"Boom!"
With a muffled explosion, a cloud of white dust rose inside the small treehouse. Emerging from the haze, Ronan brushed off the stone dust from his robe with a calm expression.
It seemed this wasn't the first time such an incident had occurred.
"Failed again!"
Waiting for the dust to settle, Ronan re-entered the treehouse and glanced at the makeshift workbench, where only three blank rune stones remained. His eye twitched slightly.
It had been almost a month since he began studying rune engraving.
Three days ago, he officially started attempting to engrave the [Cleanse] rune on blank rune stones. He had already ruined seventeen stones without success.
"I was so close..."
Reflecting on his recent failure, Ronan realized he had completed about ninety-seven percent of the rune engraving. The entire [Cleanse] rune was nearly etched onto the stone, but he faltered in the final strokes, resulting in failure.
The energy particles went out of control, causing the stone to explode.
"Ultimately, my skills fell short. By the end, I felt both my mental and physical strength waning."
Ronan used a damp towel to wipe his face, analyzing the reasons for his failure.
Rune engraving is an extremely demanding task, requiring continuous mental strength to guide the process without any breaks.
As a Level 2 Wizard Apprentice, Ronan's mental strength was nearly depleted by the end of engraving the [Cleanse] rune, leaving him exhausted and unable to continue.
"Considering my progress, I'm actually moving pretty fast. Most wizards still haven't mastered the basic practice by now."
The capabilities of his character panel did not disappoint Ronan. He made significant progress throughout his rune studies.
Whether it was sketching practice or carving practice, his improvements came swiftly. Each failure with the rune stones brought valuable insights and experiences.
During his first seventeen attempts, he advanced rapidly.
Every failure pushed his progress significantly forward.
By the sixteenth attempt, he reached ninety-five percent completion. He thought he'd succeed but fell short once more.
"Being close to success and far from it feels the same to me because these are my last materials. If the remaining three blank rune stones don't work out, I'll have to consider borrowing money or selling my belongings."
With a sigh, Ronan opened his character panel.
**[Name: Ronan Damien]**
**[Age: 16]**
**[Affinity: Non-Elemental]**
**[Level: Level 2 Wizard Apprentice (13%)]**
**[Skills: Basic Meditation Techniques (Proficient 156/200), Energy Missile (Mastery 334/400), Charged Weapon (Beginner 68/100)]**
In a month, all his abilities had improved.
His mental strength had increased by ten percent, advancing to thirteen percent of a Level 2 Wizard Apprentice.
At this rate, Ronan could reach a Level 3 Apprentice in nine months.
Of course, this timeline might shorten since his proficiency in [Basic Meditation Techniques] continually improved, enhancing each meditation session.
Ronan had practiced [Energy Missile] to a mastery level, further speeding up his casting.
Now, he needed only a few incantation syllables and simple gestures to cast successfully, reducing the casting time to under three seconds and slightly boosting the spell's power.
To diversify his attack methods, Ronan learned [Charged Weapon] from the five zero-level spells.
This spell temporarily enchants a weapon with a thin layer of energy particles. When the weapon strikes an object, the particles expend, causing explosive damage.
Ronan wasn't keen on close combat, so he casually practiced this skill, now at a beginner level.
"Slap!"
Ronan tossed the wet towel into the water basin, creating a splash, and stood up. "Time for a walk."
Spending too much time indoors studying rune engraving was exhausting. The mental fatigue was one thing, but the cramped, humid treehouse left his back sore, affecting his health.
Sliding down the vine, Ronan coughed twice, feeling a dull pain in his left chest.
The prolonged, frequent meditation intensified energy particle erosion on his lungs, already affecting him.
"Knight training methods, knight training methods... If necessary, I'll write home and ask the count's people to send some over, though it might take a year or two."
With these thoughts, Ronan, in his hunting attire, walked into the forest.
The tranquil forest was dimly lit, with a constant mist lingering among the trees.
Oddly shaped trees grew wildly, and the ground was covered with thick layers of decaying leaves and moss.
"Rustle!"
A slight noise reached his ears. Ronan's mental strength, concentrated in his mind, quickly spread out, locking onto the sound's source. He uttered a rapid incantation.
"Ulu! Ru! Ba!"
His fingers pointed casually, and the air before him twisted.
A deep blue orb, the size of a fist, quickly formed and shot forward.
"Boom!"
A shrub about ten meters in front of Ronan exploded, scattering dirt and leaves, and a robust oak tree slowly fell.
Ronan calmly walked forward, finding a bloodied mess in a large mud pit.
From the bits of fur on the pit's edge, it seemed the noise came from an unlucky wild wolf.
"Wizards are indeed extraordinary; the power of spells is immense."
Ronan marveled at his "handiwork."
In the mundane world, causing such destruction required someone to reach a high level in the knight's path, yet this was merely the effect of a zero-level spell.
The extraordinary nature of wizards was evident.
Ronan now felt far more confident and at ease in this forest area than before. Especially after mastering [Energy Missile], he felt capable of holding his own even against a Level 3 Apprentice.
His casting speed surpassed most lower-level apprentice wizards, and the power of his mastered [Energy Missile] was likely two to three times greater than when he first learned it.
However, Ronan's assessment of his combat prowess was purely speculative, as he had yet to face another wizard in battle, leaving him uncertain about wizard duels.
With the existence of spell artifacts, battles held many uncertainties.
Following his usual morning exercise route, the fresh forest air and serene, beautiful environment gr
adually soothed Ronan's weary mind.
At a spring beneath a tree, Ronan squatted to wash his hands and face, feeling refreshed.