The month of Blaze, the days when the sun walks upon the earth.
The scorching weather makes one irritable and exhausted.
However, inside the inner fort, there is a scene of jubilation.
After consuming four bottles of Dragon Blood Potion consecutively, Kei has successfully broken through to become a Grand Knight!
If knights are the backbone and elite combat force of a territory, then Grand Knights are the cornerstone.
No matter which country, Grand Knights are undeniably high-level combat power.
With mastery of external Fighting Qi, a Grand Knight on the battlefield is like a tank-level monstrous beast, unstoppable.
With Kei's advancement to Grand Knight, the gloom from Flash City that had been hovering over Black Stone City seems to have dissipated considerably.
The external atmosphere of joy does not affect Sunan.
With just over two hundred proficiency points left to upgrade the Star Ring Meditation Method, he sequestered himself in the Meditation Room, instructing others not to disturb him, focusing on preparing for advancement.
Three days later.
Sunan sat cross-legged on the ground, eyes closed.
In the depths of his Sea of Consciousness, specks of energy particles meld into the third star ring shadow, filling the last bit of illusion.
At the moment when the entire star ring fully materialized, an unprecedented sense of shudder surged like a tide, instantly overwhelming his consciousness.
In the soundless tranquility, Sunan felt as if he was roaming amidst the boundless starry universe, waves of intangible warm currents washed through him, an ineffable, supreme pleasure brought by the sublimation of life's essence saturated every inch of his being.
Unaware of how much time had passed, Sunan gradually regained his senses and opened his eyes.
The world before him seemed to have been wiped of a layer of hazy dust, suddenly becoming much clearer.
"So, this is the feeling of advancement."
Sunan's heart surged with intense joy, hastily opening the panel.
[Sunan Yanest, Human Male, 17 years old]
[Spirit 13.25/Constitution 12.02]
[Skills]
Star Ring Meditation Method Lv4 (3/20000)
Potion Making Lv2 (2641/3000)
Biological Transformation Lv1 (527/1000)
Puppet Refining Lv2 (816/3000)
"Spiritual power increased by 1.27, slightly less than expected, but that's normal, considering my original spiritual power was already close to 12."
"Constitution didn't change much, only increased by less than 0.5."
Sunan's face beamed with genuine joy.
From this moment, he has become a second-level Wizard Apprentice!
In today's Starlight Continent, a second-level Wizard Apprentice undoubtedly counts as a strong force!
He had taken another solid step on the path to becoming a Wizard.
Taking a deep breath, Sunan calmed his inner commotion and began to study the enhancements this advancement brought.
The most obvious change is the increased casting speed.
Spells like Mage Hand, Acid Splash, and Sleep Spell now require about a third less time to prepare.
Clearly, a mere one or two-point increase in spiritual power wouldn't bring about such an effect.
Sunan guessed that breaking through the 12-point threshold of spiritual power induced a qualitative change, significantly shortening spellcasting time.
No matter how you look at it, even reducing spellcasting time by a third can, in a battle where each moment is critical, change the outcome.
For a Wizard Apprentice, casting time is akin to life itself.
"Techniques like Silent Spellcasting and Instant Spellcasting can be learned once advancing to a third-level Wizard Apprentice. At this stage, reducing casting time to around one second is pretty much the limit."
The second change is in the control over energy particles.
With a snap of his fingers, a faint blue halo suddenly enveloped Sunan.
A layer of water vapor appeared out of nowhere, drenching him completely.
Then, a fiery red halo surrounded him, and wisps of white steam rose as the water instantly evaporated, leaving him refreshed.
With the advancement to second-level Wizard Apprentice, and the qualitative change in spiritual power, Sunan could now preliminarily manipulate energy particles to achieve effects similar to magic.
For example, using water and fire energy particles to cleanse himself.
Moreover, energy particles can also be applied in combat.
Sunan extended his palm, where a flash of green-blue light burst forth, and then a crackling sound ensued, with countless tiny electric arcs appearing out of nowhere, wrapping around his palm, sparking and leaping.
Next, the lightning transformed into searing flames, then quickly turned into a raging tornado, pure white frost, eerie shadows...various elements emerged in turn.
A second-level Wizard Apprentice can materialize energy particles into elemental entities for attacks or attach them to weapons or themselves, imbuing various elemental properties.
For example, attaching fire energy particles to a weapon to add fire damage.
Or attaching wind energy particles to oneself, making the body more agile and nimble.
The possibilities are endless.
This explains why a second-level Wizard Apprentice's combat power far exceeds that of a first-level Wizard Apprentice.
Without even resorting to spells, a second-level Wizard Apprentice, aided by their resilient constitution and energy particles, can easily crush any rank of Knight.
And when combined with spells, even confronting a Grand Knight head-on is feasible.
Not to mention that a second-level Wizard Apprentice can utilize magical items and contract Magical Pets.
Thinking of magical items, a look of excitement crossed Sunan's face as he glanced at the Blood Vine Ring on his index finger, which he had taken from the Black Stone Mine.
Before, he could only sense the energy particles within the ring but couldn't harness them.
Now, with just a thought, he could activate the ring's magical properties any time.
With the power of the Blood Vine Ring, it could serve as a trump card for him.
"And those energy runes, now I can craft energy rune gems."
"Getting a Magical Pet is also on the agenda."
Magical Pets are a type of magic creature, originally just ordinary animals, exotic beasts, or unique species with special bloodlines, that awaken special abilities upon contracting with a wizard, transforming into Magical Pets.
Magical Pets are categorized as either Auxiliary or Combat type.
Auxiliary Magical Pets are mostly various spirit-like creatures, such as fairies, sprites, etc.
These Magical Pet types possess strong plant affinities, naturally able to communicate with magic plants, making them ideal to serve as magical plant gardeners.
Additionally, some Magical Pets are used by Wizard Apprentices as experiment assistants.
Combat Magical Pets come in a diverse range of types.
From small animals like bats, cats, lizards, owls, snakes, toads, to ferocious exotic beasts comparable to knights, all can become combat-type Magical Pets, assisting Wizard Apprentices in combat.
A few highly powerful Magical Pets can even be a Wizard Apprentice's trump card in battles, with significant utility.
"The stronger the creature, the more powerful it becomes as a Magical Pet."
"Choosing the first Magical Pet to contract requires careful selection..."
Wait!
Sunan suddenly remembered.
If suitable transformation candidates are what I'm looking for, isn't there one right in the yard?
That giant lizard exotic beast!
Sunan's eyes instantly lit up.
An exotic with dragon lizard bloodline, if transformed into a Magical Pet, will surely become another powerful combat tool in his arsenal!
Definitely worth a try!