Chapter 176: Portable Earth Vein Operating System
After discussing further understanding of related matters with Teacher Ji, I also continued to start new attempts with the spellbook.
For instance, making an elemental sprite that can only manipulate fire elements learn to use elements more efficiently to cast spells, which means embedding a spell within the spellbook.
I initially thought of embedding the fireball spell that I am most familiar with, but at Teacher Ji’s suggestion, I switched to the elemental b*llet, a more basic spell than the fireball spell that can adapt to various elements and is more compatible with the spell for randomly summoning elemental sprites.
Otherwise, if I embedded the fireball spell and later summoned sprites of other elements, they might not be able to cast the fireball spell, or even cause compatibility conflicts.
“Is your takeout here, Xiao Han? Take a break; if you have no ideas, don’t force yourself.” At this moment, there was a knock on the door, and Teacher Ji casually glanced at the situation outside before speaking to me.
“Mm.”
I set down what I was doing; to be honest, I was quite hungry. Though the takeout I ordered couldn’t compare to dining at those restaurants, it was still pretty good.
“Xiao Han, while you eat, let’s also talk.”
“Hmm? Sure, Teacher Ji, go ahead.” I responded after pausing for a moment and continued to open the takeout box.
“Do you find studying the spellbook regarding the elemental sprite’s blessing strenuous?”
“It is indeed quite demanding,” I admitted.
“Then, how about studying the fireball spell and the wind blade spell? Is that difficult for you?”
“Well… not really difficult…” I thought for a moment before speaking.
“Then can you modify spells like fireball during combat? Make the spells fit more comfortably, or something like that?”
“Other spells are hard to say, but I should be able to do it with fireball.”
“You can do it, haha. Don’t you hear what you’re saying? You can already adapt spells to different combat situations during battle.”
“But… that’s based on my absolute understanding of the fireball spell, right?” I hesitated and asked.
“Is there a problem? Only with the most essential understanding of spellbooks can you fully utilize various bursts of inspiration in battle. Remember the geniuses I mentioned earlier? They are like that; the first thing they do upon obtaining a new spellbook is to adapt and understand it. No one can burst forth with divine modifications from something they don’t understand. You can do that now, but only with the fireball spell.”
“So, you mean I have the same talent as those examples you mentioned, right?” I widened my eyes, even pausing with my chopsticks.
“What I mean is that the level you can currently access is a standard consumption spellbook like the fireball spell, not aiming too high for overly advanced spellbooks!”
Seeing my expression, Teacher Ji dropped the pretense and pointed her finger directly at my forehead, which carried a hint of personal emotion.
“Uh… Teacher Ji, if you have any dissatisfaction with me, you can say it directly; no need to go around in circles, right?”
I said somewhat speechlessly. If you were trying to persuade me for my good, how could I not listen? Moreover, I did feel studying the elemental sprite’s blessing was somewhat strenuous.
But reflecting carefully on my mastery of the fireball spell, I did feel pretty capable…
And I still had quite a few standard consumption spellbooks, counting around fifteen or sixteen.
This number was indeed large but also represented a mess.
“I’m persuading you in a way you can accept, so you won’t feel unhappy. Aren’t geniuses often prideful?” Teacher Ji said, casually crossing her arms.
“But I’m not prideful at all, Teacher Ji. We’ve spent some time together; you can’t fail to notice that!” I immediately retorted; this was simply questioning my character!
“It’s evident; although you appear humble, who really knows your true self? Put away that high-consumption spellbook of yours; taking too big steps will only hurt you… Oh, almost forgot you don’t have it.”
“This… Teacher, there’s no need to point that out, right? Haven’t you seen me as a girl yet?”
“You are not a girl. You are a prospective witch; there’s a huge difference in essence between witches and girls,” the teacher corrected me.
And I didn’t continue to dwell on that topic; instead, I focused on eating before studying the standard consumption spellbook.
At this time, Teacher Ji also briefly educated me on the classification of spellbooks based on consumption levels.
Single-digit consuming spellbooks are called standard consumption spellbooks, while those with double-digit consumption are medium consumption spellbooks. Continuing on, we have high consumption spellbooks and excessive consumption spellbooks.
This was the limit we new students could access; even Tan Han only had one excessive consumption spellbook with a thousand-point consumption.
