Lucian currently had only two copy slots available, which meant he could only copy two spells. And since the "Copy and Analyze" function only worked with spells of his current tier, it made sense to focus on Tier One magic for now.
After some thought, he decided to copy "Metal Morph" and "Fireball."
"Metal Morph" allowed him to generate metal and shape it freely. It was highly functional, and Lucian figured it would be quite useful.
As for "Fireball," well, it seemed more damaging than "Vinebind"—that was reason enough.
Given the limited options, he settled on these two.
"Copy!"
[Copy Duration: 15 minutes.]
Instantly, the methods to cast both spells surfaced in Lucian's mind.
"Analyze!"
[Analyzing… Tier One spell estimated time: 10 minutes.]
Not bad. It only took ten minutes to analyze a Tier One spell. And since the copied spell remained active for fifteen minutes, he could complete the analysis within that time frame. However, until those fifteen minutes were up, he wouldn't be able to copy another skill for analysis.
Lucian wasn't greedy, though. On the contrary, he was quite content with how the system worked.
"Hahaha! I'm officially a mage now!" Lucian spread out his arms, conjuring a marble-sized metal sphere in one hand and a ping-pong-sized fireball in the other, laughing proudly.
"Gujyu~ Gujyu~" Beside him, Nobu chirped joyfully, clearly sharing in Lucian's excitement.
Seeing that even Nobu was happy for him, Lucian chuckled—and suddenly, an idea sparked.
"Nobu should have magic too, right? Let me take a look."
He didn't have any copy slots left, but he could still inspect it.
"Copy!"
At once, a magic panel appeared before Lucian, showing Nobu's abilities. There was only one—but it left Lucian utterly speechless.
[Devour: Non-tier innate magic. Devours all things, enhancing self.]
[Copy Duration: 1 second.]
[Analysis Time: 1 second.]
[Copy slots full. Unable to copy.]
Just a few short lines of description, but "devours all things, enhances self"? That sounded ridiculously powerful.
With this ability, Lucian could essentially inherit Nobu's talent—absorbing anything, whether it was rocks, plants, or even… well, poop?
Cough cough, okay, maybe not that. Definitely not that.
Still, it was an overpowered skill by any standard. A top-tier ability in any fantasy story.
And with a one-second copy and analysis time? That only proved how unique the spell was.
Lucian made up his mind—once the cooldown ended, he'd copy and analyze this skill immediately.
He headed outside to test his new magic.
"Let's start with a—Fireball!" Lucian flicked his wrist, launching a fireball forward. It flew faster than a mana bolt and struck the trunk of a nearby tree, exploding with a sharp pop. The bark scorched black, smoke curling from the impact point.
Lucian rushed over and patted out the embers.
"Setting a forest on fire's gonna land me in jail," he muttered under his breath.
Lysera: "…"
Examining the mark left on the tree, Lucian nodded in satisfaction.
"This would definitely break the skin if it hit someone, right?"
"You could try it and find out," Lysera replied flatly.
"Yeah, no thanks." Lucian chuckled awkwardly.
Next up—Metal Morph.
He held out his hand and conjured a small metal sphere, about the size of a marble. It looked like copper and could be freely molded. Lucian shaped it into a coin, grinning.
"With Metal Morph, does that mean I can start conjuring gold?"
Lysera shook her head. "High-level metal magic can create gold, but it's otherworldly gold—imbued with magical essence. It can't be used as currency."
Lucian nodded.
"Yeah, makes sense. Otherwise, every mage would just print their own money."
Metal Morph was definitely more fun than Fireball. The way he could mold metal like putty in his hand fascinated him.
"These Tier One spells really burn through mana though," Lucian noted, a bit dissatisfied. "Casting four of them used up almost a fifth of my mana. So with a full pool, I can only cast around twenty Tier One spells. That's kinda low."
Lysera shrugged. "That's already amazing. Your mana has been refined by the system—it's purer than normal—and your mana pool is also far larger than most. A regular mage who just reached Tier One would be lucky to cast five Tier One spells. You're far ahead of the curve."
"Really?" Lucian scratched his head, suddenly feeling pretty good about himself.
"Of course. And as you continue training, both your mana pool and quality will keep improving—far beyond what's normal for your tier. That's the benefit of having a system. Though to be fair, your innate talent plays a big role too. In your world's terms, you've got natural talent. You were born with a mana reserve far beyond average."
"Well, I am the protagonist, after all," Lucian said smugly.
Lysera: "…"
Unbelievable. Praise this guy once, and he instantly forgets how to be humble.
