Breakthrough

In the study, steam rose from the cauldron on the desk.

Matthew was brewing a Potent Vitality Potion. After all his work lately, his sea of consciousness had grown much more stable.

He had also finished forming all 648 runic models. Now he could attempt to break through to Level 3 Wizard Apprentice.

After a while, the liquid in the cauldron turned a vivid blue.

The Potent Vitality Potion was ready. He extinguished the magic flame and poured the potion into a clean glass cup.

He took an intricately crafted incense burner and a thumb-sized piece of dark red spice from his pocket. With a small knife, he sliced a sliver from the end of the spice, placed it in the burner, and lit it.

An indescribable scent drifted from the incense burner, one that went beyond the limits of human smell.

Matthew felt a powerful swelling sensation in his sea of consciousness.

Matthew had recently attended another exchange meeting hosted by Lady Alsha. That small piece of incense had been his greatest find there.

It was first-tier Dragon Scale Incense. Dragon Scale Incense was not a natural product but an alchemical product, supposedly made primarily from the scales of a dragonoid creature.

Dragon Scale Incense greatly benefited the growth of a wizard's sea of consciousness. Burning it while practicing a meditation method made the practice much more effective, while using it during a breakthrough slightly improved the chance of success. Even if the breakthrough failed, it would prevent lasting damage to the sea of consciousness.

But Dragon Scale Incense was extraordinarily expensive. That thumb-sized piece had cost Matthew one magic stone, far more than a first-tier spell.

Still, Dragon Scale Incense burned for a long time. A single sliver could last an hour or two.

Matthew then drank the Potent Vitality Potion in the cup. Though the potion was still boiling in the glass, it felt room-temperature in his mouth.

The magic power in his body grew unusually restless. He quickly sat on the bed and began practicing the Aemon Basic Meditation Method.

Under the meditation method's influence, the restless magic power began to affect his sea of consciousness.

As he practiced, the surges of magic power settled into a rhythm. Each frequent surge struck his sea of consciousness and brought intense dizziness. Matthew could barely keep the meditation method going.

After this continued for several minutes, his sea of consciousness shook violently. Matthew's face turned pale.

With the help of Dragon Scale Incense, though, his sea of consciousness remained full.

Half an hour later, the potion's effects gradually faded, and the dizziness began to recede. Just then, his sea of consciousness gave a sudden jolt. Matthew heard something like the sound of glass shattering beside his ear.

It felt as though some shackle had broken. His sea of consciousness expanded rapidly, stopping only when it had reached twice its former size.

Then the magic power in his body began to boil. Objects throughout the study rose into the air, lifted by an unseen force.

A moment later, his magic power gradually calmed, and the floating objects fell to the floor.

Sensing carefully, he found that his total magic power had also increased by thirty percent.

Matthew could not hide his delight. He was now a Level 3 Wizard Apprentice. His guess after his last breakthrough had been right: this one had caused another small magic outburst.

And from what he had observed lately, he possessed far more magic power than wizards of the same level in this world. Each of his breakthroughs increased his magic power by more than theirs did.

He and Link were both Level 3 Wizard Apprentices, but Matthew now had nearly twice as much magic power as Link.

West Street Tavern, noon.

Link had asked Matthew to meet him at the tavern. It had changed owners.

After Matthew and the others dealt with the Old White Mutant, the Security Station posted a notice listing every face on Old White's body among the dead. Old John, the tavern's former owner, was on the list.

Once the list was published, Old John's son sold the tavern to pay off the debts.

When Matthew arrived, Link and Anna were already there. He saw them waving to him as soon as he entered.

There were no customers demanding repayment this time, and the tavern was much quieter.

After Matthew sat down beside Link, Link called a server over to take their order.

The server was Young John, Old John's son, who had been the young proprietor when they last met. He was wearing a server's uniform now.

Link was a little surprised too. He had noticed Young John earlier but had not called him over to ask about it.

"Aren't you the owner anymore?" Link asked.

Compared with the last time they had seen him, Young John looked less anxious, but a new shadow hung over him. Losing both parents in quick succession had hit him hard.

Young John shook his head. "I sold the tavern to pay off my father's debts. But Lady Jill, who bought it, is a good person. She let me keep working here."

"Lady Jill? What a coincidence." Link rubbed his chin.

Lady Jill was a well-known widow in Whitestone Town. Her late husband had been a wealthy merchant, and she had taken over his business after he died.

Under her management, the business had grown even larger. Half the shops on this street belonged to her, though her main business was freight transport. She had many caravans carrying goods between cities.

In this world, only powerful Level Two Wizards could set up a Spatial Teleportation Array capable of long-distance travel. Such arrays existed only in large cities and at the headquarters of powerful wizard organizations, and activating one consumed many magic stones.

As a result, caravans still handled most transport between regions.

"What's a coincidence?" Young John asked, puzzled.

"Nothing. I just saw her earlier, and I had no idea she'd bought this tavern." Link laughed. "I'm getting hungry. Let's order first. One Cheesy Baked White Stone Fruit, three steaks, and a glass of..."

"I'll have the same," Matthew said at once.

After Young John left, Link said,

"Lady Jill is a wealthy merchant in the freight business. I just came from seeing her. I've wanted to meet her for a long time.

My grandfather came to Whitestone Town with one of her caravans, so I wanted to see if she had any clues.

But she manages many caravans and is very busy. She hadn't been back to Whitestone Town for some time.

As soon as she returned, I paid her a visit.

She told me my grandfather took four people to the Winter Forest. One of them was her employee.

Her employee had been going to the Winter Forest to survey its resources. Harvesting Rainbow Cloud Grass there is another of Lady Jill's businesses.

But her employee disappeared in the Winter Forest, just like my grandfather.

The old Rainbow Cloud Grass harvesting area is nearly depleted. She's putting together an exploration team to survey the Winter Forest for a new one."