Chapter 400: Crystallization

Chapter 400: Crystallization

"This should be the process of Spirit Crystalization," Ren thought to himself.

At that moment, the system prompt sounded again:

【The host is detected breaking through Tier 3 Wizard, unlocking the improved restriction of Tier 2 Talent Spell 'Cutting Web'. Do you wish to improve this spell? This improvement requires 28 Golden Skill Points.】

(Note: The improved Talent Spell will be better suited to the host's casting, and its power, attack range, or other aspects will be enhanced.)



Previously, when he was promoted to Tier 2 Wizard, there was an opportunity to improve the Tier 1 Talent Spell 'Metal Transformation'.

Therefore, upon seeing this system prompt, Ren wasn't particularly surprised.

Without hesitation, Ren immediately chose 'Yes'!

Instantly, a vast amount of knowledge about the improvement of the Tier 2 Talent Spell 'Cutting Web' flooded into Ren's mind. For a moment, it was as if Ren had spent nearly a century in some mysterious space, improving the Cutting Web and fine-tuning its spell model, making it more suitable for his casting habits.

At the same time, the three layers of Spirit Crystals in his mental sea also underwent synchronized adjustments.

Soon, the system prompt sounded again:

【Ding! Host's improved Tier 2 Talent Spell 'Cutting Web' is complete. The new spell model adjustment is successful, increasing spell power by 13% and reducing Spirit consumption by 18%.】

"Excellent!" Ren's eyes lit up.

"Although the consumption of Golden Skill Points is higher than that of Metal Transformation, it's still impressive that the power of a Tier 2 Spell can be further enhanced."

The improvement of the Tier 2 Talent Spell was just a small part of this promotion. At this moment, the system prompts continued:

【Host's Spirit Power has significantly increased. Crystallization initiated.】

【Ding! Promotion to Tier 3 Wizard successful! Spirit +25!】

【Obtained Tier 3 Talent Spell: Steel Armor Spell】

When Ren opened his eyes again, he felt that his perception of this world had become even clearer and more profound. He could easily discern the subtle differences in the footsteps of Claire and Bianca, who were walking briskly behind him from a distance of several dozen meters.

It wasn't just the difference in sound, but also the rhythm and force of their steps.

He didn't even need to turn around to perceive it clearly.

Moreover, relying solely on his perception, Ren could pinpoint the location of Dick, the Swordsman Captain, among the dozens of guards over a hundred meters away.

Additionally, there were the mysterious side elemental energies that were invisible to the naked eye.

Although Ren still couldn't see them directly, his perception at this moment allowed him to grasp very subtle differences, such as whether the distribution of energy particles around him was uniform or not.

For example, the metal and shadow energy particles in the area he was currently in were noticeably denser.

Of course, this was likely due to his recent battle with Naiyou Brekan in his half-spider demon form.

Such fine distinctions were not easily achievable when he was a Tier 2 Liquidization Wizard, or they were extremely challenging to discern.

But now, he could clearly perceive them with ease.

Ren then focused his attention on the system panel.

Since this was a promotion to Tier 3 Wizard and not a class change, the War Hammer Wizard (Legendary) class panel didn't undergo significant changes.

"Spirit increased by 25 points, which is quite a bit more than the last time I was promoted to Tier 2. Not bad."

Ren glanced at his attribute panel and saw that his Spirit attribute had reached 123 (1% Crystallization).

"Finally, I've reached the level of a Tier 3 Crystallization Wizard. Now, with my spells alone, I've crossed the threshold of Legendary Power." Ren couldn't help but feel quite satisfied.

Next, he focused on the effects of the Tier 3 Talent Spell 'Steel Armor Spell'.

With a quick scan, Ren found a new icon at the top of the War Hammer Wizard (Legendary) class panel.

The icon showed a silver-glowing humanoid, different from the knight-like full-body armor. The humanoid's surface was entirely covered in metal protection without a single crease, resembling the liquid metal robots from Ren's previous life's movie, 'The Terminator'.

Below the icon, a small line of text read:

【Tier 3 Talent Spell: Steel Armor Spell】

Steel Armor Spell (Tier 3 Talent Spell): Consumes a small amount of Spirit Power to activate a specific spell model, harnessing the special metal energy in the ground to cover the caster's body with a thick layer of steel armor.

"Special metal energy particles?"

"Thick steel armor?" Ren immediately understood the difference in description between Steel Armor Spell and Iron Armor Spell.

However, it wasn't convenient to cast it at the moment, as Claire and Bianca had already arrived behind him.

"Captain, are you okay?" Claire asked with a hint of concern.

"I'm fine." Ren waved his hand dismissively.

