Although he knew the function of the Planetary Core, Leo did not immediately attempt to fuse with it. Instead, he took all the spoils he had gained in the tournament to Green Cottage and the Purple Golden Flower Store.
The two institutions did not offer particularly high prices for Leo's spoils, especially the large amount of materials and iconic items from other academies.
In their words, these items didn't sell well at the Purple Flame Academy, so they had to report to headquarters and wait for them to be shipped to other branches for sale, so the price naturally wouldn't be too high.
When Leo left, there were 100,000 Wizard Coin and seven energy crystals in the Shadow Space.
With these seven energy crystals, Leo now has a total of eight energy crystals!
Of course, Leo also asked two companies to keep an eye out for the nuclear weapons he wanted. These two large trading companies, which were all over the Wizard World, were the biggest connections Leo had.
Especially Green Cottage, where Leo was able to get Gatling guns back then, so nuclear weapons should be similar, since both of these weapons are controlled weapons on Earth, and their storage locations shouldn't be too far apart.
When Gru returned to the courtyard after class that day, he saw Leo dressed neatly and standing respectfully in front of the door.
Gru's expression froze for a moment, then he suddenly remembered something and burst into laughter, "Is there some good news to tell me?"
"I can't hide it from Teacher Gru, I'm preparing to advance to First-Level Wizard," Leo said calmly, as if it weren't him advancing, but someone else completely unrelated.
"Your promotion is a bit rushed, but you'll be fine if you stay in this position for a while longer." Gru hesitated for a moment, but still smiled, though his smile lacked its usual cheerfulness.
"I know," Leo said.
"Then you can advance your career in the courtyard. I guarantee no one will be able to disturb you."
" Gru, Professor Gru."
After finishing his speech, Leo returned to his room and began preparing for his promotion.
Instead of entering the courtyard, Gru headed towards the tallest tower in the Purple Flame Academy.
Gru returned shortly afterward, but following behind him was a whole squad of Fire Elemental Spirit, all exuding a terrifying aura.
Compared to these, the Fire Elemental Spirit Alice summoned during the tournament were like the difference between a little baby and a giant.
The Fire Elemental Spirit vanished without a trace the moment they entered the courtyard.
However, in Gru's view, these Fire Elemental Spirit were all hidden in the semi-void, enveloping the entire courtyard in three layers.
They kept a close eye on the courtyard and would act immediately should anything unexpected happen.
Fire Elemental Spirit don't need rest and can monitor around the clock; there's no better protective force.
Gru lay down in the middle of the courtyard, half-closing his eyes towards Leo's room, seemingly lost in thought.
Inside the room, Leo didn't consider what was happening outside. Even without looking, he knew that this period of his promotion was probably the safest time of his life.
Even if the entire Purple Flame Academy is destroyed, I will remain safe and sound!
Are you really ready?
The Benji in his mind couldn't help but ask aloud.
"Pretty much. Although now isn't the best time for promotion, it won't have a big impact. You heard what Teacher Gru said: after promotion, it's best to stay at level one for a little longer."
Anyone could see that Leo wasn't in the best position for promotion, but unfortunately, that person didn't give him more time to prepare and could only promote him now.
Even if he wasn't promoted, Leo knew there were many ways he could get promoted.
"Although I said I wanted a promotion, I didn't say how long it would take, did I?" Leo had a sly smile on his face. To buy himself more time, Leo had to use a little trickery.
Leo secretly sprinkled 6 grams of nuclear material onto the shadow, and in the blink of an eye, the nuclear material was swallowed up by the shadow.
Once the shadow had finished consuming everything, Leo lightly tapped his finger, and the shadow crawled up his feet toward his body.
The evolution of the body is imperceptible, but according to experimental data, Leo can still accurately grasp the changes in his body every day, and Leo took out a book and slowly read it.
Leo's biggest gain in the championship was naturally first place, although this first place was very controversial and even shameful.
However, the reward of even a small piece of the Planetary Core was enough to make Leo extremely grateful.
The second major gain was naturally the nuclear bomb, which solidified Leo's path as a wizard!
The third major gain was not the wealth, but the thousands of wizarding books in the wizard's ring. Each wizarding book was a wizard's lifeblood and most precious treasure.
Although some of the contents were books Leo had already read, and others were experimental data records, Leo still found them fascinating.
Only by reading more books can one realize the inadequacy of their own knowledge. Leo now understands the wisdom of an old saying, "One should learn until one dies."
You never know when you'll need the knowledge you acquire.
It was as if someone had stolen time. When Leo felt that every cell in her body was so full that she couldn't eat anymore, Leo realized that five years had already passed.
