"Sink, squat toilet, bathtub, stove... and a fireplace," Ronan muttered as he stood in the middle of his new home, inspecting everything. The fireplace, covered in dust and cobwebs, piqued his curiosity, and he leaned in for a closer look.
"It'll come in handy when winter hits," he thought, sitting down at the room's only table. He picked up an old copper kettle, gave it a shake, and then set it back down.
Overall, Ronan was satisfied with his "new home."
Although small, it was more spacious than his previous treehouse, and despite the furniture being old, it had everything he needed. Crucially, it had a toilet, meaning he wouldn't have to empty chamber pots anymore.
Finding a place with decent living conditions on Drop Street, the so-called "slum" of the town, wasn't easy. This house was one of the best in the area, which also meant the rent was nearly half as much again as other houses.
The dim glow of the oil lamp cast a warm light, and Ronan sat at the table, one hand propping up his chin while the other tapped the surface, mimicking someone lost in thought, unsure of what to do.
Suddenly, his fingers stopped tapping, and he murmured, "Hoddam Wizard Academy..."
Whether it was due to the original Ronan's unfulfilled desire to study at Hoddam or his own experience as a student in his past life, Ronan found himself strangely fixated on the idea of attending school.
The realization that the academy had stopped admissions earlier that day had nearly shattered his resolve.
But thinking about it now, his primary goal in entering the academy was to obtain the key heritage needed to become a formal wizard.
Setting that aside, it wasn't imperative that he join the academy immediately.
"The main task for an apprentice is to accumulate mental energy. I'm still a long way from being qualified to attempt becoming a formal wizard. Whether I can enter now doesn't really matter. Instead of dwelling on this frustration..."
Ronan straightened up, staring into the oil lamp, and said to himself, "I should focus on how to survive the black wizard invasion. By the time I reach the eighth or ninth level of apprenticeship, new opportunities may arise."
With this realization, Ronan couldn't help but reflect on his recent battles.
While they seemed to have gone smoothly, they highlighted significant issues.
The most pressing of which was...
"A severe lack of control techniques!"
Ronan frowned.
He had almost no crowd control skills, relying on the [Energy Missile]'s destructive power and surprise attacks to defeat the black robes.
Against stationary opponents, his battle style might work, but against agile enemies like the two-headed demon lizard, his lack of control techniques became apparent—his [Energy Missile] missed several times, and the lizard escaped.
"A complete combat system must include control skills as a vital component."
"Only by effectively restricting an opponent's movements can I ensure the [Energy Missile] hits."
"And the spells with similar effects..."
Ronan thought for a moment, concluding that ice and lightning spells would suit him best.
Ice spells often included effects like freezing or slowing, while lightning spells had paralyzing or stiffening effects.
These spell types were relatively common and accessible in the Hoddam wizarding area.
"I should visit the market sometime and see if I can find a suitable protective artifact."
The battle with the advanced apprentice black robe had shown Ronan the importance of protective artifacts.
Had he not carried a ring with dual [Protection] runes, activating it at the critical moment, he might have fallen during the first round of corpse explosion spells and the knife-shield skeleton onslaught, missing the subsequent events, including the [Energy Missile] reaching master level and unlocking the extraordinary domain.
"Such life-saving items are never too many, especially now."
Ronan stroked his chin, considering whether to learn a zero-level defensive spell.
But after some thought, he dismissed the idea. Few apprentices learned defensive spells since zero-level defenses were weak, often unable to withstand more than one or two equal-level attacks. Better to focus on ending fights quickly than waste limited mental energy on defense.
"Attack, control, defense... then comes recovery and enhancement."
In wizard battles, recovery was crucial, especially at the apprentice level, where mental energy was scarce.
"Mental recovery potions, healing potions, antidotes, stamina potions..."
Ronan listed potential useful potions based on his battle experiences.
As for situational enhancement techniques, he considered physical training the most feasible option.
A strong body had its advantages, increasing tolerance for mistakes in battle. Ronan believed this was especially true at the apprentice level.
Many wizards looked down on physical training, seeing it as a waste of time better spent on meditation or magical research. Some thought it beneath a wizard's dignity, fit only for mundane knights serving wizards.
Ronan, however, had no such pretensions or hesitations.
"Money, money!"
In the end, Ronan realized that all his plans hinged on one thing—magic stones!
Potions required magic stones, spells needed magic stones, equipment demanded magic stones, and even physical training needed magic stones to buy magical beast meat for aid.
With magic stones, everything was possible. Without them, all plans were just empty talk.
"Take it one step at a time. What should be, will be," Ronan consoled himself, adjusting the oil lamp's brightness. He then retrieved the three storage pouches.
To get rich quickly, his best bet was to unlock these "safes."
As dawn broke, Ronan emerged from his house, yawning. He dusted off his robe, activating the [Cleanse] rune, and the stale odors from the night vanished, leaving him feeling fresh and clean.
However, after several battles, his once-new robe was now worn and tattered in places, and Ronan was reluctant to replace it.
"Maybe wizards hate physical training and close combat because it ruins their robes?" Ronan mused, muttering a spell as he casually tossed an [Iceball] onto the ground before him.
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