Chapter 70: Combined Effect Of Talent And Physique
The screen appeared before his eyes.
Just like last time, there were several choices for the evolution.
[Mana Thread Spell can now be evolved. Choose an evolution: Advanced Mana Thread Spell, Shock Absorption Spell, Elastic Thread Spell, Sensory Thread Spell, Mana Cable Spell, Mana Sword Spell.]
Alex did not rush the evolution choices. He examined every choice before making a decision.
The first option, Advanced Mana Thread Spell, seemed to be the standard evolution path. It should improve Mana Thread in every aspect without changing its core functions, making it sharper, stronger, and easier to control.
It wasn’t flashy, but Alex knew that monsters after Level 10 demanded stronger spells, so the option would help him greatly against them.
The second option surprised him a little. Shock Absorption Spell wasn’t something he had expected to see, but after thinking about it, he believed he understood why it had appeared.
During his dungeon fights, he layered two Mana Threads over his sword, with one vibrating to increase the blade’s cutting power while the other absorbed those vibrations before they damaged the weapon itself.
That wasn’t something the spell taught him. Alex discovered through experimentation that mana could absorb shocks if it was stretched and condensed in the right pattern, so the System likely recognized that application and offered an evolution based on it.
If the spell worked as he imagined, he could eventually create armor capable of dispersing impacts, giving him an excellent defensive option.
His attention shifted to Elastic Thread Spell. It immediately caught his interest because it introduced a property of mana he hadn’t known existed.
He already understood that mana could become rigid enough to cut through steel or flexible enough to absorb vibrations, but genuine elasticity was something entirely different.
Several possibilities immediately came to mind. He could use elastic mana like a slingshot to launch Fire Bullets at much greater speed.
He even wondered whether the leader of the Titan Reef Crabs had been using the same principle to fire its Water Bullets. If that was true, then this evolution fit his current fighting style almost perfectly. It would increase his combat power by a good margin.
The spell also solved another problem. Whenever Alex fought at close range, he had to reduce the amount of Fire-element mana inside his Fire Bullets to avoid hurting himself with the explosion.
That reduced the power of Fire Bullets, and they could no longer kill the monster. With elastic mana providing the launching force instead, he could fire much faster projectiles without relying entirely on explosive power.
The evolution was good. Very good. The name of the Spell was on the plain side, but the applications and effects it provided were powerful.
Even so, Alex resisted the temptation to choose it immediately. Making decisions too quickly was not good. He continued examining the remaining options before reaching a conclusion.
Sensory Thread Spell appeared to expand another property of mana he had already discovered. Mana naturally allowed him to sense anything it touched, but the name of the spell left an important detail unclear.
He couldn’t tell whether the evolution would let him leave Mana Threads behind independently or simply extend them farther away from his body.
The difference was enormous. If the threads could remain in place after he moved away, he could eventually leave Fire Bullets around an area and trigger them like hidden mines.
On the other hand, if the spell only increased his range, then it overlapped too much with Mana Sense Spell and wasn’t worth choosing.
Finally, his gaze settled on Mana Cable Spell.
Unlike his previous Spell Evolutions, Alex had no clear idea what Mana Cable actually did. The name suggested several Mana Threads could be woven together into something sturdier than a single thread, but that was only a guess.
Rather than wasting time speculating, he decided to test it himself.
He raised a hand and created three tiny Mana Threads above his palm. At first, he simply pressed them together into a thicker strand and watched the result for a few seconds.
Nothing seemed different, and the mana behaved almost exactly as before.
Alex tried a different approach. Instead of forcing the threads together, he began weaving them around each other like strands of rope. He didn’t realize he had entered a trance.
As the weave tightened, he immediately noticed the difference. The mana was compressed much more evenly and it required less concentration compared to compressing it like he normally did.
A notification appeared before his eyes.
[Mana Cable Spell detected.]
[Would you like to learn Mana Cable Spell?]
[Yes/No]
Alex raised an eyebrow in surprise. He hadn’t chosen an evolution yet. This meant, he learnt the spell by himself, and could still choose another evolution.
There was no reason to refuse the spell.
Even if Mana Cable turned out to be less useful than he expected, it would still occupy another slot on his Status and help him determine what was the limit to the number of spells he could possess.
He selected Yes, and another notification immediately appeared.
[Mana Cable Spell, E Rank, Level 1]
[The combination of Spell Evolution Talent and Origin Spell Physique is awesome!]
[Effect: Allows you to compress more mana and do it uniformly.]
A faint smile appeared on his face. He tried the spell again. After the spell appeared on his Status, weaving Mana Threads immediately became smoother.
Alex created three Mana Threads and effortlessly braided them into a single Mana Cable.
Another idea then came to him, causing him to take his wand out of the Inventory and convert his mana into fire-element mana. Instead of compressing it directly into a Fire Bullet, he divided and compressed it into three thin burning threads.
Tiny blue sparks flickered along the strands while flames danced across their surface.
Alex closed his eyes because the flames made the fire-element mana difficult to observe, but he did not need his eyesight for the task. He could sense his mana. With that ability, he carefully examined the fire-element mana threads beneath the flames before weaving the three burning threads together.
The System’s assistance became obvious almost immediately, making the weaving process much easier than before.
Much of the concentration that should have been required simply disappeared, allowing him to focus on the mana’s structure instead of struggling to control it.
By the time he finished, Alex already knew the experiment had succeeded.
’The System’s assistance with Mana Cable Spell works on elemental mana too,’ he concluded. That wasn’t all, he could now—
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