Outside Nightfall Town.

The once dark and silent forest was now buzzing with voices. The glow of various Witchcraft spells lit up the scene as if it were daytime.

The leaders of a dozen or so Wizard Organizations, including the Golden Cottage, the White Bear Order, and the Spiritual Light Witchcraft Party, gathered beside a patch of shattered ice.

"Brandon, does your White Bear Order have any masters of Ice Witchcraft?"

"Jiale, I suspect it was someone from your Golden Cottage who secretly snatched the Silent Flower."

"Alright, everyone. What’s the point of this meaningless squabbling? What we need to figure out now is who got away with it in the end."

"Your Spiritual Light Party has the most riff-raff. It might have been one of you for all we know."

...

’A bunch of idiots. What’s the use of bickering here? They might as well go home and rest for a few days...’

The scene resembled a noisy marketplace, and everyone was seething with frustration.

In reality, everyone knew deep down that the fight for the Silent Flower was over.

The duck they had been chasing for so long had truly flown the coop.

They had inspected the other battlefield. Nolan had managed to escape, only to be cornered here and die a miserable death.

The crowd gathered around the unmelted iceberg, silently reconstructing the scene in their minds.

Judging by the scene, the power of the Witchcraft didn’t seem particularly great—only at the level of a typical High Level Apprentice.

So why had it formed dozens, even hundreds, of extremely hard layers of ice?

They could recall several Witchcraft spells capable of creating icebergs, but none of the details quite matched.

Suddenly, someone in the crowd seemed to receive a message. A brief silence fell, then the uproar quickly grew louder.

"What? Alevia Wizard and Nolan’s mentor have already struck a deal? The matter of Nolan’s death is settled?"

Everyone who heard the news was so stunned they were seeing stars.

’Seriously?! You’re an Official Wizard, how could you personally get involved? Have you no shame?’

"Don’t talk nonsense! It wasn’t Alevia Wizard. The one who did it was her student, the Elf Race genius, Aisling!"

"That can’t be right! Hasn’t she been in the High Tower, cultivating for her breakthrough? Besides, she’s a Natural Witch, and this is clearly Ice Witchcraft!"

"A conspiracy! This is definitely a conspiracy!!!"

"Heh! You go argue with them, then. Go on!"

...

Brandon and Jiale exchanged glances, their eyes filled with bitterness.

"Let’s disperse. It’s all over."

Brandon was silent for a moment before declaring, "After a few days of rest, I will continue exploring the ruins. I will break through to Official Wizard within six months!"

With that, he walked into the deep forest without a backward glance, his figure gradually swallowed by the darkness.

As the crowd slowly dispersed, the deep forest returned to its former tranquility.

...

After taking a shower, Ian lay on his bed and began replaying the battle with Nolan in his mind.

After watching for a while, he identified several of his shortcomings: his attacks weren’t strong enough, he wasn’t fast enough, and his shields weren’t thick enough.

’The crisis has been temporarily averted. I should use this time to shore up my weaknesses as much as possible.’

He took out the reward Harvey had given him: a beam-type Witchcraft that was perfect for him, *Scorching Beam*.

This Witchcraft was a good match for his Light Attribute Affinity Talent.

Ian could already imagine that once this Witchcraft was Limit-Broken, its power would far surpass that of Frost Freeze Ray!

[Scorching Beam: Uninitiated (0/100)]

He had a solution for his Attack Power, but for speed, he would have to go to the High Tower to find a suitable Witchcraft.

’I’m not short on Magic Stones right now, so it’s fine if it’s a bit expensive.’

He was sure he could find something to meet his needs among the huge list of Witchcraft spells at the High Tower.

Finally, there was the matter of shields. He had activated a Witchcraft Shield once during the fight, but it was shattered by Nolan’s Witchcraft after just a few hits.

Even the shield from Alevia Wizard’s ring couldn’t block Nolan’s "Death Bell."

He hadn’t even considered using his own half-baked Crystal Shield later in the battle—it was just too fragile!

