Wizards begin with Occlumency.

Chapter 14 Tools and Techniques

The currency used among wizards is magic stones.

However, the main continent has a large population, and not everyone is a wizard. There are still a large number of ordinary people, and gold and silver currencies are still in use.

The Quetzal Islands do not have the capacity to issue their own currency; all the currency in circulation is transported from the mainland.

Therefore, the gold and silver coins that Mrs. Grand gave to Link can also be used in the service building.

Link had only been to the living service building once, so he wasn't very familiar with the four-story building and only knew its general layout.

The first floor mainly serves restaurants. Some newly rich kids from aristocratic backgrounds who can't get used to the cafeteria's communal food, but have some money in their pockets, will come here to improve their meals.

The second floor specializes in selling various smart devices, such as intelligent mechanical puppets and portable smart brains.

Not all new recruits receive a personal smart brain from the academy free of charge from the large aircraft, yet this personal smart brain is indispensable for their life and studies at the academy.

Therefore, for those newcomers who didn't get the free portable smart brain and didn't have any money in their pockets, the second-floor specialty store launched a smart brain loan...

The third floor houses a large bookstore.

The library mainly contains popular, basic books, with very few books and materials covering advanced knowledge.

Many excellent books that contain advanced and extended knowledge can only be purchased from bookstores.

The price is naturally not attractive at all.

The fourth floor houses all kinds of shops, with a wide variety of goods, but also a mixed bag of products.

Shopping here really tests your eyesight.

Link's needs were clear: a small, portable weapon that could harm second-class wizard apprentices, and even third-class wizard apprentices.

There are many weapons that meet this requirement, mainly rune weapons, and even witchcraft weapons.

Rune weapons, or more accurately, rune items, are ordinary items with runes added to them, giving them special attributes and enabling them to perform special functions.

However, a few scattered and unsystematic runes cannot bring about a qualitative change in an item, so they cannot be called magical artifacts. Their effects are limited, and they are not accepted by formal wizards.

Wizard apprentices and some mortal nobles quite like to use rune items.

Link was short of money and naturally couldn't afford the magical artifacts that could only be purchased with magic stones, so he could only limit his options to rune weapons.

Looking around, Link spotted a Spellbreaker crossbow in a secondhand shop.

Whether they are about to be promoted to second-class wizard apprentices or have already been promoted to third-class wizard apprentices, they have not completely escaped the realm of mortal flesh. If they are hit in a vital spot by a crossbow bolt, they will be seriously injured or even die directly.

The magic-breaking attribute of crossbow bolts is specifically designed to counter magic spells such as shields and armor.

After some difficult haggling, Link finally bought the second-hand Spellbreaker Crossbow, which came with three bolts, for 2 gold coins and 50 silver coins.

He acquired the crossbow and equipped it immediately.

This is what they mean by "a ruthless person who doesn't talk much".

If you have designs on me, I'm not afraid to kill you.

Back in his dorm, Link planned out several scenarios for using the hidden crossbow, such as setting up an ambush, launching a surprise attack, or turning the tables after being knocked down...

After practicing several times and becoming familiar with how to fire crossbow bolts at the most tricky angles and the fastest speeds in these scenarios, Link finally stopped, satisfied.

Wash up, change clothes, meditate.

For wizard apprentices, meditation is the most important means of increasing their strength.

Only through daily perseverance can one make progress.

Link activated "Brain Lock Technique," sinking his consciousness into his sea of ​​consciousness. He swapped the real and illusory relationship between the equilateral triangle of the rune and its reflection. Then, he condensed his mental energy into threads, first tracing the derived rune located at the top corner, then moving to the bottom left corner to trace the water element affinity rune, then moving to the bottom right corner to trace the wood element affinity rune, and then returning to the top corner to form a cycle.

Each cycle consumes 3 standard units of mental energy. After 5 consecutive cycles, Link's mental energy was depleted.

Exiting the meditation state, although there was no testing or data available, Link intuitively felt that his mental energy had increased slightly, and two more types of magic had appeared in his body.

One kind of magic is smooth and moisturizing, another kind of magic is vibrant and full of life.

Neither of these two magical powers is concentrated in a particular part or organ of the body; rather, they are dispersed throughout every cell.

Since the number is still too small, and Link has not yet practiced a method to specifically use magic to temper his body, there is nothing particularly extraordinary about it for the time being.

However, Link was very satisfied with the results of his meditation that night.

Most new recruits, after passing the first two and a half stages of meditation, first imprint a will rune in their sea of ​​consciousness, and then continuously meditate on this will rune alone for a period of time.

Once one has become familiar with the rhythm and state of meditation, and has honed the ability to control one's mental energy, one can then proceed to imprint other runes, eventually forming a rune cycle and advancing to the rank of first-class wizard apprentice.

Not only is it time-consuming, but the results are also not particularly noticeable.

Unlike Link, who advanced to a first-class wizard apprentice on his first meditation, and whose mental strength steadily increased with each subsequent meditation, and whose magic flowed more smoothly.

Simply perfect.

go to bed.

……

The next day.

The sun rose as usual.

Link got up early, cleaned himself up, and went to the cafeteria for breakfast in the morning light.

As he walked from the cafeteria to the teaching building, Link deeply understood the intense pursuit of a spotless body and fasting by those who cultivated immortality in his previous life.

These kinds of unavoidable daily chores are such a waste of time.

Eating is fine.

Link still has a passion for food.

But Link couldn't stand spending so much time on washing and changing clothes every day.

Link secretly decided that he must learn a magic spell with a cleansing effect, so that his clothes would be clean in a flash, and his body would be clean in a flash too!

But witchcraft isn't something you can just learn whenever you want. The course "The Nature, Origin and Development of Witchcraft" is the only course Link can currently access about witchcraft, but it doesn't contain a complete model of witchcraft.

The course on witchcraft models will not be offered until next semester.

Link wants to learn witchcraft ahead of time, and there are currently only three possible paths.

One is to report to the academy that you have been promoted to a first-class wizard apprentice and ask for any possible benefits or rewards.

Secondly, they sifted through thousands of books in the library to find rare and precious witchcraft models that were like hidden gems.

Third, purchase from the bookstore in the residential service building.

However, each of these three approaches has its own drawbacks.

Buying books at the bookstore costs magic stones, and Link's annual subsidy of three standard level one magic stones hasn't been received yet, leaving him penniless.

The probability of finding it in a library is equivalent to winning five million in the lottery.

All things considered, reporting to the college is probably the most appropriate course of action, although it would be a bit high-profile, given that it has only been two weeks since the start of the semester.

Link didn't rush to choose among the three paths.

Let's wait patiently; there might be other options.

(End of this chapter)