"My body is pretty much familiar now — I just wonder what kind of innate warlock arts I've obtained?"
After a long run and a few casual standard swordsmanship movements, Leilin had gained a reasonable understanding of his enhanced body, and couldn't help but turn his thoughts to other matters.
Based on the information from the Eye of Komoin, this advanced Meditation Method, and the Book of the Giant Serpent, Leilin had developed a much deeper understanding of wizards' innate warlock arts.
For ordinary wizards, most would choose a first-level defensive warlock art model, paired with the Green Water assault.
Wizards who advanced this way had the least potential. If they couldn't secure more rare resources later and find a second-level warlock art model suited to themselves, they would have absolutely no hope of further advancement.
However, the leaders of some major powers or the core members of top wizard families could cultivate advanced Meditation Methods.
Each successful layer advancement would directly drive the wizard's rank upward. Moreover, the innate warlock art model constructed at each layer of a Meditation Method was fixed.
In other words, for wizards who cultivated advanced Meditation Methods, one could guess their crystallized innate warlock arts simply by knowing which Meditation Method they practiced.
Warlocks were a bit different — it was somewhat a matter of fate.
The formation of innate warlock arts depended firstly on luck, and secondly on the purity and density of one's bloodline.
Leilin considered his luck to be mediocre, but the bloodline he'd used was the purified essence blood of an ancient creature — the Komoin Giant Serpent! It was a perfect match for this advanced Meditation Method, so it shouldn't turn out too badly.
After sinking a wisp of spiritual power into the crystal within his sea of consciousness, as if by instinct, Leilin knew the contents of his innate warlock arts.
Eye of Petrification... and... Scales of Komoin!!!!
Two innate warlock arts!!!! Yes, two innate warlock arts!!!!!!
"Haha..." Leilin could no longer contain himself and let out a hearty laugh.
For warlocks, during the formation of innate warlock arts, there was another possibility — when the bloodline was extremely dense, reaching almost the level of the bloodline's origin!!! In such cases, an additional innate warlock art would appear.
Of course, the two innate warlock arts Leilin had obtained were both first-level. This didn't mean he had directly advanced to Second-level
A true Second-level Wizard had two crystallized innate warlock arts — one first-level and one second-level! But right now, both of Leilin's arts were only at first-level power.
Only after advancing to Second-level Warlock would a second-level innate warlock art manifest within him!!!
And the power of a Second-level Warlock Art naturally far surpassed that of a First-level one!
Even so, with an extra innate warlock art, Leilin could practically laugh at his peers among the First-level Wizards.
This was equivalent to being a mage, but having twice as many spell slots as other mages. Naturally, it was a tremendous advantage.
Soon, Leilin had obtained the specific details of his two innate warlock arts by consulting the Eye of the Komoe and the Book of the Giant Serpent.
"Petrification Gaze: Emits a petrifying light from the eyes, equivalent in power to the Petrification Warlock Art. Those hit are directly petrified; those with higher Physique will experience a brief stiffness effect! Consumption: 1 point of Spiritual Power, 1 point of Mana!"
"Scale of the Komoe: Forms a layer of scales on the body surface for defense. Instant cast effect. Physical Defense: 25 degrees! Spell Resistance: 27 degrees! Consumption: 1 point of Spiritual Power and 1 point of Mana every 5 hours!"
These consumption figures at the end were calculated by the Chip, and Leilin stared at them, his eyes going slightly blank.
According to the Chip's estimates, these two innate warlock arts were considered extremely outstanding even among all First-level Warlock Arts.
If cast using a spell template, each would require at least ten points of Spiritual Power and Mana.
But now, the consumption had suddenly been reduced tenfold—this was the benefit of innate warlock arts!
Leilin even sensed that, at the cost of consuming 2 points of Spiritual Power and Mana per day, he could directly fix the Scale of the Komoe permanently onto his body.
At this moment, he roughly understood what the defensive field the Chip had previously scanned, which constantly surrounded a Wizard, was all about.
It was their permanently fixed, innate defensive warlock art on their body surface. Any attack that couldn't break through their innate warlock art defense would never be able to cause them harm.
"With these two innate warlock arts, one offensive and one defensive, with them, my current strength, even among formal Wizards, can be considered excellent!"
Leilin calmly estimated his own strength.
Because he had chosen the path of a Warlock for his advancement, and possessed a good Meditation Method and bloodline, the gains from his advancement far exceeded those of an ordinary Wizard.
Those newly advanced First-level Wizards were completely no match for Leilin. Only those old First-level Wizards who had lingered in that realm for a long time, with Spiritual Power and Mana at their limits, and who had recorded a large number of First-level Warlock Art templates, were Leilin's true great rivals.
As for Second-level Wizards? The current Leilin was far from their match; he didn't even have much confidence in fleeing.
The gap between each level of Wizardry was vast, something that couldn't be solved simply by having a slightly better advancement path and bloodline.
