Gauss focused his mind, sensing how much of his Mage Armor had just been depleted. With this test, he gained a deeper understanding.
This time, the damage to the protective field was noticeably worse than the first.
The key difference was that the first time, he had only made a small, careful cut on his fingertip. This time, he slashed about ten centimeters across the back of his hand—and with much more force.
Even with the same weapon, the area and force of impact clearly affected how much protection Mage Armor consumed.
So, its strength couldn't be simply quantified by "how many hits it can take." It depended heavily on the nature of each hit.
Ultimately, it came down to intuition and experience.
Gauss continued testing for a while longer.
Once he felt the spell's protective effect had nearly faded, he cautiously brought the dagger back to his finger.
He applied pressure.
CRACK!
With a crisp sound, the protective field of Mage Armor around him suddenly shattered.
Gauss quickly withdrew the dagger, barely avoiding a cut.
"Mage Armor broke..."
Sensing the magical energy around him dissipate completely, he nodded in understanding.
When the barrier is weak, you can't afford to absorb further hits. It's basically lost most of its protective strength by then.
In such cases, the best move is to dispel it and recast a fresh, full-strength Mage Armor.
Because unlike him, enemies won't stop swinging just because your shield flickered out.
[Mage Armor Proficiency +1]
Level 1 Spell: Mage Armor Lvl.1 (2/10)
Seeing the prompt pop up, Gauss raised an eyebrow.
So, it wasn't just the initial casting that improved proficiency—taking hits while the spell was active also contributed?
Apparently, to fully train this spell, he'd need to regularly practice damage endurance, not just casting.
That was unexpected.
Spells like Mage Hand and Magic Missile didn't have any of this "passive training" behavior.
Looks like this one would level up much faster.
And unlike Magic Missile, Mage Armor could be practiced anytime—even in town.
He had come out to this remote field today out of caution, not knowing if the spell might cause unintended damage on his first try.
But now it was clear: Mage Armor didn't harm the environment and had no terrain requirements for practice.
That realization cheered him up quite a bit.
Even though he'd acquired Mage Armor later than his other spells, it didn't seem difficult to train at all.
Alright then—keep going!
He still had over half his mana remaining.
No need to rest now. He'd ride the momentum and push his proficiency higher while the feeling of the spellcasting flow was still fresh.
With the first success behind him, Gauss quickly cast Mage Armor again. Mana surged through his bone staff, and the spell activated.
Then came the same process again.
He tested various types of physical damage: stabbing with daggers, thrusting with rapiers, blunt impacts with fists, even falling damage from wrestling and slamming.
The conclusion: Mage Armor provided reliable protection against all forms of physical attack—until it shattered.
What he didn't know yet was how well it could resist magical attacks.
That would have to wait.
Mage Hand was technically a magical effect, but its interaction leaned more toward the physical side.
And Magic Missile couldn't be tested at all—first, because he physically couldn't target himself with it; and second, because it was far too dangerous.
He'd only just begun learning Mage Armor. Even if he could cast Magic Missile on himself, he had no plans to do so.
If the shield failed and he ended up killing himself with his own spell, that would be a tragically embarrassing way to go.
…
Time passed quickly when you were busy.
Before he knew it, several days had flown by.
"Level 1 Spell: Mage Armor Lvl.2 (8/20)"
Gauss glanced at his proficiency bar, then turned toward the bald, middle-aged man next to him.
"That's enough training for today."
"Here's your payment."
He handed the man a few copper coins.
The man thanked him profusely and left in a hurry.
Gauss couldn't help but shake his head.
On the very first day, he had already pushed Mage Armor from level 1 to level 2.
Thanks to skipping the beginner learning phase—courtesy of the Adventurer's Manual—he always trained spells quickly at level 1. But Mage Armor had been the fastest by far.
It even trained faster than Mage Hand, a cantrip.
There were several reasons.
His overall spellcasting ability had improved significantly—his mana pool was larger, and his control sharper.
From Gauss's perspective, Lvl.1 proficiency meant barely being able to cast the spell—hit or miss.
Lvl.2, on the other hand, was the point where you could cast reliably in focused conditions. The more proficient you became, the more resistant you were to interruptions.
As for what Lvl.3 proficiency would be like...
He didn't know yet.
His other two spells were currently at:
Mage Hand Lvl.2 (18/20)
Magic Missile Lvl.2 (10/20)
Once Mage Armor reached level 2, Gauss began paying a laborer to help him with training. Just a few copper coins a day.
And he quickly realized: having someone else attack you was far more effective for leveling the spell than injuring yourself.
That's likely why Mage Armor's progress remained fast even after reaching level 2.
"Too bad... it's starting to slow down now."
He'd trained all day. Most of the time was spent regenerating mana, and even then, he only reached Lv2 (8/20).
Gauss had a theory.
He recalled something the blacksmith master, Gron, had told him about adventurers:
A profession was more than just a job—it was a fundamental rule of the world.
To walk the path of a professional, you had to actively live that path.
And if that was true for professionals, it probably applied to apprentices too.
So, self-attacking—while safest—was the least effective training method.
Hiring someone to attack you under your control? Better, but still not ideal.
Real combat would always be the most efficient form of training.
If it weren't, then becoming a professional wouldn't be so rare.
After all, if it were just a matter of grinding skill repetitions, most people could eventually level up through sheer effort and time.
But that wasn't reality.
Most apprentices never advanced.
A cruel rule of the world, really.
To become strong… did it mean you had to constantly walk the edge of danger?
Was this unseen rule guiding all living things toward conflict and bloodshed?
Gauss set down his staff and looked up at the sky.
For some reason, a strange sense of familiarity stirred in his chest.
But there was no one to answer that quiet, nameless emotion.
After staring a while, he lowered his gaze.
"In that case... I just have to keep moving forward."
"Next goal: the fifth monster for my Monster Index."