Wizards begin by accessing the Inspiration panel.

Chapter 226 Talent Abilities

Stephena is a typical example of someone who successfully achieved a breakthrough by artificially enhancing her Spider Woman aptitude.

Logically speaking, this situation of successfully breaking through to become a formal wizard by increasing bloodline concentration should be one of the best breakthrough scenarios. So it's no wonder that Richard has such high expectations for Stephena's innate wizardry, or rather, her spell-like abilities.

"Yes, Master. I'll begin the demonstration now." Stephania smiled slightly and immediately began her demonstration.

She was overjoyed and came to Richard to report on her promotion. A key reason for this was that Stephanie wanted to show Richard her newly acquired talent.

It's reminiscent of a child who gets a perfect score on a test and excitedly runs to their parents to show off their perfect score.

Stephena may not have realized it herself, but subconsciously she really wanted to gain her master Richard's approval.

Before Richard and Fana's very eyes, Stephania's body had turned into a shadow.

Richard and Fana could clearly see that Stephanie, who had been standing in front of them, had now become a blurry shadow.

Strangely, neither of them could perceive the other person standing in front of them at all, even on a spiritual level.

Richard and Fana exchanged a surprised glance and exclaimed in unison, "This is... Shadow Transformation?!"

"Hiss!" Richard couldn't help but click his tongue.

He had anticipated that, given Stephena's top-tier spider-woman talent, there was a high probability that she would acquire a very good talent ability, but he never expected it to be such an extremely rare talent—witchcraft or a spell-like ability.

Richard thought for a moment and then recalled the information about shadow transformations in his mind.

Shadow Transformation allows the caster's physical form to leave the real world and enter the shadow realm. In this state, the caster cannot attack enemies in the real world, nor can they be harmed from the real world.

If a regular shadow wizard were to learn this spell, the requirements for the caster would be extremely high; it is rare to hear of a high-level first-tier wizard being able to cast this spell.

Seven or eight seconds later, the blurry shadow began to slowly become clear, and soon, Stephanie reappeared in front of Richard and Fana with a smile.

At this point, the light and shadow they saw corresponded to their perception. Clearly, only after Stephania emerged from the shadows and returned to the real world could she be perceived.

"Stephena, I never imagined you could awaken this talent! It's amazing!"

Richard exclaimed in sincere admiration.

"Master, it seems that my talent has other uses." Stephania glanced shyly at Fana, but took the initiative to step forward and reach out her fair and delicate hand to hold Richard's hand.

Just as Richard was still in a daze, wondering why Stephanie was holding his hand, suddenly, he and Stephanie transformed into a special beam of light and shadow and stepped into the world of shadow.

The feeling was strange, as if I were inside a membrane, from which I could clearly see the people and things in the real world, but I knew very well that it was the world outside the membrane.

However, Richard could not stay in this shadow world for long, because he could feel that his body was being constantly eroded by shadow energy, which seemed to be trying to assimilate him into some kind of shadow creature.

Richard turned to look to the side and saw Stephanie smiling at him.

Meanwhile, Fana in the garden stared in disbelief at the scene. Even a first-level wizard could only cast the Shadow Transformation spell on himself.

Stephena's talent is a bit too overpowered; she can even bring someone along!

A few seconds later, Stephanie brought Richard back to the real world from the shadows. However, the moment she returned, she staggered slightly, and her complexion turned from rosy to pale.

"Stephena, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Master." Stephania's slightly pale face was filled with a happy smile.

Although her mental energy was greatly depleted, the surprised expressions of her master Richard and Fana made Stephanie feel overjoyed, filled with a sense of happiness from being recognized.

After a moment's thought, Richard had a basic understanding of Stephena's innate ability.

It seems that this talent ability, even if it only lasts for a few seconds, is still too much for Stephana at the moment.

However, Richard's eyes still held an undisguised joy.

Regarding the duration of the shadow transformation, he believed it would naturally increase as Stephania's mental strength improved.

The main reason is that this talent is extremely rare.

From any perspective, this ability is far superior to the defensive talents of ordinary sorcery.

Typical defensive talent spells have a limit to their defensive power, but Stephana's Shadow Transformation doesn't have this problem.

In the future, if Stephana encounters a dangerous situation or faces witchcraft that she cannot resist from her enemies, she can choose to hide directly in the shadow plane.

Come back after the danger or the opponent's trump card has passed.

Secondly, if Stephana, as his follower, were to fight alongside him, he would essentially have an additional, excellent defensive magic spell.

Of course, it's not to say that the spell of shadow transformation is completely without flaws.

Being in the shadow dimension, unable to locate enemies in the real dimension, obviously means being unable to launch a counterattack.

Furthermore, if the enemy has specific targeted witchcraft, it can be easily broken or used to attack Richard and his servant, who are in the shadow dimension.

At that moment, Fana, standing to the side, was looking on with envy at the delighted Richard.

She has her own followers, but even the most talented one is only at the limit of a third-level wizard apprentice, who is her current butler. However, she still needs to find some opportunities to advance to a full wizard.

For most wizards, it's already quite good if a first-level wizard's follower can reach the level of a third-level apprentice.

After all, it's extremely rare for anyone to choose to become a follower of someone else after successfully becoming a full-fledged wizard.

Either the other party is a level two archmage.

Or perhaps there are elements of gratitude or repaying kindness mixed in with it.

"Stephena, you've given me a wonderful surprise today. However, since you've just been promoted, you should take your time to adjust to these physical changes."

"After some time, when you use your innate witchcraft again, the situation should be much better than it is now."

Richard looked at Stephanie with satisfaction and offered encouragement.

However, when he caught a glimpse of Fana smiling and watching him and Stephanie out of the corner of his eye, Richard suddenly remembered that Fana had come to see him.

