Enemy: Riley (Please Follow, Bookmark, and Recommend!)

Chapter 14

"It's you!"

Lynn blurted out. The young man delivering the items was also stunned, clearly not expecting to run into the person who had taken Russell down.

In truth, Lynn did not bear much hostility toward this young man or the other apprentice who had come with him.

After all, his life-or-death battle had only been with Russell, while these two had been responsible for tasks elsewhere.

Lynn had not approached them today solely out of caution. Russell had killed more than twenty examinees, and the other two clearly did not have clean hands either.

But upon seeing the young man before him, an idea arose in Lynn's mind.

He wanted to seize this chance to have a proper talk, because he urgently needed information about Russell.

Although Lynn had won their life-or-death duel, the backing behind Russell clearly would not let the matter rest.

His near transfer to the Alchemy Department today had been the other side's doing.

Yet Lynn knew almost nothing about Russell's background.

Lynn took a deep breath and forced out a faint smile, his tone softening.

"Looks like we're rather fated to meet... Come in. Oh, right, I'm Lynn. What should I call you?"

He pulled open the door and gestured for the other party to enter.

For now, they were both apprentices of The Furnace and worked in the Potion Garden. They had no direct grudge against one another, and they might have plenty of dealings in the future.

"Remy. My name is Remy."

The young man seemed to understand that as well. He nodded, introduced himself, and carried the items in his hands into Lynn's room.

As the door gently closed, the atmosphere between them eased considerably.

"You want to ask about Russell, don't you? His background and where he intended to go after entering The Furnace?"

Remy paused slightly, seeming to have guessed Lynn's intentions before speaking.

"Actually, Russell and I weren't particularly close. We only knew each other. He did mention a few things to me. For example, after entering The Furnace, he planned to go to the Alchemy Department to find his cousin. As for his cousin's name, it should be Riley Robert..."

"Riley Robert..." Lynn repeated under his breath, nodding thoughtfully. "Thank you."

For some time afterward, Lynn and Remy talked at length, exchanging some of their views on the Potion Garden and the inner workings of The Furnace.

As their conversation gradually came to an end, Lynn rose, opened the door, and saw Remy out with a smile.

Watching Remy leave, the smile on Lynn's face slowly faded.

Lynn sat back down on the bed, his thoughts churning.

"Riley Robert... I should find a chance to ask Colin to look into his background for me."

At least now, he knew who the enemy lurking in the shadows was, which settled his mind somewhat.

He let out a long breath and turned his gaze toward the window.

The sun had long since sunk beneath the horizon. The night was deepening, and scattered starlight blanketed the Sky Curtain.

"I slept through the entire afternoon... I'll eat something first, then properly study what I gained today. Especially the Nature Wizard Teacher mentioned and that Seed of Life."

Lynn took out the few loaves of bread Colin had stuffed into his hands earlier. He casually gnawed on the bread, drank a few mouthfuls of water, and filled his stomach.

Then he checked that the door was tightly shut, sat at the desk by the window, and laid out the three books Teacher had left him one by one.

He was ready to begin seriously studying their contents.

The first book, Travels of Life, was a travelogue written by a Nature Wizard.

It recorded a wizard's adventures across the world, filled with vivid descriptions of local customs and scenery, making it read like a work of literature.

The second book, Introduction to Nature Wizards, and the third, From Nature Novice to Master of the Earth, were comparatively serious foundational textbooks. They explained in detail the introductory knowledge and advancement path of Nature Wizards.

However, Lynn knew perfectly well that he did not even count as a true Nature Wizard yet.

Whether Elemental Wizards, Bloodline Wizards, Summoners, or Nature Wizards, they all shared one prerequisite: they had to first become Official Wizards.

Lynn was currently only a Wizard Apprentice.

Within The Furnace, the advancement paths of apprentices were broadly similar.

Apprentices of Elemental Wizards needed to continuously increase their spiritual power through meditation techniques, advancing from first-level apprentice to second-level, then third-level, before finally striving to become Official Wizards.

Bloodline Wizards, meanwhile, had to fuse with special bloodlines to increase their strength while improving their spiritual power.

As for Nature Wizards, their path was more unusual, revolving almost entirely around the "Seed of Life."

Lynn touched his glabella. Within the realm of his spiritual power lay that Seed of Life: Ivgried.

The more Lynn read through the books, the deeper his frown became.

Besides increasing their spiritual power, Nature Wizards needed to forge a deep connection with their Seed of Life.

They had to infuse it with spiritual power and leave behind their own mark.

What followed was a long process of cultivation.

They needed to continuously nourish the Seed of Life with spiritual power until it brimmed with vitality and began to sprout.

During this period, the Seed of Life occupied nearly all of their spiritual power resources.

If Lynn's total spiritual power were one hundred, then at least eighty percent—eighty points of spiritual power—had to be used to sustain the growth of the Seed of Life.

That meant that when using wizardry in everyday situations, he could use less than twenty percent of his spiritual power!

"No wonder Teacher always says her students are terrible fighters..."

Lynn rubbed his glabella, a helpless smile appearing on his face.

"So that's how it is. Nature Wizard apprentices really aren't very strong in combat."

He finally understood the reason.

Throughout the long path of advancement from a first-level Wizard Apprentice to an Official Wizard,

Nature Wizards had to devote eighty percent of their spiritual power to nourishing the Seed of Life, while the remaining twenty percent was simply not enough to support intense combat.

"Such a long development period... I hope this Seed of Life and the path of a Nature Wizard won't disappoint me."

Even so, a trace of doubt arose in Lynn's heart.

During his exchange with his "classmate" Remy just now, he had more or less asked about the directions Dark Wizards pursued in their research and studies.

Compared with other wizard types, the cultivation method of Nature Wizards seemed utterly out of place, even somewhat incompatible with the "style" of Dark Wizards.

Dark Wizards generally favored wizardry that took effect quickly and possessed great power, such as Elemental Wizards, whose methods were easy to grasp and directly destructive, or Necromancers, whose techniques were sinister and whose killing power was terrifying.

And Nature Wizards?

They had practically no combat power in the early stages. For a Dark Wizard to choose this path was practically no different from courting death.

"Perhaps... this path was meant for the world of White Wizards."

Lynn sighed softly, then shook his head and cast aside his idle thoughts.

He knew very well that whether the path of a Nature Wizard suited him or not, he could no longer turn back.

Moreover, he was in The Furnace, which was dominated by Dark Wizards. Only by adapting to the environment and growing stronger could he survive.

"Rather than overthink things, I might as well study more knowledge about Nature Wizards..."

With that thought, Lynn turned his attention back to the books in his hands and continued reading.