NoveLight ™
After reaching the 3rd rank and receiving rewards for four months, Leon could definitely feel the increase in his luck.
Out of every ten rewards he received, about three to four were E-grade, and one was a D-grade reward.
Once Leon became stable in creating F-grade elixirs, he fixed his rewards to magic books. The reason he started focusing on magic books was to obtain advanced magic spells that he could use once he reached the Mystic level.
The Mystic level was a realm that a mage with triple attributes could only reach after at least 20 years of continuous training.
However, at Leon’s current pace, it felt like he was already late in preparing for it. Given his current speed, he was likely to reach the Mystic level within one to two years, but he didn’t have any advanced magic spells prepared for that time. All he had was the incomplete "Sword that Scatters Moonlight," which he obtained from the forbidden library.
Leon hadn’t anticipated how quickly his level would rise.
Moreover, since he possessed talent in all attributes, he needed to learn magic for each of those attributes.
If he was truly fortunate, he might obtain multi-attribute spells created by high-level mages, but the chances were slim.
As he started drawing magic books for the first time, he realized that, much like drawing for an attribute constitution, if he didn’t get what he needed, it would be useless.
Recently, he had drawn from the magic book reward pool 30 times. Among those, he had received two D-grade magic books. D-grade was the highest level of magic that could be learned by an apprentice, but both spells overlapped with the basic Arpina magic he had already learned. There was no need to learn them again. For attributes like fire, water, wind, and earth, the basic Arpina spells were more than sufficient at the apprentice level.
Looking at the most useful rewards he had received:
When he reached the 3rd rank and was stabilizing his level, he drew a "Single-Use Emergency Designated Teleport Scroll (B-)."
It was the highest-grade reward he had drawn so far, and it was a scroll that could help him escape from dangerous situations, making it a favorite of Leon's. As long as he could remember the details of a specific location in his mind, he could instantly teleport there. However, it could only be used once and only by him.
Other notable artifacts included a "Single-Use Underwater Prison Scroll (D-)" and a "Stationary Invisibility Cloak (D+)."
The Stationary Invisibility Cloak was a short, black cloak that could be hidden under a robe. When mana was infused into it, it would blend with the surroundings, hiding both his appearance and presence for up to an hour. However, once invisible, he could not move, as any movement would break the invisibility. It could only be used once a day.
In terms of elixirs, he had drawn "Concentrated Essence (D+)." He planned to keep this essence for when he raised his magic power to D-grade before consuming it.
He had also saved up 20 E-grade essences and 5 D-grade essences to consume once he reached the 4th rank.
Dozens of F-grade and E-grade rewards had piled up.
Considering the elixirs he regularly consumed and the magic books he discarded on the ground if they didn’t interest him, the rewards were steadily accumulating. Particularly, the single-use scrolls were piling up since he hadn’t been in any combat situations where he would need to use them.
"My subspace pouch is going to be full soon."
Of course, he was already storing the magic books in the orb. At this rate, it was clear that unused rewards would continue to pile up like a mountain inside the orb.
"Hoping for more functionality as I advance... that would be too much to ask."
He needed to think about how to handle the useless rewards.
"I could give them to someone else..."
If Leon were a mage with many disciples, it would be an excellent method, but that was still far off for Leon at his current level.
Leon began serious training to advance to the next rank.
The accumulated time in the orb was 640 hours, giving him roughly 27 days of uninterrupted time inside the orb.
Leon trained in the orb for 20 hours at a stretch, only leaving to satisfy his hunger and get minimal sleep before returning to the orb to continue his training.
Less than a week had passed in reality when Leon reached the 4th rank of apprenticeship.
—--------------------------------------------------- [Growth Assistant]
▶ As you have advanced in rank, the probability of receiving rewards has increased. ▶ You have been provided with 400 hours of orb time. ▶ Please choose your additional rank advancement reward. ▶ Artifact (C+ Grade Mobile Invisibility Cloak) / Magic Book (C+ Grade Electric Magic 'Glorious Lightning of the Raida Series')
There were no additional features unlocked.
Leon’s attention immediately went to the additional reward. The first thing that caught his eye was "Glorious Lightning."
