A Crown of Shadows and Starlight

Chapter 18

I really hate creatures like owls and snakes!

Meilin tried her best to appear cute, forcing a smile. “I’d like to take a look at the introduction to level-zero spell models.”

“Here, take it!” The old woman tossed a large book with a purplish-red cover onto the table with a loud bang. Meilin seriously doubted whether she could even lift it.

“What kind of attitude is that? With that mindset, you’ll only ever be a wizard apprentice in this life.”

Meilin glanced at the old woman’s rank insignia and inwardly scoffed, then opened the massive book… Inside was an introduction to all level-zero spell models.

“Acid Arrow”: Forms an arrow made of acid to attack an enemy target.

“Hand of Darkness”: Condenses dark elements to restrain a target. More effective when cast at night.

“Dark Ray”: Has a strong piercing effect and is accompanied by intense negative emotions. More effective at night.

These were all dark-element spells. Neither their offensive nor defensive power satisfied Meilin, as her body’s dark-element affinity was relatively low.

“Mage Hand”?

Forget it.

“Touch of Fatigue”?

Not very interesting.

“Electric Net”: Forms a net of violent lightning elements covering dozens of meters, with a slight paralyzing effect.

“Wind Dash”: Increases the caster’s speed to that of a gusting wind.

“These two spells are good.” Meilin’s eyes lit up.

Her highest affinity was with lightning elements, and these two spells complemented her physique and abilities perfectly—one to restrain enemies, the other to enhance herself. However, she still lacked an offensive spell… After some hesitation, her gaze fell on “Lesser Energy Fireball”.

“This one will do.”

Meilin closed the book and took a deep breath. “I’d like the spell models for Electric Net, Wind Dash, and Lesser Energy Fireball, please.”

“Electric Net and Lesser Energy Fireball—fifteen magic stones each. Wind Dash—ten magic stones.”

After handing over forty magic stones to the old woman behind the counter, Meilin took the three parchment books and left. But for some reason, she felt that the woman’s gaze carried a certain hostility—not just due to a reclusive personality.

“Meilin, you bought spell models?”

Just then, Qianyu approached, spotting the parchments in her hands. He immediately understood why she had gone to the library. “Did Kania give you any trouble?”

“Kania?”

Meilin guessed that must be the old woman’s name. “Why would she give me trouble?”

“You don’t know?”

Qianyu’s eyes widened in shock. “Kania is Philer’s aunt, and she dotes on him. You rejecting Philer was a slap in their family’s face. If Kania didn’t make things difficult for you while buying spell models, then she must have something else planned.”

“Thanks, I’ll be careful.”

Meilin’s heart tensed. She thanked him and hurried back to her dormitory.

This was urgent!

If Kania didn’t know about her conflict with Philer or didn’t care, that would be fine. But judging from her gaze, she obviously cared a lot. If she didn’t interfere with Meilin’s purchase of spell models, that meant she was preparing to deal with her in another way.

When would it happen?

If she were in Kania’s position, she’d want to personally deal with her enemy to feel satisfied. And Philer was currently breaking through a bottleneck—meaning he would soon advance to a full-fledged wizard.

“What kind of nonsense is this? Just because I refused to be his woman, I’ve become his enemy?”

Meilin was both angry and baffled. What kind of twisted logic was that?

But wizards had always been eccentric in their ways—logic didn’t seem to matter much to them. Right now, her priority was mastering her spells as quickly as possible to execute her own plans.

Back in her dormitory, Meilin picked up the spell book for Electric Net first.

The spell books were made of parchment soaked in magical potions, giving them a cold, metallic feel. The entire book seemed like a single entity—without an unlocking incantation, reading it was impossible.

“Mara… Tini… Yaous…” Meilin chanted softly.

The spell book trembled, then floated in front of her and began turning its pages slowly. Meilin concentrated on reading. Only after she had fully absorbed and memorized its contents did the book close itself and return to her hands.

Constructing a spell model was similar to forming a will rune—it had to be built in the mental sea, but it was several times more complex. A normal wizard apprentice would need at least three months to form a single spell model, but Meilin didn’t have that kind of time.

Fortunately, she had the miraculous Nebula, which vastly extended her meditation hours. If that principle applied to spell model construction as well, then she had a major advantage. As long as she worked hard, she had a chance.

For the next month, Meilin barely left her room. She stocked up on food in her storage bag to prevent spoilage and focused entirely on constructing her spell models. By the time she finally stepped outside, she was so thin her jawline was sharp enough to cut.

“Oh my god! Meilin, what happened to you?!”

Qianyu looked like he had seen a ghost, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.

“Just… tired.” Meilin sighed helplessly.

She was exhausted, but her mental state was surprisingly good. She knew that without Nebula, she never would have lasted a month—let alone successfully constructed her spell models.

Humans only discover their limits when pushed to the brink. The looming crisis had given her motivation, and Nebula had ensured her success.

Additionally, through trial and error, she discovered another use for Nebula and the Stars. When fused with a spell, the Stars acted as a kind of refinement process, seemingly multiplying the spell’s power. She still needed to conduct more tests, but another discovery excited her even more—Nebula Energy could temporarily enhance her five senses.

For instance, if she fused a strand of Nebula with her eyes, she could perceive impurities in water. If she fused it with her ears, she could hear the whispers of insects dozens of meters away. It sounded exaggerated, but the results didn’t lie.

After bidding farewell to Qianyu, Meilin had a hearty meal at the academy’s cafeteria and then headed straight for the spell testing grounds.

Wizards never practiced spells inside laboratories. If they had a wizard’s tower, it would include a designated spell-testing area. But for those without a tower, the academy’s spell testing grounds were the best option.

Different testing areas were designated for different spell levels, and using them wasn’t free. One had to pay either in academy points or directly with magic stones—another example of the wizarding world’s strict equivalent exchange principle.