’Looks like I’ll have to search for a Light Shield at the High Tower after all, but that kind of Witchcraft is unfortunately very rare.’

Even if he found one, he might not be able to learn it at his current level.

’I’ll just make do with what I have for now and see how *Crystal Energy Barrier* performs after it’s Limit-Broken.’

What surprised him most about this battle was his formidable Physique.

In his transformed state, even Nolan’s Life Absorption couldn’t drain him, though of course, Nolan was on the verge of death at that point.

If Nolan had been at full strength, it would have been nearly impossible to defeat him. Ian was self-aware enough to know that.

The imprisoning ice layers from his ray would have been instantly shattered by Nolan. The power gap between their Witchcraft spells was just too wide.

In the future, when facing enemies of that caliber, he could only rely on Frost Freeze Ray’s freezing and slowing abilities to escape.

’So, in a way, I’m actually pretty strong!’

He was still just a Middle Level Apprentice, yet he could already hold his own against a High Level Apprentice for a short while.

Ian felt a sense of relief. After lying low for so long, he had finally regained a bit of confidence.

However, the more Skills he learned in the future, the more time he would need to train them. He couldn’t possibly keep up!

There were many Skills he’d wanted to grind for a while, but he just couldn’t squeeze in the time.

’As my Level increases, this problem will only become more pronounced. I need to plan things out properly.’

He needed to see which Skills could be streamlined to take up as little time as possible.

He weighed his options for a moment, then suddenly had a change of heart.

’If I can’t outrun others, then I just won’t run. I’ll just become a powerful Cannon Wizard.’

That would simplify his Witchcraft combinations considerably.

With a thought, he called up his panel.

[Realm: Middle Level Wizard Apprentice (14%)]

[Talent: Moderate Light Attribute Affinity]

[Skills: Star Moon Low Level Meditation Method: Skilled (281/400)

Wizard’s Hand: Mastered (297/400)

Frost Freeze Ray: Limit-Broken 1x (41/800) (Limit-Breaking Effect: 1. Twin)

Eye of Vigilance: Skilled (263/400)

Bloodline Purification Technique: Beginner (63/200)

Crystal Energy Barrier: Skilled (0/400)

Scorching Beam: Uninitiated (0/100)

Awakening Potion: Mastered (395/400)

Rock Bear Potion: Beginner (8/400)

Basic Magic Potion Recognition: Mastered (144/400)]

The Skill Level for Awakening Potion was just a few points away from Limit-Breaking. It wouldn’t take much time, so he could make that his top priority.

It was the life-saving Skill that had helped him through tough times after he transmigrated, so he was rather fond of it.

It was starting to fall behind his current pace of cultivation. He’d see what its Limit-Breaking Effect would be!

First, Ian placed his Meditation Method at the top of the list. This was a Skill that required a long-term time commitment, and its position was non-negotiable.

The Meditation Method was the foundation of everything. It not only sped up the refinement of his Spiritual Power but also increased its total amount.

Ian thought for a moment and decided to temporarily schedule *Crystal Energy Barrier* and *Eye of Vigilance* as his next two Witchcraft skills.

Although the shield’s performance was terrible, it was Ian’s only Shield Witchcraft at the moment, with no replacement available.

*Eye of Vigilance* would allow him to effectively observe the enemy’s situation and prevent sneak attacks.

As for his other Witchcraft, he felt that *Secondary Frost Freeze Beam* and *Scorching Beam* could be trained in parallel, grinding them whenever he had time.

The priority for *Scorching Beam* would be higher, as its Skill Level would increase quickly in the early stages.

His strongest Attack Witchcraft, *Secondary Frost Freeze Beam*, was too far from its Secondary Limit-Breaking. Its Skill Level was also difficult to grind, so he could only practice it in his spare time.

The various Potions, especially the Bloodline Potion, still needed to be prioritized. They were a key part of his defense.

Looking at it this way, his trinity of defense, attack, and early warning was basically complete.