With the last wisp of the rich golden light gone,
the field of view suddenly became pitch-dark.
The deep sea had merged with the dark sky.
Now the sun had set, and the moon had not yet risen, leaving nothing but darkness to the eye.
Fortunately, one could still feel the solid touch of the ship's deck underfoot, and the sound of the surging waves could still be heard by the ear,
which prevented panic and disorientation.
After lowering the sails, the crew and sailors had already returned to their cabins.
Between the wooden cabin walls and the doors, a faint orange-yellow light from a lamp could be seen.
As for the Wizard who stayed behind—Murray, he still had not come out and remained inside the cabin.
At this moment, the boundless ocean had shed its azure beauty of the day and turned inky black and terrifying.
Black waves surged like ink, layer upon layer, making it impossible for the eye to penetrate.
This scene couldn't help but make one feel—
as if beneath the three-masted ship, in the endless depths beyond sight, monstrous beings were lurking, quietly watching you.
Colin controlled his gaze, not lingering too long over the sea.
He was still in a hypersensitive state, and it would be undoubtedly dangerous if he saw things he shouldn't have.
After silently staying on deck for a while, he turned and went back to his bedroom.
The night in this world was already dangerous, with ghosts, demons, and strange fierce beasts roaming.
And the sea was even more dangerous than most of the land.
At night, it was possible to run into some unknowable entities or fall into bizarre regions.
Thus, at night, ships would usually lower their sails and stop, reducing the risks of sailing blind.
Back in his master bedroom.
Renee had already cleaned it spotlessly and changed the beddings.
Seeing the soft and comfortable bed,
all the accumulated fatigue of these days suddenly surged up, and he took off his clothes and lay down on the bed.
Seeming to fall into a deep sleep.
The sound of the waves continued, and time quietly passed by.
Suddenly,
a layer of white fog had quietly enveloped the bedroom, unbeknownst to when it began.
Not long afterward,
creak—
the door of the bedroom abruptly opened.
A weak figure sauntered in.
He didn't care about the figure on the bed.
In his eyes, Colin was just an Intermediate Wizard Apprentice who could cast powerful witchcraft, all thanks to that scepter.
Now, engulfed in sleep and without the golden scepter in hand, he could suppress him with a backlash.
Berkeley and others were still too cautious and merciful.
In this world, power is the only thing that matters.
Once I get the scepter...
Thinking this, his heart filled with anticipation, his actions hastened, searching meticulously.
Beside the bed, in the wardrobe, at the desk.
He checked each carefully.
After a while,
"How can it be missing?"
"Where's the scepter?!"
He muttered to himself in disappointment.
At that moment, a dark golden scepter suddenly appeared before him.
"Are you looking for this?"
Murray's eyes lit up at the sight of the dark golden-patterned scepter in front of him.
But in the next second, his scalp exploded.
He realized what was happening!
But Colin didn't give him any chance to explain.
A hard cone bullet instantly turned his insides into a mushy mess.
"Ha—ha—"
Murray opened his mouth wide, blood spilling from the corner.
Soon, he was breathless.
Colin, expressionless, examined the body and then used the Fireball Technique to burn his corpse to ashes and scattered them into the sea.
He silently sighed.
It wasn't that Murray was too stupid, but that greed had blinded him...
He had never concealed the power of the scepter in front of Berkeley and the others.
How could he not be prepared for Murray's unexpected decision to stay behind?
However, since Murray had not shown any major abnormalities, he was only on guard and had not planned to act.
Only, he hadn't expected Murray to lose patience on just the first night…
Moreover, Murray probably hadn't expected that he hadn't been sleeping at all, but had been on guard against him the whole time.
After finishing these tasks, Colin no longer felt like sleeping.
He simply began to sort through the items Erica had left for him.
He opened the Storage Ring.
Inside, apart from the Knowledge Crystal Ball, there were Magic Stones and Magic Potions.
The McIntosh Wizard Tower, after being pillaged twice by the Blackstone Family and Wizard Lap, had hardly anything left.
These Magic Stones and Potions were probably collected by Erica from the ceremonies.
The Magic Stones were likely from the deceased apprentices, while the potions were remnants from the rituals.
Only two remained.
One was Manatee's Tears, presented at the penultimate ceremony, and the other was the Golden Four-leaf Clover, presented at the last.
Both potions were McIntosh's special brews, with similar effects, enhancing both spirit and body.
However, Manatee's Tears paled in comparison to the potent effects of the Golden Four-leaf Clover.
And Golden Four-leaf Clover was generally effective only on the first dose.
The special Golden Four-leaf Clover from McIntosh was no exception, only the first dose was effective.
Colin pondered for a moment, then made his arrangements.
Naturally, he would keep Manatee's Tears for himself to use, and the Golden Four-leaf Clover could be sold if it was safe to do so.
But Colin didn't immediately take Manatee's Tears.
Instead, he opened the Golden Paper.
Light golden particles converged.
Sweeping a glance over it,
there were two items that could be enhanced.
One was the Apprentice-level Circulation Meditation for the second Limit Breaking, the other was the Intermediate Strong Life talent that had been ready to enhance for three months but hadn't been due to insufficient Limit Breaking Points.
Before this, Colin had precisely counted out the exact number of Magic Stones in the Storage Ring.
Including the ones he originally had and those he had just scavenged from Murray—
A total of 1654.
With such an amount, if all were converted into Limit Breaking Points, he could at least let one of them break through the limit.
