First Limit Break

In a forest clearing outside Nightfall Town.

An invisible Eye of Vigilance hovered overhead, its eyeball swiveling rapidly as it watched in all directions.

Ten days had passed since Ian reached an agreement with Kenna and the others. They should already be on their way back, bringing him the Rock Bear blood he needed.

A few days ago, he had quietly passed his seventeenth birthday.

[Name: Ian Marcus]

[Age: 17]

[Realm: Intermediate Wizard Apprentice (4%)]

[Talent: Medium Light Attribute Affinity]

[Skills: Star-Moon Lower Meditation Method: Proficient (177/400)

Wizard's Hand: Mastery (27/400)

Lesser Frost Ray: Mastery (399/400)

Eye of Vigilance: Proficient (12/400)

Awakening Potion: Mastery (2/400)

Basic Potion Identification: Mastery (36/400)]

The effects of the Awakening Potion had weakened further, greatly slowing the rate at which his Mental Power was tempered.

After ten days, his realm had only improved by 4%.

Of the two new sorceries he had learned, Eye of Vigilance was the easiest to practice. Each casting lasted an hour and consumed very little Mental Power.

As long as the sorcery remained active, it continuously granted him proficiency.

During that time, he had also quietly disposed of two rings, earning a total of 180 magic stones. He immediately bought a private rune temperature-controlled box.

The proficiency of Awakening Potion had also risen rapidly during this period, entering a new stage.

By now, he had accumulated more than a hundred potions at home.

What reassured him most was still Lesser Frost Ray. It was only one step away from reaching perfection again. Even he had no idea how many times he had cast this sorcery.

Somehow, he had a premonition that this breakthrough would bring tremendous changes.

"Last time!" Ian completed the casting gesture and incantation in the blink of an eye.

"Glacies!"

A deep-blue, freezing ray shot out instantly.

[Lesser Frost Ray Proficiency +1]

After the Status Panel blurred for a moment, it began to clear again.

[Lesser Frost Ray: Limit Break 1 time (0/800) (Limit Break Effect: 1. Twin)]

With a boom, Ian's consciousness shook violently.

Within the void of his mind, two identical pale-blue runes condensed beside the Will Rune, radiating an icy aura.

Parts of the blue runes remained indistinct in their finer details.

The moment he "saw" them, Ian gained a vague understanding.

"Ice runes that haven't fully condensed yet!"

As soon as Ian's Mental Power approached them, a bone-piercing chill rose from the depths of his heart. Fortunately, it did not harm him.

The two newborn runes were much smaller than the Will Rune, nestling against each other.

They flickered as though they were resonating with the Will Rune beside them.

"How could there be something like this?"

Ian's knowledge was limited. He had never heard of sorcery breakthroughs producing such a phenomenon.

Was this something unique to him because he had awakened the Status Panel, or would other wizards also develop such traits once they trained their sorceries to a profound level?

With a slight movement of his thoughts, he carefully touched the pale-blue runes.

A piece of information came to him, and he understood why two runes had formed.

Under normal circumstances, if a wizard had the ability to push a sorcery beyond Mastery, the corresponding rune would indeed be generated.

But he possessed the miraculous Limit Break Status Panel!

From now on, every sorcery and skill would undergo a tremendous transformation after a Limit Break!

"Looking at it this way, the first effect of Limit Breaking my ray-type sorceries may all be Twin. But I could be wrong."

Moreover, after gathering the runes, he could actually cast sorcery instantly!

Previously, he still needed gestures and incantations. No matter how quickly he recited them, those steps could not be omitted.

Now that Ice runes had condensed in his mind, he no longer needed them.

"Let's test the power!"

The moment the thought arose, the two pale-blue runes in his mind flashed.

Two icicle-like rays instantly appeared before Ian.

With a slight pull of his Mental Power, the two rays shot out in arcs.

Bang! Bang! They struck two tree trunks forty meters to his right.

As wood chips scattered everywhere, they were swiftly frozen by the cold air.

"Two rays. With Mental Power guidance, I can attack two targets, bend them slightly, and the power hasn't decreased at all!"

This felt somewhat like dual casting in films from his previous life.

Ian's delight at that moment was beyond words!

That casting had consumed quite a bit of Mental Power, but it was still acceptable.

He could cast rays of that power another dozen or so times.

This was because the Ice runes had drastically reduced his Mental Power consumption.

"Twin!"

Ever since the Status Panel had appeared, he had sensed that his path as a wizard would differ enormously from others.

"Perhaps this is the true meaning of Limit Break."

The first effect was Twin. In the future, there would be even more powerful effects.

Limit Break was not merely reflected in the power of sorcery. It also reached into deeper dimensions.

With this improvement to his sorcery, his offensive power should rank among the very best of Intermediate Apprentices.

However, his weaknesses remained obvious. He still did not possess a single shield sorcery, which greatly reduced his sense of security.

"I'll ask the other coworkers at the shop whether they know anything about that."

There was a Potion Master named Clayton whom Ian had met a few times. He felt that the man was someone he could deal with.

Clayton had a fairly good reputation in the shop. He was mild-mannered and could get along with anyone.

Ian had heard that aside from Clayton himself, his family also had several Advanced Wizard Apprentices. Their overall strength was considerable.

As for Kenna and the others, he did not hold much hope for them.

They were a group of struggling people themselves, and it was difficult for them to access high-end information.

"The spots on my body are gradually increasing too."

Magic Power was constantly eroding his body. These past few days, he had not dared to cultivate at full strength, and his progress had slowed considerably.

He felt that his advancement was slow, but that was only relative. Apprentices with the same aptitude definitely could not cultivate as quickly as he did.

At his current pace, even with the decline, he would only need around two years to advance to Advanced Apprentice.

"Just looking at your expressions, I can tell you made a good haul."

Ian invited Kenna and the others into the room and first handed over the potions he had owed them.

Then Robert took out a thick glass container that emitted wisps of cold air. Inside was the Rock Bear blood Ian had been longing for.

"I followed your requirements and preserved the blood's vitality. In the end, this was all that remained."

Ian carefully accepted it. Seeing that more than half the bottle of blood remained, he was very satisfied.

"This will be enough for the early stages. Once I'm familiar with it, I'll need to trouble you to keep collecting more."

After estimating the market price, Ian paid each of them thirty magic stones.

They not only needed meditation potions, but also a large number of magic stones to study knowledge.

Ian knew the price was somewhat inflated, but he no longer cared about such small sums.

There was no other reason. Ian's production costs were so low that they were practically nonexistent. Selling a few potions casually was enough to cover his expenses.

Kenna and the others were even more satisfied with the price.

Previously, after deducting their study expenses, they could only drink three or four potions a month for cultivation, and that was already because their team was relatively strong.

The cultivation situation for low- and intermediate-level apprentices was the same throughout the entire High Tower. Competition for resources was extremely fierce.

Now, after cooperating with Ian only once, each of them already had more than five potions in hand.