Chapter 159: Silver Hand
Casting Recovery on himself, Gerald sat back down and took a fresh notebook to record his discoveries and calculations, while thinking of ways to make the spell even better.
"If I cast Stone Body at the same time I should be able to mitigate the damage taken from the increased power… The only question is, will I become slower because of it?"
Both Stone Body and this strengthening magic made his body slightly stiffer. Combined together, he figured, they would make him slower.
Slow but powerful and unstoppable, somewhat like a juggernaut.
'Juggernaut, huh? Doesn't sound half bad…' Gerald thought to himself.
Then there was another combination he came up with on the spot. A Berserker. Wind Body and strengthening magic, powerful and fast, with no concern for your own safety.
"That's for crazy individuals who don't care about life or death… Not my style!"
Combining three or more spells into one was proving to be quite a challenge. Of course, he could use all three spells at once individually, but that was inefficient and difficult to do. Three to four different spells at once was about the limit of his capabilities at the moment.
"I'll have to find a way to merge them all into one if I want to make use of it properly…"
But since he wasn't sure of how to advance, he decided to read the rest of the books at his disposal. Before that though, he made two spellbooks for his Combat Arts – Berserker and Juggernaut.
[Basics of Runecrafting and Scroll Formation]
"Oho?" Gerald picked up another book that attracted his attention. "Runes! So that's what those golden squiggly lines were!" Reading through the book, he found many similar runes to the ones he saw in the Phoenix Temple, although these didn't look half as imposing as those ancient ones.
Every rune had its own meaning and effect, and combining them together was an arduous task. There were some examples in the book, and Gerald guessed it was a learning tool for students, and nothing better.
At least he learned of the existence of runes, runestones, and spell scrolls.
Usually, a high-quality paper or leather was required as a base, then the runes for a spell had to be written onto it with a special technique. Blood and Ether had to be mixed together to make the ink and the stronger the being the blood came from, the better the effect and power of the spell.
"Hmm, saving spells in the form of a single-use scroll? Seems wasteful…"
While it was true that spell scrolls were single-use only, Runestones were a whole different story. A master Runecrafter could bind almost any spell on the Runestone, making it a separate entity from the caster that could be used as long as it had enough Mana left.
For example: If Gerald made a Fireball Runestone, he could give it to Sera, and even though she was incapable of using magic, she could still use the Runestone to cast spells. As long as the Mana inside the Runestone remained sufficient, she could keep shooting Fireballs.
Though to make a proper Runestone you needed some special stone, the blood of a strong beast, and the core of the same beast. Well, it didn't have to be exactly from the same being, but it at least had to be of the same species and of similar rank.
Cores, he found out, were the Ether Crystals that each animal grew inside itself as it was the core of its magic power.
"Oh, man! I have so much to learn still!" Gerald regretted that he didn't take some more of the blood of the Minecrawler Queen. He had a little bit that he took together with the meat, but nothing major. He could scrape together a vial or two, but that would be just enough for a few spell scrolls or a single Runestone.
Before trying his hand in Runecrafting though, he would have to figure out how it all worked. Just knowing what Runes mean was not enough.
After reading through the entire book, with the examples given, he was able to get a very basic understanding of it all. Too bad he didn't have any materials to try out what he learned.
Knock, knock!
Someone gently knocked on the door of his lab.
"Come in!" Gerald beckoned.
Entering the room was his butler Sebas, "Master, some people came over to deliver a few things for you!"
"Oh?" Gerald rose from his chair, "Bring it here!"
The butler nodded and a few small but intricately designed wooden boxes were soon stacked on his table. Since that was all there was, the butler then respectfully left and closed the door behind himself.
"That was fast! I know I told them to make it as soon as possible, but this is just too much! How fast are these people working?!" Although he was complaining, Gerald was very happy looking at the pretty boxes on his table. He opened them up and took out many weirdly shaped silver pieces.
These people were really masters of their craft. It took Gerald only a minute to put them all together and form his new silver arm. It looked magnificent and imposing, made with retractable steel blades hidden in the forearm and fingers.
With just a thought he could turn this treasure into a deadly weapon. But that was not all! The palm could automatically move out of the way, revealing the opening of a cannon barrel.
"Magnificent! And heavy!" His new arm was a bit bigger than the last one, and with it being made of silver it was much heavier. A quick estimate from Gerald put it just above 50kg!
He fastened it to his shoulder and tried moving it around.
"Holy shit! This is so much easier!" The weight almost didn't matter as Gerald used Telekinesis to move it. And moving such a little piece of silver around was not a problem at all, as his Mana regeneration was much greater than the energy expenditure.
His control over his new arm was excellent. Comparing iron to silver it was as if he was trying to move through honey versus water. The strain on his mind was much lesser, although there wasn't much, to begin with, and the accuracy of his movement went up another notch.
"I wonder if…" Opening his silver palm, a flame burst out of it. "Hahaha! Yes! I can finally use magic!"
Excited about the new ability, he ran out of his room and into the back garden. The high walls around the mansion completely separated him from the prying eyes of the public, allowing him to use magic however he wanted.
"I wonder if I can still cast Greater Fireball?"
He took a wide combat stance with his knees slightly bent and feet apart, with arms positioned as if holding an imaginary basketball.
Fwoosh!
A flame ignited and formed a perfect sphere. It then expanded with added Mana to double the size until Gerald pushed it back, making the flames hotter and brighter. He repeated the action three times just as he did when he first tested the spell.
"Hmm, is that it?" he asked himself. When he first made it he thought it was quite strong already, but after taking the Queen's spell to the chest, he realized it was barely worth mentioning.
He released the spell and let it obliterate a wooden training dummy. A minute later, only ash and hot coals remained.
"I bet I can make it stronger!" He quickly wore his cloak and left the mansion. Running with Wind Body he left the capital in no time at all. Then, making use of the Screw Gravity spell, he quickly rose to the skies and disappeared above the treetops.
Not long after, he landed in a forest clearing and gave a quick look around to see if anyone was there. With his Magic Eyes, he could now see Mana inside a fifty-meter radius already. It was a good ability to have.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
GoldenShadow
GoldenShadow Any ideas or suggestions on naming the three spells combined? Leave your suggestions below, I might pick it!
Also, Happy New Year!
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