Enchantnt workshop, a certain workroom.
Ivan stood next to a pile of materials. As he operated, a variety of raw material powders, including magic stone powder, mixed with the soil, stirring on their own as if an invisible hand was kneading them.
He moved his fingers, and a string of droplets spontaneously appeared, falling into the churning mixture and causing the powder and soil to mix more evenly, eventually forming a soft, round heap of mud.
A ring of fire wrapped around the mound of mud, baking it for several seconds before extinguishing.
'Mud to Rock Transformation'
After the spell, the soft mound of mud turned into a hard stone platform with a diater of just three ters.
Ivan fetched a rune brush and ink made from blending magic stone powder and started inscribing rune lines directly on the stone platform. His fluent lines took shape under his brush, and after completing the overall frawork, he switched the ink to Wind elent ink and continued inscribing.
Before long, a vivid runes bundle array ca into being.
Several bottles of Magic Stone Water floated to the stone platform and orderly fell onto the runes bundle array.
He sat down in the middle of the stone platform, and as the runes bundle array activated, the Magic Stone Water quickly turned into dark energy. The dark energy then dissipated, turning into a cloud of black smoke.
The black smoke floated for a while, its shape constantly changing—sotis dense, sotis thin, rotating fast or slow.
"Still haven't found the key factor," he said.
No sooner had he spoken than a strong wind unexpectedly gushed from the stone platform, scattering the black smoke haphazardly.
He glanced over to the side where the Raw Stone Array Disc was emitting a glowing light, gentle and soft. The light from the disc only began to fade slowly when there was an issue with the runes bundle array.
He had grown accustod to the reaction from the Raw Stone Array Disc. This ti was no exception.
The Raw Stone Array Disc was secondary, the focus lay on the runes bundle array he had inscribed himself.
"Transforming Magic Stone Water into ntal energy isn't a major issue, but turning ntal energy into the black wind is no simple matter."
"How exactly did the black wind form that day? It's a pity Heidi destroyed it with one strike, not a shred of residue was left."
Ivan felt regret that when in the Kanda magic stone mine, he didn't take a closer look at the Black Wind Prison Cage Array set up by the black robed monster; now, he couldn't even if he wanted to.
This was said because he had encountered a problem while exploring the runes bundle array.
According to his original idea, he was simply using the runes bundle array to transform more ntal energy and then sohow turn that into his own spiritual power for use during ascension.
During the ascension to official sorcerer, even an increase of half a degree in spiritual power could play a significant role.
After careful investigation, he found that this approach was sowhat unfeasible. No matter how he transford or refined them, the converted ntal energy was always different from his spiritual power, a difference too significant to be ignored.
Forcing a mixture resulted in only one outco: contaminated spiritual power, which likely couldn't be completely purified later on.
Therefore, this plan could only serve as a last resort.
For this last resort, he had recently used a 5th-level Light of Wisdom, and the result was a slight increase in the purity of the transford ntal energy.
Then, he began to explore a new plan.
The new plan ca with new ideas. His new idea was to use the Confinent Power generated by the runes bundle array.
Back in the day at the Kanda magic stone mine, the black robed monster had whipped up the black wind, pulling them into it. Under the confinent of the black wind, he had felt an impression similar to when breaking through the 3rd Class threshold, unable to sense his body's existence.
This Confinent Power was undoubtedly quite substantial.
To put it plainly, a sorcerer's ascension is breaking through a level of spiritual restriction and confinent. Using Confinent Power to combat Confinent Power, his line of thinking should be correct.
The problem lay in replicating the black wind conjured by the black robed monster's runes array.
Several hours later, with all the materials in the workshop exhausted, he could only helplessly end this exploration.
Passing by the room next door, he noticed the door was closed tight. He wasn't sure if Carl and his siblings had co.
Working on runes within the enchantnt workshop ca with a benefit: the workrooms did not affect each other. Once the door was closed, the inside and outside were two separate worlds. Even if a runes array went out of control, it could be easily suppressed.
A week later, Ivan used a 4th-level Light of Great Wisdom. In the past, the tenfold increase in perception and spirituality he experienced from it allowed him to triumph in any endeavor, always able to find the key to solving problems amid complex clues. This ti was no exception.
"So that's how it is," he realized.
"It wasn't about Wind elent power at all but purely about manipulation of ntal energy. That black robed monster, born in the magic stone mine, its comprehension of magic stone energy is beyond ordinary people."
Eight minutes later, he ca back to his senses, disappointed.
He then picked up the rune brush to inscribe a new runes array. Each rune line was drawn in one smooth motion, even multiple lines without a single pause. Soon, a new runes bundle array erged on the stone platform.
He placed the Magic Stone Water on it, activated it, and transford it into ntal energy. The ntal energy then took the form of black wind.
The breeze was gentle yet distinctly different. As the operator of the runes bundle array, he could still feel a kind of spiritual pressure that instinctively made one uncomfortable.
