Time moved into late October.
As he walked through the academy now, Pei Ze could clearly feel a hint of anxiety in the air.
The source of it was the numerous first-year students.
There were less than thirty-five days until the first-year trial.
Faced with the impending, crucial trial, all the first-year students were giving it their all, desperately improving their strength as if they were tightly wound springs.
No one wanted to be eliminated in this trial and become a failure, mocked and scorned by others.
In this tense atmosphere, the members of the Star Spirit Society were also working harder than ever before.
"The principles of negative energy are too difficult!"
After class, Guan Ling slumped over her desk, sighing.
The others also shook their heads and sighed.
The principles of negative energy were a crucial part of a Wizard's fundamental knowledge, and many types of Magic required its application.
For example, the Dizziness Technique and Acid Splash.
And also higher-level One-Ring Spells like the Frightening Skill and Weakness Beam.
But for that very reason, the depth and breadth of this knowledge far exceeded other fundamentals, making it extremely difficult to master.
Including Shao Hong, no one in the entire Star Spirit Society had fully grasped this subject yet.
—Of course, Pei Ze, the walking cheat, was an exception!
He had mastered the Dizziness Technique and Acid Splash long ago, and in the process, had completely integrated this knowledge.
"If only I had half of Pei Ze's talent for learning," Guan Ling said, glancing at Pei Ze with envy.
The other society members all chimed in in agreement.
"Half is too greedy. I'd be happy with a third."
"I really want to open up Pei Ze's head to see what's so different about it. How does he master everything so quickly?"
"Hey, hey, that's a dangerous thought. Be careful, or Pei Ze might hit you with an Acid Splash."
"Daring to provoke one of the top ten masters of our year... I admire your courage."
The group broke into laughter and banter.
Pei Ze just watched from the side with a smile, not joining in.
For apprentices, the biggest obstacles to improving their strength, aside from aptitude and resources, were the accumulation and comprehension of knowledge.
Every type of Magic involved multiple fields of knowledge.
Some apprentices would spend ten days to half a month just to learn a single subject; some even needed a whole month.
This was the main reason why most apprentices with decent aptitude still improved their strength so slowly.
Only Pei Ze, with his Eye of Omniscience, could master a subject just by flipping through a book once.
The only reason he was in the classroom today was to avoid standing out, so he occasionally attended class like the other apprentices.
While the Star Spirit Society members were chatting, other apprentices would occasionally pass by and greet Pei Ze enthusiastically.
Yuan Wanjun, Guan Ling, and the others were already used to it.
Ever since he scared off Qi Meng at the logistics department building, the news of Pei Ze's promotion to Second-level Wizard Apprentice had spread rapidly throughout the entire grade.
Since there were only nine Second-level Wizard Apprentices in the entire first year at the time, he was naturally included among the ranks of the year's top ten masters.
Because of this, Pei Ze had been receiving a lot of attention at the academy lately.
People have a natural tendency to admire the strong, especially in the dog-eat-dog Wizard World, where the powerful more easily earn the respect and admiration of others.
"Have you guys heard?" Yuan Wanjun suddenly asked in a conspiratorial whisper.
Guan Ling rolled her eyes and said, "You haven't even said what it is. How would we know if we've heard it or not?"
Yuan Wanjun gave an awkward laugh and said sheepishly, "I'm talking about the trial."
Hearing the word "trial," everyone present immediately perked up their ears.
Guan Ling urged, "Hurry up and tell us!"
Yuan Wanjun chuckled. "I heard the academy has prepared some very generous rewards for this trial, much more generous than in any previous year."
"Normally, according to past practice, only the top ten in the trial get rewards. But this year, as long as you make it into the top fifty, you'll get at least one bottle of Spiritual Spring Potion!"
Everyone's eyes instantly lit up.
A single bottle of Spiritual Spring Potion was worth 200 contribution points. The academy was being incredibly generous.
"For real?"
"Where did you hear that?"
"Don't tell me it's just hearsay."