He had already finished reading all the wizarding books he had acquired, and now he was reading the part he had exchanged with Alice, which was about knowledge of spatial teleportation. However, the knowledge was too profound, especially the various data calculations, and even Leo's head was spinning.
As for the physical body, after five years of continuous evolution by absorbing the shadow of nuclear radiation, the cells have evolved to the limit of the apprentice level.
Leo looked at his palms, looked at his body, and felt the surging power in every cell.
He can now unleash an attack with eleven times the power of his own, making him an absolute Top-Tier Wizard Apprentice.
"It's a pity that there are still many questions that haven't been answered, and he hasn't developed his own witchcraft. He's wasted such a great physique."
When a normal apprentice reaches this stage, they will inevitably begin to study their own path to becoming a wizard, and during their apprenticeship, they will start to try to create their own witchcraft.
Just like the Ice magic Alice uses, it's all her own creation and invention, perfectly suited to her magical power.
When she advances to the next level, these spells, after a simple adaptation, will be able to unleash a level one combat power.
But Leo couldn't do that. He hadn't created his own witchcraft at the apprentice level, and he would have to continue creating it after he advanced to the next level.
This resulted in him staying in Level 1 for a longer time than others.
That's why Gru said it's fine as long as you stay in level one a little longer.
"But why don't you mention that creating witchcraft at level one is completely different from the apprentice level? The margin for error is reduced by 40%, and if you make a mistake, it will completely affect your subsequent path as a wizard."
"Alright, get ready to advance. If we don't, I'm afraid some people won't be able to resist rushing in."
Leo made the Shadow Space spit out a small box, and directly manipulated the shadow to conjure several tentacles that violently tore open the seal on it.
Before the Planetary Core could even emerge, the shadows surged in like an uncontrollable, overwhelming flood.
All the shadows crowded into the box containing only a small matchbox, churning and tumbling wildly, like a pack of starving wolves fighting over food, just short of the crunching sound of them gnawing.
Three breaths later, the shadow flowed out of the small box and returned to Leo's feet.
This time, these shadows did not climb onto Leo's body, nor did they merge with Leo.
Even under Leo's orders, they remained unmoved.
It simply stopped at Leo's feet, constantly twisting and deforming, sometimes turning into a multi-horned monster, sometimes into various warships, and even into a barbarian wielding a hammer.
Plants, animals, minerals, water...
This single shadow caused a global upheaval for Leo, changing everything whether Leo knew it or not.
Leo watched with great interest as his shadow kept changing, and even took out a crystal ball to record it. The shadow changed over a whole year.
On this day, Leo recorded the changes in the shadow as usual, but unexpectedly, the shadow suddenly reverted to its original form and pounced on Leo's body like a viscous liquid.
Caught completely off guard, Leo was instantly covered by shadows, which frantically burrowed into Leo body.
In an instant, Leo's shadow completely merged with his, just like before.
But it feels completely different. Before, fusion brought power and helped share the damage.
This time, no; this time, the feeling is pain!
Leo opened his mouth wide, trying to breathe, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't feel any oxygen. It was as if his lungs were completely blocked by something, and even if there was oxygen in the air, it couldn't enter his body. This feeling was like drowning and suffocation, as if his lungs were completely filled with water.
Unable to breathe, Leo didn't panic. Instead, she quickly reduced her body movements and lowered her heart rate to conserve energy.
Forcibly slowing down blood flow
When blood flow slows down, the urgency to obtain oxygen naturally decreases.
Such actions can only slow down the death process, not truly save oneself.
Leo desperately tried to understand what was wrong with his lungs and why he suddenly couldn't breathe in oxygen.
But Leo had just recovered slightly from suffocation and hadn't yet figured out what had happened to his lungs.
A sharp pain shot through Leo's lower back, almost causing him to kneel on the ground. It felt as if someone had kicked his kidneys hard several times. He immediately reached out to support his kidneys, his hands surging with magical power, trying to heal them with his magic.
The magic power that flowed in only slightly relieved the pain; my kidneys still ached terribly.
Before Leo could recover from the pain in his lower back, his heart suddenly jolted and clenched.
The importance of the heart as the central organ for blood circulation goes without saying. The sudden convulsions instantly caused Leo to clutch his chest and collapse to the ground, his face ashen.
I want to die, I want to die, I want to die...
The torment is not over yet.
Stomach, liver, spleen, intestines...
His internal organs seemed to have conspired to rebel, emitting continuous and intense pain, as if they wouldn't stop until they had tormented Leo to death.