There was another spell.
The name of the spell was
Water Drizzle!!
He looked at the spell, thinking about mastering it as soon as he learns it.
But then, the voice said:
{You do not meet the requirements for learning this spell!}
{You have to get decent mastery on your first spell to learn it!}
Alex's eyes widened in shock.
He did not expect that the system of minimum requirements will start from the very beginning!
However, he had come to an conclusion:
In order to learn the spells and clear the quests,
He needed to have great mastery on the previous spells.
With a sigh, he took a long breath and then,
He Started Training!!
Alex was repeatedly spamming spells.
But he had a great disadvantage:
He had low mana.
Alex had learned from the voice, that
The higher the mastery on a spell,
The less the spell consume mana!
He had learned the whole system of mastery.
He was currently at no level of mastery!
He needed to master it till the Intermediate Level.
It means he needed to achieve the next two levels and after the levels,
He could achieve the intermediate level!
According to the voice,
He needed decent mastery!
"Is my current mastery level not decent?
I think it is decent.
But, what will happen,
I need intermediate level
And I hope that is decency!"
Thought Alex.
After some more casting, he was exhausted for the lack of enough mana.
But he noticed something,
Instead of the tedious training which he did to just learn it,
He actually needed less amount of casting!
That means:
"The ring is not a fraud! It works just like the description!"
Said Alex happily.
Suddenly, he heard the same voice:
{You have successfully achieved the Beginner Level}
{You have three unused Skill Points}
{Your mastery: 150/300}
"Wait what! Only three points!"
{Yes}
{For every fifty mastery points you gain, you get one skill point}
"Oh I see, then it is totally fine!
After all, as I gain more and more spells and level up their masteries,
I will get more points!
That is completely fine!" said Alex.
He calculated the number of times he casted the spell.
He found out that he only casted the spell for only 10 times.
And in the 10 times, he earned 150 mastery points!
"Time to level up my spell!" said Alex.
He opened his system-cum-book and turned into the skill section.
There he saw his spell's name written.
But he did not write it by himself!
But he soon relaxed, as it was just ordinary for having a system like stuff!
There, he saw one
Just below the name of the spell!
"What is the importance of deducting points from a spell?" asked Alex internally.
{The use of skill point is to increase the efficiency and proficiency as well as the power of a spell}
{If you deduct skill point from a spell and transfer it to a new spell, you can just increase the proficiency as well as efficiency of the new spell}
{This ensures that you can master newer spells faster}
{When you want, you can transfer points indefinitely}
{The number of transfers is infinite}
"So basically, it is just another cheat!"
Thought Alex.
However, after a while when he felt his mana recovered to a decent amount,
He thought to again train.
For the next few minutes, he had casted over ten times,
But still, he could not feel his mana depleting!
The reason was simple:
His mastery was increasing rapidly with each time he casted the spell.
After few more minutes, his mana was exhausted.
He again took a break, wiping sweat from his forehead as well as his arms.
His progress was rapid.
But still, anxiety was lingering on his head.
{Remaining spell casting: 20/50}
{After twenty times, the ring will break}
Yes,
That was the reason of anxiety of Alex.
But, he was forgetting something:
He Did Not Add the Skill Points to His Spell!!
But suddenly, or I should say fortunately or luckily,
The voice said:
{You have three skill points remaining}
Suddenly, he took out the book and turned to the skill section.
There, he added the 3 points to the spell.
Suddenly, he felt something strange inside his body.
Something which was impossible to depict in words.
{You have successfully added skill points to your spell}
{Your spell proficiency has increased}
{Your spell efficiency has increased}
{The power of your spell has increased by 15%}
These were the notifications he got from the voice.
Alex calmly said,"If proficiency as well as efficiency has increased,
Does that mean that my mastery on spell has also increased?"
The voice replied:
{For every skill point you submit, your mastery does not increase}
{However, your new mastery from the points remain hidden}
{For example, if you have submitted 20 points and maxed out your spell, then that mastery remains hidden and can not be detected}
{People can only detect the mastery you have without your points}
Alex was shocked to hear that.
"Hidden mastery!
That means my mastery from the points remain hidden.
And if I use that spell, people will frankly say that I'm giving more mana!"
{Yes}
Alex was happy to hear that. He really had a cheat that most webnovel MCs have!
"That also means that he has completed the quest."
Said Alex.
{No}
{You have not completed the quest}
{You are in Amateur level}
{You need to pass one more levels}
"Wait a minute! I am already in the amateur category.
So that means I need to clear the next level,
And reach the third level.
I... can understand." Said Alex.
The whole morning time passed in a blink,
With Alex relentlessly practising and increasing his mastery on the spell.
By noon,
His mastery was already pretty good.
{Your Mastery: 126/600}
{Mastery Level: Amateur}
{You have 11 skill points remaining}
"Wait a minute, I have already fourteen skill points now!
How's that possible?" asked Alex.
{See, at first, you had 3 points.}
{After getting the rest 150 mastery points, you have more 3 points}
{Then comes Beginner II level}
{There also you got 6 skill points after getting the whole 300 mastery points}
{Now in the Amateur level, you have 2 skill points for your 126 skill points}
{That makes the total of 11 skill points}
"What the heck is this!
If I only master my spells,
Then I can automatically max out the level cap of each spell!" said Alex.
But here's a catch;
{No, you're totally wrong}
{For every 50 mastery points, you get one skill point}
{That is applicable for only those spells which are the easiest to master}
{But as you go higher in difficulty, the skill point earning system drastically changes}
{And also, since you had the Ring of Hardships, you had just sped up your progress}
{Without the ring and with your current self, you had to at least cast the spell for over 10,000 times just to come from Beginner level to the Amateur level}
{Also, the earning of EXP from casting spell reduces as the difficulty of spells increases}
{Also, since this spell required the least mana, you were able to continuously cast the spell without breaks}
{But it is not true for all the spells}
{There are spells which are able to drain all your mana just by uttering their names}
{So be careful with what you expect and what is the reality}
{And do not underestimate the power of nature, you fool}
Alex did not expect the voice to literally just roast him within his usual explanations!
"Well, you have no right to insult me like that, understand!" shouted Alex.
But, he realised the reason of insult too late.
{I am the one who helps you to grow and become the strongest!}
{Without me, you are nothing but a small fragile ant!}
{I am like your mentor, picking up all your mistakes}
{And if you don't cooperate with me, then it is fine}
{You can grow stronger by yourself only!}
Alex's eyes got filled with tears.
He was really sorry to say like that to someone,
Who was really helping him to grow stronger than everyone a lot!
Wiping his tears,
Alex calmly said,
"I am really really sorry! I did not realise that it was you,
Who is helping me a lot to become the ultimate mage!
I am sorry,
Master!!"
★★★
(A/N: Hello readers,
I hope you are enjoying this story.
And I also hope you will be with me on this journey.
If you like this story, do please add it to you library and mark it as your favourite!