After that, a spellbook consuming ten thousand magic power is the beginning of a qualitative change, and it is called the ten-thousand spells book. The next type of spellbook varies significantly and is called the million divine spells book.
In the Witch Academy, the limit of available spellbooks is the ten-thousand spells book, while the million divine spells book is merely a rumor, unrealistic, as no one can obtain a million magic sources while still in school. After all, resources won’t simply tilt toward someone without special circumstances, so even if a million divine spells book were given, no one could use it.
Time flew by, and as I continued studying the standard consumption spellbook, the afternoon match was about to begin.
However, I hadn’t made much progress since familiarizing myself with a spellbook isn’t something that can be done in a short time; even if it’s a shaping spellbook like the fireball spell, the differences due to elements were considerable.
After all, there’s something called “elemental theory,” and further topics like “advanced elemental theory” and “progressive elemental theory,” etc.
So I am truly in urgent need of a spell with photographic memory! There’s just too much knowledge to memorize and learn.
“Are you leaving?”
“Ah? Yes.” I subconsciously responded when Teacher Ji asked.
Although I had bet against Tan Han and expected to be exempt from the afternoon, I believed Tan Han’s guess; if I didn’t go and still was exempt, it would be clear there was manipulation behind the scenes, so I had to go.
“Take this; I see you’re often busy; I don’t know what you’re busy with, but this should help improve your efficiency and save you from running back and forth so much.” Teacher Ji handed me something.
“What is this?” I held the item that looked somewhat like headphones; however, it was certainly not headphones but a pendant like something worn around the neck.
“This is a portable Earth Vein Operating System. You can’t control magic right now, and the phone driven by magic will not be able to perform; you can try this. Although its performance cannot compare to the big devices here, it has no limits for your use.”
“Ah? This is the Earth Vein Operating System?” I looked at the small device in surprise; it didn’t match the Earth Vein Operating System here at all.
It seemed to differ even more than desktop and laptop computers. Though I was surprised, I hung it around my neck directly; using it was simple as I saw the iconic energy start button and activated it.
“Hmm, but because it cuts out so many things, the startup time of this Earth Vein Operating System is somewhat slow as it needs to connect to the earth vein energy you’re in, and it’s best not to wander around; otherwise, you might lose the connection to the earth vein, and reconnecting can be a hassle.”
“I see. I probably won’t wander around much when I’m using the Earth Vein Operating System; it shouldn’t be a significant limitation.” I said excitedly. With this, I could perform virtual modeling of the spellbook at any time; the quickest way to familiarize oneself with a spellbook is to recreate the structure of the spellbook through the Earth Vein Operating System in another way.
It can also provide various notes, which is very convenient.
Moreover, this method allows me to avoid using spirit vision for observation, helping to relieve unnecessary brain overload.
Additionally, and most importantly, I compensated for the spellbook’s perspective under my spirit vision in my own way, allowing others to understand the spellbook as I see it.
Of course, this is in an ideal situation; more often, it’s the case that even if I express it, they can’t understand…
It’s possible that my expressiveness isn’t great; after all, what is seen through spirit vision is too abstract, even explaining it through modeling and annotations would be difficult.
It’s hard to imagine that if Tan Han were to study the spellbook with me, her biggest challenge would likely be figuring out how to understand what I wanted to express.
At that moment, I understood what Teacher Ji had told me in the dream device; the information carried by language and text still cannot describe the information presented through spirit vision.
Language and text are still too shallow. So… can runes, this existence, work?
Does a ritual composed of runes count as a special language? A language that communicates with the void?
If one understands runes, then the phrases they form would yield the most direct results, allowing one to interpret their meaning directly.
For example, if the combination of runes expressed the fireball spell, even someone who doesn’t understand runes would grasp that this batch of runes conveys the “meaning” of the fireball spell.
Because it truly is a fireball spell, isn’t that the ultimate pictogram?
Hehe… it seems I’ve thought a bit too far-fetched.
“Well then, Teacher Ji, I’m leaving.”
After bidding farewell to Teacher Ji, I returned to the arena. This time, I managed to enter the arena just in time. I didn’t have to wait too long in my seat before the match schedule for the afternoon started.
The 25 into 13 knockout contest!
The significance of this was considerable.
My gaze fell on the remaining contestants, and I even saw Shi Huiyu among them!
She’s surprisingly strong?
