Chapter Five: The Blindingly Brilliant Enhancement That Dazzles Even the Most Lavish Eyes

Nighttime, in Andy’s meditation chamber.

Andy was jotting down notes in his journal. He’d long understood that in a world where you didn’t possess your own power, the more you knew, the faster you died. What he urgently needed now was strength.

If he could just advance to become a Knight, his combat abilities would soar. Unfortunately, his family’s breathing technique offered only the vaguest guidance on how to reach knighthood: “Comprehend the seed of power between life and death.”

Andy could grasp the gist, but he had no intention of courting death simply for the sake of power.

So, he turned his focus to his own sorcery, for that was his true means of survival in this world of wizards. First, he needed to resolve the persistent headache that always kept him from entering a meditative state.

On the table before him sat a small cage, inside which a snow-white mouse scurried. This was a Squeakmouse, a common laboratory creature among wizards. Andy took out the Nobeysu potion—a single bottle of which could trade for an entire estate—let a single drop fall onto a breadcrumb, and fed it to the Squeakmouse.

He observed in silence for an hour. The Squeakmouse remained lively and energetic. Andy sighed inwardly; if only he’d mastered the first-level spell “Toxin Detection,” he wouldn’t have needed to go to such trouble. He picked up the potion and drank it all in one go, then closed his eyes to experience its effects.

Though he’d heard this was a crucial auxiliary potion for advancing as a wizard, he had no intention of saving it for later.

When the headache finally faded, Andy felt alert and refreshed. He began his first meditation in this new world.

The meditation technique Stein had taught him was called “Castellon.” Legend had it that the Castellon was a giant tree growing amidst endless flames, and that practicing this meditation would enhance one’s fire-elemental spells.

It was said that long-term practitioners of the “Castellon” meditation sometimes awakened innate abilities related to fire magic—these were called “Meditation Talents.” Corresponding to Meditation Talents were the rarer and more coveted “Soul Talents.”

No sooner had Andy entered his meditative state than he broke it off abruptly, a look of astonishment on his face. He reached for the crystal ball on the table and channeled his mental energy into it.

A red glow began to shimmer within, gradually intensifying, until suddenly it flared orange.

“It really is the spiritual power of a mid-level wizard’s apprentice!” Andy exclaimed in delight.

From memory, he knew he’d only ever had the power of a low-level apprentice. He hadn’t expected his mental energy to surge like this. Perhaps it was due to a fusion of souls, or maybe the Soul-Eater Grass had a hidden effect, or was it the Nobeysu potion’s doing?

Andy had no time to analyze the cause. A thrilling possibility came to him: “The power of the transmigrator! No explanation needed!”

Perhaps his potential would skyrocket, allowing him to sweep through this other world with ease. Eagerly, he took from the drawer an instrument resembling a thermometer, marked with notches labeled “Third-Class, Second-Class, First-Class, Super-Class”—the “Wizard Aptitude Test Meter.”

He placed it gently against his brow, waited five minutes, and then checked the reading. His face fell.

“So much for soaring potential. Still stuck at Third-Class—useless as ever.”

It took him a while to shake off the disappointment. He opened “A Detailed Guide to Zero-Level Sorcery” to choose a spell to learn.

With his newfound mid-level apprentice mental power, Andy was already qualified to study first-level spells—if only he could successfully construct their models. His mentor, however, had never supplied him with those materials, cautioning him never to overreach.

Sifting through the zero-level spells, Andy chose “Ignition” as the first to model. This humble spell conjured a small flame—no different, really, from using a lighter on Earth.

Yet this unremarkable “Ignition” spell was the prerequisite for the first-level spell “Fire Arrow” and the second-level “Fireball”—the very spells that synergized with the “Castellon” meditation.

Once he began constructing the spell model, Andy realized it was far less difficult than he remembered. Using mid-level apprentice mental power to build a zero-level spell was like a middle schooler doing grade-school math—child’s play.

As soon as a mysterious flame-shaped mark appeared in his consciousness, Andy felt as if a new world had opened before him.

