School Selection, Scarlet Mutation

"The Mist Wizard?"

Ronan seemed to be deep in thought.

He had read about it in books; it was an ancient tradition passed down through generations among formal wizards.

Legend has it that in ancient times, wizards of the first to third rank were called Mist Wizard.

Because at this stage, wizards are just starting out, like exploring in the Black Night fog, and every step they take needs to be taken with extreme caution.

Ronan was promoted from Level Nine Apprentice to Level One Wizard, which means he had just stepped into the Mist.

Everything is only just beginning now.

Ronan casually fed He Xi's owl a Low-Level Magic Stone, then chased away the remaining owls and looked at himself.

The form of mental energy in the mind has changed again, from a cloud of light and mist in the vaporization stage to a flowing liquid.

His spiritual energy liquefied.

The essence has been further purified.

Both in terms of quantity and quality, it is more than ten times stronger than the previous gasification stage.

Looking at the apprentice level from the perspective of a formal wizard, one finds them indeed pitifully weak, even the Level Nine Apprentice in the vaporization stage.

With such spiritual power, even a casual little spell could probably be comparable to a level zero advanced spell cast with all the might of Level Nine Apprentice.

Not to mention the added bonus from the Soul Rune.

Looking back now on the battle where I killed Fao in the Corpse Garden, I realize how much luck was involved.

Perhaps it was precisely because the gap between the two was so large that I had the opportunity.

Fao underestimated himself so much that he died without ever casting a spell or using a single magical artifact.

After becoming a full-fledged wizard, Ronan experienced a strange sense of clarity, which was probably the feeling of his soul being purified.

In this state, a wizard's spellcasting speed will undoubtedly increase significantly, rendering many spellcasting incantations and gestures redundant.

No wonder Ronan had seen many professional wizards cast spells, using almost no hand gestures and chanting very quickly and in short bursts.

This is the enormous advantage brought about by the sublimation of the soul.

After examining the internal changes, let's look at the external changes.

Ronan hesitated for a moment, then walked step by step to the dressing mirror in the corner of the room.

Looking around.

The person in the mirror was thin and old, with long, slightly curled gray hair draped over his shoulders. His face looked like he was in his late forties or early fifties, and Ronan's original appearance could only be vaguely discerned from his wrinkled features.

Ronan looked decades older than before, with only a hint of youthfulness remaining in his slightly dull, lake-blue eyes.

"."

Ronan pursed his lips, his hands beneath his robes slowly clenching into fists.

He released it again after a moment.

The turmoil in his eyes subsided.

"It's already a blessing to have made a breakthrough, how could I dare to ask for more?"

At least, Ronan felt that his current body was still strong and powerful, and the power flowing through his body was still strong, even much stronger than when he was full of energy and blood during his apprenticeship.

A greater life force seemed to be brewing within him, but for some reason, it was difficult for him to break through his decaying outer shell.

This is actually something that Ronan is still confused about.

Open the Character Panel.

Name: Ronan Damien

Age: 17

[Talent: Non-attribute Affinity]

[Strength: Level One Wizard (1%)]

Skill: Ascetic Body Forging (Expert 800/800)

Ronan's gaze fell on the "Ascetic Body Forging" section, and the data displayed there made his eyes gleam.

This is a bit unbelievable.

Ronan's breakthrough was doomed to failure before he even finished the fifth vial of the potion.

If he takes the sixth bottle at this point, even if his soul purification has reached the standard, he won't be able to transform before the remaining effects of the medicine burn away his remaining lifespan in an instant, burning him to death.

In that case, Ronan would most likely become the wizard with the shortest lifespan in history as a formal wizard, dying of old age immediately after breaking through to the next level.

But ironically, the sixth vial of the Soul Ignition Potion that Ronan used was given to him by Anglie.

It is unlike any other, containing some mysterious substances not found in ordinary Soul Ignition Potion.

This mysterious substance, in turn, facilitated the final perfection of the Expert Level proficiency in [Ascetic Body Forging]. After achieving perfection, a powerful life force emerged, allowing him to successfully complete his final breakthrough.

"But why is the proficiency of [Ascetic Body Forging] stuck at (Expert Level 800/800) and hasn't broken through to Master?"

This was a situation Ronan had never encountered before.

In the past, once the skill and spell proficiency at the Expert Level was perfected, they would naturally advance to the Master Level.

This is the first time I've ever stayed stuck at the 800-point Great Perfection realm.

"Is the Expert Level of perfection the limit for the [Ascetic Body Forging] technique? Is this the maximum level for skill proficiency?"

