Second Soul Rune, High-Energy Crucible, Rusting Swamp

Ronan checks his Character Panel data at least dozens of times a day, so he is quite certain that the four points of Master Level proficiency in [Ascetic Body Forging] were gained after the battle with the Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee King.

Physical injury is the only explanation.

Standing there, Ronan carefully recalled the past.

Indeed, after transforming into the "[Immaculate Body]", his body has never been injured again.

He had been staying in the "safe zone" of the Arcane Circle and had not experienced any combat that could have physically injured him.

The injury seems like something from a long time ago.

After being promoted to Level One Wizard, especially after switching to ice magic and mastering the Domain of Despair, he mostly used magic to fight his enemies.

They rarely use their physical strength as a trump card, but when they do, it's usually a crushing victory.

"Yes, the core of the apprentice training method of [Ascetic Body Forging] is 'self-torture'. After advancing to the master level, the level of the thirteen body tempering movements alone is far from enough. Upgrading the form of 'self-torture' is quite reasonable."

Thinking about it this way, Ronan felt that gaining proficiency from injuries could be explained.

He had previously focused all his attention on the "subsequent inheritance" and the "mysterious ingredients contained in the Soul Ignition Potion given by Anglie," neglecting the core meaning of the word "asceticism" that [Ascetic Body Forging] has always upheld.

Of course, clarifying one's thoughts is only the first step. Whether the "injury" training method is feasible and whether it can really increase the Master Level proficiency of [Ascetic Body Forging] can only be known after testing.

"Not now. You're already seriously injured. Don't push yourself to the point of death. Wait until you're healed before trying again."

Ronan calmed down and continued to efficiently dispose of the corpse of the Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee King.

After he finishes dealing with the bodies here, he'll have to go back into the Hurricane Bee Nest.

In the Micro Secret Realm Space, Ronan strode in from the entrance and tossed a bulging cloth bag that looked like it was full of things to the busy Bennigo.

Bennigo caught the bag, and a crisp, tinkling sound came from inside.

"Here you are, the honey sac of the Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee King."

Ronan walked to the small metal table placed on the muddy ground inside the space, picked up the silver pot on the table, poured a full cup, frowned as he stared at the cup, but still drank it all in one gulp.

Bennigo opened the bag Ronan had given him, and a rich, sweet fragrance immediately wafted out. The light shining through the bag's opening cast a faint green hue on Bennigo's face.

His eyes flickered slightly as he closed the bag and looked at Ronan.

Bennigo's gaze swept over Ronan's blood-stained, tattered robes and the wound on his upper left abdomen. He seemed to notice a subtle change in Ronan's demeanor and said, "Looks like you've made your decision?"

Ronan didn't answer, but looked at the alchemy jar that was constantly bubbling and steaming not far away, and asked, "You've been working on this for so long, when will this seed finally sprout?"

"I'm more anxious than you."

Bennigo answered calmly, walked to the alchemy jar, stared at it for a while, and whispered, "I've got the Azure Thorn Hurricane Bee King Honey. If all goes well, it should be within the next month or two."

After one or two months, Ronan's heart stirred slightly, and he couldn't help but feel a bit of anticipation.

"Rustle--"

At first, there was a sound like gravel rolling on a smooth mirror surface, but gradually, even that sound disappeared.

The white halo expanded rhythmically, creating a sense of profound peace and tranquility.

In the dimly lit, cramped room, Ronan slowly opened his eyes.

The azure blue that burst forth in his eyes brought a moment of brightness to the small house, like a sudden flash of lightning.

I got up and checked my Character Panel.

Name: Ronan Damien

Age: 17

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

[Strength: Level One Wizard (46%)]

[Skill: Basic Meditation Technique - [Clarity Realm] (Master 208/1600)]

I don't know if it was the process of condensing the second Soul Rune that honed my mental strength, or if my proficiency in [Basic Meditation Technique - [Clarity Realm]] broke through the Master Level of 200 points, or if it was the slight effect of the Rune Array in the environment that promotes meditation while I was inside the Arcane Circle.

In less than seven days, just after Ronan's cultivation progress had broken through 45%, his Strength Progress climbed another level, reaching 46%.

It turns out that people are indeed "in high spirits" when they have good news.