"By the way, Fana, did you want me to make some kind of potion?"

"Yes, but it's not that I need it, it's that you might need it."

Fana looked at Richard playfully and said.

Richard raised an eyebrow, finding it interesting, and gestured for Fana to continue.

"This morning, the Tug City authorities, in conjunction with major wizarding organizations, officially issued a warrant for the arrest of members of the Azure Flame Cult, deacons, priests, and bishops," Fana said slowly.

Richard nodded. He really didn't know that. He hadn't had time to go to the Grey Dwarf Brotherhood headquarters today and had been staying in the alchemy room. However, he had expected that the Azurefire Cult would be targeted for a major crackdown.

Not to mention that the deaths of Disol and Gorkan were directly caused by Nicol of the Azure Flame Cult, the breaking of the seal on the Scorched Earth Secret Realm was also closely related to them.

It's unclear whether the Bihuo cult was behind this or if other cults were involved!

"Then, unexpectedly, this morning outside Tug City, the city guards and the Azure Flame Cult had several battles. The demand for some combat potions and alchemical bombs has increased significantly. I saw a mission where the condition was to exchange one kilogram of mimicry metal for ten bottles of firepower potions."

"Fana, are you sure it's mimicry metal?"

Richard was slightly taken aback; he could hardly believe that he had encountered such a good thing.

He was familiar with fire-generating potions; making them was no problem for him at all.

In contrast, biomimetic metal is much more meaningful to me. My wristband is made of biomimetic metal, but it only weighs a little over 700 grams.

Moreover, after yesterday's battle, I lost my Frost Guardian and currently don't have any suitable weapons. If I could get enough mimic metal, the problem of melee weapons would naturally be solved.

Just as Richard was about to head to headquarters to receive his mission, he saw Fana smiling beside him and suddenly realized something.

"Fana, does this mean you've already accepted this mission?"

"Smart, I'll take it. I was going to ask if you knew how to make fire-making potions, but judging from your expression, you definitely do, so I won't bother anyone else."

"Of course, Fana, thank you!"

Fana's words immediately reminded Richard that he needed to go to the mission hall, as it might bring him some surprises.

Just as Richard was thanking Fana, he suddenly noticed out of the corner of his eye that Stephania had been right behind him the whole time and hadn't left.

Moreover, judging from her expression, Stephanie seemed hesitant to speak, so Richard couldn't help but ask in confusion:

"Stephena, is there something you need?"

"This... Master, it seems... I have another talent ability." Stephania fluttered her big eyes as she looked at Richard.

"What?" Fana exclaimed in surprise.

Although she had heard that individuals of certain races with very pure bloodlines would spontaneously awaken innate magical or spell-like abilities upon advancement, even the offspring of the Grey Dwarf royal family, as far as she knew, often only possessed one innate ability, which was the relatively common petrification magic.

Not only is it a whole level inferior to Stephena's Shadow Transformation, but the problem is that Stephena actually awakened a talent ability.

A single shadow transformation is already quite exaggerated!

Whatever Stephanie's second talent is, it still puts her miles ahead of the Grey Dwarf royal family's offspring!

It's true what they say, comparisons are the thief of joy!

Richard stared at Stephanie with shining eyes, gripping her arms tightly and shaking them forcefully: "Why didn't you say so sooner?"

Stephania looked at Richard with an innocent expression, her beautiful, watery eyes seeming to say, "I just haven't had a chance to say it yet. You and Fana are talking, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to interrupt."

"What's your other talent? Show us quickly."

Richard stopped dwelling on the details and urged him on.

"Master, I also have another talent spell: summoning little spiders from the shadow realm."

With a gentle wave of her hand, Stephania unleashed a black light, and dozens of fist-sized Shadow Spiders appeared beneath her feet.

Richard and Fana immediately began to carefully observe the little spiders in the Shadow Realm.

These little spiders were quite agile, scurrying around at Stephanie's feet. However, under Stephanie's command, they quickly formed a large circular web, evenly distributed throughout Fana's villa.

The Spider-Man of the Shadow Realm was something Richard had only heard of before. It was a type of spider that lived on the edge of the Shadow Realm and the real world. It had low combat power, but it had the talent of Shadow Cloaking, which allowed it to avoid most of the damage.

but

"A maid is coming over from the left side of the corridor soon."

"Fingart is resting in his room."

"The cold dishes have already been set out in the dining hall."

"."

Stephena recounted, as if reciting a familiar story, everything that Spider-Man had discovered.

"Stephena, you've given me so many surprises!" Richard exclaimed.

Stephena's ability doesn't seem to be primarily for combat. While these little spiders do possess decent fighting capabilities, using them for combat would be a waste of their potential.

These little creatures can be distributed over a relatively wide area according to Stephana's will, and within this area, the caster can better detect danger and provide early warnings.

Stephena's talent is more for support than combat, at least that's what Richard thinks.

Initially, Richard gave Stephena the Spider Woman's bloodline in the hope that it would give her some self-defense capabilities, but now it seems that the result has far exceeded his expectations.

-

That afternoon, Richard received the mimicry metal that Fana had traded for ten bottles of firepower potion.

Richard transformed it into a wrist guard on his right hand, thus making up for the weapon deficiency left by the loss of the Ice Guardian.

In this way, Richard can freely combine two swords or a sword and shield according to the actual needs of the battle.

However, acquiring the mimicry metal did not significantly enhance Richard's strength; it only provided a slight improvement.

Richard's thoughts returned to the complex Black Dragon Bloodline; the crystals remained a pressing issue.

Even including the loot from the waist pouches obtained from the two gray-robed men, Richard currently possesses 6/27 Flame Crystals and 1/9 Flame Essence, leaving him with a significant shortage.

(End of this chapter)