Elite Mages’ Academy

Chapter 49: Ice Bullet Wand

“Let me first clarify that my small business doesn’t accept any loans or instalments! It’s only been a week since freshmen like yourself have started classes, right? Haha!” Lu Renjia still did not trust Xiao Lin that much. He was very cautious, and as he said earlier, weapons that underwent enhancement had to be customized. He would stand to make a big loss if he made them and no one wanted nor was willing to buy them at a high price.

Xiao Lin thought for a while and finally sighed before clicking open his personal data. He took a screenshot of his redemption points for Lu Renjia in order to dispel the latter’s doubts.

“…” Lu Renjia seemed fond of using the ellipsis and the conversation sunk into a long silence. Just when Xiao Lin thought that Lu Renjia was going to disagree, the latter said again, “You got a Grade S, didn’t you? You must be the acting class monitor.”

“I am.”

“Good God! My mistake! What skills do you want?” Lu Renjia’s attitude changed quickly.”According to the laws of enhancement, we can impart one level higher at most, but it’ll come at a cost—the weapon itself cannot be strengthened in other aspects or undergo enchantment, because each piece of equipment must take into account its quality level. There’s a capacity limit to how much energy can be put in. Of course, you can also choose to attach novice-level spells, which can undergo enchantment.”

Xiao Lin pondered those explanations carefully. Many things, such as the capacity limit, might only be known to him when he finally took those courses. He asked, “What novice spells are there?”

Lu Renjia explained it enthusiastically now. “A novice spell can be defined as a weakened version of a Black Iron-rank spell. For example, the novice-level Energy Bomb is a weakened version of the Black Iron-rank’s Convergent Energy Bomb, and the novice-level Flame Spell is the weakened version of Black Iron-rank’s Fire Bullet. In terms of power, novice spells are one level lower than Black Iron spells.”

“In other words, you can either use a novice spell along with an enchantment, or you can only attach one Black Iron-rank spell to a weapon.”

“You could put it that way, yes.”

“Are there any Black Iron-rank spells you recommend? Something that can be used in the monthly exam. ”

“It depends on what your goal is. For high damage, it has to be the Convergent Energy Bomb. This Black Iron-rank spell is rated E- in terms of power. The disadvantage is that it takes a while to gather up the energy, and if your Basic Perception isn’t high enough, the hit rate will be very low.”

“Forget about that then. Are there any others?” Xiao Lin decisively refused. He had seen the terrible hit rate of energy bombs and did not have much confidence in that.

“Then I recommend the control type. The Ice Bullet, with F-rated spell damage, has the effect of slowing the target’s speed. Or perhaps the Stunnie, with a spell damage rating of F+, that can produce a short-term stun effect if it hits the target.”

“If it hits the target?” Xiao Lin questioned.

“Ahem, this spell, just like the Convergent Energy Bomb, requires a high level of Basic Perception to maintain its hit rate.”

Xiao Lin pondered for a moment, then asked, “What’s the price like?”

“Good God, I wouldn’t dare to cheat you. I’ll sell you at market price. Five hundred redemption points will do!”

Of course, Xiao Lin did not believe that was market price, so he decisively stated the price he had set in his heart. “Four hundred redemption points.”

“Good God, don’t you think we could be friends who can take care of each other in the New World? I really can’t go any lower!”

Some bargaining later, the deal was ultimately made with 450 redemption points. Lu Renjia had also droned on and on about how little profit he was making and treated the transaction as a chance to make friends.

Xiao Lin finally chose Ice Bullet as the attached skill that would undergo enhancement. As a Black Iron-rank spell, its F-rated spell damage was nothing to shout about, but what Xiao Lin valued most was the Ice Bullet’s visually-discernible slowing effect.

A novice wand like that was not yet a finished product and had to be customized, but Lu Renjia vowed to complete it in a week at most.

The two of them then signed a simple contract. Xiao Lin paid an upfront deposit of 200 redemption points. The contract was guaranteed by the Academy. In the event of non-delivery or quality problems, the parties could apply to the student union for arbitration.

After settling everything, Xiao Lin left the forum. Only 350 redemption points were left and he planned to save them for a rainy day. Although he regretted not buying any textbooks, it was enough that he had Gu Xiaoyue’s notes in class. Of course, he did not forget to pour some scorn on the academy for not providing its students textbooks.

That weekend, Xiao Lin finally devoted himself to practicing swordsmanship in the afternoon. It had already been a week since he entered the academy, and apart from the admissions test, he did not manage to properly practice his Basic Swordsmanship. The academy’s curriculum was arranged on a very tight schedule, and there was not much free time left for freshmen to go about their own business.

Xiao Lin checked everyone else’s skill levels using his class monitor’s authority. Students in the basic weapon category did not differ much, as most of them were only at LV2. Most outstanding out of them was Gu Xiaoyue’s Basic Meditation, which stood at LV2. Although both meditation and weaponry were on the same level, meditation was more difficult to upgrade than swordsmanship.

Many people were already present inside the swordsmanship training hall. Several other acting class monitors were also there. Except for Class One’s Cheng Ming, the rest were indifferent and did not come up to greet him.

The two of them chatted casually for a bit and Cheng Ming expressed concern about Xiao Lin’s two-day absence from lessons. However, Xiao Lin simply explained his absence away with being ill. Much to Xiao Lin’s surprise and speechlessness, Cheng Ming seemed to eat that excuse up…

Their conservation soon shifted to swordsmanship practice. Xiao Lin learned that Cheng Na, the T-rex tutor, did not show up during the second class. Was she really just going to leave them to their own devices?

Cheng Ming was even more distressed. He revealed bluntly that his Basic Swordsmanship had reached LV3, but found it increasingly difficult to advance from there.

Xiao Lin quickly discovered the problem after starting his training. It was actually very simple to level up when Basic Swordsmanship was at LV1. As long as one’s sword swings were performed correctly and, with sufficient physical strength, 100 XP would equal to 100 sword swings. If one trained with all their heart, they could complete it very quickly. Compared to passing the thresholds for Basic Meditation, it was much, much easier.

However, Xiao Lin clearly noticed the increasing difficulty in levelling up beyond LV2. It took 500 XP to upgrade from LV2 to LV3, but even though Xiao Lin used all his strength to meticulously complete those swinging actions, his Basic Swordsmanship XP only increased by one point.

He had the SS-level Academic Genius talent, for goodness sake!

Under the passive effects of 100% upgrade efficiency, the increase ought to have been two experience points. It was impossible for his talent to lose its effects, which could only mean that ordinary people had to complete at least two sword swings to gain one XP.

If ordinary people needed only two hours of practice to upgrade their Basic Swordsmanship to LV2, then the upgrade from LV2 to LV3 theoretically took at least 10 times that duration to complete, which was 20 hours.

In fact, it was impossible for students to continuously practice their swordsmanship for 20 hours straight, not even during the weekend when they had spare time and no classes. The reason was due to the sheer exhaustion they would feel and the limited energy they had. If their physical fitness suffered a rapid decline, then their training efficiency would continue to decrease, so much so that it would not produce any XP at all.

Xiao Lin finally understood why so many people in the class remained at LV2 even after a week. From that perspective, Cheng Ming’s achievement at LV3 was truly surprising.