Chapter 144: The Hidden Price

The first thing he noticed about the S-rank spell parchment was its color.

Instead of the deep purple he had started to associate with the void affinity, the parchment shimmered like a rainbow, a kaleidoscope of colors running through it in real time.

The colors pulsed and shifted, feeling like blood running through the veins of the parchment.

Sitting in the middle of the parchment was a thick round dot. The dot was colored a deep black, and constantly shifted, looking like it was a hole in the parchment, and not ink.

Noah leaned closer, and that was when he noticed it. The dot was not actually a solid dot. It was a complex spell formation packed so tight together, there was almost no space within it.

He forced himself to start breathing again, taking a deep gulp of hair.

He tore his gaze away from the parchment, but somehow, he could still see the spell formation in the centre of his vision.

He blinked rapidly a few times, then looked back at the spell parchment. That was when he noticed something that had somehow slipped his vision when he’d seen it the first time.

Purple wisps of smoke were drifting off the spell parchment, dissipating into nothingness a foot above the spell formation.

“You can keep it in your pocket for now.” Miss Leslie said, breaking him out of his stupor.

Noah looked up, blinking rapidly, to see the smile on her face. She’d found his reaction amusing.

“You don’t have to worry about creasing or harming the spell parchment. Spell parchments are much stronger than most think.”

“Oh.” Noah nodded at her words. “I see.”

He reached towards the spell parchment and the moment he placed his hands on it, a tingle ran from his hand through his body, like a tiny electric current.

He sucked in a breath, withdrawing his hands. “What was that?”

“That’s just residual power from the S-rank spell formation. Don’t worry. It’s not harmful.” Miss Leslie answered.

Eyeing the parchment warily, Noah picked it up. This time, he was expecting the jolt, so he wasn’t taken off guard.

He stood, carefully placing the parchment in his other pocket. ’I should’ve brought my satchel for this.’

He’d really need to see about getting that spatial ring.

As he sat down again, Miss Leslie spoke. “What affinity would you like to peruse next?”

Noah exhaled, focusing back on the matter at hand. “Not fire. I have enough fire spells for now. That would have to be another day.”

Miss Leslie waited patiently, saying nothing.

“Hunger.” Noah looked up. “I want to see Hunger Spells.”

“Good choice.” Miss Leslie smiled, tapping away at the screen. “Unfortunately, the school has a rather small selection of Hunger spells as it is quite the rare affinity. However, I’m sure you’ll be able to find one that would suit your needs.”

With that, she turned the screen to face him once more.

Noah pulled the screen closer, his eyes going through the options.

He paused. Then he looked up at Miss Leslie incredulously. “That’s it?”

“That’s it.” Miss Leslie nodded, a small smile on her face. “The school is not an archive, Mr. Webb. We do not have everything.”

“But there are only five spells here.”

“Hunger spells are not easy to find or get, Mr. Webb. And I’m sure you’ll be able to find something to suit you in the selection available.”

Noah nodded slowly, thinking about it. The academy was there to train young mages, and doesn’t really need high level spells, so he could accept that.

Especially when he knew there was an astounding number of affinities. The academy had done the impressive job of having at least one spell formation of as many affinities as they could find.

He looked down at the screen, checking through his options.

The first three spells were F-rank spells.

[Gnawing Maw – F-rank]

[Casts a wave of energy that eats away at the flesh of any living being it touches.]

At first glance, the spell was perfect. A destructive spell that encapsulates the meaning of Hunger. Even if the person hit by the spell survives, they would be in for a world of pain. And that was exactly the kind of spells Noah preferred.

However, this spell had one thing holding it back. It’s low rank.

The spell would be effective against his peers, but when he meets opponents with their physical stats, Strength, Endurance, and Agility, higher than F-rank, their body would be able to shake away the effect of the spell and walk away unarmed.

That was the thing about spells like this. How would an F-rank spell be able to eat away at a mage’s A-rank body. Instead of the victim’s body to be eaten away at, it would just feel like a mosquito bite. Annoying, but at the end of the day, without impact.

He moved on to the second spell.

[Frigid Hunger – F-rank]

[Allows the wielder to eat away at the heat in the air, killing fire spells, and sending ice covering and freezing everything in its radius.]

Another spell that would’ve been better at a higher rank. It being F-rank meant it would only be able to put out fore spells of F-rank and below.

This was another thing he’d noticed in his reading. A spell of lower rank has a lesser chance of canceling out a spell of a higher rank, but the higher ranked spell can put out the lesser ranked spell immediately.

He knew there was a higher ranked Frigid Hunger spell, the same way there was even an A-rank Fireball spell, but the academy didn’t have it.

He moved on to the last spell, skimming it. This was a spell that ate away at the light present in a radius around the caster, feeding it to them.

With this spell, they’d reduce the visibility of everyone around them, but with the light energy running through their body, they’d be able to see in that darkness clear as day.

It was something he wouldn’t mind having, as sometimes, even a slight loss of visibility for his opponent can help in a fight.

He’d return to it if the other spells are not up to his needs.

And so, he scrolled.

There were two higher ranked hunger spells left.

His eyes landed on the first one.

[Chains of Amaran – D-rank]

[Creates chains that erode the sanity of anyone it captures.]

Noah blinked at that. Chains that eroded sanity? How would that be beneficial? A sane mage was always easier to defeat than an insane mage. Why would he give his opponent the powerup of insanity?

Shaking his head, he moved on to the last option.

[Eternal Cradle – B-rank]

[Drains the life out of any living entity in its radius.]

Noah sat there for a few seconds, studying the spell description. From what it said, it wasn’t an insta-kill spell. But at the same time, it didn’t seem like a slow acting spell.

That meant as long as he had the spell, anybody within its radius would die in an instant. That was… useful. Especially if he was surrounded.

He leaned back, studying the array of spells before him. They were all not what he was looking for. And yet, he couldn’t leave empty handed.

Two spells. He needed to leave with just two spells.

“I want Frigid Hunger, and Eternal Cradle.” He finally looked up.

“Good choice.” Miss Leslie nodded, turning the screen back to face her. She tapped away, speaking as she worked. “May I offer a word of advice?”

Noah raised both brows. “Of course.”

“Do you know where mana comes from?” She asked.

“For a mage, it comes from his merged beast, while rituals use up the mana already present in the atmosphere.” Noah answered.

“True.” Miss Leslie nodded. “But where does the mana in the merged beast and the atmosphere come from? The answer is simple. The Abyss.”

There was a moment of silence.

“Every universe is connected to the Abyss, and that means that every universe has mana. Some are connected so closely that one can simply take a step, and find oneself in the Abyss. And others have a connection so faint, the universe basically becomes a mana desert.”

“But do you know the funny thing?” She looked up, meeting his eyes with a smile. “The Abyss doesn’t give away its mana for free.”

Noah blinked at her words. They sounded… ominous.

“The universe follows the laws of equivalent exchange. For everything done, there has to be an equal price paid. And yet, mages create unfathomable effects and pay with the same currency. Mana.”

“Do you really think the universe is that forgiving? Or is there a hidden price that we know not of?”

Noah had no answer for her. His mind was rather preoccupied with the fact that there could be a hidden price other than mana that mages pay to cast spells.

“All I can advise is not to be too eager to throw around spells, Mr. Webb.” She smiled at him. “The cost might end up being more than you can bear.”

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