Hot winds swept across the surface of the earth, and in the blink of an eye several months had passed, bringing summer.
Inside the small manor, Leilin held a tall glass goblet filled with grape juice mixed with ice cubes — cool and refreshing.
He had changed into light, breathable noble leisurewear, and his whole person looked rather languid.
"Chip! Pull up my current physical data!"
"Ding! Leilin Farell, Second-rank Apprentice, Official Knight. Strength: 3.1 Agility: 3.3 Constitution: 3.2 Spirit: 7.1 Mana: 7 (Mana is synchronously determined by Spiritual Power). Status: Healthy."
"Finally reached the Spiritual Power bottleneck of 7!" Leilin looked at the data and let out a sigh.
Ever since returning from the last expedition, Leilin had been continuously brewing potions, attempting to break through his Spiritual Power bottleneck.
But the success rate of the new
"Young Master! Fuleisa is back!"
On the other side,
She was now Leilin's head maidservant and also managed the treasury, holding a position of considerable authority. Yet in front of Leilin, she remained as gentle and docile as a little cat.
"Let's go! I'll go see him!"
Leilin rose and left the hall, his cowhide boots striking the floor with a clacking sound.
"Young Master!" Two maidservants spotted Leilin and quickly lifted their skirt hems in a curtsy.
"Hmm?" Leilin suddenly stopped in front of one of the maids. She had snow-white thighs and a full bust, and now she stood with her head lowered, not daring to move.
"The new one?" Leilin tilted her chin up. Her skin was smooth and supple, her face still carrying a touch of youthful roundness — she looked very young and cute.
"Y-yes… my name is Triss, I'm the daughter of Lake from the estate!" The maid didn't dare refuse Leilin's scrutiny, answering in a soft voice.
"Work hard." Leilin waved his hand and left.
"I bet that maid is pretty distressed right now." Leilin rubbed his fingers lightly together, a mischievous grin tugging at the corner of his lips.
Since his transmigration, inhabiting a young person's body had gradually made his mindset more youthful as well. It wasn't particularly noticeable in dangerous situations, but in safe moments, mischievous thoughts were hard to suppress.
Schooling his expression, Leilin walked toward the warehouse, once again becoming the stern and brilliant
"Young Master!" Fuleisa dropped to one knee. "I've collected another twenty pounds of Hofu Purple Leaf from Frigid Winter City — it's all been stored in the warehouse!"
"Excellent!" Leilin stepped inside the warehouse, examining the quantity and quality of the Hofu Purple Leaf.
Of the entire Hofu Purple Leaf, only a tiny portion in the center — smaller than a wheat tip — could actually be used as potion ingredients. And the Azure Potion was extremely useful for Third-rank Apprentices. As for Leilin, although this body was gradually building a resistance to the Azure Potion, the more potions he had on hand, the better.
Strange purple leaves filled half the warehouse, the air thick with an eerie fragrance carrying a faint sulfurous tang that stung the nostrils.
Leilin casually picked up one of the purple leaves. "Chip! Detect its activity!"
*Ding! Collecting data!* Almost instantly, a full set of readings on the Hofu Purple Leaf in his hand materialized before his eyes — from its specific activity level and preserved medicinal properties to trace surface residues, all displayed through the Chip.
"Judging from the spot-check results, this batch of Hofu Purple Leaf is decent quality!" Leilin nodded inwardly.
"Young Master!" Fuleisa's lips moved, words catching on the tip of her tongue.
"Just say it." Leilin furrowed his brow.
"The Hofu Purple Leaf around Polar Night City has been nearly bought up by us. What remains isn't great quality. In fact, Gelin and I have already encountered several merchants trying to pass off counterfeits..."
"It makes sense. Hofu Purple Leaf is a specialty plant of East Forest Province, and its growth cycle takes about a year!"
Leilin rubbed his chin, calculating the remaining quantity of Hofu Purple Leaf in the warehouse.
"We can pause for now and resume purchasing when next year's fresh harvest comes in!"
From the declining quality of the last few batches, Leilin had already noticed that the Hofu Purple Leaf was getting steadily worse — some couldn't even serve as potion substitutes at all.
It seemed he had indeed bought up the vast majority of the Hofu Purple Leaf in this region.
"The materials in the warehouse should be more than enough for my needs as a Third-rank Apprentice. As for becoming a full Wizard — that's completely beyond what I can even consider right now!"
Leilin fell into deep thought. His Spiritual Power had already reached 7, and he had long since prepared the Azure Potion. Advancing to Third-rank Apprentice was no longer a problem for him.
But as for how to advance to become a full Wizard after reaching the Third rank, Leilin remained completely clueless. Moreover, among the books he could access in the Academy library, there was absolutely no content on this matter.
