Startling News of a Prodigy

The next morning, the atmosphere in the Forge camp remained oppressive.

The air still carried a faint smell of blood and charred smoke. The damaged walls and blackened marks scattered across the ground testified to the brutality of the previous night.

People were still cleaning up the scene. Their companions' bodies had already been collected the night before.

Ian arrived at the potion room early and completed the task Wizard Sterling had assigned him.

With several Limit Break special effects boosting him, brewing these low-grade potions had practically become instinctive, and his proficiency continued to grow steadily.

After finishing his quota, he did not begin training immediately and instead stepped out of the potion room.

In the open space at the center of the camp, a female apprentice in red robes was treating several apprentices poisoned the night before.

She seemed to be from the life or nature school. Apprentices like her 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.

"Crimson's curse magic and that poisonous mist nearly broke us last night."

An Intermediate Apprentice with one arm wrapped in bandages still looked shaken.

"If that new Potion Master hadn't produced some purifying mist, we might not have lasted until Wizard Sterling stepped in."

"Yeah, I heard his name is Ian? His reaction was pretty quick, but his strength... He's still only an Intermediate Apprentice, and he's a Potion Master. It's already good enough if he can 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 repairing the corroded rune array.

"We had you to thank for those moves last night. Otherwise, if that poisonous mist had spread, even more people would have died."

Old Tobacco Pipe's voice was hoarse. "But kid, knowing only how 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 Hank and the others had originally been members of the Forge camp. They had merely returned after resting up last time.

"Old Tobacco Pipe, you've been in the camp for a long time. Could you tell me roughly how strong the Advanced Apprentices on the Crimson Court's side are?"

After a pause, he added, "And... compared with them, who are stronger—the Advanced Apprentices here in the camp, or theirs?"

Old Tobacco Pipe blew out a smoke ring and narrowed his eyes at the dark crimson glow in the distant canyon.

"Advanced Apprentices... there are huge differences between them..."

As Ian listened, he silently made comparisons in his mind.

By strength, those who had just 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. Their spell power and total Mental Power were limited.

Above them were Elite Advanced Apprentices.

Morez of the Crimson Court, who had led the attack last night, and Hank, the camp leader, both belonged to that tier.

They had accumulated experience in the Advanced Apprentice realm for over a decade or even several decades. Their spell combinations were well-balanced, and they had rich combat experience.

Some had also cultivated other systems, possessed special bloodlines, or owned Wizard Tools.

In a one-on-one fight, an Ordinary Advanced Apprentice would not last long against them.

Ian's thoughts stirred. Did Nolan, as well as the gloomy Crimson man he had killed before, count as Elite Advanced Apprentices?

He felt that although the gloomy man's spells were immensely powerful, his casting speed had been slow. Nolan might have been stronger.

After all, he had managed to escape from Malena, Harvey, and two others, while also injuring all of them.

"Then... are there even stronger ones?"

When Ian saw that Old Tobacco Pipe had stopped speaking, he continued asking.

"There are!" Old Tobacco Pipe's gaze became distant. "Above Elite Apprentices are, naturally, Peak Advanced Apprentices..."

They were a group of true geniuses, every one of whom had touched the threshold of becoming a Formal Wizard.

Their Mental Power was nearly complete, and their understanding of magic far surpassed others of the same rank.

Such apprentices were rare. Every one of them was treasured by major organizations and would usually not appear in frontline camps like this.

They were either in seclusion, attempting to become Formal Wizards, or carrying out more critical and dangerous missions.

Old Tobacco Pipe paused, his voice growing even more distant.

"There are even... those who exist only in legend, those only wizards are qualified to know about... prodigies."

It was said that these geniuses possessed talent so terrifying that, while still Advanced Apprentices, they could already threaten Formal Wizards.

"Prodigies!"

Ian's heart stirred, and a name suddenly surfaced in his mind—Elena!

The girl who had entered the High Tower at the same time as him, yet possessed "special-grade talent."

After just one year of enrollment, she had broken through to become an Advanced Apprentice. Umar, the Raven Familiar, 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 "Peak" or "prodigy" figures Old Tobacco Pipe had mentioned?

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 might already have been in the Core District of the High Tower.

Receiving personal guidance from Formal Wizards, or perhaps beings even above wizards, enjoying the finest resources, and growing at a speed ordinary people could scarcely imagine.

"The gap between people... is truly 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 reliance.

As long as he stayed alive and continued acquiring resources, he might not be unable to catch up with those geniuses.

"Thank you for telling me." Ian thanked Old Tobacco Pipe and turned to leave.

As he passed through the workshop area, several leaders of wizard families wore livid expressions. Their losses the previous night had been even heavier.

But they still had to continue carrying out the mission assigned by the High Tower.

As Ian left, he vaguely felt a gaze resting on him for a moment.

But when he turned around, he found nothing. Still, he quietly kept it in mind.

He came 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 cool. "But don't relax. The Crimson Court's attacks will not stop at one.

"They're like hyenas. Once they smell blood, they swarm in. Our Forge camp occupies a crucial 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 into the depths of the canyon.

"Not much. Although Wizard Sterling repelled the Scarlet Blade last night, he was badly 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 now was time.

Returning to the open space behind the potion room, he began his spell practice for the day.

"Kryst'thal!"

The familiar Tua language rang out as the Crystal Energy Barrier unfolded again and again.

Ian was no longer satisfied with simply maintaining it. He began trying to move quickly while keeping the shield raised, simulating the evasion of long-range spells.

He tried thickening parts of the shield to form a small shield point capable of blocking concentrated attacks.

He tried making minute adjustments to its 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 slight 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.