Reunited with an "Old Friend," [Ten Thousand Years Immobile] Proficiency
Ronan was stunned when he heard Bennigo's answer.
A challenge to Travis... or Lanny?!
Is it useful?
"Certainly."
Bennigo, puffing on his pipe, said calmly, "Beat any one of them, and you'll be on the same level as them—no, a genius even better than them. These little tricks won't have any effect on you. Hmm, I know what you're thinking."
The reason I've become like this is because of my own problems. Falling from Third Ring like this was just Lanny and the others coming to kick me while I was down.
Ronan fell into deep thought, his eyes flickering with uncertainty.
At this moment, Bennigo spoke up again.
"If you think it's too difficult to do this, there are still some tasks in the Arcane Circle that they can't manipulate, so just wait patiently."
"I'll keep an eye on things for you at all times."
Ronan didn't ask Bennigo how he could "keep an eye on the mission" while he was stuck in this Secret Realm Space all day. His mind was full of the "solution" Bennigo had just mentioned.
Ronan felt as if something inside him had been suddenly awakened by Bennigo.
Yes.
From beginning to end, he was being targeted by Travis and his group, and all he could think about was how to deal with them and defend himself; he never thought about how to retaliate.
Upon careful consideration, Bennigo's suggestion was indeed the best solution.
Defeat them!
Solve the problem directly at its root.
If I were in the Third Ring now, would I still be so stressed about a few tasks?
However, Travis's group, even the weakest among them, were top-tier level two wizards and had been famous for a long time.
I'm currently only at the mid-stage of level one.
Is it possible to reach a level where we can directly confront them, or even defeat them, within six months? "I'm going out for a walk."
Ronan lowered his head, casually greeted Bennigo, and slowly walked out of the Secret Realm Space.
"Go."
Bennigo simply responded casually, without even glancing at Ronan, and then went back to fiddling with the potions growing in the nursery.
In the howling wind-swept valley, there were blue insect shadows everywhere, and the buzzing sound of their wings.
Ronan stood suspended in the valley, rapidly chanting incantations and casually summoning howling winds and snow, ice crystal spears, and frost rays. After the [Frozen Earth] rune flashed four times in his Consciousness Space, he clasped his hands together in front of his chest, and a point of deep blue, diamond-like light burst forth.
"[Ice Ball - Desperate Ice Seal]!"
"Yarlis's Ice Ring Necklace!"
The Domain of Despair Unfolds!
An atmosphere of endless cold and despair filled the entire valley in an instant.
All the wind stopped.
Including the buzzing sound of wings.
The enormous hurricane bees remained motionless, like Ice Sculpture suspended in mid-air, before crashing down with a "whoosh" and shattering sound at the bottom of the valley.
Ronan was surrounded by countless frosts and snowflakes, suspended in the air.
He was the source of all this coldness and despair, like a king who controlled ice and snow, yet his expression was somewhat lost in thought.
He was still pondering what Bennigo had said.
"Can you do it in six months?"
Ronan gazed in one direction, his eyes deep and thoughtful.
"Buzz buzz buzz—"
Just then, a loud flapping sound came from deep within the valley.
Ronan squinted and looked up, only to see a gigantic hurricane Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee, flying out of the valley.
This hurricane bee was enveloped in a deep blue light, and its two pairs of wings were as wide as curtains, with a crystal-like texture.
Its tail has a dark green spike that is several meters long, and its head is covered with complex patterns, making it look like a huge, distorted human face from a distance.
As soon as the hurricane bee appeared, the stagnant air in the entire valley immediately began to flow again, stirring up a gale several times more violent than before, and large swathes of ice and snow were blown apart and scattered. A tremendous pressure rushed towards Ronan.
Second-tier magical beast, Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee King!
"Finally here..."
The Nightmare Tungsten Steel seeped from beneath Ronan's skin like black mercury, flowing into his hand and condensing in his palm into the shape of a black one-handed longsword.
