Chapter 11: Shadow Cave

Lu Cang did as he was told... Last night, he had only been casting spells continuously and had never attempted fine control.

Now, with that hint, Lu Cang felt as if he had suddenly grasped the method of spell control.

*Swish!*

This time, as the ice spear generated and resonated with his mana, Lu Cang felt it become harder and more crystalline, colder than the ones he had condensed before.

「Ice Spear proficiency EXP +100k」

「Ice Spear additional effect — Harder Ice」

Holy crap?

One hundred thousand?

So, practicing in a special way provides extra improvement?

And there’s an additional effect, too.

It turns out that additional effects aren't just obtained when proficiency levels up; you can also get them by researching them yourself.

I’ve really discovered a new world...

Then.

Lu Cang controlled the ice spear, and under his manipulation, it gradually began to rotate...

*Hiss—*

The rotation sliced through the air, causing the surrounding atmosphere to become permeated with a biting chill.

Lu Cang felt that under this kind of control, his mana consumption was higher than when he cast a normal ice spear.

But now, his Mana Tide was already LV: 100.

His mana recovery speed was extremely fast.

This mana consumption still couldn't keep up with the speed at which Lu Cang recovered his mana.

「Ice Spear proficiency EXP +200k」

200k?

Before even firing it, it was already equivalent to casting it 20 times.

「Ice Spear (LV: 85) — Additional effect: High-speed Rotation」

"Next..."

Lu Cang controlled these five ice spears, aiming them at a tree in the distance.

*Whoosh!*

Almost instantly, one ice spear pierced through a large tree, and after passing through, its momentum remained undiminished, striking directly into the next tree.

The moment the ice spear exploded.

Lu Cang maintained his control, and the countless ice shards from the explosion splashed even further outward.

As the ice shards touched the trees and grass, they instantly coated them in a thick layer of frost.

「Ice Spear proficiency EXP +50k」

"So strong."

Lu Cang could feel that the piercing power of this ice spear was more than twice as strong as before.

More importantly.

*Whoosh!*

*Bang, bang, bang, bang!*

The remaining four ice spears fired in succession!

「Ice Spear proficiency EXP +50k」

「Ice Spear proficiency EXP +50k」

「Ice Spear proficiency EXP +50k」

「Ice Spear proficiency EXP +50k」

「Ice Spear additional effect — Ice Splash」

Four ice spears.

Each one provided 50k proficiency.

This single release of Ice Spear had actually provided Lu Cang with a full 550k proficiency.

Iz saw the result of Lu Cang's casting.

He couldn't help but smile: "Not bad, you succeeded on the first try. You learn very quickly."

Lu Cang nodded excitedly.

He raised his hand again.

He imitated the feeling from just a moment ago and cast it again.

However, this time, there was no additional boost in proficiency.

*Whoosh!*

As the solid, rotating ice spears fired and blasted an icy patch in the forest, it only added 10k proficiency.

So... it was a one-time thing.

No.

Proficiency... should be about skill and mastery.

It is the process of becoming more proficient with this skill.

Lu Cang thought to himself.

He tried controlling the Ice Spear spell again.

Five ice spears formed in front of him, but this time, Lu Cang didn't fire them.

Instead, he gathered them together.

Since they could split into five, they should also be able to merge into one...

「Ice Spear proficiency EXP +100k」

It worked!

Sure enough, proficiency is about exploring and experimenting with skills.

「Ice Spear additional special effect — Giant Ice Spear」

*Ding—*

The five ice spears merged into one.

It formed a giant ice spear larger than Lu Cang's own body!

*Whoosh!*

This ice spear fired!

*Boom!*

*Crackle, crackle, crackle—*

It smashed through a series of trees along the way, stopping only after shattering about seven or eight large trees.

"Not bad..."

Iz stroked his chin.

This time, without his reminder, this little guy had started trying to explore more derivatives of magic.

Truly gifted.

What's even more impressive is that he can always find the trick in a single attempt and successfully master these derivative styles.

Iz: "Next, try splitting the ice spear into even smaller fragments."

"The trick is..."

Along the way, whether by his own exploration or following Iz's teachings, Lu Cang managed to evolve the Ice Spear spell—which already had many effects—into eight additional variations.

Giant Ice Spear, Ice Spear Split, Two-Stage Piercing, Extreme Cold Diffusion, Total Transparency, Rapid Fire, Remote Generation, and Icy Melt.

The proficiency of Ice Spear also rose to LV: 90 during the practice.

In terms of proficiency level, the number of consecutive shots for Ice Spear increased from 5 to 7.

Iz praised him like this: "The level of mastery you have over Ice Spear now is something few mages in the world could hope to rival."

Not many mages in the world?

That's a very high evaluation.

"By the way, Iz..."

"Who is the strongest mage in the world?"

Since the topic had come up, it was the perfect time to ask.

What he got in return was Iz Part's answer without a moment's hesitation.

"It's me."

What a... classic case of self-praise.

Lu Cang wasn't discouraged by the failure of this question at all. Instead, he used his youthful voice to rephrase it: "Then, what level is the strongest mage in this world?"

Iz answered seriously: "Level 5."

Fine...

I shouldn't have used the word "strongest" to ask you.

"That's not it, Iz."

"I'm asking, what is the level of the highest-level mage in this world?"

Iz rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought.

"The highest level?"

"That would be An Zheng, who is Level 8."

Level 8?

Actually, from last night until now, Lu Cang had vaguely sensed that Iz wasn't as weak as he appeared.

The attitude of the townspeople toward Iz and his group also reflected this from the side.

But it was still surprising that the highest level was only 8.

I have a feeling I'll be getting fewer god-tier talents than I imagined...

However, even though there are Level 8 mages, he still claims to be the strongest at Level 5.

Iz, you really are arrogant.

"Oh, we're here."

The Dragon Rhino stopped. In front of them was the entrance to a deep cave.

Looking inside, he couldn't see anything.

"Is this... the dungeon?"

Iz got off his mount and nodded: "Yes, according to the map on the commission, this should be the Shadow Cave."

As he spoke, Iz slightly raised his hand, and a silver magic circle lit up faintly in front of him.

"Yes, this is the place."

A magic circle, huh.

Come to think of it, the spells I cast don't have magic circles appearing.

Is it because my spells are too low-level?

However, Iz seems to cast spells without chanting, which is quite intriguing.

"Let's go."

Lu Cang: "Okay."

Knowing that a Level 5 mage wasn't as weak as he thought made Lu Cang feel a bit more at ease.

However, Lu Cang still had no concept of exactly how strong a Level 5 mage was.

The only spell Iz had cast in front of Lu Cang was that one Lightning Strike.

Other than that, there was this spell that could generate a magic circle.

But Lu Cang didn't know exactly what that spell was.

*Whoosh—*

A fireball generated in his palm, and he tossed it into the cave.

It illuminated the dark path ahead.

The path was pitch black and straight...