Returning from the abyss

Chapter 1437 Spell Teaching
Veronica and Vanessa... are two people who would never compete with each other.

These two only encourage and praise each other, praising each other's growth without reservation, but they never consider whether they should surpass each other—their self-discipline makes them take themselves as the goal in everything they do.

It's both a good thing and a bad thing. However, the pharmacist doesn't intend to directly correct this problem; people always change.

The two didn't discuss it for long before choosing what they wanted to learn.

Veronica chose "Deadly Creatures" and "The Book of Disintegration," while Vanessa chose "Poisonous Herbs" and "The Book of Calamities."

The pharmacist said nothing about the choice and simply handed the book to the two of them.

"Your task this week is to finish reading your respective books. You don't need to memorize them, but you need to be familiar with the contents. In addition, you need to prepare three questions for each book, no more and no less, based on the content of the book. Ask the one question that you have the most questions about. Before that, we will continue to study pharmacology. Also, your first spell class will begin tomorrow, so you'd better be prepared."

"Really?" Veronica exclaimed in surprise.

“Spells are much harder to learn than pharmacology, so I won’t cut corners in my studies.”

The pharmacist tapped his fingers on the table: "Homework."

Veronica immediately and obediently took out a piece of paper, which contained the results of her week of study. The pharmacist took it, glanced at it, and nodded slightly.

Vanessa, however, took out a bottle of brewed medicine.

The pharmacist took the medicine and shook it in his hand. The medicine was in a glass bottle, and it was pale yellow in color. There were some sediments at the bottom of the bottle. The medicine was not thick and obviously had not been concentrated.

Of course, pharmacists will not rashly use methods such as smelling to identify the contents when they are unsure of what is inside.

"Sleeping pills?"

“I…I expected this to be the effect of the medicine,” Vanessa said nervously. “You said that as long as I summarized my learning notes from the week, that would be enough, and I thought…”

"Yes, I didn't specify how I would give it to you, so a bottle of medicine that incorporates all your learning is one way. But unfortunately, judging from its color, its efficacy is probably not strong at all. After all, among the herbs I taught you, those that have a calming effect are only calming; to make someone fall asleep, those few alone are not enough. So—Veronica, what kind of improvements do you think this potion should be made to?"

“Madam Pharmacist, I haven’t seen Vanessa’s pharmaceutical process, so I can’t tell you what the method is,” Veronica replied.

"Okay. Let's start our second week of lessons here."

The lessons today were different from last week's; instead of focusing on memorizing a large amount of information, the lesson aimed to connect this knowledge into a coherent system.

Even though Veronica and Vanessa tried their best to listen, they still only understood bits and pieces. After all, before a system is truly seen in its entirety, learning only a part of it cannot help them understand its role in the whole.

Pharmacology could not possibly be taught in a single day. After the pharmacist finished his lecture and left, both young nuns couldn't help but look bitter.

"Vanessa, did you understand?"

"I could understand some of the beginning, but I couldn't keep up with the end."

"Me too... Do you think the pharmacist overestimated our comprehension abilities?"

"I don't think it's an overestimation, but rather that we need to have that kind of understanding. She's not like the previous teacher... she'll slow down the pace so we can learn new things while reviewing old ones."

"On the bright side, at least we'll learn magic tomorrow."

"Isn't it better to think the worst...?"

The pharmacist didn't care how the two girls communicated in private, nor was she worried that they would teach each other things; it was always good if they could learn from each other.

During her free time after class, she would go out to check on the situation in Changfengling.

To be honest—it's not good.

The farmers in the fields were clearly very experienced, including many old farmers who had been farming for generations. However, they lacked sufficient farming tools and oxen, resulting in a severe shortage of manpower. Although it was already summer and the empire was still in the planting season due to its climate, at least one-third of the farmland in Changfeng Territory was abandoned, and the cultivated land was mostly sparse with seedlings.

Insufficient seeds.

