“How rare, there’s actually a water source here…”
Luo Nan soaked his feet, a contented sigh escaping his lips.
“I’ll make a note of this location; I can pass by here every time I go for a run in the future.”
He usually fetched water from the lake, filling two large water tanks at once, which would last him three to five days.
“Rustle!”
A sudden rustling sound came from beside him.
Luo Nan quickly turned his head and saw a patch of lightly swaying bushes.
Perhaps it was a small animal startled and running away.
Luo Nan didn’t pay it much mind.
But then he thought about it and felt a bit uneasy. He dried his feet, put on his shoes, and slowly walked towards the swaying bushes.
Pushing aside a few low shrubs full of red berries, he walked for more than ten meters, and a dark green little treehouse appeared in Luo Nan’s vision.
“Someone lives here?!”
Luo Nan was startled and quickly stopped, then slowly retreated the way he came.
Running into other wizards in the Treehouse Area was a common occurrence. Luo Nan had seen signs of habitation on the road before and had always steered clear. He hadn't expected someone to be living in such a remote place.
“I can’t come here next time… I need to modify my route a bit.”
Luo Nan made his decision and left in a hurry.
After working up a sweat, he returned to his dwelling and rested for a bit. It was still not yet nine in the morning.
Luo Nan’s studies continued.
“Meditation is the only way for me to improve my strength at this stage. The book says that meditating after exhausting all Mind Power greatly increases its effectiveness.”
Luo Nan sat under his oak tree, munching on wild fruits picked from the forest while studying the meditation book in his hand.
The meditation book mentioned that a person’s soul is like a container, and Mind Power is the water contained within this vessel.
By first draining the water from the container and then refilling it, the container’s capacity would experience a significant increase.
The key was…
How to quickly deplete Mind Power.
“All wizarding activities require the use of Mind Power.
More common ones include alchemy, enchanting, forging, Rune Inscription…
The most draining, naturally, is spellcasting.”
Luo Nan put down the meditation book in his hand and picked up another wizarding book with a black leather cover— “Compendium of Zero-Order Spells.”
This book was also obtained by his predecessor from Hordam Academy.
Although it was called a compendium, it only recorded the casting methods of five zero-order spells.
They were— Fireball, Ice Ball Spell, Energy Missile, Charged Weapon, and Detection Art.
Luo Nan looked at the descriptions of the five zero-order spells, feeling a bit more energetic.
His biggest problem now was his weak combat ability; no, to be precise, he had no combat ability whatsoever.
Learning a combat spell was urgently needed at this stage.
Luo Nan carefully read through the descriptions of the five spells. After weighing them, he finally chose Energy Missile as his primary learning objective for now.
He had a neutral affinity constitution, so Fireball and Ice Ball Spell, which clearly had energy attribute tendencies, were naturally not his first choice.
Charged Weapon required a weapon to cast, and Detection Art was a supportive spell, so Energy Missile, a ranged spell with no attribute requirements, became the most suitable choice for him.
The principle of casting Energy Missile was very simple: it involved using incantations and gestures to create a magical resonance between Mind Power and the free-floating energy particles in nature.
But in practice, it was not easy.
“Ulu… Babaji.”
A not-so-long spell incantation was recited haltingly by Luo Nan. Each syllable of the incantation needed to be coordinated with corresponding hand gestures. Luo Nan always either focused on chanting and neglected the hand gestures, or performed the gestures correctly but forgot the chant.
After several hours of practice, Luo Nan was drenched in sweat, his mouth dry, yet he still hadn’t successfully cast a single Energy Missile.
“Damn it, this is too difficult!”
Luo Nan stared at the thick spell book, greatly doubting whether he had practiced something wrong or if he hadn’t grasped the true knack.
In such situations, having someone guide you is usually the best option.
Hordam Academy provided such services.
As long as you enrolled in the Energy Missile spell class, experienced old wizards would naturally explain the casting techniques of this spell thoroughly, breaking it down into tiny pieces, saving you a lot of detours.
But Luo Nan didn’t have the money.
Ten low-grade magic stones would literally be the death of him.
“Looks like I’ll have to practice by myself, sigh…”
Luo Nan sighed deeply and continued to bury himself in arduous practice.
He didn't even bother with lunch, meditating for a while when he got tired of practicing.
He kept practicing until the sun began to set, around four in the afternoon.
“Ulu Babazhildamu!”
A series of strange and awkward syllables accurately emerged from Luo Nan’s mouth, and his ten plump fingers swiftly changed into various gestures, perfectly matching the rhythm of the syllables.
The moment the incantation and gestures were all successfully completed, Luo Nan felt a “buzz” vibrate in his ears.
Immediately after, a large portion of the lively, transparent Mind Power in his mind was instantly drained.
The next second, the air in front of him distorted, and a colorful ball of light the size of a ping-pong ball appeared out of thin air. With a slight thought, it shot out with a “whoosh.”
It landed on a hapless oak tree in front, exploding with a “bang” into a large shower of wood chips and splinters on the trunk.
“It… it worked?!”
With the sudden success, Luo Nan was momentarily taken aback.
A few seconds later, immense joy and a sense of accomplishment enveloped him like a tide.
“It worked!”
Luo Nan excitedly rushed over to see the impact point of the Energy Missile.
A deep, sheet-like indentation remained on the oak tree, which was as thick as a man.
“The power is even greater than a shotgun!”
Luo Nan looked at it again and again, marveling. When he withdrew his gaze, a complex mix of emotions arose in his heart.
Wizard!
At this moment, he could finally be considered a true wizard.
Wielding extraordinary power beyond the reach of mortals.
Something called 'confidence' gradually began to take root in his heart.
“Hoo—”
Exhaling a mouthful of stale air, Luo Nan’s heart unexpectedly became very calm.
He chose not to revel in the joy of success and continued to practice.
With Luo Nan’s current Mind Power as a Level One Wizard Apprentice, he could cast Energy Missile approximately twice before exhausting it.
And the time required to cast Energy Missile twice was only a little over two minutes.
The goal of rapidly depleting Mind Power was also successfully achieved; everything seemed to be slowly falling into place.
He casually ate dinner, and as fireflies rose in the forest, Luo Nan continued to practice spells.
For some reason, ever since he successfully cast Energy Missile for the first time, subsequent practice became exceptionally smooth.
Luo Nan’s chanting speed became faster and faster, and his accompanying gestures became increasingly fluid.
He hardly ever failed to cast a spell, with only one instance where, due to mental fatigue, his Mind Power fluctuated severely, causing the spell to remain incomplete.
Late at night, Luo Nan dragged his weary body into the treehouse. As soon as he entered, he lay directly on the small bed and opened his character panel.
Name: Ronan Damien
Age: 16
Talent: Neutral Affinity
Strength: Level One Wizard Apprentice (88%)
Skills: Basic Meditation Technique (Beginner 11/100)
Energy Missile (Beginner 14/100)