Full-Time Magister: The Ruler of Wind and Rain

With a muffled bang, a plume of burnt black smoke billowed out from the crack in the blast door of the Qingtian Hunter's Basement.

Wang Yu pushed open the door, looking disheveled, still clutching a piece of star silver stone that had been completely ruined by elemental repulsion. His expression was even darker than the piece of scrap in his hand. He casually tossed this piece of scrap, which was originally worth 30,000 silver dollars, into the mountain of "failed products" piled up by the door.

"The 107th attempt failed as the magical energy circuit collapsed at the last moment."

Lingling was sitting on a high stool at the top of the stairs, holding a thick notebook in her hands. Without looking up, she drew a heavy line across it with a red pen. The little girl's tone was unusually cold today, making Wang Yu's teeth ache.

"Lingling, can we not remember this so clearly? Scientific research always requires a huge initial investment," Wang Yu said, wiping the soot off his face with a towel as he tried to defend himself.

"Scientific research?" Lingling closed the ledger, her bright eyes filled with a "you're just bragging" look. "In the past six months, you've burned through 12.4 million just buying star silver stones, alien bone powder, cloud gold, and all sorts of miscellaneous auxiliary smelting materials. Wang Yu, Wang Yu, where are your scientific research results? Even a basic mortal-level demon-slaying tool would be fine."

Wang Yu opened his mouth, but in the end, he could only sigh helplessly and plop down on the steps. He simply couldn't bring himself to talk about those achievements that didn't even qualify as magical artifacts.

Half a year flew by. After returning from Cangshan, he became obsessed, locking himself in the basement to practice his forging skills whenever he had free time. He originally thought that with his genius for science and engineering, plus the natural advantage of being a four-elemental mage, mastering magical tool forging would be a piece of cake.

As it turns out, the magical world has its own mysteries, which are not something that someone like Wang Yu could easily stumble upon by sheer luck.

Theory is theory, practice is practice. The book describes it as "smelting with lightning and fire, aided by light and wind, shaped by divine will, and quenched with water and ice," written in a lighthearted manner, but when you actually try it, you find it's incredibly difficult. One degree higher in temperature, and the material is ruined; one degree stronger in wind, and the circuit breaks. This more than ten million yuan spent on materials is less a research investment and more an expensive tuition fee, gone in the blink of an eye.

Fortunately, the experience was worthwhile. The forging process required not only precise control of the fire element but also the simultaneous release and maintenance of other spells. Sometimes, multitasking was not enough; one had to multitask to meet the demands. As a result, Wang Yu's cultivation level had not improved significantly in the past six months, but his proficiency in casting spells had increased considerably. To give a simple example, it used to take about a second to draw a wind trail, but now he had barely reached the level of a single thought of a star trail, which he could almost cast with a wave of his hand.

After taking a shower upstairs, Wang Yu headed straight for the training room at Pearl Academy. He had gained some insights during the crystal smelting process today and wanted to practice them in the magic training room.

The training rooms at Pearl Academy were very well-equipped, with sturdy barriers surrounding them. Wang Yu walked to the center of the field and took a deep breath.

"rise!"

Several light blue, prismatic glass-like objects suddenly appeared around the target. Upon closer inspection, they were discovered to be shields formed by the shaped Water Defense Circulation.

Oh right, nowadays, it should be called Tranquil Water, Water Control, and Circulation.

While maintaining his water defenses, Wang Yu used a technique he had devised to multitask, condensing a ball of fire in his hand.

"go!"

The fireball flew toward the gaps around the target that were not covered by the water shield. Just as it was about to hit the target, the light blue rhomboid shield took the initiative to meet it, neutralizing the fireball's attack. The originally restless fire element in the air was instantly soothed by the gentle water element.

"Again!" Wang Yu challenged himself. This time, crimson flames rose in his left hand, and azure wind blades condensed in his right hand. The two attack spells were thrown one after the other, but because the wind blades flew faster, they both arrived at the target at the same time.

At the critical moment, the two water shields once again took the initiative to meet the enemy, sacrificing their own disintegration to block the two attack spells.

Wang Yu, the instigator, smiled broadly. In fact, true multitasking for a mage means simultaneously drawing multiple spells, a talent that is extremely rare and powerful. What Wang Yu called multitasking was actually just maintaining one spell while drawing another, or "temporarily storing" one spell just before its release, turning to draw another spell, and finally releasing the two in succession.

Even though it's not quite the same as true innate talent, the combat skills Wang Yu has honed over the past six months are still quite valuable. Whether it's casting attack spells while maintaining defensive magic, or releasing two spells of the same type almost simultaneously, the resulting increase in combat power is enormous.

He practiced other techniques for a while, such as using ground waves to accelerate with wind rails, shaping storm waves to concentrate their destructive power, and throwing fireballs into the wind disc to increase the burning damage of the wind disc tornado. After completing a round of practice, his mana was mostly depleted. Feeling refreshed, Wang Yu stretched and returned to the Azure Sky Hunting Grounds.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he got back, Lingling told him some new news:

"Next month is the annual assessment for your Mingzhu Academy preparatory class. Your class teacher sent a notice in the group chat, so remember to check it later."

Wang Yu patted Lingling's head to express his gratitude, but Lingling snorted and shook him off. For the past six months, Wang Yu had often stayed in the basement for days on end, focusing intently on practicing forging. So, to avoid being unable to reach him in case of any urgent matters, Wang Yu asked Lingling to handle his messages.

Wang Yu opened his phone and checked the group notifications. In the Mingzhu Preparatory Class group, the homeroom teacher, Yu Xiujia, posted the following message:

"The annual assessment will begin on April 25th. The assessment will include Star Sense Stone cultivation and magic casting assessment. In addition, some senior students from the main campus will also be present. Students can challenge them on the spot as a bonus."

"The top 40% of students in this assessment will receive an additional three months of access to the Stardust Magic Artifact, the top 10% will receive access to the Stardust Magic Artifact for the entire year, and the top three will receive the qualification to enter the Three-Step Tower for cultivation. We hope that all students will show their talents in the assessment."

Oh, the Three-Step Tower again? The rewards are very generous. Wang Yu's eyes lit up when he heard these three words. Last time, entering the Three-Step Tower for a day helped him cross the threshold of the intermediate level. If he could go in to cultivate again this time, he would surely benefit greatly.

"Back to school tomorrow!" A fierce fighting spirit blazed in Wang Yu's eyes. "I'm going to get that spot in the Three-Step Tower! Anyone who tries to stop me, I'll chop them down!"

The long period of silence (skipping classes) has come to an end. It's time to come out of seclusion and make the Mingzhu Academy preparatory class remember Wang Yu's name again!