Step—

Irvine, embracing three watermelon-sized "essence fruits," returned to the Level 1 Battleship "Weston Castle."

The individuals on the ship were well-versed, and their ability to accept such terrifying scenes of demonic creation was even stronger than Milan's in the past, showing no signs of surprise on their faces.

"Is this the reason you wanted this sea monster?"

Princeton's gaze fell on the fruits in Irvine's hands.

The semi-transparent shell transitioned from a light green on the outside to a rose-red on the inside, resembling transparent tourmaline.

Inside the shell were seeds like pomegranate seeds, clustered together like burning rubies.

It seemed less like a fruit and more like a treasure chest filled with priceless jewels, prompting even the worldly-wise Grand Wizard to take a few extra glances.

Instead, he seemed indifferent to Irvine's unceremonious "digestion" of a whole large sea monster.

'Cough cough, do I have no dignity?'

"That's right, please have a taste, Headmaster!"

Irvine promptly handed one of the fruits to the old headmaster, as previously agreed, with no intention of going back on his word.

However, at the same time, he sensed two eager sets of eyes fixated on the remaining two fruits in his hands.

Irvine knew it was unlikely that he could pocket both remaining "essence fruits" whole.

Leaving aside their intrinsic value, the fruits' splendid appearance held an incomparable allure for women, especially when faced with a woman he couldn't refuse...

But after considering that the large sea monster was opportunistic and his contribution was merely a bottle of potion, he grudgingly handed one over to the Crown Prince.

As for Anthony, who was just as eager, he was simply ignored.

Feeling the pang of loss, Irvine could only mutter Ah Q Spirit to himself:

'Gifts in place, promotion and salary increase!'

Meanwhile, the old headmaster, who had long outgrown the influence of appearances, cracked open the fruit to taste one. His eyes lit up slightly, but he soon sighed with a hint of regret.

"The taste is superb, among the best fruits I've tasted in my life!

But its enhancement effect is negligible for an extraordinary being of my level. To eat it merely as a delicious fruit would be too wasteful."

After eating one, the headmaster, almost without hesitation, handed the "essence fruit," missing only one seed, back to Irvine.

"In your rapid growth phase, you need resources like these. More than a mere fruit, I hope to see you use it wisely to quickly grow.

Besides, as the face of our Phaletis Kingdom Navy, it's not fitting that you're not even an official wizard yet! Hahaha..."

Receiving the fruit handed back by the headmaster, Irvine felt moved. The headmaster was truly a great person, unlike...

After catching the gaze of the two eyes refocusing on him, he quickly tucked them safely into his arms, ignoring Liweina and Anthony's slightly disappointed looks.

"Thank you, Headmaster! I will use this fruit well and strive to become an official wizard soon!"

His words confirmed the ownership of all the fruits.

What a joke, you privileged lot still want to compete with someone like me who relies on himself, not a chance!

Except for one thing, Irvine was confident that with these two fruits, he could achieve full attributes at the Senior Knight Level within this year, before turning seventeen.

With spiritual power reaching 0.99, completing the most crucial prerequisite for advancement to official wizard.

Without suitable resources, it wouldn't matter, but with adequate resources to support rapid progress, the "Data Visualization" function monitoring his body's nuances would allow him to maximize resource utilization for the fastest advancement!

As for the technique of only Irvine's ability to create the "Extracting Potion," that was another business altogether.

...

By the time Irvine and his companions returned to shore, it was night. The observation team's members, "busy with official duties," had already left "New Inn Port" overnight.

The strategic significance of the "Siren's Song" and the huge hidden benefits prompted those with firsthand information to plan how to excel, and how much they could gain depended on their capabilities.

These things were beyond Irvine's current reach. He only knew his status within the "Alchemy School" had been heavily boosted.

As for the initial proposal when choosing the "Alchemy School" Potion Branch or "Vitalist School," it easily received agreement from both Principal Princeton and Princess Liweina.

After all, the wizards of the "Alchemy School" valued equivalent exchange above all.

Although the old principal was not very interested in the so-called "Vitalist School" which he had never heard of, even when Aiven claimed it might be a branch of some unknown Alchemy School.

But choosing the Extraordinary Path, especially for a wizard, is after all a very personal and uncertain matter, and even this Great Wizard has no position or insight to comment much.

A wizard cannot say their path is the most correct or suitable unless they have reached the "Crown" rank!

And how many Tier 4 "Crown" wizards, whom even the church's angels are reluctant to provoke, are there in the world today?