Ronan took a deep breath, his right hand tracing the longsword. The ghostly Blue Flame of [Charged Weapon - Power of Breaking Law] seemed like a lover's hand, wrapping around the blade inch by inch.
A mysterious aura flowed out, intertwining with the power of the Dharma Domain.
Although Ronan had always been confident in facing a second-tier opponent, this was his first real encounter with one.
"I haven't felt this kind of pressure in a long time."
Ronan held his sword in one hand, a faint blue light gleaming in his eyes.
"[[Immaculate Body]]! Activate!"
In an instant, the white orb of life energy within Ronan's chest throbbed violently, like a heartbeat.
"Call--"
A surge of immense life energy, forming tiny, blazing white flames, rose from Ronan's skin. The air collapsed, and the light distorted with a "whoosh—"
Ronan's figure vanished abruptly, leaving only a blurry silhouette in the void.
When it reappeared, it was already almost upon the Queen Bee of the Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee King.
However, while he was fast, the Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee King reacted even faster. As soon as Ronan approached, he saw a vast expanse of dense, solidified Wind Blade appear before him, almost filling the entire field of vision.
Ronan's pupils contracted slightly, and the swirling, despairing chill surrounding him instantly condensed into icicles, meeting the Wind Blade of wind blades that resembled a swarm of bees.
Ronan felt that the Domain of Despair's ability to expel other energy particles was useless against the second-tier magical beast, the Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee King. This creature was itself a terrifying source of wind energy, and Ronan felt a strong sense of suppression within its domain.
In just a few breaths, the ice shards he released and summoned were no match for the torrential downpour of countless Wind Blades. Ronan's Domain of Despair was almost suppressed to only a few feet in front of him, while the Wind Blade in front of him showed a tendency to increase in number.
A glint flashed in Ronan's eyes. Instead of retreating, he advanced, suddenly lunging forward. The black longsword formed from Nightmare Tungsten Steel in his hand drew a perfect arc in mid-air. He unleashed the Master Level [Basic Swordsmanship]. With the blessing of the Spell Breaking Flame, large swathes of Wind Blade disintegrated and scattered under his sword.
He forcefully cleaved a path through the surging, deep blue Wind Blade, appearing behind the Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee King.
"Desperate Ice Seal!"
Ronan held his sword with both hands, and a deep blue, chilling current flowed from beneath his sword like the aurora borealis of the Northern Lands.
At this moment, he was the source of the deepest cold, and the rolling cold currents, carrying a sense of despair, enveloped the Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee King layer by layer.
In the blink of an eye, the deep blue color of the area disappeared, leaving only blue and white colors intertwined and rolling.
The enormous Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee King transformed into a crystal-clear Ice Sculpture. Ronan pressed down with both hands, and the Nightmare Longsword, wreathed in the Spell Breaking Flame, pierced into the Ice Sculpture as easily as cutting tofu.
"Bang!"
The moment the longsword pierced the body of the Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee King, Ronan seemed to feel a violent tremor coming from beneath the sword.
He pressed down hard on the hilt of the Nightmare Tungsten Steel Longsword with both hands, opening the Domain of Despair to its maximum, with billowing cold air constantly surging out, while at the same time trying to pierce the sword's edge deeper into the ground.
The terrifying energy field boiled and roared, and the thick ice groaned under its strain.
Ronan's face was slightly ferocious, and his entire body was covered in blazing white flames that surged and danced wildly. Waves of terrifying physical power belonging to the [[Immaculate Body]] pressed down on him.
However, the ice layer that served as the "seal" could no longer hold out.
"Snap!"
"Boom!"
With a deafening explosion, the massive Ice Sculpture shattered, turning into countless icy and snowy fragments that flew everywhere.
The deep blue color swept across the sky again, and the Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee King, which reappeared, let out an angry hiss. Its wings vibrated at a high frequency, as if they had completely turned into two clouds of blue mist. Suddenly, a massive amount of wind energy particles gathered, and countless wind beams formed spikes that appeared out of thin air like spears, stabbing fiercely at Ronan from all directions.
