Refinement Compendium

A sea breeze blew gently as a massive sailing ship cut across the ocean.

Aboard this Wizard ship bound for the Half-Moon Strait, the Wizard Seedlings with an aptitude for mental power were having their mental power talents tested.

Leo stood at the back of the line, two different sets of memories intertwining in his mind.

One belonged to a miserable college graduate who delivered food in a yellow cape.

The other belonged to a warrior from a fallen nation who had been forced to flee aboard a Wizard ship after beating up a noble and becoming a wanted man in the empire.

This continent had once been home to a mighty empire, Plos.

Because of their powerful physiques, the Prossians were known among other nations as a born warrior race.

They were skilled in warfare, and everyone from pirates at sea to powerful nations on land feared the Prossians' military potential.

But the good times had not lasted. Several years ago, the Prossians had lost a war against the newly risen Sogla Empire. The Pross Kingdom had been destroyed, and its people had submitted to the Sogla Empire's nobles, becoming warriors in their service.

Leo Danville, the man whose body Leo had transmigrated into, was a Prossian. After his nation fell, he had become a warrior serving the son of a count in Sogra.

The count's son was overbearing and often made Leo bully lesser nobles, commoners, and slaves whose status was beneath his own.

Leo's predecessor had possessed a Prossian's pride and despised such bullying of the weak.

So he had turned around and slapped the count's son. Who could have expected that the slap would spin the man's head all the way around and kill him?

His son's death had enraged the count, who had issued a warrant for Leo's predecessor.

After defeating the Pross Kingdom, the Sogla Empire had seemed poised to unite almost the entire continent.

As a result, the wrath of a Sogra count with real power had been enough to leave Leo's predecessor nowhere to run.

Left with no other choice, he had fled aboard a Wizard ship. It had been his only chance of survival.

Even the emperor of the Sogla Empire, who was on the verge of uniting the continent, amounted to little before a Wizard.

Once Leo finished absorbing the memories, a gentle voice sounded in his mind.

"Codex detected: Intermediate Meditation Method. Record it?"

The Intermediate Meditation Method was the supernatural cultivation method given to those who boarded the ship.

Mental power talent was determined by the mental energy obtained through a meditation cycle.

"Intermediate Meditation Method successfully recorded. Inferior-quality Codex acquired: Intermediate Meditation Method."

[Leo]

Refinement points: 100

Recorded Codex: Inferior quality (Intermediate Meditation Method)

[Intermediate Meditation Method]

Quality: Inferior

Effect: Acquire mental energy

Cost: 10 refinement points

Leo's eyes flickered slightly.

The Refinement Compendium was a paid item from a game Leo had played before transmigrating. He had never expected it to become his cheat after he arrived in this world.

In the game, the Refinement Compendium could consume refinement points to raise a Codex's quality, improving the efficiency of acquiring higher-quality skills.

"Spend 10 refinement points."

"Intermediate Meditation Method (inferior quality) refined into Intermediate Meditation Method (normal quality)."

[Intermediate Meditation Method]

Quality: Normal

Effect: Acquire mental energy

Cost: 100 refinement points

Leo practiced it briefly and discovered that, although his mental power talent had not fundamentally improved, his cultivation efficiency had increased considerably.

With this meditation method, he might be able to fool the Wizards' talent test into making them think he was highly gifted.

Leo looked toward the front of the line. It was now a burly young man's turn to be tested.

Like Leo, this burly young man was a Prossian.

Short, silvery-white hair and a body larger than most people's were the two defining traits of Prossians.

Standing before Wizard Lane, who was in charge of testing mental power, the young man towered like a small mountain.

Lane was utterly unmoved by his imposing physique. If anything, he seemed faintly disgusted. "A Prossian? The Tower of Dawn is far too lenient with people who possess an aptitude for mental power. To think even a barbaric race like the Prossians is allowed aboard a Wizard ship."

Lane opened with a complaint, the sharpness in his tone bringing a flash of hostility to the Prossian youth's eyes.

Lane said, "Fine. Those are the rules. Begin the test."

The Prossian youth reached out and placed his hand on the crystal ball before him.

The crystal ball's light changed twice.

Wizard Lane said, "Level 2 mental power talent? A barbarian is still a barbarian. As expected, you have no right to pursue the truth. You fail. Take a boat back to the continent later."

At those words, a fierce light flared in the Prossian youth's eyes. "You damned beanpole! You've been insulting us brave Prossians this whole time! Someone with level 2 mental power talent passed earlier, but you're saying I failed. You're discriminating against us Prossians!"

As he spoke, the Prossian youth suddenly swung his fist at Wizard Lane.

Wizard Lane's expression did not change. He raised his right hand and extended a finger.

That finger met the Prossian youth's incoming fist squarely.

The Prossian's face filled with disbelief. "Impossible!"

Wizard Lane's finger was like solid steel. The punch had not affected it in the slightest.

Wizard Lane looked at the Prossian youth before him in disgust. "A barbarian is still a barbarian. The moment something doesn't go your way, you start throwing punches."

Without any visible movement from Wizard Lane, the Prossian youth staggered back two steps. Blisters rose all over his body, and his frame began to swell.

Amid agonized howls, the Prossian youth's body gradually grew cold.

Wizard Lane said, "Throw him overboard."

Watching from the back of the line, Leo felt his heart tighten.

He had not expected this Wizard to be so ruthless, killing someone outright over a disagreement.

And he had killed a Prossian warrior, someone born with formidable physical strength, with such effortless ease.

At that moment, alongside his awe of Wizards, Leo felt a longing to become one himself.

Clearly, the Wizards of the Tower of Dawn were not merely learned bookworms. They were supernatural beings who stood far above everyone else.

The testing continued.

"Level 2 mental power talent?" Wizard Lane raised his head and looked at the young noble in fine clothes before him. "You pass."

The young noble beamed. "Thank you, Lord Wizard Lane."

Wizard Lane nodded slightly. "Next."

One person after another was tested, and soon it was Leo's turn.

Leo stood two meters twenty tall and had short silver hair. When he stepped before Wizard Lane, the Wizard frowned. "Another barbarian from Plos."

"Begin the test."

Leo could see Wizard Lane's disgust, and his heart sank slightly.

Three flashes of light soon appeared inside the crystal ball.

At the sight, a smile spread across Leo's face.

"Level 3 mental power aptitude..." Wizard Lane frowned at the result.

Level 3 mental power aptitude was different from level 2. It greatly increased the chances of becoming a Wizard.

Yet after looking at Leo's powerful physique and that detestable short silver hair, Wizard Lane still said, "You fail. Go to the boat."

At that moment, Leo suddenly understood why the Prossian youth earlier had tried to punch him.

This man called Wizard Lane really did deserve a beating.