Chapter 79: Mage Armor lv3
“So, Gauss, you want to practice protective spells?" Lawrence's face lit up in surprise.
"Yes."
Gauss had come here for mutual training among members.
He had originally planned to hire someone in town for a fee, but free was obviously better.
Enhancing his Mage Armor required collecting a large amount of feedback from being struck, as varied as possible.
Once he developed magic resistance himself, the 1st‑level Mage Armor seemed to show some ability to resist other 0‑level cantrips.
And this spellcaster mutual‑aid association was undoubtedly the best training room for him.
Here he could gather enough data, and deepen his resonance between mana and Mage Armor through continuous practice.
"Shall we begin?" Lawrence led Gauss toward a training chamber.
Though the building’s exterior looked unremarkable, the interior was quite refined—especially the training room.
One could clearly see powerful spell traces on the surrounding walls; such magical effects were obviously beyond apprentice-level casting.
There were professional-grade spellcasters behind the association.
"The cantrip I’ve mastered is Chill Touch," Lawrence introduced himself.
In their mutual‑aid association, apprentices of protective spells were the most popular.
With other members not yet arrived, he naturally wanted to pull Gauss in to train first.
Chill Touch?
Gauss eyed Lawrence warily—he hadn’t expected this thick‑browed, upright young man to have a necromancy‑type cantrip as his core skill.
The contrast was striking.
"Let me feel it first."
Gauss activated his Mage Armor.
In the next moment, an invisible protective field formed around him.
At the base, the armor had a faint pale-blue glow.
That was his inherent magic resistance.
It seemed to have a special effect on the original Mage Armor.
Lawrence nodded, then extended his right hand.
With closed eyes and focused concentration, after a second, a ghostly green skeletal hand floated into view before him.
At the moment the ghost hand appeared, Gauss felt an icy chill as if standing in a crypt—but it lasted only an instant; his magic resistance seemed to neutralize the negative effect.
Lawrence watched as Gauss remained unperturbed from start to finish, and nodded inwardly in approval.
No wonder he obtained Lady Andini’s letter of introduction—his strength and psychological quality truly surpassed most spellcaster apprentices.
Though the 0‑level cantrip Chill Touch looked unimpressive, most apprentices, when faced with it at close range for the first time, would shiver at its accompanying eerie cold—a psychological pressure from a necromantic cantrip.
"Let’s start proper training."
As the initial test, the ghostly green skeletal hand carefully touched around Gauss’s Mage Armor.
Despite its name, Chill Touch was essentially necrotic energy erosion, something the original Mage Armor would have difficulty with.
But with magic resistance, a different outcome emerged.
After brief contact, ripples formed on the Mage Armor, but with the peculiar resistance Gauss radiated, it ultimately stabilized.
A bit weak?
In the moment of contact, the Chill Touch froze him momentarily, causing his whole body to jolt awake—but then no other negative reactions appeared.
At the same time, he felt his mana growing more active after this attack, and once again sensed the resonance with Mage Armor!
"Please don’t stop."
Originally surprised and slightly disappointed by Gauss’s lack of reaction, Lawrence continued his assault upon hearing Gauss ask.
One phantom claw after another raked at Gauss, the Mage Armor constantly rippling as it resisted erosion.
Thus, Gauss remained caught between external cold and internal warmth—a chilling yet comforting interplay.
Through this repeated alternation of hot and cold, his personal variant of Mage Armor slowly grew tougher.
"Mage Armor proficiency +1"
"Mage Armor lv3 (0/50)"
At some moment, text flashed before Gauss’s eyes.
Mage Armor successfully advanced to lv3.
On his body’s surface, the Mage Armor seemed slightly strengthened, accompanied by the formation of a special magic‑resistance coating.
Safely guarded within the armor, Gauss felt the sturdy protection enveloping him.
At this moment, he also understood the significance of a 1st-level spell reaching level 3.
Unlike a 0-level cantrip reaching lv3 proficiency, a 1st-level spell at lv3 signifies the formation of a personalized style.
The same spell, in different hands, would show subtle differences in effect, and when one’s understanding of the spell deepens enough, through constant exploration, it eventually forms into a personalized, stylized spell.
At this stage, the spell had already become a variant based on the original foundation, and might even evolve into an entirely new spell.
Gauss closed his eyes.
Feeling the Mage Armor that had entered a new phase, he already understood its transformation.
Deeply fused with the power of magic resistance, the original Mage Armor had begun evolving toward an "Omni Protection."
Of course, this “omni” was just a concept—for in reality, short-term omnipotence was impossible, given the countless varieties of attacks that exist in the world.
And this also depended on many factors: the intensity of mana, the strength of magical resistance, the proficiency level of Mage Armor, and so on.
Reaching the ultimate form of omni-protection would still be a long process of evolution.
But the unique "Mage Armor" at this moment undoubtedly had gained stronger growth potential and adaptability.
In the future, perhaps it could incorporate other abilities just like how it now included magical resistance.
Perhaps as a core skill, it wasn’t just simple armor!
Gauss opened his eyes, and a glint of light flashed through them.
Lawrence was already exhausted, sitting on the ground, having used up all his mana.
Looking at the still radiant Gauss, he clicked his tongue inwardly and couldn’t help but marvel—so this was the monster recommended by Lady Andini, scarily strong.
It didn’t feel like facing a fellow apprentice spellcaster, but rather a professional spellcaster.
"Thanks for your effort." Gauss pulled him up from the ground and helped him to a chair.
"Are you really just an apprentice?" Lawrence still couldn’t calm his shock and asked.
"What else? If I were already a professional, why would I come here to train?" Gauss asked back with a smile.
Fair enough.
Lawrence looked at Gauss’s relaxed expression.
His heart felt even more powerless—meeting a gifted peer, he had given his all and couldn’t shake him.
"Do the others have plans today?"
Gauss still wanted to train with others.
His Mage Armor had entered the lv3 phase, but there was still some way to go before fully resonating with his mana.
He still needed to collect a large amount of varied feedback from being struck.
Essentially, it was mutual practice—there was no such thing as one being just a sparring partner for the other.
"Yes, yes." Lawrence rested a bit. "I’ll go call them in a moment."
Gauss’s "reminder" helped him recover somewhat.
He couldn’t believe it.
Was Gauss really that strong?
After calming down, he thought maybe his necromantic cantrip had just been countered by Gauss.
Otherwise, there was no reason for Gauss to show no reaction at all on the first encounter.
If it had been a different cantrip, perhaps Gauss’s protection wouldn’t have worked so well.