The Beginning of Chaos

Level Four Wizard Apprentice.

And he had gotten there by popping potions.

But no matter what, Ronan was now a bona fide Intermediate Wizard Apprentice—and a Rune Master besides.

Thinking back to the miserable state he had been in when he had first transmigrated here a few months ago felt like a dream.

The potions can't stop.

Having experienced the rush of his experience bar skyrocketing in an instant, it was hard to go back to diligently leveling up step by step.

After all, it was easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury back to frugality.

More importantly, Ronan felt he could keep taking them. There was no problem at all.

"The greatest drawback of using Spiritual Power-enhancing potions is that the Spiritual Power increased through potion stimulation is impure and contains many impurities.

"Generally speaking, after taking a Spirit Concentration Potion for the second time, one's Spiritual Power enters a 'plateau phase' where its growth temporarily stops."

"During this stage, ordinary meditation no longer has any noticeable effect. Meditation will no longer increase Spiritual Power, and it may even cause Spiritual Power to decline after meditating."

"This is a process of self-tempering, during which the Spiritual Power cleanses itself of impurities after taking the potion."

That was what the salesgirl at the potion shop had told him when he bought the Spirit Concentration Potions.

But... why hadn't he encountered that problem?

Ronan could not quite figure it out.

After taking Spirit Concentration Potions twice, his Spiritual Power still continued to rise when he meditated.

"Was he exceptionally gifted? Or was it because the Basic Meditation Technique had broken through to Expert Level?"

Ronan felt the latter was far more likely.

It might also have had something to do with his practice of Ascetic Body Forging.

The training process of Ascetic Body Forging was simply too painful. As he endured the pain again and again, his mental will had been unknowingly tempered as well.

It was a perfectly reasonable explanation.

Thanks to the rapid growth of his Spiritual Power, Ronan's progress in Ascetic Body Forging was also incredibly fast. He was about to reach Proficient Level, and had begun attempting the second pose in the booklet.

"Even if the plateau phase is gone, drug resistance still exists.

"The effect of the second dose was obviously much weaker. It did not even raise me by half a level.

"The third, the fourth... the effects will only get worse from there.

"I hear that for many people, they stop having any effect at all after the fifth dose."

"Ah, whatever. I'll keep taking them for now. When they stop working, I'll switch to higher-grade potions."

Ronan was quite indifferent about it. With the original owner's aptitude, he probably would not have broken through to become a formal wizard even if he trained until death.

His talent was poor to begin with. If he did not rely on a little external assistance, the gap between him and others would only grow wider and wider.

After more than a month of relentless training, the proficiency of Energy Missile had risen by nearly three hundred.

That was three hundred points of proficiency at Expert Level. Every single point required casting the spell two or three times, perhaps even more later on.

Gaining three hundred proficiency points in one month meant that Ronan had cast Energy Missile nearly thirty times a day on average! Considering that he had also been balancing Rune Inscription, body forging, and meditation, it was clear just how hard Ronan had worked on this spell.

"If I keep training this hard for another month—two at most—the proficiency level of Energy Missile will rise again."

Ronan was incredibly eager for it.

Expert-Level Energy Missile could already break through protective magic items with two runes. If it improved further, would its power not rival a high-level zero-tier spell? Being skilled at one thing was better than knowing a little of everything.

Ronan no longer planned to learn more advanced offensive spells. Instead of spending the time on that, he might as well grind Energy Missile to max level first.

Before he knew it, he had reached the entrance to the forest.

Ronan was about to follow the woodland path into the shade when a breeze suddenly blew past.

The trees and grass rustled.

A yellowing Oak Leaf drifted past Ronan on the wind.

Watching the leaf slowly settle onto the ground, Ronan suddenly realized that autumn had come to Hoddam.

Dwarf Market.

Wearing a brand-new Gray Magic Robe, Ronan walked out of a shop specializing in wizard robes, the novelty and delight still lingering on his face.

He had bought a new robe.

A proper wizard robe. It had cost him fifteen Low-Level Magic Stones and was enchanted with two low-level zero-tier runes: [Cleaning] and Constant Temperature. The shop had even given him an exquisitely made pointed wizard hat.

Following the principle of not flaunting his wealth, Ronan had specifically chosen a robe similar in color and style to his old one. Most people would not notice any difference and would only assume that he had changed into an ordinary new robe.

"At least I won't have to wash my own clothes anymore.

"The Constant Temperature effect will come in handy this winter, too."

As Ronan thought this, he looked up and saw that the leaves of the Champs Elysees Trees lining the central street of Dwarf Market had begun to yellow slightly.

The weather was no longer as hot as before. Having trained in body-forging techniques, Ronan was especially sensitive to such changes in temperature.

Shaking out the hem of his robe, Ronan headed toward the market exit.

As usual, he had come to sell his inscribed Rune Stones and, while he was at it, purchase inscription materials and daily necessities.

On his way toward the market gate, Ronan kept seeing wizards in fine clothes, whose bearing and speech clearly differed from ordinary Wandering Wizards, coming and going through the various shops.

"There seem to be a lot more Academy Wizards spending money at Dwarf Market lately."

Ronan even saw several High-Level Wizards hurrying down the street, their expressions cold and their bodies radiating an intimidating aura, as though they possessed invisible halos of their own.

Those who gave off such a feeling were generally Ninth-Level Wizard Apprentices whose Spiritual Power had vaporized, with one foot already through the door to becoming formal wizards.

Figures like that were rarely seen in the market on ordinary days.

Though he found it a little strange, Ronan did not dwell on it. He guessed that Hoddam Wizard Academy might have some sort of group event coming up.

He had heard that Academy Wizards held internal competitions from time to time. Testing their cultivation was one purpose, but another was to temper the combat abilities of Academy Faction wizards so that they would not grow rusty.

After all, many Academy Wizards enjoyed favorable conditions and did not need to risk their lives outside for a few resources. They spent years immersed in research, and some exaggerated cases could even forget spell incantations they had already mastered long ago.

"Could the academy be holding some grand competition soon?"

Ronan guessed at random.

This had nothing to do with a tiny Level Four Wandering Wizard Apprentice like him, who had only just climbed out of the struggle for basic survival. He was simply curious for gossip.

After leaving Dwarf Market, Ronan considered where to go next.

"There's still time. I'll browse the Wizard Market, then find a place to eat? The thin-crust pie and herb pudding at that restaurant last time were pretty good. I could go there again."

Just as he was thinking that, Ronan suddenly noticed that quite a crowd had gathered near the town entrance, with more people continuously streaming in that direction.

Everything had been perfectly normal when he arrived that morning.

Ronan's eyes flickered, and he followed the crowd.

Along the way, he heard words from the surrounding discussions constantly reaching his ears—"black robes," "conflict," "formal wizard," "academy genius," and the like.

When he finally squeezed into the densest part of the crowd, Ronan found that everyone was looking up in the same direction.

He raised his head as well, and his pupils rapidly constricted.

At the town entrance, a tall wooden stake had been erected at some point.

At its top, a gruesome, blood-soaked corpse dressed in black robes had been nailed in place.

Someone in the crowd let out a long sigh and murmured in a heavy voice.

"The wizards of Black Wizard Land have launched an invasion. Hoddam is about to descend into chaos!"