Ronan marvelled at the spell construct floating above his palm. Of the three combined methods, visualisation combined with mana manipulation produced an almost perfect mana bolt. Structure and stability-wise, at least. The shape was uniform, with no rough edges and an even compression of mana throughout the bullet-shaped projectile.

Thanks to his visual image, Ronan's mana seemed to be filling a mould, rather than being forced against its will to remain in a shape it didn't want to hold. Not only was the structure the best of the three, but the launch was smooth.

There was little-to-no wasted mana upon firing the bolt and it almost mirrored the image he held in his mind. Unfortunately it didn't fly as far as the visualisation plus movement mana bolt, but the resulting impact and explosion were far more visible. The area of effect was still bigger than Ronan was aiming for, but that could be fixed once he had settled on a casting process.

From this, Ronan had learned a little more about sorcery. He suspected some combination of all three of these methods would be the optimal way to cast. Moving about too much while being a mage felt inefficient, but perhaps he could use that to his advantage. Faking out one spell while actually casting another might be a great way to catch an enemy off guard.

He prepared for his final round of testing. Figuring out the best way to combine the three methods. To be honest, he didn't plan on moving much, as the main benefit seemed to be the increased range of the spell at the cost of precision. The destructive aspect was neat, but Ronan guaranteed he could compensate for that as he grew in strength and gained more experience with sorcery.

Realistically he knew how to cast a working mana bolt now, the difference just came down to how destructive he wanted it to be. He could adjust his method on the fly depending on the situation. After all, wasn't that the whole point of working outside the constraints of the system?

Ronan knew he was no archmage, but already he knew that sorcery would bring him great power in the future. As long as he was dedicated and figured out the base principles, nothing was impossible.

Today, he copied spells to make his own. Tomorrow, perhaps he might learn why they worked. A hundred iterations in the future he might have decoded the base principles of mana and magic, learning how to cast any spell in existence with but a thought. Grand dreams, but most of his long-term goals were grand.

In the short term, he had one final test to do here, then he would begin a new iteration and start testing on live targets. The goblins were in for a surprise.

His final test had been spectacular. Through a bespoke combination of visualisation, mana manipulation, and physically guiding the spell, Ronan had developed a mana bolt.

Not just any old mana bolt, either. His version of the spell cost the same amount of mana as the system-generated skill—minus the variable cost that occurred when he messed with the execution of the original skill—it did more damage, travelled further, and with the right amount of focus, was more accurate to boot.

Just that would have satisfied him. He had taken the sorcerer class for the first time quite a few iterations ago, but he had finally made good on his investment. The dividends would only multiply from here on out.

Right now he was standing in the grassy plains, staring at the portal in front of him. His mana was cycling, his hand held outwards, as he watched the shifting, gooey portal.

A knobbly green leg stepped out. He pushed his mana into his arm. In his mind, he had a firm image of his mana bolt. This time it was more specific than during his tests—he'd factored how he wanted it to blow apart his enemy.

When the goblin's second leg appeared, followed shortly after by the rest of its body, Ronan was already forming his mana bolt. The structure was, as in his image, bullet-like. He compressed it, using just 5 points of mana to create a—hopefully—lethal projectile.

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The goblin warrior spotted him as it exited. This one wielded a short spear as well as a shield. A less common loadout for the warriors, but one he'd encountered before. Not that it mattered.

Whatever weapon the warrior wielded it was going to catch a mana bolt to the face. He finished his cast right as it took its first step towards him. In his initial tests he'd lobbed the bolt like a baseball. Now, his technique was more refined.

All it took was a gentle flick.

His magic bullet launched from his hand, racing towards the goblin. It tore through the air, a thrumming whine accompanying its flight.

Ronan delighted in the widened, fear-stricken eyes of the warrior as it realised, too late, that its fate was sealed. A blue flash erupted as the compressed mana burst at the seams. Most of the explosive force was directed forwards, into the goblin's gnarled torso.

Warm air buffeted his face, the fallout of his spell. Unfortunately there was no chime ringing in his mind. He hadn't killed the warrior. As the mana dissipated, he looked down at the smoking green body.

The warrior convulsed, a charred hole torn through its chest. Despite the severe damage, the stubborn monster was not dead. That would simply not do.

Not wanting to waste further mana after he'd already proven his mana bolt worked, Ronan simply stomped on the creature's head, bursting it like an overripe melon. That brought him the sweet chime of victory, with a heavy dose of mana mastery for his efforts.

Knowing that his spellcasting technique worked and that he had a working spell, there was only one thing left to do. Perfect it.

One iteration wouldn't be enough. Perhaps two or three. Once Ronan was able to repeat the spell without fail and use it in various combat situations, he would be ready to approach his next challenge: stepping up the difficulty.

Ronan ended up using three iterations before he was happy with his mana bolt. Not only was able to cast it effortlessly, even while actively fighting with a weapon in his right hand, but he had managed to drop the mana cost down to 4 points.

While it was usually not a one hit kill, the devastating and sudden burst damage almost always took his enemies by surprise and ensured that his follow up strike claimed their life. It also worked as a finisher against wounded enemies who'd escaped the killing blow.

While only knowing one spell wasn't that impressive, Ronan didn't plan to remain this way for long. He had a few more system-created magic skills he planned to copy, as well as an idea of the class he would be choosing as he increased his tutorial difficulty.

These goblins and skeletons were no longer a challenge to him.

That was exacerbated by his steadily increasing experience multiplier, meaning he often reached level 40 before even arriving at stage 4. His heritage was proving its worth in more ways than one.

Also, he'd found himself another stat fruit. This time it was one he'd encountered before—an orange of intelligence. Actually he was glad for it. He'd found out intelligence increased spell power, so the delicious citrus was, in essence, a straight damage buff.

As for the skills he'd acquired, they were a mixed bag. There had been one duplicate, giving him some free chronos merit progress back. Of the remaining two, one was average at best, while the other had great potential.

Summon Insect (Uncommon): The user of this skill is able to summon a single insect to do their bidding. The insect will not be larger than a fingernail and will not possess potent venom, poison, or other means of attack harmful to larger sentient lifeforms. (Cost: 10 Mana)

Great for pranks, not so great for anything worthwhile…

Blueprint Manual (Uncommon): The user can store up to 5 blueprints of items, by consuming a physical item, which can then be crafted with perfect precision while drawing on the blueprint. The items stored in the blueprints cannot exceed rare rarity. (Blueprint Creation Cost: 10 Mana) (Blueprint Use Cost: 1.5% Max Mana per minute)

Ronan had yet to get into any form of crafting, but he knew it would be a worthwhile pursuit in future. Creating his own overpowered gear to then brand with his enhancement seemed like it might be a fantastic way to ensure successful iterations.

The skill would also allow him to bypass the item limit. He currently had 2 branded items which remained with him through iterations. To earn more he would have to spend chronos merits.

However, what if he found an incredible item, turned it into a blueprint, then simply crafted it at the beginning of each iteration, or when he first had the chance? That was game changing. While not a perfect strategy, given it would require materials, and crafting knowledge and experience, it was certainly better than his previous circumstances.

That was all he cared about. Small improvements that added up over time into big changes.

Staring down the dark corridor that led to the goblin rogues, Ronan decided that this iteration he would finish the job. Going through the hassle hadn't been worth it when his only goal was perfecting his magic, but now that he'd done so, Ronan wanted to give Tharaxes a taste of its own medicine.

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