Several weeks later
For several weeks, Samiel had been training in the usage of the Nuclear Void Mana Control Method, as his proficiency was increasing at tremendous speed; because Samiel had a strong affinity to the basic attributes of the Nuclear Void Mana Control Method, the training went fast from the start.
And as he expected, soon enough, it reached the long-awaited 10%, which was fundamentally the first milestone in practicing any Mana Control Method.
After he learned the Nuclear Void Mana Control Method and obtained his initial proficiency, any other progress he made was extremely small and took a very long time already. Unfortunately, Menuhyutt told him that it was a normal occurrence and that only through hard work he could progress in proficiency with the Nuclear Void Mana Control Method.
Not to mention that the Nuclear Void Mana Control Method was Mana Control Method on the Level of Transcendents, meaning it was extremely hard even to comprehend, not to talk about its usage.
Of course, the most gained benefit was a continuous decrease of wasted Mana when he was casting some spells or using any other Abilities. This was notable the second he learned the Nuclear Void Mana Control Method, as he could instantly feel it. Also, it made Samiel realize how much Mana he was wasting before.
On the 3rd Floor, he tried to learn Yvrain's Mana Control Method, which was titled Silvermoon Mana Control Method. Nevertheless, it proved to be futile because this peculiar Mana Control Method was suited only for the Silvermoon Elves; for Samiel, he couldn't comprehend and use even the most basic form.
[Proficiency with the Nuclear Void Mana Control Method has been increased.]
Suddenly, when Samiel was meditating, he heard the notification from the Akashic Records, the moment when he felt his Mana was changing. It wasn't like his Mana was getting denser or purer than before, but rather this was a different type of transformation.
His Mana was getting slight properties of the Void, which was rather an indescribable feeling. Before, in its fundamental essence, his Mana felt neutral, without any aspect of something unusual. Right now, when he sensed his Mana, it felt freezingly cold and somehow corrupting?
It was very hard to describe, but Samiel could clearly tell that it was way better than before; it felt closer to him than before. That was because Samiel, as a partial Eldritch Creature, felt much closer to the Void.
After the feeling on his Mana subsumed, Samiel suddenly felt something different from his body; he focused his senses on the changes happening in his body when he felt his cells undergoing tremendous changes.
Samiel was Old Deus, a hybrid of the Eldritch Creature and Human, so the proportion of the two was like 50/50. His bloodline was not awakened properly, but right now, he sensed the cells of the Eldritch part of him being strengthened, and at the same time, they were devouring the human cells in him.
[Racial Evolution has been initiated due to the influence of Mana getting properties of the Void.]
[Samiel Zentaur has evolved from Old Deus - Human/Eldritch Hybrid (50/50) to Old Deus - Eldritch Creature (75%) / Human (25%) Hybrid.]
When the process was concluded, Samiel felt that he was once again several times stronger than before. Especially with the change in his race, being once again closer to evolving into the pure Eldritch Creature.
What Samiel was unaware of, was that this transformation also changed his psyche, albeit not that strongly and not that openly, but Samiel was becoming closer and closer to the mentality of the Eldritch Creature.
Samiel innately felt that his connection to the Void increased tremendously, and he could cast the Void Magic more freely than before, and more importantly, he didn't have to fear the grave side effects of using Void Magic. On the physical level, Samiel also felt more comfortable and more like he was heading towards something where he belonged.
"I see that you underwent the racial evolution."
The voice of the Hall Master Menuhyutt Faulhaber woke Samiel up, as the old man was sitting opposite to him, also in a meditative position, because he was too practicing the same exercises as him.
It was something that fascinated Samiel because the man was proclaimed by many as the strongest person under the Transcendent Level, but he never stopped his training and continued to train every day, even repeating the same basic exercises that only mortals would do.
"The Nuclear Void Mana Control Method is fundamentally a prerequisite for you to one day control the Void itself, like the Outer Gods or Void Lifeforms. If you achieve the proficiency of 100% and completely master the Nuclear Void Mana Control Method, how to control the Void at your whim, but the secret in this lies, you need to master the Nuclear Void Mana Control Method when you are still mortal."
Menuhyutt explained while Samiel's ears perked up. He knew that this technically didn't apply to him fully because once he evolved to a pure-blooded Eldritch Creature and then subsequently ascended as Transcendent, then he could achieve the same.
But there was a very significant difference between something you learn on your own and something you obtain as an already done thing. Each one has its own perks and advantages, but at the same time, it comes with its own disadvantages.
With this method, Samiel could obtain and combine the best of the two worlds into one, greatly enhancing his own power that he would obtain in the future. The only people who ever practiced the Nuclear Void Mana Control Method were him, Menuhyutt Faulhaber and a few other people in history, who either already perished or achieved the Transcendence.
[Due to your recent evolution of being closer to the Eldritch origin, the Ultimate Ability Soul Devour has been strongly influenced by the evolution, and the proficiency with the Ultimate Ability Soul Devour has been increased by 10%]
Suddenly, Samiel got a notification from Akashic Records, and he immediately went to try the strengthened Soul Devour while taking out some random souls before stuffing them into his mouthing and munching on them like they were snacks.
Previously the proficiency with the Ultimate Ability Soul Devour was 25%, but now it skyrocketed to a staggering 35% in one go. Not only that, but he felt that he could obtain more power from the souls he ate, which was another good perk, before he threw some more souls into his mouth, as he was a bit hungry.
