Chapter 12: Fireball, Fireball

To be precise, what Gray learned was Fireball, and he learned it at the first level.

Fireball is a legendary third-level magic, and among the first three levels of magic, its status is like Liana Dawn in Deep Blue, a unique existence. There are many legends and sayings about Fireball, the most common one being that a mage who only knows how to cast Fireball is not a good mage. However, no matter how this saying is understood, it actually acknowledges the special and unique nature of Fireball.

The background of this saying is that Fireball is extremely important for low-level mages. It is because of Fireball that those low-level mages below the sixth level have a place in wars and are no longer completely negligible characters. Every mage, when they are newly promoted to the fifth level and can study third-level magic, will basically choose Fireball as the first spell to delve into. The not-too-long three-second casting time, the basic range of thirty meters, the ten-meter diameter killing range, and the damage power that can cause light injuries to lucky warriors, severe injuries to ordinary warriors, and even death to unfortunate warriors within the damage range, all make it stand out among all the magic of the same level. The warriors here refer to those who are at the same fifth level or below as the mages, which makes mages with Fireball have a powerful weapon for group killing against low-level warriors, while at this stage, warriors can only choose to stab mages one by one with their swords, which is time-consuming and dangerous, and often ends in a bad way.

It is precisely because Fireball is so powerful that there was an extreme phenomenon at one time where low-level mages all diligently studied Fireball, which induced the emergence of this saying. The peak of Fireball research and development is marked by a magic note published by an eighth-level mage: "On the Possibility of Five Fireballs Killing a Mage Master".

This is a note that changed history, possessing all the elements for widespread circulation, including a sensational title, logical reasoning, and a surprising conclusion. In fact, the original title of this note was "A Preliminary Exploration of the Superposition Effect of Fireball in a Closed Space", and the conclusion was that when twelve Fireballs are cast simultaneously, even a eighteen grades mage master would have difficulty resisting their superimposed damage. In the most extreme conditions, for example, if this eighteenth-level mage master is unlucky enough that every Fireball produces a critical hit effect, and it happens to be in a specially shaped closed space, standing at the focal point of reflected energy, theoretically, only five Fireballs are enough.

This magic note was initially obscure but became popular immediately after someone changed the title to "Five Fireballs Killing a Mage Master!".

What angered the mage masters was that, apart from the ulterior title, the premises of this magic note were clear, the logic was rigorous, and the calculations were accurate. That is to say, its conclusion was correct, although this conclusion had almost no practical significance. Which mage master would stay in a carefully calculated closed space and let five Fireball spells bombard them? Moreover, the powerful mental strength and mastery of magic power of a mage master would make it almost impossible for low-level spells like Fireball to produce critical hits and extreme effects. It would take the most extreme conditions plus a series of coincidences to achieve the effect of five Fireballs. But who would care about these among low-level mages and more people who only have a rudimentary understanding of magic? Their eyes were only on the phrase "Five Fireballs Killing a Mage Master".

It was infuriating but helpless. It would be foolish for a mage master to debate the logic of five Fireballs with low-level mages.

The uniformity of magic research is indeed harmful to the prosperity of magic itself. Therefore, at that time, led by a certain grand mage master, dozens of mages and hundreds of apprentices conducted extensive investigations and research for nearly three years and ultimately produced a report. The conclusion was that after excessively studying Fireball, a certain proportion of mages would encounter additional difficulties in their future advancement, and severe cases could even affect the ultimate magical height that mages could reach!

Once this article was published, it immediately caused a commotion among Fireball mages. Numerous Questions were raised about the statistical data in the report.

The problem lies in the fact that, despite being erroneous and illogical, these statistical data are the only reference available to low-level fireball mages, who lack the resources to collect raw data themselves. Thus, both supporters and opponents are compelled to cite the statistical data from the report to support their arguments. With frequent citations, these statistical data become accepted as truth. If reality contradicts these data, it is deemed that reality must be wrong.

Regardless of their indignation, the fireball mages ultimately have to accept this reality. Besides their anger, they are truly afraid that it might affect their own advancement. Although the Grand Mage in question does not hold much weight on his own, he represents the consensus of the higher-level mages, a stratum that effectively determines the future of the fireball mages. Thus, the situation in the sea of fireballs gradually changes. This is actually a good thing for the development of the magical civilization itself.

However, the entire process ultimately proves another point: the number of mages is not important; level determines everything.

Yet, the reason why fireball magic is fireball magic is that, no matter how objectively or extremely people treat it, it remains unique. Even a twenty-level Grand Mage, when facing thousands of ordinary soldiers on the battlefield, would probably react by throwing out a fireball first. After years of repeated research, all supermagic techniques, including magic enhancement, magic maximization, magic quick casting, magic instant casting, magic silent casting, spell upgrading, precise control, spell delay... all have special research targeting fireball magic. This is not just the case for the first three levels of magic; even among the first five levels of magic, there is no other spell that can compare with fireball magic.

As the controversy surrounding fireball magic gradually subsided, the low-level mage who sparked the debate was later known as the "Five Fireballs Mage," with his real name gradually forgotten.

Benefiting from the extensive collection of books in Deep Blue, when learning fireball magic, Grey also learned about the complex history behind this spell.

Throughout the various courses of the entire month, only three days were directly related to magic: Magic Classification, Introduction to Low-Level Magic, and Meditation. The instructor for Introduction to Low-Level Magic was also a Mage, and the content of the course focused more on theories such as elemental balance. The incantations, gestures, and casting of various low-level magic were merely mentioned in passing, with students being asked to learn from the issued magic books on their own. After nearly a month of study, Aiden Grey had discovered that the magicians teaching at Deep Blue had a common characteristic: they dwelt extensively on theories, with more emphasis on purely theoretical content and complete disregard for practical magic casting techniques, often requiring students to practice and understand on their own.

In any other place, magicians who teach like this would surely be considered frauds, or at least incompetent mages who only engage in empty talk. But at Deep Blue, theory is held in a very high position, and doing well in theoretical research is a shortcut to pleasing Liana Morninglight. Moreover, except for the old mage who teaches history, the instructors are at least fourteen-level High Mages, a level high enough to silence all doubts.

Grey learned fireball magic from the magic book issued to him. In fact, the casting and control of fireball magic are not complex; the main reason it is classified as a third-level spell is its higher demand for basic magical power.

After class each day, besides the necessary meditation, Grey constantly practiced magic. He spent fifteen days mastering all six level-0 universal spells and then continued to refine them. While practicing level-0 magic, Grey also reviewed the entire content of level-1 to level-3 magic to systematically understand low-level magic and choose his first level-1 spell. His innate talent for wisdom is always at work, and Grey found that his understanding of low-level magic was quick and thorough, with a basic understanding achieved after just a few readings. It was during this process that Grey unexpectedly discovered that fireball magic, as a third-level spell, was exceptionally simple, even simpler than some level-1 spells.

There is actually a reason for this. After nearly a thousand years of refinement and research by countless individuals, fireball magic has nearly reached perfection. The simplicity of its casting method is a testament to its effectiveness.

Grey is still a teenager with a very strong curiosity. When he used his newly acquired knowledge to calculate that his current magical power had just reached the minimum standard for casting fireball magic, his heart began to race uncontrollably.