Chapter 90: Advancing to Third-Rank Apprentice Wizard

Chapter 90: Advancing to Third-Rank Apprentice Wizard

Amidst the intense battles in the Golden Rock Province, Su Nan sat alone in the meditation chamber at the base, deaf to the world outside.

Under the soft glow of the lights, he sat cross-legged on the ground, his eyes tightly closed, and his breathing deep and steady.

After two months of meditation, his mental power had grown to 29.99.

Now, only one final step stood between him and his advancement.

The meditation chamber was tranquil, with only the sound of Su Nan's gentle breathing breaking the silence.

After an indeterminate amount of time, the energy particles in the room suddenly began to fluctuate violently, as if drawn by an invisible force, they rushed toward Su Nan and quickly merged into his body.

In an instant, the dense energy particles gathered by the energy array were completely absorbed.

More energy particles surged in from outside the meditation chamber.

With Su Nan at the center, a vortex of energy particles formed within a radius of several hundred meters, with Su Nan at its eye.

Before long, a wave of energy, seemingly originating from the depths of his soul, burst forth from Su Nan.

He slowly opened his eyes, a faint glimmer of light flashing within them.

A familiar sense of clarity and elevation washed over his mind.

He had experienced a similar feeling when he advanced to Second-Rank Apprentice Wizard, but this time it was much more pronounced.

His senses seemed to sharpen instantly.

The world around him came to life, with countless pieces of information flooding his mind.

Though he couldn't see beyond the room, Su Nan could clearly sense that fifty meters away, Amy was perched on a tree, savoring an ice mint.

Not far from there, two new recruits were hiding around a corner, their faces filled with curiosity as they stealthily observed Amy, hesitating whether to approach her.

From a greater distance, he could faintly hear the joyful songs of the flower spirits and the melodious strains of Glee's violin.

This feeling of complete control over his surroundings was intoxicating.

Unfortunately, it didn't last long.

Before long, Su Nan snapped out of this peculiar state.

He took a deep breath, and with a thought, summoned his status panel.

Su Nan Yanez, Human Male

Mental: 30.00 / Physical: 22.21

Skills:

Celestial Ring Meditation Lv10 (228,429/300,000)



Potion Making Lv4 (2,012/10,000)



Biological Modification Lv2 (2,338/3,000)



Puppet Crafting Lv3 (4,528/6,000)



Magical Item Crafting Lv2 (2,140/3,000)



Looking at the panel, Su Nan couldn't help but smile with genuine joy.

It had been almost four years since he had arrived in this world, and finally, he had advanced to Third-Rank Apprentice Wizard!

He still had two months until he turned twenty.

A Third-Rank Apprentice Wizard at twenty was considered exceptionally talented, even in the golden age of wizards a thousand years ago.

After a moment of celebration, Su Nan calmed himself and focused back on the panel.

From the data alone, his strength didn't seem to have increased significantly since his advancement.

However, compared to a Second-Rank Apprentice Wizard, a Third-Rank Apprentice Wizard's combat capabilities were vastly improved.

First, his control over energy particles had greatly enhanced.

Su Nan extended his palm, and with a slight mental command, a mysterious yellow rune appeared above his open hand.

In the next second, the yellow rune shattered, forming a pale yellow aura that enveloped his entire body.

"Now, I can conjure energy runes at will, even without rune gems," Su Nan smiled.

In future battles against enemies like Knights, he wouldn't need to rely on rune gems as much. He could kill them with energy runes alone, or at most, use a spell.

The second change was a significant increase in casting speed.

Third-Rank Apprentice Wizards could attempt to master segmented casting.

Like Herb before, they could cast spells by uttering just one or two syllables, making their casting extremely swift.

The most inconvenient aspect of spells in combat was their long casting time, which made it easy for enemies to interrupt them.

However, with segmented casting, this weakness was greatly mitigated.

This was the primary reason for the significant boost in combat capabilities for Third-Rank Apprentice Wizards.

The next step beyond segmented casting was silent casting.

As the name suggests, silent casting allowed a wizard to cast spells without uttering incantations, merely by mentally reciting them (with the same length as segmented casting).

