The pressure and novelty of the opening ceremony, washed away by a week of high-intensity courses, had fermented into a widespread anxiety among the new students.
The occasional muffled argument in the dormitory hallways, or the dull thud from a room where someone's Spiritual Power had spun out of control, had all become part of daily life at this Wizard Academy.
For the vast majority of apprentices, every day was a struggle.
They were left dizzy and overwhelmed by the vast, abstract concepts in "The Nature and Macro-Theory of Magic Power," and then found themselves at a complete loss when faced with the twisted, complex symbols in "Basic Runes and Linguistics."
In the cafeteria, at the dining tables, apprentices were gathered everywhere in small groups, discussing their problems with furrowed brows, their voices laced with an undisguised exhaustion and frustration.
Allen, however, existed outside this sea of anxiety.
While others argued in the library over borrowing rights for an introductory textbook, DSeek had already dismantled, analyzed, and reconfigured those abstruse theories into knowledge modules that Allen could instantly comprehend.
His learning pace had long since left the official syllabus in the dust.
The real bottleneck was in practical application.
He returned to his private dorm room, closed the door, and shut out the clamor of the outside world.
His consciousness sank into his Sea of Consciousness. The Rune he had named "Anchor Point" was rotating steadily, but it was no longer drawing energy from the external Sea of Magical Power.
The Magic Power stream provided by a single Rune had a finite limit, which had now been reached. It would, however, replenish itself after use.
He had to construct a second Rune as soon as possible.
The construction path, optimized by DSeek, unfolded clearly in his mind. It consisted of 20 steps and 5 critical nodes.
Allen mobilized his fully recovered Spiritual Power and began his first attempt within his Sea of Consciousness.
His Spiritual Power became a carving knife, precisely etching the first path, then the second… Everything was going smoothly.
As the construction reached the third critical node, a slight instability suddenly appeared in his Spiritual Power output.
DSeek's red alert flared in his consciousness. 'Warning: Spiritual Power fluctuation at Node 3 exceeds 20%! Structural integrity compromised!'
In the next second, the half-inscribed embryonic Rune collapsed. The dissipating Spiritual Power formed into sharp needles that stabbed viciously into the depths of his consciousness.
"Ugh!"
A tidal wave of intense pain washed over him. Allen let out a muffled grunt, his body trembling violently as a cold sweat instantly soaked the collar of his shirt.
DSeek immediately provided its analysis: 'Failure cause: Insufficient total Spiritual Power to support the complete construction, leading to a sharp decline in control during the latter half.'
Allen was panting, but he wasn't the least bit discouraged.
He knew that the Spiritual Power backlash after each failure, though painful, also provided a faint stimulus to his Sea of Consciousness, making it a little more resilient after recovery.
'Spiritual Power capacity increased by 1.5%.'
DSeek's data confirmed his feeling. This was an effective "exercise," but the efficiency was appallingly low.
For the past few days, he had been operating like a precision machine, strictly following the optimal recovery cycle calculated by DSeek.
He made three construction attempts each day, and each time, he failed miserably at almost the exact same point for the exact same reason.
Each time was accompanied by the complete exhaustion of his Spiritual Power and the searing pain of the backlash.
This slow progress was unbearable.
'Based on current progress, successfully constructing Rune 02 is projected to take 19 days.'
'Nineteen days? That's far too long. To reach my goal of inscribing 36 basic Runes within a year, this is nowhere near fast enough.'
He got up, walked to the terminal at the end of the dormitory hallway, inserted his identification card, and entered the Apprentice Market.
Without a moment's hesitation, he placed an order.
Lesser Spiritual Power Recovery Potion x 2
The balance on his card decreased from 207 Magic Stones to 197 Magic Stones.
By the time he returned to his room, the potions had already been delivered. He pulled the cork from one of the bottles, and an indescribably bizarre odor assaulted his nostrils.
Without so much as a frown, he tilted his head back and drank a third of the blue liquid inside.
