Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 65 Spell
Morin took the notebook from the soldier, patted off the black ash, and immediately revealed the somewhat tattered cover underneath.

After opening and looking through it, Morin discovered that it was the same booklet he had seized from the two mage apprentices before, also the spell notes of this high-level mage.

It contains a lot of information on magical research and spellcasting experience.

The system also provided timely prompts while Morin was browsing.

[Incomplete Personal Training Manual (Advanced) x1, already obtained]

This tip also alerted Morin, who immediately ordered the others to search the vicinity for any remaining 'loot' left behind by the high-ranking mage, especially magical equipment and spell scrolls.

Unfortunately, apart from this spellbook, the group did not find any other valuable items.

"Tsk, the drop rate isn't great. This character is practically a mini-boss, but it hasn't dropped anything good."

After muttering a few regretful words, Morin did not linger nearby and quickly led everyone away.

The Zeppelin-class armored airship L30 hovered slowly over the city, like a guardian deity for the troops below.

On its lower deck, huge searchlights swept across the city like giant beasts surveying their territory.

If a specially made red signal flare fired by a Saxon soldier is spotted, and the observer confirms it through binoculars, then MG08 heavy machine guns will provide fire support.

Compared to the 203mm naval gun with a wider area of ​​effect, the damage from machine guns is easier to control, so there is no need for special magic-guided signal flares.

The scattered troops, which had been broken up in various corners of the city, gradually re-established contact.

Treating the wounded, counting prisoners, and regrouping the troops—everything was proceeding in an orderly manner.

Morin and the others followed, carrying Lieutenant Colonel Ludwig's stretcher back to the temporary field hospital at the rear.

This elite detachment of the Teutonic Knights paid a heavy price in this fierce battle.

Of the twelve Siegfried Type 1 armored knights that went into battle, only Ludwig survived after two rounds of fighting.

The other drivers, along with their vehicles, were left forever on this foreign land.

Meanwhile, the headquarters of the 16th Brigade quickly made contact with the armored airships in the sky via a high-powered radio.

They learned from the airship captain that the enemy outside the city had completely collapsed and would not be able to organize an effective attack for a short period of time.

This news also means that they can finally take a short break and lick their wounds.

As the sun set and the sky grew darker, Morin, after forcing himself to finish a series of trivial tasks such as counting casualties and collecting ammunition supplies for his soldiers, dragged his exhausted body to a relatively clean open space in the 3rd Platoon's temporary rest area and sat down.

Soldiers were everywhere, some sitting, some lying down, their bodies covered in gunpowder smoke, their faces etched with numbness and exhaustion.

No one spoke; the only sounds in the air were the suppressed groans of the lightly wounded who didn't need to stay in the field hospital, and the crackling of the campfire.

"Hans!"

Morin habitually called out the name of the orderly Hans, intending to ask him to inquire about the situation at the 1st Battalion headquarters and see if he could contact them to allow the troops to return to their units.

However, after calling out the name, there was no response for quite a while.

Morin looked up in confusion, just as he was about to see if the young orderly was slacking off, when Corporal Bowman whispered a reminder:
"Platoon leader Hans was killed in the previous battle."

Upon hearing Corporal Bowman's words, Maureen fell completely silent.

Overwhelmed by immense grief and exhaustion, he sat on the cold ground, feeling as if all his strength had been drained away.

A moment later, he pulled out the cloth bag that Captain Hauser had given him before he died.

With slightly trembling hands, she slowly opened the cloth bag.

Inside the cloth bag was a finely crafted wristwatch and a neatly folded note.

The back of the watch is engraved with the words: "A gift to my beloved."

Morin unfolded the note, which bore Captain Hauser's bold and powerful handwriting:

"If I die in battle, please give this watch to my wife and tell her that I love her."

In that instant, the faces of Captain Hauser, Hans, and the soldiers who had died in battle, whose names he didn't even know, flashed through his mind.

For the first time, Morin truly realized the cruelty of war, something that could not be experienced on the training field.
The cruelty of war is also reflected in the losses of officers and soldiers.

After two brutal battles, only he, the officer, and a few sergeants such as Klaus and Bowman remained in the entire 3rd Company.

The number of soldiers capable of fighting was only slightly more than a platoon; the entire company was basically decimated.

After forcing himself to calm down, he found the few remaining messengers in the company and asked them to try to contact the battalion headquarters of the 1st Battalion.

As communications within Seville were gradually restored, the messengers quickly made contact with the battalion headquarters.

After a period of rest, Morin also gathered the remaining troops of the 3rd Company and joined forces with the main force of the 1st Battalion.

However, when he led his soldiers through several streets to the area where the main force of the 1st Battalion was located, he found that the situation there was not much better.

The entire 1st Battalion also suffered heavy losses, with casualties roughly estimated at 60-70%, and most of the officers were killed in action.

In the temporary command post at the battalion headquarters, Morin met with Major Thomas, the battalion commander.