While silent casting didn't shorten the casting preparation time, it allowed a wizard to prepare the next spell while casting, greatly improving casting efficiency, making it an extremely practical skill.

Above silent casting was instant casting.

Wizards who mastered instant casting could complete a spell in an instant, without any preparation, effectively turning them into human artillery.

Metamagic techniques, such as increasing the range of spells, extending the duration of spell effects, expanding the area of influence, casting multiple spells simultaneously, and optimizing spell construction to maximize their effectiveness, are all part of the advanced wizard's arsenal.

After advancing to Third-Rank Apprentice Wizard, one can begin training to master these metamagic techniques. Each technique significantly enhances one's combat capabilities, making them a goal for every Third-Rank Apprentice Wizard. However, the difficulty of these techniques is extremely high, and without sufficient talent, even touching the edge of them is a challenge. Most wizards spend their entire lives without mastering a single metamagic technique, like Herb, who only managed to learn the most basic segmented casting.

"Fortunately, I have the player interface. As long as I start the training progress for metamagic techniques, I can grind until I master them!"

Su Nan paused for a moment, then lightly parted his lips, quickly uttering a single syllable. The energy particles around him suddenly fluctuated, but the next second, they returned to calm. The segmented casting attempt had failed. However, Su Nan was not discouraged. The information he needed had already appeared.

[Completed one segmented casting practice, 'Segmented Casting' training progress +0.05%]



Su Nan nodded in satisfaction. As long as he continued to practice, he would eventually master segmented casting. Once he did, he could start training in silent casting, followed by instant casting. Silent casting and instant casting were the two metamagic techniques Su Nan was determined to master first. The others could be trained gradually.

"With my current strength, I can hold my own against a First-Circle Legendary Knight. Once I master enough Second-Circle spells, defeating a First-Circle Legendary Knight will be a breeze. If I add some magical items, I won't even flinch against a Second-Circle Legendary Knight."

A smile played on Su Nan's lips. He also had the higher-grade rune gems as a trump card. With enough resources, he could easily take down a Second-Circle Legendary Knight.

The power range of a Third-Rank Apprentice Wizard is vast. Weaker Third-Rank Apprentice Wizards can only bully First-Circle Legendary Knights, while the stronger ones can effortlessly crush Third-Circle Legendary Knights. Shaking his head, Su Nan pushed aside his thoughts and began to plan his next steps.

First, he needed to focus on Second-Circle spells. He had over a dozen Second-Circle spell books, and considering the increased difficulty compared to First-Circle spells, he wouldn't run out of spells to learn for the next two to three years.

"I should also start preparing for the magical core."

To fuse a magical core, a Third-Rank Apprentice Wizard needs to meet two conditions: mental power and physical constitution. Su Nan had already met the mental power requirement. As a Third-Rank Apprentice Wizard, he could now store a small amount of energy particles in his body, which not only increased his resistance to magical and physical attacks but also sped up his physical enhancement. With the help of dragon blood fruits, he estimated it wouldn't take long to reach the physical constitution of a Junior Knight.

"The materials are the tricky part."

"Out of the eighty-nine metals needed, I've only collected forty-eight so far. I have leads on twelve more, but the rest will likely require finding suitable substitutes."

Su Nan sighed. This was another long-term project. Additionally, he needed to level up his 'Magical Item Crafting' skill. According to his estimates, to craft a magical core, 'Magical Item Crafting' needed to reach at least Level 4. He was currently just shy of Level 3.

"Looks like I need to craft more magical items to level up the skill."

"Fortunately, the base has welcomed over a dozen new recruits. I'll prepare a good stock of alchemical-grade magical items in the warehouse for them to exchange later."

"I should also synthesize more Glowing-grade magical items."

In the previous battle, Su Nan's victory over Herb, who was of a higher rank, was largely due to the higher-grade rune gems and the three Glowing-grade magical items: the Ring of Ultimate Protection, the Ice Necklace, and the Ring of Calamity. The significant boost to combat power from Glowing-grade magical items was undeniable. To strengthen his own capabilities and ensure he could defend himself against stronger enemies, he needed to craft more Glowing-grade magical items.