It seemed the Academy had classified all information regarding this topic as restricted.
"At both the Academy and the marketplace, I've paid special attention to any materials about full Wizards, but alas, I've found no leads at all..."
This was precisely why Leilin currently couldn't leave Black Bone Forest.
The upper echelons of the Wizard world deliberately kept the knowledge and resources on how to advance to become a full Wizard tightly within their own grasp. Foreign apprentices like him must inevitably meet certain qualifications and requirements before they could even view or study it.
"It can't be helped. Perhaps... that Wizard's laboratory might yield something?"
Leilin recalled the Wizard laboratory hidden near the Withered Forest.
After his previous exploration, he could now be certain that the person who left behind this laboratory was definitely a full Wizard, and that the laboratory had been abandoned for a very long time.
This was certainly good news for him.
As long as he could dismantle all the defensive Wizard Arrays set up within the laboratory, everything inside would become his. He could also add to that the relics left by the unfortunate Wizard at the entrance.
"Third rank! Once I advance to Third-rank Apprentice and have fully absorbed a few Zero-level Spells, I'll set out immediately!"
Leilin made his decision.
...
Inside a secret chamber, the setup was very simple. The room was small, with little furniture, only a single wooden bed in the center.
Leilin sat cross-legged on the bed, a vial of amber-colored potion placed before him, his expression unreadable.
He was preparing to attempt his breakthrough to Third-rank Apprentice.
He had told no one about this matter, simply instructing Anna as usual that he would be conducting an experiment and that he was not to be disturbed under any circumstances.
It wasn't that he distrusted his subordinates, but his attendants currently possessed no real strength. If any unexpected situation arose, they would be utterly useless. It was better to keep it secret.
After all, he would periodically "disappear" for periods of time, and everyone in and around the manor had grown accustomed to it.
Only after he had advanced in silence and then reappeared before everyone would everything naturally be settled.
It wasn't necessarily because he had enemies watching him, but his habitual caution drove him to act this way.
"Third-rank Apprentice is the final step before becoming a formal Wizard. For those with first-rank or second-rank aptitude, Third-rank Apprentice is the pinnacle of their entire cultivation!"
First-rank Apprentices could only crudely manipulate energy particles and were unable to use spells — their combat power was roughly on par with a Knight's. Second-rank Apprentices, on the other hand, could already cast simple Zero-level Spells, far surpassing a formal Knight in combat strength.
As for Third-rank Apprentices, their Spiritual Power had far exceeded that of ordinary people, their understanding of spells was far more profound, and they had mastered certain techniques for segmented casting. They could unleash prepared spells at tremendous speed — even a Great Knight was no match for them.
Moreover, Third-rank Apprentices formed the reserve pool for formal Wizards. The earlier one advanced to Third-rank, the greater the likelihood of eventually becoming a formal Wizard.
For the Wizard Academy and other organizations, the number of formal Wizards was exceedingly small. Third-rank Apprentices were the backbone of these institutions!
Young Third-rank Apprentices within the Academy were held in high regard, receiving allocated resources and nurturing in hopes that seeds of promotion to formal Wizard would emerge from among them.
"Advancing to Third-rank requires mastery of at least two Spell Models, Spiritual Power reaching seven, and the aid of an Activating Potion to fuel the breakthrough!"
Leilin Farell picked up the orange-yellow test tube before him.
"I've had the Activating Potion and Spell Models for some time now. With the help of the Azure Potion, it only took a few months to meet the Spiritual Power requirement. This speed already far surpasses even Jiamen, who has fifth-rank aptitude!"
Even a genius Apprentice with fifth-rank aptitude would spend at least three years stuck at the critical barrier between Second-rank and Third-rank.
But with the aid of the potion, Leilin's current progress had already completely surpassed Jiamen and the others, reaching the standard for advancing to Third-rank Apprentice.
"As long as Spiritual Power is sufficient, even if the advancement fails, it can be attempted again. However, it will inevitably cause damage to the Wizard's body — succeeding on the first try would be best!"
Leilin mentally reviewed all the information about advancing to Third-rank one more time. Only after confirming nothing had been overlooked did he pull the stopper from the orange-yellow test tube.
"The Activating Potion is not meant to be drunk!"
Leilin stripped off his clothes and evenly spread the orange-yellow potion across his face, limbs, and chest.
The orange-yellow potion was slightly cool to the touch, but once applied to his skin, it gradually radiated a wave of warmth. Instantly, the surface of his skin trembled and flushed a deep red.
"The Activating Potion has begun to evaporate and take effect. Monitoring the medicinal properties!" Chip's synthesized voice rang out.
As the potion began to work, Leilin could clearly feel the substance on the surface of his body coming alive, as though it were trying to burrow through his pores and "drill" its way into the depths of his body.