"Chip! Pull up my current data!" Leilin said silently in his mind.
"Ding! Leilin Farell, Third-rank Apprentice, Formal Knight. Strength: 3.1, Agility: 3.3, Constitution: 3.5, Spiritual Power: 10.1, Mana: 10 (Mana is determined by the synchronization of Spiritual Power). Status: Healthy."
The Chip projected the data before Leilin's eyes, invisible to anyone but him.
Leilin narrowed his eyes, his mind sinking into intense thought.
"Hmm! Constitution increased by 0.3, likely a secondary effect of the Activity Potion. Also, not only has my Spiritual Power reached 10.1, but I can also feel it has gained a vibrant quality I didn't possess before. My sensitivity to energy particles in the air has significantly improved, and casting various Zero-level Spells has become much simpler and easier!"
"The realm of a Third-rank Apprentice is indeed incomparable to a Second-rank. However, the process of advancement was far too perilous!"
Leilin's expression held a lingering fear. Whether it was consciousness sinking into a dark space or the subsequent backlash of the Activity Potion, these were all unexpected changes he hadn't foreseen.
For Leilin, the information and data he had collected were still too scarce. While the Chip's computational power was formidable, without a solid foundation, it was already impressive that it could deduce a correct method for advancement.
As for the other problems that arose during the process, given the differences in individual constitution and the shortage of data, even the Chip hadn't been able to predict them.
"After all, many things in the library of the Black Bone Forest, which is open to apprentices, are restricted. There's even high-level information that is completely off-limits to apprentices!"
"Moreover, even if the Chip's computing power rivals dozens of light-brains, the Wizard World has at least tens of thousands of years of history. The experience accumulated from countless apprentices' experiments is far beyond what the Chip's model could hypothesize!"
"This advancement was really quite fortunate. Luck played a major role!"
Leilin's expression turned grave. "This can't continue. This was only the advancement to Third-rank Apprentice. If something like this happens when I advance to a Formal Wizard in the future, I won't be so lucky!"
The difficulty of advancing to Formal Wizard was far greater than becoming a Third-rank Apprentice. One could say that even combining all the hardships Leilin faced from being an ordinary person to a Third-rank Apprentice might not equal the challenge of becoming a Formal Wizard.
And if errors or omissions occurred at that time, no number of lives Leilin possessed would be enough.
"After I get back, I must find out all the detailed information regarding the advancement to Formal Wizard. I can no longer advance blindly like this!"
Leilin set a task for his future.
"Next is to wait until my body fully adapts to the surged Spiritual Power, then master several Zero-level Spells that only Third-rank Apprentices can learn. After that, I can go explore that laboratory!"
Leilin opened his eyes, dismissed Anna and the other two maids, and after setting up a ring of energy particle alarms, he dragged his exhausted body to the bed on the other side, sinking into a deep sleep.
……
In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had passed.
At night, brilliant moonlight spilled across the ground, and a bright full moon hung high in the sky.
Near the Withered Forest, by the same black boulder as last time, Leilin chanted the incantation, repeating the process he had followed before.
Looking at the same pitch-black cave entrance, Leilin smiled faintly and walked inside.
Through his previous exploration and observation, he had already roughly figured out the operating patterns of the witchcraft formation, and had memorized all the dangers within, along with countermeasures for each.
Furthermore, now that he had advanced to Third-level Apprentice, he felt even more confident about breaking through the defensive mechanisms left behind by that unknown Wizard.
The dark passage was quite short, its surface extremely smooth, reflecting Leilin's black-robed figure and casting several distorted shadows onto the wall behind him.
Beyond the passage lay the villa Leilin had seen before. Devil Vine and Bone-Eating Flowers blanketed its surface, and the ground was paved with gray stone bricks, dusty and worn, hiding Gnawing Stone Slabs beneath.
The villa's main door had a round hole torn through it. Beside it lay a skeleton, and next to that rested a black notebook with a faint sheen — this was the notebook that had stirred Leilin's heart, the one containing notes on Gnome alchemy.
In Leilin's eyes, the villa's surface was covered in dangerous witchcraft auras, and beneath that brilliant glow, who knew how many traps lay hidden.
Hee hee!! Haha!!
The moment Leilin's right foot stepped onto the stone slab, the sound of children's laughter rang out. The gray stone tiles on the ground twisted violently, splitting open into a gaping maw filled with sharp fangs that lunged viciously at Leilin!
"First line of defense — Gnawing Stone Slabs!" Leilin said with a smile, hurling a dark, lumpy ball directly into the gaping mouth.
Crunch!! The massive mouth swallowed the dark ball in one gulp.
Pffft!!! The gray mouth chomped down several times before spitting out all the black residue. A red tongue kept extending outward, dripping yellowish-green saliva.
The whole sight looked remarkably like a normal person retching after eating something disgusting.
"An emetic powder made from Stink Flowers, Dung Beetles, and Rotten Root Grass — truly the bane of Gnawing Stone Slabs!" Leilin watched as the gray stone slab vomited for a while longer, then grew two tiny legs and scurried away, and he couldn't help but laugh.
"To that unknown formal Wizard, this was probably just a temporary laboratory. The witchcraft formation was focused more on concealment rather than defense — there should only be three layers of protection! And combining Gnawing Stone Slabs with Devil Vine is a defensive technique of the Merck school!"