Harvest

"Could this be the Wizard World's specific description of the Master-Level Spell realm?"

Ronan could not help but speculate, but unfortunately, there was nowhere to verify it.

His store of knowledge regarding all manner of things in the Wizard World was far too lacking.

There were many things he did not understand, did not know, or had never even heard of.

And it was not like he could ask anyone. Probably no one around him knew, either.

This was the gap between Wandering Wizards and Academy Wizards with orthodox inheritances.

It was also the main reason most Academy Wizards possessed an innate sense of superiority when facing Wandering Wizards. Setting aside everything else, their breadth of knowledge was simply not on the same level.

"I need to enter an academy as soon as possible. The acquisition of inheritances and knowledge is just too important for a wizard."

Ronan silently made up his mind.

In fact, when he had left the forest's Treehouse Area this time, he had intended to join an academy for further study.

Hoddam Wizard Academy had strict admission standards for official students, with high requirements for soul aptitude.

But if all he wanted was auditor status, the requirements were much looser. As long as he had enough magic stones, that was enough.

Ronan's predecessor had entered the academy as an auditor back then, but he had not had much money. After obtaining a basic low-level Wizard Apprentice inheritance, he had no choice but to drop out.

Auditors had virtually no rights within the academy. Everything cost magic stones.

But Ronan did not care, because he had money now.

During this round of fighting and escape, no fewer than three Black Robe Wizards had died by his hand. All of them had been intermediate Wizard Apprentices or above, including one High-Level Wizard Apprentice.

Every one of them had carried a Storage Waist Pouch. The haul could not have been better.

Thinking of this, Ronan eagerly took out all three Storage Waist Pouches and carefully examined them on the table.

Judging from its appearance, the pouch belonging to the High-Level Wizard Apprentice—the black-robed man whose face was covered in bloody tattoos—was the finest.

The pure black leather pouch had a wonderful texture, embroidered with many exquisite patterns that made it look exceptionally high-end.

The Storage Waist Pouches of the other two intermediate apprentices were both dull gray and utterly unremarkable.

Ronan had never found an opportunity to open them during his escape. Now, he impatiently checked them one by one.

A few minutes later, however, Ronan's expression turned ugly.

He could not open a single one of the three Storage Waist Pouches!

"This thing actually has a lock?!"

Ronan felt a little frustrated.

He had only just learned that Storage Waist Pouches could be locked.

Each pouch had a special small rune at its opening. Only an infusion of the owner's Spiritual Power could open it, much like the fingerprint and password locks on phones and computers in his previous life.

If an outsider wanted to open a pouch, they first had to erase the original owner's Spiritual Power imprint from the rune lock.

That process was rather troublesome.

The best way to open a pouch intact without damaging the lock was to slowly wear it away bit by bit over time.

And the stronger the Spiritual Power imprint left by the pouch's original owner, the longer it would take to wear away.

Ronan's expression shifted for a while before he suddenly sighed and helplessly accepted reality.

"Slow is slow. Good things come to those who wait. Once I get stronger, I'll crack every last one of you open in one go."

That was all Ronan could do to comfort himself.

He set the three Storage Waist Pouches aside, then casually picked up the bag of protection fees he had collected during the day.

He opened it, poured everything onto the table, and counted it.

There were forty-eight Low-Level Magic Stones in total, quite a bit more than Ronan had expected. That was even after exempting Barry and his father.

In the battle against the High-Level Wizard Apprentice Black Robe Wizard, nearly half of the gray-robed wizards who had been with him had died. Logically, Ronan's earnings should have been cut in half as well.

But in fact, many of the surviving wizards had paid more than the original four Low-Level Magic Stones.

Compared to escaping alive from the hands of a Black Robe Wizard at the High-Level Wizard Apprentice level, that little extra protection fee was practically nothing.

That was also why the gray-robed wizards in Town Square had sincerely offered Ronan the highest courtesy of wizards during the day.

"They probably won't tell anyone about this, right?"

Ronan suddenly worried that news of him killing the High-Level Wizard Apprentice Black Robe Wizard would spread and bring him unnecessary trouble.

But he soon let it go. "So what if they tell people? Who'd believe it?"

That was right. A mere level-five Wandering Wizard had taken down a High-Level Wizard Apprentice Black Robe Wizard in a one-on-one fight.

Even if it had happened right in front of them, anyone who saw it would have to pinch their thigh hard to make sure they were not dreaming.

Let alone hearing it secondhand. Who would believe it?

"Forty-eight Low-Level Magic Stones, plus what I'm carrying... fifty-five in total."

Ronan looked at the small pile of glittering pigeon-egg-sized stones before him, but felt no great excitement.

This amount was only equivalent to a little over a month of his past income from Rune Inscription. He might have been mildly excited before, but in this period of soaring prices, it really would not go far.

The small, shabby inn where he was staying was so remote it was practically built outside town, yet it still cost one Low-Level Magic Stone a night, and that did not even include breakfast or dinner.

"If I want to improve my strength quickly and enter the academy as an auditor, this money is nowhere near enough."

Ronan rose from the table, walked to the window of his inn room, pushed it open, and basked in the moonlight.

"I need to find a way to open the Black Robes' pouches soon. If possible, I should find a chance to return to the Treehouse Area and retrieve the belongings I hid there. And I absolutely can't abandon Rune Inscription."

Ronan braced both hands against the windowsill, letting the breeze blow through his half-dried long hair as he quietly calculated his plans.

It was late at night, yet people still moved along the street below the inn.

There were hushed conversations, and seemingly even sounds of arguments.

In the distance, the small square at the town entrance was brightly lit. From where Ronan stood, he could seemingly hear the melodious yet mournful tune of Requiem Song.

All of it had been brought about by the Black Robes.

It was foreseeable that the land of wizards would become even more unsettled in the days ahead.

Listening to it all, Ronan thought of his Master Level Energy Missile.

At the Wizard Apprentice realm, he could barely be considered to possess a trump card that could save his life.

Though the cost of activating that trump card was immense. It exhausted all his Spiritual Power in an instant and might even drain part of his life force... that was Ronan's guess based on the white hair that had suddenly appeared.

"If Energy Missile can evolve an Extraordinary Magic Domain after reaching Master Level, can other low-level spells do the same? If every spell undergoes such a qualitative leap as long as I grind its proficiency to Master Level, then I'll be ridiculously powerful."

The possibility made Ronan's heart beat slightly faster, but he quickly faced reality.

Even if things were as he imagined, at his current stage, he could only use one such spell at most in each battle. His Spiritual Power cultivation was too low to support such massive, repeated expenditure.

Still, Charged Weapon proficiency would soon reach Expert level. It was indeed necessary to grind that spell to Master Level.

Come to think of it, he also needed to find time to buy another handy longsword. His previous one had shattered in the battle with the Black Robe Wizard. Just as Ronan was thinking this, he suddenly heard a mournful cry like a whale's call.

He hurriedly looked toward the sound.

After turning in a circle, he finally spotted it. In the direction of Hoddam Wizard Academy at the center of town, an enormous object roared into the sky.

Under the bright moonlight, a gigantic black ship rose through the mist and sailed away into the deep night.

Ronan stood there blankly, unable to tear his eyes away.