In the next two days, instead of working on other spirit tunnels, Angor re-opened the vortex to draw more primal mana.
He read about something in a wizard anecdote that building the mana pool earlier would make it easier to stabilize and prevent the mana from backfiring, which could also help him build a better spirit model.
This was why Angor decided to establish his mana pool first before continuing with his spirit model construction. Besides, Sunders asked him to become an apprentice in a month, which was only a little more than ten days away. He had to make it happen in order not to miss this deadline.
On the third evening, after Angor created the singular point, he finally felt that the point was getting a bit filled. The singular point now looked several times bigger. Just as Angor was fearing that the sphere would explode on itself, it slowly shrank again while releasing an extremely pure mana flow back into his mind space.
Unlike the gray, muddy-looking primal mana that he received from the vortex, the new mana flow was transparent. These two types of mana existed in harmony in his mind and never interfered with each other.
After several more days, pure mana slowly built up in his mind and gathered around the singular point and eventually condensed into a strange shape that looked like a cocoon.
This was the initial state of the mana pool: a magic cocoon.
As long as he kept accumulating his mana, the cocoon would keep growing until it became a real mana pool. This would take time. Usually, an apprentice who meditated often could achieve that in a month.
However, that was considering the use of a common channeling method. Angor was confident that with the conversion rate of the singularity dispersive model, he would totally satisfy Sunders’ requirement.
Two days later, Angor looked at the shining sphere which brightened up his mind like the sun and remained agape for a long time.
He already knew how efficient Singularity Dispersive Meditation was, compared to the other channeling methods. Yet he did not expect to actually build the mana pool in just two days by using only five strings of pure mana flows! If he did not take the time to rest and eat, he would have done this within a day.
This channeling method long lost in history not only allowed the drawing of primal mana at an insane speed, but it also purified primal mana more than ten times faster than similar channeling methods.
The small, bright “sun” was the foundation of being a wizard: the mana pool.
It looked really small compared to the vast mind space, but its sense of presence was not small at all. When Angor began meditating, he could immediately feel the “sun” which released intense energy.
Angor stopped his training and sensed his mana pool with a blank emotion.
Somehow, he wanted to cry.
It had been a little more than a year plus three months since he departed from Padt Manor. He finally made a major achievement.
Angor closed his eyes and thought about the very day when he left his home.
Head Maid Mana stood against the sunlight with all house servants beside her as they waved goodbye.
His mentor, Jon, who forced himself on his broken body, repeated his wise words to Angor again and again with an unchanged kindness in his eyes.
And Angor’s brother Leon… the very person who loved him most. Angor’s memory stopped on Leon’s figure. With his other hand on his chest, his brother was holding his decorated long sword toward the sky while chanting something.
Angor clearly remembered every single detail shown in his memory. The long sword was a passed-down artifact of Padt Family which symbolized the authority of the master. Leon’s armor was a battle suit decorated with his family emblem. Also, he was chanting their family motto: The fire in lion’s heart never dies.
“The fire in lion’s heart never dies…” Angor muttered along. He smiled and quickly removed unwanted distractions.
He might not be able to protect his family forever, but as long as he was alive, the fire in lion’s heart would keep burning brightly.
…
Now the mana pool was in place, Angor could be considered an apprentice wizard.
Sunders’ time limit was still a week away, so Angor did not report to his professor right away. The boy continued to construct spirit tunnels.
He spent five days on three tunnels.
When the three new tunnels were finished, the singular dispersive model surprised him again by purifying primal mana at an increased speed.
According to his speculation, once he completed the spirit model, it would help him purify primal mana about fifteen times faster than the other channeling methods. This way, his mana pool would grow quicker. The quality and size of one’s mana pool were one of the standards that determined the class of a wizard.
An apprentice only needed amount rather than quality, so at least Angor was sure he would develop a lot faster than the others during his training as an apprentice.
Two days.
Sunders’ one-month deadline was only two days away.
After making sure his mana pool was stable, and there would not be any backfire, Angor stepped out of his door with a sense of contentment.
He took Toby with him this time. Angor warned Toby to watch out for anything suspicious around them. He was an apprentice now, but he had not learned any spells, so he must rely on Toby to protect him.
It was unlikely that Hookdick would hire assassins again, but better safe than sorry.
Toby revealed a disdainful sneer upon hearing Angor’s “act of cowardice”. However, the bird still hovered above Angor carefully, working as a responsible bodyguard.
Angor boarded a sky bus and reached the Falling Cloud Stop peacefully. But before going for the final destination, someone stopped him.
Angor was still on the sky bridge toward the Phantom Island. It was only about a hundred meters to the island now.
Three apprentices dressed in different styles stood before him.
Their leader was a man in an unbuttoned brown leather jacket. Without other inner clothes, his strong chest and abdomen muscles were exposed.
