Back at his dorm, the exhausted Dean Bruce fell into a deep sleep almost immediately. It wasn't until the evening that he was awakened by a knock on the door from soldiers sent by the city lord's mansion to deliver something.
When he opened the door, Nicholas William stood there with a respectful expression. Behind him were two soldiers clad in heavy plate armor, though they carried no weapons. Instead, they were holding up a large wooden chest, about half the height of a man.
Seeing the chest, Dean Bruce couldn't help but feel curious. What kind of treasure needed two soldiers to carry it?
Nicholas William reached into his coat and pulled out a golden crystal card and a ring, holding them both out to Dean Bruce with reverence. "Teacher, this card contains one hundred thousand gold coins. Each month, I'll have another one hundred thousand deposited into it, so you won't need to worry about anything."
Suppressing the smile threatening to break through, Dean Bruce accepted the golden crystal card and the ring with a calm expression, though his eyes were drawn to the large chest.
Nicholas William continued, "Teacher, the Blue Shadow Ring might only be an A-grade treasure, but it has two functions. It contains a storage space of up to one hundred cubic meters, and when you infuse it with magic, it can randomly teleport a target up to a thousand miles away."
Hearing this, Dean Bruce realized that the ring was the treasure Nicholas had mentioned earlier. He couldn't help but feel a bit surprised: [So the Blue Shadow Ring is the treasure? What's in the chest, then? It's hard to believe that as the son of a city lord, Nicholas would offer a treasure that doesn't even match the Dragonheart Pendant!]
Though he felt somewhat underwhelmed by the Blue Shadow Ring, Dean Bruce didn't let it show. He simply nodded and said, "Since this is a gesture of your sincerity, I'll accept it."
He slipped the Blue Shadow Ring onto his finger and tucked away the golden crystal card, then asked, "And what's inside the chest?"
"Teacher, I noticed that your living conditions in the dorm aren't the best, so I prepared some elixirs inside the chest. They're meant to strengthen both the body and the mind," Nicholas William explained. "Given your power, I didn't prepare any potions to enhance or increase magic power, as I assumed they would be of no use to you."
Dean Bruce couldn't help but feel his face twitch in frustration. He was tempted to tell Nicholas to go home and fetch every magic-enhancing elixir he could find!
Even though he'd been wearing the Dragonheart Pendant these past few days and had learned basic cultivation techniques from books, his magic power was still only at 89 points—still short of reaching even the lowest level of a full-fledged mage. Those elixirs were incredibly valuable to him!
Unfortunately, in Nicholas William's mind, Dean Bruce was a powerful figure capable of instant spellcasting, someone who had defeated a dual-classed mage-warrior and taught others high-level magic. He naturally assumed such basic potions would be beneath Dean Bruce's notice and had overlooked them entirely.
As one advances further, even a single level-up, let alone a small sub-level, requires tens of thousands of magic points. The minor boosts from elixirs—adding a few points, or even a few dozen—become almost negligible. In contrast, elixirs that strengthen the body or enhance mental focus are far more beneficial.
Suppressing his reluctance, Dean Bruce said, "Even though these elixirs aren't of much use to me, since they're a token of your respect, I'll accept them. But remember, don't send any more in the future."
Receiving a hundred thousand gold coins every month was already quite the benefit. Dean Bruce hadn't fully swayed Nicholas William yet, so he wasn't about to start demanding too much.
Once he had Nicholas fully convinced, then he could ask for whatever he wanted—Nicholas would come up with reasons to justify it himself!
Stepping aside, Dean Bruce watched out of the corner of his eye as the two soldiers carried the chest into his room. Casually, he asked, "How's your progress with the incantation?"
"Well…" Nicholas William shook his head, his face filled with shame. "Perhaps I'm just too dense, but I haven't made any progress."
Hearing this, Dean Bruce couldn't help but feel a jolt of surprise. [What's going on? This guy's story definitely matches that of a typical novel protagonist—high status, jilted engagement. If he were the protagonist, even if he couldn't master the spell immediately, how could he have made no progress at all? This is strange—could it be that I was wrong and he's not the protagonist after all?]
