The next morning, the atmosphere in the "Furnace" camp was still oppressive.

A faint smell of blood and scorch still lingered in the air. The damaged walls and the blackened marks scattered across the ground were a testament to the ferocity of last night’s battle.

People were still cleaning up the site; the bodies of their comrades had been collected last night.

Ian arrived at the Alchemy Room early and completed the tasks assigned by the Sterling Wizard.

With the buffs from several Limit-Breaking Effects, Refining these Low Level Potions had become almost second nature, and his Skill Level was steadily increasing.

After finishing his quota, he didn’t immediately begin his Cultivation but instead walked out of the Alchemy Room.

In the open area at the center of the camp, a female Apprentice in a red robe was treating several other Apprentices who had been poisoned last night.

She seemed to be a Life System wizard or a Natural Witch. Apprentices of that kind were the most popular people in the camp.

The female Apprentice’s face was pale; she had clearly expended a great deal of energy.

"Last night, Deep Red’s Curse Witchcraft and that Poisonous Fog nearly broke us."

A Middle Level Apprentice with a bandaged arm said, his face still showing lingering fear.

"If it weren’t for that new Magic Potion Alchemist who whipped up some Purification Mist, we probably wouldn’t have lasted until the Sterling Wizard made his move."

"Yeah, I heard his name is Ian? He reacted pretty quickly, but his strength... well, he’s just a Middle Level Apprentice, and a Magic Potion Alchemist at that. It’s good enough that he can protect himself."

...

Ian didn’t linger, continuing toward the camp’s western wall.

Old Pipe, chewing on his Heather Pipe, was directing several Apprentices as they repaired the corroded Rune Array.

"We owe you for what you did last night. If that Poisonous Fog had spread, a lot more people would have died."

Old Pipe’s voice was hoarse. "But kid, just knowing Alchemy isn’t enough to survive out here. Those lunatics from the Deep Red Royal Court don’t care if you’re a Magic Potion Alchemist or not."

"I understand." Ian nodded. He knew that Hank and the others had been members of the "Furnace" camp before; they had just been rejoining the team after a period of rest.

"Old Pipe, you’ve been at this camp for a long time. Can you tell me about the general strength of the High Level Apprentices from the Deep Red Royal Court?"

He paused for a moment. "And... compared to them, how do the High Level Apprentices at our camp stack up?"

Old Pipe exhaled a smoke ring and squinted at the dark red glow in the distant canyon.

"High Level Apprentices... there are huge differences between them..."

As Ian listened, he silently made his own comparisons.

’Based on strength, those who have just broken through are ordinary High Level Apprentices, like Poison Fang and Lina from our camp.’

’Each has their own specialty, but overall, they’re still in the accumulation phase. The power of their Witchcraft and their total Spiritual Power are limited.’

’A step above them are the Elite High Level Apprentices.’

’People like Moritz, who led the Deep Red Royal Court team last night, and our camp’s team leader, Hank, belong to this level.’

’They’ve been immersed in the High Level Apprentice Realm for a decade or even several decades. Their combinations of Witchcraft are sound, and they have rich combat experience.’

’Some have also cultivated other systems or possess special bloodlines or Witchcraft Tools.’

’In a one-on-one fight, an ordinary High Level Apprentice wouldn’t last long against them.’

A thought struck Ian. ’Would Nolan, and that gloomy Deep Red man I killed before, be considered Elite High Level Apprentices?’

’He felt that while the gloomy man’s Witchcraft was extremely powerful, his casting speed was slow. Nolan was probably stronger.’

’After all, he had managed to escape from four people—Malena, Harvey, and the others—and had even injured them all.’

"So... are there even stronger ones?"

Seeing Old Pipe pause the conversation, Ian pressed on.

"Yes!" Old Pipe’s gaze grew distant. "Naturally, stronger than the Elite High Level Apprentices are the peak High Level Apprentices..."

They are a group of true geniuses, each one of them has touched the threshold of becoming an Official Wizard.

