Inside the valley, the air was distorted by a sudden surge of heatwaves.
Above Matthew's palm, a fireball the size of a human head spun in mid-air. Its surface was not composed of pure flames but was instead wrapped in a layer of churning, almost viscous dark red lava. Deep crimson and bright orange patterns flowed across the sphere's surface, intertwining like slowly rolling magma.
Faint swirls of deep orange and dark red were visible within the sphere, radiating a persistent and oppressive high temperature, occasionally crackling with a few sparks of eye-piercing light.
The high-temperature radiation spread outward, causing even the surrounding air to warp slightly, making fine beads of sweat break out on his forehead.
The deep orange and dark red patterns inside the fireball swirled slowly like lava, emitting not just simple energy fluctuations, but a continuous and stifling heat.
The air shimmered under the intense heat, and looking through those flickering heatwaves, even the distant scenery seemed to be melting—this was not a brief spatial disturbance caused by magical power, but a continuous and stable visual distortion caused by pure high temperature.
Compared to when he first started, the form of this fireball was significantly more stable, no longer showing the early tendency to flicker or for its edges to collapse.
Now, it maintained a clear and full outline, and its size had grown from the barely-formed fist size at the beginning to nearly the size of a human head—this was currently the maximum stable state Matthew could achieve under his current mana and control.
With a shift of his mind, the fireball instantly broke through the air resistance and shot out!
【Fireball Spell +1】
【Fireball Spell: Mastered (22/30)】
Watching the fireball rapidly fly away, Matthew did not feel much joy in his heart.
Judging from his own perspective, this Fireball spell was still far less efficient than the 【Energy Missile】.
This gap could be clearly seen in two ways:
First, his current mana level was already far beyond when he first started learning, yet the power and manifestation of this Fireball spell were only comparable to the 【Energy Missile】 he had cast back when his mana was still weak.
Both could shatter rocks; the fireball might explode with more sound and fury, creating more dust, but the actual depth of destruction and the degree of energy condensation did not reflect the qualitative change that should come with his increased mana.
Second, during the process of practicing and casting, the "sluggishness" of the Fireball spell was more pronounced.
From mobilizing mana and converting attributes to the final formation and launch, the entire process took nearly double the mental effort and time compared to the missile. Even though the process had become much smoother as his proficiency increased, the "friction" caused by his lack of attribute affinity still faintly emerged at every step, as if there were always a layer of invisible resistance.
Matthew sighed inwardly, but then he reconsidered and felt at ease.
He already had a weak affinity for the fire attribute; being able to practice the Fireball spell to a stable state through the meditation method and repeated practice was already no easy feat. At the moment, the spells he could access and practice were few and far between—aside from the missile, there was only the fireball—so he didn't have many choices.
“At least... in terms of pure destructiveness, it is indeed stronger,” he muttered to himself.
The burning and splash effects attached to the fireball might have miraculous effects in certain specific situations or against certain enemies.
Meanwhile, the fireball trailed a blinding wake, piercing through the silent air of the valley and crashing straight into a withered tree as thick as a bowl not far away.
The moment of contact was not an explosion, but a melting through—
The dark red lava patterns suddenly spread across the trunk, like a red-hot iron pressed into rotten wood. The high temperature carbonized and melted the wood in a single breath, eroding a charred hollow in the center of the trunk, with the edges still glowing with dark red sparks.
“Bang—!”
A dull thud followed—not the roar of an explosion, but the heavy impact of the tree's structure being completely destroyed and snapping as it hit the ground.
Wisps of blue smoke rose from the break, where the charred wood revealed a molten, bright red glow. The air was instantly filled with the pungent smell of scorched wood and ash.
Matthew watched this scene silently, a bead of sweat sliding down his cheek from his forehead. The high temperature had not yet dissipated, and the heatwaves distorted the scenery behind the broken tree; even the fallen trunk seemed to shimmer in his vision, as if it were still being licked by invisible flames.
Seeing this, a slight smile appeared on the corner of his mouth as he murmured, “Not bad. After all, it's already approaching the breakthrough threshold for the 【Basic】 rank. Once I cross that, the casting speed, the flight speed of the fireball, and even its overall power will undergo a qualitative improvement.”
“Keep practicing!”
Collecting his thoughts, he refocused and began practicing once again.
In the valley, crimson fireballs and flashing white light orbs condensed and shot out one after another, bursting into flashes of flame and sharp cracks against the rock walls and trees. Sweat dripped from his forehead, and his breathing gradually grew heavier in the scorching air, but his gaze remained calm as he repeatedly went through the process of condensing, releasing, and adjusting.
...
As the midday sun hung directly overhead, the valley grew so quiet that only the sound of the wind and the faint trickle of the distant stream remained. However, a slight heat still floated in the air, the residual warmth from the continuous spellcasting.
Matthew sat cross-legged under the shade of an old tree, his back straight and his hands resting lightly on his knees. His entire being seemed to sink into a state of deep tranquility that merged with the surrounding silence.
After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath of turbid air.
His mind was no longer as tense as if it were about to snap, though a lingering sense of empty exhaustion and a slight, dull ache remained deep in his head from being over-drained.
He chuckled bitterly and whispered, “I can't let myself get that immersed next time...”
“Just now... it was like I entered an inexplicable state, firing off fireballs one after another almost without stopping. But at the same time, my proficiency with the spell has deepened quite a bit.”
【Fireball Spell: Mastered (27/30)】 (+7)
【Energy Missile: Novice (61/100)】 (+6)
Seeing the values on the panel, a smile couldn't help but appear on Matthew's face.
Coming back to his senses, his gaze swept over several charred marks in the valley eroded by lava-like heat, and a hint of fatigue flickered in his eyes.
“But the price was too high—my Spirit was nearly drained dry. At that moment, even staying conscious felt difficult.”
As Matthew packed his things, he began to estimate his limits in his mind.
If he cast spells with restraint, leaving enough buffer time for his mind to recover after each cast, he could probably stably release about twelve spells. This “restraint” wasn't about intentionally slowing down the pace, but rather ensuring each spell was completed while his Spirit was relatively full, avoiding premature exhaustion from over-taxing himself.
But if he did what he just did—disregarding consumption and pouring it all out—he would probably hit rock bottom after six or seven times.
And this was under the premise that the consumption of 【Energy Missile】 had decreased due to its proficiency breaking through to the 【Novice】 rank; otherwise, the number of times would be even fewer.
Thinking of this, he shook his head slightly and looked toward the rock wall at the valley entrance, which was bleached white by the sun, murmuring to himself, “The power of spells is tempting, but until my understanding and affinity for the elements truly deepen, I cannot rely on them as my primary support. Spirit recovers too slowly while it consumes too quickly. If I over-rely on it in actual combat, it will be a dead end once it runs dry... I still have to keep my feet on the ground.”
With that, Matthew finished packing. He pulled out his pocket watch to check the time, then swung himself onto his horse and galloped out of the valley.
The sunlight cast his shadow very short on the gravel ground, and the last trace of heat in the air was gradually swept away by the mountain breeze.
...
Rate on N.U.
