"Heh heh… For an old man's work to receive praise from Wizard Leilin is truly an honor beyond words!"
At that moment, the great door at the base of the White Tower swung open, revealing an old man dressed in linen robes. He beamed at Leilin, having clearly heard the admiration he had deliberately voiced moments before.
"I am Siegfried August! Greetings, Wizard Leilin!"
The old man's expression turned solemn, and he bowed deeply, performing the formal salute exchanged between Wizards.
This manner of greeting clearly dated back to ancient times—Leilin had only ever seen it in old texts—but that didn't stop him from mimicking it: "Leilin! Greetings, Wizard Siegfried!"
Only after both had completed the salute did Leilin get a proper look at this Wizard Siegfried.
The linen robes the man wore were extremely loose and casual, practically falling apart at a single tug. Compared to the nobles outside dressed in their finery, the effect was one of relaxed comfort and ease.
The current Siegfried gave Leilin absolutely no impression of being a hidden trump card of a major family—if not for his right hand, he might have been indistinguishable from an ordinary countryside farmer.
Yes—his right hand! Siegfried's right arm was unmistakably a mechanical limb radiating a metallic sheen, with gears and welding joints clearly exposed for all to see.
"Clank! Clank!"
Siegfried flexed his right arm: "I'll just call you Leilin! I lost my right hand permanently in a magical experiment. I could have gone for a transplant, but I find a mechanical arm far more practical!"
Thump! Suddenly, the palm of Siegfried's right hand split open, transforming into multiple articulated mechanical fingers, each tipped with silver tweezers, scissors, and other tools, dancing through the air and trailing silver streamers.
"Well? This was custom-built for me by my old friend, the goblin master Ouke!"
"Very impressive!" Leilin nodded. Instruments of this level of precision were quite rare even on the South Coast, and Leilin was generous with his praise.
Clearly, the admiration of a fellow-rank Wizard pleased Wizard Siegfried greatly.
Next, he invited Leilin into his laboratory for a thorough tour.
"Siegfried, have you set up an Elemental Particle Pool in here?"
Thanks to Leilin's elegant manner of speaking and his aura of broad learning, the two had soon become fast friends, calling each other by name directly—a sign that their relationship had deepened another level.
Leilin was casually touring Siegfried's laboratory as he spoke. He was standing before a small basin that resembled a shallow pond, and he asked his question.
The small pond was ringed by sturdy black metal, its surface covered in elaborate patterns. At its center lay a pool of earthy yellow liquid.
A tremendous wave of energy pulsed outward from the pond ceaselessly.
"Yes! I built an Earth Elemental Particle Pool here! It consumed virtually every resource I had accumulated over nearly a hundred years!" Siegfried's face flickered with a pained expression, which quickly gave way to pride.
"And after constructing the Particle Pool, the concentration of Earth Elemental particles in this area increased by fifty-five percent! Combined with my Meditation Method practice, the results have been even more remarkable!"
The utility of an Elemental Particle Pool went far beyond that. At critical moments, a Wizard could even draw directly from the Pool's energy to replenish himself—or to attack his enemies!
For this reason, any Wizard who possessed an Elemental Particle Pool saw their strength increase by a full tier within their own domain.
Given Siegfried's power as a half-elementalized Wizard, he could effectively wield the strength of a sixty-to-seventy percent elementalized Wizard while inside the White Tower.
"Oh! That's right—I haven't introduced myself properly! I am an honorary professor of the Earthfire Society school, and what I cultivate is their internal high-grade Meditation Method—Power of the Earth! It consists of three tiers: Earth, Magma, and All Things! I'm still stuck at the Earth tier. Progressing in a high-grade Meditation Method is simply too difficult…"
After saying this, Siegfried gazed at Leilin with undisguised longing, clearly very curious about this formal Wizard's background.
"It seems that exchanging experiences with high-grade Meditation Methods is also a tradition among the formal Wizards of the Dark Polar Region…" Leilin's thoughts raced. Then he smiled somewhat sheepishly: "I come from a very small school—Gudara. The school specializes in studying the habits of ancient serpent creatures—quite niche! The Meditation Method I practice is also an incomplete high-grade one—Holy Light Candleflame. I'm currently stalled at the first tier as well…"
He then gave a brief introduction to the contents and difficulties of the first tier of Holy Light Candleflame. Naturally, the extraordinary ability to foresee the future was kept carefully hidden.
"Hah… Leilin! Your Meditation Method is quite incomplete!" Siegfried stroked his beard, his gaze sharp as he looked at Leilin. "Why not join our Earthfire Society? Our high-grade Meditation Method is far more complete than your Holy Light Candleflame, and we could share our experiences together…"