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Chapter 163: Efficiency

Morale Support: Scherzo

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Reiner originally thought that the Flame Burst Spell was just a slightly larger fireball, but didn’t think that the Flame Burst Spell he released had the destructive power to destroy a small mountain.

Even though this was within Reiner’s Mind Lake, where the spell’s power might be a little off, this difference seemed too significant.

The only thing that could be compared to it was probably the Lanchester’s Eternal Blazing Sun engraved in the Hohenheim Cup, but that was a fourth-tier spell. Purely in terms of power, it seemed to be on par with this Flame Burst Spell.

Did he really have the potential to become a nuclear bomb?

“Wait a second…”

Reiner suddenly realized a problem.

Previously, he believed that the efficiency of magic in mana consumption was quite low. However, the improved Fireball Spell he created himself, due to the use of the highly reactive Hydra element, had much higher destructive power compared to standard spells.

But now, with the Flame Burst Spell, a second-level spell using Hydra as a base, the destructive power has increased even more. Although this phenomenon didn’t seem worth investigating, Reiner noticed something peculiar.

“Could it be that second-level spells, in addition to the expansion of power, also improve the efficiency of mana usage compared to first-level spells?”

This was easily understandable. Suppose Reiner used Fireball once, consuming one unit of mana. If, under the same efficiency, he wanted to cast the more powerful Flame Burst Spell, naturally, he would need to consume more units of mana.

But in reality, whether using Fireball or Flame Burst Spell, Reiner was consuming only one unit of mana.

In other words, Flame Burst Spell had a higher conversion efficiency for mana.

From this, it could be inferred that among similar spells, third-level spells should be more efficient than second-level spells, and fourth-level spells more efficient than third-level spells.

“I originally thought the so-called level system was just a measure of power, but now it seems that the level of a spell is actually an indicator of efficiency!”

This was something most magic textbooks wouldn’t mention, involving basic issues related to the definition of spells. For practical mages, it was of little help.

“No wonder some seemingly simple spells are third or fourth level, while some powerful spells are only second level.”

Reiner had some insights. This wasn’t an exploration of how the world worked, but it could assist him in better learning and improving magic in the future.

“Because of this, higher efficiency requires stronger computational and control abilities. Lower-level mages forcefully using higher-level spells not only leads to physical weakness due to mana depletion but also places a heavy burden on the brain due to overuse.”

Since it was within his Mind Lake, Reiner didn’t care about expressing it profoundly, and used his own words to describe it.

“If we use a computer analogy, spells are like individual applications. Higher-level spells are more efficient programs, while lower-level spells are more primitive, simple, and less efficient programs. Forcing the use of higher-level spells beyond one’s level damages the soul but in a sense, it’s like forcibly opening a large program with insufficient configuration, causing lags or even crashes!”

With this transformation, he felt enlightened.

“In this way, those ninth-tier spells probably have quite high mana utilization efficiency.”

Reiner recalled the advanced mages he had seen in Ernest, who could effortlessly cast spells affecting a large area. Besides the mage’s abundant mana, it was more about their mastery of more efficient spells.

“Wait a second, does this mean, that the suppression of high-level mages over low-level mages is because…”

Level suppression would make it nearly impossible for low-level mages to mobilize external mana for spellcasting. In the past, Reiner always imagined it as a pattern of one large and one small vortex, but now he could add some assumptions on top of that.

“Will mana always flow toward the most efficient way?”

On Earth, Reiner knew there was a theory that light always seeks the shortest path. If mana in this world behaved similarly, flowing into more efficient magic wouldn’t be an unacceptable concept.

“I can check the relevant books later.”

Regarding mana, Reiner lacked reference points from Earth and hadn’t delved into books studying the nature of mana. So, his current speculation might have been proposed and proven by other mages long ago. If that were the case, he had solved a longstanding puzzle.

After confirming the spell model of the new Flame Burst Spell in his Mind Lake, Reiner suddenly felt that it was possible his future third-level spell would become a stronger Fireball Spell, ultimately traveling the world with just a powerful Fireball Spell.

“There’s no problem that can’t be solved with a Fireball. If there is, just cast another one?”

Smiling dumbly, Reiner, who had already completed today’s task, pulled his consciousness back from the Mind Lake to reality.

The hot summer night was still uncomfortable, with the open window bringing in a breeze tainted with heat, causing the parchment on Reiner’s desk to tremble slightly.

Everything seemed unchanged, but now, within Reiner’s Mind Lake, the engraved second-level spell was Flame Burst. From a practical perspective, he was already worthy of being called a second-level mage.

It had been only a week since he became a first-level mage, and considering the time when he inscribed the first-level spell in his Mind Lake, it had been just two months.

Two months, from first to second level, this speed could be considered extremely rapid.

Now, as long as Reiner registered with the local magic association and underwent a simple assessment, he could become an official second-level mage.

However, he didn’t plan to do so.

It wasn’t that he wanted to deliberately cover up his advancement speed to keep a low profile. Reiner had received so much feedback from the world, and rapid advancement was reasonable and wouldn’t raise suspicion.

Reiner was just plain lazy.

Registering for advancement required going to Tolun, and it was only a title in name. After becoming a higher-level mage, he would inevitably encounter more trouble. Reiner didn’t want that.

He thought it might be better to accumulate and go for the assessment when he advanced to the middle levels. This way, he could save time and avoid much trouble, and he believed that the members of the magic association would understand.

Having decided this, Reiner tidied up the documents on the table and suddenly felt like something was missing today.

After thinking for a moment, he suddenly realized.

Today, the striped little cat didn’t come to inspect!

In the past, whenever he was writing papers or inscribing spells, the cat would suddenly appear as if patrolling its territory. But today, it was nowhere to be seen.

“Did it oversleep, or is there another situation?”

Reiner thought and stood up, looking out of the window.

Soon, he saw Fina under a tree downstairs, feeding the familiar little cat with jerky, while also gently stroking the cat’s head, afraid of startling it.

“So, it’s there.”

Sure enough, is the cute girl more worthy of getting close to than myself?

With the random thought, Reiner smiled, didn’t disturb the two, sat back in his chair, and glanced at the calendar on the wall.

The month of White Dew was already more than halfway through, and there were only a few days left until Elymia’s birthday.

And tomorrow was the day when the third-generation peas would mature.