The Soul of Another World

The small room had bare walls on all four sides.

The bedding was thin, and the iron bed was cold, making the bones ache.

Roy woke up clutching his head, letting out a hiss and a sharp intake of breath.

"So painful...

What happened?"

In a daze, scenes from his past and present lives intertwined and overlapped in his mind like illusions.

He realized this was a world of wizards ruled by the "Seven Towers Alliance."

His new identity was also named Roy, and he was an apprentice at the Oakmi Wizard Tower, one of the seven ancestral towers.

Roy rubbed his temples, trying to alleviate the headache.

As a result, more memories from his predecessor flooded in.

Twelve years old, filled with aspirations of becoming a wizard, he had boarded a ship and sailed across the sea to this place.

He had toiled day and night for three meals a day and the knowledge needed for progress, and six years had passed since then.

The hardships and suffering of over two thousand days and nights were still vivid in his mind.

However, in just over a month, it would be the annual Tower Clearing deadline.

His predecessor was facing the tragic fate of being expelled from the tower and sent back to his hometown.

Whether it was due to despair or some other change, he had inexplicably died suddenly that night.

And then, he had taken his place.

"Expelled from the tower..."

Roy frowned deeply.

The Old Continent was not a good place.

It was a backward, ignorant, and underdeveloped region where commoners were treated worse than livestock, and it was plagued by famine, plague, and war.

The education received by low-level apprentices was, at best, equivalent to basic literacy and general knowledge of the occult.

It did not reach the stage of spellcasting.

Being sent back without becoming an intermediate apprentice was almost equivalent to being exiled to the wilderness.

Not only would he face all sorts of hardships and dangers, but he would also have no personal rights, subject to the whims of the bloodline nobles there.

Snapping back to reality, Roy surveyed the room.

The Wizard Tower was as grand as a city internally, even concealing portals to numerous small worlds, but the living quarters for low-level apprentices at the bottom were as simple as the interior of a medieval stone castle.

However, a chandelier made of magic crystals hung from the ceiling, emitting a clean white light.

On the table beneath the chandelier lay several general knowledge books borrowed from the library. One of them was open, detailing the basic knowledge his predecessor had perused many times.

"Books containing wizard knowledge are collectively called the 'Book of Wizards,' which usually includes Will Runes...

Tracing and manifesting the rune's image in one's mind using mental power is the process of meditation training..."

Roy mused thoughtfully.

"Book of Wizards, Will Runes, meditation training...

Ordinary people's mental power can only trace and manifest 1-2 Will Runes consecutively.

Reaching 3 or more is the entry standard for a low-level apprentice.

This often requires exceptional talent or deliberate training.

The former predecessor was chosen to board the ship because of this.

But as a six-year senior apprentice, one must pass professional meditation and persist long-term to reach the level of manifesting 8 or more runes to be promoted to intermediate and be allowed to stay!"

Roy secretly checked his current progress.

"Fei Fu ()!

Wu Lu Zi ()!

Tu Li Sa Zi ()!

An Si Zi ()!

Lai De He ()!

Ka Na Zi ()!

Gai... Gai Bo..."

As he meditated, the outlines of six consecutive Will Runes appeared in the dark void within his mind, like torches igniting.

At the seventh rune, his mental strength began to falter. The originally clear rune image suddenly dimmed as if losing its light source.

"The requirement is 8 runes, but after all these years, only a little over 6 have progressed...

If this continues, there's absolutely no way I'll make it!"

Roy pondered.

Just blindly working hard wouldn't be enough to catch up. He might need some external help.

The good news was that the wizarding world never lacked such external forces.

Spirit Strengthening Potions, Bloodline Modification Potions, Blood Soul Stones, Corpse Soul Flowers...

They had everything imaginable.

The bad news was that any one of them required Magic Stones, and at least a hundred to start.

For him, this was undoubtedly a fortune that would take years of hard work to save up.

"How can I earn this much money as quickly as possible?"

Roy felt a bit troubled.

His predecessor was an ordinary, low-level apprentice. The only minor highlight was that over the years he had been here, he had diligently studied some knowledge of potions and perfume making.

Now, he had inherited that knowledge and memory.

But it was only superficial knowledge.

This was nowhere near enough to earn the Magic Stones needed to change his fate in a short time.

Helpless, Roy suddenly felt a warm current surge within him, like being soaked in warm water, incredibly comfortable.

Afterward, the warm current receded, but a semi-transparent phantom panel inexplicably appeared in his vision, displaying text.

[Alchemy Talent Acquisition in Progress (100%)]

[Skilled Worker (Black Iron Rank)]

[When performing apprentice-level alchemy operations, gain a skill bonus equivalent to the skilled level, and success rate doubles.]

"What is this?"

Roy looked surprised.

Amidst his surprise, he quickly understood the function of this Black Iron Rank talent, as if by instinct.

The "skilled" level skill bonus meant skipping the initial stages of learning and entry, making most operations intuitive and leading to mastery through practice.

And the doubled success rate was a direct and massive increase!

This didn't defy common sense, though.

For example, "skilled"...

You still had to learn it first. After learning, you could quickly get started and become skilled.

Also, deliberately knocking over the alchemy table, misplacing materials, or being careless would still reduce the success rate and lead to failure.

"But... no matter what, this talent is very useful.

Maybe I can try to make something called 'Fragrant Cattail Water' from my memories to earn money!"

He paced around the room, searching his memories, and gradually came up with an idea.

His predecessor's abilities were mediocre at best, only capable of assisting others and earning a meager living.

But after the appearance of the Black Iron Rank talent, [Skilled Worker], his mind suddenly cleared, and all the details became vivid.

This made him feel as skilled and experienced as if he had been through countless trials, giving him immense confidence.

Indeed, the talent's ability was manifesting...

It was an immediate improvement!

[Alchemy Talent Acquisition in Progress (0%)]

Just then, the text on the panel changed, and Roy suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Could I gain more in the future?"

He was somewhat surprised and slapped the table, making the books and writing tools tremble.

Although he didn't understand the essence of this thing yet, this alchemy talent, similar to [Skilled Worker], was clearly not an isolated occurrence.

It was just the tip of the iceberg.

Perhaps he could discover more in the future, helping him go very far on the extraordinary path of a wizard.

But the prerequisite for everything was to be able to stay here, not be sent back and end up like an exile.