Chapter 86: Sovereign of the Second-Tier Mirror Realm

The fusion of spells cannot be done arbitrarily; in general, they must be relatively similar, or else the fusion could fail. This time, the camp’s blessing was a one-time opportunity and came with a time limit. Chu Yun didn’t have time to examine the changes to the Mirrorworld Sovereign ability in detail. He hurriedly sat cross-legged, channeling his mental power through the sunlight, using this world’s sun as a coordinate to connect with the mage camp.

Chu Yun possessed no small number of spells, and selecting which spells to combine required careful consideration.

Burning Hands I, Lightning Strike I, Spell Annihilation I, Healing Word I, Divine Berry I, Alarm I, Stone Skin I, Shield of the Word 0, Arcane Burst 0, Sending 0, Monster Communication 0, Mending 0, Berserk 0.

Spells of similar type had a higher chance of successful fusion—for example, Sending and Monster Communication, Healing Word with Shield of the Word or Mending, and Berserk could also be paired with Sending or Monster Communication to become a new Word-based spell.

Given the requirement for combining spells of the same tier, Chu Yun first eliminated some unsuitable combinations. After a period of deep thought, he finally chose two pairs of spells to fuse.

“For the first-tier spell, select Lightning Strike and Spell Annihilation for fusion.”

“For the zero-tier spell, select Mending and Shield of the Word for fusion.”

Chu Yun transmitted this information through the stars to the mage camp, and then began a long wait.

He dared not break the connection and waited anxiously.

About ten minutes later, the familiar sensation returned, and a flood of information poured into his mind.

[Congratulations, you have obtained the second-tier spell ‘Annihilating Divine Thunder.’]

[Congratulations, you have obtained the first-tier spell ‘Regenerative Shield of the Word.’]

[Regenerative Shield of the Word]
Tier: First-tier Protection
Casting Time: Two actions
Range: 25 meters
Spell Components: Verbal, Somatic
Duration: 10 minutes
Effect: Creates an energy shield for a visible target within range. The shield’s durability equals Intelligence attribute + class level + expended mental power, and it regenerates 1 point of durability per second.
Description: This shield blocks both physical and magical attacks. If durability drops below 10%, it can no longer self-repair.

[Annihilating Divine Thunder]
Tier: Second-tier Evocation
Casting Time: Three actions
Range: 30 meters
Components: Verbal, Somatic
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Releases a bolt of thunder imbued with annihilation, dealing 10–20 points of base lightning damage to a targeted foe and breaking down any shields or magic in its path or on the target.
Description: For every additional double of mental power expended, damage increases by 5 points, up to a maximum of twice the Intelligence attribute. The annihilation effect varies depending on the spells and shields affected.

Each fused spell inherited the strengths of the original lower-tier spells, resulting in powerful new magic. Chu Yun was very satisfied with the result and, while creating these new spells, did not lose any of the originals.

In fact, when receiving spells and blessings from the Wayfarer Mage Camp, Chu Yun always retained the right to refuse. Only if he did not resist could the camp bestow its blessings through the dimensional arcane network—there was no possibility of stripping him of his abilities.

Chu Yun began to digest these two spells. The composite spell models were more complex than those of the same tier, but their effects were stronger. In particular, it took him quite some time to fully master and successfully cast Annihilating Divine Thunder.

After he finished assimilating these two spells, Chu Yun finally turned his gaze to the legendary skill he most anticipated.

[Mirrorworld Sovereign (Tier 2)]
[Mirror Image Copy: You may expend mental power to copy a known skill to a mirror image, or copy a skill from a mirror image to yourself. Lasts for X days, where X equals the Mirrorworld Sovereign skill level.]

Chu Yun was a man with principles; he would not lightly harm ordinary people or the innocent, which left him with fewer options when grinding experience and skills.

Now, with this ability, he could temporarily master a spell by copying it from another, even if he didn’t absorb another mage’s skills. He could then use the “Player” specialty’s blueprint effect to study the spell and thus learn it quickly.

Though these mages used spell slot magic, with the help of the arcane network, spell slots merely simplified the casting process and aided model construction. There was little difference in the spell models themselves, so a thorough study would allow him to cast them normally.