"Captain, do you want to put this on?" Bianca's face turned slightly red as she handed Ren a cloak.

"Oh, thanks." Ren lowered his head, realizing what she meant.

He immediately took the cloak from Bianca and put it on.

Although his Rune Seamstress profession level had been rising rapidly, the garment he was wearing was a highly stretchable undershirt, but due to the intense battle earlier, it had already turned into fragments.

So, all that was left was a short spear.

In the vicinity of Ren, Dick and the other guards were stunned by the sight of the forest, which was littered with craters and looked as if hundreds of meteorites had fallen, leaving them in a daze.

"Is this level of destruction even possible for a human?" Dick wondered.

Even the officials from the Imperial Capital would find this excessive.

"Lord Ren, I've heard of your prowess, but I must say, the rumors underestimated your strength!" Dick bowed deeply, his eyes filled with admiration.

"Lord Dick, I also thank you and your companions for your bravery," Ren smiled.

Meanwhile, in the Seredil Plateau, deep beneath the ground, at the Tutkash Academy Outpost.

As Ren eliminated the incarnation of the Evildom, Naiyubrekan, Graham suddenly felt a tremor in his heart, as if something ominous had occurred.

Immediately, his expression changed.

As a Tier 4 Dawn Wizard, he could faintly hear the distant Divine Whisper:

"Kill that bastard!"

Although the Spider God's words were intermittent and unclear, the anger in them was evident.

Graham quickly realized that his Spider God's incarnation had encountered trouble.

"How is this possible? Could it have failed?"

"If Stavven's mission failed, it's understandable, but my master's incarnation had successfully descended!"

The tall Graham paced in the underground hall, his four limbs making a rustling sound on the ground. After much thought, he couldn't figure out why.

"Could it be that my master's incarnation was defeated after descending?"

"Even the Imperial Guardians might not be able to defeat my master's incarnation, right?"

"As a vessel, my master's incarnation must have reached the Epic Tier."

"Even if there was an Imperial Guardian nearby, they wouldn't be able to defeat my master's incarnation, right?"

"But from my master's angry tone, it seems the incarnation was completely destroyed."

Graham furrowed his brows.

At the foot of the Blade Volcano.

Witnessing Lord Ren, a fellow Swordsman, possess such formidable power, capable of defeating the incarnation of the Evildom, Dick and the other Swordsmen from Mosel Province felt proud. After some rest, they headed towards the Blade Volcano with high morale.

Soon, they arrived at the Blade Volcano's crater, where a scorching wave of heat hit them, accompanied by a pungent smell of sulfur compounds.

Looking down from the crater towards the volcano's base, they saw the dark red lava slowly writhing like cracked earth. Despite their thorough search, they found no trace of the Magma Fire Dragon.

"Huh? Last time, we hadn't even reached the entrance when the Magma Fire Dragon sensed our presence and charged out."

"Why is it different this time?"

The guards whispered among themselves.

"Lord Ren, I think the Magma Fire Dragon is scared of you and is hiding in the lava lake," Dick said after some thought, offering what he believed to be the closest guess to the truth.

Creatures like the Magma Fire Dragon have a strong sense of territoriality, yet they had approached boldly, and the dragon hadn't reacted at all.

This was clearly illogical.

After careful consideration, Dick reached a rare but reasonable conclusion, "A fire dragon is hiding!"

Dick was in his forties and had completed over a hundred missions at the Mosel Swordsman branch, but this was the first time he had encountered such an absurd situation.

Hearing Dick's words, the others exchanged glances. Although they felt his theory was exaggerated, it seemed plausible.

Claire, standing nearby, was also taken aback by Dick's words. Her beautiful eyes fluttered, and she thought to herself that this was the first time she had heard of such an absurd situation.

However, when she glanced at her captain, she noticed Ren's slightly furrowed brows, seemingly disappointed at not completing the Magma Fire Dragon mission.

"Captain, how about I use the Flame Eye to take a look?" Claire suggested after some thought.

"The Flame Eye? Alright," Ren's eyes lit up, nodding.

He had heard of the Flame Eye, a Fire Spell that could supposedly form a fist-sized ball of flame elements to scout the enemy.

As Claire began chanting, a somewhat unusual translucent fireball appeared in front of her, floating in mid-air.

With a tap of Claire's fair finger, the Flame Eye descended rapidly towards the lava lake.

After a few minutes, Claire wiped the sweat from her fair forehead, seeming to have stopped the spell. "Captain, sorry, I couldn't find it. The target is probably hiding deep within the lava lake," she apologized.

Ren nodded, "It's fine."

He understood that despite the small crater, the area beneath was quite spacious.