The current [[Clarity Realm]] is much more efficient at refining mental energy and removing impurities. Moreover, the mental energy recovery effect of the [[Clarity Realm]] has improved from being equivalent to constantly taking a bottle of Rank 0 Intermediate Mental Energy Recovery Potion to being almost equivalent to constantly taking a Rank 1 Mental Energy Recovery Potion.

As long as he doesn't excessively deplete his mental energy by frequently casting trump card spells, Ronan feels he has absolutely no worries about running out of mental energy.

In addition to the increase in the total amount of mental energy, Ronan felt that the quality of his mental energy had also improved a lot compared to when he first advanced to the First Level Wizard. If it was like water before, it is now like glue, becoming much thicker.

He probed his Consciousness Space his spiritual power, and the results of his seven days of cultivation were presented before him.

Beside the [Frozen Earth] rune, a new Soul Rune appeared. It looked like a tangled mess of silver metal wires, but in essence, it was the core inheritance of the Silver Magic Ring Metal Element magic - [Schubert's Mithril Transformation], also known as the [Silverization] rune by Arcane Circle wizards.

During his time in the Arcane Circle, Ronan tried to find information about the name "Schubert," but the information he found was scarce. All he knew was that he was a legendary wizard who once existed on this continent.

The exact extent of his strength is unknown, but his vast knowledge is well-known. He has left behind amazing achievements in many fields such as magic, runes, potions, and alchemy, which have benefited future generations immensely.

The Arcane Circle is neither the only wizarding faction to have Schubert, nor the first.

"The places where powerful wizards once existed are like 'whale falls,' nourishing countless wizards who came after them."

Ronan sighed inwardly. After successfully condensing the second rune, he once again felt a sense of fullness in his soul. When this sense of fullness completely disappeared, he would be qualified to condense the next rune.

The [Silver Transformation] talisman has been successfully condensed, but Ronan has not yet tried using it.

Thinking it over, Ronan stepped out of the hut.

The light from outside made him squint slightly, and a figure seemed to flash by in his vision. But when Ronan looked again, the feeling of being watched had disappeared.

"I wonder whose flies these are this time."

Ronan didn't seem to care and calmly closed the door of the cabin.

His place of practice and residence was a "meditation room" that only formal members of the Arcane Circle were qualified to rent. It was actually a series of small metal houses, closely packed together, without any additional Rune Array. Ronan could sometimes even hear snoring coming from the next room.

It's purely because being within the radiation range of the giant meditation array of the Silver Tower of the Seventh Magic Ring has a certain effect on promoting the growth of mental power, but the rent is frighteningly high.

"It's completely not cost-effective. For that mere meditation boost that's not even as strong as my sixth sense, I'd rather stay somewhere more comfortable..."

Ronan left the "meditation room," walked out of the Arcane Circle, and came to the vast forest area.

Ronan found a quiet, secluded spot and began testing the effects of his second seal.

Nightmare Tungsten Steel flowed out from under the robe like mercury, and its dark material nature caused a slight burning sensation on the skin it passed over.

As usual, Ronan condensed the Nightmare Tungsten Steel into his signature One-Handed Sword form, and activated the [Silverization] rune in his sea of consciousness.

In an instant, a strange power originating from the soul was generated, passing through Ronan's body and flowing into his hands.

Ronan watched as the longsword in his hand gradually changed from pure black to silver-white.

Even the black smoke that constantly emanated from the longsword transformed into a hazy silver mist, reflecting a magnificent and beautiful color under the sunlight.

"Whoosh—"

Ronan gently swung his sword, the silver longsword drawing a clear sword mark in the air, with faint silver ripples spreading out.

He then flicked the blade of the longsword twice with his finger, hearing a clear "ding-ding" sound.

"Both its sharpness and [Fortify] have been increased by at least double."

Ronan drew preliminary conclusions.

He then flew quickly toward the depths of the forest.

The forest area near the Arcane Circle has been wiped out by the First Level Wizard who make a living by hunting. To find a magical beast now, one must venture deeper into the forest.

After flying for an unknown amount of time, Ronan finally spotted a large, boar-like, low-level Tier 1 magical beast near a small puddle that reeked of decay and stench.

