Because Glory hadn’t yet opened to public beta, Crimson Pact was mainly handling early-stage preparation work. Although it was tedious, the management team at Crimson Moon could handle it just fine.
Even while he was inside Glory, Li De could still clearly sense the state of his body back on Earth, so he would return periodically to take care of eating and bathroom needs.
Moreover, if the phone rang or any other loud noises occurred, he could perceive them as well.
So he didn’t have to worry about missing anything important.
However, he had recently discovered something that surprised him greatly: as long as he drank enough fresh blood in Glory, his body on Earth could go without food for a very, very long time.
It seemed the deeper he merged into Glory, the more the mana there could flow through his soul and be transferred to his earthly body.
And most crucial of all, his body in Glory and his body on Earth were becoming more and more alike.
These various astonishing phenomena made Li De reflect further on Glory.
At present, he had only improved two spells: Mage Hand and Small Fireball.
Mage Hand had been enhanced with transformation capabilities, while Small Fireball had been modified into a spell that could be cast with great speed.
Each had its own uses. The improved Mage Hand had become the most commonly used spell among all casters in Dawn City, and Small Fireball was likewise indispensable in combat.
But now, as the scale of battles escalated, these two spells could no longer keep up with him. He needed more powerful spells to compensate for the shortcomings in his combat strength.
After all, whether or not something would change when he reached Level 15 was still unknown. He didn’t like pinning his hopes on vague, uncertain possibilities, he preferred to seize the initiative himself.
“So, which spell shall I improve this time? If I follow the path of Small Fireball, then Large Fireball is undoubtedly the best choice.”
A few days earlier, inspired by Kap, he had studied Large Fireball seriously. But a spell with more than 200 magic nodes had troubled him for quite a while.
Although it looked like it only had 150 more nodes than Small Fireball’s 50, the difficulty of improving it increased tenfold.
“Small Fireball may be fast enough, but as my combat strength rises, its role is diminishing.
In a battle like the one against Kap, Small Fireball was practically a joke, even a hundred mages casting it together couldn’t kill an 18th-level Beastman King.”
Combat experience inevitably advanced one’s awareness. What he needed at Level 10 and what he needed at Level 14 were completely different.
At Level 10, he thought about how to defeat opponents of similar strength. But after fighting high-level enemies at Level 14, what he wanted was the ability to unleash much greater damage against powerful foes.
Small Fireball was still a potent weapon in low-level battles or when enemies were immobilized.
But in high-level combat, it was inadequate, its low damage was simply too fatal a flaw.
“Also, it’s not only about offensive spells, I don’t have much defensive equipment on me, and that’s extremely dangerous.
Even though my vampire talents make me tremendously resilient, bare flesh without defensive gear still can’t withstand focused attacks.
This shortfall in offense must be resolved, and at the same time, my defensive capabilities must be strengthened.
So I need to study two spells, one offensive spell, and also a defensive spell.”
Muttering to himself, Li De slowly shifted his gaze to Large Fireball and Mage Shield.
Large Fireball was a direct evolution of Small Fireball, he had already thoroughly studied Small Fireball, so researching Large Fireball would be relatively easier.
And judging from the improvements he’d achieved with Small Fireball, Large Fireball clearly held a great deal of untapped potential, making it worth attempting.
As for Mage Shield, this classic spell was nearly as fundamental as Small Fireball, every mage knew it.
If you hadn’t learned Small Fireball, you couldn’t be considered a mage. If you hadn’t learned Mage Shield, you were an unqualified mage.
Mage Shield, as a strong and reliable defensive skill, was famous for its short casting time and excellent protection. Before any fight, every mage would cast Mage Shield on themselves.
Privately, Li De estimated that his own Mage Shield could withstand a full-force strike from a warrior of the same level.
In other words, a Level 14 warrior could shatter his shield with one serious blow.
Before Kap’s provocation, he hadn’t thought this was a problem, most high-level mages had learned Void Walk or Teleportation.
As long as you didn’t get one-shot, you could usually escape.
But now, Li De wanted a shield that could at least endure the attacks of a Level 15 warrior. Level 14 defense no longer met his needs. After all, the higher you climb, the fiercer the challenges become.
He also felt this Mage Shield had huge room for improvement. Only being able to absorb a single hit was far too feeble, it needed to withstand at least eight or ten strikes.
After thinking carefully, Li De settled on his plan for improving both spells. Large Fireball, enhance its power so that it could unleash damage approaching that of the Tier 3 Explosive Fireball in a very short time.
Explosive Fireball required 600 magic nodes, far too many. Improving it would probably take all winter without any results. So he decided to focus on Large Fireball instead.
As for Mage Shield, he wanted a sturdier, more protective barrier.
With his plan clear, Li De once again began his mad journey of experimentation.
He prepared 50,000 milliliters of Mana-Infused Blood and plunged himself into magic research.