"Now that you obtained rudimentary mastery over the Nuclear Void Mana Control Method and your control has already got to the acceptable level, we will be focusing on the Magic and especially on the aspects of the Metamagic."
Metamagic had several important aspects: Spell Control, Combat Casting, Spell Fusion, Empower Spell, Maximize Spell, Spell Penetration, Silent Spell, and Spontaneous Casting or Multi-Cast. These were the basic aspects of the Metamagic Techniques, something that essentially separated normal Magicians from Elites and Elites from Masters.
Even a single Metamagic Technique, when used correctly at the right time, could decide the outcome of the fight between two Professionals because every single one of the Metamagic Techniques provided a tremendous boost to the spells cast in a certain way.
Samiel had already started learning the Spell Fusion, as right now he could fuse 2nd Level Spells and his proficiency was only increased at a steady pace. Mainly because he was fusion very compatible spells of the Void Magic, Winter Magic and Necromancy Arts, basically finding a way how to "grind it".
With his newfound method on how to essentially grind the Metamagic Skill: Spell Fusion, he was achieving relatively quick progress in increasing his proficiency with this concrete Metamagic Skill.
"I already had some progress with the Spell Fusion to a certain degree."
Samiel stated, holding no pride in his words, though, because he still knew nothing in the great scheme of things. Albeit he was talented in the aspect of Magic, which he admitted, he knew that there were those who achieved much more, as there were still a lot of things that he needed to learn.
"Demonstrate."
Hall Master Menuhyutt instructed; Samiel then nodded his head before Samiel went to the casting process. He chose two 2nd Level Spells, one from the Necromancy Arts called the Ray of Enfeeblement and one from the Void Magic the Maddening Whispers.
2nd Level Spells Ray of Enfeeblement basically weakened the target and the 2nd Level Spell Maddening Whispers attacked one's sanity, typically driving the weak-minded individuals to the madness outright.
Instantly, Samiel performed flawless Spell Fusion for the 2nd Level Spells, to which Hall Master nodded in acceptance, not surprised a bit, just like everything was in his expectations. The higher level of spells one wanted to fuse, the harder the Spell Fusion became, and the caster needed to calculate practically everything because if there was one slight mistake... it could have severe consequences.
"For now, I can see that your Spell Control is within my expectations, so we will be focusing on the Combat Casting technique."
He stated something which Samiel wanted to learn, though he struggled with it on his own. Combat Casting was a hard thing to achieve and was typically used by Magic Casters who preferred to fight from a close distance or by those who had combined combat style, like Yvraine.
While Samiel could cast spells during combat when he was fighting someone, it was nowhere near the level to be called Combat Casting. This was also a technique that could greatly enhance his combat capabilities in a very short time, even if he learned the basics of the Combat Casting technique.
"The basic essence of the Combat Casting is not just casting spells during the combat, but casting them like a flowing water, without any disturbance and losing the focusing, combining a focus on the ongoing combat with the focus on casting the spell."
Samiel nodded because this was something that he lacked. When he was casting spells during the combat, he was always creating distance between himself and his enemy or using his Uneads as a distraction or any other means of buying a few seconds to cast the spell.
This was not the Combat Casting, but rather casting spells during the combat. Two entirely different things altogether, albeit people very often mistook them, including countless Casters, who had them for one and the same thing altogether.
"The easiest way to learn for that will be through the fight. We will fight, and I will show you what the perfectly executed Combat Casting looks like."
Hall Master Menuhyutt Faulhaber stated; Samiel nodded because this was to be expected. Fortunately for Samiel, the old man suppressed his strength to match his Level. To Samiel's surprise, even though Menuhyutt copied Samiel's Level and even suppressed his Mana to the same state as him, he was still outclassing him a bit in terms of raw power.
This was the difference between controlling your own power and other things that typically came with experiences and needed to be learned. Hall Master was ancient compared to Samiel's perception of time; he would be Ancient even from the viewpoint of many long lives races.
So it was understandable that he mastered everything about his own power, so even if technically on terms of Level and Mana there was zero difference between them, he was still able to suppress Samiel in their fight when they unleashed their auras on each other without any problem.
"Now that the warm-up is finished, we will start the Combat Casting lessons. Use any Spell which is most comfortable for you to use, while we will be clashing in the close-quarters."
Hall Master Menuhyutt stated while brandishing his sword, as Samiel looked at the sword in his hand. Contrary to what many would expect from him, the sword he was holding was just an average dwarven-manufactured one. However, it still contained enormous sharpness and all Samiel's senses warned him to be careful.
And then, in split of a second, the man teleported before him, slashing at Samiel with his sword, befitting his reputation as the Sword Sage, which was also the name of one of his Class, as the old man was Dual Class Bearer like Samiel himself.
Samiel immediately dodged and conjured several 1st Level Spells of the Necromancy Arts, Bone Spear, shooting them towards the old man, who, with a single swing of his sword, broke them in two as they fell on the ground.
Immediately after, he attacked Samiel once more, forcing him to take several steps back as he was being pushed around like a ragdoll. Nonetheless, even Hall Master was somewhat surprised that he managed to dodge all of his incoming attacks.
At the same time, Samiel occasionally cast some spells; usually the ones he knew the best, and without losing his concentration on the fight and casting, achieving some sort of symbiosis between the two of them.
"That was a good start."
Hall Master said with a nod, stopping the fight midway.
"Thank you, master."
Samiel stated as he caught his breath.
"For the rest of the day, you are free to train whatever you wish... we will be continuing with the Combat Casting Training starting tomorrow morning."
Hall Master Menuhyutt stated.
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