WHOOSH!
A small Fireball shot toward the practice dummy.
BOOM!
The Fireball struck the dummy and exploded, instantly blasting the wooden figure to smithereens.
The power was astonishing!
After his Basic Meditation Method broke through to the Great Success Level, his Mana increased, and the power of his Magic had grown much stronger.
The Defense Power of his Invisible Armor had also increased significantly.
During Cultivation, his retention rate for Magic Elements rose from forty to sixty percent, a significant boost to his efficiency.
Li Wei turned and left the Magic Training Ground.
He headed out of the Mage Tower, planning to celebrate with a good meal.
'The Apprentice assessment is in just over twenty days. I should have first place locked down this time.'
The reward for first place in the Apprentice assessment was a bottle of Magic Potion, and Li Wei was determined to get it.
By now, everyone in the Mage Tower knew of his reputation as a genius, so there was no point in hiding his strength anymore.
It was better to solidify this reputation and acquire more resources.
Li Wei walked into Mai Le Tavern, located at the border between the Lower City District and the Upper City District.
"A roasted chicken, a small plate of salad, and a cup of hot milk tea."
Li Wei ordered with practiced ease, then sat in a corner to wait for the server to bring his food.
He had eaten at this tavern many times.
The food at Mai Le Tavern was cheap, hearty, and delicious.
Normally, quite a few Professionals also gathered at Mai Le Tavern to eat, drink, and make merry.
He had heard that the tavern's owner was a retired Minstrel Professional.
Before long, the server placed the food in front of Li Wei.
Li Wei ate while listening to the idle chatter of the other patrons in the tavern.
"The price of grain has gone up again. It's nearly five times more expensive than when winter started last year."
"Sigh! I hope this winter ends quickly, or who knows how many people will starve to death."
"This year has been so hard. There are Beastmen active outside the city, and the grain caravans have been robbed time and again. It's all thanks to the City Lord's Mansion opening its granaries and distributing its reserves that we haven't run out of food."
"It's expensive, but at least we still have something to eat."
"The Lord City Lord is truly kind. Even with grain prices this high, he's still willing to distribute relief porridge in the Lower City District for free."
...
Li Wei silently ate his roasted chicken, drank his hot milk tea, and occasionally took a bite of salad to cut through the grease.
'Sometimes, knowing too much isn't a good thing.'
The common people of Maple City all believed the City Lord was a good man, a great philanthropist.
But Li Wei understood—the City Lord was profiting from the disaster.
'Those grain caravans being robbed time and again? It's all an act.'
'Why would the City Lord's Mansion keep shipping grain into the city from outside without first catching the culprits?'
'Pinning the blame on the Beastmen was a clever idea.'
Especially since there had recently been a campaign to encircle and suppress the Beastmen, many people were aware of their presence outside the city.
This gave the City Lord's Mansion the perfect excuse to shift the blame.
Besides, there was another suspicious point that any reasonably clever person could probably figure out.
'How big could the granaries of the City Lord's Mansion possibly be?'
'How could they possibly provide a continuous supply of grain sufficient for the entire city's population?'
People who were smart enough to see this would naturally keep their doubts to themselves to avoid trouble.
In a world where even the smart played it safe to protect themselves, the common people could only remain in the dark, continuing to praise the benevolent Lord City Lord.
The City Lord had played his cards well.
On one hand, he had made a fortune from the winter grain shortage; on the other, he had won the hearts of the people by distributing relief porridge.
At this point, even if someone were willing to step forward and expose the truth, it was unlikely anyone would believe them.
Although Li Wei understood this was all a sham orchestrated by the City Lord's Mansion, there was still one thing he couldn't figure out.
Why would transcendent powers like the Warrior Guild and the Professional Association get involved in something like this?
For them, this matter offered no benefits and was certainly not worth their while.
Why would they help the City Lord's Mansion with something that offered them no advantage whatsoever?
'Unless there was something else going on behind the scenes.'
After finishing his meal, Li Wei paid.
"Hello, sir. That'll be 95 Copper Coins in total," the server said.
Li Wei placed a Silver Coin on the table and got up to leave Mai Le Tavern.
The server's face lit up with a smile. "Safe travels, sir. Please come again."
'Prices are soaring for everything. The cost of living is going through the roof.'
On his way back to the Mage Tower, Li Wei saw guards from the City Lord's Mansion distributing relief porridge at the border between the Upper and Lower City Districts.
The line of people waiting for porridge stretched from the entrance of the Upper City District all the way to the city gates.
As far as the eye could see, the street was crammed with a dense, dark sea of people.
Even the City Guards had been dispatched to maintain order.
Li Wei watched for a few moments before turning to head back to the Mage Tower.
The soaring grain prices had little effect on the Mage Tower.
Over the next few days, Li Wei would practice his Magic after finishing his daily Mana Cultivation.
After completely exhausting his Spiritual Power, he would hole up in his room and read, studying the basic abilities and class systems of various Professionals.
He was preparing for future battles.
On the tenth day, his Magic Potion ran out.
Li Wei's Mana Cultivation speed slowed down drastically.
After much thought, he finally went to see Gu Ze.
"Teacher Gu Ze, I'd like to purchase a bottle of Basic Level Magic Potion."
This time, Gu Ze didn't try to dissuade Li Wei. He said, "A bottle of Basic Level Magic Potion costs 5 Contribution points in the Mage Tower. One Contribution point is worth 1 Gold Coin."
Li Wei took out five Gold Coins and handed them to Gu Ze.
Gu Ze looked surprised. He hadn't expected Li Wei to be so wealthy.
He had even been thinking of lending Li Wei five Contribution points.
Gu Ze accepted the Gold Coins without asking where they came from.
"Come find me again tomorrow."
The next day, Li Wei received a bottle of Basic Level Magic Potion from Gu Ze.
It was slightly different from the one Reina had given him; the Basic Level Magic Potion from Gu Ze was a pale green color.
The effect was more or less the same, though.
After pouring three drops of the Magic Potion into his mouth, Li Wei quickly stoppered the bottle to prevent it from evaporating.
Before, not knowing the price of the Magic Potion, he had used it rather casually.
Now that he knew a single bottle was worth 5 Gold Coins, he felt a pang of pain every time he used it for Cultivation.
After two days, Li Wei adjusted his usage to two drops of Magic Potion per day, based on his Cultivation speed.
He spent more of his time practicing Magic.
In the blink of an eye, winter was nearly over.
February 28th.
The snow had stopped falling five days ago.
Every day, the snow melted and thinned, and today, the ground was finally visible.
Li Wei stood in an open area. The surrounding snowdrifts had shrunk considerably, and the white blanket was starting to melt.
He raised his right index finger and focused, beginning the Casting.
In three seconds, a spark at his fingertip swelled into a Fireball.
Li Wei pointed at the open ground, making a gesture as if firing a gun.
BOOM!
The Fireball shot out, struck the ground, and erupted in a violent explosion.
When the light and flames dissipated, a large crater nearly half a meter deep had appeared in the ground.
Compared to his initial Small Fireball Technique, its power had now increased dramatically.
Li Wei looked at the ground. Lines of text appeared before him, as if sketched by the runoff from the melting snow.
[Basic Meditation Method (Great Success)] 663/4000
[Small Fireball Technique (Tier Zero Mastery)] 1623/2000
[Invisible Armor Skill (Tier Zero Mastery)] 212/2000
After more than half a month of hard work, the Casting time for his Small Fireball Technique had been reduced from five seconds to three.
'The Apprentice assessment is tomorrow. I hope everything goes smoothly!'