased. Still, the fragments of the formulas that could be seen were in a style Leon had recently become familiar with.
‘Runic script?’
Was this also an ancient magic?
‘I have one more reason to learn runic script.’
But first, he needed to find the lower volume.
After stabilizing his rank, Leon emerged from the orb to see if anything had happened during his training.
“Oh—so you’re even stronger now after being gone for so long?”
As he stepped out of the room he used as his personal training space, Velix greeted him.
“Can you tell, Velix?”
“Of course. I can sense it instinctively. Whether my opponent is strong or weak.”
It seemed to be an animalistic instinct. Leon sat across from Velix, who was gnawing on some meat from an unknown monster.
“Nothing unusual happened?”
“There’s nothing unusual in my territory.”
“Didn’t you mention that the rulers were causing chaos after leaving the central forest?”
“That’s still happening. They can’t return to the center, so they’re spreading out in all directions, seizing others’ territories.”
Velix cleared his throat.
“Well, none of them dare challenge my territory.”
Leon knew that Velix originally resided in the central area but had migrated westward.
“The reason for that hasn’t been revealed yet, has it?”
“For them to be that scared, it means some incredibly powerful monster has appeared. But it’s unlikely for a monster that strong to suddenly show up… unless it’s a witch?”
Leon thought he had misheard and asked again.
“A witch?”
“There are witches who occasionally come to the Beast Forest and cause trouble. Although the place where witches live is closer to the human empire, most of the ones that come here are novice witches looking to gain experience, so it probably wouldn’t be in the central area. But it’s not impossible.”
“Could a high-level witch of Insight cause such a commotion in the central Beast Forest?”
“What’s ‘Insight’?”
As Velix tilted his head in confusion, Kito appeared out of nowhere and continued the conversation.
“It’s possible, depending on the type of magic used.”
“…How far is it from the central Beast Forest to here?”
Velix, still chewing on his meat, responded.
“Why? Got a grudge against some witch? It’s pretty far from here. Even a powerful witch wouldn’t be able to drive out all the rulers.”
Velix’s words gave Leon some relief. There was no real reason to be anxious.
‘It’s not certain that the Witch of Despair has come.’
Leon calmed his startled heart.
“Are you done with your training? Or are you going to pester me for another spar?”
“No, I’m fine with sparring for now.”
“How much longer are you planning to stay?”
“I don’t know.”
“At this rate, you might end up staying for a whole year.”
Velix’s grumbling was silenced by Kito.
After gathering some information, Leon returned to the orb.
He intended to master the remaining parts of the Crescent Moon-Splitting Sword, the Ten Thousand Leaves, and gradually delve into the Secrets of Creation.
Ten Thousand Leaves was a wood-element spell, specialized in defense and healing. Starting to learn another spell from the first star again inevitably took time.
Most magicians focused on mastering a single secret magic. It took a long time to fully develop even one secret magic. Completing one secret magic indicated that one had reached the pinnacle of the beginner level of secret arts. Learning multiple secret magics didn’t significantly help in raising one’s rank. Instead, refining that secret magic was more beneficial for advancing to the intermediate level.
This was why Leon sought multi-element magic. It would incorporate multiple elements into a single secret magic.
However, if Leon had one major advantage, it was time. He was still young, had gained the greatest talents through the reward system, and time flowed differently inside the orb. Moreover, aging didn’t progress within the orb.
‘I need to solidify my rank thoroughly while I have this luxury.’
Even if he could only perform a nine-fold chant with different secret magics, he wouldn’t fall behind others in growth. And eventually, those diverse magics would be integrated into a single system unique to Leon.
He was laying the foundation for that future.
The Secrets of Creation was a magic that intricately combined magic with craftsmanship.
When Leon skimmed through the basics of the Secrets of Creation, he felt confident that he could attempt it here. The advanced section, however, was something he couldn’t touch yet due to the runic script.
‘It’ll be time to learn runic script when I leave this place.’
The powerful magics Leon currently possessed all ultimately tied back to runic script.