"Of course it's true." Yuan Wanjun puffed out his chest, looking completely certain. "An Official Wizard's disciple told me. The academy will announce it in a few days, and then you'll know I was telling the truth!"
Hearing Yuan Wanjun say this, the group no longer had any doubts and all looked excited.
Even Pei Ze felt a little tempted.
'If the top fifty get at least one Spiritual Spring Potion, doesn't that mean the rewards for the top ten are probably worth over a thousand contribution points? And how generous would the rewards for the top five, or even the top three, be?'
However, after the initial excitement, everyone quickly calmed down.
"The rewards are certainly tempting, but getting them won't be so easy," Shao Hong said with a frown.
Nearly two months had passed since the new students started, and the trainees who had yet to be promoted to Wizard Apprentice had basically all left the academy.
The entire first year now had just over six thousand Wizard Apprentices remaining.
Including Pei Ze, there were a total of thirteen known Second-level Wizard Apprentices.
And according to statistics compiled by those who paid attention, among the remaining First-level Wizard Apprentices, over fifty people had already constructed six Will Runes. They were just waiting for their Spiritual Power to reach the standard before they could break through and advance.
In other words, to enter the top fifty and get a reward, you needed to have constructed at least six Will Runes.
But in the Star Spirit Society, not even mentioning Pei Ze, the strongest member, Shao Hong, had only constructed five Will Runes so far. It would take him at least another seven or eight days to construct the sixth.
With their level of strength, getting a reward would be incredibly difficult.
Worse yet, for several of them, forget about getting a reward; they would be lucky just to pass the trial.
"Forget it. I'm not going to hope for a reward anymore. I'll be happy if I can just pass the trial."
Guan Ling said dejectedly, then glanced at Pei Ze again.
"Only Pei Ze is a sure bet to get a reward."
Everyone nodded in deep agreement.
Unlike them, Pei Ze was fully qualified to compete for a top-ten reward.
After chatting for a while longer, the group dispersed.
After finishing his work at Medicine Garden No. 8, Pei Ze returned directly to his apartment.
In the living room, he sat cross-legged on the floor.
"Omniscience, check my current status."
[Spirit: 21.58]
[Physique: 9.62]
[Task 1: Analyze Will Rune No. 8. Estimated time remaining: 17 days, 4 hours, 37 minutes.]
[Task 2: Improve the Acid Splash Spell model. Estimated time required: 26 days, 3 hours, 23 minutes.]
[Task 3: Improve the Touch of Fatigue spell model. Estimated time required: 22 days, 1 hour, 9 minutes.]
Because most of his Spiritual Power had been spent on analyzing the crow, Pei Ze's progress in analyzing Will Runes and improving spell models had fallen behind significantly during this time. He had only managed to construct Will Rune No. 7.
But even so, his Spirit attribute had already broken the 20-point mark, surging to 21.58.
'After being promoted to a Second-level Wizard Apprentice, the growth rate of my Spirit and Physique attributes has sped up quite a bit.'
Pei Ze estimated that once he finished analyzing Will Rune No. 8, his Spirit attribute should increase to 25 points.
By then, his Physique should also increase to around 11 points, reaching the level of a Middle Knight.
'Once I'm done with this magic pet business, I'll focus all my efforts on analyzing Will Runes.'
The later the Will Rune, the longer it took to analyze.
However, as Pei Ze's Spiritual Power increased and the acceleration effect grew stronger, the actual time required was reduced. On average, he could analyze one Will Rune every three to four days.
At this rate, he would be able to construct all twelve Will Runes of the Universal Meditation Technique within twenty days at most.
After that, he would go all-out on tackling his Magic, striving to master and improve all the necessary spells before the trial began.
'Also, it's about time I put alchemy on the agenda.'
A glint flashed in Pei Ze's eyes.
He had already mastered all the books on the list Yin Xue gave him these past few days. All that was left was to buy the materials and get some hands-on practice.
Just as he was pondering this, a sudden knock came at the door.
"Mr. Pei, are you in?"
Pei Ze looked up. Through the door, he could clearly hear a hoarse voice from outside.
The Crow Catcher had arrived with the crow.