Thinking of this, Colin didn't hesitate and reached for the Magic Stone to start converting Limit Breaking Points.
On the Golden Paper, the numbers for the Limit Breaking Points danced incessantly.
Soon, it reached a thousand.
At the same time, on the Golden Paper, two purple items lit up with light.
One was golden, while the other was red.
The golden one was the Apprentice level Circulation Meditation for the second Limit Breaking, and the red one was the Intermediate Talent Strong Life.
Colin had an epiphany.
After some contemplation, he decided to first enhance the Intermediate Strong Life.
As a Talent, once enhanced, it could immediately be transformed into combat power, unlike the Circulation Meditation.
Moreover, he had just recently advanced to an Advanced Wizard, not only had he not yet endured the over-sensory phase, but he also knew nothing about the knowledge to advance to an Official Wizard.
Therefore, for now, he could put off enhancing the Circulation Meditation.
After making the decision, Colin didn't rush to upgrade.
It was nighttime, a time of high crisis, so it was better to wait for the dawn of the next day before upgrading, no need to be hasty.
As for the Manatee's Tears, he planned to take them after the breakthrough of the Intermediate Strong Life Talent.
Maybe then he could further strengthen the Intermediate Strong Life with the medicinal power of the Manatee's Tears.
Having organized himself, he stood up to start practicing.
Time slipped by unknowingly.
Dawn rose, and the sunlight covered the earth, the sea regaining its azure hue.
Nothing happened overnight except for some wind and waves.
Encountering danger was always a matter of probability.
And probability... who could clearly define it?
In the captain's master cabin.
Colin stopped practicing, adjusting his state, ready to begin enhancing the Intermediate Talent Strong Life.
At that moment.
"Set sail!"
The captain's voice suddenly came from the nearby deck.
Followed by the sound of the sails billowing and opening, and the chatter of the sailors.
"...didn't sleep a wink last night, it's always unsettling to spend the night at sea."
"With the Wizard Lord here, what's there to fear!"
"Right, what's there to fear, this swaying of the sea waves is more comfortable than a massage, I say, this is the bed a sailor should sleep on!"
"...come off it, Buck. You're the one who gets sickest whenever we hit rough waves!"
"You..."
"Ha ha ha."
Laughter echoed.
Colin also withdrew his thoughts and no longer paid attention.
Unlike the sailors' blind faith, he had a clear understanding of his own strength.
The sense of powerlessness in the face of the ceremony and the divine, as well as the familiar people dying beside him...
All of this.
He hadn't forgotten!
Clearing his mind of miscellaneous thoughts, he concentrated on tapping the ↑ symbol behind Intermediate Strong Life.
Bang!
A surge of magma-like heat burst from his heart.
Colin couldn't help but let out a muffled groan, his body trembling slightly.
After what felt like an eternity, the transformation finally ended.
On the Golden Paper, amidst the blue and purple, a touch of red quietly appeared.
Behind the now-red Intermediate Strong Life, a symbol for "Ⅰ" slowly surfaced.
Feeling an increased life force, Colin felt a surge of joy.
However, looking at the words Intermediate Strong Life Ⅰ on the Golden Paper, he still felt somewhat uncomfortable.
Just as after Limit Breaking the Basic Level High Temperature Tolerance, it didn't become Intermediate High Temperature Tolerance.
Now that the Intermediate Strong Life had undergone one Limit Breaking, it hadn't become Advanced Strong Life.
Instead, like other items, only the color changed, and a symbol representing one Limit Breaking was added afterward.
But that "Intermediate" was somewhat of an eyesore...
As Colin harbored such a thought.
The characters for Intermediate Strong Life Ⅰ on the Golden Paper quietly changed.
The word "Intermediate" gradually faded, finally settling at—
[Talent: Strong Life I (0/100)].
Colin raised an eyebrow, then looked at Basic High Temperature Tolerance I.
There, the characters also began to change with his will, finally settling at—
[High Temperature Tolerance I (43/100)].
Realizing this, Colin had another epiphany.
The name was merely a code for distinction.
The Golden Paper was his property; the names on it depended on his thoughts.
Limit Breaking Points of witchcraft or Talent, such as the Ignition Technique, had recognizable names.
Therefore, the Golden Paper used these names.
But after Limit Breaking, the witchcraft and Talent stricto sensu, were no longer the same as the original witchcraft and Talent.
Thus, what they were called was entirely up to him, as long as they could be distinguished from the pre-Limit Breaking points.
Erasing the troublesome "Intermediate" word in front of Intermediate Strong Life I, although it had no substantive effect,
Looking at the neatly uniform Golden Paper, Colin still felt a sense of satisfaction.
As for how much the Intermediate Strong Life improved after one Limit Breaking...
Colin's gaze flashed.
Clang!
He still reached out and drew the bee sting from his waistband, ready to roughly test the Limit Breaking Strong Life.
After all, knowing one's limits was important for actual combat.
Especially in situations where one might need to trade injury for life.
He raised his left arm, swinging the sharp bee sting.
Under the forceful swing, in a flash, a bone-deep wound appeared on his left arm.
Colin grunted, his complexion paling slightly, and upon closer inspection, tiny beads of sweat could be seen emerging from his forehead.
But despite the severe pain, his azure eyes remained clear and determined.
He was a reserved person by nature.
Even when faced with such grave danger and change before, he had only let out an angry roar in the end.
But Blackstone Island, the people of the School,
And that golden divine being and Its fervent followers.
He would not forget any of it.