Wizard: I'm leveling up by AFK in another world

The heavy stone door slowly opened.

A white mist, mixed with frost and magical turbulence, gushed out, instantly covering the carpet in the corridor with a thin layer of frost.

Julian Charles slowly emerged from the mist.

He looked somewhat disheveled, with his long, golden hair plastered messily to his forehead.

His bare upper body was covered with bluish-purple bruises caused by magic overload, and his once proud light blue eyes were now bloodshot.

But his haggard brows betrayed an undisguised ecstasy.

He raised his hand, and in his palm, a pale blue ice crystal was slowly rotating, the surrounding air crackling softly due to the low temperature.

"The specialization of amethyst element on water element is truly amazing," he murmured.

Although he only awakened two elemental affinities, they were both what he craved.

Water elemental affinity is a top-tier talent for potion masters, needless to say.

Amethyst is actually the purest primordial magic; all other elemental magic—except for enamel—originates from it.

Those with an affinity for amethyst possess an understanding of the essence of primordial magic and can bring out the hidden properties of other elemental magic.

The combination of water and amethyst elements makes this a truly chosen potion master.

"What a wonderful start..."

Julian squinted, took a deep breath of the cold air, and seemed somewhat intoxicated by it.

A week.

I spent a whole week alone in that damn meditation room.

This is the first time this young master has ever worked this hard since he was born.

"Hmph, I have to thank that guy, otherwise I would have dragged it out for another two months."

He straightened his robe and walked confidently toward the exit.

As he had imagined, the courtyard outside his house must be crowded with people at this moment.

Before going into seclusion, he had arranged a time with his cousin Karl and had those idiot followers prepare flowers and champagne to wait for him.

He himself doesn't really like this kind of thing.

If it weren't for my cousin Carl always saying that we should cultivate our own people in advance, etc.

Lost in thought, Julian pushed open the door.

He was greeted by the bleak autumn wind and a few withered yellow leaves.

The spacious courtyard was deserted and quiet, without a single ghost in sight.

Forget flowers and applause, there wasn't even a single idiot who usually finds excuses to sneak in.

Where are they?

Julian's smile froze.

He looked around blankly, wondering if he had misremembered the time he left the pass, or if the academy had held some kind of event.

Julian walked out of the courtyard in confusion and saw a servant dozing off against the wall.

"Hey! You!"

Julian grabbed the man by the collar, startling him so much that his legs went weak and he almost collapsed into Julian's arms.

"Where have all the people gone? Where's Carl? Where are those guys who come every day?"

"Young Master Julian?" The servant looked at him tremblingly, his eyes filled with a strange expression. "You... you've emerged from seclusion?"

"Nonsense! Answer my question!"

"Everyone has gone to the apprentice laboratory in the Tower of Tranquility."

"The apprentice lab? What are they going there for?" Julian frowned. "I'm only missing one class, and they're already going to the lab for hands-on practice?"

"N-no..." The servant swallowed hard, cautiously observing Julian's expression.

"It's that classmate you mentioned, young master, Claire Lewis. She's taking her apprentice potion master exam. Your friends and young master Karl should have all gone to see her."

"Apprentice Potions Master? Isn't that only intermediate-level apprentices can apply for?"

"Yes, you're right."

"What do you mean I'm not wrong? So now it's..."

boom!

It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck Julian on the top of his head.

He let go of the servant's hand, and his mind went blank.

"You...you say that again?"

As soon as the servant finished repeating, the out-of-control Julian slammed him against the wall and knocked him unconscious.

"This is impossible... absolutely impossible! He's just a piece of trash with a seventh-tier talent!"

"Why is he faster than me? Why?!"

Julian didn't even glance at the unconscious servant, and rushed out of the courtyard like a madman.

……

……

The Tower of Tranquility, Apprentice Laboratory No. 5.

The area is now completely surrounded.

Through the one-way glass wall, dozens of apprentices held their breath, staring intently at the figure in the center of the laboratory.

"Can he really do it? Getting promoted to intermediate apprentice is one thing, but passing the apprentice potion master qualification exam is another, isn't it?"

"Have you forgotten that he spent a month in the library? That was probably preparation."

"So, can he really increase his mental strength just by reading books? Did Julian get tricked by false information and run into such a tough opponent?"

"Who knows? You didn't see how he was during the written test. The speed at which he answered the questions, tsk tsk, to say that he got in purely through connections is a lie that couldn't be more true."

Claire stood calmly at the lab table.

The panel's book list contains a lot of fragmented knowledge about potions.

Although it wasn't a systematic approach, he had a general understanding of many basic potion-making terms and techniques.

He also has some knowledge of common potion ingredients.

He copied the questions he had memorized directly.

He recognizes the keywords in the question but can't understand them when they're put together, so he just writes down whatever he knows, regardless of the context.

With this two-pronged approach, I was fortunate enough to receive a slightly above-average written test evaluation.

Now, all that's left is to put it into practice.

As the assessment bell rang, Claire began to process the materials laid out in front of her.

"Here it comes, here it comes."

"Is this the affinity of wood element? The properties of these materials are brought out very well."

"The impurities in the solution were extracted so smoothly; how is he so skilled?"

Amidst the clamor of voices, Professor Heller carefully observed the young man in the laboratory through his pulled-down hood.

When he heard that the other party had been promoted to intermediate apprentice before Julian, his first reaction was disbelief.

Then, upon hearing that the other party had signed up for the apprentice potion master qualification exam, he felt even more that the world had gone mad.

It wasn't until he saw Claire in the lab with his own eyes that Heller realized he had really misjudged her.

As he looked at it, Heller frowned slightly.

Claire's extraction and neutralization processes were incredibly smooth, almost like...

"It seems like there's an affinity for water elements," Heller murmured.

But this is not possible.

This guy, he really did practice secretly, didn't he?

They hid it so well, they even fooled him.

In the laboratory, Claire completed the final step of the operation.

After confirming that everything was correct, he waved.

call!

A gentle breeze swept by, and the flames beneath the crucible were instantly extinguished.

A shimmering, dreamlike pale purple liquid floated silently from the crucible and automatically fell into a crystal bottle beside it.

There was no sediment, no bubbles.

It's as perfect as an amethyst.

clap clap.

Outside the glass wall, a deathly silence lasted for a while, then thunderous applause erupted.

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded from the other side of the corridor.

Julian burst in, panting heavily and with a ferocious expression.

"It's a scam! It's all a scam!"

He screamed hysterically, his eyes frantically searching for Claire: "He can't be... uh?"

Julian's voice abruptly stopped.

Because he saw Claire walking out of the laboratory, wearing a silver badge that looked incredibly dazzling at that moment.

The badge was engraved with an ouroboros entwined with herbs, something he had longed for—the Apprentice Potions Master Badge.