His awareness expanded sharply; even with eyes closed, he could sense every detail within five meters. At the same time, what once seemed like ordinary air was now alive with whirling white motes of light, like fireflies in the night. He knew these were magical particles.

He sent out a mental frequency, which resonated with his newly constructed spell model and amplified a hundredfold before rippling outward.

Sensing this, the magical particles surged toward Andy, flooding into his body from all directions. This was the process by which a novice apprentice drew magic into themselves. If Andy could construct a first-level spell model, the process would become even more efficient.

About an hour later, no matter how he summoned with his mind, his internal magic no longer increased. Any magical particles entering simply leaked out again. He knew he’d reached the limit for a novice apprentice. Only by expending magic through spellcasting could he replenish it through meditation.

Feeling the magic coursing inside him, Andy was overjoyed and couldn’t resist testing his new spell.

Zero-level spells were notoriously simple—wizards called them “cantrips.” They required no incantation or gesture. Andy simply activated the “Ignition” model with his mind, and a burning flame sprang to life on his right index finger.

Recalling his magical training, Andy understood the process: first, one activated the spell model mentally; the model transmitted information to the internal magic, which formed a circuit within the body. This circuit resonated with external magical particles to complete the spell. The more complex the spell, the slower the circuit formed, often requiring gestures or incantations to speed things up.

Once the spell was cast, the circuit dissipated, returning the body to a stable magical state—only then could another spell be cast.

This period of dissipation was the spell’s “cooldown.” The more complex the circuit, the longer the cooldown. According to the “Detailed Guide,” “Ignition” had a three-second cooldown.

Andy watched the flame flicker on his finger. Suddenly, with a thought, another flame ignited on his middle finger.

His eyes went wide—in another instant, there was a flame on his ring finger. Then his little finger, thumb, left thumb, left index, middle, ring, and little fingers…

As flames erupted one after another on his hands, Andy stared in utter stupefaction. “Where did my cooldown go?”

And feeling the magic still brimming inside him, he was incredulous.

“And where’s my magic consumption?”

It took a while for Andy to regain his composure. With a thought, all the flames vanished. A suspicion arose, and his heart thudded wildly in his chest.

Forcing himself to calm down, he meditated again and constructed another spell from the guide—“Cleanse.”

Once successful, he proceeded to spam “Cleanse” around the chamber, leaving it spotless, as if newly renovated.

At last, Andy drew a conclusion.

Cooldown: virtually zero. Magic: still full!

Recalling the game he’d been playing when he transmigrated, he finally understood his current state.

He’d always found the description amusing, and now he remembered it in detail. In layman’s terms, he was in “Infinite Energy Mode”—specifically, “The Blinding, Ultra-Shiny Buff That Makes Whales Weep.”

The Blinding, Ultra-Shiny Buff included: 1) 100% reduction in mana and energy consumption; 2) +80% cooldown reduction for skills, active items, and summoner spells; 3) +25% tenacity and control resistance; 4) +60 movement speed and movement speed while moving; 5) 100% attack speed bonus for ranged heroes; 6) ranged hero crits deal 25% extra base damage; 7) +35% dinosaur resistance; 8) stay away from designers and players who take skill descriptions too seriously; 9) this unit can currently cross the abyss; 10) source: Dark Voodoo Magic.

Realizing all these effects were now his own, Andy was over the moon. He swept everything off the table in a single motion. Ignoring the crystal ball’s shattering wail and the Squeakmouse’s terrified squeaks, he sat down, placed his hands on the table, and began to tap rhythmically, as if the hardwood was a gleaming white piano.

Lost in his own reverie, it seemed to Andy that a symphony of fate played in his ears—though in truth, he was simply providing his own soundtrack with his mouth.

“Dun dun dun dun! Dun dun dun dun!” As the music played, flames began to dance between his moving hands, then multiplied, leaping onto his arms, shoulders, hair, and legs… Andy, wrapped in fire, delighted in his own performance, as if a spirit born of flame.

At last, the night grew deep, the music ceased, and the flames faded. The city of Andas was plunged into profound silence.

Suddenly, a peal of wild laughter rang out.

“Thief hahaha hahaha hahaha…”