The next morning, the atmosphere in the "Furnace" camp remained oppressive.
The air still carried a faint stench of blood and burning. The damaged walls and blackened marks scattered across the ground testified to the brutality of the previous night.
People were still cleaning up the site, while their companions' bodies had already been collected the night before.
Ian arrived at the Alchemy Room early and completed the task assigned by Wizard Sterling.
With the bonuses from several Limit Break special effects, brewing these low-level potions had practically become instinctive, and his proficiency was steadily rising.
After finishing his quota, he did not immediately begin training. Instead, he walked out of the Alchemy Room.
In the open space at the center of the camp, a female apprentice in a red robe was treating several apprentices poisoned the previous night.
She appeared to be a Life or Nature Element wizard. Apprentices of this type were among the most welcome people in the camp.
The female apprentice's face was pale, clearly showing that she had expended a great deal of energy.
"That Crimson curse magic and poisonous mist last night nearly broke us."
An Intermediate Apprentice with bandages wrapped around his arm still looked shaken.
"If not for that newly arrived Potion Master creating some purifying mist, we might not have lasted until Wizard Sterling stepped in."
"Yeah, I heard his name is Ian? He reacted quickly, but his strength... After all, he's only an Intermediate Apprentice, and he's a Potion Master. It'd already be impressive if he could protect himself."
Ian did not linger and continued toward the western wall of the camp.
Old Tobacco Pipe had a briar pipe clenched between his teeth as he directed several apprentices in repairing the corroded rune array.
"We were lucky you pulled off that little trick last night. Otherwise, if the poisonous mist had spread, even more people would have died."
Old Tobacco Pipe's voice was hoarse. "But kid, being able to brew potions isn't enough out here. Those lunatics from the Crimson Court don't care whether you're a Potion Master."
"I understand." Ian nodded. He knew that Hank and the others had previously been members of the "Furnace" camp. They had merely returned after resting and regrouping.
"Old Tobacco Pipe, you've been in this camp for a long time. Can you tell me roughly how strong the Crimson Court's Advanced Apprentices are?"
After a pause, he added, "And... compared to them, who is stronger, the Advanced Apprentices on our side or theirs?"
Old Tobacco Pipe exhaled a ring of smoke and narrowed his eyes at the dark-red glow in the distant canyon.
"Advanced Apprentices... there's a huge gap between them..."
As Ian listened, he silently compared them in his mind.
By strength, those who had only recently broken through were Ordinary Advanced Apprentices, like Poison Fang and Lina in the camp.
Each had their own specialties, but overall, they were still in the accumulation stage. The power of their spells and the total amount of their mental strength were limited.
Beyond them were Elite Advanced Apprentices.
Morez of the Crimson Court, who had led the group last night, and Captain Hank from the camp both belonged to this level.
They had spent more than a decade, or even several decades, consolidating their Advanced Apprentice realm. Their spell combinations were well balanced, and they possessed abundant combat experience.
Some had also cultivated other systems, possessed special bloodlines, or wielded Wizard Tools.
In a one-on-one fight, an Ordinary Advanced Apprentice would not last long against them.
Ian's heart stirred. Did Nolan, as well as that sinister Crimson man he had killed before, count as Elite Advanced Apprentices?
He felt that although the sinister man's spells were extremely powerful, his casting speed had been slow. Nolan might have been even stronger.
After all, he had escaped from the hands of Malena, Harvey, and two others, while also injuring all four of them.
"Then... are there even stronger ones?"
Seeing that Old Tobacco Pipe had stopped, Ian continued asking.
"Yes!" Old Tobacco Pipe's gaze became distant. "Stronger than Elite Apprentices are Peak Advanced Apprentices..."
They were a group of true geniuses, each of whom had touched upon the threshold of becoming a Formal Wizard.
Their mental strength was nearly complete, and their understanding of magic far surpassed others at the same level.
Such apprentices were rare. Every one of them was treasured by major organizations and would normally never appear in a frontline camp like this.
They were either in seclusion, attempting to become Formal Wizards, or carrying out more critical and dangerous missions.
Old Tobacco Pipe paused, and his voice became even more distant.
"There are even... those who exist only in legends, those only wizards are qualified to know about... the 'Monsters.'"
It was said that these terrifyingly gifted geniuses could threaten Formal Wizards even while they were still Advanced Apprentices.
"Monsters!"
Ian's heart stirred, and a name suddenly sprang into his mind—Elena!
The girl who had entered the High Tower at the same time as him, yet possessed "exceptional talent."
After only one year at the academy, she had broken through to Advanced Apprentice. Her familiar Raven, Umar, had called her "the High Tower's most promising person in nearly a century..."
Where was she now? Had she already become one of the "peaks" or "Monsters" Old Tobacco Pipe spoke of?
Since the entrance test, he had never seen Elena again.
They had come from different social classes to begin with and possessed entirely different paths of fate.
While he was still struggling for survival and resources, she was likely already in the Core District of the High Tower.
She was receiving personal instruction from Formal Wizards, or perhaps beings above wizards, enjoying the finest resources and growing at a speed ordinary people could scarcely imagine.
"The gap between people... really is enormous."
Ian sighed inwardly, but he felt no jealousy—only an even stronger sense of urgency.
He had the Status Panel. It was his greatest support.
As long as he survived and continued acquiring resources, he might not be unable to catch up to those geniuses.
"Thank you for telling me." Ian thanked Old Tobacco Pipe and turned to leave.
As he passed through the workshop district, several leaders of wizard families wore grim expressions. Their losses last night had been even more severe.
But the task assigned by the High Tower still had to be completed.
As Ian left, he vaguely sensed a gaze lingering on him for a moment.
But when he turned around, he found nothing. Still, he quietly remained alert.
He arrived beneath the watchtower at the edge of the camp, where Lina was on duty above.
When she saw Ian, she gave a slight nod. "You did well last night."
Lina's voice was cold. "But don't relax. The Crimson Court's attacks won't stop at one.
They're like hyenas. Once they smell blood, they'll swarm in. Our 'Furnace' occupies a critical position, and the magic stones and potions inside are highly tempting to them."
"I understand." Ian raised his head and looked at Lina.
"Lina, based on your experience, how much time do we have to prepare?"
Lina fell silent for a moment and looked toward the depths of the canyon.
"Not much. Although Wizard Sterling repelled Scarlet Blade last night, he was seriously injured himself and needs time to recover."
Once the Crimson Court received the news, they definitely would not let this opportunity pass.
The next attack might be larger in scale, or it might be more covert.
"In any case, use the time to improve your strength, Potion Master."
Ian nodded. What he lacked most right now was time.
Back in the open space behind the Alchemy Room, he began his spell practice for the day.
"Kryst'thal!"
The familiar Tua language rang out as Crystal Energy Barrier unfolded again and again.
Ian was no longer satisfied with merely maintaining it. He began trying to move rapidly with the shield raised, simulating situations where he had to evade long-range spells.
He tried thickening parts of the shield to form a small shield-like point for blocking concentrated attacks.
He tried making minute adjustments to the energy structure at the instant the shield suffered an energy impact, dispersing the pressure and reducing consumption.
Every successful defense or structural optimization brought a tiny increase in proficiency.
On the Status Panel, [Crystal Energy Barrier: Mastery (619/800)]...[Mastery (620/800)]
Bit by bit, the progress was slow but steady.
He could feel that this spell's potential was far from fully developed.
The special effects after Limit Break would very likely bring a qualitative transformation to his ability to survive.
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