Ronan sat cross-legged on his small bed, gently uncapping a bottle of blue potion encased in a beautiful crystal vial. He admired the potion's mesmerizing hue and the countless tiny bubbles suspended within, then downed the entire bottle in one go.
Closing his eyes, he began to meditate.
The mental energy radiating from him spread like ripples of transparent water, gently undulating from beneath his gray robe, causing it to sway.
For Ronan, meditation still involved the process of "drawing spiral coils" with white dots in the dark void of his mind.
However, after consuming the potion, the pure darkness of the void would fade significantly, and the white dots would spin with increasing fluidity.
This continued until the dark void returned, and the speed of the white dots slowed, eventually stabilizing back to normal—indicating that the effects of the mental enhancement potion had been fully consumed.
Ronan opened his eyes.
On the windowsill perched a white owl, while the pocket watch on the table ticked away, showing that more than half an hour had passed.
Ronan rose and approached the window, casually retrieving a low-grade magic stone from his storage pouch to feed the owl.
The owl pecked his palm with surprising tenderness, uttered a "thank you," and then deposited a bright envelope bound with a pink ribbon.
**[Sincere Invitation to Your Excellency.]**
Ronan briefly skimmed the letter delivered by the owl; it was an invitation.
A pair of wizards was to be wed that afternoon in the small plaza on the eastern side of the academy, and they had invited him to attend.
Ronan shook his head, somewhat speechless, and tossed the envelope aside.
He did not recognize either of the wizards whose wedding was mentioned in the letter, and they evidently did not know him either. It was just another randomly distributed wedding invitation.
During his time residing at the academy, Ronan had received quite a number of similar "junk mail."
Every few days, there would be another.
Sometimes it was a wedding, sometimes a lecture, and occasionally something more absurd—like a wizard boasting about a breakthrough in alchemical research, sending out letters just to flaunt and express their joy.
It seemed to be a trend and tradition among academy wizards.
Ronan sat down at his desk and opened his character panel.
**[Name: Ronan Damien]**
**[Age: 16]**
**[Affinity: Non-attribute]**
**[Strength: Ninth-level Wizard Apprentice (99%)]**
Seeing the 99% progress displayed in the strength section, he couldn't help but show a hint of satisfaction.
Ronan had obtained three bottles of high-level mental enhancement potions from Linus's storage pouch. After consuming two, he had finally pushed his mental energy to the pinnacle of a ninth-level wizard apprentice.
His next task was to purify the impurities within and then facilitate the transformation of his mental energy to reach the gaseous state.
Though Jerome had advised him to be cautious with mental enhancement potions, warning that purification would be troublesome, Ronan, knowing himself well, continued as he always did.
Ronan had two methods for purifying his mental energy: the arduous grinding from practicing [Ascetic Body Training] and the supplementary effects of the expert-level [Basic Meditation].
After a brief consideration, Ronan decided to primarily use the second method for this purpose.
The reason was simple: the [Ascetic Body Training] process was too painful. With the imminent weakening of close combat advantages upon becoming a formal wizard, he preferred to avoid unnecessary self-torture.
Additionally, while his [Charged Weapon] had recently advanced to master level, well-suited for close combat, his physical attributes were still adequate.
Moreover, [Ascetic Body Training] was essentially a mundane body-tempering method, even inferior to typical knight training—it lacked a breathing technique to cultivate battle energy, though Ronan wasn't interested in battle energy anyway.
With the mundane [Basic Swordsmanship] having reached master level and not producing any transcendent domain, [Ascetic Body Training] might yield minimal benefits even if it reached master.
Thus, Ronan decided to focus all his efforts on [Basic Meditation]. With its expert-level status nearing mastery, he aimed to push it further, hoping to unlock a useful ability.
Having made his decision and clarified his direction, Ronan pulled out a wizard book from his desk and casually flipped through it.
This book, borrowed from Hoddam Academy's library, discussed the origins of the wizarding world, which Ronan had been reading lately.
The book described how, in ancient times, the wizarding world was a vast continent.
Back then, all wizards lived on the same land.
However, due to continuous wars among wizards, the continent shattered and splintered into numerous pieces, eventually sinking and forming the current landscape.
The book also mentioned the transcendent domains, a topic Ronan was deeply interested in understanding.
