Chapter 69: A Groundbreaking Creation

"What is this?" Wang Yu asked in astonishment, pointing at the tome that Avia had brought out. He could guess roughly what it did, but he couldn't resist asking anyway.

"Well, it's the spellbook from that game you told me about. I designed this book so you can cast spells more flexibly," Avia explained.

"I've had the idea for a while, but I could only make this prototype after gaining access to my teacher's laboratory."

She opened the heavy, book-shaped magical device. Though it resembled a book at first glance, the inside revealed a compact metal compartment.

It was roughly made, with visible patches and welding marks. There were multiple recesses within, all empty save two, which contained something like cards.

"The computer chips you told me about gave me a lot of inspiration, Wang Yu. Most magical equipment in use today are single-use, charge-based tools. They take a long time to recharge, like the Fireball Ring I designed before—it needed to be recharged after every use."

"Right, that's a common flaw with magical equipment. You'd need something like a magical array with a power source to have things run continuously," Wang Yu agreed.

"But, Wang Yu, if we can outfit a small ring for spellcasting by engraving magical circuits into it, why can't we integrate such functionality into something like a book page? Channel mana into a page with internal circuitry, and it can trigger magic just like a ring would!"

Avia closed the book and placed it in front of Wang Yu.

"True, but doesn't the ring design depend on special materials and structures? These pages are essentially two-dimensional. How can they form three-dimensional magical circuits in the same way rings can? The three-dimensional structure helps regulate the strain of mana flow, preventing circuits from collapsing during spellcasting. Magical equipment that breaks after a single use would be way too expensive... No, aren't those just magic scrolls?"

Though his alchemical skills were limited, Wang Yu had gained solid theoretical knowledge through his studies. He could visualize Avia's idea clearly, but wouldn't these pages just be like traditional magic scrolls?

Single-use, highly effective, and costly—was the book's function to serve as a collection of scrolls? Could he rip out a page mid-battle to cast a spell? While it sounded effective, the cost would be astronomical.

"No, no, Wang Yu! We need to think differently. If the circuits collapse after use, why not ignore that and create a new one? We shouldn't be constrained by the idea of collapsing circuits!"

"Huh?" Wang Yu felt a little lost.

"We can use magical circuits to project other circuits. When the projected circuit collapses, it doesn't affect the original. The primary circuit remains intact. By repeating this process, we can achieve continuous spellcasting!"

"Ah... you're right!" Wang Yu slapped his thigh. He had been too constrained by his knowledge—Avia's explanation was like opening the door to a brand-new world.

If a magical array collapsed after one use, why not have a primary array project one-use secondary arrays? Once a secondary array collapsed, the primary one could simply project more!

"You're a genius!" Wang Yu exclaimed, smacking his forehead. Avia's idea could revolutionize magical equipment!

He was so thrilled that he scooped up the petite young woman and spun her around, eliciting startled cries from her.

"You're amazing, as expected!" Wang Yu finally set the blushing Avia back on her bed, his excitement now focused on the rough-looking book.

Perhaps others had thought of such a spellcasting method before, but Avia was the first to create a working prototype. Her talent was undeniable—she had achieved this in just a single day in her teacher's lab. She was simply incredible.

"Speaking of your teacher, didn't he have any thoughts about this? Surely he noticed how advanced this is, right?" Wang Yu asked.

Avia, still recovering from being spun around, thought for a moment before answering.

"My teacher's research focuses are quite different from mine. To use your homeworld's terms, what I do is more like physics, whereas my teacher leans more toward chemistry and biology. Our fields don't overlap much."

"Really?" Wang Yu scratched his chin. He hadn't considered this possibility. Had Avia earned her teacher's recognition purely through talent, learning everything along the way on her own?

"That's right. My teacher has been busy in the lab lately. The other day, he tested me with a combination of theoretical, practical, and creative tasks, gave me a score, and then happily granted me access to his library and backup lab—and that was it."

"Let me guess: you got full marks?"

"Yup!" Avia nodded proudly, with just a hint of shyness.

"You really are amazing!" Wang Yu gave her a big thumbs-up.

"Alright, alright, you're embarrassing me. Let's test this prototype! I haven't even tried it out myself!" Avia said, pushing Wang Yu towards the courtyard.

Wang Yu nodded. Although he was still injured, his wounds were minor compared to the previous altercations he had been in. After the potent medication he had taken, he now felt good enough to test the prototype.

He carried the tome to the courtyard, where Avia had already prepared a preliminary setup. She took the book from Wang Yu and flipped open its back cover, revealing its internal mechanisms.

"This is the power core, and this is the projection array. It connects to your mind. You simply activate it with your mental energy. The array will draw energy from high-purity mana crystals to power itself, combining earth and fire elements to construct a disposable magical circuit. Since the circuit is meant to be temporary, the structure doesn't have to be complex. Afterwards, the secondary power mechanism channels energy from the crystal to trigger the spell."

Avia explained the internal structure to Wang Yu in simple terms. While he wasn't the creator, he would likely use it extensively in the future. Understanding the equipment was essential.

The theory wasn't overly complicated, but implementing it required enormous calculation and exceptional craftsmanship.

"And here are the special 'pages' to carry the projected circuits. I based the design on the notion of card slots you mentioned. These card-like pages act as semi-finished magical arrays.

"That means the core magic array doesn't need to construct a complete spell circuit. It only needs to supplement it, which significantly reduces the energy and time consumption. Furthermore, by inserting specific 'pages' into corresponding slots, you can cast the spell you need!"

