77 Figaro Formula Part 2 (1/2)

Saleen simply pulled over a chair and sat down. He began observing closely, memorizing it bit by bit. Every single one of the three thousand odd gold pieces had a different magic pattern on them. Saleen would have to remember the positions of the gold pieces and their magic patterns, as well as the combinations between the patterns.

It was the perfect ending for the formula. As long as the arrangement could be reversed, the original arrangement would be formed. Even though Saleen would not understand the meaning of the original arrangement, he would be able to learn a lot about the Figaro formula while attempting to reverse it.

Without the help of recollection magic, it would be an arduous task trying to remember all the magic patterns of the gold pieces. Time flew by quickly. Before Saleen had realized it, it was already nighttime. He felt that his concentration was sapped and began to give up. Saleen grit his teeth and pressed on. Faerun was still not back. He must have been sleeping already since he had not stepped into the laboratory after such a long time.

Saleen withdrew his family badge from the Ring of Gifts. With the badge in his hand, Saleen released detection magic.

The badge exhausted his energy as usual, as well as the magic chords that had been upgraded. Saleen slumped into the chair and continued to stare at the gold pieces on the table.

It was the first time that Saleen had used the badge since being promoted to a Grade 2 mage. From Phoenix to the Bitter Water Prefecture, Saleen had always been careful not to use the badge to train his concentration.

Even though the badge would only cause Saleen to lose control for less than an hour, it was still too dangerous to him. Saleen was completely vulnerable during the period after the badge had been used.

Saleen suffered aches, burns, tingling sensations, dizziness, and all sorts of negative symptoms. He was not even able to blink. He then slowed the speed of his memorization, and waited for his mental strength to recover back to normal.

Saleen only took half an hour to regain his mental strength. Maybe his body had grown accustomed to this kind of torture. Furthermore, his mental strength had increased even more than before. He straightened his posture and continued memorizing diligently.

As Saleen’s memories increased, a lengthy magic formula gradually formed. Even though the formula was very messy, the intrinsically regulated arrangement was still present. Saleen was overjoyed. All the magic patterns on the gold pieces transformed into magic symbols and became etched in his mind.

The messy formula was not able to provide any information. However, Saleen only needed to continue his deductions in order to familiarize himself with the calculations needed to balance various elements. Practicing magic was a never ending process of familiarization. As long as Saleen persevered, his speed of calculation would become increasingly fast, and eventually he would reach the same level as the sorcerer who had cast the ice blade.

What Saleen really needed to do was continuously improve his capabilities and not just daydream about becoming a sorcerer instantaneously. Even if he did not manage to deduce anything, he would still have his ability to calculate.

Eventually, Saleen managed to form a complete memory of the Figaro formula. Only then did he quietly leave Faerun’s room. By then, it was late into the night and the moon was shining marvelously in the night sky. The light from the moon shone onto the courtyard, making it seem as if the ground was filled with a layer of frost.

The next afternoon when Saleen arrived at Faerun’s laboratory, all the gold pieces that had originally been on the table were missing. Faerun did not seem to know what had happened, and he asked Saleen to manage a single gold piece. This particular gold piece was only as big as fingernail, and Saleen’s task was to continuously use Frost Array upon it to lower its temperature.

”Sir, what kind of gold is this? I have never seen it before,” Saleen asked Faerun, continuously casting Frost Array without putting much concentration into it.

”This is natural alloy. We have to dig deep into the earth to extract it. As for its attributes… you need to have extensive knowledge of alchemy in order to fully comprehend them,” Faerun said, as he held a carving knife and carved patterns onto that gold piece.

”Why do I have the feeling that this gold piece will disrupt the stability of magic?” Even though Saleen had just started his self learning of the Figaro formula, he had already roughly grasped the arrangement of the elements.

”It will not disrupt the stability of magic, but rather, offset the elements.”

Faerun did not continue explaining, but Saleen had already understood what Faerun was trying to say. Offsetting elements was a skillful way of casting magic, but that method was reserved for mage masters. If a mere Grade 2 mage like him wanted to learn it, it was possible that the magic would cause backlash and kill him instead.

Offsetting the elements would not ruin the various stages of magic, but would affect the magic that would eventually be released. By using the offsetting method, it was more difficult for enemies to figure out one’s weakness.

If special natural alloy was used to create a magic prop, it would be much safer for a mage to use the offsetting method, and there might even have been no need to control it at all. As long as they had constant practice, a mage would grow accustomed to using the method of offsetting elements.

The magic prop created by the gold piece would have had an extremely high value, because the method of offsetting elements exhausted a great amount of mental strength. But with the help of some props, the mage would be able to control their magic more precisely, and less mental strength would be used.

Saleen watched patiently as Faerun carved out the magic patterns one stroke at a time. The cooled gold piece was slightly crisp, and its toughness had been reduced by the coldness. That way, the magic patterns would not be distorted. If pure gold had been used, its internal structure would have been spoiled and its attributes would have changed.

This type of cold refining method required a great deal of perception from the mage themselves. The edge of the rhenium gold knife used was razor sharp. During the carving process, the mage would need to slow down the rate of their blood circulation so that their hands would be able to keep still. There was no room for even the slightest of quivers.

Saleen knew all of this knowledge from the books he read. However, no knowledge could come close to a Grade 6 mage personally doing it in front of his eyes.