Their Spiritual Power is nearing Perfection, and their understanding of Witchcraft far surpasses others of the same rank.

Apprentices like that are rare. Every single one is a treasure to their respective organization and wouldn’t normally appear in a frontline camp like this.

They are either in seclusion trying to break through to the Official Wizard realm, or they’re carrying out more critical, more dangerous missions.

Old Pipe paused again, his voice even more distant.

"There are even... the ones who exist only in legends, beings that only Wizards are qualified to know about... the ’Demons.’"

It’s said that these geniuses with monstrously terrifying Talent can actually pose a threat to Official Wizards while still in the High Level Apprentice stage.

"Demons!"

Ian’s heart skipped a beat. A name popped into his mind... Irena!

The girl who had entered the High Tower at the same time as him but possessed "Special Talent."

Within a year of enrolling, she broke through to High Level Apprentice and was called "the High Tower’s greatest hope in nearly a century..." by the Summoned Demon, Raven Uma’Er.

’Where is she now? Has she already become one of the "peak" apprentices or a "Demon" that Old Pipe mentioned?’

He hadn’t seen Irena since the entrance exams.

The two of them came from different social strata and were on completely different destined paths.

While he was still struggling for survival and resources, she was likely already in the core area of the High Tower.

Receiving personal instruction from Official Wizards or beings even greater than Wizards, enjoying the best resources, and growing at a speed unimaginable to ordinary people.

’The gap between people... is just so vast!’

Ian lamented internally, but he felt no jealousy—only a more intense sense of urgency.

He had his panel. That was his greatest asset.

As long as he could survive and continuously acquire resources, it wasn’t impossible for him to catch up to those geniuses.

"Thank you for telling me." Ian thanked Old Pipe and turned to leave.

Passing by the Workshop area, he saw the leaders of several Wizard Clans. Their faces were ashen; their losses last night had been even more severe.

But the mission assigned by the High Tower still had to be completed.

As Ian was leaving, he vaguely felt a gaze linger on him for a moment.

But when he turned to look, he found nothing. He made a mental note to be cautious.

He arrived at the foot of a watchtower on the edge of the camp, where Lina was on duty.

She saw Ian and gave a slight nod. "You did well last night."

Lina’s voice was cool. "But don’t relax. This won’t be the Deep Red Royal Court’s only attack.

They’re like hyenas; they’ll swarm in at the smell of blood. Our ’Furnace’ is in a key location, and the Magic Stones and Potions inside are a huge temptation for them."

"I understand." Ian lifted his head and looked at Lina.

"Lina, in your experience, how much time do we have to prepare?"

Lina was silent for a moment, gazing into the depths of the canyon.

"Not long. Although the Sterling Wizard repelled the ’Crimson Blade’ last night, he was also seriously injured and needs time to recover."

Once the Deep Red Royal Court gets wind of this, they definitely won’t pass up the opportunity.

The next attack might be on a larger scale, or it could be more covert.

"In any case, use the time you have to get stronger, Magic Potion Alchemist."

Ian nodded. The one thing he lacked most right now was Time.

Returning to the open area behind the Alchemy Room, he began his daily Witchcraft practice.

"Kryst’thal!"

The familiar Tua Language chant rang out, and the Crystal Energy Barrier manifested again and again.

Ian was no longer satisfied with simply maintaining it. He began trying to keep the Shield up while moving quickly, simulating dodging long-range Witchcraft.

He tried to thicken parts of the Shield, forming a small buckler to block pinpoint attacks.

He tried to finely adjust the Energy Structure the instant the Shield took an energy hit, dispersing the pressure to reduce the drain.

Every successful defense or structural optimization brought a minute increase to his Skill Level.

On the panel, [Crystal Energy Barrier: Control (619/800)]... [Crystal Energy Barrier: Control (620/800)]

...

Little by little, his progress was slow but steady.

He could feel that the potential of this Witchcraft was far from being fully tapped.

The effect after Limit-Breaking would likely bring a qualitative change to his survivability.