Chương 273: Chapter 262

There was something relaxing about simply stepping out of the headquarters and just going somewhere. Every important task was delegated, and he regained his energy thanks to some well-earned sleep and copious amounts of high-quality junk food. Now, he headed toward the Mage Tower. The one in Ironwood was naturally still the same building he visited, but since then – thanks to the constantly increasing influx of players the city administration decided to do some remodeling in the area.

Part of it was to increase the guards patrolling it, as the long lines and disappointed people leaving the building created the perfect storm of emotion. Before that action, it was not uncommon for a fight to break out. Sam didn't really want to think about how it was in bigger cities. The first act the city did – with some help from the crafters from the AFK guild, including their architects and designers – was to move every other business out of the area and repurpose those properties for the Mage Tower's usage.

Thankfully, most of them were either auxiliary businesses for the Mage Tower or living places for the servants and other workers who worked there. A few people running shops that had been there 'since the city was founded' grumbled a little, but they were convinced with a little political push and some remuneration. The mages in the Mage Tower then took over and renovated the entire area, creating a small magic district in the city.

It had its own gates over roads so that the number of people could be moderated and accounted for. The square in the middle of the district was reimagined as a resting place for people with a few cafes, restaurants, and other shops where people could wait until their numbers were called, or release tension after a disappointing consultation. The rest of the buildings were then repurposed for different functions, splitting up the humongous crowd.

One handled all the rituals, one the enchantments, one the curses and spell sales, while the biggest housed the consultation and education. Then there was a hidden administration building that coordinated the entire giant mechanism from behind the scenes. And finally, there was a relatively thin tower, appropriately towering over every other building. The rumor going around was that the head mage of the Mage Tower had their office there, but Sam knew the truth.

Originally, the tower had no purpose, the mages just wanted to have a tower so that the Mage Tower name would have a meaning. If he remembered correctly, nowadays, it housed several defensive artifacts that both protected the mage district and in an emergency could be used to protect the city. As Sam looked up at the giant tower, looming over the always-busy crowd, he frowned.

'That's a very obvious target…' But then he had a stupid idea. He quickly sent Lucy a message, only to receive a simple thumbs-up followed by a bird emoticon. Chuckling slightly, he began to head toward the building that handled the education part.

As he cut through the square, he took a look at the shops – cafés with terraces where good-looking ladies in revealing mage robes sat and sipped tea or other drinks, restaurants where people were having lively discussions over hearty meals, and even a tavern where serious-looking people were sampling a selection of wines – and he saw that almost half of the shops had the AFK Company symbol displayed somewhere. Not in a conspicuous place, but if somebody knew where to look, they would see it.

'Lucy is still the best…' Getting through the lines was surprisingly easy. Thanks to his Wind Mage title he was instantly given preferential treatment. Then, of course, the people working there realized who he was and Sam practically flew through the registration process.

Barely twenty minutes after he stepped through the giant doors leading to the reception hall filled with curious, excited, bored, and angry people standing in massive snaking lines, he was once again walking the halls of the building, heading for his next consultation.

Naturally, he could have gone to the library and bought a spell with devastating effects, like Vacuum Bombardment, which used vacuum bombs made of air magic to bombard an area, or Shadow Execution which conjured countless spears made of shadow in an area, or any of other similarly devastating magical spells. But as always, Sam wanted something more. He didn't just want a strong spell. No, he wanted to create a strong spell.

So far, going with his gut and blazing his own path had worked out well for him, but when it came to devastating spells, the established magical schools were far ahead of him, and thus other players. Knocking on the door before him, he waited a few seconds, and it opened on its own. Stepping in, he found himself once again in an empty room, reinforced by magic and a simple sitting area with a desk laden with all manner of papers and books on the far end.

Next to a desk was an older-looking gentleman with salt and pepper hair and a bearing that radiated discipline. He was wearing simple black pants, with a belt that had all sorts of pouches hanging off it, and a white shirt opened at the top casually.

"Welcome, young man," he stated with a frown, his voice carrying through the empty space between him and Sam.

"How may the Mage Tower help you today?" If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Sam bowed and returned the greeting before simply jogging over. Nearing the man, Sam noticed that the older man was a good head taller than him, looking down with a judgmental gaze.

"Well, sir, I'm here to ask about combining three different types of magic." That statement only elicited a gentle rise of one bushy but well-cared-for eyebrow.

"Fascinating," came the dry reply. Sam had to chuckle a little awkwardly. Of course, that would be obvious, after all, he requested help with that, and thus they assigned him this person. He specialized in mixing different types of magic together. He scratched the back of his neck before continuing.

"I have Shadow, Wind, and Clean. And I want to combine them." This time Sam noticed a very visible change on the mage's face. The mention of Shadow and Wind didn't do much, but when he mentioned Clean the man was clearly intrigued.

"Hmmm… Clean…not often I witness somebody making use of it. You have used it in battle, yes?" he asked. Sam simply nodded. To that, the older man motioned with his hand and several targets floated toward the center of the room.

