Wizard: My career panel has no upper limit

Chapter 208 The Death Singer

After tidying up the experimental equipment, Ron walked to another corner of the laboratory.

There is a specially made meditation mat there, which is used for daily practice.

This meditation mat is woven from a special material that can isolate external distractions while enhancing mental concentration.

Sitting cross-legged on the mat, Ron closed his eyes, released his mental energy, and carefully sensed his mental state.

His mental space has expanded several times compared to a few months ago.

The meditation technique from "The Star Eater's Ramblings" began to operate efficiently, and even during brief periods of deep meditation, he could feel his mental strength increasing.

That kind of growth is not a slow accumulation, but a continuous and obvious improvement.

Like a never-ending stream, it continuously flows into his spiritual ocean.

Especially since he mastered the technique of using "Erosion Symphony" to isolate himself from delirium, the efficiency of his meditation has increased by at least several times.

The interfering sound waves that once troubled him have now become his asset, like seizing the enemy's weapon to fight back.

"At this rate of development, reaching the critical point of 4.9 within three months should not be a problem."

Ron silently made calculations:

"I've been trying to get the 'Substitute Puppet' charged to 50% recently. I should also get a certain boost to my mental attributes when I change to a Witcher. The threshold to becoming a formal wizard is just around the corner."

But then he frowned and his expression became serious.

Despite the progress, the school's control over the "Key Potion" remains a significant obstacle.

This rare potion, essential for formal wizard advancement, has always been strictly controlled by various academic schools, serving as a crucial means of binding geniuses.

According to his understanding, unlike ordinary potions, the formula for the "Key Potion" is a top secret of each major school of thought.

Even many seasoned potion masters cannot know all of its contents.

After all, this is the only path that allows apprentices to advance to become full-fledged wizards, and it is an absolute strategic resource, an important means for major wizarding forces to maintain their governance.

The allocation of the "key" potion is decided once every ten years, and there are still more than two years until the next assessment.

"Two years...that's too long." Ron shook his head, a hint of impatience flashing in his eyes.
"I can't waste two years here waiting for that potion that I might get but might not get."

Moreover, while "The Star Eater's Ramblings" brought astonishing cultivation speed, it also produced extremely high levels of mental pollution.

Ron has begun to feel the effects of this pollution: occasional auditory hallucinations, brief periods of mental confusion, and even some strange dreams are all warning signs.

Although he had begun to use the "favors" offered by Lilia to purify the pollution, this method was only a temporary fix and could not fundamentally solve the problem.

Lilia's talent, "diligence can make up for lack of talent," makes the "blessings" she generates particularly pure and abundant, which is one of the reasons why Ron is willing to patiently teach her.

Even so, this method is only a temporary measure and cannot support long-term, high-intensity training.

Ron checked the status of the Time Guardian's pocket watch and found that its energy level had reached the maximum of 50/50. This discovery surprised him slightly.

"The energy level has been increased again?" He began to carefully check the energy flow of the pocket watch.

Since acquiring the pocket watch, he had been careful with its energy and had never seen it fully restored.

"The experience of passing through the space gate of the bloodline altar may have given the pocket watch some kind of power."

Ron pondered, a flash of realization crossing his eyes: "Spatial distortion and the difference in the flow of time. This seems to be related to the essential characteristics of a pocket watch."

As a semi-independent space, the Bloodline Altar has a different time flow than the outside world, and this time difference may have triggered the pocket watch's self-recovery mechanism.

"But even so, it's not enough to sustain a two-year wait."

Ron shook his head and carefully put the pocket watch away. "The pocket watch has limited energy, and the recharging method is unknown. There's no guarantee when it will be able to increase its limit again."

After Valen left, immediately visit Mrs. Allen to learn about the "method to advance to a formal wizard without relying on the school's universal 'key potion'".

This may be a freer, but also more dangerous, path; however, for Ron, risk often means greater reward.

Whether he succeeds or not, he intends to go to the Central Lands.

There are broader resources, deeper knowledge, and more opportunities there.

While schools of thought in peripheral regions, such as the Black Mist School, may be a good starting point for beginners, they are ultimately too limiting for those who truly pursue the pinnacle.

As for the workshop
Ron pondered how to arrange things.

Dyer and Ailan naturally had to be taken along.