Nicholas William, seeing Dean Bruce remain silent and standing still, assumed that his teacher was disappointed in him. He felt even more ashamed, lowering his head and not daring to meet Dean Bruce's gaze.
For a moment, the two of them just stood awkwardly at the doorway.
It wasn't until the soldiers had finished placing the chest inside and exited that Nicholas William finally looked up and said, "Teacher, everything's been delivered. I'll go back and focus on understanding the spell now. Don't worry, I'll do my best to master it quickly so I don't let you down!"
As he watched Nicholas William leave, Dean Bruce closed the door and turned to the chest. While opening it, he also accessed his system panel to check the specific attributes of the Blue Shadow Ring.
Even though Nicholas William was the ring's previous owner, his lower level might have prevented him from discovering all of its abilities. The system, however, would reveal every detail with precision.
Dean Bruce was unaware that the system also had the ability to unlock dormant potential in certain artifacts.
Take the Dragonheart Pendant, for instance. Before it was fully activated, its effects were not particularly noticeable, and it certainly wouldn't have been considered an S-tier artifact. Otherwise, how could it have ended up in Joan Michelle's possession?
[Blue Shadow Ring — A-tier Artifact]
[Contains 100 cubic meters of storage space. Living beings cannot be stored.]
[When worn, by infusing magic and chanting the incantation "The shadow is me, I am the shadow," it will cast the advanced spell "Shadow Clone" on the wearer.]
[When worn, by infusing magic and holding for three seconds without chanting, it can cast the advanced spell "Random Teleport" on a designated target.]
[Contains a special power that, if reforged by a highly skilled blacksmith using high-quality ores, can make the Blue Shadow Ring even more powerful.]
After reading the system's detailed description, Dean Bruce was overjoyed, unable to contain his grin.
As he suspected, the Blue Shadow Ring indeed had more capabilities than Nicholas William knew!
Besides its storage space and random teleportation spell, it also had a "Shadow Clone" spell!
The name alone suggested it was a spell that created clones, and while he wasn't sure of the specifics, it was bound to be incredibly useful.
After examining the ring, Dean Bruce turned his attention to the elixirs in the wooden chest. As he touched each one, the system's interface displayed their details in glowing text above them.
Despite how long he had been in this world, Dean Bruce was still unfamiliar with many of its elixirs. Without the system's help, how could he possibly know their specific effects or how to use them?
After all, there's an old saying that all medicines have some poison in them. If he ingested something incorrectly, his fragile body might not handle it well!
As for asking someone for help?
Asking Nicholas William or Joan Michelle would risk exposing his true level of knowledge. Asking anyone else...
It would go against the principle of not flaunting wealth—an idea he firmly understood.
Even on Earth, a society governed by law, people were taught not to flaunt their wealth. In this world, where strength rules and survival of the fittest is the law, this principle was even more critical.
"Dragon's Whisker Root, soak it in alcohol or water to drink. It will increase the resilience of your skin."
"Scarlet Herb, consume directly. It induces sleep, rapidly restores mental energy, and enhances memory for a short period."
...
As each elixir's properties were revealed, Dean Bruce grew increasingly eager.
It was clear that Nicholas William had carefully chosen these elixirs. Each one was designed to enhance physical resilience and mental strength.
Even though Dean Bruce's magic power had increased rapidly over the past few days, nearly reaching the threshold of a true mage, most of that progress was due to the Dragonheart Pendant and felt somewhat unstable. These elixirs were perfect for helping him solidify his newfound power.
Realizing this, Dean Bruce couldn't help but smile broadly.
"Heh, since these are gifts from my students, how could I possibly waste their goodwill?" he muttered to himself. Without hesitation, he consumed all the elixirs he could safely take.
Almost instantly, a surge of intense heat coursed through his body, refining his blood and muscles.
As the effects took hold, his vision suddenly went black, and he collapsed to the floor with a heavy thud.