"It must be because the Limit Breaking Point isn't enough," Colin concluded after careful thought.
On the Golden Paper, the ↑ right after the limit of the Ignition Technique appeared more solid and was surrounded by a faint blue glow.
In contrast, the ↑ of the Meditation Method looked somewhat ethereal and also lacked the blue outline of light.
Colin reached into the inside of his clothing and pulled out a gray cloth purse, fetching the last Magic Stone he had left and holding it in his hand.
But soon, he released his grip, hesitant in his mind,
"What if I absorb the last Magic Stone and it's still not enough for the Limit Breaking Point?"
He rose anxiously and stepped out of the Meditation Room to a window that faced the sea.
The sun was setting, the world was dim, with only a few yellow glimmers left, signaling the coming of night.
Leaning against the window, he pondered for a long time before finally putting the Magic Stone back into the cloth purse and then walked over to the wooden cabinet beside the bed.
If using this Magic Stone wasn't enough, earning new ones afterward would be difficult.
He dared not gamble and prepared to take a more secure path, keeping the Magic Stone as capital for now.
The cabinet wasn't very big, and it took Colin a little while to sort through the contents.
In the end, aside from some worn and miscellaneous items, the only things of value were—
a "Sunlight Breathing Technique," a "General Basic Witchcraft for Apprentices," and an "Introduction to Basic Level Magic Crystal Making."
The "Sunlight Breathing Technique" was bought by the previous owner years ago from an old apprentice at the market, who claimed it could enhance 'that' ability.
Of course, the reason for the purchase wasn't to enhance 'that' capability.
He primarily bought it because during that period, practicing the Knight Breathing Method was very popular among the apprentices.
And since the book was cheap, he decided to get it.
Regrettably, after trying for a long while, the original owner hadn't even reached the beginner level and just threw it into the cabinet to gather dust.
"General Basic Witchcraft for Apprentices" was bought even earlier at a bookstore run by the School.
After learning a few witchcraft techniques for daily life, the original owner also set it aside.
The owner had poor talent, which was evident in all aspects, including learning the basic knowledge of wizards.
Wizard's cultivation isn't something that can be achieved overnight; it requires learning a vast amount of basic knowledge.
Previously, apart from meditation, the owner's days were spent pondering the newly learned knowledge, leaving no time for learning more witchcraft.
It was only in the past two years, having mostly mastered the basic knowledge, that he had some spare time, but that too was invested in trying to advance his realm.
After all, if one cannot advance to Intermediate Apprentice within ten years, they would be expelled from the School.
Moreover, with accommodation, food, and safety hardly a concern within the School, the owner had naturally chosen to focus entirely on advancing in realm.
As for the last book, "Introduction to Basic Level Magic Crystal Making," that was precisely the safer route Colin was looking for!
The previous owner had only bought the book recently, intending it to be a skill to make a living with after being kicked out of the School, but he later stumbled upon a bizarre ritual that could supposedly help him advance.
So, he discarded the book.
After all, who would prefer to venture outside to a gathering place if they could stay within the School?
Unfortunately... the ritual had failed, and it cost him his life.
Colin picked up the introductory book on making, opened it in his hands, and flipped through it.
His plan was simple; he wanted to see if he could learn to make Magic Crystals in a short time using the Golden Paper.
If he could, he would use the remaining Magic Stone to buy raw crystal materials and then make and sell Magic Crystals for more Magic Stones.
If not, he would look for other alternatives.
The pale yellow cover of "Introduction to Basic Level Magic Crystal Making" was slowly opened—
"Crystals, found near Magic Stone Veins, are naturally perfect carriers of Magic Power... thus Magic Crystals came into existence."
This was the opening quote, mainly giving a brief introduction to the origin of Magic Crystals.
Starting from the second page, it's all substantial content; the first third is about selecting crystals, followed by more than ten different types of specific Magic Crystal making methods.
The moon rose, and the shimmering sea displayed a silver-white path of light.
Under the lamp, Colin read through the whole book word by word and then slowly closed it.
Perhaps thanks to the Golden Paper, or perhaps because his talent exceeded that of the original owner, after reading the entire making manual, he encountered no points too obscure to understand.
With a glint in his eye, he decided to strike while the iron was hot and start practicing Magic Crystal making right away.
Luckily, because of the ritual, the original owner had left behind more than twenty crystals, which would serve as raw materials.
Colin stood up with the book, took the crystals from the desk, and entered the Meditation Room to sit cross-legged.
After carefully flipping through the book and pondering for a while, he decided to learn to make Bright Crystals.
Bright Crystals are mainly used for illumination, especially indoors, being much brighter than oil lamps, odorless, and without the risk of causing fire, and they also last quite a while.
Even the worst Mixed Crystals used for making Bright Crystals could usually be charged at least thirty times, with each charge providing about three hours of lighting.
Therefore, there was significant demand for Bright Crystals in the market.
Furthermore, among the few witchcraft techniques the original owner learned, one was the Light Brightness Skill.
Although the Light Brightness Skill is very different from making Bright Crystals, they share a common essence, and choosing it might save some time.
Without needing to meditate and adjust his state or light calming incense, Colin grasped a crystal and began crafting.
According to the book, one must first mold Magic Power into a specific shape and slowly infuse it into the crystal at a special frequency.
Time quietly slipped by; he either erred in shaping the Magic Power or in changing the frequency.
However, with the Golden Paper, he felt improvement after each failure.
Finally, after roughly an hour, he managed to successfully inject Magic Power into the crystal.
After completing this step, the next was to etch a Magic Model into the crystal with Magic Power and establish a witchcraft circuit.
Colin held his breath and carefully constructed the Magic Model with Magic Power.
This step was unlike the first; a mistake here would cause the crystal to shatter and be ruined.