Magic Pattern Spells

"Kid, what are you trying to say?" Gregory said, confused.

"What I'm saying is that the same flame can have different levels of power and functions for all kinds of reasons. If you can figure out how it works, you'll be able to change it and cast more powerful spells. You could even discover a combination of Zero-ring Spells that releases magic as powerful as One-ring or Two-ring Spells.

"For example, before you took me here, I was researching something interesting—how to use wind spells to change air pressure, and the Water Drops Condensation Spell to liquefy the oxygen in the air at a certain temperature."

"Liquefy oxygen?"

"Yes, liquefy oxygen." Richard nodded. "All living things, including you and me, need oxygen. Without oxygen, 99.9% of the living things in the world would die. The remaining ones, the ones that wouldn't die, would be anaerobic bacteria.

"Under normal circumstances, oxygen only exists in a gaseous state. But at the atmospheric pressure of 101.325 kPa, it can be liquefied by lowering the temperature to -183 °C.

"It's possible to reach a pressure level of 101.325 kPa, but it's hard to create an environment with a temperature as low as -183 °C. Although the principle of the Water Drops Condensation Spell is to lower the temperature, it wasn't going that low. I had to try for a long time, but at last, I barely succeeded after stacking various spells together and using some techniques recorded in a wizard book."

As he spoke, Richard kept a straight face. He waved his hand to cancel the Flame Charge Spell and then cast a long spell. The air around them surged and converged in his palm. After a while, several water drops appeared, condensing into a ball which was suspended approximately one centimeter above Richard's palm.

Phew. Richard heaved a sigh of relief as he showed the ball to Gregory. "This is liquid oxygen. When ignited, its volume can expand instantly by more than 800 times, releasing powerful energy and causing an explosion."

Upon finishing his words, Richard's expression turned solemn again, and he cast another spell. His eyes then sharpened, and he forcefully threw the ball of liquid oxygen in his hands. A bright red flame appeared immediately around it.

Visible to the naked eye, the ball of liquid oxygen was flung to a distance, and the red flame that covered it flickered. Afterward, a light brighter than the sun appeared, followed by a loud boom which sounded like thunder.

Soil was thrown everywhere, and dust flew several meters in the air. Shock waves spread and turned into a gust of raging wind, sweeping the entire hill crest, and lowering the vegetation wherever it went. Gregory could sense his clothes sticking to his body by the strong impact of the wind. It took some time for things to return to normal.

The sound waves spread beyond and startled a large number of birds in the forest. They flew further and further away in a panic.

When all the dust had settled, a scorched pit with almost a meter deep had appeared a dozen meters away.

"What the…"

Gregory was somewhat taken aback.

Honestly, in terms of prowess, this liquid oxygen was no match for the flames he had released in his large dragon body. But it was still Richard who had done it.

He knew very well that Richard was just a weak Apprentice Wizard, but this power obviously exceeded the limits that Richard could master. In other words, all the things Richard had said earlier were possible.

An Apprentice Wizard could unleash One-ring and even Two-ring Spells. In that case…

There was a flash in Gregory's eyes. He looked at Richard and said, "No! There is a problem!"

"What do you mean?"

"Although what you created is very powerful, you spent too much time making it. In this time span, you would have been killed by the enemy a dozen times. So no matter how formidable you are, you won't have a chance to use it."

"I've also thought about that problem. And it turns out that this can be fixed."

"How is that possible?"

"Because there is a kind of magic called… the Magic Pattern Spells."

"Can you do it?"

"I think I can."

Gregory fell silent suddenly.

After a while, Gregory glanced at Richard and slowly murmured, "Why- why don't I fly and take you back?"

"Uh, there's no need. Before you brought me here, I was ready to leave that place. It was just that I hadn't thought where to go. There is nothing wrong with staying here. I can be your daughter's playmate."

"I feel worried when you say that."

"What are you worried about?"

"Pandora."

"I can't beat her anyway," Richard said after pondering for a moment. "According to what she has shown so far, I am not her match."

"But that's only for the time being," Gregory said seriously. "For the safety of my daughter, Pandora, I think it's necessary to send you away."

"You're exaggerating, aren't you? You, Gregory, can handle me, right?"

Gregory fell silent again. After a pause, he added, "No matter what, I'll have to take you away sooner or later. Even if it's not now, someday I will have to."

After saying this, Gregory turned and walked into the dragon cave.

Watching his back, Richard shrugged.

That evening, in the room on the first floor of the castle.

Richard took out a porcelain bottle from his suitcase and poured grease in it. He then placed a soaked piece of rush into a bronze oil lamp and lit it with magic.

Whoosh. A small ball of flames burned, illuminating the room and making the dark castle look slightly brighter.

Richard flipped open The Writings of Monroe and continued studying it.

After a while, he took out a piece of white jade that was seven or eight centimeters long and three centimeters wide from the suitcase. The thin piece of jade looked like a microscope slide.

In the Middle Ages, there were two distinct cultural trends—gem culture in the West, and jade culture in the East.

Due to the lack of production, the extremely precious jade from the East was very rare in the West. At the same time, it wasn't appreciated in the West, and its value was similar to regular stone. In The Writings of Monroe, jade, gems and crystals could be used as materials for magic.

Richard flipped his hand, and a small carving knife appeared in his palm. Richard squinted his eyes at the white jade for a moment. The sharp blade slashed the stone's surface, crushed jade flying. One by one, strange notches were rapidly carved on the surface.

Richard was extremely serious. He occasionally paused to think for a while, pondering to determine the depth and angle of the next notch.

When the engraving was finally completed, the entire piece of white jade had been transformed. Both sides were covered with strange lines, but these did not form a particular pattern. There was neither symmetry nor beauty. Instead, they looked complicated and sophisticated.

Richard put down the carving knife and heaved a sigh of relief. It had taken a lot of time and effort to complete his work with this white jade, and this was already the simplest and most basic use of the Magic Pattern Spell.

Richard then stretched out his hand with the jade and narrowed his eyes slightly. He pushed the mana in his body out of the magic source, and it passed through his blood vessels, to the end of his fingers, and then into the white jade. The white jade suddenly started absorbing the mana, and some mysterious changes took place inside it.

Buzz.

The white jade vibrated. Crack.

The next moment, it split, and a faint blue flame appeared.