Nascent Soul Rebirth: Starting as a Wizard

He walked down the stairs, his footsteps fading into the distance.

In his office at the top of the control tower, Malcolm slowly put down the crystal probe in his hand.

He took off his glasses, rubbed his swollen nose bridge with his fingertips, and then looked out the window.

In the distance, the defensive wall on the north side cast long shadows in the morning light, with faint traces of repairs and dark stains visible on the wall—bloodstains that could not be washed away.

Of course he knew the answer.

For advanced apprentices, especially in the eyes of masters like Thane who only care about output numbers, the process is unimportant, the reasons are unimportant, and who is right and who is wrong is unimportant.

The important thing is the result: whether production is affected and whether the task is completed.

If production is delayed due to an apprentice's injury or death, he, as the foreman in charge of peripheral production, is the person primarily responsible.

The Plane of Giant Rock lacks everything: high-quality potions, core components of war golems, advanced spells, and even experienced knights.

But the one thing they never lacked was low-level wizard apprentices.

Jade Academy has recruited over a million people in the past six months. They are like standard parts on a production line; if one breaks, a new one is immediately brought in.

But what happens to the technicians responsible for maintaining the production line if the entire production line is shut down due to a damaged part?

Malcolm's breathing became heavy, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

Solo's words were undoubtedly a threat to him. Even if an "accident" did happen, a mid-level apprentice was far more prevalent than a senior knight.

If, as Solo claims, an accident occurred that resulted in an apprentice's injury or death, causing a production halt...

Malcolm recalled Master Thane's deep-set, perpetually bloodshot, yet sharp as a knife, and his unquestionable, results-oriented, and icy attitude when assigning tasks.

He shivered.

Ten days later, when the deep, rhythmic rumble, unlike any other earthquake, came from the distant mountains, Solo was inspecting the outer defenses.

It wasn't that his spiritual sense was actively probing—he remembered his lesson and, in this place where there might be the gaze of advanced apprentices or even formal wizards, he completely concealed the "spiritual sense" originating from the Xuanhuang Realm, daring not to release it outward in the slightest.

But a warning, stemming from a monk's instinct and almost intuitive, still pierced his brow like a cold needle.

It wasn't "seeing" or "hearing," but a natural sense of a vast, chaotic, and malevolent cluster of life energy, like a wild beast smelling its predator.

The tide... no, it was a tsunami.

Thousands of faint but dense life reactions rolled across the surface, hundreds of medium-sized units, as fiery as small furnaces, moved with earth-shaking strides, and several cores, emanating unstable energy disturbances, resembled moving energy nodules.

The most chilling tremor comes from deep beneath your feet—a heavy, sharp, and predatory pressure is cutting through the rock layers, rapidly approaching.

This feeling is already faintly touching the threshold of Foundation Establishment!

"Enemy attack—! All personnel, high alert!" Solo's voice drowned out the initial tremor and instantly spread throughout the surrounding area through a simple amplification array.

This was no drill; the oppressive feeling of the earth closing in made him break out in a cold sweat instantly.

The warning runestone emitted a blinding red light, and the piercing alarm tore through the usual production noise above the limestone base.

The entire outer area, like a steel behemoth awakened, began to rumble and operate.

Compared to ten days ago, there was less panic and more of a cold sense of order, honed by brutal training.

The troll slaves were the first to react.

These three hundred-odd green creatures, each over five meters tall, silently charged toward the weapon racks, grabbing the crude tower shields and heavy clubs that had been temporarily imbued with basic "Sturdy" and "Sharp" runes.

Their movements were much more synchronized than they had been a dozen days ago—under Solo's forced training, these creatures, who originally fought only on instinct, had at least learned to maintain formation.

"First rank! Advance!" the troll overseer roared, brandishing his whip.

Nearly three hundred trolls were divided into three waves and quickly formed a rough but solid battle line behind the pre-set low walls and simple bunkers.

The tower shields in their hands collided with each other, producing a dull thud, forming an undulating green wall.

At the same time, the defenses on the city walls were also activated.

The dozen or so junior apprentices in charge of production turned pale, but gritted their teeth and quickly handed over the rune wrenches or energy conduits they were controlling to their equally flustered companions.

"Hurry to the city wall! The firing positions can't be left undefended!" someone shouted.

The location they were heading towards was precisely those rune cannons and muskets that had been tested and adjusted over the past few days.

The weapon, once rusty and with dim runes, now gleams with a carefully repaired and enhanced glow at a crucial juncture.

The outer perimeter captain, Malcolm, had dark circles under his eyes, but his gaze was sharp. He was personally checking the energy circuits of the last few cannons—he had practically lived in the armory these past few days.

"All cannons, charge! Adjust sights to maximum range!" His roar echoed across the city walls.

On the city wall, forty-seven official knights were already in place.

Their armor now features simple impact-resistant runes, and the hammers and axes in their hands gleam with a cold light.

Most importantly, they no longer needed to be distracted by operating those cumbersome and inefficient defensive machines, allowing them to concentrate all their attention on the upcoming boarding action.

Solo's training is showing initial results: the knights are in front, responsible for close combat and barrier defense; the apprentices are in the middle, controlling mid-to-long-range runic weapons for fire coverage and precision strikes; and the trolls are at the rear, serving as the first line of defense and engineers.

A clear and efficient defensive line quickly took shape amidst the rapid yet orderly movement.

Solo's heart sank.

The information conveyed by the instinctive warning was too terrifying.

The scale of this impact far exceeds that of conventional "harassment".

Without hesitation, he activated the emergency communication runestone connecting the inner perimeter: "Outer perimeter Solo reports! Massive swarm of rock creatures attacking!"

The estimated number exceeds the Level 1 alert threshold by more than three times! Large crystallization signal detected! Requesting support from an intermediate-level tactical squad!

The rune lit up, and a detached response came from the inner perimeter communications officer: "Received, relayed. Maintain the defensive line. Reinforcements are on their way."

Without further ado, Solo could imagine how those arrogant inner circle apprentices would gossip about this "overreaction" plea for help.

He had no time to worry about that; his greater concern lay underground—with that terrifying presence rapidly approaching.

Reporting it directly as a "suspected near-Level 1 creature"? Where's the evidence? Just your inexplicable "instinctive premonition"? In the wizarding world, that would only be seen as cowardice or delusion.

He must wait until it truly appears, or... until it tears the defenses apart first.

The battle erupted suddenly when the rock creatures entered their maximum firing range of three thousand meters.