(Author note: Don't obsess over the specific rules. Just treat them as the house rules set by me. All settings serve the plot~)
The next second, a massive stream of information instantly flooded Morin's consciousness.
Knowledge about meditation techniques, the construction of spell frameworks, and a huge amount of information related to this world's magic was directly branded into his memory.
At the same time, Morin felt as if his body had turned into a magnet, attracting invisible particles from the surrounding air, making his spirit feel clearer and stronger than ever before.
[Use Successful!]
[Caster Level increased to Level 3, capable of using up to 2nd-Circle spells]
[New Spell Slots obtained: 1st-Circle Spell Slot × 4, 2nd-Circle Spell Slot × 2]
[Please select 3 Cantrips from the Cantrip List]
[Please select 10 Spells from the Spell List]
[Please select a School Specialization]
Morin slowly opened his eyes, feeling the strange changes in his body and spirit.
He could feel that the air seemed to contain things he had never noticed before—active and subtle particles.
He himself also felt clearer, his perception of the surroundings seemingly sharper.
However, the rapid succession of prompts immediately drew his attention to the [Magic] tab.
According to the system's instructions, after becoming a Mage, he could learn 3 out of 10 cantrips.
These 3 cantrips had no usage restrictions; Morin could use them instantly whenever he wished.
At Level 1, he could choose 6 1st-Circle spells to 'learn' from the 1st-Circle Spell List and record them in the 'My Spellbook' within the [Magic] tab.
This way, he could 'prepare' these 'learned' spells into his Spell Slots during his rest each night and use them freely the next day.
It was like a programmer sealing several packages that could be called upon at any time.
After this, upgrading to Level 2 allowed him to choose a specialization school and 'learn' 2 more 1st-Circle spells.
And at Level 3, he could 'learn' two 1st-Circle or 2nd-Circle spells.
This meant Morin could now learn 3 cantrips and record 8 1st-Circle spells and 2 2nd-Circle spells into his 'My Spellbook.'
One benefit of the system's [Magic] tab was that once Morin finalized the spells he wanted to load into his Spell Slots, the system could automatically spend the time loading them in the background.
Regardless of whether Morin got enough rest or had other 'nightlife' activities that day, the spells would be prepared when the time came, which was quite convenient…
And this gave Morin a sudden 'idea.'
If the other Mages in this world needed prolonged rest to 'recharge' their Spell Slots, perhaps he could find a way to interfere with this—for example, by sneaking up on them at night or shelling the enemy mages' resting quarters.
This would prevent them from resting properly, thus affecting the Mages' spell preparation?
After roughly understanding the functions of the [Magic] tab, Morin couldn't wait to construct his own 'Build' (BD).
The first thing to do was to choose 3 cantrips. After quickly browsing the Cantrip List, Morin unhesitatingly selected [Blade Ward], [Message], and [Mending].
Although [Mage Hand] could be considered the signature skill of a low-level Mage, Morin felt its priority wasn't that high for him after careful consideration.
The previous fighting taught Morin that ground combat in this world easily escalated into melee. Thus, [Blade Ward] could be used in close-quarters combat.
The long-range communication ability provided by [Message] would clearly facilitate Morin's command, especially in covert environments, in an era without individual wireless radios.
As for [Mending], according to the system's description of the spell, it could be used to repair various weapons and tools, including firearms.
This would clearly be useful for handling sudden situations in a field environment.
Of course, the more important reason was that Morin was frankly too lazy to clean his rifle.
After learning the cantrips, Morin followed the prompt to select his specialization school.
In this choice, he instantly and without hesitation selected the [Abjuration School].
After all, one must live to deal damage.
Concurrently, he gained a specialization feature called [Arcane Ward].
Its effect was also simple and brutal: as long as Morin casts a 1st-Circle or higher Abjuration spell, he could put up a shield on himself, which would last until Morin completes his next Long Rest.
As for learning 8 1st-Circle spells and 2 2nd-Circle spells, Morin quickly made his choices after reviewing the spell list.
