Improvement, Mission

Hundreds of pure black particles were quietly generated, each surrounded by an invisible force that absorbed, twisted, and collapsed.

When all these forces come together, they form an indescribable and terrifying destructive force, vast and unstoppable.

The sunlight falling from the sky was distorted as it passed through this invisible field. In an instant, the black Torrent engulfed the ten giant wasps whose bodies were temporarily frozen. When the Torrent passed, all that was left before the boy's eyes was a completely cleared space. All the wasp monsters he had fought with had disappeared without a trace.

"Call--"

Ronan slowly descended from mid-air, the two intertwined auras of magic domains around him dissipating.

He raised his hand and flung out a black cloud, a large mass of Nightmare Tungsten Steel flying into the sky, which then split into dozens of daggers of the same size, swiftly slicing the dead wasps on the snow.

This is Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee, a Tier 1 magical beast. Its individual strength is not particularly strong. A normal Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee reaches its peak at the early Tier 1 stage. Its attack methods are limited and its weaknesses are obvious. Even an ordinary early Tier 1 wizard can easily deal with it.

However, the Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee is a social magical beast that rarely acts alone. Provoking one is equivalent to provoking a whole group. Furthermore, individuals can easily resonate with each other, releasing large-scale collective destructive spells, achieving a qualitative change from a quantitative one.

Therefore, even a level one late-stage wizard would not dare to easily attract the aggro of this thing, and would avoid it if they encountered it in the wild.

The nest of the Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee is located in a small valley five kilometers away. The size of the colony is unknown. Ronan only dares to lead out a small group at a time. To ensure that it does not call for more companions, he always strives for a quick and decisive battle, ending the fight as quickly and cleanly as possible.

The dagger, conjured from the Nightmare Tungsten Steel, quickly ripped open the bodies of all the Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee on the ground. The honey sacs hidden inside their abdomens had long been frozen into pale blue crystals in the icy environment, each about the size of a thumb.

Ronan patiently collected the frozen honey chunks one by one, and then took some relatively valuable bee wings and stingers before finally stopping.

"This time, nearly 1st-tier mid-level elite hurricane bees have already left the hive. It is estimated that there are not many hurricane bees left in the hive, and we are not far from achieving our final goal."

Ronan looked at the beautiful blue amber pieces in his hand and thought to himself.

The reason he provoked the swarm of Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee was that the recipe for watering the seeds of the Saint Blood Tree that Bennigo had developed required the honey of the Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee Queen. With his current strength, if he used all his means, he should not have much trouble dealing with the second-tier Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee King. The main problem was the guard bees that stayed by the queen's side at all times.

Now, these problems are almost resolved.

For the past month, Ronan has been almost entirely focused on eliminating the guard bee colonies, which he also uses as a form of magical asceticism.

Show your Character Panel. The panel information is as follows:

Name: Ronan Damien

Age: 17

[Talent: Non-attribute Affinity, [Immaculate Body] (Active)]

[Strength: Level One Wizard (39%)]

[Skill: Basic Meditation Technique - [Clarity Realm] (Master 191/1600)]

Energy Missile-Particle Torrent (Master 226/1600)

Charged Weapon - Power of Breaking Law (Master 154/1600)

Ice Ball - Desperate Ice Seal (Master 166/1600)

Thanks to Bennigo's potion support, Ronan's mental strength has grown smoothly, reaching 39% of the progress required to become Level One Wizard, which is equivalent to the mid-stage of the first level.

Ronan's total mental energy has increased by about three to four times. If his mental energy was only the size of a drop of water when he first advanced, it can now be considered a small water ball.

Of course, the greatest improvement comes from magic.

[Particle Torrent] surged to over 200 proficiency points at the Master Level in one go, and the proficiency of [Desperate Ice Seal] also surpassed it, even exceeding that of [Power of Breaking Law].

"The range and power of the Particle Torrent's Torrent Law Domain are several times stronger than when it had over a hundred proficiency levels."

I secretly went to the spell training room once, and even without using my full strength, I almost shattered the level one Spell Testing Wall!

"The area of Domain of Despair has also doubled in size, and the icy aura within it is even stronger. Of course, the most important thing is that the intent of despair permeating the domain is much more intense than before. Pure cold air can only freeze the opponent's body, but the intent of despair..."

