Chapter 74: Breaking

One of the things Alec realized during the fight against the snake was the need for some type of mobility spell. He could practice and get used to Taryeon’s Flash Steps since that was a good spell. But he wouldn’t be able to bring out even half of the spell’s potential power.

Alec didn’t know if it was just Flash Steps or if more advanced spells, in general, were the same. But Flash Steps wasn’t just about the attribute of the mana poured into the spell formation. It relied on the lightning mana in Taryeon’s body.

It bounced off of it like a rubber ball against a rubber wall, giving him more speed and momentum.

Even if he could change the mana he poured into the spell, Alec would still only have the rubber ball. There would be no wall for it to bounce off.

And as he read through the other mobility spells he had found, which didn’t take long since there weren’t many, he realized that they followed a similar principle most of the time. Their efficacy was a lot greater if the mage casting them had the right element.

It wasn’t worth it for Alec to use elemental movement spells. But there weren’t any non-attribute mobility spells.

That meant he had to create his own.

Fortunately, he already had an idea.

What he needed was speed.

The runes deciding speed in spells were very common. Very common.

All the basic projectile spells had sections about speed and direction in their Frames.

In theory, Alec just had to apply that speed to himself to become fast. He could do that by taking inspiration from spells like Scan or Reinforced Recovery, which targeted the body. Those spells were life-attribute ones, which he didn’t need.

But he had yet to figure out what runes to use in the Core for a proper formless spell, so the ones from those spells would do for now.

After deciding on the Core and the main part of the Frame, Alec just had to experiment and write spell formations like crazy until he managed to piece together a functional one.

Unlike the other spells he had worked on, which he had modified based on a pre-existing spell formation, creating a whole new spell from nothing was a lot more difficult.

Since he used his time stop as much as he could, he needed breaks pretty often. Those breaks consisted of staring at the translation of the Poem of Neverlasting Wisdom and thinking about how he could make use of it.

He refused to let it be useless after looking at it once. The effects were too good for him to give up on the Poem. He had to find a way to use it multiple times. Even just once would be worth it.

’Is it because it’s translated?’ The version in [Reader] was automatically translated as soon as he laid his eyes on it. But he could still see the original version, so he wrote it on the ground with a stick and read that instead.

It didn’t work.

“’See it through…and it shall see through you’? I knew it. Nons—” Alec didn’t have time to finish his complaint before a gentle, refreshing stream of enlightenment hit his mind like spring water.

’No way…!’

Alec’s eyes lit up as he read the rest of the Poem.

“’Hold high, and you will never fall low. The world is one with you.’”

It didn’t make any sense, and it definitely didn’t seem like a poem worthy of the effects it granted when translated. But the original Poem in its original language still somehow filled Alec with enlightenment and insight.

Re-reading it, whether it be the translation or the original, didn’t work. But speaking the original out loud gave the effects again.

’Oh, yeah baby!’ Alec fistpumped the air in celebration.

The Poem was good enough that it alone was worth sacrificing his hand. With it and the ability to stop time, Alec felt like he had made the greatest profit of his life.

Naturally, he spoke the Poem again, only to immediately collapse with a searing headache.

Alec covered his head with his arms and writhed on the ground until it subsided and gave way to a biting hunger.

Alec quickly hunted down a monster using his sharpened senses and instincts and ate it. It was his fourth. One more and he would complete the minor quest.

He was tempted to complete it at once, but it wasn’t like the rewards were that good. An odd title and what sounded like a monster cookbook.

Instead, he focused on figuring out why he couldn’t use the Poem again. But he had no way to investigate the state of his mind, so he could only guess.

Still, even if he could only use it once, it was still a great benefit since it helped him create a functional prototype of his mobility spell.

Alec stood up and drew the spell formation in front of him. It ended up a little costlier than he would have liked, but it was still useful. And he could always trim it into efficiency later.

The spell took shape and bathed his feet in a low white light that faded almost instantly. But he could feel the spell remain.

It had worked.

With a grin, Alec took a step forward, eager to test its effects.

The next instant, he lay flat on his back.

’What…?’

The spell dissipated while he lay on the ground in shock.

He got up and tried again. But this time, he stopped time, looking at the spell formation with one eye and his feet with the other.

It drained his skill energy like nothing else, but he resumed and stopped time repeatedly like he was pause-playing a video.

After a few seconds, he realized the problem.

His feet were moving fast, much faster than usual. The problem was that it was just his feet and only when they were moving. The rest of his body lagged behind. His legs, hips, and upper body couldn’t keep up and ended up out of balance.

’Makes sense…’ Alec sighed.

His spell was basically a spell that accelerated the target. It bestowed great speed upon his target. That was his feet.

Taryeon’s Flash Steps used his feet as the medium. They channeled lightning to propel Taryeon forward and from side to side. It was like adding wings to his feet.

Alec’s spell was like strapping a rocket to them. Powerful but uncontrollable.

Alec could not suppress his smile.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep