On the way to the dining hall, Justine hurried to keep up with Ivan’s pace.
Noticing the expression on Ivan’s face, she said, “You’re alright, aren’t you? Don’t worry, you’ll definitely surpass him. Just let him be smug for a few days.”
Ivan seriously agreed, “Exactly.”
Calling you fat and you still breathe heavily, Justine gave him an annoyed roll of the eyes.
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On second thought, this wasn’t so much arrogance as it was confidence, just like when he first learned apothecary skills; he was quick in everything he did.
In any case, this man was both arrogant and somehow made people believe in him; it was just unfortunate that he couldn’t practice apothecary now. Otherwise, she would’ve certainly pestered him to teach her. Old Orio’s sudden death left her with many gaps in her knowledge, still a little way off from being able to concoct the glorybower hemostatic powder.
In the following days, there were people one after another using various ways to show off that they had advanced to become 1st Class apprentices.
Even Justine couldn’t help but use the Magic Stone Water herself.
Justine told Ivan that the effect of the potion varied slightly from person to person. Those with higher talent absorbed the potion’s effects better. This was a conclusion Laurie had reached when giving advice to others.
No matter how smug the others were, Ivan methodically continued his practice, and at this time, his spiritual power was at 1.9 graduated degrees.
On the twenty-first day of practicing the Ode to Spring Trees, Ivan successfully traced the fifth meditation rune.
[Meditation Skill Experience Point +1]
[Meditation Skill: Lv1 (1/100)]
[Runes Skill Experience Point +1]
[Runes Skill: Lv0 (5/10)]
Information appeared on the membrane of light, followed by the descent of the Small Light of Wisdom brought on by the level-up in Meditation Skill. He became more proficient with the meditation runes. Not long after finishing, he directly traced the first five runes in his mind and his spiritual power rose to 2.0 graduated degrees.
He was just a stone’s throw away from becoming a 1st Class apprentice.
“So this is the so-called grade-level checkpoint. No wonder apprentices are divided into three tiers.”
Ivan could sense that there was an invisible constraint on his spiritual power, a barrier, an impediment. Only then did he understand the significance of the apprentice levels.
On the twenty-second day, Ivan chose to advance.
He traced the first five meditation runes as fast as he could. A faint tremor appeared in his mind, the invisible barrier was shattered, and the entity that had been binding his spiritual power disappeared without a trace.
He noticed green particles around him, one after another entering his body, and there were also a few blue and red particles.
“This is—energy particles, Plant-type particles, Water-type, and Fire-type.”
The energy particles entering his body weren’t much, but they represented a new level of attainment.
From then on, he, Ivan Marichardon, became a 1st Class sorcerer apprentice, with his spiritual power at 2.1 graduated degrees.
Quietly pleased with himself for a while, he decided to go to his mentor to learn new things.
On the way to the highest part of the castle, Ivan noticed a figure lingering nearby; the figure also spotted him.
“Ivan, have you also broken through to a 1st Class apprentice?”
“Hey there, Feyen.”
Ivan glanced at him; the way he spoke made it seem as if advancing was a difficult thing for him, as if someone was ruining his reputation.
As a commoner’s son, Feyen was always a bit timid. He had even been forcibly brought on board by people sent by Baron Karl, and now, he felt a bit uneasy meeting with Sorcerer Toyennes alone. Luckily, Ivan showed up.
“Together?”
“Let’s go.”
Ivan did not refuse.
The servant in the dining hall said the island was named ‘Lahr Island,’ the castle was Lahr Castle, and the main hall in the center of the castle was Lahr Hall. Just by hearing the name, it was clear who promoted it.
Without any intervention from Sorcerer Toyennes, the name of the island, castle, and main hall was thus decided.
Inside the castle were two Cloud Fog servants with names. According to what the apprentices before had called them, the small cotton candy-like one was ‘Karda,’ and the bigger one was ‘Yurda.’
