Leo turned the Prismatic Dragon Scale over in his hand.
This Prismatic Dragon Scale had been found on the first Stonefish Leo killed.
No similar scale had been found on the second Stonefish.
The inferior quality referred to the quality of the entry, not the quality of this Prismatic Dragon Scale.
This Prismatic Dragon Scale was probably of ordinary quality.
Leo put the Prismatic Dragon Scale away on his person, finding a safe place to hide it.
Wizards needed tangible objects as mediums to form spells.
Leo could not use this Prismatic Dragon Scale for now, but once he found a suitable spell in the future, it would definitely be a very precious medium.
[Stone Sea Dragon Scale] Quality: Inferior Effect: A dragon scale from the ancient creature known as the Stone Sea Dragon. Possesses formidable defensive capabilities. Cost: 200 Refinement Points
The other four dragon scales were Stone Sea Dragon Scales.
Of all the dragon scales on the two Stonefish, only the five in Leo's possession were genuine dragon scales. The rest were merely ordinary Stonefish scales.
Leo had also heard tales of dragons back when he was in the mortal kingdoms.
Their renown among mortals was in no way inferior to that of Wizards.
However, dragons had already gone extinct on the Twin Continents.
Although these two Stonefish possessed dragon scales, they could not be compared to true dragons.
They merely possessed a faint trace of draconic traits.
After killing the Stonefish, Leo's task for this trip was complete.
He wanted to use the remaining time to improve his spiritual energy.
If all went smoothly, Leo felt that he could raise his spiritual energy to 10 before returning to the Tower of Dawn. He might even condense a Spiritual Seed in one go before he returned.
"Wizard Danville."
Aifel and Kairila came to find Leo.
Leo asked, "Captain Aifel, what can I do for you?"
Aifel looked at Kairila and said, "Kairila is the one who wishes to speak with you."
Kairila looked at Leo, lowered her head, and said, "Wizard Danville, I apologize for my previous disrespect."
"My ignorance made me look down on you before." Kairila handed Leo a pouch. "Please accept this small token of my apology."
Leo took the pouch. Inside were ten Magic Stones. He shrugged and said, "All right, I forgive you. But don't short me on the Magic Stones for the mission reward."
"Of course, Wizard Danville."
Seeing that Leo did not hold her previous attitude against her, Kairila sighed in relief.
With Leo's performance today, becoming a Wizard in the future was inevitable.
Kairila had always treated Wizards with respect, and now, facing Leo, she naturally lowered her head as well.
Aifel took out a pouch and said, "Wizard Danville, this is the mission reward—the remaining forty Magic Stones. In addition, since you hunted two Stonefish, there are another fifty Magic Stones as an extra reward. They are included as well."
Leo was somewhat surprised. He had not expected Aifel to pay him the hunting reward for both Stonefish.
After all, they had originally agreed on payment for only one Stonefish. It would have been perfectly reasonable not to pay him for the second one.
However, when he recalled the knights' inferior status before Wizards, he found it somewhat easier to understand.
Leo counted the Magic Stones in the pouch. There were ninety in total. He said, "All right, I'll take the reward."
"Danville."
After Aifel and Kairila left, Nova came over to Leo as well.
Leo bowed. "Greetings, Wizard Nova."
Nova said, "Your performance just now truly opened my eyes. I never expected you to master both Arcane Hand and the Basic Body Fortification Spell in barely over a month."
Leo said, "Perhaps I have a talent for this."
Nova's attitude also put Leo at ease.
When Nova had seen through all of Leo's abilities at their first meeting, it had truly given Leo quite a fright.
But it now seemed that Nova could only roughly determine what Leo had learned, without knowing his exact level of mastery.
Nova smiled. "I have a question for you, Danville. Did you choose Battle Mage as your field of study?"
Leo said, "Wizard Nova, the field I chose is Potionology. As for Battle Mages, I was merely somewhat interested in them at the time, so I asked Wizard Sally about them. She then gave me an introductory book on Battle Mages and told me to learn about them first."
"That is not bad either." Nova said, "To be honest, as a school of Wizards, I believe Battle Mages are not only unpopular but also relatively weak. They are unsuitable as a field worthy of in-depth study."
"Relatively weak?" Leo adopted a listening posture and asked seriously, "Wizard Nova, in what respect do you believe Battle Mages are weak?"
"The spells they master are, in principle, far too simple."
"Strengthening one's defense, strength, and speed... the logic behind it is too simple and too straightforward. For a Wizard, knowledge that can be seen through at a glance is itself an enormous disadvantage in battle."
Nova paused here before continuing, "Danville, I will now cast a spell at the same level as yours. Try using the Basic Body Fortification Technique to approach me."
The two stood up and put roughly ten meters between them.
Then, Leo began casting the Super Body Fortification Spell.
The moment he finished casting it, Leo charged at Nova.
At that moment, a pair of bird wings suddenly sprouted from Leo's shoes.
Leo immediately lost his balance and fell to the ground.
Although it did not harm Leo, once he sat back up, he knew that he had already lost.
Leo said thoughtfully, "I understand the weakness you mentioned now, Wizard Nova."
He pondered what would happen if his opponent were Nova.
If Nova used no other methods, could he deal with Nova's spell... In the end, he realized that unless his body reached an entirely new level of growth, there seemed to be no way to counter such a simple spell that merely grew bird wings.
The brief exchange between Leo and Nova was also seen by the knights aboard the ship.
Their faces immediately filled with shock.
The Leo they regarded as a god of war had been utterly powerless before Nova.
Their reverence for Wizards deepened even further.
Nova said, "No matter how the body is strengthened, there are fixed points where force is applied and exerted. Once balance is lost, it becomes easy to prevent a Battle Mage from getting close."
"This is merely one method of defeating a Battle Mage. Among other types of spells, in a clash between those of the same level, I could find at least ten effective ways to deal with a Battle Mage."
"In my view, Battle Mages may still have some use against those who have only just become Wizards. But against Combat Wizards with battle experience, Battle Mages can easily become targets."
At this point, Nova first glanced at a knight nearby, then said, "Moreover, Battle Mage spells ultimately originated from knights."
"Originated from knights?" Leo asked in confusion. "Does it have something to do with the Knight Breathing Technique?"
"It does. Battle Mage spells were all developed by studying the Knight Breathing Technique and then refining it into spells."
Nova said, "Compared to knights, the refined Battle Mage is indeed superior in overall ability, but they lose the versatility of a Wizard."
"Overall, it is a failed direction of research in terms of combat."
As he spoke, Nova raised a hand and brushed the hair before his forehead aside. "But you cannot be blamed for not knowing this. Unless one has an experienced mentor, it is difficult to know the hidden weakness of Battle Mages."
"In fact, among us mentors, the main point of interest in the Battle Mage field is not 'combat,' but the health it can bring Wizards."
Before you continue