Chapter 331 – Firework Blast

Chapter 331 – Firework Blast

The Apprentice-level Firework Blast had an energy conversion damage amplification efficiency of tenfold.

In other words, given the same amount of Mana spent on casting, the Apprentice-level Firework Blast dealt ten times the destructive power of ordinary Magic.

Moreover, it completely disregarded the caster’s own rank, scaling purely based on the Mana invested.

What kind of concept was this?

According to the witch Magic ranking system, Apprentice-level Magic could mobilize less than 2% of one’s total magical power for casting. Beginner-level Magic allowed 2% to 4%, Intermediate-level was 4% to 6%, Advanced was 6% to 8%, and Peak-level was 8% to just under 10%.

Only when one’s Magic level surpassed Peak could a single casting mobilize more than 10% of one’s total magical power.

At the same time, Magic level was also limited by the caster’s energy rank.

An Apprentice-level witch with a total of 99 Mana who was on the verge of advancing to Beginner could, at most, raise her Magic level to a point infinitely close to Beginner.

Even calculating her Magic level as having just entered Beginner, each casting could mobilize less than 2 Mana.

But if those 2 Mana were invested into a Firework Blast, they could unleash destructive power equivalent to a full-force casting with 20 Mana.

A Beginner-level witch with a total of 499 Mana, infinitely close to Intermediate, who had trained her attack Magic to its best could only mobilize close to 4% of her magical power for casting—still falling just short of 20 Mana!

It was essentially the ability to fight enemies above one’s rank with casual ease.

And it didn’t stop there.

Ordinary Magic had rank limitations on how much magical power could be mobilized for casting. The Firework Blast had no such restriction.

Even with a total of only 99 Mana, one could pour it all in. The only consequence was that after depleting everything, one would fall into a state of Mana exhaustion, suffering some physical damage and requiring a long period of recuperation.

But if those 99 Mana were converted into a Firework Blast, the destructive power wouldn’t be far off from a Peak-level witch casting Peak-level Magic at full force.

The Magic ranking systems of other races were fundamentally the same.

This meant that an Apprentice-level witch who had learned the Firework Blast could, if she chose to stake everything on a single desperate strike, force even Peak-level powerhouses to temporarily retreat from her edge.

Yet a spell of such devastating effect cost only 100 permanent Mana.

The Beginner-level Firework Blast had a 50x amplification and cost 500 permanent Mana. The Intermediate-level had a 100x amplification for 1,000 permanent Mana, and so on.

Though it was far more expensive than other Sorceress Magic, relying solely on the witch population, Lady Anita’s Mana income was limited as it was.

Mo Lan could understand the decision not to sell it to other races.

The Firework Blast’s destructive power was simply too immense. Even with contracts binding its users, there was still the possibility that members of other races might risk their lives to inflict irreversible harm upon the witch race.

But surely they didn’t need to withhold the tenfold amplification version—couldn’t they sell some with amplification of one times or less, focusing on volume sales?

Everyone’s casting was already limited to mobilizing only a percentage of their own magical power, and only those surpassing Peak level could mobilize more than 10%.

If the damage amplification was calculated as a percentage, there would absolutely be buyers lining up for it.

And it wouldn’t pose any threat to witches who had learned the tenfold or hundredfold amplification versions.

The single-target attack and area-of-effect versions of the Firework Blast could also be split into two separate spells!

Without a second thought, Mo Lan used the Golden Pen Technique to write up contract documents for the Apprentice-level, Beginner-level, and Intermediate-level Firework Blasts.

Like other Sorceress Magic, the Firework Blast could only be purchased and upgraded one level at a time—skipping levels was not allowed.

The Advanced-level Firework Blast already cost 5,000 permanent Mana, and Mo Lan’s total Mana was only a little over five thousand. At most, she could only afford up to Intermediate.

Just as she was about to sign her name, she heard Lady Amisha say, “The Firework Blast is prohibited within the Academy, you know!”

Mo Lan froze. “What’s the reason for that? Lady Traci’s Book Magic, Lady Carmela’s Contract Magic, Senior Lilith’s blood Magic, Sylph’s hybrid Magic, Vasida’s devouring magic, and my Card Magic can all be used. Why is Fireworks Magic the exception?”

“The only time you could use the Firework Blast within the Academy would be when entering the Inner Region or the outer region. Those are meant as trials for young witches, and it’s best to rely on one’s own abilities rather than external tools.

If witches came to depend entirely on Sorceress Magic for survival and neglected the study of their own Magic, what would happen if one day the Sorceresses were no longer around?

You should know that while Sorceresses are powerful, they are not invincible.

Book Magic and Contract Magic have no effect on this matter. Hybrid Magic currently has little impact either, and it also serves to train cultivation abilities.

Devouring magic and blood Magic go without saying—the power boosts they provide are permanent and can already be considered part of one’s own abilities.

Some of your Card Magic cards do have an impact, and restrictions have already been placed on those.

Fireworks Magic naturally cannot be exempt either.”

“If the Sorceresses are gone, would Sorceress Magic also cease to function?” Mo Lan asked.

“Based on Lady Traci’s assessment, it is very likely so.”

Lady Amisha’s voice carried over, and Mo Lan’s heart sank.

Lady Traci was also known as the Omniscient Sorceress, the most learned individual on the entire Continent of Valen. Her assessment had a very high probability of being accurate.

“I understand.” Mo Lan put the three contract documents away for the time being.

Since they couldn’t be used within the Academy, she would wait until graduation to sign them.

When the time came, she would keep the Firework Blast as a hidden trump card for life-threatening situations, not to be used lightly.

For now, it was better not to spend her Mana. Keeping it would give her more opportunities to practice and use her own Magic.

Mo Lan took the Grimoire—now containing copies of every book in the entire library—and left the castle.

The next time she returned would be at the end of the academic year.

On her way back, she didn’t take the Greengrass Plains route. During the journey there, she had already hunted more than enough meat, and with all the Breadfruit Cake she had stockpiled, her crossbody bag couldn’t fit another thing.

Traveling from Moon Lake into the underground river channel and flying along the waterway, Mo Lan eyed the caverns on both banks, her fingers itching. It had been quite a while since she had done any mining.

However, most of the caverns to the north of her dwelling had already been swept through by her. The ones she hadn’t mined had long since been visited by Vasida, Sylph, Iris, and Cheryl.

Each cavern entrance bore its explorer’s mark, indicating that it had already been explored once.

But the caverns along both banks of the underground river to the south of her dwelling remained unexplored.

With the academic year already nearly half over, it was about time to investigate whether the upstream portion of the underground river connected through to the outer region.

Mo Lan returned to Waterfall Cottage, processed and preserved all the meat from this hunt, then set out for the underground river with her Breadfruit Cake and mining pack.

She flew south along the way, and whenever she encountered a cavern, she would enter and survey it with her Metal Detection spell.

She didn’t spare a glance for ordinary ores, nor did she bother mining Beginner-level magic ores. She only carefully checked whether any Beginner-level magic ore deposits contained Intermediate-level magic ores within them.

She had previously fed one of each type of Beginner-level magic ore she’d mined to the Book of Cards, so now she could even produce {Beginner Magic Ore Cards}. The only catch was that crafting them required a considerable amount of Mana.