1st-Circle Spells: [Shield], [Mage Armor], [Feather Fall], [Expeditious Retreat], [Disguise Self], [Sleep], [Detect Life], [Find Familiar]
2nd-Circle Spells: [Invisibility], [Misty Step]
The core idea was to run if he couldn't hold the line.
As for the lack of output?
This could be entirely supplemented by the conventional weapons of this world.
In Morin's view, the Spell Slot casting system generally had poor sustainability, and he was facing a battlefield environment with frequent engagements, not an adventuring environment.
Moreover, most of the enemies Morin encountered were ordinary infantry.
In this situation, firearms like pistols, rifles, and machine guns were clearly more effective and provided more sustained output.
However, just as Morin was about to record these finalized spells into his 'My Spellbook,' the system popped up a new notification.
[Commencing study of the first spell. Will be recorded into 'My Spellbook' upon completion]
[Please ensure the current environment provides sufficient time to complete spell study. External interruptions during study will interrupt study progress]
"Wait, does this thing need to be learned by myself? Can't I just click on what I don't know?"
Morin was stunned. Since he had seen the feature for automatic spell preparation, he assumed the system would handle the spell learning process automatically as well.
But now it seemed the system genuinely intended to teach him?
"Should I try learning it?"
After a moment of hesitation, Morin still chose to begin studying his first spell, [Shield].
Since the squad was resting and night sentry duty was arranged, nothing should theoretically interrupt him.
However, the next moment, when Morin saw a complex-looking 3D spell model appear before him, along with countless things resembling formulas surrounding it, he regretted his decision.
Morin felt as though he had suddenly been thrust into advanced calculus and micro-calculus classes on the battlefield—and the kind he completely didn't understand. This was pure torture for him.
Then, as the spell model began to animate, a voice, sounding like a university calculus professor, started speaking in Morin's ear.
In an utterly emotionless tone, it began explaining the principles, key points, and construction considerations of the [Shield] spell model…
At the same time, Morin made an even more horrifying discovery—
The animation and background narration had been running for more than ten minutes, yet the progress bar above his line of sight, representing his study progress, hadn't moved at all.
"Am I… really having a lecture?"
Morin suddenly realized that the system seemed to only advance the study progress when he genuinely learned something…
"Learning, what the hell is there to learn?"
"Can't I just stop?"
Realizing that the system was apparently not a 'hand-holding' simple assist and that this spell study required significant mental effort, Morin decided to temporarily halt his study progress.
He planned to wait until the environment was safer or until he returned home to systematically dedicate time to studying.
However, when Morin attempted to do so, he found that there seemed to be no 'exit' option once he entered the 'Spell Study' state.
"Does it really have to be this absolute?"
"Why does this feel like one of those rooms where you can't leave until you X X X?"
After trying multiple times to exit the study state without success, Morin could only force himself to calm down and seriously listen to the knowledge points being explained by the emotionless voice.
"Thank goodness I'm lying down. I would be dead tired if I had to sit up all night."
After completing his final round of night patrol, Platoon Sergeant Klaus, who was temporarily acting as Company Sergeant Major, said goodbye to Corporal Bowman, who had patrolled with him, and decided to check if Morin had gone to rest.
If Morin hadn't rested, Klaus planned to discuss some of his combat questions and ideas with him.
In his opinion, his Platoon Leader could surely answer these combat-related doubts.
When he reached the door of Morin's room, Klaus paused to tidy his uniform, then leaned his rifle against the wall.
After doing all this, he gently knocked on the door, only to find it wasn't fully closed, and a light was visible inside.
"The Platoon Leader really hasn't slept yet."
Thinking this, Klaus gently pushed open the door. He was about to report when he saw Morin lying on his bedding in a very peaceful posture, hands resting on his abdomen.
Eyes slightly closed, breathing evenly…
"Platoon Leader?"
Klaus called softly, but received no response. Morin, lying on the bedding, maintained his peaceful sleeping posture.
However, Klaus wasn't surprised. He knew his Platoon Leader hadn't rested well these past two days.
He himself had slept a bit more than Morin but was still struggling, let alone Morin, who had far more to worry about.
