After Ian finished the paperwork, he recalled his encounter at the library and decided to go back, pack his things, and move here to live.
From now on, he would be an Apprentice with some backing. As long as he was careful not to stir up trouble, he should be safe.
Fortunately, this terrible trip to the academy wasn't a complete waste.
"At least I got a free Witchcraft out of it."
A regular Middle Level Witchcraft is worth about 30 Magic Stones.
Even using the High Tower's Memory Crystal, it wouldn't exceed 100 Magic Stones.
Apprentices who weren't short on money would choose to buy new Witchcraft directly from the Shadow Moon Tower.
Those with tight finances could only choose to learn from their classmates, and the price difference between the two methods was huge.
On the way back, a thought stirred in Ian's mind, and he called up his status panel.
[Eye of Vigilance: Beginner (0/100)]
When this Witchcraft is cast, an invisible Eye of Magic ascends into the air to help the caster keep watch.
Its initial height is only 10 meters, and its surveillance range is only about 50 meters.
He felt that his Attack Witchcraft was currently powerful enough for self-defense. What he wanted most was a Shield-type Witchcraft, but unfortunately, there were none in the catalog.
He could only settle for the next best thing and chose this vigilance Witchcraft.
Ian planned to grind this Witchcraft to Skilled level or higher once he was settled, to prevent anyone from sneaking up on him.
Not long after leaving Nightfall Town, Ian felt that something was wrong.
At some point, a young, gray-robed Apprentice had started following him.
Long, golden-red hair was tied back behind his head, and he wore several rings on his hands.
Ian sensed a faint fluctuation of Magic Power from the rings. They were Witchcraft Rings, which were rarely worn by Mid-Low Level Apprentices.
His mind raced. He covertly observed his surroundings, then quickly darted into the woods.
...
At this moment, Gavin Monroe was already growing impatient.
He had been paid in Magic Stones by his underlings to wait in this godforsaken place for a whole day, and the target had finally appeared.
Seeing Ian run into the woods, he wasn't worried. A cruel smile touched his lips.
'Someone's already up ahead to intercept him. A mere Low Level Apprentice should be easy to catch.'
Faintly, Gavin heard a soft, miserable cry.
'Simon intercepted him so quickly? He's fast on the draw.'
He was afraid Simon might pocket the Magic Stones on Ian's body for himself, so he also hurried over.
The view ahead suddenly opened up into a clearing in the woods, where he saw Ian standing at the far edge.
"Why'd you stop running? Hey, where's Simon?"
What angered Gavin was that the other party was sizing him up with a strange look.
"Insect, I'm going to slowly gouge your eyes out."
Gavin glared fiercely at Ian, his expression utterly savage.
"Sigh... You're both so weak. How did you dare to chase after me directly?"
Ian found it strange. Were all Middle Level Apprentices this arrogant?
To his keen Perception, this person posed no threat to him at all.
When he first discovered someone was following him, he had indeed been a little nervous.
He had never fought anyone since his transmigration.
Not long after running into the woods, he ran head-on into Simon, who was there to intercept him.
The man's sudden appearance made Ian's heart tighten, and he pointed his finger without hesitation.
The result was completely unexpected. Simon had no time to react at all; he just stood there like a wooden post as his head was easily blown apart by the ray.
Ian froze for a moment, finding it somewhat unbelievable.
The Simon who was so strong in his original body's memories was actually this weak.
Looking at the exaggerated Skill Level for on his panel, a sense of confidence welled up within him.
Then he changed direction and lured the enemy behind him over.
At the edge of the clearing, looking at Gavin's ferocious expression, Ian couldn't be bothered with any more nonsense.
SWOOSH! A streak of blue light flashed through the air.
A sense of alarm flared in Gavin, and he tried to activate the Witchcraft in his ring.
CRACK! His vision went completely white, and he couldn't see a thing.
At that moment, an oval Shield covered in cracks enveloped his entire body.
Looking at the nearly shattered pendant on his chest, a chill ran through him.
This pendant was his life-saving trump card, a gift from his brother. How could it be on the verge of breaking after just one hit?
His brother had once told him that very few High Level Wizard Apprentices could shatter this Shield with a single Witchcraft.
"Bastard! Stop! Do you know who I—"
But his voice was insulated by the ice and couldn't travel at all.
With another POP, the Shield shattered completely.
Gavin's expression changed drastically. He was just about to open his mouth and beg for mercy.
From the corner of his eye, he saw only a flash of blue light, and then his consciousness sank into endless darkness.
[Secondary Frost Freeze Ray Skill Level +1]
Ian looked at the lump of ice before him, also a bit surprised.
It had taken three consecutive rays to finish him off. He was much stronger than Simon.
'His turtle shell was that hard? It seems there's a difference even among Middle Level Apprentices. I should be more careful in the future.'
Ian felt calm now, with no sense of discomfort.
An added benefit of using this Witchcraft to kill enemies was the complete lack of any gory scenes.
Next up was the most important part: looting the bodies.
Both corpses were encased in ice. He cast Wizard's Hand, and it took him a while to retrieve their belongings.
As for disposing of the bodies, out here in the wilderness, nothing would be left of them soon enough.
After sorting through everything, he found they didn't have many Magic Stones—only 63. The biggest prize was the two Witchcraft Rings.
There was also a well-preserved Potion recipe on Gavin's body.
!
Ian was pleasantly surprised. A few thoughts flashed through his mind, then quickly vanished.
'Huh, I feel like I'm forgetting something?'
He thought about it for a long time but couldn't remember, so he gave up for the time being.
When he went to the High Tower yesterday, he had originally planned to get his hands on a recipe of this kind.
But he ended up being scared out of the library in a sorry state.
'What you lose on the swings, you gain on the roundabouts!'
Ian also realized that if the old geezer in the library went outside to lure Low Level Apprentices, he would likely succeed very easily.
But he chose to make his move inside the High Tower, which must mean he was under some kind of restriction and couldn't leave.
'Good! It's better that he can't get out!'
The knot of anxiety in his heart loosened considerably with his recent gains.
Back home, he took a comfortable hot bath.
He cleared his mind, which began to replay the earlier details like a movie.
Today was his first time fighting other Wizards. Although it was an unexpected situation, the result was quite good.
But this brief battle didn't provide much useful experience.
The two of them were too weak. Before he even had to exert himself, they were both down.
Suddenly, the image of Nolan Monroe of the Shadow Society, from the plaza, appeared in his mind.
The blond man who followed him today looked very similar to Nolan in appearance and dress.
Ian's eye twitched as he tried to console himself.
'It can't be that much of a coincidence, can it?'
Sigh... It seems Simon was wary of Kenna and brought this blond man in.
That guy... he just had to disgust him, even in death.
'So you're telling me I've made a genius-level mortal enemy for no reason?'
Ian was a little frustrated. As long as the other party investigated carefully, they would surely find clues leading them here.
He had no way of dealing with a genius High Level Apprentice right now.
A Basic Level Wizard Apprentice can learn a maximum of three Low Level Witchcraft; any more and their Will Rune becomes unstable.
At the Middle Level, they can learn three Middle Level Witchcraft, and a dozen or so Low Level ones are no problem.
A High Level Apprentice can learn six High Level Witchcraft and over a dozen Middle Level Witchcraft.
One can only imagine the combat power of a long-lived, talented High Level Apprentice with a well-thought-out combination of Witchcraft.
As for Ian, the only thing he had that was remotely presentable was . Everything else was a mess.
'Sigh... I'll just have to cross that bridge when I come to it. Hopefully, it takes them a while to track me here.'