Jiang Lin flipped through the pages, his golden eyes quickly scanning the dense Elvish script.
His memory far surpassed that of an ordinary person; every concept, every formula, and every sensory guidance diagram was clearly etched into his mind.
However, memorizing was one thing, and understanding was quite another.
“Little Black!”
Jiang Lin chose to summon Little Black, his personal tutor for whenever he hit a wall.
“Don’t you lack space affinity? Even if I explain it, you won’t be able to perceive it.”
“Being unable to perceive it due to a lack of affinity is different from being unable to understand it. I’ll grasp the theory first and worry about the affinity later.”
Little Black’s explanation lasted an entire night.
From the essence of space elements to basic models of spatial folding, from the underlying architecture of teleportation arrays to the formation and stabilization of spatial rifts.
Little Black used methods Jiang Lin could understand to deconstruct every concept, formula, and theoretical model in that thin booklet into the most basic logical units, then reassembled them into a complete framework of knowledge.
“Do you understand now?”
Little Black’s voice echoed in Jiang Lin’s mind.
“I do.”
Jiang Lin closed his eyes and reorganized the knowledge Little Black had just crammed into his head.
He wasn't a natural genius.
Before the system granted him proficiency in those skills, he was just an ordinary person.
But now, he was no longer the Jiang Lin of old.
With the accumulation of nearly a hundred limit-broken skills and a massive reservoir of knowledge, he could now understand most magic theories below the high-tier on his own, even without Little Black’s explanations.
Spatial magic was profound, but once he had the logic for solving the problems, it wasn't that difficult.
“Then let’s try to perceive space elements.”
Jiang Lin sat cross-legged on the bed and sank his mind into the depths of his consciousness, following the meditation guidance method recorded in the booklet.
He attempted to sense the surrounding space elements.
According to the book, space elements were everywhere; they were the skeleton that constituted the world and the prerequisite for the existence of all things.
But he could feel nothing.
His consciousness could only capture the radiance of light-attribute elements, the faint chill of ice elements, and the occasional trace of stray nature elements. He had absolutely no sensation of space elements.
“Of course you can’t feel them. You have no affinity.”
Jiang Lin didn't get discouraged and tried again with his eyes closed.
Still a failure.
A third time, a fourth, a fifth...
Failure, failure, failure.
He truly couldn't sense them at all. No affinity meant no affinity; no matter what he did, he couldn't perceive them.
“Stop trying. You don't have space affinity. If you can't perceive them, you just can't.”
“I know. I’m looking for the feeling.”
Jiang Lin opened his eyes and looked out the window.
A night had passed, and the first light of dawn was appearing in the sky.
He stood up, walked to the window, and gazed at the towering Moonlight Tower in the distance.
“If I don't have affinity, I’ll find a way to get it. Didn't I try this before? I obtained ice affinity by fusing the Eternal Ice Soul fragments. Obtaining other elemental affinities comes through limit-breaking the corresponding skills. It’s all the same.”
“So you're looking for an item that can temporarily enhance space affinity?”
“Correct.”
Jiang Lin turned and walked toward the door.
In the second-floor corridor, Elune’s door was still closed.
He knocked lightly a few times.
After a moment, the door opened a crack, revealing Elune’s face, which wasn't quite awake yet.
Her silver-purple hair was a messy tangle over her shoulders, and her pale purple eyes were half-closed. When she saw it was Jiang Lin, she visibly froze, and most of her sleepiness vanished.
“Matthew? So early... is something wrong?”
“Does your elven race have anything that can temporarily enhance space affinity? Or a magic item that can force someone to perceive space elements?”
Elune blinked, seemingly trying to force her brain to switch from sleep mode to thinking mode.
“Temporarily enhancing space affinity... let me think... Ah, Astral Dust. You should be able to buy it at a magic material shop, but it’s very expensive.”
“How expensive?”
“About two thousand gold coins for a small bottle.”
Jiang Lin reached into his spatial ring and pulled out the bag of gold coins that hadn't even warmed up yet.
“This should be enough, right?”
Elune looked at the heavy bag of gold coins.
“It’s enough. It’s more than enough to buy a bottle of Astral Dust.”
