A Forced Smile

"Half the preparations for entering the Divine Kingdom are complete. Next, I need to convince my mentor."

Lohr knew very well that because of the exceptional talent he had displayed, Agular, who valued him greatly, would never easily allow him to enter the Divine Kingdom.

The apprentice Divine Kingdom Trial was essentially meant to cultivate a new generation of wizard apprentices in preparation for the Abyss campaign a century later. Killing was not forbidden, so casualties were perfectly normal.

Of course, the rewards were also extremely generous.

For example, Murphy Continent had prepared three spatial rings, all placed within the Dark God's Divine Kingdom for the apprentices to fight over.

These things were not cheap. Even the smallest ten-cubic-meter spatial equipment cost fifty thousand Contribution Points. Lohr simply could not afford one.

When he had first seen the price of a spatial ring on the light screen, he had been completely dumbfounded.

Only later had he realized that there were currently no Space Wizards at all. Those spatial items had all been seized from the gods.

Besides that, there were Divine Power Crystals that could increase mental strength, as well as Special Potions that could raise one's meditation talent level.

"With the Small Magma Eruption Spell, I'm sure Mentor won't stop me."

Lohr picked up the metal communication orb and turned it over in his hand for a while before deciding to contact Agular now. The sooner it was settled, the sooner he could rest easy.

He infused mental strength into the communication orb and waited for a response.

"Lohr, is that you? What is it?" Agular's gentle voice came from the communication orb.

"Mentor, I want to participate in the Divine Kingdom Exploration Tournament." Lohr did not beat around the bush and stated his purpose directly.

After half a year, he and Agular had become quite familiar. Whenever he contacted him now, Agular no longer even asked about his cultivation progress.

"Do you know what kind of people are participating in the first Divine Kingdom Exploration Tournament?" Agular asked calmly.

He was not surprised by Lohr's choice. So long as an apprentice was qualified to know of this news, none of them would remain unmoved.

But being tempted was useless. Without strength, entering it was simply courting death.

Lohr was only a Second-Level Apprentice now. Agular certainly would not agree to let him throw his life away.

"I know. There are many Third-Level Apprentices inside, and some have even mastered spells comparable to first-circle spells."

Lohr laid his cards on the table. "Actually, I've also mastered a spell comparable to a first-circle spell."

After he said that, the other side fell silent for a second. Then Agular's voice came again.

"Open the door. I'm outside."

Lohr: "..."

That was fast. Really fast.

He hurriedly put down the communication orb and welcomed the somewhat strange-looking Agular into the laboratory.

"Show me." Agular pointed at the spell testing ground.

"Yes."

Lohr nodded, activated the protective barrier around the spell testing ground, then stomped his foot toward it.

"Rumble—"

A stream of crimson magma roughly ten meters in diameter, carrying terrifying heat, erupted from the center of the spell testing ground.

Feeling the power of that magma, Agular's breathing suddenly caught, and even his heartbeat skipped faster.

Lohr had not lied to him. It truly was a spell comparable to a first-circle spell.

And it was an entirely new Fire-Earth School Fusion Spell.

"No, you're only a Second-Level Apprentice. Your mental strength shouldn't be enough to cast a spell of this level."

After spacing out for a moment, Agular quickly regained his senses. His brows suddenly furrowed. "You didn't take a mental-strength potion, did you? With Fifth-Level Meditation Talent, you shouldn't be in such a hurry."

He had told Lohr long ago that mental-strength Potions had side effects.

Logically speaking, this boy should not be so foolish.

"Mentor, I didn't take a mental-strength potion." Lohr shook his head. "I fused this spell from two 0.7-circle spells, so the consumption isn't that high."

"What?!"

Agular's pupils instantly widened. He could no longer maintain his earlier calm expression. Staring intently at Lohr, he enunciated every word.

"You're saying this spell was fused from two 0.7-circle spells?"

"Yeah." Lohr forcibly suppressed the smile at the corner of his mouth and nodded with an innocent look.

"Mentor, even if other schools have some apprentice-level Fusion Spells, mine should be able to rival theirs, right? So, about entering the Divine Kingdom..."

"Wait. Let me think."

Agular took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the shock in his heart. He rubbed his brow, looking utterly conflicted.

He was not deliberating over whether to let Lohr enter the Divine Kingdom, but over how to persuade him not to go.

Mutual killing was permitted within the Divine Kingdom. What if Lohr died there?

Their entire Murphy Continent Earth-Fire School only had this one precious talent.

He had already created such an outrageous Fusion Spell while still an apprentice. What would happen in the future?

"Lohr, what is your purpose in going in?" Only after a full minute did Agular speak again.

He had already made up his mind. If Lohr needed Divine Power Crystals or a potion that could raise his meditation talent to Sixth-Level, he would gather some from Gulei and give them directly to Lohr.

As for anything more, it was not that he was unwilling to give it. He simply could not afford it.

"I want to get some Divine Power Crystals and Special Potions. If possible, I'd also like to get some spatial equipment." Lohr answered honestly.

Agular's mouth twitched. "Spatial equipment won't be easy to obtain. There are only three in total, and wizard apprentices across the entire continent have their eyes on them. You're only a Second-Level Apprentice right now. It'll be difficult for you to compete with them."

"You're right, Mentor." Lohr nodded and replied seriously, though perfunctorily, "Then I'll strive to get a Special Potion that can raise my meditation talent to Seventh-Level."

In reality, once he entered the Divine Kingdom, he could instantly raise his mental strength above eighty, then max out the Small Magma Eruption Spell.

Saying he had an eighty percent chance of snatching spatial equipment would certainly be an exaggeration, but he still had a fifty percent chance.

"Fine." Agular sighed. "I can lend you some Divine Power Crystals first. Raise your mental strength to thirty before you go in."

He could not give Lohr what he wanted, and Lohr truly had a chance to seize enough Potions in the Divine Kingdom to raise his meditation talent to Seventh-Level.

With that being the case, he truly had no reason left to stop Lohr.

As for giving him a direct order...

After half a year of buildup, Lohr's steady rate of spell improvement had spread his reputation even to the ears of those earth-element Third-Circle Archwizards. Agular really could not go too far.

"Uh..." Lohr thought for a moment, then could only nod. "Then thank you, Mentor."

He truly wanted to refuse. Divine Power Crystals were very expensive, far more costly than using Charge Points to add attributes.

Using Divine Power Crystals to directly increase his mental strength would be a pure loss.

But he could not find a reason to refuse, nor could he hide it.

Because the special aura of Divine Power Crystals could penetrate the laboratory, he could only accept them and absorb them.

"Wait here. I'll get you some Divine Power Crystals." After saying that, Agular left the laboratory and vanished on the spot with Earthvein Traversal Spell.

Not long afterward, he appeared outside the laboratory again, holding five black crystals one centimeter in diameter.

Those five crystals emitted waves of terrifying aura. Even from far away, Lohr felt his heart tremble.

"Take them." Agular entered the laboratory and handed the five crystals to Lohr. "Fifty grams of Divine Power Crystals. That's enough to raise your mental strength above forty-five. Remember to pay me back when you return."

If Lohr were not going to the Divine Kingdom, he could give them to him for free. But since Lohr insisted on going, he had to repay them.

"Yes, Mentor." Lohr accepted the Divine Power Crystals with a forced smile.