Ronan frowned, thinking that wasn't the case.

The various characteristics currently exhibited by the [Ascetic Body Forging] technique are far beyond what Expert Level can achieve.

Ronan has been training for a while now and he's started to feel it too.

It is different from other knight body-forging methods; it is a completely different path to body-forging!

The first thirteen movements are less about teaching physical training and more about interpreting a philosophy and conveying a will! There should be higher levels of instruction to follow, but unfortunately Ronan didn't get them when he bought the book.

Now that the [Ascetic Body Forging] technique is stuck at the Expert Level, Ronan feels the problem isn't with the technique itself, but with himself.

He is just one step away from Master Level the "Ascetic Body Forging" technique.

The window paper was just a thin layer.

If he could break through this barrier, the powerful life force currently gestating within him would most likely burst forth, replenishing his lost lifespan and ushering in a new life! "So... what exactly is missing?"

Ronan fell into thought. He knew very well that what [Ascetic Body Forging] lacked now was different from what it lacked at the Expert Level of 799. It was a certain specific substance.

It could be a change in willpower, mindset, or a change that needs to be made to the existing training methods.

Oh right, Ronan remembered the bottle of Soul Ignition Potion that Anglie had given him. He was now really curious about what ingredients were in Anglie's bottle of Soul Ignition Potion that were different from ordinary Soul Ignition Potion.

Why Anglie say that with his aptitude, he would definitely be able to use it, as if using this potion of Soul Ignition Potion would guarantee a breakthrough regardless of how poor one's aptitude was?

Moreover, this mysterious ingredient seems to greatly benefit the cultivation of [Ascetic Body Forging], and may even be a key resource needed for subsequent cultivation.

If given the chance, Ronan's mind flashed with Anglie's devilishly charming face, and he silently thought: He was determined to find out more about him.

Ronan straightened his robes and meticulously groomed himself in front of the mirror, tying his loose, gray hair with a silver cord. Although he had become thin and aged, he could not lose his own unique charm.

He is still Ronan... and he will surely become even more illustrious in the future.

Ronan calmly stepped out of the room, and three days later, he saw the sunlight again in the early morning.

Squinting at the sun in the sky for a while, Ronan looked away and saw Dobby standing in front of him, looking cautious, reserved, and polite.

"Ronan... sir."

Dobby changed how he addressed Ronan. When he saw Ronan's current appearance, a moment of surprise and disbelief flashed in his eyes, but he quickly composed himself and then congratulated him on his promotion.

Ronan nodded slightly to Dobby, walked past him, and headed straight for the Mentor District.

Having successfully broken through, what he is most eager to do now is to obtain the inheritance of first-tier spells and Soul Rune.

The witch girl Grace promised him that he could go back to her once he successfully became a full-fledged wizard, which probably meant she was willing to continue guiding him.

Grace's appearance was a complete accident, but for Ronan it was an extremely lucky thing.

If it weren't for Grace, the true owner of that little house with the beautiful blue roof would most likely have rejected Ronan without hesitation, just like everyone else before her.

It can be said that the young Grace gave Ronan the key to his breakthrough, and Ronan was grateful to her.

After being promoted to a formal wizard, walking through the academy, he received a completely different treatment compared to when he was at the vaporization level.

Those academy wizards who used to show him only slight respect now stop in their tracks and bow respectfully to him.

Ronan felt a little emotional, but the sense of urgency in his heart did not diminish by half, but became more intense——

Only after becoming a formal wizard did he realize just how troublesome his two formal wizard-level problems really were.

Soon they arrived at the familiar blue-roofed house and garden entrance. Ronan was considering how to notify Grace of his arrival without disturbing the true owner of the house.

Grace's clear and cheerful voice rang out first.

"My God, you actually succeeded!"

Ronan could almost picture the witch girl behind the voice covering her mouth in amazement.

"Yes, Lady Luck has been on my side."

Ronan bowed to the small window on the second floor of the house, remembering that the Soul Ignition Potion had flown out from that window.

"Your help was crucial, thank you, Grace."

"A nearly expired Soul Ignition Potion is nothing... uh, I mean it's not expired yet, just about to expire."

The girl's hesitant tone after her slip of the tongue was quite endearing, and she finally covered it up completely with a cheerful and relieved voice.

"Welcome to the Mist! Oh, by the way, I still don't know your name."

"Ronan Damien."

Ronan announced his address and then got straight to the point, "I've come to formally apply to become your disciple."

"Huh?!"

Grace visibly panicked and taken aback, stammering, "But I'm someone else's disciple myself."