Ronan's expression changed slightly, and he subconsciously raised his sword to defend, while simultaneously making a series of evasive maneuvers in an instant.
Just as he used the Nightmare Tungsten Steel Longsword and the Spell Breaking Flame to clear a section of wind and was about to retreat, "Buzz—"
The enraged Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee King suddenly twisted her body into a pretzel-like position, and the dark green stinger at the end of her tail shot towards Ronan at an extremely abrupt and unbelievable angle.
The distance was far too close; Ronan had no time to dodge. Even raising his sword to defend was a struggle. This attack was beyond his instinctive reaction, and its speed was so fast that it was impossible for anyone to react in time.
"Clang! Thump—"
Ronan's body was pierced through by the dark green spikes in mid-air. Then, the Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee King whipped its tail, and he was thrown away like a cannonball. "Boom!"
The rock face on one side of the valley collapsed, and rolling rocks and snow fell down, raising huge clouds of mud and ice dust.
A figure staggered through the dust and emerged from the collapsed rubble, sword in hand.
At this moment, Ronan's handsome face was deathly pale, and he was clutching his upper left abdomen with one hand. His expression was extremely unpleasant.
He slowly raised his injured left hand and saw that the first-tier standard robe issued by the Arcane Circle had been torn open with a huge gap.
Below, bright red blood seeped out like a spring, revealing a shocking wound that ran from front to back.
Pain! Excruciating pain! The venom on the stinger of the Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee King and the pain from the wound itself almost made Ronan faint on the spot.
The white orb of light inside his chest was rapidly being consumed, releasing a large amount of vitality that quickly suppressed the spread of toxins in the wound and promoted the healing of the injury.
Ronan's face was as white as paper, and his forehead and temples were covered with a dense layer of cold sweat.
Looking at the location of the wound, his eyes revealed a deep sense of lingering fear.
He felt confident that he had plenty of trump cards and could be fearless against the second tier, but he never imagined that the real second tier would be so terrifying.
If he had been even slightly careless, he might have already met his end here today.
If this wound had been just a little bit higher, it could have endangered the heart and become fatal.
"How long has it been since I felt this pain?"
"How long has it been since I've been this close to death?"
Ronan asked himself.
Looking up, Ronan saw that the Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee King, who had taken a direct hit from his sword, was also clearly in bad shape and seemed to have entered a berserk state.
Its entire body was surging with deep blue light, and a terrifying aura gushed out like a fountain, surrounded by a massive amount of wind-elemental energy particles.
Centered on the Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee King, an indescribably terrifying tornado was rapidly forming in this valley. The gale made Ronan's tattered silver robe flutter wildly.
"Take a gamble... I still have a chance."
He took a deep breath and subconsciously gripped the longsword in his hand even tighter, without having any thought of escaping.
Ronan's eyes flashed, and he was about to make another move when suddenly, the pain from his abdominal wound made him pause for a moment, his expression inexplicably blank.
He looked down at the wound in his abdomen, his mind involuntarily replaying his previous conversation with Bennigo— "If we defeat just one of them, everything will be solved."—"Is that even possible?"
Is it possible? This time, the question seems to have been answered.
"When I fought Lola, I had just entered level one, hadn't condensed any runes, and hadn't even learned a single first-tier spell. I was more than twenty times weaker than I am now. Yet I still had the courage to fight back. How come I'm starting to doubt and be afraid now?"
"Having broken through to the Master Level in [Ascetic Body Forging], practicing the thirteen postures and movements I used to do no longer increases my proficiency. Has the lack of painful discipline in my daily life caused my willpower to degenerate as well?"
"From the moment I entered the Arcane Circle until now, I've had all sorts of hesitations, worries, and concerns. I've been looking before and after, hesitant and timid!"
