「Two months later.」

In the Magic Potion Room, Ian finished processing the Thorny Vine Bark and dropped it into the boiling Oak Distillate.

Under the catalysis of his Magic Power, the pale red liquid began to react violently. Bubbles churned continuously, releasing a thick scent of rock and rust.

His Spiritual Power probed the Crucible like silken threads, expertly guiding the Rock Bear Blood Essence as it slowly melted.

Strands of golden bloodline essence were released, darting and swimming through the solution.

"Condense!"

Ian muttered a few syllables, his hand gestures shifting as his Spiritual Power abruptly constricted.

The boiling liquid instantly calmed, its color transforming from a murky dark red to a clear, vibrant scarlet.

The swimming, thread-like strands inside became more active and dense.

[Rock Bear Potion Skill Level +1]

[Rock Bear Potion: Beginner (175/400)]

Ian looked at the newly refined Potion in his hand, a satisfied expression in his eyes.

The golden bloodline threads were nearly twice as dense as before, signifying a remarkable improvement in the Potion’s efficacy.

The main reason for this was that his Bloodline Purification Technique had reached the Skilled stage.

The refined Blood Essence contained much richer Extraordinary Information than before, resulting in a more effective Potion.

He placed this Potion into the Constant Temperature Box, which was already neatly filled with various other Potions.

It contained the Limit-Breaking Edition of the Awakening Potion, the Beginner version of the Rock Bear Potion, and the Skilled version of the Awakening Potion.

In a corner of the box were also several especially conspicuous Strong Effect versions of the Rock Bear Potion.

These were all the fruits of his labor from the past two months. Aside from the ones he couldn’t reveal just yet, the rest would be sold through Star Leaf’s channels in exchange for a large amount of Magic Stones.

Ian cleaned his workbench and began to refine an Awakening Potion.

Its formula was far more complex than the other Awakening Potion’s. The main ingredients, Starlight Vine and Flowerless Vine, were both Middle Level Magic Potions and quite expensive.

Because they both belonged to the meditation potion category, and his Skill Level with the first Awakening Potion had already reached the Limit-Breaking grade, it had taken him very little time to go from starting to Beginner with the second one. Now, it was already at the Skilled level.

On the workbench lay the processed Starlight Grass powder, Flowerless Vine Extract, and a small, precious vial of Night Dew Essence.

Ian closed his eyes and focused for three seconds. When he opened them again, they were perfectly calm.

He first sprinkled the Starlight Grass powder evenly into a silver Crucible and infused a trace amount of Magic Power to sense its frequency. Then, he picked up the Flowerless Vine Extract and began to add it drop by drop...

This was the most critical stage. He had to add it one drop at a time, allowing their resonant frequencies to slowly align...

As the other ingredients were added, Ian’s focus intensified, and he sensed the subtle Energy fluctuations within the Crucible.

When the Night Dew Essence had fully integrated, the starlight within the Crucible suddenly flared, emitting a pleasant hum.

’Now!’

Ian quickly formed three complex hand seals. At the same time, his Spiritual Power shot out like a silken net, blanketing the mixture to guide the final stage of the Potion’s formation.

Inside the Crucible, the starlight, vine liquid, and night dew intertwined, transforming into a pale silver mist. The mist slowly contracted and condensed, finally settling into half a vial of a silver-blue liquid that shimmered with fine specks of starlight.

[Awakening Potion Skill Level +1]

[Awakening Potion: Skilled (216/400)]

Ian let out a soft breath. Refining Potions was much more tiring than practicing Witchcraft.

But with every success, his understanding of Magic Potion Science deepened.

The effects of this Awakening Potion in aiding Meditation were about fifty percent stronger than the standard version of the other Awakening Potion.

He had taken it once, but its effects still couldn’t compare to his Limit-Breaking Edition of the other Awakening Potion.

He didn’t dare reveal it yet, so he could only use it for himself.

In the afternoon, Ian went to his private Witchcraft Practice Room.

The walls and floor of the room were covered with a layer of Energy-Absorbing Materials. In the corner stood several special Witchcraft Targets, pockmarked with craters of various sizes.

Ian stood still, and a thought flickered in his mind.

"Kryst’thal!"

The Spell was completed almost instantly, his hand gestures as fluid as instinct.

A translucent Energy Shield unfurled before him, larger and more solid than it was two months ago.

Ian controlled the Shield, making it move and transform rapidly in front of him. Slowly, its curved surface began to bend and expand.