The only thing to note was that even with multiple magical items, only one of the same type could be used at a time. For example, any wizard could only activate one protective magical item at a time. Activating multiple protective items simultaneously would cause their energy to conflict, rendering all protections ineffective.

Even if they are the same type of magical item, their protective effects cannot be stacked.

Of course, despite this drawback, having more magical items is always better.

"To increase the production of magical items, the consumption of materials is also a concern."

Su Nan thought about it but didn't worry too much. If worse came to worst, he could always raid the resources of the territory once Koi conquered the Golden Rock Province.

While second-circle spells and the magical core are important, the most crucial aspect is still meditation.

Above the Third-Rank Apprentice Wizard, the realm of a full-fledged wizard is the dream of countless people.

To advance to a full-fledged wizard, the primary requirement is to construct eighteen Celestial Rings.

That's right, eighteen of them!

In other words, he needs to level up the Celestial Ring Meditation technique to level 19!

Considering that level 10 of Celestial Ring Meditation already requires 300,000 proficiency points, Su Nan estimates that the next nine levels will require at least 30 to 40 million proficiency points in total.

At a rate of 1,000 proficiency points per day, it would take 80 to 100 years, even with the help of divine blood amber and super potions to enhance his meditation.

For other wizard apprentices without such resources, achieving this condition before their lifespan runs out is almost impossible.

Secondly, his mental power needs to reach 60 points.

This is even more challenging than constructing the eighteen Celestial Rings.

Once the conditions of the Celestial Rings and mental power are met, the wizard apprentice can begin attempting to construct their innate talent model (crystal).

This is also an extremely difficult step.

Only by successfully constructing their own innate talent model (crystal) can a wizard apprentice truly break through the barrier and advance to a full-fledged wizard.

"Eighteen Celestial Rings, 60 mental power points, and the innate talent model—none of these can be achieved in a short time."

"The road ahead is long and arduous."

Su Nan couldn't help but sigh. Although he had successfully advanced to a Third-Rank Apprentice Wizard, taking an important step on the path to becoming a wizard, the journey ahead was still long and required continued effort.

"Metamagic techniques and second-circle spells are gradual processes, and I can learn them step by step."

"However, I should find a way to improve my meditation efficiency."

"It's time to synthesize higher-tier potions."

Su Nan estimated that in about half a month, the next batch of Moonflower would mature, and he could then attempt to synthesize higher-tier potions.

"First, I need to choose the spells I want to learn."

Su Nan took out all the second-circle spell books from his spatial ring and placed them on the floor in front of him.

There were a total of seventeen second-circle spells.

Most of them were auxiliary spells like "Mirror Image" or "Levitation," or enhancement spells like "Agility" or "Strength," with very few offensive spells.

However, with his high-tier rune gems, Ring of Calamity, and Ice Necklace, Su Nan's need for offensive spells wasn't as urgent.

After some thought, Su Nan decided to first master "Elemental Protection," followed by "Levitation" and "Mirror Image."

"Levitation" is self-explanatory, granting the caster temporary flight.

"Mirror Image" creates an exact duplicate of the caster.

The more mental power the caster has, the more duplicates they can create, with a maximum of eight.

These duplicates cannot cast spells or fight, but they can perform any actions the caster desires and can merge and separate with the caster at will, making it difficult for enemies to pinpoint the caster's actual location.

Once a duplicate is hit or the caster cancels the spell, the duplicate disappears.

This is undoubtedly a very practical spell, especially for casters.

When used well in battle, it can provide the caster with ample time to cast other spells.

It's worth noting that among the second-circle spells is "Second-Level Summon Monster."

As the name suggests, this is an advanced version of "First-Level Summon Monster."

However, to be honest, "Second-Level Summon Monster" is low on Su Nan's priority list.

After all, he summons extraplanar creatures to assist the base, focusing on whether they are suitable and have useful abilities.

Their strength is secondary.

Thus, the ability of "Second-Level Summon Monster" to summon stronger extraplanar creatures is not necessarily an advantage, and the increased mental power consumption is even a disadvantage.

[Reading "Elemental Protection Spell Model," 'Elemental Protection' learning progress +0.08%]



Looking at the text prompt that appeared before him, Su Nan sighed in resignation.

"Another busy period awaits."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end