According to Princeton's knowledge, there are fewer than five "Crown" wizards on the Old (Source) Continent, and most of them come from nebulous legends. As for how many there are on the New Continent and the farther Broken Star Sea, it is beyond the grasp of this Tier 3 Grand Wizard, rooted in the Old Continent.

As for whether the "Alchemy School" would covet his "Vitalist School" heritage, Aiven was not worried because everything in a school revolves around serving the realization of ultimate creation and extreme knowledge.

In the limited span of life, exploring in a predetermined direction has already consumed endless energy of wizards, who has time to consider anything else?

The world may say knowledge is power, but that's conditional; correct knowledge is the fountain of power!

Absorbing various mystical knowledge without a goal, direction, or plan not only won't help achieve "Crown" but can even become a heavy burden, increasing the risk of losing control.

The more advanced specific knowledge, the more so!

As for the common foundational knowledge, Princeton was confident that their "Shadow Library" alone was unmatched by most schools.

If someone merely wants to use the high-end knowledge of the "Vitalist School" as a reference, trying to see if the stone from another mountain can inspire, it is not enough to make the high-value, repeatedly meritorious new member Aiven feel any animosity.

Of course, if his Big Boss was a mean Wild Mage, Aiven's strategy would certainly be different. However, so far, both the old principal and Princess Liweina have been very good to him.

But there was another point that drew Aiven's attention.

That was what Principal Princeton said when he handed a bottle of "Breath of the Giant Beast" magic potion produced by the school to him before parting.

"Child, if you want to continue on the wizard's path, then this potion for you, or more accurately for your activated Spiritual Power, is pure poison.

Although it was given to you as a reward for being the 'Navy New Star,' if you have no channel to deal with it, you can return it to me, and I will exchange it for equivalent wizard resources for you."

When the old principal said this meaningfully, Aiven also confirmed the suspicion he had had in his mind.

Any Extraordinary Path, to reach the high-tier level, inevitably requires balancing strengths and moving forward together; at the very least, the most crucial golden binary of spirit and body cannot be one-sided!

As recorded in the Knight's Secret Manual, after fulfilling all preconditions, a knight must concentrate their extreme belief into a force capable of interfering with reality, only then can they become a Great Knight among ten thousand, capable of tearing through steel and piercing iron!

Although Aiven himself is not at a high Extraordinary level and cannot grasp the nature of Extraordinary Power. But to say a knight's belief, a force closely related to spirit, has nothing to do with a wizard's spiritual brilliance, is something he would never believe.

So the question arises: "How can the same spiritual power be both lively and flexible, while also capable of interfering with reality to cut through steel?"

Is it both a stone and air? Both to the left and to the right?

Does it truly require resorting to "quantum mechanics" when in doubt?

Even in the Wizard World, one must abide by the basic laws!

When it does not involve unique energies, the pure physical path of a knight seems compatible with any Extraordinary Profession. But when it involves Tier 3 Transformation, the awakening of Combat Qi, the knight's path requires an extremely high degree of purity.

The purity of the path! The purity of the spirit! The purity of belief!

Although Aiven did not need to make a choice immediately, it was impossible for him, holding "Life Tree School," the oldest wizard heritage, to give up this bright future.

Manifesting the "Life Tree" to analyze the world's origin! Breaking the fate as mere tools, as spoken by Uncle Gel, even for Peak Knights!

Although the oldest does not necessarily mean the strongest, the mystery and power ceiling of the "Life Tree School" is undoubtedly top-notch!

But speaking of which, he has been practicing "White Sail Swordsmanship" since he was eight years old, and until now, at sixteen, he hasn't missed a day of training.

Knight Swordsmanship can be said to have grown together with his marrow and soul, separating it from the Knight's Path would be like cutting off half his life.

This was something Aiven was unwilling to accept.

Although somewhat greedy, he still wanted to study the possibility of dual cultivation. Aiven did not believe no predecessors in the endless history of the Extraordinary World had studied such problems...

In the worst-case scenario, Aiven could continue to explore the "Eagle Warrior Training Method" he had once seized from the New Continent Aboriginals, following the path of combining tattoos with physical strength, circumventing the influence of spiritual power.

After all, even in this world with countless Wizard Schools, in terms of knowledge reserve and professionalism in biological research, if his "Vitalist School" claimed second, who would dare claim first?

Even if others couldn't succeed, doesn't mean he couldn't!

However, regardless of his future choices, the "Breath of the Giant Beast," which was precious to others, was indeed useless for him.

"But I know someone who happens to need it!"

After dining with Anthony to celebrate in the evening, Aiven returned to his "Storm Horn," and looking towards the direction of New Inn Port's outskirts under the night, he murmured with a smile.