Magic Stones and Magical Items

Richard had heard nobles on the airship mention magic stones before, but this was his first time seeing the real thing.

This magic stone was the size of a thumb pad, pitch-black throughout and diamond-shaped. Under the sunlight, it looked like a black gemstone.

Richard sensed the magic stone with his spiritual power and discovered that the mana stored within it actually surpassed his Mana Circulation. Moreover, absorbing it required no effort at all.

This was undoubtedly tremendous news for Richard.

A Wizard Apprentice's Mana Circulation could store only a limited amount of mana. Once the mana within it was depleted, even a wizard had to absorb mana anew.

But simply absorbing mana from nature to replenish Mana Circulation was terribly inefficient. Richard had spent a full two days on the airship just to restore half the mana he had used. With this magic stone, however, the time needed for him to restore mana could be cut from two days to two minutes.

"No wonder a single magic stone could be bid up to a hundred thousand gold coins in Golden Lark. If someone brought two of these with them, then once they became a Wizard Apprentice, they could strut sideways through the examination." Richard held the magic stone, inwardly astonished.

"By the same logic, if wizards have no special methods, battles between them will probably become contests of personal wealth."

At that thought, Richard's gaze upon the magic stone grew even hotter.

Magic stones were not merely wealth—they were also part of a wizard's strength.

After putting the magic stone into his pouch, Richard continued on his way.

But this time was different. Before setting off, a faint glimmer suddenly flashed across Richard's body.

Zero-Ring Spell: Light Body Technique.

With a magic stone as a reserve source of mana, Richard was no longer stingy with his spells.

As the Light Body Technique took effect, Richard immediately felt his body grow lighter. His footsteps became brisk, and even the pouch at his waist seemed to weigh less.

The Light Body Technique lasted half an hour. During that time, Richard covered nearly twice as much ground as he would have without using the spell.

If this continued, Richard would need only around three days to reach the pillar of light.

But just as Richard was hurrying along at full speed, the sound of something cutting through the air came from the forest.

Whoosh!

Richard instinctively ducked. An ice cone shot from the woods, grazing past his scalp.

"That was close!"

Looking at the ice cone that had punched a hole through a tree trunk, Richard felt lingering fear. Had he crouched even a second later, that ice cone would have shattered his skull.

"I can't be so reckless. Traveling is important, but I can't put the cart before the horse." After warning himself, Richard raised his hand and fired a Magic Missile toward the direction from which the ice cone had come.

Since someone had attacked him, he naturally had to return the favor.

A blue gleam flew forth. Without even checking the result, Richard immediately cast Light Body Technique on himself, lowered his body, and ran toward the ice cone's source in a zigzag pattern.

Whoosh!

Another ice cone.

But this one missed Richard by a hundred thousand miles.

Looks like this person is panicking, Richard thought. The ambush failed to kill in one blow, and the moment they were resisted, they immediately fumbled into a panic.

Someone like this thinks they deserve to kill me?

Richard sneered, and the figure of his attacker appeared before him.

The attacker was petite and lavishly dressed, a beautiful young noblewoman.

The girl's face was filled with panic. Her ringed hand kept trembling as she tried to cast another Ice Cone Spell and finish Richard off.

"Don't come over! Don't come over! Don't come over here!"

As Richard drew closer and closer, the girl suddenly squeezed her eyes shut and screamed as she released an ice cone.

But the gods did not pity her. This ice cone still missed Richard by a hundred thousand miles.

"It's over."

Richard stood not far from the girl, his expression cold. A blue gleam flashed at the tip of his raised finger.

He had no intention of showing tenderness toward a woman.

Bang

Red and white splattered everywhere.

Richard coldly walked up to the girl's corpse. Two pouches lay beside her; apparently, one unlucky soul had already fallen victim to her ambush.

Richard pulled the ring from the girl's finger. Its band was made of gray metal, with a metal setting for a magic stone mounted atop it. It looked exceedingly ancient.

"So this is the magical item the nobles talked about—the underlying reason Kevin's alliance could be established."

Richard had a sudden idea and wanted to refine it with the Miracle Furnace to see whether he could obtain the method for making the ring. Yet the Miracle Furnace showed no reaction at all, as if the ring's quality was too low to catch the Furnace's eye.

After removing the ring, Richard searched the girl's body again.

In the end, Richard found three magic stones and a Magic Dagger. Likewise, the Miracle Furnace showed no reaction to the dagger.

"Nobles are really fat sheep. If all nobles are idiots like this, I might even want to hunt them."

Richard looked at the dagger in his hand. There was a depression similar to a magic stone socket on its hilt as well. Richard placed a magic stone into it, and a line of Runes immediately appeared upon the once unremarkable blade.

Richard swung the dagger twice. Its blade sank into the tree trunk beside him with effortless ease, and the great tree was likely over a hundred years old.

"What a sharp dagger!"

Richard exclaimed. He immediately thought of the Wind Raven Swordplay he had obtained from the sword of the first Baron Black Forest.

Although he had now become a Wizard Apprentice, if someone got close to him, he would instantly revert to that weak farmer's son.

Though this dagger was not long enough, it was still a sharp weapon, enough for him to use thirty percent of the Wind Raven Swordplay.

With thirty percent of the Wind Raven Swordplay paired with this dagger that could cut iron like mud, he would not only make up for his weakness in close combat, but his strength would also rise by another tier.

Suppressing the urge to laugh aloud twice, Richard pried the magic stone out of the dagger's hilt.

Good steel belonged on the blade. His magic stones were not plentiful enough for him to use them casually.

After putting away the magic stone, Richard wore the Ice Cone Ring on his hand, tucked the Magic Dagger into his belt, and continued on his way.

The corpse's other belongings were of little use to Richard. Taking them would only burden him, so he simply left them where they were to await someone destined to find them.

Having learned his lesson, Richard no longer traveled so wantonly. As he moved through the forest, he kept his eyes in every direction and his ears tuned to every sound.

Although this slowed him considerably, it was safer.

And so, Richard passed the first daytime of the examination.

At night, the forest was filled with insect chirps. Beneath a great tree, Richard piled up a heap of fallen leaves to serve as his bed for the night.

Though the temperature in this primeval forest was not particularly high, it was far better than the depths of winter in Black Forest Territory. Even at night, Richard merely felt a little cold rather than shivering from it.

Opening a bottle of Nutrient Potion, Richard took a sip.

The Nutrient Potion had a bizarre taste, like diluted aged vinegar mixed with grass juice, then sealed away to ferment for a month.

Yet although it tasted terrible, its effects were genuinely excellent.

After drinking a test tube of Nutrient Potion, Richard instantly felt warmth spread through his stomach, and the hunger in his gut vanished in an instant.

After drinking it, Richard lay beneath the tree as the fatigue of the day surged over him like a tide.

But he did not sleep. Instead, he chose to meditate.

Richard had discovered on the airship that the meditation method could eliminate mental fatigue. Two hours of meditation were even more effective than eight hours of sleep. In this perilous primeval forest, remaining awake for longer was undoubtedly a good thing.

Moreover, meditation itself could strengthen spiritual power. It was truly killing two birds with one stone.

But just as he entered meditation, a strange beast's roar echoed through the forest.