Berkeley spent more than an hour talking about the principles, models, and demonstrations thoroughly.
Colin felt he had taken a big step closer to successfully casting the Arrow Shooting Skill.
"Thank you for your lecture, Instructor Banette—I have gained a lot." He thanked earnestly.
Berkeley did not say anything, just smiled.
Following that, Colin began his explanation of the Limit Breaking Fire Technique.
"...the Ignition Technique, in my opinion, is a variant of the Fire-making Skill, the main difference being that it can ignite from a distance."
"As everyone knows, witchcraft that allows casting from a distance usually involves Spirit Mechanics, typically through the aid of spiritual power for positioning."
"However, Wizard Apprentices cannot externalize spiritual power, so positioning through spiritual power is very challenging.
The reason why the Ignition Technique can be accurately cast from a distance is not because it relies on spiritual power but on Spatial Positioning..."
Colin spoke earnestly, and the knowledge involved in the Limit Breaking Fire Technique was not complex.
Even Spatial Positioning only involved simple knowledge of three-dimensional coordinates and did not particularly exceed his rank, but was ingeniously conceived.
Thus, he did not need to worry about appearing too outstanding.
Likewise, Colin spent about an hour and a half before he finally finished explaining the Limit Breaking Fire Technique from start to finish.
After listening to his explanation, Berkeley held the manuscript and fell into deep thought.
Seconds later, accompanied by a burst of magic power fluctuation, a small orange flame suddenly appeared in front of him.
It then disappeared unstably, and he shook his head but still had a smile on his face.
He turned to Colin:
"This witchcraft is very inspiring for me, you can also pick another skill from the previous witchcraft to take with you."
Colin was startled and quickly expressed gratitude.
The principle of equivalent exchange and the equal attitude from Berkeley were beyond his expectations.
"...Secondary High Temperature Tolerance, Instructor Banette, I choose this." He pondered for a moment before making the decision.
Defensive witchcraft could never be too numerous, and on the other hand, the Limit Breaking potential of Secondary High Temperature Tolerance might be considerable.
"Good choice, fetch it yourself, Leonard," Berkeley nodded and continued to read the Ignition Technique manuscript, "Our trade ends here."
"Alright, Instructor."
After obtaining the manuscript, Colin hastily returned to the stone house in the Wizard Territory.
On the way, his identity badge allowed him unimpeded passage.
The white light sphere emitted by the Limit Breaking Light Brightness Skill provided him with adequate lighting... though it was somewhat draining on his magic power.
By the time he arrived at the stone house, his magic power had been drained by more than half.
In the following time, he continued his reclusive life, keeping to the same routine as before.
Only, he reduced his practice of the Sunlight Breathing Method and spent more time on learning the new witchcraft—Steel Armor, Arrow Shooting Skill, and Secondary High Temperature Tolerance.
As for the Knight Combat Skill Radiance, having witnessed the power of strong witchcraft closely last time, he had decided to discard it.
Knight Combat Skills were always just mere mortal strength.
Perhaps continuously breaking limits with Golden Paper might reach the level of strong witchcraft.
But if one had such abilities, why not directly enhance the witchcraft itself?
Still, the Sunlight Breathing Method had to continue as it provided abundant energy, which was very beneficial.
This, apart from breaking limits for the Circulation Meditation, Colin felt was the most cost-effective Limit Breaking Point he had used so far.
Additionally, obtaining the Arrow Shooting Skill was an unexpected bonus and a reason he decided not to train in Radiance anymore.
The original owner had left behind a book "General Basic Witchcraft for Apprentices."
However, most of the witchcraft recorded in it were just tricks.
Like the Fire-making Skill, Condensing Water Skill, Light Brightness Skill, only two were genuinely considered strong witchcraft.
One was the Steel Armor, and the other was Mind Shock.
These were two standard witchcraft for countering mortal Knights.
The former allowed one to cover oneself with a solid layer of steel armor without any blind spots or burdens.
The latter was the best witchcraft to use against mentally weak mortals, even Knights, as long as they were not Great Knights and didn't have specialized protective Witch Tools.
