Days went by in the blink of an eye.
Early that morning, just as the day began to break, Colin had already returned from Betty's place.
Feeling the emptiness of his Storage Ring, he couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.
He had obtained 45 Magic Potions, but at the same time, he had parted with nine thousand Magic Stones, leaving only a little over a thousand on him.
If he judged by the Limit Breaking Points needed for the Circulation Meditation's Limit Breaking, a thousand Magic Stones... clearly wasn't enough.
Even to say, he now needed a thousand Magic Stones just for the gold-level break of the Circulation Meditation.
So in fact, he had only a little over a hundred Magic Stones to spend on the Tin Saint Meditation Method.
...Obviously, this was not enough, let alone the daily living expenses he still had to bear.
Returning home, he went into the Meditation Room.
He took out a bottle of Magic Erasure Potion with a flip of his hand, gazing at the sparkling potion within the glass bottle, Colin sat cross-legged and pondered in silence.
Tin Saint School provided a subsidy of a hundred Magic Stones per month for Advanced Apprentices... If economized, this was enough to live on for a month.
But to ensure a sufficient number of Limit Breaking Points to break the limit on the Tin Saint Meditation Method, to be safe, he needed to prepare at least two thousand Magic Stones.
Two thousand Magic Stones...
Colin let out a soft sigh; even if he worked at full capacity making Memory Crystals, he would make only two to three hundred Magic Stones a month.
It was akin to trying to put out a fire with a cup of water... Maybe it was time to take on some School tasks?
Or should he learn another craft to make money?
But these options either posed risks or consumed time...
Earning Magic Stones while changing meditation methods was also not feasible.
After all... during the time the Magic Erasure Potion was in effect, without Magic Power, he was extremely vulnerable.
It was only because he was in the stable environment of Neustadt City that he dared to take such risks.
But what kind of tasks should he take on if he chose to do so?
What craft should he learn? Magic Crystal Making again?
He struggled internally for a long time, but could not find the answer.
Colin shook his head, temporarily setting these thoughts aside.
He decided to switch to another task.
With a thought, pale gold particles converged.
The progress behind his Knight Level had impressively reached 99/100... The progress after the Sunlight Breathing Technique was also at 99/100.
If he wasn't mistaken, after today's practice, both should reach their limits without any issues.
Stand with legs apart, practicing the familiar second Limit Breaking Sunlight Breathing Technique, his restless mood gradually softened.
His muscles moved rhythmically like a python, heat rising gradually, and before long, beads of sweat gathered into meandering tracks that flowed down his chiseled chin and body, slowly accumulating into dark wet patches at his feet.
Like this, he practiced the second Limit Breaking Sunlight Breathing Technique over and over.
The sun rose in the east, leisurely traced across the sky, and then gradually sank toward the horizon.
The land was painted gold by the dying light of the sun, thick orange light streamed in through the gap in the wooden door of the Meditation Room.
It was at this moment!
Colin's whole body suddenly stilled.
The next second, he exhaled a long breath, trailing a foggy streak through the air.
Pale gold particles swirled in front of him.
[Rank: Ultimate Knight (100/100)]
[Breathing Skill: Sunlight Breathing Method Ⅱ↑(100/100)]
As he expected, both his Knight Level and the Sunlight Breathing Method had reached their limit.
But Colin didn't feel too much joy.
After reaching the limit, the progress as an Ultimate Knight wasn't significant... after all, even the peak of an Ultimate Knight was still an Ultimate Knight without a breakthrough.
...And unable to break through.
On the path of a Knight, unless one underwent life enhancement, adding Alien Bloodline, Mechanical Augmentation, and so on, a Great Knight was already the limit.
In his case, because of the Limit Breaking of the Sunlight Breathing Technique, he was able to take a small step forward beyond the original limit of a Great Knight—
yielding a small state called Ultimate Knight.
But now, limited by the level of the Breathing Skill, even the perfection of the Ultimate Knight had reached its peak, with no further advancement possible...
It was a dead end with no way to further increase his abilities.
Perhaps another Limit Breaking of the Sunlight Breathing Technique might yield a breakthrough.
But for the Sunlight Breathing Technique... he currently didn't have extra Magic Stones to break its limit.
'After going around in a circle... in the end, it all comes back to Magic Stones.'
Colin wiped the sweat from his forehead, sighing inwardly as he deployed a Golden Cleaning Technique around him.
The dirt and sweat stains on the ground were cleaned in an instant.
After a moment of contemplation, he stopped hesitating, changed into a formal Wizard Robe, and hurried outside.
Neither taking on School tasks nor learning a new craft for money was a good option.
He decided to find a different path.
The public coach raced through the streets, the wind lifting the old Coachman's broad linen coat.
Before long, the coach stopped in front of a small courtyard.
A white gate, white walls surrounding it, and the standalone villa inside was wholly white as well.
Vivid greenery crawled all over the walls, the gate, and the villa's exterior.
Looking through the gate's ironwork and with the glow of the sunset, one could see a sea.
A sea of flowers.
Numerous diverse flowers of differing forms and colors surrounded the central white villa.
They were arranged haphazardly, one might even say in disarray; the few large trees in the yard grew untamed, their branches chaotic, far from the orderly groomed ornamental trees of his past life.
Yet, these disordered flowers and untamed trees together seemed naturally perfect, exuding an indescribable natural beauty.