Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Stack the Thickest Armor, Let the Enemy Take the Most Vicious Beating

Calming himself, Pei Ze focused his mind on the matter at hand.

"Omniscience, analyze Will Rune No. 13."

[Task created. Beginning analysis of Will Rune No. 13. Estimated time: 20 days.]

Compared to the 47 days it took to analyze Will Rune No. 12, the time required for No. 13 was surprisingly short.

Pei Ze wasn’t surprised, though. His Spirit attribute was much higher than before, so a shorter analysis time was to be expected.

Strictly speaking, the Eye of Omniscience was a growth-type "golden finger," its abilities to analyze, improve, and create growing stronger as his Spirit increased.

"Omniscience, accelerate analysis."

With a flicker of Pei Ze’s will, the analysis of Will Rune No. 13 was completed in an instant.

"Continue with the analysis of Will Rune No. 14."

[Task created. Beginning analysis of Will Rune No. 14. Estimated time: 26 days.]

"Check my current status."

[Spirit 57.63]

[Constitution 32.62]

[Task 1: Analyze Will Rune No. 14. Estimated time: 26 days.]

[Task 2: Analyze Silent Casting technique. Estimated time: 167 days.]

[Task 3: Analyze Mage Armor spell model. Estimated time: 2 days.]

He still had some Spiritual Power left. After a moment’s thought, Pei Ze decided to use it to accelerate Task 3.

In a flash, the analysis of the Mage Armor spell model was declared complete.

Pei Ze felt a slight pressure in his head as a vast amount of knowledge appeared out of nowhere.

He closed his eyes to digest it for a moment, then snapped them open. He uttered a few syllables, and in an instant, the air distorted slightly as an invisible force field materialized, enveloping his entire body.

Mage Armor was arguably the most commonly used One-Ring Spell for Wizard Apprentices, bar none.

It was the first One-Ring Spell almost every Wizard Apprentice learned.

Whenever they encountered an enemy, the first reaction of many Wizard Apprentices was to cast a layer of Mage Armor on themselves.

This spell created a transparent but tangible force field around the target. Its minimum Defense Power was roughly equivalent to four layers of stacked armor, while its upper limit depended on the Caster’s strength.

Unlike ordinary armor, however, Mage Armor was weightless and didn’t hinder the target’s movements in any way.

Furthermore, because Mage Armor was composed of a force field, ethereal creatures couldn’t pass through it, making it effective against beings like ghosts.

’I wonder which aspects the improved Mage Armor will enhance?’

Pei Ze muttered to himself and began the improvement process.

[Task created. Beginning improvement of Mage Armor. Estimated time: 88 days.]

At the same time, the details of the improved Mage Armor flooded into Pei Ze’s mind.

To his surprise, in addition to the standard improvements—enhanced spell effect, reduced casting time, and lower cost—there was also a special stacking effect.

’Magic Armor stacking...’

Pei Ze’s eyes lit up.

’This effect is great!’

’If it can stack, then I can use Mage Armor to build up a Defense Power comparable to a Two-Ring or even a Three-Ring Spell!’

’If I stack dozens of Mage Armors during a battle, the enemy will have no hope of breaking through my defenses.’

’And I, on the other hand, can go all-out on offense, bombarding the enemy with Magic until they can’t even lift their heads.’

’Stack the thickest armor, and let the enemy take the most brutal beating!’

Pei Ze was overjoyed. He could already foresee the immense role the improved Mage Armor would play in battle.

He immediately decided to complete the improvement of his Mage Armor as soon as possible.

...

「Ten days passed in a flash.」

On the day the Realm of Truth opened, Pei Ze headed to the academy early.

Before reporting to the General Affairs Department, he planned to stop by the Magic Laboratory to test the results of his recent training.

Along the way, Pei Ze overheard many apprentices discussing a recruitment mission.

"I want to join the encirclement mission too! Why is it limited to only Third-level Wizard Apprentices?"

"Well, it is an encirclement of heretics. Those lunatics aren’t weak. The risk for Second-level Wizard Apprentices is too high."

"That’s right. You all heard about the Demonized incident before. A single defective, failed-mutation Demonized killed two apprentices. A real Demonized must be even more terrifying."

"It’s a shame. Missions that reward merit points are rare."

More than two months had passed since the Demonized incident. Perhaps the academy had finally located the Hand of Deep Resentment’s stronghold and decided to retaliate for the original attack.

’There might also be the idea of using the heretics as training dummies in there.’

Pei Ze wasn’t very interested in the mission itself, but the merit points mentioned by the apprentices piqued his curiosity.

’I’ll find a chance to ask Senior Yin Xue.’

Arriving at the Magic Experiment Building in the Experimental District, Pei Ze had just walked inside when he saw Shao Hong and Guan Ling approaching together.

The two of them had their heads together, whispering about something, their mannerisms and expressions revealing an unusual intimacy.

When they spotted Pei Ze, both of them reflexively showed a slightly guilty expression.

Pei Ze smiled to himself. ’No wonder I haven’t seen these two with the other members of the Star Spirit Society lately. They’ve been off enjoying their own little world.’

"Pei Ze," Shao Hong greeted him, a bit awkwardly.

Pei Ze teased, "It’s rare to see you two alone together. What were you talking about?"

Shao Hong gave a sheepish laugh. "We were just talking about that new plane outside the city."

Although Pei Ze knew Shao Hong was changing the subject, his interest was piqued nonetheless. "What happened?" he asked curiously.

The new plane Shao Hong mentioned was the spatial rift discovered not long ago by Chenxi City in a forest one hundred and twenty kilometers to the north. It was said to lead to a brand-new plane.

The moment the planar rift was discovered, Chenxi City dispatched the Silver Light Legion to lock down an area with a hundred-li radius.

But immediately after, they clashed with Red Lotus City, which had also been drawn by the spatial fluctuations.

Both sides, vying for control of this new plane, dispatched heavy forces for a standoff. It was rumored they had even fought several small-scale battles, with both sides suffering considerable casualties.

This was all information Pei Ze had picked up piece by piece from others.

He wasn’t too clear on what happened afterward.

Seeing that Pei Ze’s attention had been diverted, Shao Hong quickly said, "Just yesterday, Chenxi City and Red Lotus City reached a ceasefire agreement. They’ve decided to jointly develop the new plane."

Pei Ze nodded slightly, lost in thought.

Chenxi City and Red Lotus City both belonged to the Star Realm Alliance. With the Alliance Council presiding over them, they couldn’t go to war without any restraint.

Besides, their strengths were comparable, and neither was confident it could defeat the other. It was only natural they wouldn’t rashly start a war.

Therefore, it was inevitable that the two great Wizard Cities would return to the negotiating table. The final outcome could only be joint development.

What made Pei Ze curious was how the two sides planned to negotiate the resource distribution ratio.

Shao Hong, however, wasn’t concerned about that. He was more interested in when they could go to the new plane.

"Developing a new plane will definitely require a lot of manpower. The Dawn Council will most likely recruit Wizard Apprentices from the four major academies to assist with the development. Maybe we’ll have a chance to participate," Shao Hong said excitedly.

In the eyes of a Wizard, a new plane often meant an undeveloped treasure trove.

As long as one participated, there was a chance to obtain vast resources.

This was a considerable temptation for any Wizard Apprentice or Wizard.

Pei Ze was no exception.

But besides resources, he was more interested in personally witnessing the culture and customs of an alien civilization—by means of invasion.