A C+ grade meant it was a high-level spell, even among those that could be used up to the Mystic level, and it even had a unique name attached to it.
It was exactly the type of magic book Leon needed, as he currently had no advanced spells.
The Mobile Invisibility Cloak, judging by its name, was an upgraded artifact from the Stationary Invisibility Cloak. It would undoubtedly be useful in dangerous situations, but Leon chose the magic book instead. He urgently needed high-level spells.
A magic book with a purple cover fell into his palm.
"Come to think of it... the name sounds familiar."
Raida?
Leon racked his memory, trying to recall where he had heard that name before. It wasn’t difficult, as he hadn’t been to many places outside of the training room.
He quickly remembered where he had heard it.
"Isn’t that the name of the Wydia Tower Master?"
It was a name he had overheard in passing.
Even though Leon spent most of his time in the training room, it was impossible not to know the name of the highest authority in his city.
"I heard he's been secluded to raise his rank."
He was a person known for focusing solely on training, neglecting the management of the city he was in charge of to achieve the advanced rank of Insight. But the fact that he had reached the Insight rank meant his talent was guaranteed.
A mage like that wouldn’t have only specialized in electric magic.
"Is this a spell he created when he was at a lower rank?"
With that thought, Leon placed the magic book into a makeshift storage box inside the orb.
After completing a general quest and confirming that the reward was a standard E-grade, Leon resumed his training.
He stabilized his rank for a week, mastered the 4-star Arpina basic spells, and then emerged from the training room.
Leon could now summon elemental spirits of fire, water, wind, and earth. While summoning all four simultaneously would consume a vast amount of mana until he learned how to harmonize them at the 5-star level, Leon, who consumed elixirs like food, could handle it without much issue.
When Leon descended to the first floor, he spotted Peter frantically running around near the entrance.
"That guy always seems so busy."
Peter adjusted his slipping glasses, looked around, and quickly ran over to Leon.
"Just in time! There’s urgent news!"
"...What is it?"
"There’s going to be a regular exchange meeting between schools at Trifenia!"
"Regular exchange meeting?"
"Oh, you wouldn’t have heard of it before. It’s a day when various schools gather to rank themselves through duels. It’s mainly for academy representatives or the personal disciples of professors, but we get to go too!"
Leon frowned at the news but quickly controlled his expression. Having to watch other people duel during precious training time wasn’t exactly something to be happy about. Besides, he only had nine months left to focus solely on his training.
"Aren’t you excited to see mages fighting up close?"
Could he still say that if a black spear and chains came at him, threatening to pierce his skull? Leon grumbled inwardly but decided not to say anything out loud.
"Is participation mandatory?"
"Of course! Isn’t it strange not to go? I’ve heard it’s like a festival for students, and for us, it’s an opportunity we wouldn’t normally get."
Is there no one who doesn’t like festivals? Leon wondered if there might be a way to get out of it, but when he asked, Peter shook his head.
"Probably not? Well, the higher-ups might dislike it, though. I heard that the results of the exchange meeting could affect the benefits of the schools."
"What kind of benefits?"
"I’m not sure. I overheard it in passing... Haha."
Leon’s face noticeably darkened.
Before departing for Trifenia, Leon decided to make thorough preparations.
To someone like Leon, who knew how rampant power inflation was, heading to a new place was akin to walking into danger. He never knew when or where a strong opponent might appear.
Since they were leaving the next day, there wasn’t enough time to learn Glorious Lightning. However, there were still plenty of ways Leon could prepare for danger.
He packed his subspace pouch with scrolls and artifacts that could respond to emergencies immediately.
He stuffed nearly 30 single-use scrolls into the subspace pouch.
The artifacts he stored in the subspace included a D+ grade Guardian Golem Summoning Flute and the ancient wooden staff. He kept a shield token, the Stationary Invisibility Cloak, and a low-grade mana enhancement ring on his person, ready for immediate use.
The shield token, according to his appraisal magic, was an E-grade artifact.
When the activation word was spoken, a shield would instantly form to protect the user’s body. Despite being E-grade, it could block more powerful magic, though it had a limited number of uses and required a long cooldown time after each use.