"It worked, this is the Confining Wind I was looking for," he affird.
"The conversion rate is quite low, and it's arduous to manipulate, but it will just require gradual adjustnt over ti."
Ivan nodded slightly, pleased that the Light of Great Wisdom had not disappointed him. Having identified the key factor, other issues were no longer problems.
He also noticed that the completeness of the rune line had increased from 97% to 98%, and both his Enchantnt Skill and Runes Skill Experience Points had significantly increased, especially Enchantnt Skill.
In the evening, he walked out of the workshop in high spirits only to find that the next door was still tightly closed.
Just a few steps outside, Ivan heard an unusual noise from behind him.
"Cough, cough."
He couldn't help but look back, to see Carl coughing incessantly as thick black smoke emanated from the door beside him.
"Cough cough, Ivan, wait for ," Carl called out to him as soon as he noticed him.
"What happened?"
"Don't ask, my sister was overconfident—"
Carl choked on his words, as Heidi walked out with a stern face, glancing at him with a silent yet expressive look.
"Heidi, I'm leaving with Ivan," Carl quickly walked away, and when he ca closer, he gave Ivan a look, signaling him to leave quickly too.
Over the past month, the two hadn't co to the enchantnt workshop every day and hadn't seen each other on so days.
Carl talked non-stop along the way. He was always well-inford about important events among the apprentices, such as who had cast a powerful spell and which apprentice had died on a task.
"How's your progress with the Raw Stone Array Disc?" Upon reaching the enchantnt workshop, he couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked.
"Not bad, I have so clues," Ivan said.
"You're not going to succeed soon, are you?" Carl speculated.
"Where did you get that idea?" Ivan looked at him in surprise but didn't deny it, "It still needs improvent."
"That's really impressive." Carl was sowhat taken aback, realizing the implication of Ivan's words. After all, he and his sister had also been studying the sa subject, with their mother occasionally guiding them, but they were far from success.
The two parted at the doorstep, leaving Carl to wait for his mother and sister.
"Heidi, Ivan might be close to success," Carl said without being asked to keep it a secret; he wasn't one to hold his tongue. After seeing the two, he simply spoke up, "That Ivan is still the sa, even more capable than you and combined."
At his words, Heidi frowned slightly.
"Carl, whether a project is successful or not needs to be verified by professionals, not just decided by oneself. Many people think their research is unparalleled in the world, but that's only because they are limited by their own perspectives and in reality, it ans nothing," Madeline replied, setting him straight.
"Mom, Ivan is not that kind of person," Carl argued.
"Mom, if Ivan says so himself, it's likely true. He is one of the most perceptive people I've t when it cos to Enchantnt Skill. We have an agreent with him that if he wants to trade, he'll co to us," Heidi agreed.
"Oh, then I shall see," Madeline trusted her, as her daughter's words were always reliable.
"What the heck, Mom really, I tell you sothing and you don't believe it, but you believe when Heidi says it," Carl muttered in complaint, though he was actually pleased that his mother was willing to trust Ivan.
The following day, Ivan didn't go to the enchantnt workshop, as many rapid wood silkworms were erging from their cocoons that day.
A cocoon hanging in the corner of the cabinet suddenly shook violently, the silk loosening, but after a while, no rapid wood silkworm erged.
"Did it fail?"
Ivan probed with his ntal powers, and found the rapid wood silkworm inside the cocoon had lost its vitality.
This wasn't the first rapid wood silkworm to die.
In fact, from the third batch of spinning and cocooning, rapid wood silkworms began to die off, with fifteen deaths, making up a quarter of the total.
Now in the fourth batch, which had the highest number, with well over a hundred, the death rate had exceeded a third, and he estimated the final batch's mortality rate might reach half.
Evolution was always a cruel process.
"Weng weng."
Seeing him distressed, the Silkworm Queen called out to attract his attention, wriggling her body to split off a distinctly different caterpillar.
It was a plump caterpillar, looking much like the Silkworm Queen when he first t her.
"Is it like you?"
"Weng weng."
Indeed, this was another silkworm mother similar to the Silkworm Queen, capable of continually splitting to produce new caterpillars. The Silkworm Queen had exhausted a considerable amount of energy fostering this little one; even her calls had beco feeble.
"I understand, with death cos rebirth, I won't get upset about it. You should rest well," Ivan understood what the Silkworm Queen wanted to convey. Seeing her completely fatigued, he promptly provided an array of food to help her regain strength.
Ti was like a thin stream, silently slipping through the fingers.
Ivan went on with his orderly life for another half month until a sudden letter disrupted his calm.
There was a hurried knock at the door, and when he opened his dormitory door, there was no one outside, only a substantial letter slowly floating down from thin air, about to land on the ground.
He gestured with his hand, and the letter drifted in front of him.
'For my apprentice Ivan, personally,'
On the envelope, familiar handwriting struck a chord, making Ivan's pupils constrict.
It was a letter from Toyennes.
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