Ignition Spell Mastery, Talent Increased

A panel?

Ian stared at the light screen that had appeared, momentarily stunned.

It was very clear. Both the name and age matched.

There was also a separate Talent entry: five stars.

98.

Had Talent been quantified?

The Skills section contained only the Basic Meditation Method, and he had yet to get started with it.

But simply looking at this panel did not seem to be anything special. He could not tell what use it had.

Perhaps something would change once he got started with the meditation method?

As Ian pondered, he focused even harder, trying to sense the elusive Mental Power.

An hour passed in the blink of an eye.

He still failed.

At that moment, Victor rose and said, "From now on, I'll teach here once a week. You must arrive on time. You may arrange the rest of your time as you wish. I'll take you to where you'll be staying."

With that, he headed outside.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and hurried after him.

But unlike the previous disorderly crowd, the group had already changed.

Several people who had sensed Mental Power were striding at the front—two men and one woman.

A few other men and women clustered around them.

"So the hierarchy has already been divided!"

Ian's gaze flickered. Without a doubt, those at the very front all possessed at least the so-called Third-grade Wizard Talent.

And this was only the beginning. As time passed, the hierarchy would only become more and more apparent.

He had no interest in that.

Right now, he only wanted to get started with the meditation method as soon as possible and see whether anything would change.

Following Victor, the group arrived at the southern side of the Academy.

A cluster of stone houses suddenly came into view.

"Pick one freely. Lunch and dinner will be delivered to this area every day. Just go get them yourselves."

With that, he turned and left without the slightest hesitation.

The people present looked at one another before walking forward.

The stone houses were all about the same, with bedding prepared in advance by the School inside.

Ian casually chose one near the corner.

After putting his things in order, he lay on the bed a few minutes later and continued trying the meditation method.

Three months sounded like a long time, but the pressure on Ian was still considerable.

He had to get started first. Perhaps there would be a pleasant surprise.

Besides, Ian had a feeling that the Talent entry on the panel was not so simple.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

During those three days, Ian did not go out. Every day, he contemplated the meditation method.

His daily meals were delivered by School slaves.

After asking around, he learned that they were merely ordinary people.

Slaves with Wizard Talent were property of the School, and most were assigned even more dangerous work.

It was said that at least one-third of them died every year.

This was no secret, so it spread widely among these probationary apprentices.

Even those with Third-grade Talent did not dare waste time. Each worked harder than the last.

"But I've finally gotten started."

Inside the stone house, Ian had his eyes closed, but this time, there was no darkness before him.

At the heart of that darkness, specks of light glimmered like sparks.

That was his Mental Power.

That "spark" gave off a faint glow, revealing the equally sparse points of light around it.

They came in every color; those were the elements.

[Name: Ian Green]

[Age: 12]

[Strength: Mortal]

[Talent: 98 (Fifth-Class Star)]

[Skill: Basic Meditation Method (Beginner 1/100)]

On the panel, the Basic Meditation Method had also changed from unlearned to Beginner.

At the same time, he finally understood the panel's first ability.

"As long as I keep practicing, my proficiency will increase—and it won't regress."

Ian's eyes lit up.

If that was the case, if he could raise his meditation method proficiency to a higher realm—

Perhaps he could comprehend the Mental Power Rune within the allotted time.

"It's just a pity I can only meditate four times a day. Otherwise, I could be even faster."

Ian frowned.

Whenever he meditated four times, he would feel a headache coming on.

He guessed it had something to do with his talent.

He just did not know how many times those with other talents could meditate, or how great the gap was.

This was intimately tied to the formation of Mental Power Runes.

Because Mental Power Runes could only be formed while in a meditative state.

"Besides, even though it's only the simplest rune, it's divided into four parts."

Ian looked at the rune in the book. It resembled a twisted ring, but it was three-dimensional.

It was divided into four parts.

"There are still four days until the next lesson. I hope I can form the first part."

Ian closed his eyes and began practicing the meditation method, while doing his best to recall the appearance of the rune's construction.

In the blink of an eye—

Four days passed.

Ian opened his eyes again.

"Failed again."

Forming a Mental Power Rune was far more difficult than he had imagined.

But more often than not, it was the limit on his number of meditation sessions that held him back.

After his four meditations, he could now form a rough outline. If he could meditate two more times, perhaps he would succeed.

He opened the panel.

[Skill: Basic Meditation Method (Beginner 17/100), Ignition Spell (Mastery 1/300)]

The meditation method's proficiency was steadily increasing, improving the quality of his meditation. Perhaps once it reached proficiency, he could succeed directly.

As for the Ignition Spell, it was merely a little trick that came bundled with the meditation method.

It was exceedingly simple.

Ian snapped his fingers while using his mental power to communicate with the fire element in nature.

A tiny flame appeared.

At most, it was hot enough to scald someone a little.

It consumed almost no mental power and was easy to operate. Ian only played with it after finishing his meditation.

Without spending much effort, he had crossed Proficiency and reached Mastery.

"What a pity it's useless!"

After moping for a moment, Ian headed out.

There was class today.

He cautiously made his way to the Teaching Area and arrived at the same classroom as last time.

Quite a few people were already seated in the classroom. Ian chose the same spot as before.

Victor arrived soon after.

He did not take attendance.

As soon as the time came, he began teaching.

After reviewing the meditation method, he moved on to all sorts of common knowledge about Wizards.

Among it was an introduction to Wizard talents.

Only this time did Ian truly understand the gap between talents.

A sixth-grade talent could meditate only once or twice a day; a fifth-grade talent, two to four times; a fourth-grade talent, four to eight times...

Each grade meant a twofold difference.

Doing the math, even setting aside first-grade talents, there was still an eightfold gap between third-grade and sixth-grade talents.

And that was only the number of meditation sessions.

There was clearly a difference in the quality of meditation as well.

"How cruel!"

Ian did not wallow in self-pity. At the very least, he was still better off than those with sixth-grade talent.

The lesson soon ended, and Victor left.

Ian returned to the stone house and continued working hard.

He read the Basic Meditation Method over and over, grasping at every detail.

This really did make his proficiency increase a little more often.

In his spare time, he practiced several cantrips.

One insight led to another.

Perhaps they could bring him new inspiration.

His finger snaps grew more forceful and faster, while the flame went from merely giving him a brief burn to letting him feel its heat just by drawing near.

Though he still had not successfully comprehended the first portion of the rune, seeing his proficiency rise kept him motivated.

The Basic Meditation Method steadily gained four to five proficiency points a day, while Ignition Spell gained seventy or eighty.

Ian did not even pay much attention to it.

Three days later, Ignition Spell reached Expert Level.

Four more days later, Ignition Spell reached Master Level.

And when its proficiency reached Master Level, a line of text suddenly appeared.

"Ignition Spell has reached Master Level. Talent +1."

Ian looked at the panel.

text
[Name: Ian Green]

[Age: 12]

[Strength: Mortal]

[Talent: 99 (Fifth-Grade Star)]

[Skills: Basic Meditation Method (Beginner 58/100), Ignition Spell (Master Level), Water Condensation (Beginner 40/100), Light Spell (Beginner 30/100)]

His talent had risen from 98 to 99 points.

In that instant, Ian understood the panel's second function.

"Every time I raise a piece of transcendent knowledge to Master Level, I can increase my talent. The amount depends on the level of that transcendent knowledge."

Inside the stone house, Ian took a deep breath, unable to hide the excitement in his heart.

At this moment, he saw hope of successfully advancing.