The sorcerer, that was an existence controlling mysterious means, where mystical spells could change the world in an instant.
According to records, many years ago this continent had only one cultivation system—Combat Energy, and knights were the rulers, their legions sweeping through unmatched. Until one day, the sorcerer appeared, they effortlessly defeated the invincible knight legions, breaking the established order.
From then on, the sorcerer became the ruler.
Even now, though sorcerers no longer stayed in this continent, they still dominated everything, influencing all aspects of nearby kingdoms.
Sorcerers were actually recruiting apprentices in Flying Fish Port?
This news somewhat caught Ivan off-guard, as he was still striving to become a prosperous pharmacist. He was only lightly collecting information on sorcerers, but then—
"Is that possible?"
Seeing his disbelief, Donnie was somewhat displeased, "Of course it's true. If you weren't my good brother, I wouldn't tell you such secretive information. This is only known among the upper echelon of Flying Fish Port."
Seeing his earnest tone, Ivan believed him about seventy to eighty percent.
"Where?"
Donnie shook his head.
Ivan looked at him puzzled, "No, what do you mean by this?"
Donnie sighed, explaining, "It means I don't know. Let's not think about it because it's not our turn; the slots are controlled by nobles, we don't stand a chance."
Thinking it over, Ivan felt something was off.
"That doesn't make sense. Why would sorcerers listen to nobles?"
Donnie continued to explain, "Sorcerers of course wouldn't listen to nobles, but nobles will listen to sorcerers. Many nobles are descendants of sorcerers, so nobles handle things neatly on behalf of sorcerers, and sorcerers don't need to come forward themselves when recruiting apprentices."
For sorcerers, recruiting apprentices was a minor affair best left to the nobles under their command.
Another reason was the qualification of the sorcerer; sorcery required unique qualifications. As descendants of sorcerers, nobles naturally possessed better sorcery cultivation qualifications and talents, whereas among the commoners, it might take ten thousand to find one with the qualifications, and even then, their talent was mediocre, making the selection process highly inefficient.
After Donnie's detailed explanation, Ivan understood what was happening.
So, would sorcerers kindly give slots to commoners?
The answer was no.
If Ivan were a noble, he would rather waste the slot than give it to a commoner. Why wait for a commoner to become a sorcerer, and their descendants to become new nobility, to then compete with them for territory and wealth?
It turned out that in this world, nobility not only represented power and wealth but also the path of sorcery cultivation.
Realizing this, Ivan felt his hopes diminishing.
"You're right, it's difficult for us."
Donnie said, "I will continue gathering information on this and let you know if I hear anything."
He also wished to become an apprentice sorcerer, although the chances were slim.
Ivan patted his shoulder, "Be safe, and don't force anything if you really don't believe it; there might be other opportunities later."
He had some guesses about Donnie's identity, belonging to those related but not accepted by noble families – likely an illegitimate child of some great noble.
Donnie confidently said, "You can trust me with this."
After resting, the two began their respective training; Ivan practiced the Gushing Breath Method.
[Knight Breathing Skill Experience Point +1]
[Knight Breathing Skill: lv0 (6/10)]
Noticing the change, he glanced at it but didn't pay much mind and continued his training.
...
Half a month passed in a flash.
Leider took up another task abroad, with Paul and Beaman accompanying him.
When Beaman left, he told Ivan to get more practice in basic swordsmanship, promising to teach him the more advanced Frog-style Sword Technique when he returned.
"Ivan, quick, come with me to see."
"What are you looking at?"
"Just follow and you'll be fine."
In the alley beside the Cassia Swordsmanship Hall, Ivan, as usual, hurried over, only to meet Donnie, who was waiting for him and beckoned him to keep up.
Ivan had no reason to doubt him and jogged to catch up with Donnie.
The two meandered through streets and alleys, heading south until they arrived near the docks of South City.
"Phew—over here."
Despite being knight's pages, the run had left both of them out of breath.
Under Donnie's lead, the two didn't barge into the docks; instead, they found a wall that provided a clear view of the east side of the docks and stood on it to look out.
"Quick! Look at that ship over there."
At that moment, there weren't many ships or people at the docks, but a group of elegantly dressed nobles gathered there, their focus on a small, black sea vessel with mysterious patterns carved all around its hull, inducing a dizzying effect from a distance if one stared too hard.
The nobles seemed to be saying farewell to someone.
"Oh."
A thunderous roar sounded as the black ship slowly started moving.
Ivan noticed that the howl had come from beneath the black ship, where a colossal turtle-beast with clear, fierce scales was carrying the vessel away from the dock.
Donnie murmured, "They're leaving."
Ivan understood what he meant; the sorcerer had finished recruiting apprentices and was now leaving on the ship.
From beginning to end, this was none of their business.
At that moment, the two profoundly felt the disparities in their world, leading to feelings of helplessness and frustration.
The two stood there in silence for a while, only starting to head back leisurely after the black ship had disappeared into the sea.
Returning to the alley beside the swordsmanship hall, Donnie, as if making a firm decision, said, "I'm planning to buy a Gushing Potion. Just practicing the Breathing Method little by little is too slow."
The Gushing Potion was a secret medicine of the Cassia Swordsmanship Hall, used for training in the Breathing Method, enhancing the efficiency of extracting the Breath of Life. It was priced openly at 5 Gold Coins per dose, which an ordinary person couldn't afford.
"You're still rich."
Ivan only had 2 Gold Coins left, given to him by his brother Beaman.
"Not much, just enough to buy one dose." Hearing Ivan's compliment, Donnie couldn't help but smile.
Upon entering the swordsmanship hall, Donnie didn't delay and immediately went to buy it.
Soon, he emerged from inside the hall, came up to Ivan, and surreptitiously signaled for him to look at his pocket, where there was a small glass vial containing a blue potion with floating particles.
"I'm heading back now."
Donnie didn't plan to consume it there and quickly left the martial arts arena.
The effects of the Gushing Potion would last two days during which Donnie likely wouldn't come to the swordsmanship hall.
Watching his departing figure, Ivan felt a strong sense of urgency, realizing he also needed to make good use of his time.
Strength: 1.3, Agility: 1.2, Constitution: 1.0, Spirit: 1.4
These were his current physical stats, which indeed had improved a bit compared to half a month ago, with strength, agility, and constitution all having increased by 0.1 graduated degrees each.
In reality, the initial phase of training would naturally see faster improvements; by this calculation, his efficiency was undoubtedly low.
"Can't slack off now, need to earn money, need to use secret medicine."
Ivan thought about the recipe for the 'Whirlpool Potion'; he had two ideas: first, give the recipe to Old Orio in hopes of winning him over to teach him genuine apothecary skills; second, find a way to turn it into a complete potion recipe.
[Knight Breathing Skill Experience Point +1]
[Knight Breathing Skill: lv0(9/10)]
When leaving the swordsmanship hall, Ivan's Knight Breathing Skill had improved, now just one step away from level 1.