Wizard: I am a goblin

Chapter 7 Meditation

When Geb woke up, he found himself in an empty space.

There is no sun or moon in the sky, no ditches or canals on the ground. All that is before my eyes is an infinitely extending mirror.

The sunlight, seemingly from nowhere, fell evenly on the ground, gently illuminating the mirror-like surface.

He looked down, and the reflection of a goblin appeared at his feet.

Is this meditation?

Gebu touched his face, waist, and buttocks. Everything was there. Nothing was missing.

He pinched his thigh.

pain!

He hit himself too hard and pinched himself too hard.

Goblin took a few minutes to adjust his mindset and then tried to recall the steps described in "Basic Meditation".

Experience the flow of ether...

As he was thinking, he raised his hand and felt its weight. Looking down, he found the Book of Sand lying in his hand.

Huh? Can you come in with me?

The Book of Sand gently rose from the goblin's hand, hovering in front of him. The pages parted to the left and right, revealing a line of glowing text facing the goblin.

[The Path of Wisdom and Magic]: By breaking through [Nodes] through meditation and reaching a certain number of [Nodes], you can unlock a wizard level.

"How many nodes do I need to break through to reach the Wizard level?" Geb asked.

The words on the book faded and rearranged, and the glowing ink formed a circular rune. The rune rotated and changed before taking shape, and glowing light shone from its four corners.

The goblin walked up and touched the rune—the rune disappeared the instant his finger touched the page.

Just as Geb was confused, a glow appeared beneath his feet, and the runes magnified on the mirrored floor, enveloping the goblin within them.

The goblin is at the center of the circle, with four nodes evenly distributed around its circumference. A faint golden line illuminates beneath his feet, leading to one of the nodes.

Does this mean I need to break through four nodes? Go around in a circle and then come back?

Geb scratched his head and followed the gold thread to the node.

The Book of Sand flew above the node, opened its pages, and the shifting ink revealed three possibilities.

0-ring spells:

[Flame Arrow]

Frostbite

Emerald Flame Sword

Choose one of the three.

"If I skip a spell, will I have another chance to learn it later?" Geb asked.

The Book of Sand provides an affirmative answer.

Gebu thought for a moment and then had the Book of Sand show him the effects of each spell.

The Fire Arrow, like the one used by the half-elf mage, is a very direct evocation spell. It transforms ether into a flaming arrow and projects it, with an ignition effect.

Frostbite: This skill can be cast without aiming and will freeze a target within your line of sight, causing cold damage. The effect will be less effective if the target is more resistant to cold.

The Emerald Flame Sword is a one-time enchantment that adds an extra fire effect to attacks. If it hits, it can command the flames to jump to another nearby target, causing secondary damage.

After thinking for a moment, Geb eliminated two options.

First of all, he didn't intend to engage in close-quarters combat, so he simply ignored the Emerald Flame Sword.

Secondly, Frostbite is quite effective; it doesn't require aiming and won't miss. However, the forest where the Broken Tooth tribe lives has a rather cold climate, and most wild animals are very resistant to the cold, possessing thick fur and fat. This might diminish the spell's effectiveness.

Perhaps this spell would be more effective in a warmer place. But Geb is just beginning his wizarding journey and needs a universal, all-purpose spell.

Flaming arrows, you can burn people and start fires, that's the one!

Geb selected the Fire Arrow from the Book of Sand. The Book of Sand quickly refreshed its information, displaying all the etheric treatises on the Fire Arrow at once.

Wow! I never imagined that such a simple level 0 spell would have such a complex theoretical basis.

As Gebu looked at the pages of calculations, diagrams, runes, and deductions, a sense of awe arose in his heart.

It turns out that the so-called path of "wisdom" is actually about conducting research. It involves making the abstract ether concrete, quantifiable, and visualized, and then analyzing, reorganizing, and utilizing it.

Having read the analytical paper on the Flame Arrow, Geb gained a deeper understanding of the theories in "Etherism: The Basic Method of Meditation".

He took a moment to process the information, and then, following the steps in the paper, attempted to summon flames on his fingernails.

First, experience the flow of ether.

Of course, ether is invisible to the naked eye. That's why wizards on the path of wisdom need to enter into meditation—where they can use their imagination to give shape to ether.

