Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 236 Research on Variation Systems
"What industry? It's just a small business, not very profitable. Besides, to inherit this little bit of family business, I even had to give up the adventurous life I longed for." As he spoke, Mograim widened his small, black bean-like eyes: "Wandering through lush forests and tranquil, mysterious valleys, strolling through dark dungeons and dilapidated towers, befriending heroes from all walks of life, exploring lost civilizations, slaying monsters, eliminating evil, experiencing the joys and sorrows of life, and becoming famous throughout Sword Coast—that's the life I want!"

"..." Zhang Yuan didn't know what to say. When young people have a fit of adolescent delusions, there's no cure for it.

After thinking about it, I could only offer this piece of advice: "Some things only have beauty when they are far removed from our own lives; most so-called romance comes from fantasy."

However, judging from the chubby boy's nonchalant expression, he didn't take it to heart at all.

"You've been an adventurer, you must have been to many places, right? Tell me more about them. If this weren't your last class, I wouldn't have come to listen to such a difficult lecture."

Mograim wasn't embarrassed at all. In fact, the lecture that was about to begin was beyond the comprehension and mastery of low-level mages, or even mid-level mages.

The topic was "A Study on the Initiation and Maintenance of Chain Reactions in the Process of Material Transformation of Organisms by Transmutation Spells." This grand lecture, taught by the dignified high-level transmutation mage Elonia, attracted many low-level mages who came because of his reputation. However, how many of them were truly confident and assured that they had gained something, and how many were simply there to broaden their horizons and try their luck?

That's unknown.

Zhang Yuan was one of those few people.

Herbart's legacy is not just a few books; it is a real inheritance of wisdom. Whether it is the complete set of treatises on transformation or his notes and insights written by himself as a high-ranking mage, they are rare treasures that ordinary apprentices can only dream of, and are the key to the arcane treasury.

That set of books alone is certainly insufficient to support the knowledge required for advanced research in the field of Transmutation Arcane Arts, but this knowledge is like a general outline of Transmutation, providing a high-level overview of the school's general structure and guiding the direction for further in-depth study and research in this field.

It is on this basis that Zhang Yuan was able to have a clear understanding of the research direction in this field, and was able to take time in the past ten days, no, not only these ten days, but even during this journey, to make up for and improve the spell theory and knowledge of the transformation system, and illuminate the prerequisite knowledge points for today's class.

There wasn't much time to boast about his adventures. After a few perfunctory words, the Elonian lady arrived at the podium, and everyone, including the ever-talkative Mograim, obediently shut up.

Maintaining respect in the presence of superiors is a rule, an ironclad principle that remains unchanged even in the depths of chaos.

“Unlike the Evocation spell, which directly extracts energy from the magic network to shape and inflict damage, and the Necromancy spell, which relies on negative energy to erode the soul and body, the Alteration spell has never been particularly strong in creating wounds. It mostly uses amplification or weapon creation to deal with enemies. Disintegration is arguably the best Alteration spell for damage.” Elonia paced back and forth behind the podium as she explained her views. This easy-to-understand part of the explanation captivated the audience.

"This is precisely why most mages specializing in transformation have gone down two completely opposite paths. The former avoids direct combat as much as possible, instead using various magical items or simply hiring or bribing followers with enchanted equipment to fight. Most of the alchemists we're talking about are from this school of mages. As for the latter—" As she spoke, the female mage glanced around at everyone, her gaze lingering for a few moments on Zhang Yuan, who was sitting in the front row, trying his best to appear refined despite wearing a mage's robe.

There was no way around it. Compared to the other simple mage students, Zhang Yuan was like a hippopotamus squatting in a pigsty. He stood out no matter how you looked at him. His aura of wandering the world and being stained with blood on the battlefield made him like a sword being tempered, and his sharp eyes were hard to hide.

After all, he was still young and impetuous, his blade was not yet sheathed, and his edges were still sharp. Perhaps he himself did not realize that as he gradually grew stronger and his vision was raised by the extreme experts he met and befriended, he eventually developed a bit of arrogance. Although it was not on the surface, it was hard to hide.

And Elonia, this half-elf mage, had lived long enough to be this young man's grandmother in her previous life, so how could she not see through the other party's superficial pretense?
After glancing at it a couple more times, Elonia continued her lecture: "The latter often combine defensive spells with combat skills. When they encounter battle, they are covered in various buffs, protective spells, and support spells, and rush in to fight the enemy in melee combat. They are commonly known as melee mages."

"However, outside of these two schools, some mages are still dedicated to developing and enhancing the power and effectiveness of transmutation spells in terms of direct lethality, such as Disintegrate, Petrify, Vitrify, and so on." She began to introduce the main topic:
"And these offensive spells all have a clear weakness, which I think you can see, right?"

Elonia glanced at the audience and, seeing that most of them looked enlightened, continued, "That is the range of attack. While the instant-kill effects of spells like Disintegrate and Petrify are terrifying, they are somewhat ineffective against multiple enemies."

"Masters who are skilled in transformation can even stop time, but low- to mid-level transformation spells are a bit of a challenge even with a group of goblins. They have to transform into monsters and fight in person. This awkward situation is indeed unsatisfactory to a considerable number of alchemists."

With a flick of her wrist, the female sorceress lifted a large rectangular cage onto the platform. She then lifted the white cloth covering it, revealing three plump rats inside.

"Our topic today comes from the research findings of those pioneers on this issue: how to make a destructive spell have a chain effect on multiple targets."

After saying that, Elonia began chanting a spell, scattering some crystal-like powder from her hand. As the spell ended, a beam of light, the color of glass, shot towards a mouse in the cage.

Squeak~ Squeak
The squeaking of the mouse that was hit stopped abruptly, and it stood frozen, its entire body, including its fur and eyes, becoming transparent.

This was none other than the sixth-circle transformation spell – Drak's Glass Transformation!
However, this dramatic transformation did not stop with the death of the giant rat. Almost immediately after the first victim's glass transformation was completed, the other two rats followed in their companion's footsteps and also became two glass statues.

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(End of this chapter)