Regarding the current situation, Leilin was quite satisfied.
After all, he had only just recently advanced, and the road ahead of him was incredibly wide.
In a pleasant mood, Leilin took off the black robe he had hastily thrown on earlier and changed into fresh clothes. He began sorting through the things he had brought with him.
After putting on a well-fitted black robe with decorative trim, Leilin hung the Falling Star Pendant back around his neck.
"This pendant's defense is a bit lacking! The power of First-rank spells is mostly above twenty degrees. A casual strike from an official Wizard could shatter the Falling Star Pendant's defense!"
"Chip! Set up a task: find feasible methods to enhance the Falling Star Pendant's defense!"
*Ding!* "Task established. Beginning analysis and experimentation..." The Chip recorded this subject and set up a separate progress bar for Leilin to monitor.
After advancing to First-rank Warlock, the Chip, which was linked to Leilin's soul, seemed to have benefited greatly as well—its computing power had noticeably increased once again.
Once he was dressed, Leilin went to a small stream to check his reflection.
On the surface of the clear water, a handsome young man with black hair gazed back, emanating a strange, compelling charm.
"Why has my hair turned completely black?" Leilin stared at his reflection and suddenly remembered the black-haired snake-woman from his dream.
"Could it be... that the dream wasn't just an illusion?"
Leilin had a vague suspicion that this was an external change brought about by the bloodline transformation.
Moreover, Leilin noticed that his facial structure had shifted slightly as well.
The original Leilin had been rather plain-looking—nothing more than a vaguely youthful teenager at best. But now, his eyes were bright and clear, his eyebrows had become finer, and his entire face had grown more handsome. Combined with the aura of a Warlock, he exuded a peculiar, captivating charm.
"In the legends, Warlocks not only possessed powerful spells and physical bodies, but every single one of them was stunningly beautiful or handsome. So it was the influence of the bloodline all along!"
Leilin glanced at himself for a moment, then shrugged it off and continued organizing his belongings.
He was a Warlock, not someone who made a living off his looks. Being ugly or handsome made virtually no difference.
……
Sapphire Lake, located in the eastern part of the Marsh Duchy, was an extraordinarily beautiful body of water.
When the winter sun broke through the clouds and one looked down from high above, the deep blue surface of the lake glistened like a sapphire—crystal clear and luminous.
Not only that, but the Sapphire Lake also produced a special kind of blue ice fish. The taste was exceptionally delicious, and long-term consumption had a mild stimulating effect on an apprentice's meditation.
For this reason, this area had always been controlled by a Wizard family.
The Trail family was the name of the Wizard family situated near the Sapphire Lake, and Biji came from this very family.
On this particular afternoon, the Trail family's ancient castle welcomed a visitor.
"So this is the Trail castle?"
The Trail castle stood atop a cliff near the Sapphire Lake, wreathed year-round by a veil of highly toxic mist. Very few people ever managed to make it here.
Leylin studied the enormous castle. Massive blocks of yellow granite, worn smooth by the passage of time and heavy with history, stood silently in place—yet they carried an air of decay and chill.
Before the castle gates stood two imposing lion statues breathing flames.
"According to legend, the Trail family once enjoyed a period of glory. You can tell from the scale of this castle. What a pity…"
Leylin ran his hand over the lifeless statues and let out a sigh.
Any Wizard family of even moderate standing would set up a grand defensive magic formation at their stronghold. At the very least, the entrance should have been guarded by genuine magical constructs.
But now, Leylin saw only two stone statues, and there was no trace of energy radiation from within the castle.
With his current strength as a First-rank Warlock, he could easily destroy the entire fortress by force.
It seemed that the Trail family, just as the rumors said, no longer had a formal Wizard presiding over it.
Leylin had lingered in front of the castle gates for too long, and it had clearly alerted the people inside.
Rumble!!! The deep groaning of massive stone axles turning echoed through the air as the great doors slowly swung open on both sides.
"Excuse me… who are you looking for?"
A girl's voice, light and sweet as a bird's chirping, drifted out. A small head with green hair—belonging to a girl of perhaps eight or nine—peeked through the gap in the doors.
"My name is Leylin. I've come to see your family's patriarch!"
Leylin smiled and patted the little girl's head.
"My Lord!!! I'm so sorry, My Lord, this is my daughter—I wasn't watching her properly for a moment..."
At that point, a middle-aged man finally emerged from behind the gate, staring at Leylin with a panicked expression. His fluctuations were roughly at the level of a Second-rank Apprentice.
"Guliji! Quick, bow!" The middle-aged man pulled the little girl behind him and had her bow to Leylin.
In the middle-aged man's perception, though Leylin looked very young, he radiated terrifying fluctuations far exceeding his own.
"At the very least, a Third-rank Apprentice!"
Such a young Third-rank was far beyond the reach of an apprentice like him who had no hope of ever advancing.
Moreover, the Treyer family had been in decline for a very long time and had no standing to speak of.