A cool current slid down his throat and into his stomach, quickly spreading through his limbs before finally converging in the depths of his consciousness.
It was as if a fresh spring had been poured into his parched Sea of Consciousness, which began to refill at a visible rate.
'Spiritual Power recovery efficiency increased by 170%. Full recovery estimated in 12 minutes.'
'What a powerful effect!' Allen closed his eyes to rest. Twelve minutes later, his Spiritual Power was back at its peak.
He immediately began a new attempt.
Failure, but his Spiritual Power grew.
Recover, and go again!
Failure!
Again!
…
For the next two days, aside from a few critical classes he couldn't miss, Allen barely left his room.
His food was the standard nutrient paste provided by the academy. It tasted like wax but was the most efficient way to replenish his body's needs.
All his time, all his energy, was poured into this war against Rune 02.
His Spiritual Power was repeatedly forged in the extreme cycle of "exhaustion - potion recovery - re-exhaustion." His control over it improved in tandem, becoming increasingly fine and subtle.
DSeek recorded the data from every attempt, continuously correcting the minuscule errors in the construction model that an ordinary person would never notice.
The thirty-second attempt.
As his Spiritual Power was etching the seventeenth step, DSeek's alarm sounded again.
'Warning: Spiritual Power reserves below 5%! Structural stability is decreasing!'
Allen's consciousness was already stretched to the breaking point, and a tearing pain emanated from deep within his Sea of Consciousness.
But he maintained absolute calm, as if performing a surgical procedure that had nothing to do with him.
He ignored the alarm, gathering the last wisp of his remaining Spiritual Power into a slender, stable beam and, with near-perfect form, completed the final closing curve.
BZZZT—
A hum, clearer and deeper than the one from constructing "Anchor Point," echoed resoundingly through his Sea of Consciousness.
A brand-new Rune, similar in structure to "Anchor Point" but different in its details, successfully took form!
It emitted a soft, silvery glow and began to slowly revolve around the central "Anchor Point" Rune, like a newborn satellite, forming a stable binary system.
A second stream of Magic Power was drawn from the void, converted by the new Rune, and channeled into his body.
Success.
Allen slowly opened his eyes. Feeling the amount of Magic Power in his body nearly double, a deep sense of satisfaction cut through his extreme exhaustion.
DSeek's report popped up right on cue:
'Congratulations! Rune 02 successfully constructed.'
'Total time: 2 days.'
'Resources consumed: 2 Lesser Spiritual Power Recovery Potions.'
'Efficiency assessment: 17 days saved compared to the natural recovery training model.'
The efficiency was astonishing, but the cost was high.
Allen sat at his desk and pulled up DSeek to run a cost analysis.
'Goal: Advance to Advanced Apprentice within one year. 34 new Runes still need to be inscribed.'
'Plan: Use Magic Potions to accelerate progress, inscribing an average of 3 Runes per month.'
'Cost estimate: Average of 2 potions per Rune, valued at 10 Magic Stones. Monthly potion expense of 30 Magic Stones. Considering the increasing difficulty of later Runes and greater Spiritual Power consumption, monthly potion expense will rise to 35 Magic Stones.'
'Total annual potion expenses: 35 Magic Stones/month * 12 months = 420 Low-Level Magic Stones.'
'Annual basic living expenses: 100 Low-Level Magic Stones.'
'Total annual expenditure: 520 Magic Stones.'
'Current funds: 197 Magic Stones.'
'Funding gap: 323 Magic Stones.'
A huge, red number appeared in Allen's consciousness.
'And this doesn't even include other potential expenses I've planned for, like borrowing books and buying experimental materials. My "knowledge-for-a-fee" service plan must be launched immediately.'
Just then, there was a soft knock on his door.
Allen got up and opened it to find Vera and Colin standing outside.
Vera looked a little awkward, holding an open copy of "Basic Runes and Linguistics." Colin stood behind her.