The result was not much different from mortals, being utterly helpless.
At most, the difference was just being able to resist once or one and a half times more.
But Mind Shock was not so effective against Wizards.
In the same rank, at least eight attacks were required to inflict fatal damage.
This was also one of the reasons he had initially chosen to learn knight combat skills.
But now, with the Arrow Shooting Skill, his weakness in attacks was compensated for, and there was naturally no need to seek further.
Another ten days had passed.
In the Meditation Room, Colin Leonard slowly opened his eyes and exhaled the Golden Paper, gathering pale golden particles.
[Name: Colin Leonard]
[Rank: Basic Level Wizard Apprentice (75/100); Advanced Knight (81/100)]
[Meditation Methods: Circulation Meditation for Apprentices I (15/100); Sunlight Breathing Method I (35/100)]
[Witchcraft: Fire-making Skill I (23/100); Condensing Water Skill Level I (18/100); Light Brightness Skill I (26/100); Steel Armor (2/100); Arrow Shooting Skill (1/100)]
[Skill: Basic Magic Crystal Making—(Bright Crystal Making I (100/100))]
[Limit Breaking Point: 18]
The progress in his rank had increased by a point, and Colin showed a satisfied smile, now needing only 25 days to advance.
Additionally, yesterday he had successfully mastered the basics of the Arrow Shooting Skill, and the day before, he had just started on the Steel Armor.
Berkeley's explanation had been immensely beneficial; otherwise, even with the Golden Paper, it would have taken him at least ten more days or even half a month to grasp the Arrow Shooting Skill.
As for Lesser High Temperature Tolerance and Mind Shock, he still hadn't mastered their basics.
Golden Paper allowed him consistent progress, but failure meant little progress while success meant more.
Mastering witchcraft, especially powerful witchcraft, was not that easy.
Moreover, his Limit Breaking Points had accumulated to 18.
When he reached ten Limit Breaking Points, the symbol for Bright Crystal Making I, which had reached its limit, was surrounded by a golden outline.
But Colin did not plan to break the limit again.
On one hand, his Magic Stones were already sufficient.
On the other, it was because this afternoon, when he went to sell crystals,
the shop owner who purchased Magic Crystals specifically told him that after this batch, he would not buy Bright Crystals for a while.
The reason given was market saturation.
Colin believed this partially.
Magic Crystals were indeed not cheap consumer goods; even the cheapest Light Bright Crystals were usually only affordable by half of the Basic Level Wizard Apprentices, and the total number of wizards on the island was not large, so a market saturation of Light Bright Crystals was possible.
He also deliberately left some Light Bright Crystals at the market stall until sundown, but indeed, none were sold.
The market was indeed not as hot as before.
But Light Bright Crystals were, after all, consumable, and market saturation was only temporary.
The shop owner's refusal, however, was somewhat too decisive...
"Maybe someone's interests have been touched."
Colin realized, sighed, and stood up, walking to the window facing the sea.
The gentle sea breeze brushed through his hair, over his shoulders, his cheeks, also calming his heart further.
He realized that he had not played with his phone or accessed the internet for a long time.
Making Bright Crystals, studying new witchcraft, practicing the Sunlight Breathing Method, meditation... His daily schedule was packed.
The only thing that could be considered entertainment was perhaps leaning by this window, enjoying the sea breeze, observing the scenery.
"...All this started because of the pressure of a three-month countdown."
"But later... why did it continue?"
Colin gently exhaled.
In his ears echoed the suppressed cries of a grieving woman holding her baby, and the foul smell of meat seemed to linger at his nostrils. The shop owner's words of refusal also resonated in his mind...
And that night, Erica's decisive expression...
He lifted his palm, and the moonlight, like flowing water, gathered in his open palm.
His fingers closed into a fist...
He did not catch any moonlight.
But the defined muscles of his forearm, the strong feeling as he clenched, the Magic Power circulating continuously through his body... all these brought him a profound sense of reassurance.
He gradually understood—
If he wanted to live happily in this world,
then power was the only thing he should pursue!