Ronan looked at his fair, slender hands, which seemed almost translucent against the backdrop of snow and ice, and murmured to himself, "They can plunge people into an abyss of ice; those with weak wills simply give up and wait to die."

Ronan has already tested this on many Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee.

He didn't even use a third of his strength when dealing with that swarm of Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee; he was just practicing his spells.

"Once you grasp the core essence of the Dharma Domain and embark on the correct path of enlightenment, your Master Level proficiency will increase rapidly."

However, the explosive growth period of the "Particle Torrent" seems to have passed.

Ronan looked thoughtful. In the past few days, he had noticed that the rate at which his proficiency with [Particle Torrent] was increasing had slowed down again.

We've returned to the original state where we could only improve by accumulating insights from the panel through repeated practice.

Ronan was well aware of the reason: his memories and insights about the great Torrent had been emptied from his mind, and his past accumulations had been thoroughly digested and transformed into proficiency reflected on his current panel.

"Seeing real-life Torrent and waterfalls in person might inspire me more."

Ronan suddenly remembered Bennigo had told him: truly powerful wizarding forces ultimately migrate downwards.

Besides the fact that the deeper you go, the denser the energy particles and the more resources you have, the more energy particles are distributed, and the greater the possibility of various extraordinary phenomena and landscapes appearing, which are more magnificent, beautiful, and unbelievable.

This is also a great help to the understanding and practice of the Dharma.

"So, is the instinct and desire of those powerful wizards to pursue the sinking also related to their cultivation in the Dharma Domain?"

Ronan didn't know, perhaps.

[Particle Torrent] has entered a plateau phase, but the improvement of [Desperate Ice Seal] is still quite smooth, with proficiency rising steadily. If it continues at this rate, it feels like it won't be long before it becomes the skill with the highest proficiency.

But.

Even with his proficiency in [Particle Torrent] and [Desperate Ice Seal] greatly increased, Ronan still has no clue about One Segment Magic Domain Resonance.

This realm seems very far away from him, and he doesn't know when he will be able to reach it.

After sorting through his spoils, Ronan strolled out of the snowy region.

"It's about time to pick up a few jobs within the Arcane Circle."

During that month, Ronan hardly returned to the Arcane Circle.

Aside from having the identity of a core member of the Arcane Circle and wearing the Arcane Circle's standard robes, he was still practicing asceticism alone in the forest, no different from his state before joining the Arcane Circle.

There seems to be no follow-up to his actions a month ago in Bennigo Courtyard, where he taught those four Arcane Circle wizards a lesson.

At first, Ronan thought the other side might send someone to take action outside the Arcane Circle, so he was extremely cautious every time he entered or left the Arcane Circle, for fear of being followed and ambushed.

But nothing unexpected happened over the course of a month, as if the other party had completely forgotten about him.

There was a sense of calm before the storm.

"There's no way I could forget. I wouldn't be able to swallow such a huge loss, let alone a genius at the Third Ring level."

Ronan was convinced that the guy he had offended, Travis, was either waiting for an opportunity or secretly plotting something big.

The Arcane Circle strictly forbids infighting and killing among its members, and the fact that Bennigo is still alive and well after all these years proves that this rule is indeed an ironclad law that no one dares to violate.

Bennigo once said that Travis would most likely take other measures to break him down, cripple him, or tame him.

"I'd really like to see what other way could completely break me down, cripple me, or even force me to submit."

Ronan remained calm, a glint of light flashing in his blue eyes.

Despite the prospect of Bennigo's fate looming ahead, Ronan wasn't actually that afraid.

The biggest difference between his current situation and Bennigo's is that—

He is currently only one link in the chain.

For someone like Travis, a "Third Ring" member, there's no way to directly target him; he's still under the protection of certain rules.

Now that his mental strength has advanced to the mid-stage of the first level, although his Soul Power has not yet reached the standard to condense the [Silverization] rune, his proficiency with the two trump card spells that have derived from the Extraordinary Magic Domain has greatly increased. Ronan now has enough confidence to fight a true second-level wizard head-on.

No matter how much the other party tries to hold back, the upper limit of their desire is predictable.