"Demonstrate them, then…" He nodded again and began going through his most used spells, one by one, starting with Wind, then Shadow, and finishing with a few of his Clean spells. The older mage looked back at him as if looking through him.

"Your ability to control mana is exceptional, but your execution is pedestrian at best. It's clear you have been self-taught," he stated with a neutral tone. It wasn't accusatory, simply a statement following his observation. Sam could only smile awkwardly at that.

"However, that provides you with a unique opportunity," his current advisor continued thoughtfully as he began to rub his chin.

"You're not constrained by the limits of known spells, thus your potential is infinite. That, in turn, means a much easier path to fall into ruin." Sam bowed his head a little but stayed silent.

"Your mistake, such as, was that you wanted to create a spell that used all aspects of those three. However, you simply need to select the aspect first, then channel the mana."

"So, designate first, then shape?"

"Exactly!"

"Wind can cut, smash, explode, suck, blow, caress, lift, slam and many other things. You only need one of them."

"Ahh… I was just mashing together the three mana types, then trying to select what I wanted to do…" Sam spoke as realization filled him.

"Indeed. Common error amongst those who cast magic on instinct. They seem stronger at first as they rely on their talent and instinct but there is always a point when the technical knowledge comes in where they falter," the older mage explained in an even tone, as he used a few illusions to illustrate his words.

"Now, how about an example? You use wind for cutting, that is one aspect. Let's reinforce it with Shadow. What aspect would be a nice match to a cutting aspect?" Sam frowned in thought before hesitantly answering.

"Stealth, I suppose? But I had combined the two of them, and there weren't any effects aside from mixing the types." His teacher nodded.

"That's where the aspect selection comes in." The man thought about it for a moment before continuing.

"It's like throwing a finished cocktail at the enemy. You simply mixed two or more cocktails and threw them at your enemy. This time you are starting with the ingredients."

"Ahh…" After that, he turned around, raised a hand, and began concentrating. First calling up his mana, then turning it into wind energy, focusing on the cutting aspect. Then, as the magic began to coalesce in front of him, he changed tracks and summoned Shadow Mana, this time focusing on the hiding aspect. Instantly, the dark color of the Shadow magic began to turn transparent. Feeling that it was ready he let it go. An almost transparent buzz-saw of energy flew off and cleaved one of the targets in two.

His teacher tsked upon seeing the results.

"Good start, but the second aspect didn't take hold. Do it again." ** So, he did it again. And again. And again, until his teacher was finally satisfied. The last spell that he shot off was a blade of transparent air, silent as an owl's flight, cutting through the target silently, not even creating dust as the spell went through the wooden item. His teacher then spoke up again.

"Good. Now the next step would be to integrate the third type, yes?"

"Yes, sir. Which aspect should I use?"

"Well, which one do you think would fit the Wind Blade spell?" came the expected question with a look. Sam frowned and began to think out loud.

"Clean is clean, it means to remove dirt or other contaminants…"

"Continue."

"However, it can also remove magic too…" he spoke as an idea appeared in his mind.

"Very good. Here is your target." Then another wooden target appeared this one with a shimmering magical shield covering it. Just to be sure, he fired off his stealthy Wind Blade and it splashed harmlessly against it. He rolled up his shirt sleeves and began to focus. Once again, after who knows how many times, the newly mixed magical blade spell splashed against the magical shield and cleaved through it and then the target.

"YES!" he exclaimed happily. His teacher let out a slow clap.

"Well done. That's the basics of the next steps for your brand of… magic," he explained.

"From here, the options are limitless." Sam bowed deeply.

"Thank you, sir, for your advice."

"You are most welcome. Don't forget that sometimes what we all need is an outside perspective…"

"I'll remember it…" Sometime later, he was back in their still nameless town, in one of the hidden training fields, playing around with his magic. The solution was so simple that he was still kicking himself for not realizing it.

"Ugh, I was so stupid… Well, at least it was money well-ish spent…" he mused quietly as he fired off invisible and soundless blades of magic that erased magic (at least low-level ones).

"And now comes the fun part!" he declared joyously. He stood there for a moment, taking a few calming and focusing breaths before summoning up his wind mana, gathering it into a bundle of energy in a slight tube shape, then he summoned a tendril of Clean attributed mana and gently mixed the two together, focusing on the erasing aspect. Instantly, he felt a large amount of mana go with it, as it apparently cost a lot to add that type of aspect.

Then he summoned two tendrils of shadow mana, one focused on the whole lack of light, nothingness aspect, the other on the absorbing aspect, strengthening the erasing aspect hopefully. Finally, a last tendril of earth mana into his legs to increase his stability. For a long moment, he held the amalgamation of mana and aspect, then let it go. BZZZZT….

WUMMMH One giant fuck-off laser (at least something that looked like a laser beam) later, he stood proudly before a giant furrow in the ground – the walls were uniformly smooth as if somebody used an incredibly sharp knife to cut out part of the world - while a large chunk of mana was already regenerating. Ignoring the notifications going off, he simply began to dance happily.

"Hell yes!"