After undergoing their own unique bloodline modulation, they have formed a special connection with him, almost an extension of his existence, so there is absolutely no need to worry about betrayal.

As an ancient tree spirit, Ailan can not only communicate with plants, but also sense the energy fluctuations around her, making her a natural early warning system.

In addition, her vine defenses, which act like a living barrier, can provide extra protection in dangerous situations.

Dyer also possesses similar characteristics.

She has now advanced to a pure-blooded siren of the Golden Ring, possessing not only powerful water element control abilities, but also the ability to use her enchanting song, which can become a turning point at crucial moments.

Moreover, their non-human, special physical constitution makes them more... well, more easily carried.

As Ailan mentioned before, in extreme cases, she can curl herself into a vine ball about half a meter in size and enter a hibernation state with minimal energy consumption, which is very convenient to put into her space bag.

But Lilia
Ron sighed softly, his brow furrowed.

This diligent student, despite his outstanding performance, found it difficult to follow him to the central lands.

First, she has a personal bond with the Black Mist School, which needs to be formally dissolved;
Secondly, the journey to the Central Lands is fraught with unknowns, and he himself may not be able to fully cope with it, let alone protect an ordinary apprentice.

Moreover, Lilia's talent of "making up for lack of talent through hard work" is indeed precious.

However, in actual combat, the opponent's combat strength is still limited.

After all, she was a pure human being, without the inhuman qualities of Dale and Alan.

"I'll ask Mrs. Allen later," Ron decided.
"With Lilia's talent for 'making up for lack of talent' and her attitude towards learning, she might become the new head of the school in a few years. The lady doesn't seem to dislike her very much..."

After finishing his meditation, he prepared to get up and leave the laboratory.

He quickly walked out of the laboratory, locked the door, and made sure that the hazardous materials inside would not leak out.

The night was deep, and the workshop was quiet.

Ron returned to his room and drifted off to sleep amidst a multitude of thoughts.

However, even in his dreams, those thoughts about future plans lingered in his mind.

The next morning, Ron completed his routine meditation and bloodline activation exercises as usual.

Then I spent another hour practicing the spells "Flowing Barrier" and "Radiant Ring".

The Black Mist Forest was still shrouded in a light mist in the early morning. Ron arrived at the workshop's training ground early to begin his daily spell practice.

This is his unwavering habit; no matter what hardships or surprises he experienced the day before, he sticks to it as naturally as breathing.

He stretched out his right hand, palm up, and a ball of golden light gradually condensed within it.

It started as small as a match head, then quickly expanded to form a halo about 30 centimeters in diameter.

The surface of the halo is covered with fine energy patterns, each pattern shimmering with a faint but steady light, like a flowing golden river.

"The Ring of Radiance, Transformation of Form—The Sphere of Light."

As Ron whispered, the halo suspended in the air suddenly contracted, instantly condensing into a radiant golden sphere.

The surface of the sphere is no longer simply smooth, but covered with textures like the surface of the sun.

The textures changed constantly with the flow of energy, as if they were alive.

Ron's forehead was slightly sweaty, his mental energy was concentrated to the extreme, and each transformation required precise control of magic.

"Form Transformation - Light Spear".

The ball of light stretched and deformed in accordance with the thought, quickly transforming into a light spear about one meter long.

The spearhead was extremely sharp, gleaming with a chilling light, as if it could pierce through any defense.

Ron's breathing remained steady, but his heartbeat was quietly accelerating.

Each transformation consumes mental energy, but compared to the exhaustion he felt when he first started learning, he is now much more relaxed.

"Morphological transformation - light whip".

Guided by his mind, the light spear quickly transformed into a flexible light whip about three meters long, which danced nimbly in the air, emitting a slight buzzing sound.

Ron controlled the light whip, drawing a graceful arc in the air before lashing it sharply at the wooden stake ahead.

"Snapped!"

The moment the light whip made contact with the wooden stake, a bright spark flew out.

A deep burn mark remained on the wooden stake, the charred scar emitting the smell of burnt wood.

Ron remained expressionless, but a hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.

He then tried various different forms—light shield, light arrow, light net, and even a complete lightsaber.

Each transformation is smoother than the last, and energy loss is decreasing.

