Chapter 38 Hand of the Dragon
Time passed slowly as Brian eagerly absorbed the knowledge from several books, his Dragon's Eyes filled with seriousness and focus.
Three hours later, he put down the last book, [Summary of Enchantment and Transmutation Magic]. Among these books, only this one and another, [Compendium of Apprentice Magic], contained relevant magic models and specific spell runes.
Brian exhaled a long breath of cold air, then closed his eyes slightly.
In his darkened vision, he concentrated his mind, meticulously sketching a hand-shaped magic model with bent fingers, controlling his mental power to inscribe basic runes and spells into the model.
The process of engraving the magic model in his consciousness was easy and straightforward due to Brian's strong mental power.
In just a few minutes, a vivid hand-shaped magic model appeared in Brian's mental world, incredibly detailed, with each rune and every curve clearly visible.
A 0th-level cantrip, Mage Hand. It was the most commonly used magical technique. Almost ninety-nine percent of mages would first inscribe the magic model of Mage Hand in their consciousness.
The 0th-level cantrip was so simple that it could be cast by merely reciting it mentally.
Brian opened his eyes and pointed a Dragon Claw at a glass vessel on the table.
The magic stored in his blood began to flow, stirring the elemental energy in the air, forming a semi-transparent hand that shakily grasped the glass vessel, causing the eerie green liquid inside to bubble.
"Interesting." Brian like a child with a new toy, began pointing left and right, summoning semi-transparent Mage Hands to pick up various objects and make them dance around him.
If a human mage saw this scene, they would be astounded.
Using the spell for the first time, Brian could cast it multiple times and control it effortlessly.
After a while, as Brian paused his play, returning everything to its place, he began to ponder. He felt that Mage Hand seemed a bit odd and out of place.
A few seconds later, he realized the key issue.
Mage Hand was shaped like a human hand, but he was a dragon. Using a human-shaped hand instead of a majestic Dragon Claw was strange.
With this thought, Brian had an idea. He closed his eyes again, immersing himself in his mental world. ‘It should have claws sharp as knives, indestructible scales...’
Brian modified the Mage Hand magic model, gradually transforming it into the shape of his own Dragon Claw, with runes and spells adorning it, forming a sharp Dragon Claw covered in scales.
The Dragon Claw slightly opened, its sharp tips seemingly ready to grasp the world, exuding an aura of dominance.
Brian excitedly injected magic into the model after opening his eyes.
The elemental energy around him surged and formed a gust of wind after responding to Brian's summoning. But nothing happened after the wind.
Brian had failed. However, he wasn't surprised or disheartened.
‘Changing the model made it more complex, increasing the magic transmission paths and the number of rune nodes needed.’ Brian examined the Dragon Claw model, quickly identifying the reason for his failure.
He inscribed the necessary runes onto the Dragon Claw model again, gradually perfecting it with repeated attempts.
About twenty minutes later, Brian took a deep breath, scrutinizing the lifelike Dragon Claw model with every scale clearly depicted.
However, due to the extensive runes, the original 0th-level cantrip Mage Hand could no longer be cast by mere mental recitation.
"ωдλνþЯ..." Brian uttered a slightly obscure incantation, causing the surrounding air to ripple and fold. After two seconds, a basketball-sized, ferocious Dragon Claw materialized, still semi-transparent but with lifelike scales, exuding a powerful sense of strength.
"What level of magic should my Mage Hand be considered now?" Brian muttered, examining the Dragon Claw formed from elemental energy.
Next, he aimed at the ground, controlling the Dragon Claw to strike down.
A thunderous sound, accompanied by flying dirt and stones, shook the ground violently, producing a force similar to Brian's own strike.
When the dust settled, a deep Dragon Claw imprint was left on the ground, cracking the iron-hard Ice Field surface three inches deep with spiderweb-like fissures extending around it.
Brian blinked, then his face lit up with joy.
"Impressive, Brian, well done." He couldn't help but praise himself.
True Dragon combat relied mainly on their powerful physique, extensive magical abilities, and innate supernatural powers.
Adult True Dragons loved to use their bodies to overpower enemies and supplement by magic in combat. However, the older the True Dragon, the less they relied on physical prowess, instead using their profound magical knowledge.
In later stages, magical damage would surpass physical damage.
True Dragons were adept at spellcasting and being favored by the elements. Time Dragons, in particular, excelled in this, learning countless spells in addition to their innate temporal abilities.
Brian looked at the damage caused by his Dragon Claw, recalling the [Principles of Spellcasting]'s explanation of the relation between magic power, rune quantity, and magic ring, determining it to be in the realm of Third Circle Magic.
He murmured, "Upgrading it to Third Circle Magic makes it my original spell. Calling it Mage Hand is no longer appropriate."
According to Noah Continent's magic naming conventions, this spell should be called [Brian's Dragon Claw Spell].
"Brian's Dragon Claw Spell sounds odd. Let's call it Hand of the Dragon." Brian didn't limit himself to Hand of the Dragon. He began inscribing various 0th-level cantrip models in his consciousness.
Light Spell, Arcane Mark, Detect Magic, Dancing Lights...
He accepted them all regardless of their usefulness.
The number of 0th-level cantrips wasn't many, with only nine recorded here, most of which were not particularly useful.
The one that caught Brian's attention was Arcane Mark.
This cantrip could mark personal symbols on objects, maintaining a connection with the owner even from a distance.
Thus, he could bury or discard items and retrieve them after many years.
