Chapter 7: The First Arcane Attempt

Li Si did not begin researching the Arcane sub-module in his study; instead, he went directly to the magic workshop located in the basement of his mansion.

This space contained various magical research instruments that his predecessor had spent a fortune to acquire. It was also sufficiently quiet, and the servants all knew better than to disturb him there. Under the steady, clear light of the magic stone lamps, high-end equipment of all kinds caught Li Si's eyes.

"Advanced elemental stabilizer, elemental observer, magic rune engraver..."

What extravagance. Even the Kingdom’s top-tier Fess Royal Academy of Magic might not be able to equip all their senior mages with such instruments. It was hard to say whether his predecessor, a mere entry-level mage, could truly make use of these devices.

To be prudent, Li Si turned on the advanced elemental stabilizer—a device mounted on the wall shaped like a small radar—before calling up his interface and opening the Arcane sub-module.

In the game "Divine Enlightenment," every primary class offers various paths for specialization. For example, a character starting as a Warrior can choose to advance into a Shield Warrior, Knight, Paladin, etc. Mages can specialize into Fire Mages, Ice Mages, or even the so-called "Gundam Pilots"—Golem Controllers who excel at managing magical constructs. This was a hallmark of "Divine Enlightenment"; one could always find a path they enjoyed, even as a casual player.

Each specialization generally possesses its own unique characteristics. These advancements function more like a sublimation and strengthening of professional abilities, focusing on intensifying specific aspects of the character’s primary class.

The Arcanist, however, is a unique specialization among the countless others. It does not simply enhance a specific ability but instead provides the player with a path for growth through personal effort. It has an incredibly high skill ceiling, though its floor is equally low.

Based on descriptions from players who had chosen the Arcanist path in his past life and the screenshots of his own Arcane sub-system, he could see that the sub-system provided the ability to conduct in-depth manipulation and research into the four basic magical elements—Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind—as well as advanced elements like Light and Shadow.

In "Divine Enlightenment," the basic principle behind all spells used by mages is the use of chants and magic runes to manipulate corresponding magical elements into spell models (specific combinations and frequencies of elements) to produce extraordinary phenomena, such as conjuring fireballs or telekinesis. Currently, the way mages learn spells is by memorizing chants, constantly attempting to manipulate elements to construct spell models, and practicing until they finally master the spell.

But Arcanists believe that while magical elements are immutable, every mage is unique. Thus, some are gifted with fire spells, while others excel in manipulation spells. To an Arcanist, merely memorizing chants and relying on rote practice is the most inefficient and foolish method.

Arcanists are devoted to exploring the underlying laws of magical elements: why a certain combination of fire elements forms a fireball, or why fire and earth elements in a specific arrangement create the ninth-tier evocation spell, Meteor Swarm. At the same time, Arcanists adjust their chants and elemental models based on their own affinity for different elements, ultimately creating unique spells perfectly suited to their own essence.

These special spells, adjusted by Arcanists, are collectively known as "Arcana." Because they are more attuned to the Arcanist’s own nature, these spells are often more powerful or possess unique effects compared to their original forms. If a particular Arcanist’s exclusive Arcana proves to have significant universality and practical value while remaining aligned with their essence, it may be learned by other ordinary mages, eventually being passed down as a new spell.

For instance, the original first-tier Fireball spell, through the continuous improvements of generations of Arcanists, evolved into the Burst Fireball, the Kalugul Flame Dart, and many others, eventually leading to the terrifying ninth-tier Annihilation Fireball. Therefore, Arcanists are regarded as the inventors and explorers of the mage class.

Of course, according to the Arcanists’ own (pretentious) claim: "Power is merely a small bonus on our wonderful journey of exploring the magical elements!"

In the game of his past life, the Arcane sub-system could not achieve such complex spell adjustment. Players with the sub-system could only explore the Arcane model with the highest compatibility by constantly modifying the spell's elemental model. Because every change to an elemental model required spending experience points, Arcanist players jokingly called it "gambling for the jackpot." If you were lucky, you could construct an Arcane model with over 95% compatibility on the first try; if you were unlucky, you couldn't even reach 80% after a hundred attempts.

Consequently, Arcanist players were always very weak in the early stages of each game version, limited to using previous-tier Arcana. It was only in the mid-to-late stages, once they had finished adapting and modifying their newly mastered spells, that they would become powerful again.

Of course, this had nothing to do with the current Li Si. With his 3 points of Luck, Li Si did not feel that his process of improving Arcana would go very smoothly.

He clicked on the Arcane sub-module. Instead of a flat control screen like those in the screenshots posted by other players, a three-dimensional spell model composed of magical elements appeared directly before his eyes.

*Hmm, it feels like the Arcane sub-system is different from the one in my past life. Is it because I have truly transmigrated into the world of "Divine Enlightenment" that the system has evolved?*

Li Si shook his head and stopped overthinking it; after all, it wasn't something he could figure out right now. He immediately turned his attention to the many illusory spell models before him, which he assumed were all the spells he had already mastered.

The red particles were Fire elements, the yellow were Earth, the blue were Water, the green were Wind, and the translucent, pale-white particles were surely Spirit elements. Beyond these, Li Si could also see faint specks of white and black particles—presumably Light and Shadow elements. As for the legendary Imperial Time and Space elements, Li Si found no sign of them.

Li Si focused on a spell model composed of a cluster of Fire element particles; this must be the Fireball spell.

The Fireball spell model was arranged in a regular, circular pattern, with three magic rune circuits made of Fire elements running through it. Li Si pondered for a moment, then attempted to adjust the angle of one of the rune circuits relative to the others, before carefully injecting mana into the model.

Right before his eyes, the Fireball spell model grew brighter as mana was infused. A small, bright-red fireball formed, appearing significantly smaller than a fireball created using the standard spell model.

*What is this? Did it succeed?*

He didn't know how powerful it was; was he supposed to throw it at something to test it?

Suddenly, the small fireball began to bulge and twitch irregularly. In Li Si's terrified eyes...

"BOOM~~~~"

***

On the second floor of the mansion, in Li Si's bedroom, the maid Rosie, who was busy wiping the windows, suddenly felt the floor tremble beneath her feet and heard what sounded like an explosion.

"Strange, was that an earthquake?"

She looked out the window. Fess Street was the same as always—quiet and peaceful. The milky-white pigeons in the fountain square nearby showed no reaction, continuing to follow pedestrians and beg for food with their usual "coo-coo" sounds.

"I must have imagined it. Why would there be an earthquake on such a fine day?"

Rosie shook her head and went back to cleaning. Master Li Si seemed a bit different lately, so she had to work even harder.

But soon, Rosie realized it wasn't her imagination... because the tremors coming from the basement did not stop for the rest of the day!