Mental Strength and Magic Power

Mental Strength: 7

Magic Power: 1

Physique: 8

Elemental Affinity: Fire, Light, Darkness...

Several differently colored glimmers surfaced across the Crystal Ball's surface. At the same time, a brief message appeared in Saine's mind. →

This was not Saine's first time using the academy's public Crystal Ball, so he knew exactly what to focus on.

"Mental Strength increased by 7, Magic Power by 6, and even Physique by 2?" Saine thought to himself.

More than half a month ago, before setting out for the Saltwater Crocodile's territory, Saine had come to the library to test his Mental Strength and Magic Power.

At the time, his figures had been: Mental Strength 26, Magic Power 5, Physique 6.

For a low-level apprentice like Saine, those figures had already been quite impressive. No wonder he had dared to take such enormous risks and pick a fight with the Saltwater Crocodile.

The Black Wizard Academy's minimum requirement for Intermediate Apprentices was Mental Strength of 30. Saine's Mental Strength was now stuck at 27, marking him as only one step away from becoming an Intermediate Apprentice.

As for Magic Power, it was usually tied to a magician's Mental Strength. It was a basic form of energy stored within a magician's body.

For example, when Saine cast magic, he used his Mental Strength to mobilize the Magic Power within his body, thereby fully releasing a spell.

Based on the knowledge and observations Saine had accumulated over the years at the Black Wizard Academy in the Underdark, he had discovered that those lofty Formal Black Wizards did not seem to care much about Magic Power. What they cared more about was Mental Strength. →

The advancement of Magic Apprentices at every level was generally judged directly by their Mental Strength.

Of course, that did not mean Magic Power was unimportant.

At least, given Saine's current knowledge and perspective, he believed Magic Power and Mental Strength were equally important.

For instance, when Saine cast an ordinary Minor Fireball, he expended 10 points each of Mental Strength and Magic Power.

But if he wanted to cast an enhanced Minor Fireball—the one he had used to kill the Saltwater Crocodile—he needed 10 points of Mental Strength and 15 points of Magic Power.

Greater Magic Power expenditure meant that the same spell would ultimately erupt with greater force.

Naturally, the two Minor Fireballs also differed slightly.

The former was standard knowledge Saine had exchanged for from the Public Library using

Academy Points.

The latter was the result of Saine's own slight research and improvements after studying knowledge related to Fire Element and receiving guidance while assisting Lina with her experiments.

The research of magic could not be completed in a day or two.

Saine's Minor Fireball could hardly be called an entirely new spell.

In the eyes of other Formal Magicians, Saine's achievement was nothing more than altering the minute Spell Model construction, allowing the Minor Fireball to carry more Magic Power and thus become slightly more powerful. It was an insignificant little trinket.

Yet Saine had spent nearly three years on this insignificant little trinket, and it had allowed him to successfully rank among the best of the Low-Level Apprentices.

As for the final item in the Crystal Ball's test results, Physique, it was something ordinary people generally paid no attention to.

According to the magicians who taught foundational elemental knowledge in the Public Classroom, a Physique of 5 to 7 was average for an adult human male in his prime.

Saine was sixteen this year and had yet to reach adulthood, yet his Physique had already reached 8, exceeding the average. Perhaps it was related to the rudimentary Breathing Technique he had mastered since childhood.

A Physique of 10 was an important Critical Point distinguishing one from ordinary humans. The astonishingly built Minotaurs of the City of Mozhsuobula generally had Physiques above 10, enough to wrestle with Low-Level Magical Beasts.

That Scarface Qiao Ke whom Saine had already killed had been a fellow with knotted muscles and exceptional close-combat ability.

Saine guessed that his Physique had likely exceeded 15, perhaps even 20.

Coupled with his Fire Element Enchantment ability, it was no wonder he had secretly regarded Lina as a rival all along.

Unfortunately, brute force was powerless before magic.

Saine's Strong Acid Scepter had easily melted Joe Ke's tough muscles into bloody sludge.

The same principle could be seen in those Minotaur warriors responsible for guarding the outskirts of the City of Mozhsuobula.

Those Minotaur warriors generally possessed tremendous builds and strength, yet were they not still trembling beneath magic's radiance?

Even the Minotaur captain Saine had seen, capable of matching an Advanced Magical Beast, probably could not take a blast of Corrosive Acid from the Strong Acid Scepter head-on.

Brute force was ultimately a petty path; wisdom was the kingly way.

"Senior Sister Fei'er once said that danger and desperate straits could indeed stimulate the growth of Mental Strength, and after Mental Strength grew, Magic Power would naturally increase as well

."

"I previously spent nearly ten years slowly raising my Mental Strength from 11 to 26."

"This time, in less than a month, my Mental Strength clearly increased by 3 points. Aside from my mentor's and Senior Sister Fei'er's teachings, those battles must also have been the key," Saine mused.

No wonder those apprentices of the Black Wizard Academy whose reputations spread far and wide all possessed such fierce and remarkable records.

Saine's fearsome reputation had been built upon the corpses of Yierke and Scarface Qiao Ke. It might have been enough to impress ordinary Intermediate and Low-Level Apprentices.

But to those Advanced Apprentices standing at the true pinnacle of the Black Wizard Academy, it was nothing at all.

Among the best of those Advanced Apprentices, there was no shortage of people with the proud achievement of personally killing Advanced Magical Beasts.

Naturally, once one entered the realm of Advanced Apprentices, one became completely separated from the academy's ordinary Intermediate Apprentices and those below them.

Not only were apprentices of this level rarely seen in the Public Classroom, but even in daily life, they were like divine dragons whose heads were seen but whose tails never appeared.

Thinking of Lina, Senior Sister Fei'er, and Senior Brother Zorro's recent circumstances, Saine had no trouble guessing that those Advanced Apprentices were either busy with experimental research or had gone out to undertake certain dangerous academy trials.

Most of the knowledge taught in the Black Wizard Academy's Public Classroom was lowly foundational knowledge, so naturally it no longer attracted the attention of these Advanced Apprentices and above.

In particular, nearly every Advanced Apprentice had their own Formal Magician mentor behind them. If they were interested in knowledge from any aspect, they could simply seek out their mentors. Why would they need to lower themselves by crowding into the Public Classroom?

At present, the mainstay of the Black Wizard Academy's Public Classroom consisted of Entry-Level Apprentices and Low-Level Apprentices.

Intermediate Apprentices accounted for only around twenty percent.

This situation had arisen because, on the one hand, Intermediate Apprentices were fewer in number than Entry-Level Apprentices and Low-Level Apprentices to begin with.

On the other hand, the overwhelming majority of Intermediate Apprentices truly no longer needed to absorb knowledge in the Public Classroom, because they had already learned most of that foundational knowledge.

Raising their Mental Strength as quickly as possible, earning Academy Points to obtain new Spell Models, or completing tasks issued by certain Formal Magicians in hopes that they would accept them as disciples—this was the daily routine of most Intermediate Apprentices.

If Saine had not been accepted as Master Moxidu's disciple, this might have been the daily routine of his life going forward as well.