Tremendous Change

Ten points?

That was twice as much as the Knight Method.

Ian froze on the spot.

But then he could no longer remain calm.

It was as if a stream of icy spring water flowed into his mind, soaking every inch of his flesh and soul.

Something intangible and tangible alike seemed to be rising.

His talent was improving.

From Fourth-grade Star Talent to Third-grade Star.

This no longer seemed as simple as going from fifth-grade to fourth-grade. This time, it was a true metamorphosis.

Ian had no idea how long he remained in that state.

He only knew that when he opened his eyes again, it was already dusk—and it had merely been dusk before he began meditating.

The time had not changed.

No!

This dusk seemed lighter than the night before he had regained consciousness.

A whole day had passed?

Ian was somewhat stunned.

It had felt like only a few hours had passed, yet an entire day was gone.

The changes were just as enormous.

"Lightness!"

That was Ian's first impression. It felt as though his mind had cast off a layer of burden.

His brain seemed to work a little better?

Ian did not know why he had that feeling. Perhaps it was because every detail from yesterday suddenly resurfaced in his mind.

Clear to an absurd degree.

Had his memory improved?

Perhaps another term would be more fitting.

"Photographic memory—or hyperthymesia."

Ian picked up an ordinary miscellaneous book and quickly read through it once. When he closed his eyes, every word of its contents was crystal clear in his mind.

This was the first benefit brought by the improvement in talent.

"The second benefit is undoubtedly meditation."

Ian instantly entered a meditative state.

Within the empty Mental Power Space floated the third Mental Power Rune, already more than halfway condensed.

But now, it condensed at astonishing speed.

After a single meditation session, it had fully condensed.

Even the outline of the fourth had appeared and was gradually taking shape.

It would definitely be fully condensed before the next test.

Of course, the improvement in meditation was not that exaggerated.

This was the additional growth in mental power brought about by the improvement of his talent itself, saving him nearly twenty days of time.

Twenty-odd days by his old standards, of course.

Now, he could meditate a full nine times, while each meditation session lasted nearly one and a half times as long as before.

The difference in efficiency was nearly half again as much.

Paired with the Master Level Meditation Method, it was a complete qualitative transformation.

"The third area of improvement."

Ian could barely stop himself from bursting into laughter.

Naturally, it was the Meditation Method.

As the Meditation Method reached Master Level, another rune appeared within the Mental Power Space, faintly absorbing the elements from the outside world.

Its effect was extremely slight.

Perhaps running for an entire day would only equal a single meditation session.

But it operated every moment without pause.

"A portable solar charger."

Ian pressed his lips together.

If he learned a few more Meditation Methods, Ian hardly dared imagine how powerful that would be.

Would there come a day when consumption and recovery could be made equal? When that time came, his endurance would be invincible.

"After advancing to Second-class Talent, I'll need to learn a new Meditation Method. I'll have a chance then."

Ian was delighted.

This improvement truly was a qualitative transformation.

It meant everything would be completely different.

"I just wonder how much the next improvement will require?"

Ian pondered.

A notification suddenly popped up on the panel.

[Talent: Third-grade Star (153/250)]

There was progress now too?

Ian's eyes lit up. That was a good thing.

The panel was still quite intelligent.

Just like before, it would remind him whenever his Talent had improved by a certain amount.

But reaching 250 was still a distant prospect. At the very least, advancing to the learning stage seemed unlikely for now.

"I'm being too greedy."

Ian suddenly smiled.

This improvement was already enough to ensure that his meditation progress would rise to the front ranks of the class. It could almost be said that he had one foot in the core departments.

How could he still be greedy?

On closer thought, it seemed the next practical session before entering the Potions Department was now approaching.

Potion brewing.

This time would be the real test.

Because he lacked money!

There was no question that practice accounted for a huge part of potion brewing, but potion ingredients were even more expensive.

With the help of the panel, his efficiency was high.

But he simply did not have many opportunities to practice.

Compared with those Wizards from established families and Wizards who had received substantial support, he had hardly any advantage at all.

He was even at a disadvantage.

"But fortunately, those few Wizards with Second-class Talent have no intention of joining the Logistics Department."

Thinking of this, Ian let out a sigh of relief.

As three months passed, many people's preferred destinations had actually become quite obvious.

The three geniuses with Second-class Talent.

Lucy favored the Secret Source Department, while Levi and Beck, the remaining two, were also devoted to the Combat Department.

Without competing against them, there were still many formidable rivals among the geniuses with Third-grade Talent, but the competition had already become much less intense.

The Potions Department planned to recruit five people.

Three months from now, he should still have some competitiveness.

If all else failed, he could go to the Combat Department.

If that happened, the outcome would seem fairly good as well.

But when it came to earning resources, the Combat Department's various battles and combat logistics were all resource-devouring behemoths. It would be almost impossible for him to save enough money to buy Wizardry.

And learning Wizardry required a safe environment.

So he still had to strive to enter the Logistics Department.

"Keep pushing."

The fire in Ian's heart had not dimmed.

The surprises did not end there.

Ian soon discovered two more unexpected delights.

The first was that he found the speed at which his proficiency in learning various skills increased had also risen.

Cantrips had nearly reached the rate of one every two and a half days.

The wizardry he had started learning this month was called Mental Power Detection, a detection spell.

Its effect was to emit special mental power fluctuations to probe the surroundings, allowing him to detect nearby living creatures.

He had originally planned to reach the Expert level by the end of the month.

Yet he reached the Expert level after only three days, a full week ahead of schedule.

According to Ian's calculations, the time it took him to learn a simple wizardry like Mental Power Impact had already shrunk from over a month to nearly thirty days.

This was a good thing for his future wizard studies.

The second surprise was quite nice as well.

Thanks to gaining photographic memory, Ian's speed in reading Victor's notes had also increased dramatically.

Originally, he could read one page a day, gaining 5 proficiency points.

Now, he could read two pages a day.

That meant an increase of 10 proficiency points.

Before the next test, he could at least reach Proficient, with his progress more than halfway there.

It was nearly twice as fast as before.

While skill improvements were certainly gratifying, a wizard's core would always be mental power.

Several days later, as another meditation session came to an end, Ian opened his eyes, delighted.

"The fourth rune has condensed."

This meant that, in an instant, he had risen from the middle ranks to the upper ranks among his batch.

He was practically guaranteed a spot now.

Knock, knock, knock!

Just then, a sudden knock sounded at the door.

Logan's anxious voice came from outside:

"Ian, something terrible has happened!"