The Ascendant Wizard

After leaving Varra’s room, Morena didn’t immediately go back to her room.

She had already decided to check the Spell Hall first, and she wouldn’t change that just because Varra had given her a tempting offer. In fact, that was even more of a reason for her to go.

She needed to know what the Tower was offering normally. Only then could she properly judge how valuable Varra’s offer really was.

The Spell Hall was located on the fifth floor, not too far from the classrooms, but in a much quieter section of the Tower. The closer she got, the fewer apprentices she saw wandering around, and the ones she did see seemed more focused, moving with a purpose instead of casually walking around.

It naturally made sense that such a place wouldn’t have idle people lingering around.

Even if they were only 0-Circle spells, they were still spells. They were the foundation of a Wizard’s path, something that could decide what school a person leaned towards and how they developed in the future.

If they were to appear in a common area with normal people, the type of chaos they would cause is unheard of. Hundreds would die, if not thousands; this wasn’t just speculation, either, this had happened before on various occasions.

When she reached the entrance to the Spell Hall, she noticed immediately that the security was much stricter than the Library. The Library had guards, yes, but they were not as strict as the Spell Hall.

The Spell Hall was different.

Two guards stood directly in front of the large stone doors, while two more stood further back near the walls. All four were apprentices, but Morena could feel that they were not weak. Their mana was far more stable than hers, and the marks on their badges showed that they were not low-level apprentices either.

At the side of the entrance was a booth.

Inside the booth sat an actual, full-blown Wizard. A fact that was startling on its own.

The person was old, or at least old-looking, with long white hair tied behind their head and dark robes resting loosely over their frame. They simply sat there with one hand against their cheek, eyes half-lidded, watching everything as if none of it mattered.

But Morena knew better than to think they weren’t paying attention.

Beside the Wizard stood an apprentice, one with three marks on his badge. A third-level apprentice, most likely; he was the one speaking for the Wizard, checking people in, and telling them where they could and couldn’t go.

’Spells are truly so important that they would have a Wizard guard it?’

Morena knew the value of spells, but seeing it firsthand was something else. It wasn’t just knowledge; it was the controlled power behind it; the fewer people with access to it, the more valuable it is.

Morena stepped forward and handed her badge to one of the guards before she was asked. The man took it, placed it against a crystal fixed into the wall, and waited as the mark Varra had placed on it lit faintly.

"Low-Level Apprentice."

He handed it back to her.

"First floor only."

Morena clipped the badge back onto her side.

"Understood."

The third-level apprentice in the booth looked over lazily.

"Entry is free, but access to the spell tomes is paid. You may view names and short descriptions. You cannot open anything without paying."

Morena nodded.

"I understand."

The stone doors opened slowly, and she stepped inside.

The Spell Hall was not as massive as the Library, but it felt far more organized. There were long rows of shelves separated by category, each one sealed behind a thin layer of transparent mana that shimmered softly.

Unlike the Library, where books were everywhere, and knowledge felt almost endless, this place was not nearly as vast. Everything was carefully organized and placed in the section it belonged to with great care.

Morena walked forward slowly, taking in everything around her.

The first floor was only for 0-Circle spells. According to the signs, the higher floors contained stronger spells, including 1-Circle spells and above, but those were naturally beyond her reach.

For now, she could only look at the most basic spells available to apprentices.

She started with the larger sections first.

Fire had the most.

Spark. Heat Palm. Cinder Thread. Smoke Flicker. Small Flame Seed.

Each one had a small description beneath the name, enough to tell what the spell was meant to do, but not nearly enough to copy it. Morena tried to focus a little deeper on one of them, but the barrier over the shelf pushed her senses away almost immediately.

’So even sensing through it is restricted.’

She wasn’t surprised, but it was useful to know; she couldn’t flip through them to have the AI scan them since she couldn’t open them, so that too was a bust.

The next section was Water.

Condense Drop. Mist Cover. Minor Frost Film. Cleanse Flow. Water Pull.

Then Wind, Earth, Nature, and a few other categories. Most of them had decent amounts of spells, not many by the standards of a proper archive, but enough that a beginner could choose a path without feeling completely limited.

It made the Mental section even more disappointing when she finally found it.

It was small, so very small.

Compared to the elemental sections, the Mental section looked like it had been added out of obligation and thrown together in a hurry. There were only a few tomes on the shelf, and even those looked older and less maintained than the others.

Morena stood in front of it and read the names.

Focus Link. Sensory Pulse. Emotion Dull. Minor Thought Delay. False Whisper.

That was all; a mere five spells.

She frowned slightly.

’Varra wasn’t lying.’

Most of them sounded exactly like what Varra had said. Basic focus aids, sensory spells, emotional suppression, and weak interference. By no means was it anything impressive.

Nothing that sounded like it would help her in a real fight, at least not immediately.

Still, she read the descriptions slowly.

Focus Link helped sharpen concentration for a short time and could even be used to heighten focus on one specific target.

Sensory Pulse released a weak mental pulse that helped detect movement or mana disturbance around the caster.

