Back inside his cabin, Slade pressed the newly obtained bone fragments against his forehead.
[Spell model detected: Hand of Bones. Beginning recording…]
[Spell model detected: Bone Armor. Beginning recording…]
[Current Analysis Queue (3/3):
Soul Whisper Meditation Technique - 30%
Hand of Bones - 0%
Bone Armor - 0%]
The upgraded panel's efficiency was astonishing.
In only three days, the analysis of both zero-tier spells was fully completed.
Slade then inscribed both spells into his Mental Core.
Together with Weak Soul Impact, the three spells now occupied roughly half of his Mental Core's current capacity.
The number of zero-tier spells a first-rank wizard apprentice could inscribe depended mainly on the quantity and quality of their mental power, as well as the complexity of the spell models themselves.
Different spells consumed different amounts of "mental bandwidth."
Slade currently possessed eighteen points of mental power, equivalent to eighteen units of capacity.
The simplest cantrips, such as ignition or cleansing spells, occupied only a single unit.
Weak Soul Impact possessed a comparatively intricate structure, but thanks to Slade's exceptional soul affinity, it consumed only two units.
Hand of Bones, a mid-level necromantic spell, occupied three units.
Its effect was straightforward:
The spell summoned a pale skeletal claw formed from necrotic energy, emerging either from the ground or directly from empty space to grab, strike, or tear at enemies.
The claw's size, strength, and duration all depended on the precision and quantity of magical power and mental energy infused into it.
Its greatest strengths were versatility and control.
It could attack physically, restrain targets, retrieve distant objects, or strike from unexpected angles.
However, the spell also carried clear weaknesses.
Compared to Weak Soul Impact, it consumed considerably more magical power, and the claw itself lacked durability, making it easy to disperse under strong attacks.
Moreover, maintaining precise or high-speed movements required constant mental focus, steadily draining the caster's concentration.
Even so, Slade was extremely satisfied with the spell.
Hand of Bones was remarkably versatile, it could restrain enemies, manipulate objects from a distance, launch attacks, and even provide limited defense.
Its long-lasting duration made it feel less like a single spell and more like an entire toolkit.
As for Bone Armor, it was a full-body defensive spell with a far more sophisticated structure, occupying four units of Mental Core capacity.
Once activated, it instantly condensed a layer of close-fitting armor formed from negative energy and skeletal phantoms over the caster's body, granting excellent protection against physical attacks and certain forms of energy impact.
Its advantages were obvious:
Strong defensive power, especially against conventional weapons like swords and blades, and near-instantaneous deployment. With a single thought, the armor could envelop the body completely.
Its weaknesses, however, were equally apparent.
Maintaining the armor continuously drained magical power, and the consumption increased dramatically whenever it absorbed damage.
In addition, its defensive effectiveness against pure soul attacks or special forms of damage, such as high-temperature flames, was relatively poor.
After mastering three zero-tier spells, Slade's combat capability underwent a qualitative transformation.
Inside his cabin, he practiced relentlessly until casting became nearly instinctive.
Silent activation.
No hesitation whatsoever.
At the same time, he gradually developed a clearer understanding of the spells' energy consumption.
With his current total magical power, he could cast Weak Soul Impact approximately ten times under normal circumstances.
Hand of Bones could be activated slightly more than three times. Each casting lasted roughly one hundred seconds and allowed the skeletal claw to unleash three powerful strikes.
Bone Armor consumed the greatest amount of energy.
If left undamaged, it could remain active for around seventy seconds. But once subjected to attacks, its energy consumption increased sharply.
Once his magical power was depleted, Slade would effectively lose all offensive and defensive options.
And without meditation, relying solely on the Mental Core's passive absorption and conversion of ambient energy, his recovery speed was painfully slow.
As his understanding of the spells deepened, a bold idea suddenly emerged in his mind.
"Bone Armor is essentially a defensive shell wrapped around the body…"
"And Hand of Bones is a detached construct capable of independent manipulation…"
"If I combine the two…"
"Could I create a semi-autonomous combat puppet capable of both offense and defense?"
