Facing Ant's questioning, Lynn's expression remained calm.
He had, in fact, long anticipated that this day would come.
After a brief pause, he gave the answer he had already prepared, smiling as he spoke:
"I just haven't been to the Black Ring Assembly, Ant. But that doesn't mean I haven't been working to pay off my debt.
"Do you remember that book that almost got me strangled to death by Lord Ushmuel?"
"That book about making crystal spell plates? I remember you and Elen… ahem, you bought it before, right?"
Giggs coughed and quickly corrected himself, avoiding touching Lynn's sore spot.
"That's right. Recently, I've been studying the making of crystal spell plates."
Lynn nodded as he replied, ignoring Giggs' cough.
Being abandoned by Elena… that was the original Lynn's past. It had nothing to do with him.
"Making crystal spell plates isn't something you can just pick up," Leona shook his head, no longer suspicious.
For an ordinary person starting from zero, making a living from crafting crystal spell plates would take at least several years of persistence, without even counting the initial time and resources spent learning.
This was also why most apprentices like them had no real skills to fall back on.
In their nine years of training, none of them would dare believe they had no hope of advancing to become a wizard apprentice until the very last moment. Spending large amounts of time and effort to learn a trade seemed foolish.
Because what if the very time they wasted learning another craft was what they needed to break through?
After all, becoming a wizard apprentice was as close to leaping straight into the heavens as one could get.
So until the very end, no one dared to gamble on giving up that chance.
But by the time they reached that "last moment," it was already too late.
At most, they could do what Lynn and Elena had done, buy whatever useful knowledge they could.
"But at least it's safe, isn't it? And I think I might have some talent for it." Lynn's voice was steady and open.
After all, most of what he said was true; it would stand up to anyone's scrutiny.
"In any case, I wish you success, Lynn," Giggs said, his doubts gone, offering sincere encouragement.
"Thanks."
They chatted for a while longer before Lynn bid the boys farewell and headed back to his shack.
By his count, it had been five days since his last Insight.
During their talk, he had taken a glance inward, and his Source Energy had fully recovered.
It was time to perform another Insight.
Inside Giggs' shack, the three boys had gathered together.
After sitting down, Ant frowned slightly, unable to shake a feeling of doubt.
"Do you two believe that Lynn has just been sitting in his shack learning how to make crystal spell plates?" he asked.
"So… what you're saying is Lynn's lying to us?" Leona curled his lip. "Ant, think about what you're saying. Use your head, will you?"
"I didn't mean it like that. I just find it strange… I mean, look, he's not even afraid of those two thugs anymore." Ant explained.
"People change, Ant," Giggs said firmly. "Lynn's been with us for nine years, and we all know each other inside and out. He's got no reason to lie.
"And besides, you were the one who told him about that crystal plate book in the first place, weren't you?"
"That's right, Ant. If anything, it's you," Leona's tone turned mocking. "You still haven't explained to me why this afternoon, after you picked No. 6 potion, you suddenly had to snatch No. 8 from my hands?
"Was it because you thought the side effects would be lighter with mine, coward?"
"I didn't." Ant's face flushed red, but he couldn't come up with a retort, and in the end, his anger turned into a fit of coughing.
"Didn't what? Didn't think it'd turn out that No. 8 had even worse side effects?" Leona sneered.
"Cough… cough"
"Alright, we're all old friends here," Giggs stepped in, putting a stop to the bickering. He went over and patted Ant on the back.
"Ant, you were in the wrong here. Apologize to Leona."
After steadying his breathing, Ant was silent for a moment before muttering, "Sorry, Leona. I just… I just panicked at the time."
Leona curled his lip, and Giggs turned to him.
"Leona, Ant may have stolen your potion, but in the end, the one you had turned out to have worse side effects… For my sake, forgive him."
Leona gave a cold snort, then sighed.
"For your sake, Giggs, I'll forgive you this time, Ant. But remember, there will not be a next time."
