CHAPTER 67: CHAPTER 67: THE FEMALE NEIGHBOR

In Duke’s perception, the most free energy particles were still water elemental particles, along with some other types.

He tried to absorb other types of free energy particles, and indeed, the speed was somewhat slower.

Duke wasn’t anxious, he absorbed various types of free energy particles slowly, no longer focusing solely on the water elemental particles.

This approach slowed down his meditation speed a bit, but it would be better for his future development.

Otherwise, if he kept absorbing only water elemental particles, his constitution would gradually adapt only to those particles, narrowing his path.

In the morning, Duke opened his eyes, ending a night of meditation practice.

[Deep Blue Tide Meditation Technique: Level 1 (142/1000)]

He glanced at the skill tree, and his spiritual power was still at 10.1, with no noticeable increase in value.

But Duke could clearly feel that his spiritual power was indeed stronger than before; the effects of meditation were quite evident.

There was also some magic power flowing within him, accumulated through his recent meditation practice.

Duke opened the door, and a cool breeze blew in, feeling very refreshing.

The wind carried a hint of saltiness from the sea surrounding the island.

Duke stood at the door and stretched, moving his muscles and bones.

Just then, the door next door opened, and a male wizard came out, seeming a bit embarrassed seeing Duke, and hurried away.

Behind the door was a female witch apprentice in a camisole, her long hair draped over her shoulders, her fair skin was vaguely visible through the door gap, seemingly not wearing pants.

The female wizard glanced at Duke, winked at him, and even deliberately widened the door gap to reveal the scene inside, before gently closing the door after a moment.

Duke watched this scene, reflecting on it, feeling something was off as the two didn’t seem to be in a couple relationship.

He didn’t think too much, had some cold bread, and then began practicing the Breathing Technique.

Duke now practiced the Breathing Technique mainly to train his body, as he could no longer gain mastery from it; it had just become a habit for him.

After becoming a wizard apprentice, his training time was greatly reduced; whether it was meditation or reading, both required him to stay in one place for a long time, and occasional activity was also beneficial for his body.

After training, Duke was about to pick up that thick "Magic Basic Theory" for study when someone knocked on the door.

He opened the door and found that the female witch apprentice from next door was standing at the door, dressed only in a white bath towel, the towel positioned low, fully revealing her voluptuousness.

"Hello, sorry to bother you, my water suddenly ran out at home, can I borrow your bathroom?" the female witch apprentice said softly.

"No!" Duke immediately closed the door.

Of course, he wouldn’t let a complete stranger into his room, especially since the other party was a wizard apprentice, who knows what means she might have.

Duke was not someone driven by lust; he cared more about his own safety.

More importantly, he could tell this neighbor might not be very clean, and he couldn’t possibly let her use his bathtub, what if he caught something?

At the door, Hanna was a bit dumbfounded; she had prepared many follow-ups, but didn’t expect Duke to shut the door so directly, with no chance to say more.

She knocked on the door again, but there was no response; reluctantly, she had to return to her room barefoot.

...

After closing the door, Duke was still recalling the recent events, only feeling relieved after confirming nothing was done by the neighbor.

He could roughly guess what this neighbor intended to do; such things were common among wizard apprentices.

Wizardry practice required resources, and those without background or talent often lived difficult lives as wizard apprentices.

Many female witch apprentices would often depend on wizards with backgrounds and strength to gain more resources.

Within Black Sail, there were quite a few official wizards doing such things, some having dozens of female witch apprentices under them, nominally as students, but everyone was aware of the underlying murkiness.

Those unable to find someone to depend on could only occasionally earn some money like this female witch next door.

The life of wizards was even more decadent than what Duke previously knew of nobility, and due to their long lifespan, ordinary stimuli lost their novelty to many wizards.

He had heard many outrageous tales in just the past few days, and could only think these wizards played too wildly.

He shook his head, clearing these thoughts from his mind, and picked up that book on Magic Basic Theory to study.

The book contained a lot of content but was also very fundamental, quite friendly for wizard apprentices like Duke with zero foundation.

Spells that can be mastered at the wizard apprentice stage are called lesser spells, above which are Level 1 Magic, Level 2 Magic, and so on.

The brass ring’s enchantment on Duke’s hand was a lesser spell, and all spells enchanted on demonized items were lesser spells.

Artifacts capable of enchanting Level 1 Magic were called witchcraft artifacts, much stronger than demonized items, with powerful capabilities.

Duke currently only needed to focus on lesser spells, yet even lesser spells vastly differ.

He noticed a new concept involved here, that of magic model complexity.

Every magic has its magic model, and a wizard must successfully solidify the magic model in their mind to master that magic.

The complexity of the model is measured in units of N, with N1 being the simplest magic.

For example, the most commonly used communication magic, Wizard’s Mark, has a complexity of N1. The book uses this magic as a demonstration to explain some basic operational principles of magic.

The most common elemental magic involves using one’s magic power and spiritual power as a driving force to mobilize surrounding elemental particles to unleash powerful elemental magic.

But elemental magic is just one category among many wizard spells; other types of magic have significant differences, which Duke couldn’t access for now.

For instance, the Rubber Purple Man Spell used by Reagan that Duke saw earlier required casting materials to perform, and its underlying principles were much more complex, involving numerous knowledge domains.

Unknowingly, Duke spent an entire day reading, yet he only got through a dozen pages, while the book was over a thousand pages long.

He found no new branches appearing on the skill tree, indicating Magic Basic Theory couldn’t be considered a skill.

Duke thought for a moment, possibly because such knowledge-based content could only serve as accumulation and foundation, not an ability that could be immediately utilized, hence not reflected on the skill tree.

But he wasn’t too worried; as long as he increased his levels in spells and meditation techniques, experience and knowledge would naturally emerge in his mind.