A Crown of Shadows and Starlight

Chapter 19

At this moment, Meilin had fully recovered her energy and stamina… though she was still somewhat thin, something that couldn’t be replenished overnight.

Perhaps for safety reasons, the academy had placed the Spell Experiment Zone far in the back—at the rear of the academy.

All the walls were constructed from obsidian stone, which was both incredibly sturdy and highly resistant to magic. Dense inscriptions covered the walls, but Meilin couldn’t be bothered to analyze them one by one. She headed straight for the entrance.

Inside the Spell Experiment Zone was a spacious hall. In the resting area on one side, quite a few wizard apprentices were gathered. Meilin’s entrance didn’t attract much attention—after all, people came and went here every day, and who had the time to care about one more person?

Meilin glanced around and spotted a few familiar faces, but since they weren’t close, there was no need for greetings. She walked straight up to the counter and spoke before the elderly man behind it could say anything.

“I want to conduct a spell experiment. Are there any vacant rooms?”

The elderly man had a pleasant disposition. He gave her a quick once-over and smiled warmly.

“We have both apprentice-level and wizard-level areas. You can only use the apprentice area. Within it, we offer public and private experiment rooms. The public rooms are shared with others, so you may experience interruptions, but they’re cheaper. As for the private rooms, well… they cost quite a bit more.”

“How much for a private experiment room?” Meilin asked.

Hearing this, the old man’s smile became even more sincere—it seemed he had encountered a wealthy customer.

“One magic stone for two hours. If you rent for ten hours straight, it’s only four magic stones. We also provide additional services—whether it’s food or potions, you can call for them anytime. It’s an excellent deal!”

“I’ll take one,” Meilin said, tossing four magic stones to the old man.

“Excellent! Please wait a moment!” The old man swiftly recorded her details and then handed her a black crystal card.

“Room 21. Please keep your room card safe. You can enter by turning right.”

Meilin nodded and followed his directions to the spell practice area.

The walls on either side were still made of obsidian stone. If someone were to dismantle and sell them, they would surely make a fortune… If the headmaster of Shuiyun Academy found out that one of his students had such a wasteful idea, he would probably hunt them down across the continent.

Unlike outside, the walls here had numerous doors, each marked with a room number, clearly indicating private experiment rooms. A crystal display screen was embedded in each door—green meant unoccupied, red meant in use. Meilin noticed that the soundproofing and shock absorption were excellent, as not even the slightest noise escaped from within.

“Room 21… here it is.”

Meilin quickly found her designated room. She waved the room card over the display screen, and the door swung open. A metallic female voice suddenly spoke:

“Welcome to Practice Room 21. You have ten hours at your disposal. Please make the most of your time.”

Meilin stepped inside. The door closed behind her, and when she glanced back, the display screen had already turned red. She then turned her attention to the interior of the room.

The practice room was a rectangular space, approximately 20 meters wide and 80 meters long. It was completely empty. However, near the entrance, a blue crystal orb was embedded in the wall. Meilin approached it and placed her hand on its surface.

“Please confirm the type, number, distance, and mode of appearance for your target dummies,” the same metallic female voice spoke again.

“Fixed targets, two units, forty meters away. Regenerate after destruction,” Meilin instructed.

Two beams of light suddenly descended from the ceiling. When the light faded, two humanoid dummies appeared. They were even equipped with armor, resembling knights in full gear.

The practice rooms offered both fixed and moving targets, but regardless of type, the dummies were magical projections with detailed damage assessments. Considering that, those magic stones were well spent.

Just like wizards themselves, spells were divided into levels, with higher-level spells being more powerful. However, this wasn’t absolute. Spells of adjacent levels, or those with opposing elemental properties, could sometimes yield unexpected results.

For example, within the same spell category, there were lower, intermediate, and advanced versions depending on the caster’s constructed spell model. Additionally, an advanced spell of a lower tier might still match a weaker spell of a higher tier. Defensive and offensive spells weren’t directly comparable either, and elemental interactions could also alter their effectiveness. In the world of wizards, there were simply too many variables to determine absolute strength.

Meilin had mastered three spells: Lightning Web, Gale Step, and Lesser Energy Fireball.

Gale Step was a support spell meant to be cast on oneself, so she only needed two target dummies for the offensive spells.

Casting spells required both mental and magical energy.

Since she had already internalized the spellcasting process while constructing the spell models, now was the time to put them into practice.

“Gradin… Fire’s Guidance!”

As Meilin chanted the incantation, a fireball the size of an adult man’s fist appeared above her right hand. Flames flickered across its surface.

“Go!”

With a throwing motion, the fireball arced through the air and struck the dummy on the right.

With a boom, flames engulfed the target entirely. A few seconds later, the fire dissipated, and the dummy vanished.

“Target One destroyed. Damage assessment: Total destruction. Spell power rating: Advanced.”

The metallic female voice provided the evaluation.

“It seems the enhancement from the Nebula is stronger than I expected… This secret must be kept safe,” Meilin thought to herself before moving on to her second spell.

“Pamira… Weave the Web!”

As Meilin uttered the incantation, a blue lightning net formed and descended upon the remaining dummy. The electric arcs crackled and wrapped around the target. It took a while before they faded.

This time, the dummy didn’t completely disappear, but its armored exterior appeared somewhat distorted.

“Target Two suffered minor damage. Additional effect: Paralysis, duration 3 seconds. Spell power rating: Advanced.”

“Not bad,” Meilin nodded.

She wasn’t disappointed by the lesser damage dealt by Lightning Web.

After all, it was an area-of-effect spell—as a zero-level spell, its raw attack power wasn’t high, but its real strength lay in its binding and paralysis effects. Three seconds of paralysis was enough to turn the tide of battle. Moreover, if used against a smaller target, the concentrated effect would be even more potent.