Chapter 22: Spell Selection
Coral Tavern had private rooms, which were more expensive and offered better service.
However, Gauss was just there to eat, so he didn’t fuss over details.
He found an empty table, sat down, and placed his bag and sword beside him.
Before long, a waitress approached with the menu.
Gauss waved a big hand and ordered some meat dishes and a jug of fruit juice.
He didn’t know why, but he especially craved meat right now.
This craving for meat had begun a few days ago.
Specifically, it started after that battle ended.
He guessed that, like growing taller, the increased appetite was also a result of his Constitution rising by 6 points.
Body development needed large amounts of nutrients, which sounded reasonable.
While waiting for the dishes, he focused and opened the Adventurer’s Handbook in his mind to review the information.
Name: Gauss
Strength: 5 (physical power, carrying capacity, explosive force)
Dexterity: 5 (body agility, coordination)
Constitution: 6 (endurance, stamina, wound recovery, cardiopulmonary metabolism)
Intelligence: 7 (memory, thinking, mental power)
Perception: 5 (senses, intuition, judgment)
Charisma: 5 (demeanor, appearance, posture)
Skills:
Cantrip: Mage Hand lv2 (15/20)
1st‑level Spell: Magic Missile lv1 (3/10)
On the attribute panel, all his attributes were clearly displayed as numbers at a glance.
In terms of skills, Mage Hand had improved by 5 points during that battle.
It increased from 10/20 to 15/20.
This confirmed Gauss’s earlier guess that real combat helped improve skill proficiency more.
As for Magic Missile, it was still only lv1 (3/10).
Those three proficiency points were gained from that exceptional performance—killing a large Goblin with Magic Missile.
He hadn’t dared to use this 1st‑level spell casually on the return trip.
At present, this 1st‑level spell seemed to demand too much magical power.
He worried that if he practiced on the road and drained his mana, he might fall into that state of mental exhaustion unable to act, so he hadn’t practiced.
Right now, he had two spells.
Combined with what Manager Groln had recently told him about mages, he felt a bit conflicted.
If he wanted to take the path of a Profession and officially become a Mage, the first step was to practice one spell to extreme proficiency.
And he currently possessed two spells.
In fact, whether Mage Hand or Magic Missile, either could serve as the foundation for launching his career path.
What troubled him was deciding which spell to choose.
In terms of difficulty, Mage Hand was undoubtedly much easier than Magic Missile.
Actually, as Groln said, the vast majority of mages used a cantrip as their first spell to break into Profession status.
The advantage of a cantrip was that the spell itself was relatively easier to access, less difficult to learn, and consumed less mana during practice, allowing more practice sessions in the same time and increasing the chance of promotion to Profession.
However, this ease was only in comparison to 1st‑level spells.
In reality, magic was a skill with a high threshold; people without talent found it extremely difficult to master.
It wasn’t like swordsmanship, martial techniques, or archery, where one could steadily improve combat ability through time investment regardless of whether one became a professional.
Magic was different—those without talent often returned disappointed.
That was also why in many Adventurer parties, the Mage profession was popular—its rarity itself was a resource.
Having praised the advantages of cantrips, what then was the benefit of using a 1st‑level spell to break into the Profession skill?
There was only one.
That was that a 1st‑level spell, once solidified as a core skill, would have greater growth potential and lower mana consumption in the future.
Yes, the skill used to break into a Professional Path would be permanently solidified as a core skill the moment the user condensed their Class Rank.
Professionals could later learn many skills—for example, a mage could eventually learn cantrips and spells from levels 1 to 9, as long as they had enough talent and strength.
But core skills were different.
Core skills had better growth potential and would continue to improve in power as the Class Rank increased.
Moreover, because it was completely solidified, this core skill would become easier to cast and consume less mana.
So between the cantrip Mage Hand and the 1st‑level spell Magic Missile, which had better potential and effect as a core skill?
Naturally, it was Magic Missile.
Mage Hand was just a supportive spell, and even among cantrips, it was one of the least combat-effective types.
Magic Missile, on the other hand, was the opposite extreme.
As a pure magical offensive spell, its destructive power ranked among the top even among 1st‑level spells.
Finally, the core skill would also influence the type of innate talent a Professional awakened upon gaining their Class Rank.
For example, an archer choosing the Ranger profession might awaken talents like [Precision], [Eagle Eye], [Divine Strength], and others, each with varying qualities.
Different talents gave different bonuses to the Professional.
If he chose Magic Missile as his core skill, then when he officially became a Professional, the skill's strength would far exceed that of a normal mage.
More importantly, such a brute-force offensive spell like Magic Missile would most likely cause him to awaken an extremely powerful innate talent.
He swallowed.
After much thought, he still planned to use Magic Missile to break into the mage profession.
The impact of a core skill was too significant—first, the skill itself would accompany him through his entire professional career, and the talents it influenced would also continue to be effective.
Ordinary people found it hard to master a 1st‑level spell without having condensed their Class Rank.
A 1st‑level spell was many times harder than a cantrip, and advancing it to the level needed to become a Professional was even more difficult.
Only a few geniuses or those who had sudden enlightenment would choose a 1st‑level spell as their core skill.
There were even cases where someone who comprehended a higher-level skill still chose a cantrip in the end.
Ultimately, no matter how great the potential, if one couldn’t step into a profession, it was just a castle in the air.
But Gauss was different.
He had a panel that clearly showed his skill proficiency, and the data format ensured his skills wouldn’t deteriorate—he would grow stronger as long as he practiced.
In general, cantrips had the highest compatibility, while 1st‑level spells had great difficulty but high potential. If it reached 2nd‑level or above, it could no longer serve as a core skill.
Because without condensing a Class Rank, it was simply impossible to use 2nd‑level or higher skills.
Even if one truly mastered them, the internal mana would be far from sufficient.
So Gauss didn’t have any unrealistic thoughts about acquiring higher-level spells.
“If no more suitable skill appears later, then Magic Missile it is! At most, it just takes more time than Mage Hand to achieve a stronger core skill and better talent, and that’s absolutely worth it.”
Gauss pondered for a moment, then finally made up his mind.
“So my top priority now is to acquire a wand. Even the most basic one would reduce my mana consumption during casting and improve my efficiency in practicing spell proficiency.”
“This would speed up my mastery of Magic Missile and my progression toward becoming a Professional.”