Early the next morning.
Kei led the army out of the city with great momentum, heading out to hunt the Black-scaled Lizardmen.
Sunan, as usual, stayed in his room, doing his own things.
In the study with closed doors and windows, the warm yellow candlelight flickered gently.
Sunan sat cross-legged on the ground, eyes closed.
About two hours later, he finished meditating and opened his eyes.
On the panel, the proficiency of the Star Ring Meditation Skill had increased by 5 points.
Spiritual Power had also increased by 0.01.
"At this rate, it'll take about half a year to construct the first Star Ring."
Sunan's eyes flickered slightly.
According to the description in that introductory book, without external assistance, most Wizard Apprentices take two to three years to construct their first Star Ring.
For Wizard Apprentices with outstanding aptitude, this time can be shortened to about a year.
In this aspect, even excluding the enhancement effect of the Silver Moon Flower Essence, his 'aptitude' is considered quite exceptional.
After all, in most games, players with data-driven panels are unparalleled geniuses compared to the natives.
However, Sunan was still not satisfied.
Constructing the first Star Ring would take more than half a year, and the time for the second and third Star Rings would only be longer.
In total, it might take three to four years to advance to a Level 2 Wizard Apprentice.
Wouldn't it take over a decade to advance to a Level 3 Wizard Apprentice?
What about advancing to an Official Wizard?
A century?
It's important to know that the lifespan of Wizard Apprentices isn't much longer than ordinary people.
Without physical modification, it won't exceed two hundred years at most.
It's only by advancing to a Wizard and breaking the shackles that one's life essence will elevate dramatically, significantly extending lifespan.
Sunan's goal is to advance to a Wizard before the end of his life, so he can live to see the elemental resurgence a thousand years later.
"I still need to further enhance my meditation efficiency."
Sunan got up and went to the bookshelf, taking out the "Complete Guide to Tier Zero Potions."
This book recorded the formulas for eighteen kinds of Tier Zero Potions.
Besides the Dragon Blood Potion, there are Strength Potions, Healing Potions, Swift Potions, Sensory Potions, etc.
The one that interested Sunan the most was a Tier Zero Potion called the Lesser Active Potion.
The effect of this potion is similar to the Silver Moon Flower Essence, both enhancing Spiritual Activity Level, but the effect is much stronger, essentially an upgraded version of the Silver Moon Flower Essence.
"If aided by the Lesser Active Potion in meditation, I could advance to a Level 2 Wizard Apprentice within a year or two at most."
Sunan felt a surge of excitement in his heart.
However, upon seeing the materials required for creating the Lesser Active Potion, his excitement cooled down.
Suxin Grass, Dragon Eye Mint, and Black Python Bone Powder are precious, but as long as one is willing to spend time, they can eventually be found.
But the sap of the Mingxin Tree is a headache.
In Sunan's limited gaming memory, the Mingxin Tree seems to only exist within the borders of the southern Cangjin Empire.
Thousands of kilometers apart, there's no way to obtain the sap of the Mingxin Tree.
"I can only see if I can use Silver Moon Flower Essence as a substitute."
The primary function of Mingxin Tree sap is to enhance Spiritual Activity Level, similar to the Silver Moon Flower Essence.
Using Silver Moon Flower Essence as a substitute seems quite feasible.
The key is that Silver Moon Flower isn't considered particularly rare.
A single Silver Coin can buy one flower.
However, whether it's truly feasible will have to wait until the other materials are collected for further experimentation.
Besides, among Tier Zero Potions, the Lesser Active Potion is among the most difficult to make.
Sunan estimated it would take at least Level 2 potion-making skills to handle it.
Otherwise, the success rate would certainly be abysmally low.
"For now, I'll use Lesser Dragon Blood Potions to grind proficiency, and once the materials are gathered, potion-making should reach Level 2, then I'll conduct the experiment."
Sunan put down the "Complete Guide to Tier Zero Potions" and took several Magic Books from the cabinet.
The spell models left behind by his predecessor included only four types.
They were Mage Hand, Acid Splash, Sleep Spell, and Flash Skill.
Without exception, they are all the lowest level Tier Zero Magic.
But this aligns perfectly with Sunan's current situation.
Switching to Tier One Magic, with his current Spiritual Power, it's practically impossible to master.
Sunan flipped open the pages filled with dense text and various complex and profound models.
Magic Models are the foundation for mastering magic.
The casting of a magic spell requires one to use Spiritual Power to first weave the corresponding Magic Model, then use the model to draw Energy Particles, releasing them in a special way to form what is known as magic.
Simply put, a Magic Model is like a CPU processor that transforms Energy Particles into various magic spells.
But this processor is extremely precise and complex, with dense magic circuits and nodes intricate enough to make one's head spin.
Even the simplest Tier Zero Magic Model's complexity far exceeds ordinary imagination.
Furthermore, each Magic Model involves several branches of knowledge.
Take Mage Hand as an example; it involves Energy Circulation and Force Field Energy Conversion, so to master Mage Hand, one must find books related to these two fields and learn to master them.
This is why it often takes years for Wizard Apprentices to learn a single magic spell.
However, Sunan, this outlier, doesn't need to follow the usual path.
With his player panel, he doesn't need to understand the knowledge in books or master prerequisite knowledge; merely reading the Magic Books can increase his learning progress.
—Even if he doesn't understand a word of it!
Similarly, he doesn't need to painstakingly construct complex Magic Models in his mind.
Once the learning progress bar is full, he can instantly master the magic spell, along with any related knowledge it encompasses.
This is the advantage of being a player.
Opening the Magic Model book for Mage Hand, Sunan focused on reading.
About half an hour later, a line of text slowly appeared in front of him.
[Reading "Mage Hand Magic Model," 'Mage Hand' learning progress +0.08%]
In the subsequent time, Sunan spent each day either meditating or reading Magic Books.
Occasionally, he took time to handle the Black-scaled Lizardman corpses sent by Kei, extracting blood to create Lesser Dragon Blood Potions.
As his skill proficiency increased, his potion-making skills became more refined, and his success rate improved.
Eventually, he could make a bottle of Lesser Dragon Blood Potion from an average of three portions of Sub-Dragon Blood.
After half a month, he had accumulated eleven bottles of Lesser Dragon Blood Potions.
When Kei returned to the council chamber of the inner fortress of Black Stone City, dusty and weary, what he saw was Sunan and the row of neatly arranged potions on the table.
"Is this the potion you said could enhance physique?"
Kei picked up a bottle of potion, looking at the swaying bright red liquid within the transparent glass bottle, a look of amazement appeared on his face.
The Knights surrounding him craned their necks, their eyes burning with interest on the potions on the table.
After all, according to Sunan, these potions are effective even for an Official Knight.
Who wouldn't want to become stronger?