Thinking this, Klaus decided not to disturb his Platoon Leader. His questions were not urgent, they could wait until tomorrow.
He tiptoed to Morin's bedding and carefully extinguished the oil lamp on the floor. After doing all this, he slowly backed out of the room and thoughtfully closed the door.
"Rest well, Platoon Leader."
"Don't go, Klaus! Shake me awake!"
If Morin felt a sense of 'salvation' when he realized Klaus had entered the room.
Then the extinguished oil lamp and the closed door instantly threw him back into the 'abyss' of spell study.
So sometimes, having overly thoughtful subordinates isn't necessarily a good thing.
Morin spent the night immersed in study. When the sun rose the next day, the 'Spell Study' state finally ended automatically because the single study session duration had been maxed out.
Not long after, Morin sat up on his bedding, his eyes vacant, looking much like the female protagonist in 'the room where you can't leave until you X X X.'
However, in some ways, the system was quite humane.
Although he had been 'studying' all night, Morin was only mentally exhausted. His body had actually been fully rested, just as if he had been sleeping normally.
He glanced at the [Shield] spell study progress bar. After a night of study, the bar had reached 52%.
Through the all-night session, Morin had indeed gained a certain understanding of the fundamental principles and spell models of this world's magic.
He estimated that if he squeezed in a few more hours of study, he should be able to completely master [Shield], the kind of 'mastery' that comes from comprehending the spell model's essence.
After sitting on the bedding for a while to clear his head, Morin took out the watch Captain Hauser had given him and checked the time. It wasn't yet time for the troops to wake up and eat.
Standing up to stretch his limbs and drinking some water to soothe his dry throat, Morin found a place outside to sit and breathe the fresh air.
At the same time, he reopened the system interface and switched to the [Intelligence] tab—several red dots had appeared here after his Mage status was activated.
After a rough glance, Morin found that a lot of intelligence about this world's spells and Mages had been updated.
Among them, what he was most interested in was the intelligence on the 'Composition of the Holy Britannian Empire Mage Community.'
This intelligence report was like the survey reports common in his past life, featuring both textual summaries and various pie charts.
[Current Mage Count in the Holy Britannian Empire: 642 people]
[Mages of 3rd Circle and below account for 72%, Mages of 4th to 6th Circle account for 25%, Mages of 7th Circle and above account for 3%]
[Mages of the Evocation School account for 83%, Mages of the Transmutation School account for 11%, Mages of other schools account for 6%]
"Huh? So, the High-Level Mage Corps are all just barbarians of the Evocation School?"
This piece of intelligence surprised Morin. He hadn't expected the school that conjures all kinds of fireballs to have such a high percentage among Britannia's Mage community.
After continuing to browse the intelligence related to Britannian Mages, especially the High-Level Mage Corps, Morin tentatively inferred the main reason for this situation.
It was that this 'Otherworld Great Britain' had always utilized Mages as a kind of 'glass cannon.'
Especially since the Spell Plague broke out, forcing Mages to only study high-circle spells from a single school, the High-Level Mage Corps had focused on cultivating a large number of Evocation Mages to provide magical firepower support for the Holy Britannian Empire's Expeditionary Force.
The standard combat mode involved both sides lining up their forces. The Britannian Mages would fly into the air from behind their lines, then launch a few fireballs or other AoE spells to break the enemy formation and morale, after which the regular troops would charge forward in one fell swoop.
Since Britannia had the highest 'output' of Mages in the world, this tactic had been repeatedly successful over the years.
Whether in the cold weapon era or the early gunpowder and line formation era, the Britannians had achieved victory after victory with this tactic.
This also explained why the High-Level Mages Morin had encountered before seemed somewhat rigid and inflexible in their combat thinking…
Just as Morin was about to continue browsing the intelligence, Platoon Sergeant Klaus, who had woken up earlier than him, suddenly walked over, looking nervous.
Approaching Morin, Klaus bent down and whispered in his ear:
"Platoon Leader, a piece of bad news, its authenticity is still unknown, has come from the battalion headquarters…"
"What bad news?"
"Madrid seems to have fallen."
(End of this Chapter)