Chapter 1005 - 484: "Hot Potato

"But Ying, your reaction and speed are the fastest. You’ll be able to grasp the best timing to use it."

Both stuck to their guns, eventually turning to look at Gauss in unison.

Seeing the two deferring to each other, Gauss smiled helplessly. To an outsider, it would look like they were passing around a hot potato. To keep them from agonizing over it any longer, he simply made an executive decision.

"I’ll go back and think about what spell would be best to store. Over the next two days, we’ll hold a mock battle to see who uses it more effectively before deciding on the allocation."

As the saying goes, true knowledge comes from practice. The Magic Storage Ring was essentially an extra layer of insurance for the team—a responsibility, at its core. Entrusting it to the person who could utilize it best was undoubtedly the optimal choice. Hearing this, neither Ying nor Aaliyah had any further objections.

Back at the Red Dragon Team’s camp.

Gauss couldn’t wait to start reading the three spellbooks. This was his first time encountering 6th-tier spellbooks.

"*Spiritual Prison*, *Splendid Light Ball*, and *Wind Riding*."

He wondered which one he should learn first. After a moment of thought, he picked up the most valuable one: *Spiritual Prison*. As a spell involving the spiritual Domain, its value was higher than ordinary 7th-tier spells. Spiritual attacks were far more covert and dangerous than other methods.

He had actually learned an Illusion Technique spell before—*True Illusion*. However, that was merely a 4th-tier spell, a far cry from the 6th-tier *Spiritual Prison*. Furthermore, the steps for *True Illusion* were relatively cumbersome, requiring meditation to construct various mental illusions. If used against highly vigilant creatures, there was a considerable risk of it being seen through.

Compared to *True Illusion*, *Spiritual Prison* was undoubtedly much more simple and brutal. It was the purest form of spiritual attack, capable of dragging an enemy’s consciousness directly into a spiritual prison to torture them. Even if the enemy clearly realized they were in a spiritual space, it would be of no use.

This imprisonment was forced. Unless their Spiritual Power could break through the constraints set by Gauss—who would be bolstered by the *Spiritual Prison*—they would have no choice but to endure prolonged, continuous mental attacks until the spell ended.

Gauss flipped through *Spiritual Prison*. Logically, since this was his first time encountering a 6th-tier spell—and one belonging to the relatively complex spiritual category—he should have found it obscure and difficult to comprehend.

However, as Gauss read through it, the actual difficulty was much lower than he had anticipated. Its spell model was indeed incredibly complex, but it still fell within a range he could grasp. Perhaps it was the robust magical foundation he had built from learning numerous Magic spells, or maybe it was the assistance of his staggering 21 points in the Intelligence Attribute. Regardless, his initial impression of the *Spiritual Prison* spellbook lacked any strong sense of dread.

He thought, "A 6th-tier spell... is this all there is to it?"

If other Casters knew what he was feeling right now, they probably wouldn’t be able to hold back their complaints. 6th-tier spells had already crossed into the Domain of High Tier spells. Even Extraordinary Casters needed to spend immense amounts of time researching and studying them. A level 11 Caster was merely the baseline threshold; typically, only level 12, 13, or even higher-level Casters could use them fluently.

Gauss spent some time familiarizing himself with the spell model of *Spiritual Prison* before formally beginning to learn it. He planned to strike while the iron was hot and thoroughly construct the model in the depths of his consciousness. That way, he could formally initiate himself through actual combat during his next excursion and rapidly accumulate proficiency.

The current state of the war was giving even him a sense of urgency. He needed to enhance his means of dealing with enemies, and *Spiritual Prison* could undoubtedly solve this pressing need. It would be remarkably effective against most demons.

The other members of the Red Dragon Team knew he was deeply engrossed in studying spells and didn’t disturb him. As usual, they took on commissions, heading into the nearby wilderness to track down monster tracks. Meanwhile, another group cooperated with the soldiers on the city walls to fend off the continuous frontal assaults.

By evening, when Gauss emerged from his tent, he looked at the incredibly complex spell model in the depths of his consciousness with a satisfied smile. Completing the construction of a 6th-tier spell model in less than a day—if word of this speed got out, jaws would undoubtedly drop. But he had genuinely pulled it off.

Coincidentally, the main force of the Red Dragon Team had just returned and was getting ready for dinner.

"Where’s Serdur?" Stepping into the dining area and sitting beside Aaliyah and the others, Gauss asked casually upon noticing the familiar figure’s absence.

"I don’t know," Albena said, shaking her head.

"It seems someone from the Guild came and called him away, along with the other Priests in the team," Ying explained.

"Is it some kind of emergency?" Gauss raised an eyebrow. "They won’t even let him eat?"

Since it involved his teammate, he decided to seek out Guild Leader Mr. Monroe after dinner to ask about it. Speaking of which, he hadn’t seen the bearded Guild leader when he visited the Guild headquarters earlier today. Normally, when there were no combat missions, the Guild leader would hold the fort at the headquarters, acting as their stabilizing pillar.