It seemed likely that it had a + grade attached to it, even though the appraisal magic didn’t show it. He estimated it could be used two or three more times.
"With this, I should be able to handle a low-level Mystic mage."
On the day of departure to Trifenia,
Leon and the other general disciples, along with their instructor Robert, gathered in front of a large platform near the central magic tower.
On the platform rested a massive galleon, sitting idly on the ground. It was an airship, commonly referred to as a sky galleon, capable of floating through the air.
A large crowd had gathered, consisting of nearly every mage in the city.
It was easy to distinguish the different groups. Just as Leon wore the uniform of a general disciple, the academy students wore similar robes with slightly different patterns. The colors indicated their year.
Those dressed in a variety of other attire were the established mages.
Soon, a large number of people began boarding the galleon. The ship was massive enough to accommodate them all.
Leon and the general disciples were the last to board the galleon.
"Wow... Do you think we could ever become academy students?"
Next to him, Leon heard Aaron muttering in awe. Aaron, with his mouth agape, looked around as some academy students snickered at him.
"Are they coming with us too?"
"Maybe they’re just here to observe."
"If just watching could make someone a Mystic mage, I’d already be one."
"Hehe, they can probably hear you."
Leon ignored them and scanned the galleon, just as Aaron did.
But not for the same reasons as Aaron.
The academy accepted students who were at least 20 years old and adults. If they had been trained systematically as personal disciples from a young age, some might already be Mystic mages, but otherwise, they would likely be at a similar rank to Leon. The systematic magic taught there wouldn’t be much different from Arpina’s magic unless it was at the Mystic level, so Leon had no reason to be interested.
Leon searched the galleon for a place where he could remain unnoticed.
"Nothing..."
No matter how secluded, there wasn’t a single spot on the deck where he could completely avoid people’s eyes.
"Judging by the treatment of general disciples, they’re likely to group us all together for sleeping."
He would have to give up the idea of training while on board the ship. Leon’s lips pouted slightly.
The galleon sailed through the sky non-stop for five days. Aside from briefly greeting Leah and Rowen, Leon stayed in his room, practicing the mana absorption method.
It wasn’t training that advanced his quests, but it was the only training Leon could do without drawing attention while pretending to be an ordinary person.
"If I could just reach the high Mystic level, I wouldn’t have to worry about this anymore."
At that rank, even if his attribute change was revealed, no one could easily touch him. If there was a way for a single attribute mage to transform into an all-attribute mage, there was no telling what desperate mages might try.
To be truly safe, he would need to reach the Insight level, but given the rewards that would accumulate by then, he figured he could protect himself well enough at the Mystic level.
Leon thought about that time as he calmly regulated his breathing.
Another day passed, and the ship finally stopped. They had arrived at Trifenia.
Trifenia was a massive magical city that had a similar feel to Wydia.
As Peter had said, the city was bustling with crowds, fitting the description of a festival.
"You have free time until tomorrow’s exchange event, but be mindful not to do anything that might endanger yourselves, especially you lot. You understand, right?"
Robert gave a stern warning in front of their lodgings. It was justified. If they acted recklessly during the festival, they might find themselves quietly disposed of by a high-level mage.
Security was likely tighter than usual, but it was better to be cautious.
With his free time, Leon wandered around until he arrived at the central market.
"Anyone need a bundle of barrier scrolls? I’m open to trading for other scrolls or artifacts!"
"This isn’t an opportunity that comes every day! Chains that automatically bind your opponent, only 80 mana stones!"
The sight of various mages mingling and trading caught Leon’s interest.
He began to think about what he might have to trade.
"Elixirs? Scrolls? Herbs?"
He didn’t have any mana stones, but he had plenty of items for bartering.
"Should I take this chance to clear out the lower-grade items and stock up on mana stones?"
Having made up his mind, Leon slipped into a secluded area, carefully scanned his surroundings, and then changed into a different robe from within the orb before returning to the market.
Given his status as a general disciple in Wydia, it wasn’t feasible to offload a large quantity of goods without arousing suspicion.