Gliding swiftly through the air, Colin landed at the city gate and strode into the city, his steps somewhat hasty.
It was impossible to fly within Gubier City, which was rather inconvenient.
Restrained by the street layout... walking didn't allow him to move quickly, and he risked being mistaken for something he wasn't.
Moreover... Colin looked around and sighed to himself.
The most crucial point was that in Gubier City, he didn't know if public carriages were non-existent or just too scarce... either way, he hadn't seen even one in the day he'd been there.
Besides that... Colin's eyebrows furrowed slightly.
For some reason, he always felt like the crowd on the streets of Gubier City... had been diminishing.
Perhaps a common person wouldn't notice, but he possessed a Superbrain, making him extremely sensitive to the changes around him.
'Could it be because the war front is so close, causing a drain in the wizard population?' Colin speculated internally.
Gubier Island was not far from the war front, and it could even be said that this was the closest large island to the front lines.
Although he didn't know the current situation at the war front, the last he'd heard, the wizards' defense line had been steadily pushed back... it was not an optimistic situation.
In such circumstances, a declining population on the island was understandable...
For some reason, though, Colin was reminded of that apprentice's mutterings.
"Run away soon..."
A sense of heaviness came over him, and he walked quickly, soon arriving back at the old castle.
Entering the castle, the first-floor hall was empty with no one around.
"So the explanations are over that quickly... or perhaps Wizard Lin Ke didn't call a meeting after his return?"
Colin puzzled internally and continued walking upstairs.
He had assumed that since Wizard Lin Ke had returned, naturally he would gather everyone in the first-floor hall to announce the specifics of the Alus Association's assessment...
"Mr. Colin, you're finally back."
As soon as he reached the fourth floor, Colin encountered Mayer descending the stairs.
Mayer looked at him and sighed with relief, speaking quickly:
"Wizard Lin Ke just returned to announce that we will depart for the port to set sail in one hour. Lady Margaret instructed me to find you."
'Departing so soon by ship?'
Colin paused to digest the information, then asked, "Did Wizard Lin Ke mention the specifics of the Alus Association content?"
"No," Mayer shook his head, "When they returned, they gathered everyone but did not explain the details of the Achilles Association, just ordered us to pack our belongings and leave from the port in an hour."
"I see," Colin nodded.
"The specifics of the Achilles Association will probably be made clear when we leave the island and reach our destination," Mayer surmised.
Then he added, "Since you have returned, I'll head back now. Remember to inform Lady Margaret. Her room is the first one on the fifth floor."
"Alright." Colin nodded and turned towards the fifth floor.
The castle's lighting was poor, and as he walked through the corridor, only small square gray stone windows the size of human heads let in traces of sunlight.
Colin's brows were tightly knotted, not expecting the departure from the island to be so sudden.
He had wanted to see that red-haired elf again and use Anando's Dice in the wild of Gubier Island.
But now... he feared he would have to give up on that idea.
Knock, knock, knock—
He had reached the fifth floor and gently knocked on Margaret's door.
"Come in."
A moment later, Margaret's voice came through.
He pushed the door open.
"Lady Margaret, Mayer…" Colin started respectfully.
"We leave for the port in an hour; hurry and get ready."
Margaret cut him off, somewhat impatiently.
"Yes…" Colin nodded calmly.
In fact, Wizard Lin Ke had not restricted their departures, even preparing bracelets as reminders.
He shook his head internally, not minding the detail, and spoke up,
"Lady Margaret, I encountered a peculiar matter during my outing..."
Margaret frowned slightly.
Unperturbed, Colin related the apprentice's strange mutterings to Margaret.
It was a minor issue if viewed as such, but could be significant as well.
Regardless, since he had come to find Margaret, mentioning it to her wasn't much extra effort.
Even if she was impatient, at worst she would scold him a bit; there was no substantial loss for him. However, if his silence put him in danger, that would be truly regrettable.
He clearly understood the pros and cons.
"I see,"
After listening to his words, Margaret first looked surprised, then waved her hand dismissively, signaling him to leave.
Her reaction was unexpectedly less severe than Colin had anticipated.
It was as if...
Walking back to his room on the stairs, Colin gazed at the endlessly extending gray-black steps beneath his feet, pondering.
Margaret's response gave him the impression that she wasn't surprised, nor did she mock him for making a fuss over an apprentice's odd behavior.
It was as if... it was as if she had already known something in advance.
Back in his room, there wasn't much to pack.
Colin pondered for a moment and then took out the little red flower that the elf Nasi had given him.
The red flower had five petals, looking much like an ordinary wildflower, only more miniature in size and appearing to have the texture of jade, yet it remained as soft as an average flower.
'I wonder what kind of flower this is.'
After scrutinizing it carefully in his hand for a while, Colin moved his left hand and pulled out the Knowledge Crystal that he hadn't used in a long time.
It was a gift from the ghost Erica, as well as a reward.
Many pieces of knowledge were recorded within it, but most were fragmented. Only some knowledge about Magic Potions was intact.
Perhaps he could find related information in it.
Colin focused his mind and delved into the crystal.
Now with the Superbrain, once he had looked at the knowledge in the Knowledge Crystal, he didn't need to look at it a second time.
Memorizing knowledge had become the easiest part of learning for him.
Unfortunately, in this world, apart from learning and understanding knowledge, the more difficult task was acquiring it.
Especially the knowledge of Official Wizards.