Even with the few people Father Thorne brought, it was still a drop in the ocean. This was because Longwind Territory had begun repairs and construction work that spring.

Abandoning spring planting to build defenses is undoubtedly a foolish move. However, considering that the terrain of Changfeng Territory is so open that it is easy to attack but difficult to defend, the lord's consideration is not unreasonable. In fact, it can be said that not conscripting soldiers on a large scale is already quite conservative.

On the other hand, the scarcity of resources in this area is also a problem.

A river flows through Changfeng Territory, ensuring ample water resources and a decent grain production. If not for war, basic sustenance could likely be guaranteed. However, aside from this, Changfeng Territory has virtually no other resources. The lack of dense forests and grasslands means that hunting and herding are practically impossible. There are no minerals or specialty crops. Limited by these conditions, even basic handicrafts are limited to small workshops run by blacksmiths and carpenters, operating on a very small scale.

In other words, all supplies were exchanged for food.

So what about now? Although there are other lords behind Changfeng Territory, it's definitely not just here that's on emergency preparedness. Moreover, with such a battle taking place nearby, what ordinary caravan would dare to pass through?

The pharmacist could tell that Father Thorne didn't intend to stay here long; he estimated that once summer arrived and enough food was available, he would leave.

Father Thorne had a map, which the apothecary had glanced at in the carriage. It wasn't a map of the entire empire; those were considered military supplies in this era, something Father Thorne's rank couldn't obtain. It was a map of the empire's southern border, hand-drawn, and likely inaccurate in many places. However, judging from the route, it wasn't hard to deduce that Father Thorne was planning to cross this area currently embroiled in conflict, heading towards Violet City, the capital of Grand Duke Thoril's territory.

The secondary church there, St. Ist Church, should provide protection for these priests.

Given Father Thorne's limited perspective, this was indeed a good choice.

After gathering a number of herbs along the way, the apothecary headed back. He still needed to reconsider the spell class he had promised for tomorrow. Veronica's level was already quite excellent without a professional instructor, and Vanessa... was probably no less impressive.

Since that's the case, there's no need to treat them as novice spellcasters; we can increase the difficulty a bit.

=
The next day, the two nuns got up as usual to tidy the room, and then moved two simple tables to the middle of the room.

However, their enthusiasm was significantly higher than before; clearly, learning magic excited them more than learning pharmacology.

The pharmacist got up and left early in the morning, but based on experience, he should just be going to get something to eat and will be back soon—after all, the pharmacist is quite wealthy.

Father Thorne was not stingy when it came to the cost of his lessons. The apothecary would spend a copper coin every day to buy a loaf of bread freshly baked in the castle kitchen. However, Veronica and Vanessa clearly couldn't afford such a luxury. Even if Father Thorne was willing to pay for a teacher for them, eating fresh bread every day would still be a considerable financial burden. When the apothecary returned, the small classroom was already prepared.

This time, however, the pharmacist brought back two pieces of bread.

"Eat up." She tossed the bread to the two of them. "Learning magic requires energy and stamina. You can't learn it without eating something."

The two took the bread and ate it obediently, while the pharmacist opened his package, rummaged around for a moment, and took out two crystals.

After the two finished their bread, the lesson officially began.

"Magic—a general term for the various means by which people explore and perform miracles that are beyond the reach of mortals. And depending on the means used, many branches have emerged."

The pharmacist's fingers swept across their eyes, leaving a dim spot of light.

"As for divine magic, since you both have a foundation, I'll ask you directly: you can use divine magic below the level of the Savior's Cauldron, and do you have any questions about its use?"

Veronica immediately raised her hand.

"Just ask."

“Pharmacist, when I was learning divine magic, Father Thorne always said that we had to calm our minds and pray sincerely before we could master it. But I never received any response when I prayed, so how did I manage to master the divine magic?”

“Good question—because it’s the first half that works,” the pharmacist immediately answered.

"...Think calmly?" Vanessa asked, puzzled.

"What are you thinking when you pray for the practice of divine arts?"

