Waves rose and fell, the small boat rocked, and all that met the eye was the unchanging blue sea water; time seemed to slow in such repetition, yet also seemed to hasten.
Before he realized it, night had stealthily arrived.
On a black reef about ten sea miles from the Pahama Islands, roughly only a dozen meters in length and width, Colin gazed toward Pahama Island and waited quietly.
For his own safety, he didn't venture to follow Anna and company to Pahama Island, nor did he choose to get close… Ten sea miles was already the closest distance in his heart.
Moreover, he could offer no help to Anna and the other, and there was no need to be too close… All he could do was silently wait.
In this sea domain ruled by the divine, being a wizard was like cheese in a heap of mice; once a hint of scent was detected, he would be swarmed and attacked.
"Sir, which island are you from?"
At this moment, young Ante, seemingly to ease the silent atmosphere, suddenly initiated conversation.
"...Siya Continent." Colin paused briefly before replying succinctly.
The memories of Blackstone Island… had become very distant before he knew it.
"Siya Continent... that's quite far away. Should I address you as..."
"Leonard. Now, stay quiet, I'm about to start meditating."
Colin's reply was brief and stern, ending the conversation as he sat cross-legged on the ground, ready to begin meditation.
Ante hesitated, straightened his collar, and sat down following Colin.
Colin paid little attention to Ante, focusing his attention on himself.
Activating the Transmission Array required the strength of a First Rank Intermediate Wizard; he hadn't forgotten… Time was of the essence!
The ancient Golden Paper slowly emerged in front of him, and he looked at the Wizard Level section.
[First Rank Junior Wizard (90/100)].
'90?'
The black characters caught his eye, and Colin was momentarily taken aback; if he remembered correctly, the last time he checked, his Wizard Level's progress was only at 88.
...During this period, he hadn't meditated once, yet his level's progress had still increased by two points?!
This was certainly not normal; Colin frowned inwardly.
All along, the Golden Paper was like the most precise detection instrument, marking out all his data clearly.
There were no errors, and there couldn't be any... Colin's gaze flickered.
If so, there must be some reason for the abrupt increase in his level progress!
'Could it be... the Ancient Tree Heart?'
At this thought, Colin almost instantly encountered the biggest and only difference related to wizard cultivation that distinguished his current state from the past.
Only... he had no way to verify it.
Since the Ancient Tree Heart had last, and also first, released a surge of warmth, there had not been a second release till now.
Colin hesitated for a moment but chose to meditate first.
Since his talent had been enhanced by the Ancient Tree Heart, he hadn't had a serious, complete meditation session... he didn't know what the efficiency of meditation would be like now.
'Perhaps... it will exceed my expectations?
Previously, with the benefit of the Superbrain, the gains from each meditation session were already frightening.
And now, not only with the transformation by the Ancient Tree Heart, but also with the enhancement from the Crown of Enlightenment...'
Colin couldn't help but feel some anticipation.
The tide surged, the night was pitch black, with only the faint stars twinkling.
In the blink of an eye, four and a half hours had passed.
He had completed a full meditation session.
Colin opened his eyes and slowly unfolded the Golden Paper.
The next second, he slightly startled, somewhat in disbelief.
'It actually increased by four points!'
The pale gold particles slowly dispersed, and Colin slowly stood up, looking at the vast dark sea before him, unable to hide his excitement!
'Perhaps a quantitative change has led to a qualitative change? Could it be the effect of stepping into First Class Talent after the transformation by the Ancient Tree Heart?'
'The Ancient Tree Heart...'
At this thought, Colin was struck by an idea and suddenly opened the Golden Paper again.
"Lord Leonard, are you also worried about Sister Anna and the others?"
Upon seeing him suddenly stand up, Ante asked subconsciously... Generally speaking, even for a First Rank Wizard, the time spent in meditation would be over six hours.
So he thought that Colin, like himself, hadn't fully entered into meditation.
In the past four hours, because of his agitation, and the fact that he hadn't meditated for a long time, he hadn't truly been meditating, but merely resting with closed eyes.
"Worry would only be useful if it worked," Colin responded offhandedly as he put away the Golden Paper, a faint idea forming in his mind. He opened his Storage Ring and took out a crystal.
This was a Knowledge Crystal that Lillian had given him before entering the Treasury Arch, which contained knowledge about the base of strengthening the body for a First Rank Wizard.
'The transformation by the Ancient Tree Heart is mainly a physical fortification, which also affects the Talent Strong Life of physical constitution... So, by extension, maybe the knowledge of body fortification could influence the progress of the Ancient Tree Heart's transformation?'
While reading the knowledge of body fortification, Colin speculated silently.
Now, undoubtedly, the most important thing before him was to improve his Wizard Level!
And since the time for daily meditation had already reached its limit, it was time to see if there was a way to get the Ancient Tree Heart to release its warm stream sooner.
If it was possible, and the transformation by the Ancient Tree Heart really could help increase the amount of Magic Power and thus speed up the progress of the Wizard Level,
He might be able to advance to a First Rank Intermediate Wizard with just one more meditation session!
After all, for him now with First Class Talent, there was no bottleneck between the First Rank Junior Wizard and a First Rank Intermediate Wizard, the only thing needed was the accumulation of Magic Power.
Thinking this, Colin suddenly drew a connection—
'Perhaps the reason the Ancient Tree Heart can accelerate the progress of Wizard Level improvement is that it transforms the Magic Sea, enabling it to hold a larger amount of Magic Power?'
Shaking his head, Colin dispelled all distracting thoughts, ready to attempt his first physical base strengthening.
Before starting, he glanced over at Ante.
The young Ante, for some reason, had seated himself again and seemed to be trying to continue meditating.
Turning his gaze away, Colin recalled the knowledge of the physical base strengthening.
The so-called physical base strengthening mainly focused on the word 'strengthening'... Strictly speaking, any method that could enhance the body belonged to the category of base strengthening.
Of course, there were many things to be aware of—
Such as the lower limit of strengthening, key points, etc.
As for what to use for strengthening and how exactly to strengthen, it depended on each individual's circumstances.
In the Knowledge Crystal that Lillian had given him, half was about the overall approach and considerations for strengthening the base of the body.
The latter half provided three categories and six or seven specific methods of strengthening the physical base.
'Plant Life Energy Transformation... three types of Magic Plants bloodline transformation... High Level Elf bloodline mining...'
Colin furrowed his brows and put the crystal back into the Storage Ring.
With Superbrain, he only needed to read the knowledge of base body strengthening once to remember it, no need for a second look.
However... even after finishing the crystal and understanding it quite thoroughly, he had to stop—
In the Knowledge Crystal about base body strengthening that Lillian had given... there was no suitable method for him.
Or rather, no method that he could implement right now.