"A Wizard Tower!?"
When Lynn read the words etched in black, he froze in shock.
He looked up at Ide, almost unable to believe it.
Ide understood his doubt and nodded.
"At first, I was just as startled. But after a glance, it does look like part of a construction manual for a Wizard Tower.
"My knowledge is shallow, so I can't say for certain. You should confirm it yourself… I've no idea how Fa... well, that man came into possession of something like this."
Lynn said nothing, but steadied his mind, opened the brown box, and drew out the knowledge crystal within.
A Wizard Tower, something most wizards wouldn't even consider building until they reached the Second Rank!
Even if this crystal contained only one portion of a single module, its value was immeasurable.
Thus, the morning passed quietly as Lynn absorbed himself in the text.
By noon, he had barely finished reading all of it.
Looking at Ide, he finally confirmed:
"This explanation is genuine. At least in the parts I can follow, I haven't found a single flaw."
Ide's face lit with barely contained excitement. He murmured:
"No wonder Faruga always skimmed off a portion of the materials meant for array maintenance. Now that I think of it, most of it must have been diverted into studying this knowledge."
"This knowledge… It's far too valuable," Lynn admitted.
Ide snapped out of his thoughts, shaking his head with a magnanimous air.
"I know my limits. Left to me, I could study until the day I died and still never understand it. Better to share it with you.
"All I ask is that, once you've learned something, you spare me a few pointers."
"Of course," Lynn replied earnestly.
Hearing this promise, Ide finally relaxed.
Over the past days, he had come to realize just how different Lynn was from Faruga.
Yes, it was true that Lynn's teaching them array knowledge had been mandated by the Society.
But there is a vast difference between fulfilling an obligation grudgingly and doing so with genuine effort.
Lynn never hoarded knowledge, and his instruction was patient and sincere.
Most importantly, this young man displayed immense, unmistakable potential.
That was why Ide so willingly shared the discovery with him. To him, it was an investment of sorts, and besides, the knowledge had fallen into his hands for free. It wasn't as if he was losing anything.
Still, the difficulty was far beyond what Lynn had anticipated.
After days of careful study, he had only managed to roughly grasp that "Moon's Veil, Clouds of Darkness" was a powerful array designed for concealment and defense.
When fully constructed, the module would possess the might of a Second Rank spell.
The portion in his hand contained several components of Zero and First Rank spell units.
But for now, that was as far as he could go.
With his current level of understanding, deciphering such advanced knowledge was still far beyond his reach.
Though slightly discouraged, Lynn only grew more determined. He doubled down on his study of basic array theory.
He knew that only once he had achieved true mastery in fundamentals would he be ready to tackle knowledge of this level.
A week slipped by quietly.
During this time, the Society assigned a new array maintenance apprentice, a woman in her twenties, a Third-Tier Member named Liwanka.
She came from a notable background, rumored to be the granddaughter of a First-Tier Member.
Yet despite her lineage, Liwanka was not arrogant or difficult to get along with.
Her arrival, however, carried with it a subtle signal.
Lynn could feel that his standing within the Society was changing once again.
One sign was the sheer number of invitations he now received.
Even before, when he first became a Second-Tier Member, many of his peers had sought him out.
But now, even First-Tier Members occasionally extended invitations.
Lynn attended selectively, avoiding those that seemed a waste of time.
After his brush with the Bloodmark Society, he had come to understand the vital importance of keeping information channels open.
In truth, this was a habit carried over from his previous life, an age where information flowed constantly.
For someone raised in such an environment, the information bottlenecks of the world of Guern were almost unimaginable.
As for the wizards themselves, it was not as though they loved gatherings.
The real reason such events were frequent was simple: they were the primary means of exchanging information.
...
Whoosh!
Basement of 74 Bluebridge Street.
A burst of orange light suddenly lit up the entire space, waves of scorching heat rising from Lynn's palm.
A fist-sized, fiery-red fireball floated in the air, then shot forward at his will, striking the humanoid iron target before him!
The fireball slammed into the target's chest, melting and piercing straight through it in an instant, then carried on with undiminished force, colliding into the next iron plate stacked behind.
Only after burning through the third plate did the fireball finally dissipate.
"For a beginner, that's quite some power… Lesser Fireball truly deserves its reputation as the must-learn zero-circle spell for a Third-Rank apprentice."
Lynn stepped closer, inspected the still-glowing target, and nodded with satisfaction.
The version of Lesser Fireball provided by the Society was a fairly standard one. It allowed the caster, when releasing it, to make adjustments so that the fireball displayed different properties.
There were two main directions for these adjustments.
One was as Lynn had just done, sacrificing area of effect to boost heat and penetration.
The other was to reduce heat in exchange for greater size, giving the spell a wider blast radius.
It was said that more advanced fireball techniques could include effects like explosions or lingering flames.
But the ordinary, basic version, like the one Lynn had just mastered, only offered the two variations.
This versatility and adaptability were precisely why Fireball had become one of the most revered spells among wizards.
And with this, after mastering Lesser Fireball, Lynn had finally completed his study of all the spells he had redeemed.
Of them, Lesser Tailwind and Small Wind Shield had already reached the proficient stage. Their casting times had dropped to just one and two seconds, and their effects had improved slightly.
With a bit more progress, once he reached mastery, both could become instantaneous.
Withdrawing his gaze, Lynn summoned the glowing interface before him.
Golden motes shimmered into view:
[Name: Lynn Kent]
[Age: 16]
[Realm: Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice (12/100)]
[Techniques: White Crow Swordsmanship – Tier One (Mastered) / Tier Two (12/20)]
[Methods: White Crow Swordsmanship – Tier One (Great Accomplishment) / Tier Two (Partial, Proficient); Hossens Meditation Method – Third-Rank (Beginner)]
[Spells: Lesser Fireball (Beginner); Lesser Tailwind (Proficient); Mind Shock (Beginner); Small Wind Shield (Proficient)]
[Skills: Mind Shock Crystal Plate Preparation (Proficient); Spell Arrays – Fundamentals (Beginner)]
[Source Energy: 0.5 (Self); 0 (World)]
Looking over his current status, Lynn nodded in satisfaction.
Aside from diligently training in spells, he hadn't neglected his cultivation as a wizard either.
His Third-Rank Apprentice progress had reached 12%.
It showed that his innate aptitude wasn't bad at all; in fact, it could be considered excellent.
After all, his meditation technique was still only at the entry stage. Once he brought it to proficiency or even mastery, his cultivation speed would no doubt rise even further.
Closing the interface, Lynn left the sweltering basement and went upstairs.
It was then that Carter suddenly approached, reporting:
"Master, a Second-Rank apprentice of the Hossens School has come to visit.
"Her name is Elena Rose."
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