Chapter 374: Dark Demon’s Mana Book (2/233)
After all, they were just some materials of little use; naturally, he could put as much as possible.
As Dark placed them, he couldn’t help but recall the situation when he had refined “Huhu” last year.
He couldn’t help but smile, then sprinkled a bit of powder made from grinding vine monsters, which instantly caused the first refinement array to glow brightly, reacting intensely.
“Is this enough?”
Dark’s heart stirred, and he immediately concentrated his mana to adjust.
In just a moment, all the materials were sucked into the light array.
The first refinement array rapidly contracted.
However, these materials were clearly too complex; even after the refinement array began to contract, it took quite some time to continue refining.
Then, a large amount of impurities was spewed out.
Those solid-liquid mixtures were pitch-black and foul-smelling, causing the mana spirits to all cry out.
Eevee looked disdainfully at the experimental table and quickly opened the window with a ribbon for ventilation.
It wasn’t until several minutes later that the mana card finally formed a light cocoon as expected.
Dark secretly wiped his sweat, lowered his hand covering his nose, and prepared to open the card!
…
Dark’s ideal mana spirit was one of the starter Pokémon from the Kanto region in the Unova chapter, a Bulbasaur, because it held childhood memories and emotional value.
But mana refinement never guaranteed what you wanted.
He held his breath, pulled out a mercury knife from the rack, and cut open the light cocoon, instantly revealing a more foul-smelling black water.
“What did I refine?”
Dark hurriedly covered his nose again, using only one hand to switch to tweezers and carefully extracted the mana card from the black water, rinsing it under the faucet.
As the dirt on the surface of the mana card gradually washed away, a faint light emitted.
This was a rare purple light among the mana spirit cards Dark had refined!
White, blue, purple, orange, gold.
This purple quality fell between the five colors, merely average.
But actually, Dark was very satisfied.
“Even with these materials, I managed to refine a purple card, which means my luck in mana refinement is indeed good.”
Excited, Dark eagerly moved the dripping mana card closer.
“This is?”
Seeing the face of the mana card, Dark frowned tightly.
The pattern displayed on the card was not any mana spirit he had guessed.
“I’ve been feeling like many things are beyond my control lately.”
Dark couldn’t help but rub his brow, letting his frown ease.
Then he put down the mana card and quickly cleaned up the stinking mess on the table.
First, organize the desk, then check the mana card.
Not in a hurry…
Several minutes later, he picked up the unexpected mana card again.
The card face displayed a mana book strikingly similar to the emblem of the Mana Academy!
He originally intended to refine a frog mana spirit using the skin of a Luo Luo Tree Frog.
But what became the “core” seemed to be the book itself, “Blood Sacrifice”?
Though he completely failed to understand the principle, it was fortunate enough that such a summer could succeed.
What would this mana book-like mana spirit be useful for?
Dark first thought of the “Solo Sword Sheath,” another “prop,” then considered the “Togepi” from Pokémon.
This led him to have greater expectations for this mana book-like mana spirit.
“Now I can properly study it.”
Dark channeled mana into the mana card and received immediate feedback.
…
[Card Name: Mana Book]
[Type: Elemental Card]
[Level: ??]
[Race: Fairy Type]
[Attribute: Fairy]
[Mana: 1000]
[Attack: 0]
[Defense: 0]
[Ultimate Skill: Auto Record, Auto Summon]
…
“A two-star mana spirit called ‘Mana Book’?”
“This should be my second two-star mana spirit, which can compensate for the lack of two-star sacrifices.”
“Mana 1000, this is a top-tier value for a two-star.”
“Attack and defense at 0 indicate it isn’t suited for direct combat.”
“But such a mana book can’t possibly participate in combat directly; it must be auxiliary.”
“Let me see its two ultimate skills…”
The most crucial elements of a mana spirit card were its star level and ultimate skill.
The ultimate skill determined whether the card was useful.
The star level determined whether the ultimate skill would work.
Dark first looked at the first ultimate skill—”Auto Record!”
“The name of this ultimate skill always reminds me of the library of ten thousand three books… I wonder if it has an automatic spell casting function?”
[Auto Record: Can automatically record text and images.]
“Just this?”
“It’s like having an automatic transcription notebook?”
After understanding the function of “Auto Record,” Dark couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
But in just three seconds, he changed his mind and suddenly felt better: “Automatically recording text and images seems pretty good?”
For a normal mage with average mana talent, this ultimate skill was rather useless.
But for Dark, who could offset the mana consumption of the mana spirit with his mana recovery rate, it was like having a true automatic recorder!
Moreover, he could even use a “Capital Sin Card” to give it intelligence.
Once this “Mana Book” reached human-level intelligence, it would be far more than just an automatic recorder; it would be an automatic typist!
An automatic typist could make people envious!
This was akin to evolving from a paper notebook to a computer!
Thinking about it, Dark felt like he had struck gold.
“Not in a rush, there’s another ultimate skill!”
Suppressing the urge to immediately use a “Capital Sin Card,” Dark looked at the second ultimate skill—”Auto Summon!”
The name “Auto Summon” might lead to unrealistic associations at first.
But with “Auto Record” as a precursor, Dark’s attitude was more relaxed, so he didn’t feel disappointed after understanding it.
On the contrary, he felt a bit gleeful.
[Auto Summon: Choose a summoning spell to record, which can replace the mage in summoning. The recorded object is limited to the mage themselves.]
“Record summoning spells, auto summoning… This is simply fantastic! Once I record a regular summoning spell, I no longer need to spend nearly half an hour summoning a Lion Beast.”
Dark immediately thought of the convenience in daily life, then considered it in battle.