Emotion Dull allowed someone to temporarily lower their emotions into a dulled state; it could even be used on others if they did not resist too strongly.

Minor Thought Delay could slightly slow another person’s reaction, though the description made it clear that it was weak and unreliable.

False Whisper allowed the caster to create a faint mental impression, almost like making someone think they heard something.

While she could see the use in some of them, buying them with the little points she had would be a waste. She had to prioritize spells that could allow her to gain more.

Morena’s eyes lingered on Sensory Pulse and Minor Thought Delay the longest. One could be useful with the AI, while the other fits her affinity more directly, but neither felt like something worth building her path on.

Still, she had to start somewhere.

Before making a choice, she walked around the floor once more, looking for any sign of a Dark Arts section.

She found nothing; there was not a single section that even hinted at having Dark Arts. After checking twice, she finally approached one of the workers moving between shelves.

"Where is the Dark Arts section?"

The apprentice looked at her for a second, then glanced at her badge.

"Second floor and above."

"So there are none on the first floor?"

"No."

"What is required for second-floor access?"

"Third-level apprentice. Dark Arts are restricted; low-level and mid-level apprentices don’t get access unless a Wizard gives permission."

"I see."

The apprentice gave her one last glance, then continued on his way, clearly not interested in explaining more. After which Morena returned to the Mental section.

It seemed like Varra was right; if she wanted a Dark Arts spell normally, she would need to reach third-level apprentice first. With her current Matrix Stability, that was not impossible, but it was not close either. Even if she progressed quickly, she would still need time, resources, and spells to reach that point.

Varra was offering a shortcut.

Morena looked over the Mental spells again. While she could help Varra and profit from that, she still needed something now.

Even if Varra’s offer was better, she couldn’t rely entirely on it. She needed to understand how an actual 0-Circle spell worked, and the AI needed a complete model to study.

That meant she would buy one, the cheapest and most useful one, of course.

She went back to the counter near the entrance, where the third-level apprentice was speaking for the Wizard in the booth.

"I would like to buy a spell."

"Which one?"

"Sensory Pulse."

He reached for a ledger and flipped through it.

"One hundred and fifteen points."

Morena’s brows lowered slightly.

’That’s expensive.’

It was much too expensive for a basic spell, but at the same time, she understood why. Even the weakest spell was still a spell, and every apprentice who wanted to advance needed one eventually.

She had 285 points left after her Library visit. Spending 115 would leave her with 170.

Still enough to use the Library a few more times, but it would put her in a tight spot if she wasn’t careful.

"I’ll take it."

"Badge."

Morena handed it over, and he placed it against the crystal.

[Badge updated: -115 Points]

[Remaining Points: 170]

Seeing the number decrease bothered her more than she expected.

Points were not easy to earn, and she had already burned through a good chunk of what she had gained from selling the pendant. She would need to start looking into missions soon if she wanted to keep using the Tower properly.

The apprentice placed a thin contract in front of her.

"Read and sign."

Morena picked it up and read it carefully.

The contract stated that the spell could not be copied, sold, traded, taught, or shown to another apprentice. The copy she received would only open to her mana signature and badge. If another person tried to open it, the spell structure inside would seal itself and notify the Tower.

If she tried to reproduce it for someone else, she would be punished. There were no refunds if she failed to learn it.

’I wonder what sort of spell binds these contracts? They must be pretty powerful.’

Morena signed the contract and handed it back.

The apprentice stamped it, then reached beneath the counter and took out a thin booklet wrapped in pale grey paper. There was a small seal on the front, and the moment it touched the counter, Morena could feel a faint mana structure inside it.

"Sensory Pulse. 0-Circle. Beginner Mental-leaning perception spell."

He pushed it toward her.

"Do not open it in the hall. Do not try to alter the spell circle before learning the original. If you damage your Matrix, that is your fault."

Morena took the booklet and simply turned to leave.

As she walked toward the exit, her gaze shifted briefly toward the stairs leading to the second floor. A stronger barrier blocked the way, and beyond it.

Morena left the Spell Hall and made her way back toward her room with the spell booklet in hand; she had gotten what she came for, but she wasn’t satisfied.

Sensory Pulse was useful, yes, but it wasn’t enough. It was a tool, but it had little offensive or even defensive usage. If she wanted something that would actually help her stand above the others, then she would need more than what the Spell Hall offered to beginners.

Once she returned to her room, she locked the door and placed the booklet on her desk.

For a moment, she simply stared at it.

’This little thing is worth one hundred and fifteen points. Let’s see how good it is.’

’AI, scan the structure once I open it. Record everything, but do not attempt any modification yet.’

[Understood.]

Morena placed her badge against the seal, and the paper wrapping loosened on its own before her eyes as if it had come alive, then the booklet opened.

A faint circle of symbols rose from the page, hovering above it in dull light. It was small and simple compared to the diagrams Varra had shown in class, but it was also far more complete than any spell structure Morena had seen so far.

’So this is a real 0-Circle spell.’

The AI began recording immediately.