Even though he was a member of a School, the only witchcraft he could truly claim to have acquired so far were just two, and the rest of the First Rank Witchcraft all came from Golden Paper Limit Breaking.
Colin perused the Knowledge Crystal briefly.
Amidst the keywords like "Red Flower," "Flower," "Little Elf," he found no matching information.
He couldn't help but sigh.
He wasn't surprised by this result; after all, it wasn't the first time.
McIntosh Wizard Tower had been plundered by both the Blackstone Family and Wizard Lap, and the Tower Spirit suffered from a lack of soul replenishment for years, leaving the knowledge within the Knowledge Crystal fragmented and of little utility to him.
Putting the Knowledge Crystal away, Colin wasn't in a rush to memorize all of its contents.
As he was on the battlefield, it was wiser to prioritize enhancing his combat abilities.
After pondering for a moment, Colin began practicing Steel Temperature Resistance Field I, this piece of witchcraft was on the brink of Limit Breaking, just shy of the final step.
About half an hour later, Colin stopped his cultivation, took out a Magic Stone, and prepared for Limit Breaking!
He exhaled a deep breath and began to convert Limit Breaking Points. Even though this was not his first time Limit Breaking, this time was different.
The Steel Temperature Resistance Field I had been inscribed into his Spirit Sea before, and he wasn't sure if the model within would change after Limit Breaking.
'If it doesn't work, that's going to be a bit of trouble…'
Watching the numbers of the Limit Breaking Points rise, Colin felt a bit nervous.
Even though the Magic Model in the Spirit Sea could be erased and replaced with another witchcraft model,
it would not only take time, but also a considerable amount of Magic Stones to purchase specialized auxiliary potions to prevent damage to the Spirit Sea…which would be quite troublesome.
Before long, as the numbers of the Limit Breaking Points stabilized at twenty thousand, the ↑ symbol behind Steel Temperature Resistance Field I also lit up.
'Good thing there's an unexpected windfall…'
Taking a deep breath, without hesitation, Colin focused his mind and clicked on the ↑ symbol!
Bang!
The dark characters blurred out all at once, transforming.
After a while, they finally settled on — [Steel Temperature Resistance Field II (0/100)]!
Without delay to check the effects of Limit Breaking, Colin plunged his mind into the Spirit Sea.
Moments later, he furrowed his brow and let out an audible sigh.
The model in the Spirit Sea was still the once-broken Steel Temperature Resistance Field…
'Perhaps that was too optimistic, the Golden Paper Limit Breaking affects the witchcraft, how could it impact the Magic Model that's already been inscribed...'
Colin shook his head and stood up.
With a thought, he cast the post-Limit Breaking Steel Temperature Resistance Field II.
About two and a half seconds later,
a faint White Light appeared on his body.
Before the second Limit Breaking, the un-inscribed Steel Temperature Resistance Field I had a casting duration of about one second, which was reduced to about 0.1 second after inscription.
That's the normal level for a Lower First Rank Witchcraft.
And now, after the second Limit Breaking... Colin glanced at the Golden Paper.
The Steel Temperature Resistance Field II was now categorized under First Rank Upper Witchcraft...
'First Rank Upper?!'
A wave of surprise and delight crossed Colin's mind, followed by a sigh.
In reality,
for a First Rank Junior Wizard to be able to cast First Rank Upper Witchcraft was already a sign of genius.
Managing to control the casting duration to two and a half seconds was even more impressive.
But two and a half seconds... was still too long, especially for Defensive Witchcraft.
"Huh?!"
Just as Colin was about to cast the twice-broken Steel Temperature Resistance Field again, his expression changed subtly, and he immersed his mind into the Spirit Sea.
In the vast space without stars or moon, only the Soul Origin, the Talent Tree, and the inscribed Magic Model gleamed faintly.
But at this moment, the Steel Temperature Resistance Field I Magic Model had inexplicably changed a bit... a few Magic Power circuits seemed to have shifted slightly.
Colin's mind brimmed with doubts...
But after a short reflection, Superbrain helped him eliminate most factors, listing the most likely reasons for the change.
'Could it be because I cast the second-time broken Steel Temperature Resistance Field?' Colin murmured softly.
Checking if this was the case was simple... With a thought, he cast the twice-broken Steel Temperature Resistance Field again!
The faint White Light appeared, and once more, Colin immersed his mind into the Spirit Sea.
After a while, he opened his eyes and whispered softly,
"Indeed, that's the case."
The originally inscribed model of the once-broken Steel Temperature Resistance Field had indeed changed again.
And... Colin was both shocked and thrilled.
If he wasn't mistaken, the Steel Temperature Resistance Field I Magic Model was transforming into the Steel Temperature Resistance Field II Magic Model!
If he could transform the Steel Temperature Resistance Field I model into Steel Temperature Resistance Field II by casting, it would undoubtedly be a boon for him!
"Could the underlying reason be that every time you cast witchcraft... it needs to construct a Magic Model in the Spirit Sea?"
Colin speculated privately.
He wasn't sure if it was because the post-Golden Paper Limit Breaking Steel Temperature Resistance Field II and the original Steel Temperature Resistance Field I were inherently linked, or if this was a hidden feature of the Golden Paper...
At this moment, there was a commotion outside the door, interrupting Colin's thoughts.
Click.
He instinctively opened his Pocket Watch.
The hands reminded him that an hour had passed.
'It's time to head to the docks.'
Colin put away the Pocket Watch, shook his head to clear his thoughts, and stood up to walk towards the door.
No matter what, this was a good thing for him.