Wizard: Starting from the Skill Tree-Chapter 618: Ingestion

After leaving behind the bizarre clearing that had returned to normal, Duke cautiously traversed the ancient forest for about another hour.

He chose a spot nestled between several extraordinarily large trees, whose roots intertwined to form a natural barrier, with vines above interwoven like a canopy, in an extremely secluded corner.

The terrain here is slightly elevated, making it easier to observe the surroundings, and the intense life energy of the ancient trees provides some cover for the subtle energy fluctuations generated by his own activities.

After setting up several simple witch arrays mainly for early warning and confounding aura, Duke finally allowed himself to relax slightly, transferring his full attention to the astounding bounty within the Space Ring.

Rather than immediately inspecting the carefully placed emerald sapling, he focused his thoughts on the five golden fruits.

Deep within his consciousness, the World Tree’s seed continued to communicate its clear craving for them, yet Duke needed to first understand what incredible effects these fruits had; recklessly consuming unknown mystical items could easily lead to problems.

He gently picked a fruit from the small tree, the golden-hued fruit marked with silver natural patterns lay silently on soft silk, emitting the fragrant scent of life origin that invigorated his spirit.

Duke carefully did not touch it directly with his hand, but used highly concentrated Spiritual Power to gently lift it, suspending it before him.

The first step was basic energy perception; Duke used a trace of extremely fine Spiritual Power like a precision probe, cautiously piercing the fruit’s skin.

The skin appeared tender but was surprisingly resilient, neither rejecting the Spiritual Power probe, while its internal structure seemed to contain natural encryption, blocking overly intrusive probing.

Duke took out the Thought Core, utilizing its auxiliary analysis module, beginning to record and compare any minute energy characteristics.

The utility of the Thought Core emerged, as it possessed strong capabilities in data storage, analysis, and organization, swiftly providing results in this aspect.

Gradually, some information was parsed.

The life energy contained within the fruit was astonishingly pure and voluminous, far surpassing any life element magic potion materials or natural treasures Duke had ever seen.

But this was not all; within the vast life energy, two even more mysterious origin forces seemed intertwined.

The first one manifests as an extremely gentle yet fundamentally noble characteristic of life extension. When Duke’s Spiritual Power simulated absorbing a wisp of the fruit’s outermost energy aura, he distinctly felt that his body’s deepest part, representing the origin of life, seemed to be injected with a warm, invigorating stream, conveying a sensation of fulfillment and extension.

"Life extension!" Duke’s heart trembled, instantly coming to an insightful realization.

This sensation closely matched descriptions of certain life-extending treasures he had read about.

Additionally, since he had personally consumed similar items, understanding their general characteristics, though nothing he had taken before had the effects as potent as the fruit in his possession.

Although unable to measure precisely, based on the strength of the life origin feedback brought by this wisp, it was roughly estimated that consuming one such fruit in its entirety could likely extend the lifespan of at least Level 2 beings by about a century.

A century of lifespan carries immense value for Level 2 and below wizards, especially when confronting bottlenecks or nearing the end of life, this could be a decisive asset.

The fruit’s second characteristic surprised Duke even more; within the enveloping vast amounts of life energy, there lay a peculiar and pure spiritual nurturing force.

This force does not directly increase the quantity of Magic Power but acts on the more fundamental Spiritual Origin.

When Duke attempted to guide a wisp of this spiritual nurturing force to contact his Spiritual Power, the Six-element Compound Spiritual Crystal within his Spiritual Sea unexpectedly began to subtly tremble, radiating a clear sense of craving and comfort, like sweet rain after long drought.

The crystal’s luster seemed to brighten slightly, its rotations speeding up a bit.

"Directly nourishing and increasing Spiritual Power, seeming incredibly compatible with no tension or rejection." Duke meticulously sensed it.

On the wizard’s path, the growth of Spiritual Power is fundamental, yet, as time progresses, advancement becomes increasingly difficult, requiring meticulous effort or rare opportunities.

A treasure that can directly, safely, and prominently increase Spiritual Power, its rarity and strategic value even exceed many life-extending treasures, for it directly impacts combat readiness, spell mastery, and future advancement potential.

He observed and calculated meticulously, based on his current foundation as a Level 1 Crystalized Mage, with Spiritual Power already consolidated and formidable; if he fully absorbed the spiritual nurturing force within one fruit, the enhancement in Spiritual Power intensity might equate to several months, or even more than half a year, of his usual meditation and hard labor.

Moreover, this enhancement is rooted, rather than a fleeting burst through potential exhaustion.

For wizards, things that can simultaneously extend lifespan and increase Spiritual Power are rare treasures.

Moreover, the lifespan and Spiritual Power increased by this item are substantial; auctioning it could likely fetch an exceptionally high price.

The only issue now is uncertainty regarding the maximum number of these items one person can consume.

Ordinarily, the number of times similar items can be consumed by an individual is limited.

After consuming a few, further intake would yield no effect.

This golden fruit is likely the same, however, there are not many now, with only five in total.

Following research supported by the Thought Core and some experimental tools and confirming the absence of toxicity, Duke decided to try consuming one.

He did not rashly swallow it whole but first used Spiritual Power to carve a fine slit on the fruit’s surface.

Immediately, a golden juice, ten times richer than previously, seeming almost tangible and carrying a sweet exotic aroma began oozing from the slit, shimmering with a glowing presence like a living entity.

Duke cautiously guided it with Spiritual Power, first extracting roughly a tenth of a drop, allowing it to fall onto his tongue.

Upon entry, the juice did not instantly dissolve, rather it resembled a miniature, warm sun within the mouth, unleashing an indescribable sweetness and satisfaction.

Followed by an extremely pure, yet incomparably gentle warm stream gliding down the throat, swiftly dispersing throughout his limbs and torso.

Immediately, Duke closed his eyes, concentrating internally, observing any minute changes brought about by this small dosage.

Wherever the warm stream traveled, the body seemed to emit a silent cheer.

Every single cell, like a land parched by prolonged drought, greedily yet orderly absorbed this pure life energy.

He could distinctly feel that his body’s deepest life origin seemed to be infused with an exceptionally pure, vibrant fuel, making the flame grow slightly, burning more steadily and enduringly.