One apprentice beside him was cloaked in a blanket-like robe. Angor saw Sailum wearing the same robe before. It appeared to be a standard uniform in Brute Cavern.
The third man was a fatty who kept chewing on a piece of roasted meat in his hand. Oily grease covered his mouth.
“Oi, kid. Who the heck are you? What’s your business on Phantom Island?” The leading man spoke. His tone was as sloppy and wild as his appearance.
“Tsk. Look, boss, he’s just a level-1. Must’ve come to the island to find leftovers,” said the fatty, revealing some meat scraps between his teeth.
“Don’t mind him, boss. There are bunches of people around the Phantom Island now. He won’t make a difference. And he’s just a kid,” said the robed man in a meek tone.
“Teuton, you chick! You ain’t minding every trespasser you see! If we let everyone go, how the heck do we finish our mission?” The fat man yelled at the robed man, Teuton.
Teuton did not protest when he was being addressed as a “chick”. He only stepped back a little and went closer to his boss.
“Quit it, Becker.” Their leader glanced at the fatty and caused him to stop.
“Kid, I asked you a question, and I want an answer. Or I’ll you kick you down the bridge.” Their “boss” looked at Angor again.
Angor thought Hookdick sent someone to attack him again, but after listening to their previous conversation, he believed otherwise. So people had gathered here? Angor looked around and noticed many people floating around the place, staring at Phantom Island with tensed expression.
Judging from their clothing and the bone cards on them, they appeared to be apprentice wizards in Brute Cavern.
They all noticed when Angor was stopped by someone, but they only cast a cold glance before disregarding the scene again.
“Who are you? What’s going on here?” Angor asked a question instead.
“We’re the one doing the asking. Don’t you play dumb!” Becker seemed to be the testy type. He tossed his meat away and stomped toward Angor quickly. “You wanna get punched, yeah?”
Angor quickly stepped back. At the same time, Toby descended from the sky and hovered in front of the fatty.
Becker waved a hand to chase the bird away, but he immediately felt pain coming from the back of his hand.
Becker only saw something flashed past his eyes. Then a bloody gash appeared on his hand.
“A Summoner’s apprentice?” The leading man muttered to himself.
“Should be. A familiar good at speed, but with weak attacking abilities,” Teuton added.
Receiving an injury so soon, Becker quickly became furious. Magic ripples emerged from his body.
“Hey, Becker, I suggest that you stay down. I’m warning you.” A clear yet cold female voice was heard.
Becker turned around and looked at a black-robed woman floating a hundred meters away from them. Then the fatty showed a mildly terrified expression as he asked, “Nanagi… Don’t tell me you want to help this little bastard?”
Nanagi?
Angor looked at the speaking woman as well. She was all covered up, but from her voice, she must be the woman Angor met in the resource distribution hall.
“I don’t know him at all. Why would I help him?” Nanagi sneered.
“Then why the f*ck did you stop me?” Becker asked while he squinted.
“I told you what I should. It’s your own problem whether you listen to me.”
With that, Nanagi leaped away and landed on a faraway cloud. She did not look back again.
“Humph! I don’t believe it. If she wanted to stop me, I’ll go for it instead!” Becker sneered and began channeling his mana again.
His leader suddenly called out, “Get back here, Becker.”
The fatty revealed a frustrated look upon hearing his boss’ order, but he still complied.
“I don’t care who you are. Our mission is to stop any suspicious wanderer who wants to intrude Phantom Island. If you want to get past us, prove your identity,” said the leader. He somehow removed his sloppy attitude and spoke to Angor in a serious manner.
Angor revealed his bone card. When the trio’s boss checked the card, he stepped aside without saying anything further.
When Angor was far away, Becker spoke in discontent, “Why did you let that bastard go, boss? His pet cut my hand! At least let me kick his sorry butt.”
His leader shook head and explained in a low voice, “Nanagi wasn’t the only one who looked our way. The Phantom Servants on the island did too. The one with blood magic on his mask even began to gather his talent energy. If you have made a move to the kid, the Phantom Servant would unleash that energy on you in the next second.”
Becker was startled by those words. He glanced at the Phantom Servants on the island and did not see anyone paying attention to them.
“For real, boss?!”
“Yes.”
Also, Nanagi, who was considered a reserve wizard in the organization, spoke up for Angor as well.
Suddenly, a commotion rose among the onlooking apprentices.
The robed man, Teuton, pointed to the distance in surprise. “Look, boss! He entered the Phantom Island!”
Their boss quickly turned around. As per what Teuton said, the kid walked into the woods on Phantom Island without getting attacked by the magic arrays.
The apprentices only stayed outside the island because they feared the powerful magic arrays. Only formal wizards and Phantom Servants were allowed to go in. Now, a kid just broke this rule!
“Just who is he?” The leader of the trio was not the only one who wanted to know the answer now.