"Casting magic takes time. Many Mages try every method to shorten casting time, but no matter how high your mana affinity is, it can't be reduced by much," Gareth explained slowly.
"Your mana reserves are insufficient. It's best to increase your meditation time now and store more mana so you don't have to rely on Mana Crystal cores for casting," he added after some thought.
"I understand. Thank you for your advice, Lord Gareth," Logan said sincerely with gratitude.
However, although grateful, he did not intend to follow Gareth's advice. Because after completing the first Omni-Elemental Mage title quest, the system soon issued him a second task.
[Task Two: Complete first-level magic study for all elements]
[Task Reward: Mana-Saturated One title (provides the host with an endless powerful flow of mana from all elements), fourth-level Blazing Magma Spellscroll,]
…
Upon receiving the task, Logan immediately asked Gareth for the parchments of all first-level elemental magic. Unfortunately, Gareth did not have records of first-level Necromancy or Spatial magic.
These two elements were extremely rare, and Gareth seldom used them in daily life.
This forced Logan to put the task on hold for now and wait for the Mage Association to arrive and see if he could obtain these two first-level magics from them.
The following days were some of the most fulfilling Logan had ever experienced. Except for occasionally visiting his mother, he spent the rest of his time reading magical books and attending Lord Gareth's lectures.
During this period, Elias personally came to the Arcane Spire once.
"Gareth, I hope you're sensible enough to hand him over, or even the Mage Association won't be able to protect you," Elias threatened. His face bore a trace of mockery, seemingly looking down on Gareth, a second-level Mage.
"Is that so? Then why have some preparatory Paladins from the Church of the Radiant God died in the Forest of Perpetual Dusk? Heh, it seems like you're the one who needs protection," Gareth retorted without hesitation.
Elias's face turned grim, his eyes burning with rage as he stared at Gareth. He bitterly regretted not taking action personally sooner.
"I hope you still keep this attitude in a few days!" Elias said, suppressing his anger, then stood and left the Arcane Spire.
Watching Elias leave in anger, Gareth suddenly felt much better. Indeed, emotions needed to be vented by cursing enemies.
Gareth was not worried at all that the Church of the Radiant God would suddenly attack him. After all, he represented the Mage Association in Silvermoon City.
Moreover, the Arcane Spire represented the entire Mage community of Aurelia. Without a solid reason, if they launched a direct attack, the Church of the Radiant God would be openly opposing the Mage Association.
That was something the Church would never want to see.
These tense days did not last long. Three days after Elias's visit, Orlan arrived in Silvermoon City accompanied by members of the Mage Association.
At the same time, Archbishop Cyril of the Church of the Radiant God also arrived in Silvermoon City.
As a small border town of the Kingdom of Roses, with these two important figures arriving simultaneously, the atmosphere in Silvermoon City instantly grew tense.
"Master Orlan, you've arrived just in time. If you had come any later, I'm afraid I really wouldn't have been able to hold on," Gareth said with a bitter smile. Before him stood a small old man with white hair and beard, his thick beard almost covering half his face, and his small eyes held a wisdom beyond ordinary people.
"You're still the same as before—spineless. What's there to fear? Does the Church of the Radiant God really dare to start a war with us?"
The old man blew on his beard and scolded sharply.
"You, of course, aren't afraid, but my little body can't take the kind of trouble they bring," Gareth said helplessly.
"Enough, enough. Now that I'm here, there's nothing more to worry about. Compared to the Church of the Radiant God, I'm actually quite curious about that little guy you mentioned. Come, take me to see him."
Mage Orlan said.
"Remember to ask the Mage Association for more rewards on my behalf. Finding such a genius cost me quite a bit of effort," Gareth said with a cheerful grin.
At this moment, Logan was deeply studying magic in the enchantment shop. He had already mastered first-level spells, and now he wanted to increase their power.
Thanks to the system, Logan was very familiar with first-level magic and cast spells without any awkwardness. However, he noticed that some magic nodes of the first-level spells were essentially useless.
This led him to consider modifying the magic nodes to make spellcasting more efficient and powerful.