He quickly realized that the “Auto Summon” ultimate skill was also practical in duels.
According to the description, the summoning spell recorded in the “Mana Book” must be one mastered by the mage themselves.
Although each summoning consumes 100 mana points, the summoning speed and cooldown are consistent with the recorded object—the mage themselves.
If the recorded spell is a “Regular Summoning,” it means the summoning speed doubles, and it could even consider summoning four-star mana spirits with regular summoning!
If the recorded spell is a “Sacrificial Summon,” it means the task of “Sacrificial Summon” can be delegated to the “Mana Book,” or it can perform simultaneous sacrificial summons of high-star mana spirits with sufficient sacrifices.
Aside from that, any summoning spell can free up more decision-making time for the mage.
Mastering the “Mana Book” would undoubtedly significantly boost combat power.
“But the current problem is, can the ‘Mana Book’ with attack and defense both at 0 persist long-term in the duel arena?”
“How long is the cooldown for switching summoning spells with ‘Auto Summon’?”
“Let’s try summoning it out!”
With that thought, Dark immediately used a regular summoning spell to summon the “Mana Book.”
The “Mana Book” materialized in the summoning light, roughly the size of 4K paper, over three centimeters thick, completely different from the core material, “Blood Sacrifice.”
But when Dark grabbed it, he felt no weight.
Just like its race—Fairy Type—this “Mana Book” was a fairy of the mana book, appearing steady and substantial on the surface but actually ethereal and intangible.
A slight force caused his fingers to penetrate the book.
Clearly, it could shift between reality and illusion.
This structure was like a ghost, inherently possessing extremely high physical immunity.
And there was no need to test; its resistance to spells was likely quite low.
In actual battles, the “Mana Book” could be kept close, but in the duel arena, it was a protected object like the mana guidance ball.
Fortunately, the dimensions of the 4K paper were not particularly large, and its ethereal characteristics allowed it to hide in small gaps for protection.
…
“In the name of Dark Demon, Mana Summon!”
The dark golden light illuminated the bedroom, and the “Pride I” card flew out, releasing a “Pride” orb that instantly entered the “Mana Book.”
In a moment, the mana book floating in his palm began to tremble violently.
It was as if ancient life sealed in ice had awoken from a long slumber after the ice had melted.
Consciousness and body connected.
The “Mana Book” gained the intelligence that elemental spirits rarely obtained!
Though Dark was already accustomed to it, bestowing higher life intelligence on a quasi-life form was always a miracle.
And within this miracle, the “Mana Book” welcomed new life!
This mana spirit, which could only assist in summoning in actual battles, had its value comprehensively elevated!
“Mana Book 0001, offering loyalty to the master!”
To Dark’s great surprise, this mana spirit, not a digital monster, instantly acquired the ability to speak after gaining intelligence.
Though its voice was mechanical and robotic like an AI, it was clearly expressing itself with its own will.
“0001 is too awkward, let’s call it 01, Zero One.”
“Yes, master, I am Zero One, I am Zero One, beep beep, beep beep.”
Watching the Mana Book happily performing a circle dance in the air, Dark suddenly realized that beneath its knowledgeable exterior, it might have a comical heart.
He pondered for a moment and suddenly asked, “Zero One, since you can recognize sounds, can you convert sounds into text?”
“Yes, yes, beep beep!”
“Failed, failed, beep beep!”
How noisy!
Dark quickly said, “What’s the reason for the failure?”
The Mana Book immediately responded, “Reporting to the master, Zero One cannot read, beep beep!”
“Alright!”
Dark took a deep breath. This was indeed a problem.
Who would have thought that a book couldn’t read?
“It seems I’ll have to start teaching from scratch, but an automatic recording mana book should be decent at learning. Now there’s another issue…”
Dark couldn’t help looking at the still-spinning Mana Book and picked up a pen from the table, “Zero One, can you record real-world images, like this pen?”
“Yes, yes, beep beep!”
The Mana Book finally stopped spinning, automatically flipped to the first page, and began recording the pen.
The recording process was like sketching.
On that page, the pen was drawn in full detail in visible speed!
Apart from being black and white 2D, every detail matched perfectly!
This was more than just sketching; it was like taking a photo!
“Great!”
At this moment, Dark had a new understanding of this Mana Book.
The function of “Auto Record” was far stronger than he imagined.
In the future, note-taking or landscape recording would be much easier.
When encountering murals that needed to be recorded, it could save drawing time.
If it could handle these graphic and textual information through education, it would further transform.
“You’ll always stay by my side from now on.”
“Thank you, master… hmm! I’m not happy at all about staying by your side! Beep beep!”
“Hmm? Still under the influence of ‘Pride’? No matter. Let’s test the ‘Auto Summon’ function now.”
…
Testing “Auto Summon” was also simple.
Dark held the mana card of the “Mana Book,” channeled mana, formed a mana cycle, and then performed a “Regular Summon.”
The moment he successfully summoned, his summon was fully recorded by the “Mana Book.”
From then on, until switching summoning spells, the “Mana Book” would continuously perform automatic summons based on this template.
With this function, summoning mana spirits in the dormitory or other places would become very convenient.
The limitation was that it could only record one summoning spell at a time.
Moreover, the cooldown for switching summoning spells was an hour, making it basically impossible to switch freely.
But even so, it was already a very useful ultimate skill.
To be able to refine such a rare and useful mana spirit with a bunch of scraps, one couldn’t ask for more!
“Human desires are insatiable.”
Dark’s smile slowly spread across his face.
“Beep beep! Beep beep!”
“In the name of Dark Demon, Mana Summon—Silence Potion!”