It was rumored that before the continent's collapse, everyone was transcendent, and ancient wizards could casually cast spells augmented by domains.
At that time, the ambient energy particles in the world were so abundant that the power of spells far exceeded what could be achieved today.
As the energy particles sank along with the fragmented continent, that grandeur was lost.
The book even proposed an intriguing hypothesis called the "Nine-Ring Continent," suggesting that today's continents float as fragments in different dimensions of the world, like nine broken rings stacked downward.
It included illustrations, depicting nine interconnected broken rings, resembling a spiraling nine-tiered staircase. The further down, the denser the ambient energy particles.
"...According to this, a domain is a wizard's deep interpretation of a spell.
The deeper the understanding, the more energy particles can be gathered during casting, enhancing the spell's power."
Ronan closed the book, lost in thought.
When compared to his panel, this explanation seemed reasonable.
In essence, it was about mastering a spell to its fullest potential, reminiscent of the "turning decay into magic" concept in martial arts novels from his previous life.
"...Following this reasoning, every spell has the potential to develop a domain; different spells result in different types of domains, with unknown effects."
"In an era where everyone was like a dragon, how were the domains of those who stood out defined?
Beyond transcendent?"
Ronan didn't know. So far, he hadn't encountered another wizard who, like him, had comprehended a domain.
Perhaps it was because Hoddam's wizarding land was too remote, underdeveloped, and impoverished?
"Why does that sound familiar?"
Ronan remembered.
Anglair.
The one Jerome had called the most outstanding genius of this generation in the Forest of Whispered Death, Anglair, had also lamented the land's barrenness and decay.
"Did he also comprehend a domain?"
Ronan speculated that he most likely did.
Anglair hadn't killed him and had even helped erase traces from his body and gifted him a Spirit Ignition Potion primarily because he had witnessed Ronan wielding two transcendent domains, defeating a formal wizard while still an apprentice.
He regarded Ronan as an interesting toy.
Since Ronan was too fragile to withstand his amusement, Anglair "encouraged" him to grow quickly, to reach a level where he could provide entertainment.
Ronan, expressionless and calm, gazed out the window, where a green ivy came into view, reminding him of the madwoman Laura.
"This feeling of having my life manipulated by others, at their mercy... it's truly awful."
At this moment, Ronan was more eager than ever to advance to the level of a formal wizard.
"Knock-knock-knock—"
Just then, a knocking sound interrupted his thoughts.
Ronan's expression shifted as he placed the book back in its original spot and went to open the door.
On the steps outside stood a slender, black-haired boy in an academy robe, holding a tray with a steaming, freshly baked pie.
"Hello."
The black-haired boy greeted Ronan cautiously. He appeared to be about two years younger than Ronan and had the strength of a fifth-level apprentice.
"I'm Dobby, I live next door, just wanted to say hi."
He gestured to the neighboring dormitory.
"Hello, I'm Ronan."
Ronan accepted the pie offered by Dobby, politely introducing himself.
Dobby chatted with Ronan for a bit, then tentatively asked, "If I may ask, who is your mentor?"
"Mentor?"
Ronan was taken aback and shook his head, "I don't have a mentor."
Dobby seemed surprised, "You must be a ninth-level apprentice, yet you haven't chosen a mentor? Most people decide their path by the fifth or sixth level."
"Is there a necessary connection?"
"Of course, different mentors represent different combat styles.
Without a mentor, you can't inherit a soul sigil, and even if you become a formal wizard, your strength will lag behind others significantly."
Dobby spoke passionately, revealing his tendency to worry about others.
"You should start considering this.
But I suggest waiting until after you reach the gaseous stage before visiting the mentor district; you'll have a much better chance of being chosen by a prestigious mentor then."
Dobby pointed out the mentor district's location, where Ronan saw a cluster of colorful rooftops.
"Thank you."
After seeing off the helpful neighbor, Ronan returned to his room, deep in thought.
Soul sigil.
This was the second time he had heard this term.
The first was in the notes of the ninth-level apprentice black-robed wizard.
From the context, soul sigils seemed extremely important for formal wizards, significantly influencing a wizard's strength.
"I'll learn more when I choose a mentor..."
Ronan shook his head, deciding not to delve further into the matter for now.
For him, the immediate priority was reaching the gaseous stage with his mental energy.