It eventually enveloped most of his body, but a gap the width of a palm remained, stubbornly refusing to close.

He paid it no mind. Withdrawing his Spiritual Power, the Shield vanished. He then continued to cast it, repeating the process until a notification appeared at the corner of his vision.

[Crystal Energy Barrier Skill Level +1]

[Crystal Energy Barrier: Realm of Control (581/800)]

Ian nodded to himself and looked up at the ceiling.

"Vigilantia."

An invisible eye of energy materialized twenty meters away inside the room. The moment the eyeball appeared, it scanned its surroundings rapidly, just like a living eye.

He closed his eyes slightly, his Spiritual Power linking with the "eyeball" to see everything within its field of vision.

The drifting of dust in the corner, the swaying of leaves outside the window, the specks on the face of a pedestrian on a distant street, the faint Energy fluctuations from an Apprentice...

As time passed, more than half an hour went by before the duration of the Eye of Vigilance ended.

[Eye of Vigilance Skill Level +1]

[Eye of Vigilance: Realm of Control (248/800)]

Now, the eye was not only unrestricted by day or night, but it could also roughly detect Energy fluctuations, making it far more practical.

Its only weaknesses were that it could be easily perceived by Spiritual Power and was extremely fragile.

Ian’s gaze shifted back to a target. Without any omen, two deep blue icicles formed in mid-air.

SWISH! SWISH! They shot toward the target. THUD! THUD! The target was swiftly encased in a thick layer of ice.

Fine ice crystals continuously grew within the ice layer, strengthening the Imprisonment effect.

The current Secondary Frost Freeze Beam had nearly thirty percent more Penetration Power, flight speed, and freezing strength than before.

When his spiritual state was optimal, he could cast it at full power more than twenty times!

This was because after two Skill Limit-Breaks, his Spiritual Power had become more refined, allowing him to unleash greater power with less spiritual expenditure.

Finally, there was the Scorching Beam, which Ian had been focusing on recently.

"Ignis!"

A searing, orange-red beam erupted from his fingertip, and a faint scorching smell filled the air.

Ian guided the beam with his Spiritual Power toward another target. With a THUD, it left behind a fist-sized crater with molten edges.

Thanks to his Light Attribute Affinity, his Skill Level in this Witchcraft was increasing rapidly. It was now close to the Realm of Control.

For the rest of the time, Ian began to alternate between casting the two rays. The target, subjected to the alternating cycles of freezing and scorching, gradually became unable to bear the strain and emitted a series of beeping warning sounds.

[Scorching Beam Skill Level +1]

[Scorching Beam: Skilled (357/400)]

...

Ian practiced over and over, occasionally bowing his head in thought to continuously optimize his techniques. When he grew tired, he would sit down and use Meditation to recover.

When evening came, he returned to his bedroom and began his routine Meditation.

Once all of his daily tasks were complete, Ian called up his panel with a thought.

[Realm: Middle Level Wizard Apprentice (71%)]

[Talent: Moderate Light Attribute Affinity]

[Skills: Star Moon Low Level Meditation Method: Realm of Control (352/800)

Cleaning Technique (Beginner), Bright Light Technique (Beginner), Ignition Technique (Beginner)

Other Skills Omitted...]

Looking at the Skills, each with a huge jump in progress, Ian felt a surge of pride.

The Cleaning, Bright Light, and Ignition Techniques were minor Witchcraft for daily life; Ian had collected them but hadn’t spent any time practicing them.

During this time, he had been consuming the Limit-Breaking Edition of the Awakening Potion as if it were free, and a slight resistance was beginning to show.

"It’s still not enough," Ian muttered to himself, his eyes gleaming.

"I need to be faster, stronger. High Level Apprentice... Official Wizard..."

He closed the panel and was just about to rest when he heard faint footsteps outside the courtyard.

A thought stirred in Ian’s mind. His fingers moved quickly, he recited a Spell, and an invisible eye rose into the air.

"Hm?" Seeing who it was, he quickly left his bedroom and opened the courtyard gate.

Standing outside were four travel-worn figures—it was Kenna’s team, who had been gone for nearly three months. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Kenna, Wade, Robert, and Monica all looked exhausted. Their robes were torn in many places, their hair was a tangled mess, and Wade’s right arm was wrapped in a bandage.

But in all four of their eyes was the distinct relief of having survived a great ordeal.