Lesser Frost Ray

[Star-Moon Lower Meditation Method: Beginner (75/200)]

A single potion had raised his proficiency by a full 3 points!!!

Other apprentices did not have a Status Panel, so their absorption and utilization of potions definitely could not compare to his.

Thrilled, he hurried to the laboratory.

He still needed to confirm the success rate of brewing potions.

After another bout of busy work, Ian stared at the three potions in his hand, his expression filled with shock.

He had brewed three times in a row just now, and every attempt had succeeded!!!

It was as if the system had recorded the moment he succeeded and fixed it onto the Status Panel, ensuring that he would never fail again afterward.

Other Potion Masters could earn magic stones steadily as long as their success rate exceeded twenty percent.

The greatest expenses for an Awakening Potion were Moonlight Grass and Magic Catalytic Powder.

The latter was made by Alchemists and was a universally used magical powder.

All the costs combined came to less than one magic stone, yet the finished product could sell for five magic stones.

It was clear just how profitable Potion Studies was.

Countless people wanted a share of this trade, but the threshold was simply too high. They had the desire, but not the ability.

Looking at the huge pile of herbs on the floor, along with what Simon had left behind several times—

After picking out some adulterated ingredients, he estimated that he could still brew around a hundred potions.

If he had been a junior Potion Master, brewing ten would already have counted as an excellent result.

"Hehe! Simon, I really have to thank you too!"

If not for the other man repeatedly forcing sales on him, he truly would not have gathered so many ingredients.

"As for the magic stones I owe him..."

Ian lowered his head in thought. The High Tower openly stipulated that apprentices were not permitted to kill one another without authorization.

However, they could spar with each other, and the limits were theirs to judge.

This place was remote, so he still had to guard against Simon's more underhanded methods.

But when he thought of the bodyguard he had hired for five magic stones, he felt somewhat more at ease.

He checked the time. It was already deep into the night.

After washing up hastily, he collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, at dawn.

Ian left home and went to Kenna's residence again.

"Brother Kenna, I'm here again."

"Come straight in. The door isn't locked," Kenna replied from inside.

After entering, Ian saw Kenna in the yard, swinging a two-handed greatsword in practice.

Though his body was large and tall, his agility had not diminished in the slightest.

As he moved, the heavy greatsword seemed like deadwood in his hands, whipping up gusts of wind in every direction.

Ian watched from the side for a while and nodded repeatedly.

The greatsword in Kenna's hand weighed at least several dozen pounds. An ordinary person would struggle just carrying it for long, let alone wielding it against an enemy.

"Instead of cultivating and brewing potions properly, why have you come running to me again?"

After practicing for a while, Kenna stopped and turned to head inside.

Ian followed him in without wasting words, directly taking out a potion.

"Brother Kenna, this is the Awakening Potion I promised you before. I was lucky enough to successfully brew one last night."

Kenna paused, turned around, accepted the potion, and examined it carefully.

"Not bad. It's genuine. Looks like you really made it. Congratulations!"

Kenna put away the potion. His expression was complicated, and his tone was noticeably different from before.

"That Simon fellow—I warned you early on not to get too close to him, but you just wouldn't listen."

"I was blinded before as well. I'll have to trouble you again now."

Ian knew that the original owner had truly only listened to pleasant words and had not taken Kenna's warning seriously.

"I can only help you block this once. After that, you'll have to solve it yourself."

"Once is enough. Thank you, Brother Kenna!"

Ian knew that being willing to go this far was already no easy thing.

After all, everyone had come here to cultivate, all for the sake of breaking through to become Formal Wizards.

After returning home, Ian dug out more than a dozen thick books from a corner of his bed.

<Star-Moon Lower Meditation Method Beginner Tutorial>

Compendium of Zero-Rank Witchcraft

<Detailed Guide to Brewing Mid- and Low-Grade Potions>

Complete Guide to Basic Potion Identification

Magic Power Safety Rules and Common Backlash Cases

Other than potion identification and Potion Studies, the rest were books the Academy issued to every new student after they paid their tuition.

He looked over several Rank Zero witchcraft spells and pondered carefully for a while.

He chose the only offensive witchcraft spell: Lesser Frost Ray.

He did not expect to master it right away, but he had to begin preparing.

After carefully reading through the entire spellbook, the Status Panel reacted.

[Lesser Frost Ray: Not Beginner (0/50)]

He began following the spellbook, first familiarizing himself with the incantation and hand gestures.

The principle behind casting witchcraft was initially to use the corresponding incantation and hand gestures to resonate with the Will Rune in one's mind, drawing forth Magic Power and releasing it.

Once familiar with it, one could try removing parts of the incantation and gestures to greatly shorten the casting time.

At first, Ian stumbled through it. A short incantation took him a long time to recite while coordinating the gestures.

The result was naturally a failed cast, but he was not discouraged.

[Lesser Frost Ray proficiency +1]

Watching the notification drift past the corner of his eye, Ian nodded to himself and continued practicing.

With every failed casting attempt, the Status Panel gave him a small bit of positive feedback.

He continuously refined his movements, and his incantation gradually became smoother as well.

Finally, as he completed the hand gesture and smoothly spoke the incantation—

"Glacies!"

Ian felt a humming tremor in his mind.

The Will Rune rotated, drawing on part of his Mental Power and gathering the Magic Power within his body.

With a whoosh, a pale blue ray shot from his fingertips.

The ground five meters ahead of him rapidly formed a thick layer of frost across an area one meter wide.

The temperature indoors visibly dropped. Ian walked closer and touched it, and bone-piercing cold seeped into his hand.

"At this level, it can't kill anyone!"

The maximum attack range of Lesser Frost Ray was only fifteen meters.

According to the book, its freezing effect could freeze and trap an adult wild bull for several seconds.

But the casting time was far too long—five whole seconds!

At that level, let alone fighting someone, even an ordinary person could attack him or flee beyond the spell's range.

Ian was not particularly satisfied with the spell's effect, but there was nothing he could do for now.

He did not have a better offensive witchcraft spell. For the time being, he could only grind away at this one.

He continued practicing, and sure enough, after successfully casting it once, he did not make another mistake afterward.

Looking at the Status Panel, he saw that his proficiency was increasing quite quickly, and he nodded to himself.

Compared with Potion Studies, simple witchcraft practice was indeed much faster.

The only thing limiting him now was his Mental Power limit.

A Junior Wizard Apprentice needed to meditate and recover after casting a low-level Rank Zero witchcraft spell around ten times.

For the following days, he spent most of his time practicing Lesser Frost Ray.

At night, he brewed the potions he had used that day.

His room had no temperature-control equipment, so he could not preserve potions for long.

Whenever he grew tired from practicing witchcraft, he would also take out those hefty books and read through them.

Every time he carefully read through one, the Status Panel helped deepen his memory once.

[Basic Potion Identification: Beginner (60/100]