CHAPTER 61: CHAPTER 61: ADVANCEMENT

Herag looked at Larry and it seemed Larry had no intention of leaving.

If a war really breaks out, even an Official Wizard cannot avoid being dragged in.

"Me?" Larry laughed, "I’m just a logistics person. If it really comes to a fight, my knowledge of Magic Potions is far more useful than combat. If even I have to take the field, it means I should prepare to run away."

"Don’t Official Wizards also have to sign a contract with Moonlight Forest?" Herag felt that Larry didn’t seem to be bound by much.

"That’s the benefit of being a Master of Magic Potions! The contract I signed with Moonlight Forest is different from others. Strictly speaking, we’re just in an employment relationship, so I’m not that heavily constrained." Larry explained.

Herag suddenly understood: "I see."

This is the advantage of having expertise; seems like being specialized is appreciated everywhere.

"Next, I’ll tell you some things to pay attention to in the promotion process." Larry continued.

"There’s an old saying in the Wizard World: no promotion process is exactly the same. It means that when Wizards advance, all sorts of situations can arise, and you’ll need to use the knowledge you have to adapt and manage accordingly."

"Of course, you’re only promoting to Second-Class Wizard Apprentice, so you shouldn’t encounter many difficulties. Just remember that a Wizard’s most powerful weapon is always knowledge, which can solve most of your problems..."

...

After returning home, Herag spent two days digesting the experience Larry had taught him, then took out the Dawn Potion.

"Shenlan, begin comprehensive monitoring of the body’s state, prompt feedback if any issues arise during the promotion process."

"Task has been filed."

A 3D human model appeared in front of Herag, representing his current bodily state, with numerous parameters denoting his current physical condition beside it.

Herag removed the wooden stopper from the Dawn Potion, and a puff of purple mist emerged, spreading outward.

He tilted his head back and drank the pale purple liquid of the Dawn Potion, which tasted very bitter and slightly painful.

Once the Dawn Potion entered his body, it became a surge of energy that spread throughout.

"Heart rate accelerating, current heart rate: 157."

"Toxic substances have entered the body, causing damage, current damage degree 3%, stop promotion and dispel toxic substances?"

"Do not stop, continue."

...

Herag closed his eyes, knowing this was the effect of the potion and that he must not stop.

A layer of purple flames emerged from his body. The flames had no temperature and couldn’t ignite the clothes he was wearing.

"Current heart rate: 267."

"Body damage degree: 10%!"

"Gene chain is breaking..."

Herag’s current bodily state could be described as dire, yet he did not panic at all, remaining mentally stable.

"Gene chain is reorganizing..."

"Herag, look at what this is?" A woman’s voice came from behind, but Herag seemed not to hear and ignored it.

He ignored it, yet the voice did not cease; instead, it became more numerous and chaotic.

"The odd changes, not the even, look at the symbols and quadrants..."

"Wake up! They’re calling roll!"

...

Herag’s strong Spiritual Power kept him awake, focusing only on the promotion process.

Boom!

After an indefinite duration, Herag suddenly felt as if his head exploded.

"These are Wind Energy Particles, the red ones should be Fire Energy Particles, and the black ones... are Dark Energy Particles?"

Previously, Herag could only sense the Free Energy Particles in the surrounding space but couldn’t distinguish their attributes.

But now, he could clearly perceive the attribute of each Energy Particle.

"So, which type of energy particle is suitable for me?"

As a First-Class Wizard Apprentice advances to a Second-Class Wizard Apprentice, they sense one or more types of suitable energy particles for themselves.

Wizard Apprentices can absorb these Energy Particles into their bodies, continuously radiating and enhancing their Constitution.

Herag’s physical strength would increase continually with this radiation, making his own body somewhat radiant. At the Wizard Apprentice stage, this radiance wouldn’t significantly affect ordinary people, but having offspring with them would be difficult.

Meanwhile, Wizard Apprentices, when using Magic of the same attribute, will experience enhanced casting speed and spell strength.

This does not mean other spells can’t be learned; rather, magic from the particular attribute becomes much stronger.

Herag took a deep breath, commenced Meditation anew, and opened his hands to absorb the Energy Particles surrounding his body.

He no longer absorbed all Energy Particles indiscriminately, as he’d done previously, instead letting them congregate on his body surface. Those harmonizing with him automatically entered his body; those that didn’t floated on the surface.

"Turns out they’re Dark Energy Particles..."

Herag discovered the one attribute he attuned to was the Dark Energy Attribute Particles.

This is a type of advanced Energy Particle, subdivided into many sub-types such as Negative Energy Particles, Shadow Energy Particles... all belonging to the Dark Energy class.

"Looks like I will need to specialize in dark energy spells henceforth."

Wizard Apprentices can achieve greater effectiveness by specializing in the direction they naturally attune to, so many choose to pursue specialization, particularly upon reaching the stage of becoming a Third Class Wizard Apprentice, it becomes preparation for advancing to Official Wizard, demanding more specialization.

Herag’s previously met Rock seemed to be doing the same, specializing in Earth Element Magic, as the magic he utilized was primarily Earth-based.

"Current heart rate: 97."

"Body is gradually recovering..."

Herag felt his physical state starting to stabilize.

"Shenlan, check current bodily state."

"Herag Merlin: Power 3.0, Agility 3.1, Constitution 4.8, Spirit 11.0, Magic Power 40%."

Herag nodded: "Promotion succeeded, just as Mr. Larry said, with my current Spiritual Power the advancement to Second-Class Wizard Apprentice should be relatively effortless."

"Dark Energy Shield!" He cast a shield on himself to examine the post-promotion effects.

"Shenlan, how does the current Dark Energy Shield compare to before in strength?"

"After calculation, because most of the magic in this spell was composed of Dark Energy Particles, shield strength increased by 63%, Magic Power consumption decreased by 39%."

Herag contemplated: "No wonder Second-Class Wizard Apprentices start choosing specialization; this strength enhancement is significant. Spending one hundred percent effort yields one hundred and fifty percent return."

Having completed the promotion, he didn’t indulge in jubilance but sat steadily down to complete Meditation.

In his mind, there were six stars, and he needed to complete Meditation on four more stars to advance to Third-Class Wizard Apprentice.

Herag searched within the starry sky briefly, chose a star, and began meditating.

"Without the aid of Meteor Grass, the Meditation speed is considerably slower."

Herag had been utilizing Meteor Grass assistance for some time, and transitioning back was challenging given the slowed Meditation speed.

Meteor Grass was no longer useful for him at this stage, thus he needed to think of other ways to speed up Meditation thereafter.