Golden Shield Manor.
Late at night, Li Wei slowly opened his eyes and focused his mind.
The moonlight shining through the window formed two lines of text on the floor.
[Basic Meditation Method (Small Success)] 869/2000
[Small Fireball Technique (Tier Zero Mastery)] 0/2000
Casting time: twelve seconds.
Li Wei felt he could still improve. The Master Level Small Fireball Technique had a lot of room for growth.
Seven seconds to construct the Magic Model, and five seconds to fill it with Magic Elements.
The latter, he couldn't change for now.
The former, however, could be shortened by diligently increasing his proficiency with the Small Fireball Technique.
As long as his construction time dropped below five seconds, he would meet the standard for an Apprentice Mage.
But meeting the standard wasn't Li Wei's goal. He wanted to be even faster.
For a Mage, time is life!
「The next morning.」
After a breakfast meticulously prepared by the Golden Shield Clan, a carriage took everyone back to the Mage Tower.
Having gone to bed late last night, Li Wei felt a bit weak after waking up early.
Gu Ze glanced at him and asked, "Didn't sleep well last night?"
Li Wei shook his head. "I went to bed a little late."
Gu Ze remarked with a sigh, "You're both talented and hardworking. No wonder your power is increasing so quickly."
He had sensed the Magic Fluctuation coming from Li Wei's room the previous night, so he knew why he had stayed up late.
Li Wei gave an embarrassed smile.
Before long, Li Wei was back at the Mage Tower.
Today was December 31st, the last day of the year.
Tomorrow was the new year, and also the day he'd get paid.
Li Wei was a little excited.
At noon, he arrived outside the Knight Academy.
After waiting a moment, he saw Reina, clad in Knight Armor, striding out of the Knight Academy.
Her long, pale-gold hair was tied back in a ponytail, making her look much sharper and more heroic than she had the previous night.
"Over here."
Reina gestured to Li Wei, and the two of them walked into a small alley outside the Knight Academy.
As soon as they entered the alley, she began to take off her Armor.
Li Wei froze, instinctively blocking the alley's entrance. "What are you doing?" he asked.
Reina removed her Armor, revealing a black bodysuit underneath, and pulled a Magic Book out from within the Armor, handing it to him.
"I went through a lot of trouble to hide this in my Armor to get it out. Read it quickly. I have to return it soon."
Li Wei glanced at Reina's burgeoning, impressive figure and shook his head helplessly.
'This girl is way too reckless.'
The Magic Book was right in front of him, so he didn't dwell on it. He took the book and quickly began to read.
He used his Spiritual Power to read the permanent Magic Model within the Magic Book.
'Tier Zero Magic, Invisible Armor!'
Ten minutes later, Li Wei had committed the Magic Model for the Invisible Armor to memory.
[Invisible Armor Skill (Tier Zero Entry Level)] 0/1000
A few more minutes passed before Reina urged him, "Are you done yet? Time's almost up. Any longer and my master will find out."
Hearing this, Li Wei closed the Magic Book and handed it back to her.
"That's enough for today. I'll need to see it again in half a month. I'll probably need it three more times in total."
Reina stuffed the Magic Book back into her Armor and put it on. "Aren't you Mages famous for being erudite? Why does it take so long to learn one spell?"
Li Wei just smiled and said nothing.
'How should I know?'
Reina finished putting on her Armor and said, "I'm heading back. I'll let you know when I have another chance."
Li Wei nodded. "Okay."
Returning to the Mage Tower, Li Wei couldn't wait to start practicing the new spell.
Thanks to his increased Mana, his first time practicing the Invisibility Armor Spell went much more smoothly than his first time practicing the Small Fireball Technique.
After three failures, he successfully cast the Invisibility Armor Spell.
Li Wei lifted his arm. It was covered by a layer of Invisible Armor, unseen by the naked eye.
He reached out and squeezed it firmly, feeling the solidity of the Invisible Armor.
He wasn't sure exactly how sturdy it was.
However, he was certain that as his proficiency with the spell increased, the Invisible Armor's Defense Power would also continue to rise.
BANG!
Li Wei slammed his fist onto the table. The table shuddered violently, but he felt no pain.
All the reactive force was absorbed by the Invisible Armor.
A smile appeared on his face.
This was the biggest difference between the Invisible Armor and regular armor.
The Invisible Armor was less like armor and more like a Magic Shield—just a form-fitting one.
'Now I have both Attack Magic and Defense Magic.'
Li Wei continued his Cultivation of the Invisibility Armor Spell, striving to get his Casting success rate to one hundred percent as soon as possible.
Without him noticing, two hours passed.
His Spiritual Power depleted, Li Wei stopped his Cultivation and prepared for bed.
Just as he lay down, he was surprised to find that the Invisible Armor hadn't vanished yet.
Startled, he sat up instinctively.
He touched his arm; it was still hard as a rock.
'The Invisible Armor lasts this long?'
He remembered his textbook saying that even a Tier Zero Magic Shield Skill could only last for half an hour at most.
If a spell's duration was too long, it would cause the Magic Model to collapse.
The Invisibility Armor Spell had already lasted for two hours.
Yet Li Wei could sense that the Invisible Armor's Magic Model was still stable.
He was beginning to understand why Mage Aier was so desperate to obtain the Invisibility Armor Spell.
This Magic Model was exceptionally stable.
If one could fully comprehend the factors that made this Magic Model so stable and apply them to other Magic Models, they could create a much more stable High Tier Magic Shield Spell.
Comprehending the structure of a Tier Zero Magic Model was very difficult for Li Wei.
But it wasn't impossible for an Official Mage.
After all, no matter how complex, Magic Models were still created by Mages.
Studying the fruits of their predecessors' wisdom was far easier than creating a new spell.
'Just how long can it last?'
Li Wei was also incredibly curious.
He didn't dispel the Invisible Armor, enduring the discomfort it caused as he fell asleep.
The next morning, the first thing Li Wei did upon waking was to check the Invisible Armor.
He touched his arm; the Invisible Armor was still stable and present.
A look of delighted surprise flashed in his eyes.
'I've really struck treasure this time!'
He used his Spiritual Power to carefully perceive the Invisible Armor's Magic Model and found it was still stable.
After a full night, the Magic Model's stability had decreased by less than ten percent.
This meant the Invisible Armor could last for at least three more days.
And this was from the first Invisibility Armor Spell Li Wei had ever cast.
As his proficiency increased, the duration of the Invisibility Armor Spell would extend even further.
Li Wei wasn't sure how long it might last in the future.
But even its current duration was already astonishing.
If this trend continued, the Invisibility Armor Spell would be almost comparable to a permanent spell.
Permanent spells were similar to a Magic Array; they could exist for a long time but required large quantities of precious Magic Materials to aid the Casting.
A permanent spell that didn't require Magic Materials to aid the Casting?
Li Wei could hardly imagine what a genius the creator of the Invisibility Armor Spell's Magic Model must have been.
Before this, no Mage in any of the textbooks had ever been able to achieve such a feat.
This was no less than creating a perpetual motion machine in the world of Magic.
Of course, a true perpetual motion machine couldn't exist in the world.
The Invisibility Armor Spell's Magic Model definitely concealed a principle that Li Wei could not yet understand.