Avia pulled out two cards from the slots she had previously inserted them into. Sure enough, they were just as she described—metal cards roughly the size of a smartphone.

The "pages" had intricate, densely-packed spell arrays exposed on their surfaces. Wang Yu's scalp tingled just looking at them; the complexity was overwhelming. Clearly, these were early prototypes with exposed structures that left them vulnerable to damage.

"For now, I've only managed to complete two basic Tier 1 spells: Fireball and Wind Blade. The Fireball spell is standard, but I optimized the array for Wind Blade. I think you'll really like it!" Avia inserted the two "pages" back into their slots.

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Try it out!" she urged, handing the prototype to Wang Yu after some final adjustments.

"Alright!" Wang Yu took the book-like device. There was a thoughtful belt clip on its back allowing for easy attachment to his waist, which he noted with approval.

He clipped the book to his belt and extended his mental energy toward it. Almost immediately, he sensed the core magic array inside. With a mental nudge, the device's intricate, though still somewhat crude, mechanisms began to hum to life.

The core array drew magic from a high-purity mana crystal, combining earth and fire elements into a spellcasting process. Like a lithography machine, the core array completed the spell circuit on the semi-finished "page" in mere moments.

Within about 0.5 seconds, a fully functional spell array was formed. Then, another circuit activated, channeling magic from the mana crystal into the newly completed spell array.

About 0.75 seconds into the process, the elemental energies converged. Heat gathered at Wang Yu's palm, and a small Fireball—a bit smaller than a typical one—materialized above his hand.

Wang Yu stared at the Fireball in awe. Though he could cast spells using wizardry—distorting reality by simulating mana and channeling it with his mental energy—his void energy reserves were so low that he could only cast a single, weakened Tier 1 Fireball. It was barely practical.

With this device, however, he hadn't expended a single drop of mana or void energy. The core array needed just a touch of mental energy to be activated, and it could produce a Fireball within 0.75 seconds. While the spell's power was slightly reduced, the required casting time was extraordinary low. 0.75 seconds was practically instantaneous for a trainee magician. It was truly a revolutionary piece of equipment.

The scariest part was that the device could even cast spells continuously...

Wang Yu threw the Fireball, striking a large rock in the yard. Tier 1 Fireball spells weren't particularly powerful; the explosion only chipped a corner off the rock.

Then, fireballs flew from Wang Yu's hands in rapid succession, with about a second's interval between each one. He alternated throwing Fireballs with both hands. The stone was gradually chipped away until it crumbled into rubble after the final impact.

"Damn..." Wang Yu was stunned. This was incredible. While the individual Fireballs weren't overwhelming, a rapid-fire barrage of them was undoubtedly useful in combat. If anyone tried to kite him in a fight, he could bombard them with endless Fireballs and turn the tide.

"Try the Wind Blade spell next!" Avia urged, excited by Wang Yu's reaction.

"Alright!" Wang Yu nodded and shifted his mental energy to the Wind Blade "page."

Air currents swirled as mana compressed the surrounding air into a semi-transparent crescent blade of wind. The blade hovered by Wang Yu's side, its density creating visible distortions in the light.

Wang Yu aimed at a branch on a nearby tree.

"Huh?!" The Wind Blade didn't fly out the way he expected it to. Rather, it remained stationary, spinning briefly before dissipating with a sharp crack.

For a moment, Wang Yu was stunned. He looked at his hands, then at Avia, who was smiling knowingly. A surge of excitement filled him—this was a specialized spell, like Avia's Exploding Fireball. It was optimized for close combat: a melee-focused Wind Blade.

Taking a deep breath, Wang Yu calmed his mind. He activated the core array while forming his fingers into a blade-like gesture. As he swung his arm, the Wind Blade materialized. Since this Wind Blade didn't need to be launched, Avia was able to simplify the array and allow for even faster activation of the spell.

Every swing of his arm summoned a Wind Blade with almost no delay whatsoever. The air whistled sharply as he slashed repeatedly, forming a deadly web of invisible blades in front of him. The more he practiced, the more fluid and intuitive the movements became. A phrase surfaced in his mind: "The unseen blade is the deadliest." [1]

Wang Yu approached the brick wall at the edge of the yard. Each swing of his hand was met with the satisfying crunch of Wind Blades carving deep grooves into the bricks. Dust and debris flew as the Wind Blades eroded the wall.

Just as Wang Yu was immersed in his experiments, a strange fluctuation in the device's mana startled him. Alarmed, he instinctively infused void energy into a protective barrier.

Moments later, a blinding flash of light and a deafening explosion erupted. The book had exploded. Wang Yu stumbled out of the cloud of smoke, covered in soot. The barrier had absorbed most of the blast, but his clothes were singed and his waist was peppered with tiny embers.

"Wang Yu!" Avia ran over in a panic. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that he was unharmed.

"I'm really sorry..." She hung her head, clearly upset that her prototype had nearly injured him.

"This is amazing!" To her surprise, Wang Yu pulled her into a big hug, lifting her off the ground again.

"This device is incredible! It's a revolutionary creation! Remember Edison, the guy I told you about? He even burned down his entire lab once, and he still succeeded in the end. You'll definitely perfect your creation soon enough!"

Avia stared at Wang Yu's bright smile, her own face breaking into a radiant grin.

"Mm!" she nodded firmly.

1. Zed reference from League of Legends... ☜