Although this self-learning method was less efficient than monster grinding, it undoubtedly deepened Chu Yun’s understanding of spell principles, greatly benefiting his future growth.

Having experienced the power of spell fusion, he felt all the more that perhaps he could create new, unique spells suited to himself in the future.

Mirror Image Copy didn’t just allow him to copy skills from mirror images to himself; he could also copy his skills to other mirror images. This would be a tremendous help in the upcoming second round of assessments!

Chu Yun could use this ability to help students better understand and truly master spell models. He could also copy spells before the test to cheat, enabling those who struggled to master spells to pass the assessment smoothly.

Of course, Chu Yun still hoped that they would genuinely learn and pass on their own merits.

“Now I can copy skills at Tier Two. At Tier Three or Four, will I be able to copy even more?” Chu Yun couldn’t help feeling a surge of anticipation.

With this ability, the assessment would become much easier. Though Mirror Image Copy consumed mental power, copying a cantrip like Spark, which barely counted as a zero-tier spell, cost almost nothing. Chu Yun could easily cheat for everyone.

Chu Yun had already mastered the Spark cantrip last night. With the help of the Fire Elemental Lord, and since he already knew higher-level fire spells like Burning Hands and Summon Fire Elemental, learning Spark was simple.

He glanced at his attributes and distributed his remaining 41 skill points.

First, he spent 36 points to raise Meditation from Level 11 to Level 14, then used the remaining 5 to increase Inscription from Level 2 to Level 4.

[Chu Yun]
Age: 24
Race: Earthling
Divinity: 5/10, Mirrorworld consumption reduced by 50%
Class: Wayfarer Mage Lv11 (0/2000)
Experience: 35 points (excess exp converted to second-tier quality exp)
Camp: Chaotic Neutral
HP: 84/84
Mana: 86/135
Status: Normal
Attributes: Strength 16, Agility 20, Constitution 16, Intelligence 27, Perception 17, Charisma 19
Languages: Common, Infernal, etc.
Legendary Skill: Mirrorworld Sovereign 2 (Mirror Image Copy)
Core Abilities: Meditation Lv14, Spellcraft Lv9, Inscription Lv4, Riding Lv9, Construction & Engineering Knowledge Lv7, Deception Lv12, Darkvision Lv2, Mineral Identification Lv1, Lockpicking Lv5, Disguise Lv3, Traps Lv1
Class Skills: Annihilating Divine Thunder 2, Spell Annihilation 1, Burning Hands 1, Healing Word 1, Divine Berry 1, Alarm 1, Regenerative Shield of the Word 1, Shield of the Word 0, Arcane Burst 0, Sending 0, Monster Communication 0, Mending 0
Divine Magic: Slumber Curse 4
Additional Skills: Summon Fire Elemental 5, Undead Creation 2, Monster Pact 2, Stoneforge Body Art 2, Lightning Strike 1, Stone Skin 1, Stonebreaking Sword Technique 1, Berserk 0
Personal Feats: Player, Fire Elemental Lord, Mage’s Guardian
Class Traits: Free Scholar, Law of Chaos, Law of Neutrality, Polearm Mastery, Greatsword Mastery, Dagger Mastery, Longbow Mastery
Equipment: Book of Blazing Magic 2, Dimensional Belt 2, Thunderbone Staff 2, Ring of Invisibility 2
Items: Platinum Coins x28, Gold Coins x521, Second-tier Fire Crystals x8, First-tier Fire Crystals x40, Magic Necklace 2, Earth Beacon, etc.

In the time that followed, Chu Yun began optimizing the Spark spell model with the help of the Player feat. He had already used this feat’s assistance when trying to downgrade Fire Elemental Summoning to record it in his spellbook, and now he found it even more effective.

“Spark is almost useless in combat, but it’s great for lighting fires. If I lower the temperature a bit, I can make the flame larger and last longer...” Chu Yun began to improve Spark in practical directions.

Even if these students couldn’t become true mages in the future, they could at least serve as handy fire lighters, couldn’t they?

PS: This chapter is longer; the attribute panel compensates for the word count—I’m not just padding the numbers. Posting it in the related section would be inconvenient and would spoil new readers.