Nick had already formed a basic plan in his mind on what he wanted to do next. The reason why he was not improving the project, which he now named as the ‘Active Iron Magical Shield’, into a passive spell for the Werfurs was easy to understand.
Why would he give anyone this kind of advantage to begin with? Also, he could not assume that they would not use it against him, in case if they found out that he had completed a project in just a day, that they were otherwise working on for quite some time.
Nick decided to update Rabial about the project’s completion only after a week, which was the assigned deadline to him. This would still keep him in the ‘genius, hard-working researcher’ category, and would also not draw any unwarranted attention.
In this one week, he could specialize and work on the things he wanted to do personally. At this time, he looked at the wall clock and noticed that it was already past 8 PM. He had begun working in the morning. Having worked for almost a full day, he did not understand how time had passed this quickly.
From the concept of using imagination and implementing knowledge to actually putting it in action and creating a real spell took time, but it seemed like it had happened in seconds.
“If not for the rule, the spell would not be worth using at all.”
Nick reminded himself that the spell would not have worked without the rule of ‘having to carry iron on the person’ while casting the spell.
As he thought about this some more, his eyes were suddenly shining brightly, and he laughed a bit maniacally. No, he had not gone insane or lost his mind yet. He laughed because his own thoughts right now gave him an idea for his next steps.
He took a deep breath and started writing the same algorithm as the ‘Active Iron Magical Shield’.
Once he duplicated all steps and one rule of the spell on a blank piece of paper, he added one more rule.
‘Imagination – Imagine a magical shield surrounding yourself + Imagine wearing a weightless Iron Armor’
‘Imagine ‘natural iron deposit’ + Knowledge – think about ‘Fe’ and imagine the place of ‘iron’ in the ‘periodic table’.’
‘Hemoglobin — the oxygen-carrying pigment and predominant protein in the red blood cells. Hemoglobin forms an unstable, reversible bond with oxygen. In its oxygenated state, it is called oxyhemoglobin and is bright red. Hemoglobin contains ‘iron’ & ‘Fe’ and gives a red color to the molecule.’
‘Rule 1 – ‘User needs to hold or carry some kind of iron on his body.’
‘Rule 2 – ‘User needs to have iron in his veins. The blood must carry the iron.’
After adding the rule, he closed his eyes and started to activate the spell. Beginning with imagination and magic control, the spell slowly started manifesting itself. Before he activated the spell, however, he opened his eyes and added knowledge.
‘Hemoglobin — the oxygen-carrying pigment and predominant protein in the red blood cells. Hemoglobin forms an unstable, reversible bond with oxygen. In its oxygenated state, it is called oxyhemoglobin and is bright red. Hemoglobin contains ‘iron’ & ‘Fe’ and gives a red color to the molecule.’
As Nick added the knowledge of ‘Hemoglobin’ into the spell’s algorithm, he again closed his eyes and focused on the spell. In about four to five seconds later, a clear grey and a slight blood-colored energy shield surrounded his body. Nick smiled and whispered.
“‘Passive Blood-Iron Magic Shield’ – (Complete).”
Nick did not actively control the magical shield anymore, but the spell still worked. He had indeed managed to create a magical shield that worked passively.
‘Passive Blood-Iron Magic Shield’ was a passive magical shield spell that only needed one-time activation. If the user wanted, he could stop using the spell anytime. The spell consumed about 50% lesser magical energy in comparison to ‘Active Iron Magic Shield’, and its defensive capability was 20% lesser than ‘Active Iron Magic Shield’.
“Considering the consumption rate and the new rule of adding this knowledge, the passive spell can stay active for more than a week. After that, the caster only needs 20 minutes of meditation to activate it again.”
‘Passive Blood-Iron Magic Shield’ was weaker than ‘Active Iron Magic shield’ but when all was considered, by compromising only 20% of the defensive combat power, he turned an active spell into a passive one. The bigger point was that with other things equal, he could use ‘Active Iron Magic’ for about three to six hours continuously before weakening himself, but he could use ‘Passive Blood-Iron Magic’ for more than a week without losing much magical energy.
In Nick’s mind, he solemnly believed that the value of ‘Passive Blood-Iron Magic Shield’ was much higher than 30,000 to 50,000 Ether Stones. This was, at best, just a random guess but he knew that a spell that blocked several low-level spells and projectiles shot by lesser-powered creatures, while having a magic shield that could block many of the physical attacks of warriors and assassins, was worth something.
The body of a mage was weaker. Many mages lost their lives, not because they were not as potent as their opponent but because sometimes, even a lucky arrow from a novice bowman could kill them. Compared to a warrior who was using magical energy to strengthen his body, mages still needed to exert more caution.
Nick sighed deeply as the fatigue of the day hit him. The time was already 10 PM by now, and he did not eat anything while being busy in a full day of work. As he was thinking to retire to his room to rest, he heard a knock, and the door to his office opened.
The incoming Werfur was none other than Rabial, who looked at him and asked.
“What do you think about the project?”
Nick smiled and answered.
“In one week, I can create an active elemental magical shield that will protect its caster against most of the spells cast by Imper Level mage and the same level of warrior or archer.”
Rabial could not help but give out a cold breath. Even then, he nodded and replied.
“I would like to believe that what you are saying is true and not just some gibberish.”
Nick did not engage Rabial in any further conversation. He packed up his documents, putting them in a space-ring that Rabial had given him for storage. With that, he went back to his room.
