Perhaps responding to Rosen's inner calls, the elegant Serendis appeared again after dinner.

She sat upright in the armchair, her expression solemn, her gaze piercing, her tone uncompromising, clearly a proper spell tutor.

"The first lesson covered the basics, which you have mastered well," she said.

"Today we will move on to the second lesson. In this lesson, I will explain to you a formal low-level spell. And in the process of explaining the spell, I will help you understand the essence of spellcasting."

‘Great, more solid knowledge!’

Rosen concentrated like never before, ready to enjoy this feast of delicious wisdom.

Serendis was very pleased with Rosen's state. A hint of approval showed on her solemn face.

"Don't rush," she said.

She handed Rosen three manuscripts.

"These contain some preparatory knowledge, such as spell classifications, the meanings of the various advanced spell symbols, and so on."

"Read them first. Let me know when you've finished reading and we can continue."

Rosen took the manuscripts with both hands and read them carefully.

‘Neutral and polarized, natural and logical, standard and extraordinary, and spell levels... Hmm, quite intricate classifications.'

‘So that's what these symbols mean, they really stumped me.'

He read attentively and committed everything to memory.

Even without his adventure log, Rosen had a remarkably good memory.

While not quite eidetic, reading thoroughly a few times allowed him to commit everything to mind.

The manuscripts were not long, just three pages. After about half an hour, he had it all firmly memorized.

He respectfully said, "Master, I've finished reading."

Serendis glanced at him and asked, "What's the difference between natural spells and logical spells?"

"Natural spells use real physical objects as the spellcasting core. Logical spells use pure logical imagery based on mathematics as the core," Rosen replied.

"What about spell levels?"

"They indicate the requirement for multi-line manipulation, one line equals one level."

"So more levels are better?"

"Generally, the level just represents the complexity of the spell, but higher level spells tend to have more tremendous power."

"And this spell power formula?"

"It means..." Rosen went on to explain the formula.

"Not bad," Serendis said, satisfied with the assessment.

"Now, I will start from the most fundamental principles and explain to you the structure of the neutral, logical, three-level spell 'Magic Missile', one of the most basic formal spells."

"Listen carefully and grasp it as quickly as you can, because I don't want to waste too much time on such a simple spell."

"Yes, Master."

Rosen was somewhat excited.

After pursuing for months and surviving multiple brushes with death, he would finally behold his first formal spell.

Serendis entered a focused lecturing state. With a flicker of thought, a glowing silver orb materialized in the air around her.

The orb was about the size of a date, radiating bright silver light with distinct edges, giving it a crystalline texture.

"This is a standard magic missile. Official mages can purchase the related spell books from the mage guild for about 20 crowns apiece."

"It appears silver because my moonlight mana has colored it."

Rosen immediately recalled Celeste unleashing a magic missile barrage.

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Initially dark red, after absorbing Ash Feather it became grayish white.

Thus he gained an intuitive understanding of neutral spells.

Serendis continued explaining.

"Imagine a sphere one centimeter in diameter, filled with extremely condensed power, controlling the sphere to fully unleash the power within upon impacting the target."

The explanation was very intuitive and easy to grasp.

Just slightly more complex than his self-created flight spell, giving him a sense that ‘it doesn’t seem too difficult’.

Serendis kept a close eye on her student's expression. Seeing it, she smiled faintly.

"While magic missile is indeed the simplest formal spell, even an apprentice cannot take it lightly."

"Now, based on the principles I described, try condensing a magic missile. Remember, just condense it, don't cast it out."

Rosen nodded.

He tried imagining according to the principles.

His thoughts stirred, and mana followed.

One meter in front of him, a perfect one-centimeter sphere gradually materialized in the air.

Initially, the sphere was just a swirling distortion in the air.

Gradually, the swirling air started glowing, the glow steadily brightening as the sphere's texture grew more solid.

But when the brightness and texture reached a certain level, anomalies occurred.

No matter how Rosen imagined, no matter how he urged his mana, the airborne sphere just could not achieve the expected effect.

It was like a pond.

He was pouring water in on one side, but there was an outlet on the other side leaking water out at the same rate, so the pond could never fill up.

The magic missile principles were so simple, how could it fail?

"Alright, stop wasting mana. Give up," Serendis said.

Rosen stopped imagining. The glowing spot dissipated into a wave of heat with a soft ‘pop’, like a deflated balloon.

"Why?" he immediately asked.

Serendis smiled faintly.

"Because mana is also an objective existence with its own unique laws that mages cannot arbitrarily control."

