"Opened!?"
Watching the slowly unfolding black leather book, a hint of astonishment flashed in Sauron's eyes.
After hesitating for a moment, he suppressed the excitement in his heart and looked at the black book. Inside were numerous strange characters and patterns.
"Dark innate talent! Necromancer Faction!"
Sauron's eyes flickered as he flipped through the black book, recalling the words of the skeleton earlier.
From the information given by the skeleton, the reason this black book could open might be that it had detected his innate talent to become a wizard through some special means, allowing the black book to open automatically.
As Sauron quickly perused the black book, thoughts flashed in his mind, and information appeared in front of him.
"Ding! Comprehended: Darkness Ritual!"
Looking at the information gradually appearing on the data panel, Sauron pondered.
"Necromancer Codex!"
Sauron lowered his head, looking at the black book in his hand. According to the contents, as Frost speculated, this was a book related to wizards. More precisely, this Necromancer Codex was the foundation prepared by the Necromancer Faction to guide new apprentices on the journey to becoming a wizard.
It recorded a Meditation Method called "Darkness Ritual."
Only those with the dark innate talent were qualified to cultivate the Darkness Ritual. Moreover, only those with the wizard innate talent could see the contents of the Necromancer Codex. As for those without wizard innate talent, the consequences of forcibly opening the Necromancer Codex were unpredictable.
"Could it be that Oren's forced opening of the Necromancer Codex led to his deep sleep?"
Sauron stroked his chin, his face showing a contemplative expression. Then, he shook his head and continued to browse the Necromancer Codex in his hand. In addition to detailing the Darkness Ritual Meditation Method, it contained a lot of information about the Necromancer Faction and wizards.
Half an hour passed.
Sauron put down the Necromancer Codex in his hand, and a faint gleam appeared in his eyes. This book was like opening the door to a New World for him.
"Wizards truly exist!"
Sauron murmured to himself, feeling a surge of excitement in his heart. The contents of the Necromancer Codex had proven that wizards were real and indeed possessed unimaginable powers.
After comprehending the Darkness Ritual, Sauron had truly embarked on the journey to becoming a wizard. However, at this point, he was not yet a wizard, not even an apprentice.
According to the records in the Necromancer Codex, before becoming a formal wizard, apprentices were divided into three levels: Level 1 to Level 3 apprentices. Among them, Level 1 apprentices were the lowest level, and only those who condensed a rune could be called Level 1 apprentices.
"Rune!"
Sauron's eyes flickered.
Wizards, through meditation, enhanced their spirit strength, condensed runes in the Sea of Consciousness, and then used rune power with magical energy.
Spirit strength, magical energy, runes!
For wizard apprentices, these three were the foundations of their extraordinary powers, and none could be lacking.
"Next, let's give it a try!"
Sauron took a deep breath and, following the content of the Necromancer Codex, began meditating. With the help of the proficiency panel, he easily comprehended the Meditation Method. However, to elevate the Meditation Method level and condense a rune would require a long period of cultivation.
A night passed in an instant!
In the room, Sauron slowly opened his eyes, a contemplative expression on his face.
"Is this magical energy?"
Sauron murmured to himself. After a night of meditation, he hadn't condensed a rune, but a trace of magical energy emerged within him.
If runes were likened to fire, then magical energy was the fuel!
To ignite a flame, fuel was essential!
After ending the night of meditation, Sauron's thoughts moved, and he opened the data panel.
——————————
Name: Sauron
Profession: Intermediate Level Knight, Level 1 Apprentice
Strength: 3.7, Physique: 3.5, Agility: 3.7, Spirit: 1.6
Passive: Bow Arrow Technique Lv10 (100/100), Armybreak Swordsmanship Lv7 (5/100), Night Raven Breathing Technique Lv6 (15/100), Brute Bull Breathing Technique Lv6 (0/100), Darkness Ritual Lv1 (2/100)
Skills: Three Bow Arrow Styles, Seven Broken Army Swords
Runes: None
Status: Normal
——————————
The most significant change on the data panel, apart from Darkness Ritual, was the growth of the spirit attribute.
This was the characteristic of the Meditation Method.
Compared to the Knights focusing on body refinement, wizards paid more attention to the enhancement of the spirit attribute. In comparison, the latter was evidently more advanced.
According to the descriptions in the Necromancer Codex, the so-called Knight's Breathing Technique was originally derived from the Meditation Method. It was said to be a cultivation method prepared by wizards to cultivate followers.
Moreover, when cultivating the Knight's Breathing Technique to the extreme, runes could also be condensed within the body, known as life seeds.
Knights using life seeds were equivalent to apprentices using runes. However, the difference was that Knights didn't have magical energy in their bodies. Therefore, every use of a life seed would consume life force as a cost.
Similarly, apprentices were no different.
If an apprentice's magical energy was exhausted, but they forcefully used rune power, the result would be a massive consumption of life force in a short period.
Even death could occur directly due to the exhaustion of life force.
"First, let's condense a rune!"
Sauron's eyes slightly flickered. Comprehending the Darkness Ritual Meditation Method only meant that he had embarked on the journey to becoming a wizard. To truly become a wizard apprentice, he needed to condense his first rune.
...
Western border, White Valley City.
In the study of the Lord's Mansion, Dovar stared at the box sent from Night Raven
City, his anger burning in his heart, and his eyes were as bloodshot as ever.
"That little bastard, how dare he!!!"
Dovar's expression was ferocious, and in the box placed in front of him was Viscount Molun's head.
This was the gift that Sauron sent to Lord Dovar after reclaiming Night Raven City.
"Spread the word to gather the army for me!"
Dovar stood up abruptly, gnashing his teeth and said, "I will crush Night Raven City and make the Swain family disappear from the Western border!"
In the study, everyone remained silent out of fear.
The death of Viscount Molun had enraged Dovar, and his vassals dared not say much at this time. Only the scholar Caffe shook his head.
"My lord, please calm down."
Caffe shook his head and said solemnly, "In my view, in the current situation, it is not easy for White Valley City to launch a war against Night Raven City."