The Greatest Sinner

The first spell Evan decided to learn was Summoning Bloody Skeletons. In his opinion, it was one of the easiest spells to learn. Moreover, it was a Summoning Magic spell.

It would be an interesting experience for Evan. After all, the only Summoning Magic spell he knew was Summoning Thorny Ivy. It was a simple zero-level spell, and it summoned a plant, not a living creature.

Evan opened the spell book and began to read it. Evan was always very careful and meticulous. He didn't want to miss any detail. When using Summoning Magic spells, the mage had to be focused on the process.

If the magician made a mistake, the creature wasn't even summoned. The magic circle would collapse, and the mana would dissipate. Moreover, Summoning Bloody Skeletons was a very variable spell. Bloody Skeletons were not good for combat, but they were excellent helpers.

Evan had to control the skeletons and the bloody shell that covered them. The great functionality of this blood sheath was the main reason why Evan decided to choose this spell.

A few hours later, Evan closed the spell book. The spell turned out to be more complicated than he thought. He had to reread the book several times to understand all the details. Moreover, Summoning Bloody Skeletons was the first, second level spell Evan would learn.

<Hmm, the magic circle got a lot more complicated. The number of runes has increased several times. The same goes for seals and structure in general. I will need to use a lot more mana. Moreover, unlike zero level spells, I need to fill all seals and runes with mana first, gradually, and then I can activate the spell. I can't do everything at once.> Evan thought, looking at the magic circle.

In his opinion, because of the increased complexity and structure of magic circles, it could take quite a long time to cast a second level spell. However, Evan knew that any process could be accelerated if he tried and practiced.

"Okay, let's get to practice," Evan muttered, and his Warp spun.

A Red Magic Circle appeared on the ground a few feet away, but it immediately collapsed. Evan had created one of the chains of runes incorrectly, causing the magic circle to overload.

After several attempts, Evan had already made more than ten different mistakes. Sometimes he could not fill so many runes and seals with mana at once. Sometimes he made the mistake of confusing one rune with another. Sometimes he poured too much or too little mana.

<Damn, some seals and rune chains required less mana, while others required more because of their structure. On average, mana is always the same, but while I'm making a magic circle, I have to keep track of the mana levels in one part of the magic circle or another.> Evan thought.

Thus more than a month passed. Compared to when he had learned Magic Missile in less than half a day, that amount of time seemed too long. But, it was even fast.

On average, it took a mage at least three months to learn a second level spell, and that was just to cast the spell successfully. That calculation did not include training. Of course, it all depended on the situation, the mage's talent, and the spell itself.

Evan thought that of all the spells he had chosen Summoning Bloody Skeletons was the easiest, and he was right. But it was not easy if he compared Summoning Bloody Skeletons to the other second-level spells. After all, it was a Rare Rarity spell.

If Evan decided to learn the second level Common Rarity spell, he could do it in about a week. For most mages, that was an unreachable level. However, Evan had a lot of experience learning spells, so the process took him less time than most other mages. Moreover, Evan enjoyed figuring out what he did wrong. It was like solving a puzzle, and Evan loved complex puzzles with interesting solutions.

Evan's Warp spun, and a red magic circle appeared before him. One rune after another slowly created and turned into solid chains. Seals and other small magical circles appeared around the runes to support the structure.

Two skeletons slowly began to emerge from the red magic circle. First, Evan saw the bony legs being created from the mana, then the torso, the arms, and then the head. In appearance, they looked like the most ordinary and weak skeletons, which any mage could summon at the stage - One-Pointed Star.

But then blood began to appear on the bones of the skeletons. There was more and more blood every second until it completely covered the skeletons. Outwardly, it looked like a thin, finger-thick red sheath.

Evan smiled. After so much trial and error, he finally got it right.

"This is the first time I've summoned living creatures. I wonder if you understand me." Asked Evan looking at the Blood Skeletons.

To his surprise, the skeletons nodded. They could not speak, of course, but they understood the words and the wishes of the one who had summoned them.

Evan nodded contentedly and said, "You, turn your blood into a sword, and you, turn your blood into a big hammer."

The Blood Skeletons obeyed and did as Evan said. Their red shell began to move and change. Gradually the blood turned into the semblance of a simple sword and hammer.

Outwardly this weapon could not be called impressive, but Evan was amazed. For despite its simplicity, the sword and hammer were very precisely crafted. This was good news to him, for he might need tools where precision in every detail was very important.

"Okay, now hit me," Evan said calmly.

The Blood Skeletons did not question Evan's orders and immediately swung their weapons at him. Evan took the hammer and sword blow with his bare hands.

"Hmm, your attacks can hurt first-rank monsters, but not second-rank monsters." Mumbled Evan looking at his palms. He wasn't injured, just a few minor scratches.

Evan knew that these skeletons were not made for fighting, but he had to check it out for himself.