"It's like trying to lift a one-thousand-kilogram iron ball. Of course you can try lifting it, but without the proper methods and relying solely on brute force, it would be futile no matter how long you try."

Rosen's eyes lit up in realization.

Serendis flicked a finger and the silver orb flew over, swirling rapidly around her finger while emitting a whistling sound.

"The small sphere is mana. The power condensed within is also mana. What propels the sphere's flight is, again, mana. The essence is the same."

"How to get one part of the mana to constrain another part, and how to get one part to control the rest. And how to ensure the parts do not interfere with each other. That is the purpose of a spell's structure."

"I see now!"

Rosen listened entranced.

Recalling the mage pistol he had created, it really was just a fluke.

No matter how Serendis acted eccentric or defied etiquette, at this moment she was the spellcasting mentor Rosen respected most.

Next, Serendis started explaining the spell structure of 'Magic Missile' in detail to Rosen.

To be honest, her lecture was not very good.

Not that she was irresponsible, but that she was not very articulate.

She had difficulty precisely conveying subtle concepts, and tended to spout a bunch of abstruse jargon instead.

Occasionally she would sink into her own thoughts and lose track for a long awkward pause.

Fortunately Rosen was clever and well-read, without a youth's bashfulness.

He dared to ask boldly.

Whenever he didn't understand something, he would ask persistently until it was absolutely clear.

Time trickled by second by second, over an hour passing in a flash.

Suddenly, two streams of information flashed through Rosen's mind.

'Learned spell: Magic Missile, recorded into Rosen's Book of Spells.'

'Gained complete knowledge of a formal low-level spell, new program Spell Emulator activated.'

The first message was normal, but the second made Rosen's heart stir. He was about to check it when he heard Serendis's voice.

"Do you understand now?"

Rosen lowered his gaze to the floor, silent, seemingly contemplating, but he was actually checking his desktop in his mindscape.

Sure enough, there was a new gear-shaped icon labeled Spell Emulator, but now was clearly not the time to examine it.

Suppressing his intense curiosity, he opened Rosen's Book of Spells instead.

There was a new page for Magic Missile.

Magic Missile (Standard Neutral Logical Three-Level Spell)

Spell Power: 10.1 (Mid Junior Grade)

(Note: Quantification mastery also applies to spell power)

Evaluation: The most fundamental yet highly practical formal spell, extremely easy to learn with considerable might. Immense boosts from practitioner's high mana intensity and high polarization.

Max Cast Time: 0.5 seconds

(Note: Limit set by max mana flux rate and spell structure, cannot be improved through casting proficiency)

Max Cast Range: 50 meters

Mana Cost: Extremely High

(Note: Practitioner's current mana can only cast two magic missiles at most)

Rosen quickly glanced over the spell book entry, then nodded.

"Master, I understand now."

A flash of insight crossed his mind.

‘Celeste was low-level and could unleash a triple magic missile barrage with mana left for other spells, while I can only manage two missiles. So I haven't reached low-level yet.’

Just then, Serendis's voice sounded again.

"The lecture on Magic Missile is complete. Any other questions?"

Rosen already had many queued up.

"Master, may I try casting a magic missile now?"

Serendis rejected without hesitation.

"Not now! You must fully master the Three Hands first before safely casting magic missile."

Three-level spells required proficiency in coordinating three lines of precise control.

Without a spell book, Rosen's current skill was around 2.5 lines, still lacking a bit.

Since that was the case, he did not insist. He asked his second question.

"Why is the imagined sphere one centimeter? Would half a centimeter work? Or ten centimeters?"

Serendis narrowed her eyes. "Good question."

"Spells can be modified, but extreme care is required."

"Because beneath every formal spell lie countless skeletons."

"If you fail the modification, you may well become a new skeleton. But if you successfully improve a formal spell, you will possess an extraordinary spell unique to yourself."

As she spoke, it was nearing nine o'clock.

Serendis said, "Alright, we'll stop today's lesson here. Go rest."

"Master, I still want to ask, how clear does the mindscape visualization need to be before I can advance to low-level?" Rosen asked.

Serendis smiled with narrowed eyes. "Don't rush, you'll naturally know when the time comes."

The answer was not very satisfying, but Serendis had already started yawning.

Rosen was also very curious about the new desktop functionality, so he bowed and headed downstairs.

As he reached the door, Serendis's voice sounded again.

"Rosen, the biggest taboo in learning spells is impatience. You must progress steadily. Remember this well!"