The thought instantly excited him.
And if he could further modify the structure…
Transforming it into a fully assembled skeletal "mecha" would be even better.
The mere idea made his blood race.
If successful, it would be like obtaining a fearless personal bodyguard out of nowhere.
Imagine combining multiple spells together to construct a powerful skeletal giant,
How incredible would that be?
A memory from his previous life surfaced in his mind, an old anime scene.
"I'll form the head…"
"I'll form the body…"
"I'll form the arms…"
The thought alone was enough to make him absurdly excited.
Without wasting another second, Slade immediately began experimenting.
Using the panel's analytical functions, he dismantled and examined the internal structures of both spell models within his Mental Core, attempting to locate a possible point of integration.
Unfortunately, reality quickly struck him hard.
Spell fusion was far more complicated than simply fitting puzzle pieces together.
The core rune circuits of the two spells fundamentally conflicted with one another.
Bone Armor utilized inward-flowing energy pathways designed for stabilization and reinforcement.
Hand of Bones, on the other hand, relied on outward-flowing energy channels meant for external manipulation.
Forcefully combining the two not only failed to produce synergy, it destabilized the entire model.
During one simulation attempt, the unstable structure nearly triggered a tremor within his Mental Core itself.
"No… the energy pathways are conflicting…" Find the original chapter at g.com.
"The core runes are incompatible…"
"And without an intelligent control core to maintain autonomous movement, this kind of construct is far beyond what zero-tier sorcery can achieve…"
After several consecutive failures, Slade's face grew pale from mental exhaustion.
In the end, he had no choice but to abandon the overly ambitious project.
"I was too impatient…"
He slowly calmed himself and began analyzing the root of the problem.
"The Analysis function is powerful, but it still depends on an adequate knowledge foundation."
"And my foundation is far too weak."
"I know almost nothing about energy circuit theory, rune fusion principles, or even the basics of necromantic construction."
"Without proper theoretical support, imagination alone, even combined with the panel's optimization, is nowhere near enough to achieve this level of innovation."
This failure ultimately gave Slade a clearer understanding of the path he needed to take in the future:
Accumulate vast amounts of knowledge.
Strengthen his foundations.
Learn from as many disciplines and systems as possible.
Wizardry was never a profession where one could reach the pinnacle merely by inheriting the spells and techniques of predecessors.
Every truly powerful wizard possessed an immense reservoir of knowledge.
It was not enough to simply know how to cast magic.
One also had to understand why it worked.
Only by thoroughly mastering magic and deciphering the underlying laws behind it could a wizard achieve true greatness.
After arriving at this realization, Slade decisively abandoned his reckless experimentation with spell fusion.
That kind of research was far beyond the capabilities of a mere beginner like him.
Meanwhile, the analysis progress of the Soul Whisper Meditation Technique continued to rise steadily, eventually surpassing the fifty-percent mark.
The effects were astonishing.
His meditation efficiency nearly doubled, while both the growth speed of his mental power and the recovery rate of his magical energy improved dramatically.
Even the faint light within his Mental Core had become noticeably brighter and more stable.
If fifty percent analysis already produced such terrifying improvements…
Then what kind of effect would complete one-hundred-percent mastery bring?
…
While Slade remained immersed in cultivation, a powerful spatial fluctuation suddenly swept through the ship.
The entire Netherbone trembled slightly.
Soon afterward, excited shouts from the sailors echoed across the vessel.
"Everyone to the deck!"
"We've arrived at Bone Spire Academy!"
After nearly an entire month at sea, they had finally reached their destination.
And this was under ideal circumstances, the Netherbone had traveled at full speed while empowered by the spirit of the Megalodon, encountering neither storms nor major dangers along the way.
Had it been an ordinary ship, successfully reaching this place would have been nearly impossible.
Slade took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement rising within him before pushing open his cabin door.