I Am Not Goblin Slayer
Chapter 75: Destiny

"Just as I suspected, Gauss, your magical energy is truly unique!"

"According to historical records, this phenomenon occurs very rarely, only appearing in individuals with distinctive magical properties."

"Simply put, your magic is more active than other spellcasters'."

"Your Mage Armor must have reached a fairly proficient level by now. Influenced by it, the vitality of your internal magic has increased further, resulting in magical resonance."

"Your magic is beginning to unconsciously resonate more profoundly with spell structures. In other words, your magic is reshaping the spell structures."

"Does this have any impact on me?" Gauss blinked.

"This is actually beneficial."

"The resonance itself isn't harmful. Once you understand and master this phenomenon, you'll advance to professional status faster than other apprentices."

Hearing Andni's explanation, Gauss felt relieved.

He had worried some physical issue was hindering his Mage Armor progress.

Turns out it was just his overly active magic - likely influenced by his innate Magic Resistance talent.

"By the way, Gauss, there's something I should mention," Andni added. "Your Mage Armor proficiency is sufficient now. Instead of focusing on casting frequency, you should concentrate fully during casting, carefully sensing the origin and nature of that 'heat flow' resonance, and guide its transformations."

"You need thorough contemplation and to collect extensive feedback from various types of actual impacts, experiencing the magical resonance through corresponding responses."

"However, I can't assist you with this. My magic is too potent - it would only have adverse effects."

Andni blinked, spreading her hands in a helpless gesture.

Gauss smiled and nodded thoughtfully, beginning to reflect.

He suddenly realized that since reaching Mage Armor Level 2 and growing more proficient, he'd stopped focusing on comprehending the spell's nature itself, instead prioritizing casting speed and spell intensity.

This was clearly a shortsighted approach.

He hadn't fully mastered this 1st-circle spell yet.

Perhaps this was why his Mage Armor proficiency had stalled at 19/20.

1st-circle spells were vastly more complex than 0th-circle cantrips. While Mage Hand could be brute-forced through repeated use, the more intricate Mage Armor clearly wasn't so simple.

He needed to return to fundamentals rather than focusing solely on practical applications.

Watching Gauss immersed in thought with dawning comprehension, seated Andni's eyes flashed with appreciation and nostalgia.

Glancing at the preoccupied Gauss, she quietly produced a palm-sized book and began reading.

For spellcasters unlike warriors or rangers, immersive mental contemplation held profound meaning. While magic appeared to manifest through magical energy, its true roots lay in mental power - magic required mental control.

Only when Gauss finished pondering and his gaze cleared did Andni calmly put away her reading material.

"Ahem."

"Gauss, how's your adaptation to that Bone Staff coming along?"

Why suddenly mention the staff? Emerging from his thoughts, Gauss hesitated momentarily before answering.

Taking out the staff, he rubbed it gently.

As his magic infused it, the Bone Staff seemed to grow more lustrous, even faintly radiating a sacred vitality.

"It's become quite comfortable."

After days of adjustment, he felt the staff had reached optimal compatibility.

Andni's eyes revealed a trace of amazement.

While Gauss might not sense it, her magical perception detected that although the Bone Staff's appearance remained unchanged, its inner essence had transformed completely - it might as well be a different staff from the lifeless artifact it once was.

In Gauss's hands, it felt perfectly harmonious.

She shivered slightly as an inexplicable thought surfaced.

As if the staff had always belonged to him, with fate merely having her safeguard it for decades before returning it to its true owner.

But she quickly shook her head, chuckling inwardly at herself.

Such thoughts ventured into fatalistic territory - something she'd always scoffed at before.

Why this sudden fancy?

Was age making her susceptible to others' subtle influences?

Yet for a halfling, she was still in her prime.

"Do take good care of it," Andni said, gazing at the jade-like Bone Staff with lingering reluctance. After decades in her collection, she'd grown somewhat attached.

Moreover, what spellcaster wouldn't covet a staff of mysterious origins and tremendous potential?

Had repeated tests not confirmed her magic completely incompatible with it, she'd never have relinquished it to another.

"I understand."

At Thorn Cottage, Andni taught Gauss a magical circulation exercise to enhance control.

After answering his questions about magic origins and gifting him two spell theory books, she formally dismissed him.

She needed to nap.

Leaving Thorn Cottage, Gauss returned to his inn room.

Sitting on the straw bed, he cast Mage Armor again.

This time, instead of his usual haste, he deliberately slowed the casting.

Like watching slow motion, he carefully observed the connections between mind, magic, and spell during casting, and the resonating heat flow post-cast.

With each attempt, he vaguely sensed deepening comprehension of the spell.

Like solving math problems in his past life - hastily writing answers earned no full marks. Only through step-by-step analysis, applying formulas, and showing calculations could one achieve complete solutions.

Was this remedial study?

Gauss wondered.

While the Adventurer's Manual accelerated spell proficiency, its very convenience sometimes made one neglect genuine understanding.

Gauss practiced all day.

Only at dinner did a satisfied smile finally appear.

Though his Mage Armor proficiency hadn't increased, he felt his comprehension had deepened.

Continued effort would inevitably lead to Level 3.

He theorized: Level 1 was introduction, Level 2 proficiency, and Level 3 mastery.

0th-circle cantrips, being simpler with limited magical complexity, showed only modest effect enhancements between levels without substantial magical improvement.

But Mage Armor differed.

Each stage brought significant changes - Level 1 allowed basic use, early Level 2 proficient use, late Level 2 enabled casting on others with enhanced protection. Reaching Level 3 should bring further improvements.

He intuited that once his Mage Armor fully resonated with his magic, he'd officially embark on the professional path.

Then Mage Armor would undergo its true metamorphosis!