Regarding the information of the previous apprentices, the attendants remained tight-lipped, and when others pressed, they would avoid the topic with a look of fear, leaving no way for inquiries to be answered.
Before Lahr Hall, Ivan and his companion found the Cloud Fog servant Karda and informed him that they had become 1st Class apprentices, seeking an audience with Sorcerer Toyennes.
The Cloud Fog servant instructed them to stay put and not wander off.
Over half an hour later, under the Cloud Fog servant’s guidance, the two came before Sorcerer Toyennes.
“Mentor, we have broken through to 1st Class apprentices.”
“The 1st Class apprentice is the starting point of the sorcerer’s path, representing that you possess the power of sorcerers. I treat every student the same and will teach you Basic Energy Particle Manipulation, Basic Mental Power Application, and Science of Everything Concepts. I hope you continue to work hard in your studies and not let down my expectations,” he said.
“We will follow your teachings diligently.”
Sorcerer Toyennes was very generous, directly taking the Crystal Ball from them and transferring the three types of knowledge into it.
Emerging from Lahr Hall, Ivan still felt an unreal sensation.
Not asking for anything in return, knowledge given for free, his mentor’s generosity filled him with an excited unease.
“See you later.”
Feyen was very excited, couldn’t wait to get back to his room to absorb the new knowledge.
Returning to the dormitory, the smile on Ivan’s face faded quickly; he always believed the source of danger on the island was Mentor Toyennes, the more generous the mentor appeared, the more terrifying his schemes must be.
“Raise our strength to 2nd Class apprentice as soon as possible.”
He remembered clearly, the problems with the first apprentice started around day forty, subtracting the time for message transmission, it was roughly a month and a few days.
Time was drawing closer, and it was impossible not to worry.
A 1st Class apprentice could simply use energy particles. The first things to learn were the application of spiritual power and manipulation of energy particles, which are two basic knowledge courses.
Science of Everything Concepts is for broadening one’s knowledge, including general encyclopedic knowledge, biological identification, common herbs and potions identification, rich in content. Having completed this, wandering in a sorcerer’s gathering would not be a problem, and there would be no cause for ridicule.
The next day.
Ivan poured a dose of Magic Stone Water into his mouth, tasting a throat-burning earthiness.
A grey, dust-filled haze began to rise around him, the dust swirling, transforming into grey figures with short horns atop their heads and their mouths opening and closing, emitting faint whispers.
In the blink of an eye, everything dispersed, and he was still in his own dormitory.
“Was that an illusion just now? Worthy of a sorcerer’s mental power potion,” he mused with furrowed brows, recalling what he had just seen. It had to be his own hallucination, and since it hadn’t caused any harm, he didn’t dwell on it, focusing instead on the membrane of light in his field of vision.
Strength: 3.0, Agility: 3.5, Body Constitution: 3.4, Spirit: 2.5
His mental power had increased by 0.4 graduated degrees.
There were no changes in the other areas, but he could feel discomfort in his body, a sign of hidden injuries and deficits.
Perhaps it was because he was a Knight, he was faring better than Justine had described, and he estimated recovery in about one or two days.
Two days later, after taking a second dose of Magic Stone Water and shaking off the hallucination, his mental power grew to 2.8 graduated degrees, and he needed another two days to recover.
“Snap.”
He snapped his fingers, and a flame ignited at the tip.
Another snap, and a wisp of vapor twisted around his thumb, subsequently gathering without warning into a slender, emerald vine.
This was not for show, but practice in manipulating energy particles with spiritual power.
[Energy Particle Skill Experience Point +1]
[Energy Particle Skill: Lv0 (3/10)]
During the past days, he hadn’t forgotten to study the three subjects his mentor had taught. The two basic courses were easy to pick up; he had learned how to use spiritual power and how to manipulate energy particles with that power.
The membrane of light displayed a new subject: [Energy Particle Skill].