"Allen, sorry to bother you…" Vera said softly. "About the third node of the 'Propel' Rune, I keep feeling like my Spiritual Power stagnates there. Could you… could you help me take a look?"
Over the past few days, they had gotten used to coming to Allen whenever they hit a problem they couldn't solve.
Allen's explanations were always direct and to the point, more effective than any set of notes.
Allen stepped aside to let them in, took the textbook from Vera, and after a few questions, gave his answer.
"Your problem isn't the node, it's the path."
Allen reached out and traced an arc on the page with his fingertip.
"From the second node to the third, you're instinctively using a straight path, but the 'Propel' Rune requires a slight curve. This allows the Magic Power to generate an initial rotational force as it passes through. You're drawing it like a geometric shape, but it's fundamentally an energy channel."
In just a few words, he had solved the problem that had stumped Vera for half a day. Realization dawned on her face, and she quickly thanked him.
Standing to the side, Colin mustered his courage and asked, "Allen, I can never get my 'Wizard's Hand' to form. I can practice the five Runes individually just fine, but the moment I try to combine them, it all collapses. Is my Spiritual Power not strong enough?"
"It's not a matter of strength, it's a matter of synergy."
Allen looked at him. "You're treating the five Runes as five separate parts. You build them one by one in your Sea of Consciousness and then try to piece them together. The correct way is to leave 'interfaces' for connecting with the other Runes while you're constructing the very first one. It's a single, integrated project, not an assembly of parts."
Colin only half-understood, but Allen's clear analogy gave him a new direction for his thinking.
After answering their questions, Vera and Colin didn't leave right away.
The two exchanged a look as if they had something else to say.
"Is there something else?" Allen asked.
"Um… Allen,"
Vera hesitated for a moment before speaking up. "We have some news. Maybe… it could be useful to you."
"We heard about a guy," Colin took over, his words coming a little fast with a hint of excitement. "A guy named Lester. He's being driven mad by the 'Release' Rune!"
This caught Allen's attention.
"It's the first Rune we learned in Witchcraft class,"
Colin added, "Most of us have already mastered it. Even if we can't blow out a candle, we can at least make the flame flicker. But that Lester guy, he's been trying for a whole week and hasn't succeeded once.
He completely drains his Spiritual Power every day. I heard he even bought a Spiritual Power recovery potion yesterday, chugged the whole thing, tried a dozen more times, and still failed. In the end, the Spiritual Power backlash had him rolling on the floor of his dorm in pain."
Vera nodded, adding in a low voice, "A lot of people are talking about him now. Apparently, he's from some Little Wizard Clan, and his family spent a lot of money just to get him in. He's desperate now, asking everyone for help. He even said… he's willing to pay anyone who can teach him."
Inside Allen's mind, DSeek had already automatically created a preliminary user profile for this student named Lester.
'Target Client: Lester.'
'Pain Point: Basic Rune construction obstacle ('Release' Rune), which has already resulted in significant losses of time, energy, and money (Spiritual Power recovery potion). '
'Willingness to Pay: High. Has publicly offered payment.'
'Psychological State: Extremely anxious, nearing breakdown, has lost faith in conventional learning methods.'
'This is the ideal startup client.'
'A 'patient' who is stuck on a fundamental problem, has the ability to pay, and is mentally off-balance.'
Allen's business plan model activated instantly, and the process for his first transaction generated automatically in his mind.
He needed to do more than just teach Lester. He had to use this service to establish his own "professional" image and collect a "success story" he could use for promotion.
His expression didn't change, remaining as calm and steady as ever.
He looked at Vera and Colin, the two "business partners" who had brought him his first foot in the door.
"Where is he?" Allen's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an authority that left no room for argument.
Colin was taken aback for a second, then replied, "He… he should be in the public practice room in Zone A-7 right now. I saw him on my way here."
Allen picked up the identification card from his desk and turned toward the door.
"Take me to him."