As long as Ronan is careful enough and doesn't foolishly fall into pre-arranged traps and schemes, no matter how strong the opponent is, they won't be able to do anything to him.

Of course, while he thought this way, Ronan was still quite cautious in his actions.

If Ronan hadn't had to return to the Arcane Circle to take on a mission, he would have preferred to continue his arduous training until he was promoted to a second-level wizard.

In addition to the explicit rules within the Arcane Circle that official members must complete a certain number of tasks, otherwise they will be punished, and in severe cases, their membership may be revoked and they may be expelled from the Arcane Circle.

He also had reasons for having to take on missions to earn Contribution Points.

There was no shortage of magic stones. Every now and then, Bennigo would ask Ronan to help sell a batch of magic potions or Rune Stone. Ronan could easily make a living by taking a small "kickback" from each sale.

It mainly consists of certain special and precious resources, including magical potions to enhance Ronan's mental strength, as well as some materials needed to water the seeds of the Saint Blood Tree.

These things are simply not available in shops outside the Seven Ring City.

Ronan's attempt to obtain it through Quidi, hoping to do so via exchange within the wizarding community, also failed.

Some materials are only available in the Arcane Circle and need to be exchanged with Contribution Points. Some items also have specific requirements regarding the identity level of the person exchanging them.

Ronan left the forest and returned to the Arcane Circle.

He cut his long hair short, and within a month, the color of his hair grew back from bright white to deep chestnut.

In terms of appearance, there is a significant difference compared to a month ago, and it is not easy for people who are not close to him to recognize him.

Even so, not long after Ronan entered the Arcane Circle, he immediately felt that he was being watched.

"Whoosh—"

Ronan suddenly turned his head and looked in the direction from which he felt he was being spied on.

What they saw was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man with slanted eyebrows.

The level one late-stage wizard stood a few dozen meters away from Ronan, coldly staring at him, without any intention of hiding or concealing himself.

Ronan narrowed his eyes and stared at him for several seconds.

Then he turned around and walked straight toward the mission tower.

The Slanting Eyebrow Wizard followed him closely, radiating intense hostility, like a ghost wandering in broad daylight, clinging firmly to his back.

Ronan remained calm and did not change his plans because of the other party's appearance. He continued to act with the goal of taking on missions and earning Contribution Points.

Upon entering the mission tower, one finds a rather spacious metal hall, with Rune Array flashing on the four walls.

Inside the hall, some Arcane Circle wearing Silver Magic Robe sat, some contemplating and resting alone, others chatting in small groups.

Most of them are ordinary members, and occasionally you can see the "ring" that represents the core.

When Ronan and the Slanting Eyebrow Wizard walked in, they attracted several pairs of attention, with a few more falling on Ronan, probably because he only had the strength of a mid-level one but held a core position.

There are many windows in the hall, and each window is staffed by members of the Arcane Circle.

The normal process for accepting a task involves going to the corresponding window to select, register, and report the task. After the task is completed, delivery is also done at the window by a designated person.

Ronan looked around and saw that several task windows were occupied, except for the leftmost one, which was empty.

He walked straight to the empty task window and saw a girl with short green hair that reached her ears. She had an apple-shaped face with a bit of baby fat, and was resting her chin on one hand with her eyes closed. It was unclear whether she was dozing off or meditating. The spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from her body were only at the early stage of level one, giving her a cute and silly feeling.

Ronan walked up and gently tapped the metal surface of the mission counter.

"Ah!"

The girl with short green hair was startled awake by the sound and hurriedly straightened herself up.

Do you want to accept a mission?

Her face was flushed when she spoke to Ronan, and she looked as shy as if she wanted to disappear into the ground. It seemed that she had indeed been dozing off.

Ronan couldn't help but smile when he saw the girl like this, and even the displeasure he felt from being stared at by the girl with the raised eyebrows since he came in was greatly relieved.

"Yes."

Ronan nodded, and the girl with short green hair immediately handed him a thin task booklet filled with detailed information about various tasks for him to choose from.

Ronan quickly flipped through the entire booklet, lowered his head, thought for a while, and finally made his choice.

"This one will do. Hunt the gland sac of the Abyssal Giant Worm."