She paused, then added, “The effect of Astral Dust only lasts for a short time. Also, you need to wait a long time between uses, or you’ll develop a resistance to it.”
“I’ll buy one bottle to try first.”
Elune nodded, went back into her room to change into a simple light blue dress, and casually braided her silver-purple hair to hang over her chest.
A moment later, the two walked out of the dormitory building toward the commercial district outside the academy.
Along the way, Elune introduced Jiang Lin to information regarding Astral Dust.
Astral Dust was produced in the Starfall Mountains in northern Alderon. That area was one of the most spatially unstable regions on the entire continent, with small spatial rifts appearing frequently.
Elven gatherers would venture to the edges of these rifts and use specialized containers to collect the astral dust leaking from them.
The process was extremely dangerous; a single mistake could lead to being swallowed by a spatial rift, leaving not even a bone behind.
“That’s why Astral Dust is so expensive.”
Jiang Lin nodded in understanding.
The two walked into a magic material shop called “Breath of Stars.”
An elderly elf with graying hair sat behind the counter. Upon seeing Elune, he stood up, bowed slightly, and greeted her in Elvish.
“My Lady, it has been a long time. What can I do for you?”
“A bottle of Astral Dust.”
The elderly elf nodded, turned to a secured shelf behind him, and took down a palm-sized crystal bottle.
Inside were silver-white particles as fine as dust, emitting a mesmerizing starlight under the lamps, as if an entire starry sky had been compressed into that tiny bottle.
“Two thousand three hundred gold coins. For you, My Lady, two thousand will suffice.”
“We’ll take it.”
Jiang Lin placed the heavy bag of gold coins on the counter.
The elderly elf was a bit surprised to see Jiang Lin paying, but he still counted out two thousand gold coins from the large bag.
“Sir, please verify the amount.”
After counting out the two thousand gold coins, the elderly elf asked Jiang Lin to confirm there were no mistakes.
Then, he carefully handed over the crystal bottle.
Jiang Lin took the bottle and gave a slight nod of thanks.
The two left the magic material shop and headed back to the academy the way they had come.
Returning to Elune’s villa, Jiang Lin sat on the living room sofa and held the crystal bottle up to his eyes to observe it closely.
The silver-white Astral Dust flowed slowly under the light, spinning and gathering as if it had a life of its own. Occasionally, a few grains would touch the glass, producing a tiny “ting,” like a wind chime moved by a breeze.
Elune gave careful instructions from the side.
“The method of use is to open the stopper, scatter the Astral Dust evenly in the air, and immediately begin meditating. The Astral Dust will temporarily change the density of the surrounding space elements, allowing you to perceive them. The effect lasts about five to ten minutes, depending on the individual's constitution. Remember, this amount of time is only enough to let you sense the existence of space elements. Once used, you cannot use it again for a week, or you'll develop a resistance and the effect will get worse and worse.”
“Once is enough.”
Jiang Lin stood up and walked to the most open area in the center of the living room.
He uncorked the bottle and scattered the silver-white Astral Dust evenly into the air.
The tiny dust particles were like miniature stars, slowly drifting, rotating, and settling around him, forming a nebula about three meters in diameter.
A strange, cold, and soft aura, like the aurora, filled the air.
Jiang Lin sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and sank his entire mind into the depths of his consciousness.
He extended his mental power outward like a spiderweb, further and further, following the meditation guidance method from the booklet.
At first, there was still nothing.
The golden specks of light-attribute elements shone brightly in his perception, the deep blue glow of ice elements flowed slowly further away, and a few strands of emerald light representing nature elements drifted in from the window.
But there were no space elements.
The effect of the Astral Dust began to fade, and the silver-white specks of light around him were gradually dimming.
Right then, Jiang Lin caught it.
In the final instant before the Astral Dust completely vanished, he “saw” something different.
They weren't specks of light, nor a glow, nor anything that could be described by color or shape. They were space itself.
Like a massive, invisible web, it permeated the entire room, the whole villa, the entire academy, and the whole sky.
Every thread of the web was extremely fine and thin, yet unimaginably tough.
They intertwined, overlapped, and tangled together, forming the skeleton of this world.
