Spring in Neustadt City, like a sudden night rain, had unexpectedly arrived.
Almost overnight, on his way to the True Knowledge Society, Colin suddenly noticed that the snow in the city has disappeared, revealing grey-brown roofs and streets, and various kinds of plants had sprouted new leaves.
Great patches of tender green and yellow replaced the white, becoming the new predominant color.
In the True Knowledge Society's laboratory, a pale blue figure stood before Colin.
This was the Summoned Ice Element he was trying to formally experiment with for the first time.
It had been a month since Lily advanced to a Second Rank Wizard.
During this month, Colin, using the Summoned Ice Element as a basis, pondered for days and nights until he finally came up with a preliminary theoretical plan.
Now was the time for the first practical attempt.
It's worth mentioning that, similar to Summoning the Fire Element, when cast in conjunction with witchcraft spells such as the Ice Cone Skill or Water Ball Skill, an overlapping effect occurs—not only can the casting material for Summoning Ice Element be water, but it can also be ice.
Moreover, benefiting from Colin's Frost Talent, he could create ice cones without using the Ice Cone Skill.
However, to test whether Summoning Ice Element would also exhibit an overlapping effect, he learned the Ice Cone Skill.
The only pity was that even with the assistance of his Frost Talent, there was still no significant progress in the integration of the Black Mist Net with Summoning Ice Element.
The progression with these two Second Rank witchcraft spells was also slow; Black Mist Net barely reached 20, now at 22/100, and perhaps due to talent, the Summoning Ice Element spell, only a month into learning, was already at 18/100, just two points shy of reaching 20.
The progress of other skills such as Summoning Fire Element, five Limit Breaking Fireball Skills, and Steel Temperature Resistance Field were similarly paced.
One can only say that the difficulty of cultivating Second Rank witchcraft far exceeds that of the past.
In fact, the cultivation of a Wizard is the same. Even though Colin meditated daily, he had only reached Second Rank Basic Level Wizard (8/100).
'Perhaps, while researching new Combined Witchcraft, I should also try to find ways to enhance my Superbrain Talent.'
The Superbrain Talent's bonus to cultivation speed is something Colin experienced deeply in the First Rank period.
Even now, his cultivation speed compared to other ordinary Wizards could already be described as lightning-fast!
However, in contrast to the slow progress with witchcraft, his Knight progress seemed rapid, reaching First Rank Knight (82/100).
From the current perspective, the path of knighthood doesn't appear to be as intricately divided as that of wizardry, lacking a designation of First Rank Basic Level Knight.
But this wasn't certain. Colin did not know what scene would unfold upon reaching the limit – it might be a breakthrough past First Rank, it might encounter a bottleneck like before, or perhaps it might be an advancement to First Rank Intermediate Knight.
All these were possible; the path of the knight was a road untrodden, veiled in mystery.
Exhaling a breath of stale air, Colin collected his scattered thoughts, raised his palm, and began the first attempt.
The fluctuation of Magic Power wafted through the laboratory, interspersed with flickering ghostly lights.
Four hours later, after destroying two Ice Elements and replenishing his Magic Power once, Colin finally "installed" a new Life Cycle Architecture in the third Ice Element.
On the outside, the Ice Element seemed unchanged, but inside, beside the original Element control center, there was now an additional spherical structure, which Colin named Life Cycle Central.
The spherical Life Cycle Central extended numerous filament-like webs from the surface, almost covering the inside of the Ice Element's body, with tips reaching the skin.
This was Colin's creation, modeled after the Silent Shadow's internal Energy circulation core, with further adjustments tailored for the Ice Element.
Through it, the Ice Element could extract Magic Power from its surroundings like the Silent Shadow, converting it into its own Energy to replenish consumption and maintain stability.
Colin withdrew his hand and took a step back to carefully observe the Ice Element that had just been modified.
Five minutes passed quickly, and the newly modified Ice Element hadn't shown any problems.
The shape was very stable, the control center's connection to him was also firm, and the energy condition was tranquil—a normal display during "standby."
Colin's heart was slightly pleased as he began the next step of testing.
"Release a full-force attack!" he commanded in his mind.
Crack!
Huge ice spurs erupted from two meters in front of the Ice Element, almost covering the space in front.
"Cast a standard Ice Spur attack," Colin tested again.
Whoosh!
An ice spur as thick as a thigh materialized in front of the Ice Element and shot forward, finally slamming into the laboratory's sturdy wall and shattering into a pile of icy debris.
Following that, Colin continued to have the Ice Element launch several attacks.
During this process, the Ice Element performed normally, but there seemed to be some delay in receiving commands?
The delay wasn't significant, about a tenth of a second, imperceptible to the average person.
Colin did not pay much attention for the time being, simply recording it before continuing to the next and most important test.
"Restore energy," he instructed, watching the Ice Element in front of him.
The Ice Element stood still, its body gradually lighting up with traces of Magic Power converging.
Colin's mouth slowly curled into a smile, but before the smile could fully form, he heard a faint crackling sound.
Colin's expression stiffened as he quickly reinforced himself with a Steel Temperature Resistance Field.
Boom!
The next second, the whole Ice Element exploded from its center, scattering shards all over the place.
Colin looked at the scene with an ugly expression, took a deep breath, and while chanting a spell, summoned another Ice Element and transformed it.
Not long after, the same scene replayed.
Boom!
The Ice Element shattered again, and Colin stepped forward, squatting down to inspect the remains closely.
The new Ice Element, like the previous one, had no issues with attacking or autonomous actions, but when it began restoring magic power, it would break apart into pieces after approximately five seconds.
It was as if it absorbed not Magic Power but some explosive energy.
Colin frowned and stood up, ready to summon another Ice Element, trying to identify the problem.
But he glanced at his pocket watch, and seeing that time was getting late, he hesitated for a moment before suppressing his urge to continue experimenting.
After cleaning up the laboratory, he rushed to the School.
In half an hour, class would begin—the classes that cost him precious academic points to attend. Being late was a crime!
As he passed by the laboratory Shelley usually used, Colin's steps faltered slightly.
The laboratory's gray-black door was tightly shut, the crystal indicator above it extinguished, meaning no one was inside.
Though it was already spring, Shelley still hadn't returned.
Shaking his head, Colin withdrew his gaze and continued on to the School.