Chapter 24: Upgrade!
Jaden stood with his arms on his hips as he looked at the twenty-four spell books before him. He was confused about what spell to learn first, and his grimoire was still being upgraded, so he couldn’t even summon it.
He shook his head and stepped forward to take a look at them; however, a low chime made him stop in his tracks.
[Ding! The grimoire has been upgraded.]
[Due to the update, the ’System’ interface has been changed.]
Jaden raised an eyebrow at the messages before him and mumbled.
"System."
A blue screen appeared before him.
————[System]————
Host: Jaden Cross
Job: The Shutter Summoner
Level: 1
Experience: 20/100
Mark: [Shadow]
Grimoire: Platinum (Bound – 0/7)
Skills:
[Capture] – Seal targets into pictures using Slots (Film).
[Picturebook] – Codex of Summons, Spells, and Arts.
[Summon] – Manifest sealed creatures temporarily.
[Binding Codex] – Synchronise growth with bound Grimoires.
Available Features:
[Profile] – Status overview.
[Epiphany Zone] – Training & comprehension mind space.
[Picturebook] – Codex of Summons, Spells, Arts.
Slots: 8
————[System]————
Jaden’s eyes widened as he read the screen before him... the screen had much more information than before, and it also had multiple new entries.
"Platinum... Heh."
A faint smile appeared on his lips as he spoke.
"Picturebook."
However, instead of the grimoire, a screen appeared before him.
————[Picturebook]————
Entries Catalogued: 1
Sections: [Summons] [Spells] [Arts]
[Summons]
Mistwraith – [E] Description: A being of flowing mist and a glass-like body.
Abilities: Mist Form, Wraith Claw
Summon Cost: 30 Mana
[Spells]
None
[Arts]
None
————[Picturebook]————
And upon seeing the screen before him... he cursed.
"What the fuck...?!"
"Where is my grimoire?"
Just as that question left his lips, a sharp headache assaulted him. He grimaced as the headache slowly calmed; however, it confused him... the headache was not random; instead, it was due to sudden information flow to his head.
He opened his palms and circulated his mana based on the information, and soon, a night sky grimoire with golden embroidery appeared on his palm.
"Hmm... there are no visible changes..."
He heaved a sigh of relief at that; he did not want to appear as a sore thumb and become the centre of attention after all.
[Found learnable magic spells [24] within the vicinity.]
"Oh?" Jaden raised an eyebrow at the message, and another screen appeared before him.
————[System]————
Learnable spells:
Fire
• Fireball – fire projectile. ★
• Ember Flick – spark ignition, lights fires. ★
• Flame Veil – faint fire shield. ★
Water
• Water Bullet – compressed shot. ★
• Mistrise – creates a mist screen. ★
• Minor Heal – pulls vitality from water essence. ★
Earth
• Stone Shard – throws jagged rock. ★
• Earthen Grip – creates a stone hand to restrain. ★
• Soil Harden – defence boost. ★
Wind
• Gust Step – short burst of wind for mobility. ★
• Gale Push – pushes the target away. ★
• Wind Blade – slicing current. ★
Lightning
• Spark Jolt – weak stun bolt. ★
• Static Grasp – paralyses the handhold. ★
• Surge Line – sends current across ground. ★
Ice
• Frost Needle – piercing icicle. ★
• Ice Patch – slippery surface. ★
• Chill Touch – slows the target’s body. ★
Light
• Radiant Spark – dazzling flash. ★
• Guidelight – creates a hovering light orb. ★
• Soothing Ray – heals scratches. ★
Darkness
• Gloom Orb – creates a field of dimness. ★
• Dusk Shroud – blinds a small area. ★
• Fear Flicker – unsettles the target’s spirit. ★
————[System]————
"OH!" Jaden’s eyes widened after reading the screen; however, it was not the end of his surprise.
[Execute [Epiphany Zone] with the listed spells?]
[Confirm | Deny]
He blinked his eyes a few times before he muttered.
"Confirm."
As soon as he said so, the world turned white and he found himself standing on a calm, mirror-like sea with nothing nearby him... far above in the sky, colourful sparks of colours similar to the eight elementals floated.
He counted the stars, and they were twenty-four in number.
"Those are the spell books?"
He pointed at a red star and clenched his fist. Just as he did so, a thin book appeared before him, and so did a screen.
[1-star spell: Fireball]
He flipped open the book and read it... It listed how he was supposed to flow his mana through his great mana vein to call out to his fire elemental point and then use it to create a fireball.
It was a strange pattern, but it had its own flow and understanding... and within [Epiphany Zone], he could understand all of them much more easily,
Still, he needed some time to understand and learn the flow of the spell, and after a few minutes had passed, he let go of the book. The book broke into red sparks and once again became a red star within the white sky.
Jaden moved his mana based on what was written within the book. Soon, a flame as big as a match flame appeared on his palm.
He looked at the flame with an annoyed look before trying again, and the result, however, was the same... but the flame was a little bit, as little as a hair bigger than before.
He furrowed his brows and tried again... the more he tried, the bigger the flame became and at his fourteenth try, a flame as big as a tennis ball appeared on his palm.
’Blasted hell.’
Jaden smiled at it and threw the flame far away.
"It is so damn hard..."
He cursed and created another fireball. It was the same size as before. He was about to throw it away, but suddenly a message appeared before him.
[Congratulations, you have learned a 1-star spell: Fireball]
[Experience +15 (Spell Learned)]
"Finally..." he mumbled and stopped flowing his mana to materialise the fireball, and just as he did so, the fireball vanished.
He then looked at the sky filled with colourful stars and spoke with a wry smile.
"Just twenty-three more to go..."
He pointed at another star and clenched his fist as he did so, and a spell book appeared in his palm, and so did a screen.
[1-star spell: Gale Push]
He flipped through the spell book, and just like before, he began to learn the new spell with similar focus.