The major was lucky enough to survive, but his condition wasn't much better.

One arm was slinged around his neck with bandages, and his head was wrapped in a thick bandage, leaving only his eyes and mouth exposed.

"Report! Second Lieutenant Morin led the remnants of the 3rd Company back to base. Company Commander Captain Hauser and other officers were killed in action." Morin stood at attention, saluted, and reported in a hoarse voice.

Major Thomas looked at the young man before him, a hint of sadness in his weary eyes, and he sighed deeply.

"I understand. Lieutenant Morin, thank you for your hard work. You will be temporarily in charge of the 3rd Company. Wait for further orders. Now, take the soldiers and get some rest."

"Yes, sir!"

The 3rd Company now has only a few more men than a full platoon before, and most of them are non-combat personnel from the supply train and field kitchen.

Therefore, with the assistance of Klaus, Bowman, and others, Maureen's command work was not too busy.

This finally gave him time to check out something he had been ignoring since the start of the battle—the newly appeared [Spells] tab on the system panel.

As night deepened, the firelight flickered inside the fireplace of the makeshift dwelling, illuminating the tired and numb faces of the inhabitants.

Maureen sat in the room where the temporary company headquarters was located—of course, there were only a few people left in the headquarters at the moment, so after Klaus took Bowman and the others to inspect the area, Maureen was left alone in the room.

He closed his eyes, his consciousness sank into his mind, and opened the brand new [Spells] tab.

Lines of pale blue text scrolled rapidly across Morin's field of vision, seemingly a record of some kind of event.

[You have killed 'Highland Mage Apprentice' (Level 5, 3rd Ring Evocation Mage)]

You have been contaminated by 'Spell Plague'.

You have gained the ability to cast spells.

The 'Spell Plague' contamination has been cleared.

[Spell system unlocked]

Current casting level: 0

Available spell slots: None

[Spells Mastered: None]

[Personal training manuals can be used to increase experience and level]

The series of "nothing" left Morin somewhat stunned, meaning that after trying to unlock it for so long, it was still a blank slate.
He patiently continued reading, and a large amount of information appeared in the [Spells] tab, while the [Information] tab also contained entries related to 'spells' with detailed explanations.

After quickly browsing through it, Morin realized that the 'mages' in this world seemed to follow the spell system of the classic IP "Dungeons & Dragons".

The number of different spells that mages can cast each day is limited, depending on their level and spell slots, and they need to prepare in advance the night before.

The higher the level of the mage, the more spell slots they have, and the more powerful spells they can cast.

The reason he was able to unlock this system seems to be because he personally killed the highland mage apprentice.

But it seems that only he has undergone this change; Corporal Bowman, who also killed another apprentice with him, does not appear to have become a mage so far.

After spending a considerable amount of time skimming through the information related to spells, Morin felt as if he had devoured a rulebook.
Moreover, there are still quite a few points of confusion.

First, in his mind, the spell slots of a D&D mage should be related to magic networks and the goddess of magic.

However, based on current information, it seems that neither of the latter two exist in this world.

In this world, spell slots are automatically acquired by humans upon awakening as mages, and the methods of using them are gradually discovered by generations of mages.
Second, there's the 'spell plague' mentioned in the event log.

According to the records in the [Information] tab, ancient mages were able to study spells from different schools, and that period was the peak of their power.

However, 243 years ago, a 'magical plague' that only spread among mages mysteriously appeared in the magic crystal mine.

The higher a mage's magical skill, the greater the impact of the 'magical plague,' eventually turning them into a non-human magical monster.

This wave of 'spell plague' wiped out a large number of high-level mages, causing a significant drop in the overall strength of the entire mage class.
After numerous mages risked their lives to verify this, it was finally discovered that specializing in a single school of magic—especially learning only one school of high-level spells—can effectively suppress the effects of 'spell plague'.

Therefore, currently, the mage class basically only has spells below the 3rd level that can be used in a barely 'universal' way.

For spells of level 3 and above, one will only focus on learning a particular school of thought.

Of course, you can use spells from other schools of thought if you're willing to spend money on magical equipment or high-level spell scrolls.
However, it seems that his system directly removed the 'spell plague' from his body?
"Could it be that?"

"Can I learn spells from different schools of magic without any limit?"

"By the way, if we could learn spells from every school of magic and also benefit from the school's specialization trait..."

This discovery further fueled Morin's interest in the spell system.

His attention quickly shifted to the three notebooks that had been retrieved from the mage apprentice and Eldridge's corpses, which the system had designated as "personal training manuals."

[Do you want to use 'Personal Training Manual (Basic)' x2?]

【Use 'Incomplete Personal Training Manual (Advanced)' x1?】

[After use, it is expected to promote you to a level 3, 2rd-ring mage]

"Isn't this just the World of Tanks' experience manual? Why was it sewn in here?"

Morin paused for a moment, then silently recited it in his mind without hesitation.

"use!"

(End of this chapter)