"So I"
Ronan gripped the sword hilt with both hands, facing the hurricane blowing head-on, squinted his eyes, and asked himself, word by word.
"What are you so afraid of?!"
In an instant, his eyes shone with an unprecedented brilliance.
At that moment, Ronan felt that all the dust that had inadvertently settled on his soul had been washed away once again.
He shone like a clean, bright mirror.
He took a deep breath, and his sword-wielding figure rose into the air, soaring upwards until he reached a position above the Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee King.
The azure eyes reflected the frenzied, twisted figure of the Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee King, her whispered voice scattered by the wind.
"But."
"They're just a few of the stronger level two ones."
After he finished speaking, countless mysterious energies surged out from Ronan's body, instantly weaving together into a vast and terrifying domain of power.
The convergence of hundreds of pure black particles distorted the light shining from the valley top, resembling a black Torrent pouring down from the sky, vast and mighty, cascading straight down. Beneath this terrifying Torrent, a figure wielding a sword Treading the Waves across the waves, falling like a meteor.
Wherever it passed, a streak of dark blue fire trail stretched straight from the sky to the valley floor, passing through the hurricane and the enormous bee figure within it, before finally disappearing into the towering dust with a deafening roar. Moments later, Ronan emerged from the dust with a calm expression, long sword in hand, his wide silver robe billowing slightly like a cloak.
Behind him lay the corpse of the Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee King, split in two and falling from mid-air, and the rapidly dissipating tornado.
Ronan blew out the Spell Breaking Flame burning on the longsword, Nightmare Tungsten Steel melted into his body like water.
Upon exiting the state of "[Immaculate Body]," the white orb within the body shrank by about half.
However, the wound on his left abdomen has healed considerably and is no longer so shocking; it has even begun to scab over.
"Should."
Ronan cursed himself under his breath, then gently pressed his hand against the wound. The sharp pain caused his eyes to twitch slightly, but he felt a sense of clarity, as if he had reunited with an old friend he hadn't seen in a long time.
He almost forgot.
For countless days and nights, what accompanied him closely, besides loneliness, was this deep-seated pain.
"Pain is like the wind, always with me."
Ronan chuckled self-deprecatingly, feeling an indescribable sense of ease and comfort, as if he had returned to the time when he had just broken free of his old shell and been reborn.
Perhaps this is what is meant by Mind Clarity.
Ronan turned and went back to clean up the corpse of the Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee King.
A second-tier magical beast is a treasure trove for him now; he'll probably have to make two more trips to carry the entire corpse back.
While cleaning up the corpse of the Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee King, Ronan habitually opened his Character Panel to check.
He felt that after figuring out the answers to the previous questions, his mental strength seemed to have increased. He checked his Character Panel and, sure enough—
The progress of [Level One Wizard (39%)] has increased to 45%, a full 6% increase.
"This is equivalent to how many bottles of mental power enhancement potions..."
Ronan couldn't help but sigh. The source of his increased mental power was the increase in his Soul Power. With his current Soul Power strength, he estimated that it was already enough to condense a second [Silver Transformation] rune.
Once the [Silver Transformation] talisman is successfully condensed, his strength will be boosted once again.
Just as Ronan was in a great mood, his gaze inadvertently swept over the contents at the bottom of the panel.
"Thud—"
The leg of the Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee King that he was holding fell to the ground, and Ronan stood there stunned.
He thought he was seeing things and checked several times before finally confirming that he wasn't mistaken.
Then an excitement and joy far exceeding anything before welled up in Ronan's eyes.
On the skill list, the proficiency level for [Ascetic Body Forging], which had remained [Ten Thousand Years Immobile] (Master 1/1600), had now increased to (Master 5/1600). It had inexplicably increased by four points?! "How did it increase? And why?"
After the initial surprise, Ronan immediately fell into thought.
Almost instinctively, his gaze fell on the wound on his left abdomen.
"Could it be because of the injury?!"