But the modification process was not smooth. Arbitrarily removing some magic nodes caused the entire spell to collapse.
"No, still not right. Maybe if I re-add the node here and remove all three nodes after it, things might be different," Logan muttered to himself, fully immersed in his own world.
He looked at the new magic model he had constructed, channeling the mana from the fire-element Mana Crystal core in his hand. Suddenly, the first-level fire magic Fireball took shape.
A fireball the size of a fist hovered in front of Logan, the scorching flames adding waves of heat to the surrounding air.
"It worked!"
Logan shouted excitedly. He hadn't expected it to really work!
After confirming the Fireball modification's success, he instinctively waved his hand and sent the fireball toward a magic target not far away. The fireball struck the target, and a blast of scorching fire erupted loudly.
The improved Fireball's power was thirty percent stronger than before, and the casting time was reduced by twenty percent.
"You've found a promising young talent. With his gifts, entering Skyreach Citadel is only a matter of time," Orlan said, watching Logan in the enchantment shop with admiration. Gareth, standing beside him, looked at Logan with a hint of envy.
Skyreach Citadel—that was the sacred place in the heart of every Mage.
Orlan ignored Gareth's envious gaze, opened the magical barrier of the enchantment shop, and walked inside.
"Good talent, and a multi-element Mage at that. Kid, are you interested in becoming my student?"
Orlan entered the room, smiling warmly as he looked Logan over and asked.
"If I become your student, will that stop my sister from being captured by the Church of the Radiant God?"
Logan glanced at Gareth, who stood behind the old man, then asked him.
For Gareth to obediently follow behind, the old man before him must be someone of great importance.
"Hahaha, of course it will," Orlan replied confidently with a smile.
"But you have to answer my question honestly. I can tell you can cast both fire and water magic. How many elements do you actually have?"
Orlan quickly ceased smiling and looked at Logan seriously as he asked.
Logan hesitated for a moment upon hearing the question, then gave his answer: "All elements."
Gareth froze on the spot after hearing that answer. He had guessed Logan was a multi-element Mage, but never imagined he was an unprecedented Omni-Elemental Mage!
Excitement also shone in Orlan's eyes.
"All elements! Really all elements?!"
Orlan stared intently at Logan to confirm, his small eyes sparkling with a brilliance never seen before.
"Except for Necromancy and Spatial magic—I couldn't find first-level spells for those— I've learned all other first-level magics, so it's probably correct," Logan said confidently.
"Hahahaha, excellent! Excellent! All elements! Finally, we Mages will have a deity of our own!"
Orlan became extremely excited. His words made Gareth look at Logan with an especially complicated expression.
He guessed Logan had been hiding something from him but didn't expect it to be this much.
An Omni-Elemental Mage— even the most powerful legendary Mages in the magical world master no more than five elements, and those alone are enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with the gods.
Gareth dared not imagine how far Logan would go in the future.
"No one else can know you are an Omni-Elemental Mage. Understand?"
Orlan suddenly remembered something and said seriously to Logan, then shot a sharp look toward Gareth standing nearby.
Gareth understood immediately and loudly swore, "By the magical contract, I vow never to reveal a single detail, or my soul will forever fall into the abyss!"
Gareth swore by the magical contract, and as his vow concluded, a dark black light flashed across his eyes.
Seeing this, Orlan nodded with reassurance.
A magical contract is the simplest and most reliable form of oath. Even gods in this world cannot break such a vow.
Logan, of course, was not foolish enough to talk about it everywhere.
"All right, prepare yourselves. Tomorrow I will take you and your family out of Silvermoon City. This place is too remote and unsafe. Only in the central city will you have the chance to truly shine."
Orlan looked at Logan gently and spoke.
"Also, here are first-level Necromancy and Spatial magic spells, along with some Mana Crystals. Tomorrow, I want to see you cast these two kinds of magic."
After saying this, Mage Orlan handed Logan a ring—both an encouragement and a test.
With that, he left the room, leaving behind Gareth whose eyes showed a complex mix of envy and admiration.