In the examples given in the book, the wizard imagines ether as water.

The goblin closed his eyes and imagined himself standing in a pond, surrounded by water that reached his ankles and rose higher and higher until it was above his knees...

As he pondered, he felt the wetness beneath his feet. Opening his eyes, he found himself standing in the center of a transparent pool, the thin liquid embracing his calves.

Ha! That's really interesting.

The goblin suddenly got playful and kicked at the water, rolling around in it—the liquid didn't stick to its body at all, had no weight, and was cool and comfortable. It didn't even make a ripple when it landed, which was quite peculiar.

After playing in the pool for a while, Gebu remembered his business.

He placed his hand in the water, imagining the water transforming into a concentrated energy. Then he struck it at his fingertips, directing the energy in the direction he intended.

Gather, aim...

He suddenly raised his finger and pointed forward.

emission!

There was nothing there.

The fluid ether adhered to his fingertips, but it did not take shape. When he reached out, the ether flowed out from between his fingers.

Hmm... was it because I wasn't concentrating enough?

Come again!

The goblin remained tense, trying again and again.

Or not.

He fought on despite repeated defeats, only to be defeated again and again.

After practicing more than a hundred times, Gebu became somewhat discouraged. It wasn't that he disliked the number of times he practiced, but rather that he couldn't see any progress—which meant he hadn't mastered the method.

Where did we go wrong?

He went to ask the Book of Sand, which simply showed him the analytical paper on the Flame Arrow again.

What's the point of showing me this? I've read it several times already!

Geb felt his temper was about to explode. To calm himself down, he plunged into the ether pool, held his breath, and let the liquid soak through his body to cool off.

As the temperature of his brain decreased, the goblin felt less anxious and was able to think calmly.

Hmm... it's not just a problem with the fire arrows. It's that the entire principle has been misunderstood.

What went wrong?

Ether is water, and water is ether...

The goblin popped its head out, took a breath, and then lay flat on the water's surface, looking at the dark sky and blowing bubbles.

How can water be turned into a weapon? It's elusive, unstoppable, and shapeless…

Ether is water...and the world is a pond?

No, no.

Completely baffled, Gebu simply let his body float aimlessly on the water.

Ether is not just water; ether is flowing water...

A small candle lit up inside Geb's little head—he couldn't grab a handful of water and throw it at people, but he could go with the flow and guide the flow of ether.

Guiding, concentrating, like squeezing a slow-flowing river through a straw, turning it into a powerful water gun. The force of this speed can cut through mountains!

The goblin suddenly sat up, its eyes gleaming.

He closed his eyes and began to imagine again.

This time, he was not in a pond, but in a flowing river.

Geb surrendered his body to the river, feeling the ether surrounding him.

You want to go this way? No, no, no, I want you to come here.

He was talking to himself, as if he were chatting with the magical energy.

I want you to walk faster, even faster, I'll give you a push.

Geb used his fingers to direct the flow, rotation, and acceleration of the ether, allowing magic to entwine around his fingertips.

Faster!

The dancing ether formed a vortex, drawing in more and more magical energy. The gathered energy was blocked and guided by Geb, allowing it to accumulate power and prepare to unleash its potential, but he simply wouldn't let it out.

Wait a little longer, make it a little stronger.

The ether was getting faster and stronger, and Geb felt he was about to lose control...

"Ignis!"

The little goblin blurted out the spell, and the fiery energy flew out along the direction of the goblin's finger, carrying the force of the entire etheric river, and flew straight towards the horizon!

call! ! !

Flames danced, and ether hissed!

The goblin watched the flaming arrow disappear into the endless distance, and a surge of ecstatic joy welled up inside him.

I cast a spell! Geb did it!

Before his eyes, the nodes on the rune were illuminated by the energy erupting from his body. For a fleeting moment, the goblin felt a resonance between his body and the world he was meditating in.

It's a strange feeling, as if your body no longer belongs to you, but has become part of some great being.

I am one with magic.

Is this what a wizard is? Geb looked at his hand. Just now, right here, the ether had transformed into a powerful force he had never experienced before.

This is only a level 0 spell.

He looked at the rune that was a quarter complete, eager to unlock the remaining nodes.

But when I tried to imagine it again, a wave of exhaustion washed over me like an avalanche...