For three consecutive days, Li De didn't leave the mage tower. The progress of modifying Mage Hand was much slower than he had anticipated.
The 30 magic nodes in the Mage Hand spell were the result of countless experiments by powerful mages. The difficulty of modifying such a standard magic model was as one could imagine.
But Li De was not one to give up easily. The challenge of modifying Mage Hand only fueled his determination.
As a vampire, Li De only needed two sun-hours of rest each day to recover his energy. The rest of the time, he devoted himself entirely to the modification.
He didn't even pay attention to the news that Laurent had exchanged gold pucks with the Alex Merchant Guild for a large quantity of grain, which was now stored in the Golden Wheat Merchant Guild's warehouse.
The breakthrough came on the third day, after Li De returned to Earth for a meal. Suddenly, he had an epiphany.
He created a mathematical model for all the magic nodes, using this model to eliminate a large number of useless node combinations.
As a result, progress accelerated rapidly, and the probability of errors dropped significantly.
On the fifth day after returning from the Alex Merchant Guild.
Seventh floor of the Crimson Mage Tower.
A burst of laughter echoed through the tower, startling the mage apprentices studying downstairs.
Was that Lord Li De's laughter?
Recalling the usually stern-faced Li De, they found it hard to believe.
"Vina, go see if Lord Li De has made any new discoveries."
"Could Lord Li De have made a breakthrough?"
"Vina..."
As Li De's maid, Vina was the natural choice to go upstairs and investigate. Urged by the others, the girl quickly stood up, lifting her blue mage robe.
Knock, knock, knock~
"Come in."
Vina pushed open the door to the seventh floor, her curiosity piqued.
The room hadn't changed much. Various magical materials were neatly arranged on storage shelves, and the room was tidy. The only difference was that Lord Li De seemed unusually happy.
Seeing Li De's joyful expression, Vina couldn't help but ask, "Lord Li De, have you made a new discovery?"
She had never seen Li De so delighted before. In the past, even a smile from him was rare.
Li De calmed his excitement and smiled. "Watch this."
Snap~
With a snap of his fingers, a semi-transparent giant hand appeared in the room.
First-tier spell, Mage Hand.
Vina looked at the Mage Hand, confused. She didn't see anything different.
"Lord Li De, this is Mage Hand... What are you..."
Li De laughed and snapped his fingers again. To Vina's astonishment, the Mage Hand underwent a dramatic transformation.
The giant hand turned into a semi-transparent shield.
Snap~
Another snap, and the shield transformed into a longsword.
Snap~
A broadsword.
Snap~
A spiked club.
Snap~
Ultraman.
Vina was completely stunned. She could clearly sense that this was the same Mage Hand, with the same mana fluctuations.
But why... why could it keep changing shape?
This scene shattered Vina's understanding of magic.
According to a mage's common knowledge, once a spell was cast, its shape and nature couldn't be altered.
For example, a Fireball spell could only be a fireball after casting. It couldn't turn into a fire blade or a fire shield.
This was because the magic model's shape was fixed and couldn't be changed.
But what was happening with this constantly changing Mage Hand?
Why could Mage Hand transform?
"Lord Li De, did... did you create this?
By the Goddess of Magic, you're truly a genius. The mages of Green City will sing your praises, and bards will compose songs of your greatness!"
Vina's eyes sparkled with admiration.
The girl's unreserved admiration gave Li De a secret thrill.
Over the past five days, aside from resting for two sun-hours each day, he had hardly stopped.
During the modification process, he had failed at least two thousand times.
At first, the backlash from failed attempts was severe, feeling like needles stabbing his brain.
This made him cautious.
But then he discovered a way to reduce the backlash.
Control the mana output.
A magic model required a certain amount of mana to activate. If the mana input was insufficient, the spell would fail, and severe backlash could occur.
But Li De found that, as in the beginning, continuously reducing the mana input could keep the magic model running.
A model with reduced mana couldn't be cast, but since he was studying the relationships between nodes, casting wasn't his concern.
To minimize backlash, he experimented with more precise mana input to keep the model stable.
Starting with 9 points of mana, he gradually reduced it to 8, then 7, then 3, and finally reached his current limit of 2 points.
With just 2 points of mana, he could keep the model running at its minimum level. Maintaining stability with such low mana required extremely high mental control.
The Vampire Progenitor's bloodline granted him terrifying mana affinity. Controlling mana was as natural to Li De as breathing.
During the day, it was manageable, but at night, even the slightest mana could be controlled effortlessly.
Once he figured out how to minimize backlash, his experimentation began in earnest.
When a magic model collapsed, it usually caused severe backlash for the mage. Mild cases could result in a collapse of the mental sea and a drop in power, while severe cases could turn the mage into an idiot.
This was why even transcendent mages dared not recklessly experiment with or modify magic. The risks were too high. Slight changes could lead to idiocy, a risk few were willing to take.
As a result, mages held magic models in deep respect and awe, believing them to be gifts from the Goddess of Magic. To tamper with divine power was to invite divine punishment.
But Li De's mana affinity allowed him to reduce the backlash to almost nothing.
Thus began his bold modifications of magic nodes.
Five days, two thousand failures, and the creation of two mathematical models for data analysis.
Finally, he succeeded in creating a transformable Mage Hand.
The modified Mage Hand now had 90 magic nodes, up from the original 30.
The additional 60 nodes were the key to its transformability.
Li De had essentially rewritten the spell.
The results were remarkable. The once rigid Mage Hand could now change shape at the caster's will, even after being cast.
Moreover, its power had increased significantly. The strength of Mage Hand had risen from 150 pounds to nearly 800 pounds, a fivefold increase.
Imagine using Mage Hand in battle: it could transform into a shield when attacked, then into a blade when attacking. The enemy would surely be startled before cursing.
Of course, there was a cost. The mana required to cast the spell had increased from 10 points to 15, a 50% increase.
And no matter how much it was modified, Mage Hand remained a first-tier spell.
Although its power now rivaled some second-tier spells, it was still of little use to Li De.
In combat, a small Fireball spell would still be more effective than using Mage Hand to engage in melee.
The significance of modifying Mage Hand was that Li De had found the right direction.
Without access to more advanced spells, he could enhance his current spells to a level, two tiers higher in power.
When the time came, even a simple Fireball spell cast by him could rival a tank's main cannon, while his enemies' spells would be no stronger than a small gas canister explosion. The gap would be immense.