She probably never imagined that a game she played out of boredom would become so formal.

Let's not talk about that now.

Grace abruptly ended the topic of becoming an apprentice and quickly said, "You want to obtain first-tier Spell Inheritance and Soul Rune inheritance from me, right?"

What kind of magic do you want, and what type of Soul Rune you want?

If I had it, I'd steal it... cough cough, I'd get it for you.

Ronan pretended not to hear the word Grace misspoke, thought for a moment and said, "I have Non-attribute Affinity, so I don't really know which school of magic I should study or what type of Soul Rune I should choose?"

"Non-attribute Affinity... What type of magic did you usually use when you were an apprentice?"

"I've also learned a little bit about Energy Affinity, electricity, fire, and ice."

Ronan was too embarrassed to mention the Undead Arts. To be honest, apart from the two Energy Affinity spells that gave rise to the Extraordinary Magic Domain, Undead Magic he was most comfortable using.

"Then there are too many options."

If you specialize in Energy Affinity, the [Shockwave] and [[Harmony]] sigils are both good. The former adds a shockwave effect to your Energy Affinity spells, significantly increasing their area of effect; the latter allows your Energy Affinity spells to stack, potentially increasing their power by 20-30%. If you specialize in [Electric-Type Spell], the [Chain] and [[Penetration]] sigils are popular choices for many lightning wizards. As their names suggest, lightning chains and lightning [Penetration] can largely compensate for some of the weaknesses of [Electric-Type Spell]. For fire magic, the [Lava Fire Ring] sigil is widely considered the strongest in the academy. This school has several powerful wizards about to advance to level two, making it one of the most powerful in the entire academy. However, this school has strict membership selection criteria, almost exclusively accepting disciples with fire affinity.

Grace rattled off a whole bunch of information to Ronan listened while silently making calculations in his mind.

How many Soul Rune can be condensed in total?

Ronan asked the question.

"If you've just advanced one level, you can only condense one at most, and it can't be too strong or too complex... As your soul ability gradually strengthens later, you can try to condense a second one, or change the talisman. Changing the talisman will cause some loss of Soul Power, and you will enter a short period of 'soul weakness'."

In fact, unless it is significantly better than your current rune, there is no need to change it, because the effect of the Soul Rune will increase with the increase of soul strength.

Once you reach the level two wizard, your soul will undergo further purification and sublimation, and the effects of the runes will be greatly enhanced.

Ronan nodded, having roughly made up his mind.

According to Grace's introduction, the fire-type [Lava Fire Ring] rune style is very powerful. He had also seen Jerome, a formal wizard of this style, use it, and it was indeed very powerful. Ronan's first choice was this.

But Grace said that the other party had very high requirements for the qualifications of the school's members, so Ronan thought about it and decided against it.

So it's better to continue down the old path of an apprentice and choose Energy Affinity spells.

"I've decided to major in Energy Affinity, and I'll choose the [[Harmony]] seal."

Energy Affinity spells are spells that do not require filtering for specific attribute energy particles, and can be considered spells specifically created for wizards like Ronan who Non-attribute Affinity.

The free energy particles captured when this type of spell is cast are random and arbitrary, with no outstanding characteristics, nor any obvious drawbacks.

The effect of the [[Harmony]] seal is to enhance the power of spell release by stacking spells, which is not bad. It may even take the power of the Master Level [Energy Missile-Particle Torrent] to another level.

"Have you made up your mind?"

Grace asked.

Ronan nodded. "It's decided."

"Then you'll have three to five days to prepare. In the meantime, you can try your luck in the Mentor District again. After all, you're now Level One Wizard, and people's attitudes towards you might have changed."

Grace's suggestions were all insightful, revealing her innocent and romantic nature, and Ronan enjoyed being friends with her.

Ronan naturally knew what Grace meant by "preparation," but he didn't explain it, simply indicating that he understood.

Now that the promotion has been successful, I can certainly wait three to five days.

Ronan was about to say goodbye to Grace and leave when he suddenly realized that everything in front of him was darkening rapidly at a visible speed.

It was as if something was rapidly blocking the light from above. Ronan had experienced this once before, when he arrived at the Corpse Garden with Anglie.

"Huh?"

Grace's surprised and puzzled voice came from the little house with the blue roof. She seemed to be looking up at the sky at the same time as Ronan.

The next second, both the person inside and outside the house were speechless.

Beneath the azure sky, a vast expanse of thick, unyielding, crimson clouds, resembling congealed blood, was rapidly spreading over Hoddam Academy, completely obscuring the sun from view.