Clap, clap
"Alright," Giggs clapped his hands, drawing both of their attention before speaking in a low voice,
"Now that's settled, let's move on to the drawing.
"…Come closer. It's time to decide who will undergo the extraordinary transformation."
The three boys leaned in, sitting close around the candlelight.
The orange-yellow flame flickered, and their shadows danced silently against the wall behind them.
...
On the other side
Lynn had just finished his second Insight into the White Crow Swordsmanship.
Casually tossing aside the lesser magic stone in his hand that had crumbled into sand, he carefully felt the changes brought by this session.
This wasn't his first Insight, so he thought he wouldn't get excited anymore, but the gains this time still filled him with delight.
Perhaps it was because his last Insight had resolved the most difficult problem; the improvement this time was tremendous!
First of all, the previously incomplete White Crow Swordsmanship, of which he had only half, had now expanded into a complete three-part set, with only the originally missing chest-and-back section and the second tier still incomplete.
Secondly, his mastery level of White Crow Swordsmanship had advanced from Beginner to Proficient!
Lynn glanced at his status again. Points of golden light gathered into a translucent screen.
[Name]: Lynn Kent
[Age]: 16
[Realm]: White Crow Swordsmanship – Double Arms (21/100)
[Skills]: Crystal Spell Plate Crafting – Mind Shock (Proficient); White Crow Swordsmanship – Fragment (Proficient)
[Source Energy]: 0 (Self); 0 (World)
Now that White Crow Swordsmanship was more complete, the progress cap for the "Double Arms" section had also increased from 50 to 100.
I wonder how much progress a single practice session gives now that it's at the proficient level.
With that thought, he acted immediately.
Lynn got up and began practicing the Double Arms section of the White Crow Swordsmanship.
This time, he didn't use the short sword he had bought before. Instead, he switched to the longsword he had taken from Kiddie.
The blade was long and straight, gleaming with a cold light. Forged entirely from refined steel and polished to perfection, it shone with a deep silver-gray luster.
Most importantly, it was just over a meter in length, whereas his previous short sword had been only as long as his forearm.
The difference in length was nearly threefold, and the feel in his hands was entirely different.
But that difference was just in sensation; the actual cultivation effect wouldn't change.
The reason a sword was required during practice was to train sword strikes alongside the technique, but it didn't affect the magic energy, strengthening the body.
Before long, Lynn had completed one full cycle of the White Crow Swordsmanship.
When he pulled up the status screen again, the corners of his mouth lifted uncontrollably.
Just from a single practice, his Double Arms progress had increased by 2 points!
If he could gain two points every time, then practicing ten times a day
In just four days, he could bring the Double Arms section to perfection. And after another ten days, the first three sections could all be perfected!
A complete White Crow Swordsmanship could roughly match the attack power of an ordinary second-tier apprentice.
Although the real qualitative leap came at the second tier, perfecting the first three sections would already be enough for him to face most threats in the shanty district without fear.
Unfortunately…
Reality wasn't a game. Progress from training couldn't be calculated so simply.
In truth, each practice session didn't always give the same fixed amount of improvement.
And usually, the further along you got, the harder it became, meaning the gains from each session would diminish.
Still… even if it slows down, it won't slow down too much.
Sitting back down on the bed, Lynn took out the six lesser magic stones he still carried and silently made up his mind.
The White Crow Swordsmanship is good enough for now. Next… It's time to start the next step of my plan.
Insight into Hossen's Apprentice Meditation Method!
But before that, I still need to wait another five days… Lynn looked at the glowing screen and sighed slightly.
I wonder if there's a way to speed up my Source Energy recovery…
I remember that in this world, there are some things that can relieve physical fatigue or restore mental exhaustion.
Would those help?
…Tomorrow, I'll head to the market to check. And while I'm at it, I'll sell the crystal spell plates I've finished.