Improvement

"This chunk of magic stone was well spent."

Ronan sighed.

After selling his runes, the young female clerk at the workshop enthusiastically spent half the day trying to sell him the workshop's main magical tools.

If Ronan had had enough magic stones in his pocket, he might really have bought one of those Zero-Order Low-Level magical tools.

"I can't afford magical tools, but I definitely need to replace my rune carving knife. The old one is so worn it's about to affect my inscription success rate."

Ronan suddenly remembered this and instinctively turned to head back into the workshop, only to lightly smack his forehead the next second.

"Idiot!"

"Of course things are cheaper at street stalls! Off to the Wizard Market!"

Since everything had gone smoothly, Ronan still had plenty of time.

With eighteen Low-Level Magic Stones tucked into his belt, Ronan strode through the stall-filled Wizard Market with swagger.

He wandered until the sun was setting before finally leaving the town.

For two Low-Level Magic Stones, he bought a decent rune carving knife from a stall selling miscellaneous goods.

Though it was secondhand, it was made from a special metal called Tungsten Silver. Its feel and durability were far superior to Ronan's old knife.

He had originally planned to rent a house in the town's residential district once he had enough money, but after an estate agent showed him several places, none of them satisfied him.

Town life had its advantages: safety and convenience.

But it also had plenty of drawbacks—noise, crowds. If he wanted to cultivate quietly by himself for a while, he would have to pay for a dedicated spell training room, or else go out into the wilderness again.

Ronan no longer felt as insecure as he had when he had first crossed over. After living in the treehouse for more than two months, he had gradually grown accustomed to life in the forest.

After considering it carefully, Ronan decided to put his plan to move into town on hold for now.

"I might as well save up more money and move straight into the academy when the time comes."

On his way home, Ronan stood atop a high slope near the forest and gazed at Hoddam Academy, shrouded in white mist in the distance. Silently, he made his decision.

Though everything in his life seemed to be gradually getting on track, the road ahead was still difficult.

If he wanted to walk the path of a wizard steadily and without stopping, he would ultimately have to join an academy. Only there could he find a truly complete and systematic inheritance.

That was something a Wandering Wizard could almost never obtain.

"Hoddam."

Ronan took one deep look at the mist-shrouded center, his lips moving faintly. Then he turned around and ran toward the forest ahead with his money pouch in hand.

The days passed one by one in peace.

Ronan's daily routine remained one of grueling cultivation.

Ever since obtaining the Character Panel, he had become almost like a different person from his previous life. He now took pleasure in nearly any activity that could increase proficiency.

Watching the values on his Character Panel rise bit by bit, even the dullest cultivation no longer felt tedious.

"Drip... drip..."

Sweat dripped from his chin onto the wooden floor, spreading into a conspicuous dark patch.

Inside the stuffy little cabin, Ronan was bare-chested and wore only a pair of white shorts. His entire body was half-sprawled across the floor in an awkward, almost bizarre posture.

His face was flushed and taut, his teeth clamped tightly over his lower lip. Veins bulged visibly across his forehead, steam rose from the top of his head, and he seemed to be enduring immense pain.

If someone had been present and looked closely at Ronan, they would have discovered that his already absurdly twisted body was still moving, at an extremely slow pace, toward an even more outrageous posture.

No one knew how much time passed.

A sharp crack suddenly rang out inside the cabin, as if something had abruptly snapped.

It was immediately followed by a series of popping explosions.

Ronan, who had been motionless just moments ago, suddenly began jerking and bouncing across the floor as though seized by cramps. The unbroken crackling of muscles and bones came from his body.

After the spasmodic bouncing came a downpour of sweat.

Every pore on Ronan's body seemed to burst open like a breached dam. Large beads of sweat rapidly seeped from his body, gathering into little streams over his skin and trickling into the cracks in the floor beneath his feet. A moment later, Ronan nearly collapsed from dehydration, slumping weakly to the ground, though the delight on his face was impossible to hide.

"Damn it, I finally managed to get this torturous self-abuse technique started."

"Pain can stimulate the growth of Spiritual Power. Then conversely, increased Spiritual Power can naturally improve my tolerance for pain. This method really works!"

"I'm such a damn genius!"

Grinning smugly, Ronan brought up his current Character Panel.

Name: Ronan Damien

Age: 16

Talent: Non-attribute Affinity

Strength: Level Three Wizard Apprentice (45%)

Skills: Basic Meditation Technique (Mastery 221/400)

Energy Missile (Expert 288/800)

Charged Weapon (Proficient 67/200)

Rune Inscription—[Cleaning] (Proficient 77/200), [Shine] (Beginner 21/100)

Ascetic Body Forging (Beginner 1/100)

Compared to a little over a month ago, Ronan's attributes had undergone tremendous changes.

The most astonishing was his strength level. He had risen directly from a Level Two Apprentice to a Level Three Apprentice, and his progress was already nearly halfway there.

The reason was simple: Ronan had taken drugs! After drinking a bottle of Spirit Concentration Potion worth a full twenty Low-Level Magic Stones, his Spiritual Power cultivation had increased by more than an entire level.

The reason he had taken the potion was equally simple: Rune Inscription!

After the Cleaning Rune reached the Proficient level, Ronan was no longer satisfied with the meager profits of Zero-Order Low-Level common runes. He began setting his sights on the enormous returns of intermediate and even high-level runes.

For Zero-Order Intermediate common runes and above, inscription difficulty was one factor, but the main requirement was the Rune Master's level of Spiritual Power.

For example, a Zero-Order Intermediate Rune required Spiritual Power at the level of an Intermediate Wizard Apprentice.

There were nine apprentice levels in total. Levels one through three were considered low-level.

Levels four through six were intermediate, while high-level corresponded to levels seven through nine. Above Level Nine Apprentice came official wizards.

An Intermediate Wizard Apprentice represented a level of at least Level Four Apprentice.

Ronan had calculated it. With his aptitude, even with the bonus from a high-proficiency Meditation Technique, it would take at least one to two years to reach Level Four Apprentice.

He could not wait that long.

So he chose to take drugs.

"They're all necessary investments in the early stages. Besides, the strength gained from the potion is still my own, isn't it? No matter how you look at it, I'm not losing out!"

The facts proved that this was indeed the case. At this stage, Ronan had already begun to see generous returns.

Though his strength had yet to reach Level Four, the Spiritual Power of a Level Three Apprentice allowed him to inscribe Cleaning Runes with increasing ease. Combined with his improved proficiency, his success rate for inscribing Cleaning Runes had now approached one in two.

It had also allowed Ronan to unlock a new rune—Shine.

Also a Zero-Order Low-Level rune, Shine was somewhat more difficult to inscribe than Cleaning, and it was worth more as well. Welling Workshop's purchase price was two magic stones.

But Ronan felt that the Shine Rune was far less useful than the Cleaning Rune.

The Shine Rune merely improved a magical tool's appearance, essentially enchanting it with a visual glow effect.