He had a vague recollection of this creature; it seemed to be called a "Mud-Eating Swamp Pig" or something like that. In any case, it was of average strength and had very little of value on its body. The key was its thick, tough skin; the outer layer of its hide, mixed with earth-elemental energy particles, was comparable to the defense of a mid-tier first-level magical beast. It was smelly, tough, and worthless, which is why it was always disliked by hunting wizards.

However, they're quite good as live targets for testing spells.

Ronan didn't use any magic; relying solely on his physical strength and the control over his body granted by his Master Level [Basic Swordsmanship], he lightly flew to the boar monster and struck it squarely between the eyebrows with his sword.

"Pfft—"

The silver-plated Nightmare Longsword easily pierced the head of the Mud-Eating Swamp Pig. It encountered slight resistance when it hit the skull, but quickly broke through after Ronan pressed down a little.

"Huh?"

Ronan, however, seemed to have discovered something new. With a surprised expression, he drew his sword and quickly retreated.

Once he had retreated to his original position, the Mud-Eating Swamp Pig, whose head had been stabbed by a sword, began to howl wildly in pain, digging wildly into the mud pit beneath it, sending countless mud droplets flying everywhere.

Ronan completely ignored the "victim's" condition, focusing all his attention on the longsword in his hand.

Just as he was about to thrust his sword down, he noticed that the Mud-Eating Swamp Pig, which was being pointed at by the sword, clearly saw the impending danger, but its eyes showed a momentary confusion, as if it had fallen into some kind of chaotic state of consciousness that it could not control.

Even the pain from the severe brain injury was "delayed" for several seconds before I could react.

"Is this a special effect of the Nightmare Tungsten Steel?"

For the first time, Ronan realized that the silver mist emanating from the longsword in his hand might have more than just an effect of enhancing its appearance.

With doubts, he tested it more than ten times in a row and finally confirmed that the Nightmare Tungsten Steel did indeed have a special ability of "consciousness interference".

In battle, when subjected to spells using Nightmare Tungsten Steel as a medium, one's mental strength will inevitably be affected to some extent.

This ability is actually quite overpowered. It can disrupt the opponent's attack rhythm at crucial moments, or even cause the opponent to fail to cast spells.

Ronan had previously only used Nightmare Tungsten Steel as a pure melee weapon, completely ignoring this point.

"Does the 'Nightmare' in Nightmare Tungsten Steel refer to this?"

"Silver Mist Nightmare"

"No wonder Travis is so eager to get his Bennigo's Nightmare Tungsten Steel. The true value of Nightmare Tungsten Steel is probably far beyond my imagination."

Ronan seemed to be deep in thought.

He then used Nightmare Tungsten Steel as a medium to test several other Metal Element spells.

Although Ronan possessed the complete inheritance of first and second-tier Metal Element magic, he actually didn't learn many Metal Element spells.

Besides the core [Animated Metal], I learned one Tier 1 offensive spell – [[High-Energy Crucible]], and one Tier 1 control spell – [[Rusting Swamp]].

The former involves manipulating a metallic medium to leave the body and then causing a violent explosion, as if there were an invisible crucible in the air that you were throwing out and heating a metallic medium.

The latter involves entangling one's own metallic medium around the opponent, creating a rusty metal effect that hinders the opponent's movement and also has a corrosive damage effect.

After the Nightmare Tungsten Steel was silvered, the power of both spells was significantly enhanced.

Ronan had only just begun to learn these two spells, but with his frequent daily use of [Animated Metal], he was almost proficient.

The effect of [Animated Metal] is to give metal a certain "activation" property, allowing wizards to better control metal. It is considered a prerequisite skill for most Metal Element spells.

As proficiency in [Animated Metal] increases, the "activity" of the metal medium will gradually upgrade, the connection between it and the wizard will become closer, and the effects of the released Metal Element spells will be better.

After tormenting several unfortunate magical beasts used as "live targets" to the point of near death, Ronan finished testing his abilities in Metal Element Spell Inheritance and could finally get to the real topic.

— Unveiling the secrets to Master Level proficiency growth in [Ascetic Body Forging]!

"Call--"

Ronan exhaled a breath of stale air and took off his robes in an open space with his back against a rock wall.

His appearance was too handsome; only after his hair was cut short did he gain a bit more of his due dashing air.

Now that he has shed his robes and revealed a flawless body, his heroic spirit is even more prominent.

Ronan held the longsword upside down, the blade pointed at himself, considering where to begin his attack.