The lava lake at the base of the Blade Volcano was as large as a real lake. The depth of the lava lake was likely astonishing, and there might even be winding underground passages at its bottom.

In the vast expanse of a lava lake, finding a deliberately hidden Lava Fire Dragon is an extremely challenging task.

Li En had considered sending his Blood Feather to search, but he quickly dismissed the idea. While his Blood Feather Hawk Beast, a ferocious breed, could briefly skim over the magma without issue, searching for an extended period in the lava lake was impractical.

Furthermore, it was too dangerous. If the Blood Feather were to be swallowed by the Lava Fire Dragon, the loss would be significant.

Li En turned and said, "Let's go. I suspect they might change locations after recovering from their injuries."

"I wonder if this counts as completing the mission," Li En muttered.

The two women exchanged glances, perplexed.

Indeed!

Although the Lava Fire Dragon's threat had been eliminated, their captain had merely chosen not to kill it.

At that moment, Beyons waved at Dick, saying, "Dick, have someone observe the mountain for a while. If the Lava Fire Dragon Helmod leaves, you can inform headquarters."

"Yes, Miss Beyons," Dick immediately understood her intention and nodded in realization.

For Li En, the outcome of the mission didn't dampen his spirits.

On the contrary, his mood was quite upbeat on the return journey.

The harvest from this mission far exceeded his expectations, and he had successfully advanced to a Tier 3 Crystalized Wizard. This was something he hadn't anticipated before, as Li En initially thought he would need several months to ascend.

Read the correct version at 69 Book Bar! 6=9+Book_Bar's first release of this novel.

As for the Lava Fire Dragon, whether it lived or died, it wasn't a matter of particular concern to him.

After Li En and his group had left for half an hour, several fist-sized red firebirds suddenly emerged from the lava lake, flying into the sky and circling around several times.

Immediately after, a colossal creature slowly emerged from the lava lake in the Blade Volcano, cautiously poking its head out.

Apparently, out of caution, the Lava Fire Dragon Helmod quietly flew to the volcano crater and stopped, watching from a distance as Li En and his group truly departed before finally exhaling a long sigh of relief.

"That human, the incarnation of the Divine Descent, is truly terrifying. Even the Lava Fire Dragon was defeated by him."

"It seems this Blade Volcano is no longer a suitable habitat."

"After my wounds heal, I must find a new dwelling," Helmod's vertical pupils flashed.

Hours later, on the return flight.

Li En, alone in the luxurious cabin, pondered.

"Now, I've completed two of the three prerequisites for becoming a Dragon Vein Wizard. The last one remaining is the essence of a dragon's blood."

Previously, in the Frostwind Tundra, Li En had attempted to obtain the essence of the primordial dragon Korax's blood, but the system didn't recognize it.

This was why Li En wasn't particularly concerned about not killing the Lava Fire Dragon Helmod.

According to the ancient records, fire dragons weren't considered true dragons, and even the top-tier ones were merely classified as advanced dragons.

Upon closer inspection, the prerequisites for the job clearly stated, 'a complete essence of a true dragon's blood.'

The key words were 'complete' and 'true dragon.'

"This might be a bit troublesome, but in half a month, the Dragon Knight Cadet selection will take place."

"Perhaps, soon, I'll have the opportunity to encounter a true dragon," Li En thought.

After all, if he couldn't even come into contact with a true dragon, how could he obtain 'a complete essence of a true dragon's blood'?

"Perfect, I can go to the Academy to earn some contribution points over the next few days and exchange them for the third level of Steel Heart."

"Ideally, I can also exchange for the Tier 3 Metal School Spell 'Steel Fist,' but 14,000 contribution points are unlikely to be obtained in a short time."

"After all, opportunities like the Flame Canyon Abyss don't come often."

The following afternoon.

Upon Li En's return to the headquarters of the Swordswoman in the Imperial Capital of Tamriel, Olenna immediately received a message from the airship docking staff.

"Lord Li En, the mission went smoothly..." Before Olenna could finish her sentence, she noticed the absence of the heavy golem and any related loot from the Lava Fire Dragon.

Olenna, with her high emotional intelligence, chose to remain silent.

This was the first time she had witnessed a mission failure for the young Lord Li En.

When Olenna's gaze shifted to Claire, Claire shook her head and spoke up, "Lady Olenna, although we didn't kill the Lava Fire Dragon Helmod, I don't think we can call this mission a failure."

"That Lava Fire Dragon Helmod was hiding from the captain, concealed deep within the lava lake, too afraid to show itself."

"Hiding from Lord Li En?" Olenna blinked her beautiful eyes, clearly confused.

Although she was a clerical staff, she had worked in the Swordswoman department for over a decade.

