Chapter Sixty: The Mysterious Reward

Upon hearing Antinoa's answer, Zhao Xu was seized by an urge to lift her hood and see if beneath that cloak lay a face brimming with mischievous laughter. Yet, recalling her identity as a legendary mage, he knew that not only was lifting her hood impossible, even approaching Antinoa with a hint of malice was beyond his reach. He dared not even guess how many buffs Antinoa carried upon her person.

This realization struck him deeply after witnessing some high-level mage battles in his previous life. Just a fifth-level mage could elevate combat to an entirely different plane. Still, Zhao Xu humbled himself, behaving as a diligent student and seeking Antinoa’s guidance.

A year from now, when he crossed over, the line of those hoping for instruction from such a legendary mage would stretch from the church all the way to the gates of Mystra, and still not end. Without generations of familial connections or extraordinary talent, few novice first-level mage apprentices ever received tutelage under a legendary mage.

“Mentor, I’ve heard of spell permanence, but isn’t there a price?” Zhao Xu asked softly, his tone respectful. He knew that the fifth-level spell ‘Mage’s Permanency’ could make a dozen or so common spells permanent. Yet he’d heard the price for such permanence was more than most mages could afford.

“The price? You lose one use of a class ability and two spell slots,” Antinoa replied.

Zhao Xu felt his teeth ache from the irritation. Using abilities and spell slots that can be restored daily—how is that a price? Every day he lived, he consumed his own lifespan.

To cast ‘Read Magic’, he had to prepare the necessary component, a transparent crystal. Before casting, he’d rummage through his side pouch for it, and after casting, tuck it back away. And that was only because Antinoa had gifted him a ‘Howard’s Handy Bag’, from which he could retrieve whatever he wanted from a pocket dimension. Without such equipment, mages wore robes stitched with countless pouches for easy access to spell materials, making them look like beggar sorcerers to the uninitiated.

The idea of making a spell permanent—such a once-and-for-all solution—made Zhao Xu almost drool with envy. Yet, he was merely Antinoa’s disciple, not her son, and so dared not ask for too much.

“Second point: your estimate of how long my ‘Read Magic’ lasts is way off. In mage duels, that’s a grave mistake.”

Zhao Xu nodded. A caster’s level determines a spell’s power, duration, and effects; miscalculating can lead to wildly inaccurate conclusions. But even if Antinoa was level thirty-five, that would be three hundred fifty minutes, less than six hours.

The magic tomes he’d seen in the early days told him that above level forty, only a handful of magical goddesses had ever reached such heights in Arthur.

“Eight hours?” Zhao Xu instantly guessed.

If one used ‘Spell Extension’, sacrificing a higher-level spell slot, the duration could be doubled.

“You know nothing of the true power of mages,” Antinoa said.

Zhao Xu almost missed the meaning of her dramatic line.

“With ‘Spell Persistence’, you can make any non-dismissable self-targeted spell last the entire day,” Antinoa said coolly.

Zhao Xu nodded, but then his eyes widened in disbelief and he stared up at Antinoa, murmuring, “That can’t be possible, can it?”

“Ha, do I need to lie to you?”

So this, then, was the true strength of mages!

A ten-minute-per-level ‘Read Magic’ wasn’t all that strategic, since it was a ten-minute spell. But some spells counted duration by rounds per caster level, and some lasted only a single round. Those were immensely powerful spells, made short-lived by design.

Yet if these spells could last all day, then a mage could outperform warriors in both damage and defense. Such mages, with their spells constantly active, no longer needed to hurriedly buff themselves in battle. When you saw such a mage, they were already at the peak of their combat capability.

Antinoa watched Zhao Xu’s shocked expression with calm, knowing he now understood. Yet she didn’t intend to tell him that this was but a single facet of a mage’s true might. Their real power encompassed far more.

“Mentor, what’s the cost?”

By now, Zhao Xu had regained his composure. He knew this was the path he must strive for. In his previous life, forums barely mentioned this specialization, proof that few players had mastered it. Even with the reputation of ‘archmage’ soaring, if combined with this specialization, Zhao Xu could scarcely imagine the mage’s potential.

“First, you must master ‘Spell Extension’, which is why I want you to choose the Planning domain.”

“The cost?” Antinoa said, as if it were trivial. “You prepare the spell using a slot six levels higher.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xu felt as if he’d just awakened from a dream. Was Antinoa teasing him all along?

Six levels higher? What did that even mean! It meant he’d need to use a sixth-level spell slot just to prepare ‘Read Magic’, a zero-level spell. Sixth-level slots were only available to mages at level eleven.

Even upon reaching level seventeen and acquiring ninth-level spell slots, he could only use them to persist third-level spells at best. No matter how significant, the strategic value was lost.

“Take heart. As mages advance, we learn to compress such costs. Otherwise, how could I persist ‘Lord of the Underworld’, a ninth-level spell, on myself?”

“Study well. As long as you work hard, we’ll help you achieve that advancement.”

Antinoa’s words left Zhao Xu stunned. He took a deep breath, knowing his mind was in turmoil. It felt as if he were a child again, discovering all sorts of cheat codes in games.

All he could do was silently recite spell incantations, using that habitual focus to suppress his inner chaos.

“You can keep guessing how long my ‘Read Magic’ lasts.”

“Yesterday, you guessed my skill points correctly. I promised you a reward, and here it is, wrapped in blue cloth. If you guess correctly now, the reward upgrades to what’s wrapped in green cloth.”

“But now, there’s a price for guessing. If you’re wrong, I’ll confiscate the blue-cloth reward.”

Zhao Xu looked at the two bundles Antinoa placed on the table, one blue, one green, both small enough to fit in his fist. But even if he guessed correctly, he wouldn’t get both—just an upgrade to the green bundle. Its value might rival the backpack he never parted with.

“How will you judge whether my guess is accurate?” Zhao Xu asked.

“If I say it’s right, it’s right. If I say it’s wrong, even missing by a single round, it’s wrong.”

Hearing this, Zhao Xu calmed himself. Antinoa wanted him to gamble on whether it was twenty-four hours. But thinking it over, the answer was obvious.

If ‘Spell Persistence’ was used, it would be a standard twenty-four hours. If ‘Spell Extension’ doubled the time, Antinoa’s caster level would have to exceed seventy-two for the duration to surpass twenty-four hours. Antinoa couldn’t possibly have such a caster level. Even the magical goddesses didn’t.

After a moment’s silence, Zhao Xu spoke—

“More than twenty-four hours.”