I feel like Hong Chanyi might not be able to keep up; could it be that Hong Chanyi is about to face defeat?
However, as long as Shi Huiyu doesn’t encounter me or Tan Han, her chances of making it into the top ten are quite high.
With the arrangement of the knockout contest, the final spots were announced.
As soon as this arrangement appeared, it immediately drew cheers from the crowd, as there was a bye in this round, and the name on the bye was mine, alongside a photo of me, making it very clear.
Seeing this result with my own eyes, I couldn’t help but smirk; Tan Han really guessed right. Although she said she hadn’t asked, thinking about it now might not hold much meaning. Perhaps it was the guidance of her so-called fortune?
“Congratulations!”
At that moment, Tan Han stood up and smiled at me.
Her smiling face made it seem as if it was her who received a bye.
But she was indeed very happy; at least she could now be considered my academic friend in name.
After this match, I can imagine she would definitely use this reason to approach me.
“You share the same happiness, too.”
I softly spoke, but no one heard, and I sat there in the viewing area for contestants, where I could clearly see every match with excellent visibility. However, I wouldn’t waste time here.
Teacher Ji truly had thoughtful intentions; I needed this Earth Vein Operating System in the arena.
But I also realized just how slow the so-called portable system was; it took several minutes to start up. My home computer wouldn’t even take that long. If the environment isn’t ideal, the time to connect to the earth vein could take even longer.
However, using spirit vision to observe the operating system communicating with the earth vein energy was also an interesting endeavor; at least, it looked quite novel.
Moreover, the floating screen of the Earth Vein Operating System was also really fun. I’ve already felt several people’s gazes on me once the screen activated, although students often encounter the Earth Vein Operating System in class, they haven’t played with something like this.
After all, who could refuse such a cool floating screen that also follows you around?
It even allows gesture interactions.
This was my first attempt at using this portable system, and it felt similar to the systems in the laboratory, except the UI design was different, so I needed to adjust a bit.
After familiarizing myself a bit, I discovered a fantastic feature!
That is, a gaze-tracking anti-peeping function!
With this, it can accurately recreate images based on my line of sight, and others cannot see what I’m doing without my approval; they only see a blurry version.
This means even if I watch videos in a crowded arena, nobody will know. I love this feature too much!
Of course… I’m a pure person; it’s impossible for me to engage in that kind of action, mainly because I currently lack resources (just kidding).
Anyway, with this, I wouldn’t have to worry about others poking their noses into what I’m working on when I study the spellbook. Don’t ask! If you do, it’ll just be blurred.
Discussing professional matters with those who are destined to have no intersection with me, I lost from the start; after all, they just wanted to satisfy their ignorant curiosity, but wasted my time instead.
Just as I had finished establishing the model for the fireball spell, Tan Han swiftly concluded her match in the arena; I must say her power clearly demonstrates what it means to dominate!
If I hadn’t had a bye, there might have been another victim, and without a doubt, tomorrow’s bye in the 13 into 7 rounds should be Tan Han’s, right?
I bet everyone thought of that move, but there wasn’t too much dissatisfaction; most understood.
However, there are certainly some who enjoy watching the excitement; many are the entertaining folks in the Witch Academy who seem to enjoy watching bl**d flow.
At this moment, I chose to build the fireball spell for several reasons.
Firstly, this was the spellbook I am most familiar with, providing some practice and a chance to review.
Secondly, this is a new Earth Vein Operating System; I hadn’t had the time to exchange information with the laboratory, and due to a bit of obsession, I wanted to model and file all my spellbooks one by one.
The most important thing is that Tan Han might come over later. Given my current situation, she would likely have questions, and I could show her something, leading her into the door of a new world.
As a genuine academic overachiever, her thoughts should be livelier than mine, right? We should be able to spark some wonderful ideas together.
And indeed, reality played out just as I anticipated; after Tan Han concluded the knockout match, she hurriedly stepped down, aiming directly for me.
I looked at the vacant seats nearby, all occupied by previously eliminated contestants; it seemed they wouldn’t be returning soon.
“Come sit with me; you just finished a match. Do you want to grab a bottle of water to relax?”
“No thanks, I didn’t exert myself too much in this match.” Tan Han refused my offer, just like before, sitting down next to me.
“Xiao Han, what’s this?”
“Portable Earth Vein Operating System.”
