Night had fallen, and the stars and moon were dim.
In a room on the fourth floor of the ancient castle, Colin stood by an open window.
At the end of his gaze lay a dark, sombre sea.
The moon and stars, which had appeared dim in the sky earlier, were now reflected in the sea, brightening and rippling the water.
"It's been a long time since I've stayed in a room with a sea view..." Colin smiled gently.
Then he withdrew his gaze and turned around to continue his practice.
It was only around nine in the evening, far from his bedtime; the pause just now was merely a brief rest in the midst of his practice.
Today, Wizard Lin Ke had left them here and hadn't appeared since.
The ordinary servant knights of the castle had received them.
Since Lin Ke had not left any specific requests or restrictions, Colin had been practicing from that time until now.
"He is perhaps engaged in intense discussions about the Alus Association's examination content," Colin speculated silently.
The Alus Association, the association covering the entire Siya Continent.
And there are nine wizard cities on the Siya Continent.
Neustadt City is just one among them.
Balancing the difficulty of the examinations among the different cities and schools was clearly not an easy task; it might still take a considerable amount of time.
Colin sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion.
He closed his eyes in contemplation.
Today, he had finally completed all the prerequisite knowledge for the Ancient Tree Heart Witchcraft.
It was now time to attempt the preliminary exercises.
The so-called Ancient Tree Heart was not the heart of an ancient tree but a core he would create inside his body through this witchcraft to absorb, store, and transform the life energy of ancient trees.
This witchcraft was exceedingly complex and considered the most intricate and brilliant among all the witchcraft he had mastered thus far.
"Instructor Atbolde is truly remarkable!" Colin couldn't help but marvel.
He estimated that if he mastered the Ancient Tree Heart Witchcraft and found some suitable ancient trees from which to absorb life energy, his lifespan could increase by at least twenty to thirty years. Moreover, his talent for magic power affinity might even peak at the second class and potentially break into the threshold of first class!
Although apart from the talent for magic power affinity, at least half of a wizard's talent is their ability to learn knowledge, which is even more crucial.
Still, enhancing his magic power affinity was enormously beneficial for a wizard.
Not to mention, it would at least further increase the speed of his practice.
Thinking this, he called up the Golden Paper.
[First Rank Junior Wizard (8/100)]
It had only been about half a month, and the progress had already reached 8/100.
Such speed was certainly astonishing.
This meant that in just over half a year, he could become a First Rank Intermediate Wizard.
Even if the subsequent progress rate slowed down to half, it would only take a maximum of two more years for him to become a First Rank Advanced Wizard!
And to think of previous individuals like Herard or Silear, who were at least forty years old.
They were people who had lived in wizard cities since childhood and received the finest education, and their talents were not bad either.
But now around forty years old, they were only First Rank Intermediate Wizards.
After reflecting on this, Colin felt a bit of a headache and sighed softly in his mind.
"Forewarned is forearmed; it looks like I need to plan ahead for learning the skills to advance to a Second Rank Wizard."
He refocused his thoughts and continued studying the Ancient Tree Heart.
The next day, in the morning.
In the corridors of the castle.
"Sir, if Lord Lin Ke and the others return, the crystal will glow red. Please hurry back when you notice," the head servant respectfully told Colin.
"Alright," Colin replied, stroking the crystal bracelet in his hand.
... Wizard Lin Ke was more meticulous than he had imagined.
Wearing the crystal bracelet on his wrist, he turned and walked out of the castle.
Last night, he had successfully initiated himself into the Ancient Tree Heart Witchcraft.
Now, he was planning to go out and find a suitable ancient tree to practice on.
A wizard could only contain one Ancient Tree Heart within their body.
However, before finding the right ancient tree, he could practice using other trees.
As long as the core of the ancient tree is not built inside the body, it is allowed.
Gubier Island, if described in terms of a former life, would be considered highly developed.
There are not many places here that can purely be called wilderness.
And the Ancient Tree Heart has high requirements for trees; ordinary trees aged five years, ten years, or even twenty to thirty years are insufficient.
At a minimum, they must be ancient trees over fifty years old, and if they are ordinary trees, their trunk diameter must also exceed one meter.
Otherwise, even if the Ancient Tree Heart is enacted, it won't have any effect.
According to Lillian, this seems to be a restriction intentionally set by Atbolde, aimed to prevent users from harming too many trees.
Only those ancient trees that meet the requirements can withstand the Ancient Tree Heart witchcraft and be effective.
So finding a suitable ancient tree wasn't that easy.
After wandering around in circles, Colin found nothing; despite climbing high and looking into the distance, he saw no potential spots with ancient trees.
"Are you a Wizard Apprentice who just arrived from the Siya Continent?"
Just as he was about to ask a few local wizards.
A crisp voice suddenly came from beside him.
Colin turned his head and looked.
Healthy wheat-colored skin, a curvaceous figure... a lively female apprentice caught his eye.
On her head, she wore a colorful garland, and under her soft chestnut short hair was a palm-sized oval face; she wore a rarely seen floral-patterned wizard robe.
Seeing her expression, Colin understood.
This female apprentice clearly had not recognized his status as an Official Wizard.
However, that was normal; he had come from the castle wearing only the simplest gray robe and was not wearing any school badge.
For a Wizard Apprentice, unless they had studied specialized reconnaissance magic or possessed special reconnaissance witch tools,
they could only judge another wizard's level by their appearance or the aura the wizard intentionally emitted.
Advanced Wizard Apprentice, huh... Colin quietly closed his Supersensitive Vision.
Looking at the advanced Wizard Apprentice in front of him, Colin nodded slightly.
"Ha-ha," the Witch laughed joyfully, her eyes squinting as she continued, "I saw you guys arrive by airship yesterday, but I toured around this morning and didn't see a single apprentice out and about, only some highly esteemed Official Wizards, and I dared not approach any of them!"
At this point, the Witch suddenly asked in surprise, "By the way, why aren't they coming out, just you as an apprentice?"
"Do you need something?"
Colin did not answer but instead countered.
The Witch was not annoyed at all, slapped her head and giggled, "Hehe, no, I just wanted to tell you guys something..."
At this, her voice suddenly dropped low, and with a panicked, trembling gaze, she looked at Colin.
And, trembling, she said,
"Quick, leave this island!"
Colin's pupils slightly constricted, and he frowned.
"Sally."
Just then, a crisp voice came from the side.
A female Witch Apprentice with black flowing hair and a gentle temperament approached.
"I'm sorry," the Witch said apologetically.
"This is my junior; she has recently had some complications in her training, and the instructor asked me to watch over her, but I had just gone out to buy some things..."
'A false alarm, then...'
Colin returned to his senses and, not wanting to waste more time, spoke up:
"Do you know where nearby I can find some larger trees?"
Then he reopened his Supersensitive Vision, taking a careful look at Sally.
The spiritual light of humanity and knowledge over Sally seemed indeed to be somewhat turbulent.
The tainted babbling black spots nearby also appeared more active.
Colin couldn't help but take a few more glances.
Perhaps thanks to the Golden Paper, he had never experienced such situations.
However, he knew well that the training of other wizards wasn't as trouble-free as his.
"I know where the ancient trees are! At..." Sally exclaimed excitedly, biting her finger in thought.
"Sally!" the genteel Witch hastily scolded.
Turning to Colin, she said, "If you are looking for ancient trees, perhaps you might try the nearby Red Soil Forest, to the west from here."
"Thank you."
Colin nodded, watching as the two walked away.