In the following days, Ronan stayed mostly indoors, venturing out only for essential supplies, focusing on meditation.
He occasionally snuck out at night to practice spells in secluded areas, avoiding the academy's designated spell training rooms to prevent others from discovering his mastery of transcendent domains.
After all, Laura already accused him of killing Faor. If he were found to have mastered transcendent domains, with enough power to threaten a formal wizard, it would be impossible to shake off the suspicion.
Thanks to the master-level [Charged Weapon—Breaking Force], which continuously consumed mental energy, Ronan's [Basic Meditation] proficiency increased rapidly.
A month later.
Ronan checked his panel.
**[Name: Ronan Damien]**
**[Age: 17]**
**[Affinity: Non-attribute]**
**[Strength: Ninth-level Wizard Apprentice (99%)]**
**[Skills: Basic Meditation (Expert 799/800)
Energy Missile - Particle Stream (Master 42/1600)
Charged Weapon - Breaking Force (Master 98/1600)]**
Just the previous night, Ronan had celebrated his 16th birthday, officially turning 17.
In a month, Ronan had finally pushed his [Basic Meditation] proficiency to 799 at the expert level.
While his strength remained at 99% of the ninth-level apprentice, Ronan felt a slight increase in mental energy during meditation, indicating the impurities were almost eliminated, and he was close to reaching the gaseous stage.
The [Particle Stream] proficiency saw little growth, increasing by only ten points, while [Breaking Force], due to daily practice, had nearly reached the master level's hundred-point threshold.
Maintaining this practice pace, Ronan could break into a level above master in just over a year.
If there were indeed levels beyond master.
"It's almost time; mental energy should reach the gaseous stage today.
The [Basic Meditation] proficiency breakthrough should happen in the next couple of days."
Ronan composed himself, adjusting his state to its peak.
He found a comfortable spot in his room and took out a tiny potion bottle, about half a finger in length.
Inside was a pale, mercury-like liquid.
This was "Yasu Water," a unique mental potion specifically aiding ninth-level wizard apprentices in reaching the gaseous stage.
Not available in general potion shops, it was priced at ten mid-level magic stones per bottle within the academy, and Ronan had prepared five bottles.
After consuming the potion, disregarding its atrocious taste, Ronan closed his eyes and began to meditate.
In the dark void of his consciousness, the expert-level [Basic Meditation] brought the white dot representing his mental energy to life, drawing vibrant circles rapidly in the darkness.
Ronan estimated his meditation efficiency was now over ten times what it was at the novice level!
Soon, the effects of Yasu Water kicked in, making the white dot restless.
Ronan sensed his mental energy, like water being heated to a boil, beginning to "bubble" with heat.
This sensation was akin to rapid spellcasting but more prolonged and distinct.
The boiling feeling persisted until Ronan's meditation ended.
Ronan opened his eyes, glanced at his panel, showed no emotion, and prepared the second bottle of Yasu Water to repeat the process.
He hadn't expected success on the first try.
This cycle continued until Ronan consumed the fourth bottle of Yasu Water, when the "bubbling" mental energy suddenly gave a "buzz" and vanished entirely.
It was like a pot of boiling water suddenly turning into steam and rushing out of the pot.
Simultaneously, in the silent room.
Ronan, seated with eyes closed, felt his robe billow as an invisible, powerful current surged from him, making every object in the room rattle.
The next moment, Ronan opened his eyes.
Instantly, the room brightened considerably.
Ronan seemed to become a second light source, his entire body emitting a faint glow.
"So this is the gaseous stage?"
Ronan felt the transformation of his mental energy.
The increase in quantity was secondary; the main change was in its form.
Before reaching the gaseous stage, his mental energy resembled a transparent gas cluster; afterward, it transformed into a mist of light!
Its quality improved, making the mental energy more vibrant.
Predictably, his spellcasting speed and corresponding spell power would see a certain enhancement.
Experiencing the changes, Ronan opened his character panel to view the more direct data changes.
However, he was momentarily stunned upon seeing the panel information.
The strength column, which had previously shown 99% progress for a ninth-level wizard apprentice, now reached 100%.
Moreover, the [Basic Meditation] proficiency that had been stuck at 799 at the expert level...
Had transformed into—
**[Basic Meditation—Realm of Clarity (Master 1/1600)]!**
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