He felt the bond between himself and the Ring of Radiance spell growing stronger, like the unspoken understanding between longtime friends.

This feeling is something beginners cannot understand. Only when one approaches mastery of a spell can one experience this wonderful state of perfect harmony with the spell.

"I've almost mastered the control of the Ring of Radiance."

Ron nodded in satisfaction, feeling the light in his hand change at will. A slight smile appeared on his lips, but he quickly regained his composure.
"However, we still need to continue to improve the conversion speed. In actual combat, even a one-second delay can be fatal."

[Radiant Ring Experience +1] [Current Progress: Radiant Ring (Proficiency 87/100)]

"Next, 'flowing wall protection'."

Ron withdrew his light element and instead summoned a semi-transparent energy barrier.

The barrier was pale blue and flowed around him like water, ready to meet any attack.

"Increase the intensity."

He activated the pre-programmed attack golem.

The golem began throwing various objects at him—from pebbles to metal darts, with increasing force and speed.

The characteristics of "flowing wall protection" lie in its plasticity and adaptability.

Ordinary shields are usually fixed in shape and have different effects against different types of attacks.

The "flowing protective barrier" can automatically adjust its density and shape according to the nature of the attack, maximizing the defensive effect.

"Your memory function is becoming more and more perfect." Ron nodded in satisfaction.

This adaptability is the core value of "flow wall protection".

It can not only adapt to different attack methods, but also "remember" the attack patterns it has encountered before.

To be able to respond faster and more effectively to similar attacks in the future.

But Ron's ambitions don't stop there.

He began experimenting with adding an active counterattack function to the barrier, enabling it not only to passively defend but also to actively reflect attack energy.

He adjusted the energy structure of the protective wall, attempting to add an energy reflection layer without compromising its stability, in an effort to "convert and feedback" energy.

This is an extremely challenging improvement that requires a delicate balance of energy.

If the reflective layer is too strong, it will weaken the basic defensive capabilities of the protective barrier.

If the counterattack is too weak, the effect will be insignificant.

Finding this balance point is key to this attempt.

After trying various constructions, Ron finally found a relatively ideal balance—adding an extremely thin "elastic membrane" to the outermost layer of the protective wall.

The rebound function will only be activated when the external force exceeds a certain threshold.

This way, the basic defensive capabilities of the protective barrier will not be affected, and it can also be used to counterattack when subjected to strong attacks.

[Experience points for flowing wall protection +1]

While controlling the protective barrier to defend against attacks, Ron pondered how to further improve the spell.

"If we can increase energy density while maintaining fluidity, we might be able to create the effect of 'liquid armor'."

With this in mind, he tried to change the energy structure of the protective barrier to make it fit the body's contours better, while increasing the local energy density.

The protective barrier then became thicker, but its fluidity decreased.

"The balance point still needs adjustment." Ron frowned in thought.
"Perhaps we can learn from the Blood Knight's 'Life Burst' technique to establish a resonance circuit between energy and the body, which can be considered a fusion of magic and bloodline power."

Ron secretly noted down this idea, preparing to study it in detail later.

[Experience points for flowing wall protection +1]

[Current Progress: Flowing Wall (Proficiency 55/100)]

Halfway through the training, he felt mentally exhausted, so he took out a small bottle of homemade mental stabilizing solution and took a sip.

The cool sensation immediately spread from my throat to my whole body, and my mental energy flowed more smoothly.

"Continue, 'sonic oscillation'."

Ron took a deep breath, and his mental energy flowed along a specific path, creating subtle vibrations in the air.

Because it was just basic practice, he didn't add any erosion abilities, and adding erosion to the sound wave vibrations actually took a lot of energy out of him.

As mental energy was injected, visible ripples began to appear in the air, spreading outward from Ron's palm.

The ripples carry vibrations at a specific frequency, distorting the air along their path and forming an invisible but extremely destructive shockwave.

"boom!"

The wooden stake opposite was hit by the sound wave, and spider web-like cracks immediately appeared on its surface, with tiny wood chips flying everywhere.

[Sonic Oscillation Experience Points +1]

[Current Progress: Sonic Oscillation (Proficient 92/100)]

After a short rest, he remembered "Abyssal Echo," which Oliver and Cynthia could only use when they were in their awakened state.

