Emery had heard about how battle art could be separated in various grades from Magus Xion before. Therefore, it certainly wasn't strange to hear there were classifications for spells as well.
"You really are from a lower realm, aren't you? It's amazing how you were able to step foot in Alfa Station." The old man nodded in approval as he spoke those words.
The old man looked around the room and made a beckoning gesture with his hand. Right afterward, a creature that resembled a butterfly was pulled on top of his palm. The butterfly's wings were almost transparent as if it was made from glass, while the creature itself was pitch black. The butterfly looked as if it absorbed light around it.
"Now, try to cast your spells, and we'll see what grade it is."
Hearing that, Emery quickly casted [Nature's Blessing]. It didn't take long for him to see the butterfly react to it. Slowly but surely, the wings of the butterfly changed color, turning into yellow with a slightly bluish color.
Emery immediately turned to the old man, as he had no idea what the color change meant. On the other hand, the old man was seen nodding his head. "It's a rank B spell." He said.
Out of curiosity about this new method of gauging the grade of a spell, Emery asked the old man if he could borrow the butterfly. He wanted to give every spell in his repertoire a try. Fortunately, the old man agreed to the request.
Emery began to cast starting from his most basic spells. These usually could be seen sold in guilds, magic shops, or any typical institutes related to magic.
[Rank D - Stone Skin, Mud Wall, Soften Earth, Stone Golem, Water Breathing, Whip Splash, Steam Lance, Crushing Wave, Hide In Shadow, Black Smoke, Enfeeble Blade]
[Rank C - Granite Skin, Shadow Root Binding, Shadow Mist]
[Rank B - Jade Skin, Jade Wall, Blink, Spatial Gate, Nature Blessing, Nature Sense, Fragmentation]
Emery honestly didn't expect the Spatial magic taught by Kilgragah and Nature magic taught by the High Priestess of Gaia to both be rank B.
To Emery's surprise, he had even owned one powerful rank A spell, which was [Nature Grasp]. This particular spell was also taught by the high priestess of Gaia, Emery remembered how she hoped Emery would be very careful with the spell.
The old man explained briefly that the spells' tiers were largely defined by their strength and complexity, along with their general usefulness in battle.
Emery listened to every word that the old man said, realizing there were still many things he needed to learn.
While Emery had fun with the butterfly, the old man walked towards his table and started to sort through a few stacks of books, dislodging the dust along the way. Right as Emery glanced at him, the old man pulled one book and brought it to him.
"If you want to learn about my research, you need to master this spell first. This is the only copy I have, so let's see how fast you can learn it." The old man gave him the book and Emery opened the old leather tome to the first page.
[Photosynthesis]
Emery skimmed the book and he was instantly amazed by its content. This spell could be seen as an advanced version of [Accel Growth], but with one major difference that was honestly the reason why this spell was an advanced spell.
[Photosynthesis] didn't just accelerate the growth rate of a plant, it could also change the structure, enhancing and upgrading the energy within an object.
It was a rare utility spell similar to [Fragmentation], and it had a wide range of functions for him as a potion master. If he managed to master this spell, Emery could upgrade all his ingredients before brewing the potion, allowing him to create whole, new different mixes of combinations to his array of recipes.
Emery decided to take a seat on the floor and concentrate on reading the book. Soon after, he turned everything out but the book, while the old man had left him to his study when he saw him absorbed in reading the book.
The spell was a utility spell with a lot of possible uses, so it was to be expected that the spell worked like a puzzle.
First, Emery needed to understand the basics of sensing energy flow, discerning its basic structure. Afterward, he would need to connect the knowledge to his spiritual core.
A few hours passed, but Emery still remained glued to his book. Even when the little devilish creature came for his blood, they didn't manage to disrupt him, as Emery didn't even take his eyes off the book page.
"Kuang! Kuang! Kuang!"
It wasn't until the creatures had come to bother him for the fifth time that Emery finally understood the spell's true purpose.
This was definitely the spell that was used to upgrade the saplings as shown by the old man before. In fact, in order for him to perform a successful metamorph, the knowledge of this spell was essential.
Emery decided to test his understanding and channeled the energy within his nature core to flow from his palm towards the saplings he had nurtured before. Slowly but surely, he let his understanding and energy flow into it.
In a way, it felt similar to [Nature's Blessing], but instead of healing, he was directing the saplings to go beyond its limits.
He watched as the sapling didn't just grow, but was also enhanced. Its roots started to dig deeper and its stem became longer, while the leaves turned wider. Every single cell on the sapling was upgraded.
[Photosynthese on Flora Colossi performed successfully]
It was clear that Flora Colossi was the name of the seed he just attempted to upgrade. The notification was also the exact thing he needed to know he was successful.
Even though the plant wasn't yet in a humanoid form, Emery could feel a more intense energy flow from the sapling.
Right after he managed to cast the spell, he glanced at the butterfly and saw that it was glowing in the same color as when he cast [Nature's Grasp], signifying it was a rank A, top of the line spell.
"Congratulations!" The old man said, who had once again unknowingly arrived, with a satisfied smile. "In all my 5000 years of living, I have known only half a dozen people able to learn that spell, it seems you were fated to help my research."
However, at the same time, Silva returned and entered the dome. She seemed to have been waiting for him from afar. She decided to come closer and greet the old man politely before saying. "The Alfa Station is about to cross through the Void River. I'm really sorry, Emery, but we need to leave soon."
"Right now?!"