Chapter 68 – The Babbling Brook

Chapter 68 – The Babbling Brook

This time, Mo Lan had learned her lesson. She was going to follow every single word in the book to the letter—no more making assumptions.

Every step of learning magic had to be taken on solid ground.

To make sure she didn’t miss any information, she not only read through the entire section on the Spring Water spell, but also pulled out *The Babbling Brook* for a look.

The preface of *The Babbling Brook* explained that the book covered the magical principles, common forms, control techniques, practice directions, and casting efficiency of the Spring Water spell. It was intended for witches who could already cast the Spring Water spell and wanted to further refine it.

Having confirmed that skipping this book wouldn’t affect her initial study of the Spring Water spell, Mo Lan set it aside and followed the instructions in 《Fire, Light, and Water》.

Step one: feel the spring water and form an accurate impression of it.

Mo Lan placed her left hand in the water basin.

This step wasn’t difficult. Whether in her previous life or this one, water was something she was intimately familiar with.

In her memories from Earth, every imaginable kind of water was readily available.

As she recalled her memories of water, Mo Lan couldn’t help but let her thoughts wander again.

Volume Seven of *The Continent of Valen* had stated that witches used willpower and emotion to drive the magical power in their bloodline to cast spells.

She wondered—if she thought of sewage, mineral water, or even wine while casting, would the mana she channeled produce sewage, wine, or mineral water?

If that were possible, wouldn’t witches essentially be able to manifest whatever they imagined?

But before the Sorceresses appeared, witches hadn’t held the kind of status that would suggest they could do something like that.

Though Mo Lan was curious, she didn’t dare experiment recklessly. These questions could wait until she asked Lady Amisha!

Right now, what she needed was perfectly pure, drinkable spring water.

She cleared her thoughts and summoned every memory she had of pure water, deepening her impression.

Holding the wand in her right hand, she aimed the tip at the empty basin by her feet and channeled the tiniest amount of mana—less than half a Mana.

Something burst from the wand!

A stream of water as thick as a thigh poured down from the wand tip, flooding the bottom of the basin within seconds.

Water splashed onto her feet.

It worked?!

Her emotions surged with excitement, and the water flow grew even stronger, spilling over the sides.

“Stop, stop, stop!” Mo Lan hastily clamped down on her mana, and the water ceased.

She’d nearly flooded the dormitory. Fortunately, all her practice with Magic Infusion had made her much better at controlling mana than before, and she managed to stop in time.

Heart still pounding, she patted her chest.

“Can’t get excited, can’t get excited!”

The effect of emotions on spellcasting was enormous.

Curiously, she touched the tip of her wand—it was still dry. “That’s incredible!”

After calming herself down, Mo Lan ran straight to the water tower in the backyard. She aimed her wand inside the tower and channeled half the amount of mana she’d used before, attempting the Spring Water spell again. A stream of water as thick as a calf poured down.

This time she kept her emotions in check and continued halving her mana output. The spring water produced also decreased, narrowing to only the thickness of a forearm.

When she increased her mana output, the water flow thickened accordingly.

The water tower filled up in no time.

In total, she’d used less than 20 Mana.

She wanted to keep practicing, but there was nowhere left to put the water, so she had to call it quits.

It was getting late. Mo Lan lay in bed but felt not the slightest bit sleepy.

She summoned the Book of Cards and took out her Status Card.

Running her fingers over the newly appeared “Spring Water spell (Apprentice)” in the magic column, she couldn’t stop admiring it no matter how many times she looked.

This was the first spell she had truly learned on her own!

Apprentice-level Spring Water spell!

How were Witch Magic levels classified again?

Right—it was based on the maximum percentage of one’s total magical power or mana that could be effectively channeled when casting a given spell. If it was less than 2% of one’s total magical power or mana, it was classified as Apprentice level.

Reaching 2% meant Beginner level.

Reaching 4% meant Intermediate level.

Reaching 6% meant Advanced level.

Reaching 8% meant Peak level.

And 10% was beyond Peak.

Mo Lan’s current total mana was 970 Mana.

That meant if she could cast the Spring Water spell using 19.4 Mana in a single cast with no mana lost to anything other than the spell itself, her Spring Water spell would qualify as Beginner level.

Unfortunately, the water tower wasn’t large enough for her to test it fully. The most she’d managed to channel during normal casting was only 2 Mana.

That was 0.2% of her total mana—still a long way from 2%.

However, she had clearly felt that increasing her mana output wasn’t as effortless as decreasing it.

Although the water volume did increase with higher mana output, it clearly wasn’t proportional.

When she’d output half a Mana, the water stream was as thick as a thigh. When she halved it again, the stream was as thick as a calf.

The water volume had decreased roughly in proportion with the mana output.

But when she’d output 1 Mana, the water stream was only about a finger’s width thicker than at half a Mana. And at 2 Mana, it had only increased by half a finger’s width more.

She was using more mana, but the water flow wasn’t increasing nearly as fast. It was completely disproportionate.

Thinking about it now, the mana was probably being lost during the casting process. But what was causing it?

Mo Lan wiggled her fingers, and the Grimoire flew over from the nightstand.

Remembering the last time it had hit her in the face, she sat up before opening *The Babbling Brook*.

“…

Factor One Affecting the Spring Water Spell’s Effectiveness: Water Magic Talent.

The Spring Water spell is essentially the manifestation of the purest water element.

The higher one’s water magic talent, the more efficiently magical power converts into water elemental force, making it easier to transform magical power into water element and cast the Spring Water spell.

If one’s water magic talent is at the Apprentice level, it means that at most, less than 1% of one’s magical power can be simultaneously converted into water elemental force for casting water magic.

Therefore, one can channel at most less than 1% of one’s total magical power to cast the Spring Water spell.

When water magic talent is limited, the Spring Water spell’s effectiveness is primarily influenced by one’s total magical power. Post-natal practice yields minimal improvement, so it is not recommended to invest too much time and effort into the Spring Water spell…”

Mo Lan was a Sorceress with Limitless talent in all magical affinities. The issue of talent simply didn’t exist for her.

She read on.

“Factor Two Affecting the Spring Water Spell’s Effectiveness: Will and Command.

Only precise and clear commands formed by one’s will can direct magical power to transform in a single direction.

Any stray thoughts during the casting process will cause the command to become unclear, resulting in insufficient targeting of the magical power, which is then wasted.

Without a wand to guide and assist, the body’s self-protective instincts may even cause the spell to fail entirely.

Beginners can design specific incantations or gestures to assist with casting, making the commands clearer.

Repeated practice with continuous adjustments and reinforcement can also help magical power become familiar with the state you enter when casting the Spring Water spell.

Once a certain level of proficiency is reached, it becomes habitual. At that point, even if your thoughts wander during casting, it won’t affect the Spring Water spell’s effectiveness…”