Olenna naturally knew that all ferocious breeds had a strong sense of territoriality, often risking their lives to protect their domain, let alone a fire dragon like Helmod.

"Hmm!" Claire nodded in agreement.

"Lady Olenna, you've arrived at the right time. Perhaps you should contact Lieutenant General Tatia immediately." Ren smiled and nodded at the sight of Olenna.

"We encountered some issues on the way. Although we didn't kill the Lava Fire Dragon, we did encounter an Incarnation of the Dark God."

"What?!" Olenna's beautiful eyes widened in surprise, and she covered her mouth in astonishment.

"That Incarnation of the Dark God..."

"The Captain has already eliminated him," Bianca added at the right moment.

"Lord Ren, I'll contact Lieutenant General Tatia right away. Please wait a moment." Olenna quickly left in her five-to-six-centimeter high heels.

"By the way, Lord Ren, there's something important. Miss Anna had an emergency yesterday and said she needed to return to Ferdinand Forest first. Here's a letter she left for you."

Olenna suddenly remembered something and turned back, saying, "This is a letter from Miss Anna for you."

"Hmm?"

"Why the rush?"

"After all, it's only been two days since I left. Could Anna not wait any longer?" Ren's heart skipped a beat.

He immediately opened the envelope and started reading.

Meanwhile, Olenna quickly left to report to Lieutenant General Tatia.

At this moment, Claire seemed to notice something.

She looked up and watched Olenna's departing figure, her eyes lingering on the curves of her tight-fitting skirt for a moment. In her heart, she thought, 'Our captain's part-time liaison officer, a married woman, is quite charming.'

"By the way, Bianca, did you know? This lady here was Captain Ren's dedicated liaison officer in Minster." Claire gestured towards the departing Olenna and whispered to Bianca beside her.

Bianca glanced at Olenna's graceful figure and then at Claire, immediately understanding her friend's meaning. She shook her head and said, "It's not that bad. With the Captain's strength and status, he can have anyone he wants."

"That's not necessarily true. Many nobles have special preferences." Claire placed her hands on her hips and retorted.

"Bianca, think about it. How difficult would it be to transfer a female clerical worker from a Swordsman branch in the provinces to the headquarters in the capital? You should know that, right?"

Bianca fell silent for a moment after Claire's words.

Indeed, the difficulty of this task was not ordinary.

Even the branch leader of the Swordsman organization might find it challenging to coordinate such a transfer.

Moreover, if the Captain only wanted a liaison officer, there were at least dozens of young female secretaries in the headquarters, all eager to be chosen by the Captain.

Why go through the trouble of transferring someone from the branch?

Could it be that the Captain didn't like young women and preferred married women instead? But if he went to the trouble of transferring someone from the branch, it seemed to imply that the Captain was quite devoted!

At this moment, Ren, standing nearby, had no time to pay attention to the gossip of his two teammates. He was intently reading the contents of the letter:

"Dear Ren: Aunt Delana was seriously injured by a believer of the Ancient Mother Tree Sect while on a mission. I must return immediately. After Aunt Delana recovers, I will come back to the capital."

Upon reading this, Ren's heart relaxed.

"So Aunt Delana was injured. No wonder."

"However, the Mother Tree Sect?"

Ren immediately recalled the time when he and Bishop Rudolph of the Goddess Church killed the Flesh Tree Spirit. That place seemed to be an ancient temple of the Mother Tree Sect.

"It seems the situation is getting worse. Even the Ferdinand Forest, where the elves reside, has been attacked by the evil cult."

"However, we can ask Olenna to look into the Mother Tree Sect's intelligence later. After the Dragon Knight Cadet's exam, I can consider making a trip to Ferdinand Forest." Ren thought to himself.

In just about seven or eight minutes, Olenna returned with a female lieutenant general by her side—Lieutenant General Tatia.

"Lord Ren, welcome back. General Augustus is waiting for you in the conference room," Tatia said with a slight smile.

She also nodded politely to Claire and Bianca.

"Good! Let's go then." Ren nodded in agreement.

Indeed, the Swordsman headquarters took news about deities very seriously.

Soon, the three of them were led to a small conference room with strict security and confidentiality measures.

Ren noticed that the corridors, floors, and corners of the conference room were all inscribed with magic arrays, which seemed similar to the secret room he had encountered in the Marne Province.

However, the arrays in this room appeared more intricate.

"Lord Ren, this room is enchanted with multiple magic arrays to prevent eavesdropping and spying. You can safely mention the true names of some deities."

Tatia introduced the room's features on the side.

Ren nodded, indicating his understanding.

At this moment, General Augustus, whom Ren had met before, was already seated on one side of the room, smiling at him.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end