In a forest clearing outside Nightfall Town.
An invisible Eye of Vigilance floated overhead, its eyeball rolling constantly as it monitored the surroundings.
Ten days had passed since Ian reached an agreement with Kenna and the others. They were likely already on their way back, bringing him the Rock Bear blood he needed.
A few days ago, he had quietly turned seventeen.
[Name: Ian Marcus] [Age: 17] [Realm: Intermediate Wizard Apprentice (4%)] [Talent: Medium Light Attribute Affinity] [Skill: 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 tempering of his Mental Power.
In ten days, his realm had only risen by 4%.
Of the two new spells he had learned, Eye of Vigilance was the easiest to practice. One casting lasted an hour and consumed very little Mental Power.
As long as the spell remained active, it continuously granted him proficiency.
During that time, he had secretly disposed of two Rings, earning a total of 180 magic stones. He immediately bought a private rune Thermostat Box.
The Awakening Potion's proficiency had also risen rapidly during this period, entering a new stage.
There were now over a hundred potions stockpiled at home.
What reassured him most was Lesser Frost Ray. It was only a step away from reaching perfection again, and even Ian himself had no idea how many times he had cast the spell.
Somewhere deep down, he had a feeling that this breakthrough would bring enormous changes.
"Last time!" Ian completed the casting gesture and incantation in the blink of an eye.
"Glacies!"
A dark blue beam of frigid light shot forth instantly.
[Lesser Frost Ray Proficiency +1]
The Status Panel blurred for a moment before becoming 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, beside the Will Rune, two identical pale-blue runes condensed, radiating icy auras.
Parts of the blue runes remained hazy and indistinct.
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 piercing chill rose from the depths of his heart. Fortunately, it did him no harm.
The two newborn runes were much smaller than the Will Rune, nestling against each other.
They flickered faintly, seemingly echoing the Will Rune beside them.
"Why is there something like this?"
Ian's knowledge was limited. He had never heard of a spell breakthrough producing such a phenomenon.
Was this unique to him because he had awakened the Status Panel, or did other wizards gain such traits after training their spells to a profound level?
With a slight movement of thought, he carefully touched the pale-blue runes.
A piece of information came to him, and he understood why two runes had formed.
For ordinary wizards, if they possessed the ability to push a spell beyond Mastery, corresponding runes would indeed form.
But he had a miraculous Limit Break Status Panel!
From now on, every spell and skill would undergo a tremendous transformation after Limit Break!
"From the looks of it, the first effect of Limit Break for my ray-type spells may always be Twin. But I could be wrong."
Moreover, after condensing the runes, he could actually use Instant-Cast Sorcery!
Previously, he 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 any of that.
"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 with a whoosh, curving through the air.
Bang! Bang! They struck two tree trunks forty meters to his right.
Wood chips flew in every direction, only to be rapidly frozen by the cold.
"Two rays. Mental guidance can attack two targets, they can curve slightly, and their power hasn't weakened at all!"
This felt somewhat like dual casting from the films of his previous life.
Ian's delight at that moment was beyond words!
When he cast the spell just now, he felt that it consumed quite a bit of Mental Power, but it was still acceptable.
He could cast rays of that strength another dozen or so times.
That was because the Ice Runes had greatly reduced the consumption of Mental Power.
"Twin!"
Ever since the Status Panel had awakened, he had sensed that his path as a wizard would differ greatly from everyone else's.
"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 spells. It extended to deeper dimensions.
With this spell improvement, his offensive power should rank among the very best Intermediate Apprentices.
But his weakness was still obvious. He still did not possess a single shield spell, leaving him with far less sense of security.
"I should ask the other colleagues at the shop if they know anything about this."
There was a Potion Master named Clayton whom Ian had interacted with a few times. He felt Clayton was someone he could deal with.
Clayton had a fairly good reputation in the shop. He had a mild temperament and got along with everyone.
Ian had heard that besides Clayton himself, his family had several Advanced Wizard Apprentices. Their overall strength was considerable.
As for Kenna and the others, Ian did not hold much hope.
They were a group of struggling people themselves, so 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 train at full strength, and his progress had slowed considerably.
He felt that his improvement 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 some decline, he would only need around two years to advance to Advanced Apprentice.
"Looking at your expressions, I can tell you had a good haul."
Ian invited Kenna and the others into the room, first handing over the potions he had owed them.
Then Robert took out a thick glass container that emitted wisps of cold air. It contained the Rock Bear blood Ian had been eagerly awaiting.
"I kept the blood active as you requested. This was all that remained in the end."
Ian carefully accepted it. Seeing that more than half the bottle remained, he was quite satisfied.
"This will be enough for the early stages. Once I become familiar with it, I'll have to trouble you to keep collecting more."
After estimating the market price, Ian paid each of them thirty magic stones.
They needed not only Meditation Potions, but also large amounts of magic stones to study knowledge.
Ian knew the price was somewhat inflated, but he did not care about such small sums now.
There was no other reason. Ian's production costs were so low they were nearly 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 study expenses, they could only consume three or four potions a month for cultivation, and that was because their team was relatively strong.
This was the situation for Low-Level and Intermediate Apprentices throughout the 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.
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