Chapter 254: Basics of Wizard Arrays

Helag chuckled, realizing that the three of them were indeed just hitching a ride on the airship.

The third level of the airship was quite complex, with multiple housing areas.

Helag and his companions chose two rooms near the windows, allowing them to enjoy the view and avoid feeling claustrophobic during the long journey.

Having spent months at sea before, Helag knew how oppressive it could feel to be confined below deck for extended periods.

After a few days on the airship, Helag discovered that it had a library, and a rather large one at that.

Upon learning that all the books were free to read, Helag felt like he had struck gold. He practically moved into the library, spending as much time there as possible.

Every day, as soon as he woke up, Helag would dive into the library, immersing himself in the books.

The library had a wide variety of books, covering topics such as potion-making, spell theory, elemental magic, and spatial magic.

Most importantly, Helag found a book titled *Introduction to Wizard Arrays*.

In the Barrens, there was no knowledge or inheritance of wizard arrays.

But here, this introductory book on wizard arrays was casually placed on the shelf like a common magazine, available for anyone to read.

Helag wasn’t about to pass up this opportunity to learn, especially since it was free.

With nothing else to do on the airship, he settled into the library and began studying.

His enthusiasm soon spread to Reese and David, who also started picking up books and quietly studying in the library.

Helag recorded all the books in the library into Deep Blue, then focused on studying *Introduction to Wizard Arrays*.

After reading the book thoroughly, Helag gained a basic understanding.

The foundation of wizard arrays lies in runes, of which there are thousands, each with different properties and functions.

By arranging these runes in specific patterns, one can create various types of wizard arrays with different effects.

Because there are so many runes, the possible combinations are nearly endless, leading to a wide variety of arrays.

The first step in learning wizard arrays is to recognize, familiarize, and master the various runes.

The more runes you can master, the better, as they are the building blocks of wizard arrays—the essential tools.

The more tools you have, the easier it will be to design and set up arrays.

This book, *Introduction to Wizard Arrays*, only covered the basics, introducing sixteen foundational runes.

For a beginner, these sixteen runes were more than enough to support a long period of study and practice.

To master a rune, one had to construct its structure in their mind through meditation, using mental energy to form it.

This process required a high level of mental control and concentration.

For an ordinary wizard, learning these runes would take a long time, as they would need to carefully observe the rune’s structure and slowly construct it in their mind through meditation.

But Helag had Deep Blue.

“Deep Blue, start constructing these sixteen runes,” Helag commanded.

“Task created. Execution in progress. Estimated time: 31 minutes.”

In Helag’s mind, Deep Blue began precisely constructing the rune structures using his mental energy.

In just half an hour, all sixteen runes were imprinted in Helag’s mind.

Helag opened his eyes and extended his right hand. Magic gathered in his palm, and a basic rune was instantly inscribed.

Normally, when a wizard first starts learning arrays, just the step of inscribing a rune takes a lot of time.

This is because inscribing a rune requires intense mental focus. The wizard must control their mental energy to guide their magic in inscribing the rune, with no room for error.

Even the slightest mistake would cause the rune to dissipate.

For beginners, this is a challenging process that takes time to master.

But now, the runes in Helag’s hand shifted continuously, with all sixteen runes appearing one after another. He inscribed them with ease, as if it were second nature.

He had fully mastered the sixteen basic runes.

The simplest wizard array is created by combining different runes to form a micro-array.

Helag glanced at his clothes and inscribed three runes into the fabric.

Then, he picked up his cup of coffee and let a drop fall onto his sleeve.

The coffee quickly soaked into the fabric, leaving a brown stain.

But in the next moment, a barely perceptible ripple spread across the surface of his clothes, and the stain disappeared.

“One of the most basic arrays: the Cleaning Array.”

Helag smiled, pleased with his first successful array, even though it was just a simple one.

He then thought about the wizard arrays in Blackrock Valley and the ones he had encountered before.

Now that he had some understanding, he realized just how powerful those arrays were.

For example, the protective array in Blackrock Valley covered a vast area. Helag couldn’t even begin to imagine how many runes were used to construct it.

The knowledge behind these arrays was incredibly profound, and Helag felt that he still had much to learn and a long way to go.

Pruis entered the library and saw Helag and his companions engrossed in their books. He sat down across from Helag.

Hearing the movement, Helag looked up and greeted him, “Good morning, Mr. Pruis.”

Pruis nodded and glanced at the book Helag was reading. He smiled and said, “Very good. Anyone who can make it out of the Barrens is no ordinary person. You should spend more time on that introductory book on arrays. There’s no such knowledge in the Barrens. In the Land of Dawn, this is considered a children’s primer.”

“A children’s primer…” Helag was speechless.

No wonder the book was casually placed on the shelf like a magazine—it was considered a children’s book in the Land of Dawn.

***

Half a month passed, and Helag and his companions spent most of their time in the library, studying diligently like students preparing for exams.

Helag even took on the role of a teacher, answering questions from David and Reese whenever they didn’t understand something.

Most of the time, Helag could answer their questions clearly and logically.

This was partly due to Deep Blue storing a vast amount of data, but also because Helag had spent years constantly learning and thinking.

After half a month, the airship finally began to leave the Ten Thousand Mountains behind.

Helag and his companions stood by the window and looked down. Below them was no longer the endless mountain range, but flat, open land.

However, the land was black and covered in large cracks, as if it had been dry for a long time.