There was no need to mention Klee, the daughter of a witch was naturally a witch herself. She was happily blasting fish and refused to leave. After greeting Gongqu and Jean, she decided to stay.
Lisa, on the other hand, was the main magical DPS in the upcoming Fire Dragon raid.
Originally, Gongqu hadn't planned on including her. Her position was supposed to be filled by a certain wind god he'd managed to reel in with two or three bottles of dandelion wine.
Lisa took the magical scroll, her fingers trembling slightly as she flipped through the spellbook.
So this is… magic from another world that doesn't require a price?
Well, not exactly, there was a price, but it was simply giving birth to ten or so children for a certain someone.
At that thought, Lisa's usually calm face flushed slightly.
But soon, she was fully immersed in the new magical knowledge.
Lisa held the spellbook in her hands and gently pointed at Gongqu.
"Blitz!"
A faint tingling sensation washed over him.
Out of trust for Lisa, Gongqu didn't resist.
A semi-transparent shield formed around him.
"It's definitely been cast successfully. Keqing, give me a whack, will you?"
"Alright!"
Keqing summoned her enchanted diamond sword and tapped Gongqu with the flat of the blade.
Thunk!
She felt as if she'd struck a wall and was immediately knocked back by the rebound.
"You're being way too gentle! Let me try!"
Ying wasn't one to go easy on Gongqu. She drew her unsharpened sword and aimed straight at Gongqu's lower half.
"Hey! That's not the right spot to hit!"
Feeling a sudden chill down below, Gongqu twisted instinctively.
Scritch!
The dull blade scraped along the edge of the shield, emitting a grating sound.
Bzz…
Ying silently sheathed the still-vibrating sword and commented with a blank expression, "Good shield. Just a bit too thick, didn't cut through."
"Whew~ Ying, I'll let it slide since we're fighting the Fire Dragon tomorrow. But once we're back… watch out, I might keep you in bed for three days straight!"
"Pfft, three days? You're only good at pushing around soft girls like Keqing to show off. You do realize there are tired bulls, but no ruined fields, right?"
Lisa glanced at Keqing in surprise, as if to say: Are they always this… blunt?
Keqing facepalmed, then quickly covered Klee's ears.
"Kids shouldn't be listening to this sort of thing."
But she forgot there was someone else, not a child, but just as curious as one.
That day, Paimon felt like she'd stepped into a whole new world.
Pop!
A crisp sound, and the shield around Gongqu shattered.
Both Gongqu and Ying immediately stopped goofing around and turned to look at Lisa.
The human supercomputer, Lisa, calmly delivered her research findings.
"In terms of strength, this shield can block a full force blow from a monster like a Mitachurl. As long as it's not constant attacks, the shield's internal magical circulation can self-repair to some degree. Based on the number of repairs, it should last between three to five minutes."
"So, as long as the damage doesn't exceed the shield's maximum threshold, even if it's hit multiple times, it'll hold for about three minutes?"
"Correct. But considering how Ying and the others looked this afternoon, I'd wager that the dragon's attacks are way stronger than a Mitachurl's. Conservatively speaking, it might last only about a minute, four or five hits, before shattering."
"That's cutting it close… Lisa, is there any way to improve or strengthen this spell?"
"It's hard. With just two runes, there's no way to extrapolate a new magical theory."
"I see. Hold on a sec!"
Gongqu got up from the table.
Everyone was curious, but they patiently waited.
Soon, Gongqu returned, holding a book with a purple cover and golden trim.
"Lisa, take a look at this beginner's spellbook."
Lisa curiously flipped through the odd-looking tome.
Unlike the diarrhea style info dumps of typical game guide spellbooks, this was truly an academic work teaching the fundamental theories of magic.
It covered the principles, origins, and basic applications of rune magic, so dry it could put a reader to sleep if they weren't serious about magic.
The only synthesis recipe it had was for upgrading the beginner's spellbook to a mage's spellbook.
The same went for the Starlight Codex, which covered star-magic.
Pages upon pages of astronomical and arcane knowledge, enough to make one's scalp tingle just skimming through them.
This discovery had poured cold water on Gongqu's initial excitement about learning magic.
He only vaguely remembered making things like the Magic Source Flask, Imprinting Machine, and Starlight Altar, but without the in-game guides, relying on the memory of an ordinary person, he couldn't possibly recall all the formulas or truly master the spells.
Given the time it would take to experiment and figure things out, he was better off searching for accessories or working on developing his Vision for more immediate power.
Back at the table.
Lisa, the top student of the Sumeru Akademiya, furrowed her brows, her thighs, encased in purple garter stockings, shifting restlessly.
After about ten minutes, she snapped the book shut with a clack.
"Well? Can you manage?"
"I can. But I'll need at least half a month. The so called 'Level One Runes' described in here should be doable. But… 'eating' runes as a way to learn knowledge? Isn't that a bit too reckless? Or is that just a quirk of your world?"
"It is a unique feature of my world. But you wouldn't be able to use the crafting table anyway, so we'll have to learn together when the time comes. I do have some formula impressions in my head, which should give you a good starting point."
Gongqu decided to leave it at that, not pushing any further improvements for the shield magic.
After all, in the original game, skilled kiting and positioning made it possible to slay dragons in the early stages.
With three level-90 characters, legendary weapons and artifacts, plus him as the team's "dad," there was no reason to fail.
The Fire Dragon had to die.
Just the fact that it had bullied Ying meant Gongqu wouldn't let it go.
But considering how Ying and Lisa's physical capabilities were suppressed by the Minecraft world, and the fact they had no armor, he'd need to adjust the team's formation a bit.
"Ying, you know how to use a bow, right?"
"I know the basics. Why?"
"Good," Gongqu said, "Keqing and I have much stronger defenses than you two. So we'll take turns up front drawing the dragon's attention. You and Lisa stay back and maintain the magic shield. Once the dragon takes to the air, focus your fire on its wings.
When it lands, I'll flood the area with water buckets. With an endless supply of water, its flaming breath will be severely weakened. From there, it's just a matter of healing, recharging, and hitting it with everything we've got."
Among the various dragons, the Fire Dragon was the easiest to handle.
Its main attacks could be countered by infinite water.
Unlike the Ice Dragon that left spikes on the ground, or the Thunder Dragon that made the terrain collapse.
Once they killed the Fire Dragon and harvested its blood, they'd forge the Dragonflame Bone Blood Sword, which would then give them an advantage against the Ice Dragon, a perfect, self-sustaining cycle.
Author's Note:
Hey everyone,
I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for reading and supporting my story so far. It truly means a lot to me.
Lately, it's been tough. The market is getting quiet, and the motivation to keep going is slipping. But I really want to finish this story not just for myself, but for all of you who've followed it until now.
If you've been enjoying the journey, I humbly ask for your support. Even just one Power Stone from each of you would help so much. It's not just about numbers, it's about knowing someone out there is cheering for this story to continue.
Your small support gives me big motivation. Let's reach the end of this journey together. 💙
With gratitude,
—MrBehringer
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