Ian

The Angra Ring Mountains, a vast plain in the center.

Early morning.

At the edge of the woodland, Ian stood in front of his house, looking toward the center of the plain at the rows of pointed towers reaching into the clouds.

That was the Shadowmoon Tower Academy, the Wizard Towers of powerful wizards.

Last night, he had inexplicably transmigrated into this world, becoming a Low-level Wizard Apprentice.

The original owner of this body was the second son of a noble count from a distant kingdom.

At fifteen, he was tested and found to have wizard aptitude.

Over a year ago, he was sent here by his family for further study.

The original owner had been a good-for-nothing playboy at home, his mindset not yet mature.

After enrolling, he was led astray by others and chose the extremely difficult Potion Studies.

During that time, he spent a large amount of magic stone to buy a pile of materials, delusional about brewing potions to earn more magic stone.

Last night, while brewing a potion in his room, something went wrong.

He was poisoned to death on the spot by the toxic gas rising from the cauldron, leaving the body for Ian, who had transmigrated over.

In all those previous attempts, there was never such a strong toxic gas produced, so why last night...

What he was brewing at the time was a common Rank Zero potion: the Awakening Potion.

Its effect was to allow the drinker to maintain mental focus for two hours.

It was one of the most popular auxiliary potions for apprentices when meditating.

After an entire night, Ian had slightly adapted to the fact of his transmigration and sorted out the memories in his mind.

He turned and went into the house, walking into the small laboratory next to the bedroom.

His residence was two wooden houses surrounded by a courtyard wall as tall as a person.

The facilities inside were simple; he usually ate and studied here.

He walked over to the workbench and began to check the medicinal herbs from last night.

Before long, he picked up a withered herb, and a faint, putrid smell reached the tip of his nose.

Looking at the star-like white spots on the leaves, Ian frowned deeply.

"This isn't Moonlight Grass, it's Rot-Bone Flower!"

The white spots on the leaves were formed by absorbing corpse energy.

The leaf shapes and spots of the two were extremely similar, but their effects were worlds apart.

Moonlight Grass was rare, while Rot-Bone Flower was everywhere around the mountains.

The main ingredient for the Awakening Potion formula was Moonlight Grass.

Rot-Bone Flower, on the other hand, was generally used to concoct poisons, and some obscure body-tempering potions used it in small amounts.

"These medicinal herbs were all forced on me by Simon."

Ian's face was gloomy; it was this person who had tricked him into choosing Potion Studies.

In the nearly two years, the other party had earned no less than two hundred magic stone from him.

He had almost emptied the magic stone he brought from his family—no, he had already emptied them!

His current net worth was only six magic stone.

Simon's level was higher than his; he was an Intermediate Wizard Apprentice who had already stayed at the Academy for five years.

"This person studies Darkness-element Wizardry, would he not recognize Rot-Bone Flower?"

Ian was not sure if the other party was careless or had done it on purpose.

However, it no longer mattered!

Ian rolled up his sleeves and cleaned the workbench, intending to brew it again according to his memories.

The original owner's talent was actually quite good, with above-average aptitude.

There was about a one-in-ten chance of breaking through to become a Formal Wizard.

He first used a Mortar to mix the Moonlight Flower with clear water, grinding it into a paste.

Then he took out the Menthol Crystal and added it to clear water to begin extracting the Fern Liquid.

In the final stage, Ian carefully stared at the pale blue glass bottle in his hand.

After a while, a puff of green smoke emerged from the bottle, and the color of the solution quickly faded to nothing.

"Failed!"

Ian was not too disappointed; after all, this was his first time brewing.

[Awakening Potion proficiency +1]

Suddenly, a line of text drifted before his eyes.

At the same time, a violent tremor echoed through his mind.

An illusory Status Panel appeared before Ian Marcus.

Is this... a Game Panel?!!

His heart shook violently, and he rubbed his eyes hard.

After confirming repeatedly that it was not a hallucination, the corners of his mouth slowly curled upward.

[Name: Ian Marcus]

[Age: 16]

[Realm: Low-level Wizard Apprentice (53%)]

[Talent: Medium Light Attribute Affinity]

[Skills: Star-Moon Lower Meditation Method: Novice (72/200)

Wizard's Hand: Novice (13/100)

Basic Potion Identification: Uninitiated (42/50)

Awakening Potion: Uninitiated (25/50)]

With a slight shift of his thoughts, the panel vanished.

He then tried to focus his mind again, and the light screen reappeared before his eyes.

Just a moment ago, although his potion brewing had failed, the panel had provided positive feedback.

A small amount of insight into the brewing process flowed into his mind, raising the proficiency of the Awakening Potion by one point.

After Ian digested the information, he let out a long breath and walked out of the laboratory.

His mood was still too agitated to continue brewing potions.

He splashed his face with cold water, forcing himself to calm down.

Looking at his pale face in the basin, his eye sockets slightly sunken and his spirit somewhat listless, he looked entirely unremarkable.

Stepping out of the house, the cool breeze blowing against his face felt very comfortable.

Ian looked around; through the gaps in the woods, he could vaguely see the eaves of several houses.

Those living inside were all low-level and intermediate apprentices.

This area belonged to the outskirts of the High Tower Academy, four or five miles away from the nearest town.

In terms of security, they could only rely on the nearby Tower Patrol, and order was relatively chaotic.

Like Ian, they were not qualified to live in the central area of the plains.

That was a privilege enjoyed only by Formal Wizards and those existing above the level of a wizard.

As for how to acquire new knowledge, Ian remembered that besides self-study, he could go to the teaching area once a week to attend a free basic course.

Or, he could spend extra magic stones to attend various specialized courses.

"Magic stones, oh, magic stones!" Ian sighed softly.

Here, magic stones were the pass to everything.

Even with low aptitude, as long as one had sufficient resources, their early cultivation speed would not be much slower than those geniuses.

His greatest assets right now were the pile of low-level potions in his laboratory.

Ian circled his house a few times, and a plan gradually formed in his mind.

His most urgent priority right now was not earning magic stones.

In two months, the two-year deadline since his enrollment would arrive.

Shadowmoon Tower stipulated that new students must break through to become an Intermediate Wizard Apprentice within two years to remain and continue their studies.

If they failed to do so, they would either have to pay high tuition fees or be expelled from the High Tower.

Most apprentices who were both poor and had low aptitude could not afford the tuition.

Some voluntarily became permanent fixtures in laboratories or sold their bodies, meeting miserable ends.

They had luckily entered the world of wizards and seen its infinite wonders; almost no one was willing to give up this path.

And Ian, too, had to improve his strength before that time.

The fastest way right now was to rapidly improve his Star-Moon Meditation Method.

This would accelerate the tempering speed of his Mental Power and break through his current limits.

Looking at the realm description on the panel, a sense of urgency filled his heart.

He had previously spent too much time on potions and gained nothing, leaving his cultivation progress far behind others.

Returning to the house, he made some simple food to eat, but he did not immediately begin meditating; instead, he started brewing potions once more.