Abyssal Echoes can not only damage physical forms, but also directly affect the target's mental state, bringing fear, confusion, and even temporary mental disorder.

"If the properties of 'Erosion Symphony' and 'Echoes of the Abyss' could be combined, the destructive and corrosive effects would be doubled."

A flicker of excitement crossed Ron's eyes; it was a bold idea.

But if successful, it will further amplify the destructive power of his already highly penetrating corrosive sound waves.

But reality quickly pulled him back—

"However, this requires a deeper understanding of the Abyss and more precise control over the babbling."

He frowned in thought, his fingertips unconsciously stroking his chin:

"My current mental strength is probably not enough to support such a complex fusion spell, and I don't have any means to reproduce that abyssal echo right now."

It is inherently highly corrosive and unstable. Without sufficient mental strength to buffer and control it, attempting to manipulate it is tantamount to playing with fire and getting burned.

Moreover, whether the fusion between Abyssal Echoes and Starry Whispers can exist stably is itself a theoretical problem.

"Perhaps it would be more prudent to try this fusion after becoming a formal wizard and perfecting my own unique spells."

Ron decided to put the idea on hold for the time being, but kept it in mind as one of the directions for his future efforts:

"Heh, a sound wave that is invisible and intangible yet causes people to bleed black blood, go mad, and die—perhaps I can earn the title of 'Death Singer' in the future?"

As the sun rose higher, Ron finished his practice and took a short break.

Every wisp of magic within his body was protesting slightly, but this fatigue gave him a strange sense of satisfaction, a testament to his progress.

Every breakthrough in magic, every refinement of skill, lays a more solid foundation for the future path of a wizard.

A truly powerful wizard is not defined by how many spells they know, but by their deep understanding and creative application of each spell.

As recorded in The Apprentice's Ladder: "Mastering one spell is better than being familiar with a hundred. A true master only needs three or five spells to deal with all kinds of changes."

Mastery of each spell will create a specific "thought circuit" in the caster's mental world.

The stronger and more complete these circuits are, the more powerful the spells will be, the faster the casting speed will be, and the higher the energy utilization efficiency will be after becoming a formal wizard.

Apprentices who only focus on the quantity of spells but neglect their quality often find themselves in trouble at crucial moments.

When they need to cast spells quickly, a chaotic thought process can severely slow down their response and even cause the spell to break down.

After putting away his spellcasting medium, Ron gave a final check on his spell's progress.

"Radiant Ring" and "Sonic Oscillation" are both close to mastery level, while "Flowing Barrier" is at the mid-proficiency level.

As for the old friend "Slime Splash", it has reached its maximum experience value, but it has hardly been used recently.

His goal was clear—once he had mastered all the core spells, he could begin to try to become a full-fledged wizard.

Just then, Ailan gracefully walked into the training field.

Her steps were extremely light, almost silent, but through a special mental link, Ron immediately sensed her presence.

That body, which was once curled up like a vine, now takes on a form almost indistinguishable from that of a human woman.

Her tall figure was wrapped in "clothing" cleverly woven from vines and petals, swaying slightly as she walked, showing off her graceful figure.

"Master, a guest has arrived."

The tree spirit's voice was soft and clear, like the rustling of leaves in the wind: "It's Miss Trish."

Ron raised an eyebrow slightly and put down the casting medium he was using for the experiment.

Trish's visit was somewhat unexpected, especially since the Bloodline Altar Trial had just ended.

"Please invite her to the meeting room, I'll be right there."

He nodded in acknowledgment, and at the same time used magic to gently wipe away the sweat and dust from his body, marking the end of his long practice session.

As a senior apprentice, these small skills were already his basic abilities, and could be considered as advance practice for more refined magical control after becoming a formal wizard.

After quickly tidying his clothes, Ron put on a long robe, which was his standard attire when receiving guests.

The robe was embroidered with a few purple patterns, without much decoration, which showed the owner's introverted personality.

He strode through the corridor and arrived at the reception room.

Trish was already sitting there, sipping the floral tea served on the vine.

Her gaze followed the direction in which the vines stretched, and she was clearly stunned when she saw the tree spirit not far away.

Those brown eyes widened, unable to hide their surprise:

"Is this Ailan?"

(End of this chapter)