Each thread flowed extremely slowly, like an underground river or blood in a vein. Jiang Lin could “hear” their pulse—slower than a heartbeat, deeper than a breath.
They came from the void and returned to the void, never stopping, never ceasing.
These were the space elements.
He maintained this state of perception, letting his consciousness immerse itself in that invisible giant web.
Time lost its meaning at this moment, until the last trace of light from the Astral Dust vanished completely. Only then did the giant web slowly fade from his perception, like morning mist dispersed by sunlight.
Jiang Lin opened his eyes, the morning light from the window reflecting in his golden pupils.
“I saw it.”
Elune had been holding her breath; only upon hearing those three words did she let out a long sigh of relief, her body relaxing against the back of the sofa.
“You saw it? Really?”
“Yes.”
Jiang Lin stood up, walked to the coffee table, picked up the thin booklet, and flipped to a middle page.
This page recorded the most basic magic formula in spatial magic: Spatial Ripple.
The effect was extremely simple—it just caused a small area of space to produce a weak vibration. It had no lethality and no practical value.
He raised his right hand and began to guide his magic essence to flow through his fingertips, following the formula structure recorded in the booklet.
The magic essence circuit outlined a pale silver rune at his fingertip—one that was extremely simple yet contained an indescribable mystery.
The moment the rune formed, the space around him produced a visible distortion, like ripples on a lake after a stone is thrown. They spread outward in circles, reflected back after touching the walls, and finally faded away slowly.
The attempt was a success!
【New Skill: Spatial Ripple】
【Proficiency: uninitiated → initiated】
But just being initiated wasn't enough. If he waited until the temporary increase in space affinity disappeared, he wouldn't be able to continue using the skill even with the initiated proficiency.
Elune, standing to the side, also knew this.
Then, he invested a Random Skill Upgrade point.
【Random Skill Upgrade count * 20 → 19】
【Spatial Ripple (initiated) → Spatial Ripple (superlative)】
A flood of memories rushed in, and the space elements he previously couldn't perceive began to surge into his body in large quantities.
This time, he could clearly sense the existence of those elements and felt they were exceptionally familiar, like long-lost friends.
But he wasn't done yet. He continued to open the system panel.
【Spatial Ripple (limit-breakable 0/1)】
He invested two Designated Skill Upgrade points. The next moment, he entered that familiar little black room.
This time, what he faced was no longer swordsmanship or magic, but pure spatial theory and the feeling of space elements.
Although Spatial Ripple was only the lowest-tier spatial magic, its underlying architecture involved the guidance, shaping, and release of space elements—it was the cornerstone of all high-tier spatial magic.
In this space of consciousness, Jiang Lin tried, failed, and tried again repeatedly.
He didn't know how much time passed before he finally polished every detail of Spatial Ripple to the extreme.
【Spatial Ripple (superlative) → Spatial Ripple (limit-broken)】
【Space affinity slightly increased】
His vision blurred, and his consciousness returned to reality.
The entire world had changed in his eyes.
It was no longer that ordinary world decorated with various elements.
Above the base colors of metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, lightning, light, and ice, an invisible giant web covered everything.
It was the network of space elements, and he could now clearly perceive its existence, just as he perceived his own breathing and heartbeat.
He raised his right hand. Without using any formula, he simply willed it.
Where his fingertip touched, space produced a faint ripple, like a gentle breeze over a lake—so soft it was almost invisible, yet it truly existed.
No Astral Dust needed, no meditation guidance needed, no auxiliary means needed. He could now perceive and influence space elements using his own power.
“What... what did you do?!”
Elune’s voice went up an octave as she sprang from the sofa.
Her pale purple eyes were wide and round, staring fixedly at the Spatial Ripple slowly dissipating at Jiang Lin’s fingertip.
“Just a moment ago, you needed Astral Dust to sense space elements, and now you can directly..."
“You... what is going on with your space affinity?!”
Jiang Lin withdrew his hand and clenched his fist, feeling the new, faint connection with the space elements.
Though weak, it definitely existed.
“Well... perhaps I’m just exceptionally gifted?”
Jiang Lin comforted Elune, who looked as if she had mentally broken down.
...
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