"Gujuy~" Nobu suddenly chirped again, its beady eyes locked on the Fireball in Lucian's hand. Through the equal contract bond, Lucian could feel its desire.
"Oh right, Nobu can devour magic!" Lucian recalled. He crouched down and held out the fireball.
"Can you eat this?" he asked curiously.
"Gujyu!" Nobu leapt onto Lucian's hand and instantly engulfed the Fireball. The fiery orb churned briefly inside its gelatinous body—then vanished. Nobu's form grew noticeably larger.
"It really can eat it!" Lucian exclaimed.
"Of course," Lysera said calmly. "There's a reason Slimes are known as 'devourers of all things.'"
"And magic is especially nutritious for them. It's more mana-rich than any regular food source. If you feed it more spells, it'll grow even faster."
"Got it!" Lucian nodded and conjured another Fireball. "Eat up, Nobu! Grow strong. I'm counting on you to help me conquer this world."
"Gujuy!" Nobu chirped joyfully and devoured the Fireball again.
Lucian cast spell after spell while Nobu devoured each one. After about a dozen fireballs, Lucian suddenly felt a little dizzy and weak.
Shaking his head, he muttered, "So running out of mana comes with side effects, huh?"
"Exactly. If you drain your mana completely, you'll experience physical discomfort. Severe mana depletion can even cause unconsciousness—or worse. That's why keeping your mana reserves healthy is critical for a mage," Lysera explained.
"I see. So recovering mana just takes meditation, right?"
"Yes. And with the system assisting your cultivation, your recovery rate is much faster. Right now, even without meditating, you regenerate 10% of your mana every two seconds. If you enter meditation, that rate increases three to four times."
Lucian's eyes lit up. "So even without meditating, I'll be full in twenty seconds?"
"As long as you maintain a pace of one spell per second, your mana will sustain itself indefinitely."
"Nice." Lucian nodded and immediately activated his system's cultivation function. From that moment on, he didn't stop training.
He could feel ambient mana pouring into his body. His depleted reserves began to refill quickly.
"Time's just about up. Time to copy and analyze another spell!" Lucian grinned and targeted Nobu's "Devour" ability.
One second later, analysis complete—perfect mastery achieved.
Lucian could now feel the power coursing through him. He nodded and said, "Now I'm just like Nobu—I can devour anything, including magic. Whatever I absorb gets turned into energy to strengthen my body, soul, and mana."
"The more diverse the energy, the greater the boost!" he added with a grin.
But Lysera quickly shook her head. "That might be true for Nobu, but you're still human. You can devour anything—but only within limits. If you try to absorb something beyond your body's capacity, you'll explode."
Lucian nodded solemnly.
"That makes sense. Otherwise, all I'd have to do is gobble up a few high-tier spells and I'd be a god by next week."
So physical strength determined the devouring limit.
After feeding Nobu another ten or so Fireballs, the little Slime suddenly stopped and closed its eyes. The gelatin inside its body began to swirl like a washing machine.
"What's it doing now?" Lucian asked curiously.
"Digesting. When a Slime absorbs a large amount of energy, it enters a digestion phase."
"Nobu's still very young. Those few dozen Fireballs are already a hefty meal. It'll take some time to process them. But thanks to Slime biology, the digestion won't take too long."
"Once it's done, it'll grow stronger—and its digestive capacity will also improve."
"I see… So what if Nobu tried to eat a Sacred Rank spell in one go? Wouldn't that explode it?" Lucian asked.
"Nope. Slimes aren't like humans. Their devouring capacity is absurdly high. Even a hundred Sacred Rank spells could be absorbed—given enough time. But they'd enter digestion immediately, and while digesting, their absorption rate drops significantly."
"And the more they devour, the longer the digestion phase. At Nobu's current level, swallowing a hundred Sacred Rank spells might take over ten years to digest."
"Eventually, it'll be able to digest that kind of power instantly, but growth takes time. So while a Slime's appetite is practically limitless, its digestive power still needs to catch up slowly."
"And keep in mind—during digestion, Slimes are extremely vulnerable. They lose their immunity to physical attacks. A single punch could scatter them. That's the easiest time to kill one."
"Of course, that only applies in the early stages. Right now, a dozen low-tier spells can fill it up. Later on, even a hundred high-tier spells might not be enough."
"I see…" Lucian nodded and carefully cradled Nobu in his arms. "Then I'll have to protect Nobu."
Lysera watched him with a soft smile and said nothing.