To create a golem, he needed basic materials that would serve as the framework. The body of the golem was made of minerals.
After shaping the desired parts from the minerals, the golem was sculpted. During this process, mana circuits had to be inscribed into each part according to the blueprint.
The most important part, the core, also had to be engraved with specific patterns, and finally, the core had to be imbued with magic through a unique spell.
At this stage, there were two possible methods: one was to program simple commands that the golem would follow in a predetermined pattern, and the other was to control the golem freely through activation magic.
When the core’s power was depleted, the mana had to be recharged.
‘It would be nice if it recharged naturally.’
Unfortunately, direct mana infusion was required. The tubes embedded in Gigantes’ body were meant for recharging the core’s mana.
However, once the patterns from the Secrets of Creation were inscribed onto the core, it could be used for a very long time with just one charge. The efficiency had been proven by the golems still operational in ancient lairs.
Upon mastering the basics of the Secrets of Creation, Leon could see the golem blueprint that had previously appeared blank. Leon tapped his temples as he unfolded the blueprint.
‘…This is going to be a headache.’
He could see it, but only partially.
‘Only half is visible?’
Still, half of the blueprint collection was blank. It seemed that mastering advanced magic was necessary to see the rest.
‘Will the advanced section show the Gigantes as well?’
It had to.
‘Why else would I spend time learning this?’
Fortunately, the scorpion, armor, and gargoyle golems could be created with just the basics of the Secrets of Creation. This meant Leon could attempt it right away.
The lack of a core for the gargoyle golem wasn’t a big problem. The core itself was a very common material: none other than mana stones. The important part was the pattern inscribed on the mana stone.
‘The skill to inscribe the pattern is difficult, but… I’ll give it a try.’
Leon decided to start with the simplest scorpion golem.
He had nearly a hundred materials for the body. The core was also intact, so it could be activated just by infusing mana.
But Leon wanted to learn the skill, so he left the core intact and began practicing inscribing patterns on a new mana stone.
The scorpion golem could block all apprentice-level magic, but it wouldn’t be effective against secret magicians. It lacked a means of long-range attack to counter flying magicians.
‘I could use them as sentries around my dwelling.’
The gargoyle golem, of course, could counter secret magicians, and the agile armor golems could be mass-produced to pose a threat to secret magicians.
As time passed, the remains of scorpion golems began to pile up around Leon.
The technique of inscribing patterns on a mana stone and turning it into a core was more difficult than expected.
However, knowing the power of Gigantes, Leon couldn’t give up. This was a process he had to endure to eventually create a Gigantes capable of facing high-level Insight magicians.
After mastering the basics of the Secrets of Creation, Leon attempted fifty times, all ending in failure.
“Engrave.”
Leon chanted as he levitated the mana stone in the air.
His mana seeped into the mana stone.
Scratch, scratch—
The patterns began to inscribe onto the mana stone according to the magic, but at some point, it crumbled to dust.
“Ugh.”
The delicate balance between magic and craftsmanship. It was even harder than mastering potion-making techniques.
After using about 200 mana stones, Leon finally created the first core for the scorpion golem.
Its operation mode was autonomous. The golem would only move when Leon used activation magic.
When he activated the magic, he felt a mental connection with the scorpion golem, similar to when Kito became his familiar.
When Leon gave a mental command, the scorpion golem lifted its front legs and started dancing clumsily.
‘It moves as I want it to.’
It seemed he had successfully created the core. Only then did a satisfied smile spread across Leon’s face.
‘But I still need to practice much more to get used to it.’
Leon had stocked up on a thousand mana stones. He would need more if he wanted to purchase minerals to construct golem bodies.
But he wasn’t too worried.
Leon turned his gaze to the item he had stored in one corner.
The subspace pouch he had obtained after defeating the dark magician.
Come to think of it, he had also received Raidhra’s subspace pouch but hadn’t had the chance to open it.
‘Shall I take a look at the subspace pouches I’ve collected so far?’