The pharmacist asked Veronica.

"Um... I hope we can solve the problem of difficulty when casting divine spells?"

"Yes."

No wonder these two are quite skilled; their ideas alone set them apart from those of ordinary clergy.

"Many people, when practicing divine arts, think: God, please let me learn a certain divine art."

Upon hearing this, Veronica couldn't help but show a surprised expression: "Do we have to pray to the gods to solve something like this?"

“In fact, you shouldn’t ask the gods to solve anything,” the apothecary said. “The purpose of the seven cardinals is to act on behalf of the gods and perform their duties. If the gods could respond so easily, why would we need cardinals to handle these matters?”

"Do gods exist?" Vanessa suddenly asked.

The pharmacist glanced at Vanessa, and the girl realized she had asked a question, looking somewhat flustered.

"The gods exist, without a doubt."

This answer calmed Vanessa down a little.

"However, divine magic is not a spell that seeks blessings from the gods through piety and faith. Even though many unorthodox religious texts explain it this way, it is a fallacy. The gods exist, and the gods teach magic to messengers. The messengers are crowned and spread the gods' blessings to those with talent. This is the correct explanation of divine magic."

"It means... literally?" Veronica was also somewhat incredulous.

"Yes, the various spells only differ in their source of knowledge; they all follow the same principle. Otherwise, they wouldn't all be used through Na. Veronica, this is the answer to your question."

Veronica nodded and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your explanation."

“Well, pharmacist, I have a question,” Vanessa said hastily.

"You said."

"When casting divine spells, their power can be enhanced by increasing their capacity," Father Thorne said, adding that other spells are similar. However, a spell's power has an upper limit based on its rank; for example, the basic Light spell can only be cast at a maximum of three units. Is there a way to exceed this limit and further increase it?"

A very practical question, quite in line with Vanessa's style.

The pharmacist answered her directly: "No."

Immediately, a ball of light appeared at her fingertips.

"We often talk about the three main characteristics of spells: rank, power, and inertia. The first one, rank, is not evaluated based on power, range, or the corresponding values ​​of the other two characteristics, but rather on the complexity of the spell's model. Light, a first-tier spell, can only accommodate a maximum of two Naa of enhancement in its model construction. So you might ask, what if we increase the complexity of this spell's construction so that it can accommodate more than two Naa of magic power?"

The ball of light bounced at the pharmacist's fingertip, and then she opened her palm, letting the ball of light fall into her hand, forming an even brighter sphere.

"Of course you can, but that would be a second-tier divine spell, Dazzling Light."

Its radiance was dazzling, unlike the brightness of the Light spell, which could only be used for illumination.

"Don't look directly at it for too long. I've controlled its power. The glare it releases directly is enough to blind someone for more than half an hour, and a glare of four nanometers can even cause permanent vision damage."

Veronica quickly lowered her head, but Vanessa rolled up her sleeves and continued to look at the radiant light through her clothes.

Neither of them had ever seen a second-tier divine spell.

"The intensity of the dazzling light is two nanometers, and the enhancement is naturally also in units of two nanometers. Unfortunately, the level of this spell is still very low, so it can only reach a maximum enhancement of six nanometers. Any more, and its structure still cannot withstand it."

In an instant, the light dissipated from the pharmacist's palm.

"Therefore, increasing complexity inevitably elevates its class, and it is unreasonable for you to forcibly call it the Light Spell. And the elevation of class means that you can master spells with more complex structures, which also means that your own level has been raised. This applies not only to divine spells, but to other spells as well."

Veronica and Vanessa both looked excited.

"Alright, then our first lesson will be on spell configuration. I will only teach you divine spells, but any cardinal's divine spells are not off-limits to other cardinals and their followers. In fact, if anyone is willing to learn, it is perfectly acceptable to teach them to external spellcasters. The configuration we will be learning today is very suitable for teaching: the first-order spell of the Mind Release Cardinal, Inner Vision."