Magus had little interest in the banquet to begin with. Now that he had found the thing he had long yearned for, his desire to stay vanished completely.
After exchanging a few words with Rune, he left the banquet hall early and returned to his residence.
As soon as he entered the courtyard, Magus saw two large boxes placed neatly on the ground.
He raised his hand, and a faint shimmer of power flowed from his fingers—the spell Wizard's Hand lifted the boxes effortlessly and carried them into his study. Once inside, he opened them and began a careful inspection.
One box was filled with more than a dozen books.
Their dark, hard covers were etched with intricate, irregular lines—characters that only a Wizard Apprentice could decipher.
Among them, Magus recognized several spell model books: Touch of Fatigue, Detect Poison, Lockpicking, Charm Human, Shield, Analysis of Alien Life, Necromantic Rebirth, and Negative Energy Principle.
Out of the twelve books, five were spell models; the rest were various professional knowledge texts.
"Charm Human and Shield... First-Ring spells?"
Magus's heart quickened. Both spells were extremely practical. Especially Shield—almost every apprentice learned it as a vital life-saving spell.
Unfortunately, to master a First-Ring spell, one's mental power needed to reach at least ten points.
He was still far from that threshold.
"Although the wizards abandoned this world," he murmured, "they left behind countless relics—ancient texts, magic items, even inheritances.
To ordinary people, these things are meaningless—they can't even read them. But to a Wizard Apprentice, they are priceless treasures."
A smile curved his lips.
As long as one was patient and well-funded, any apprentice could gather enough knowledge in this world to one day advance to a Formal Wizard.
Of course, resources were another matter entirely.
Although the two First-Ring spells were out of reach for now, the three Zero-Ring spells were within his grasp.
Magus carefully packed the spell books away, intending to study them later.
Then he flipped through the remaining professional texts. Disappointingly, none of them triggered any corresponding skill notifications.
Apparently, such theoretical knowledge wasn't classified as "skills."
"I'll keep them," he muttered. "Even if they don't grant skills, they'll broaden my understanding."
He sighed lightly, stored the books, and turned to open the second box.
Inside, countless smaller boxes were stacked in tight rows. He opened them one after another.
As expected, each contained well-preserved magical materials.
"Plain Heart Grass, Dragon Eye Mint, Black-Spotted Python Bone Powder... all materials for brewing the Sub-Active Potion!"
After sorting through them, Magus realized that every ingredient for the potion was present—except for the Clear Heart Tree Sap.
Still, the amount was astonishing, enough to produce forty or fifty potions.
"With this many materials," he said, eyes gleaming, "I can definitely refine an improved version of the Sub-Active Potion."
Excitement rose within him. Gathering up the materials, he hurried straight to his laboratory.
The progress bar for Star Ring Meditation was already more than halfway filled.
With the assistance of a Sub-Active Potion, his first Star Ring wouldn't be far off.
When Magus entered the laboratory, he lit the candles one by one.
The long table before him was cluttered with glass beakers, crystal vials, and test tubes—a familiar sight that always steadied his heart.
During the past three months, he had refined Sub-Dragon Blood Potions more than two hundred times.
His Potion Making skill had already advanced to Level 2—more than sufficient for zero-order potion experiments.
Thus, alongside meditation and spell study, Magus began dedicating part of his daily routine to potion research.
He experimented continuously, synthesizing Silver Moon Flower Essence of varying purity and testing its compatibility with other ingredients.
Each attempt aimed to discover the ideal ratio that could serve as a substitute for the elusive Clear Heart Tree Sap.
Starlight Calendar 1249, Month of Resurrection.
The Black Scale Lizardmen had fully retreated to their lair in the Redhorn Wasteland, leaving Blackstone City at peace for the first time in months.
Freed from the threat of war, Rune shifted his focus back to managing the territory.
Located in the warm southern plains, Blackstone's winter snows had already begun to melt.
By the time the Spring Dawn Month arrived, the fields would be ready for plowing and sowing.
Under Rune's orders, the militia had been building irrigation canals for months, diverting river water into the farmlands in preparation for the spring planting.
With proper irrigation, this year's harvest was almost guaranteed to be plentiful.
In addition, Rune had encouraged the serfs to fish during the off-season, providing an extra source of income for the territory.
Since the war's end, Blackstone City's military strength had not diminished—it had, in fact, grown.
Thanks to the Sub-Dragon Blood Potion, the number of knights had surged from nine to twenty-one.
And that number was still rising, expected to increase further until the stored Black Scale Lizardmen blood was exhausted.
However, this growth brought a new challenge—food consumption.
A single knight could easily devour thirty to forty pounds of meat per day.
The city's livestock alone couldn't sustain such appetites, forcing Rune to turn to fishing and trade for relief.
Fishing helped only a little.
Ultimately, Rune had to purchase large quantities of meat from neighboring cities, spending far more gold than he would have liked.
To make matters worse, his younger brother's research demanded immense resources.
Just the recent shipment of ancient texts and alchemical materials had cost dozens of gold coins—almost the city's entire monthly tax revenue.
Every time Rune thought of it, his heart felt as though it were bleeding.
Yet he knew better than to cut Magus's funding.
His brother's work, though costly, held the potential to transform the future of their territory.
To keep the city afloat, Rune had been forced to balance the budget with painful precision.
Between food, trade, and research, the weight of every decision left him losing more hair by the day.
Magus, however, was blissfully unaware.
Locked away in his laboratory, he devoted every waking moment to his experiments, oblivious to his brother's mounting worries.
Mid-Month of Revival.
After countless trials and failures, Magus finally succeeded.
Before him sat a glass vial filled with a shimmering, silver-blue liquid—the Sub-Active Potion.
[Sub-Active Potion (Zero-Order / Low-Grade):
Upon consumption, increases mental activity. Duration: 15 days, 4 hours.
Effect does not stack.]
"It's finally complete…"
Magus exhaled, eyes bright with relief and satisfaction.
Thanks to the precision of the Synthesis Cube, he had been able to finely control the refreshing potency of Silver Moon Flower Essence, adjusting it until its effect nearly matched that of the Clear Heart Tree Sap.
It could now serve as a true substitute.
The entire experimental process had been straightforward—endless adjustments, careful testing, patient refinement.
It went far smoother than he had anticipated, allowing him to complete the improved potion in record time.
Without hesitation, Magus raised the vial and drank.
The liquid slid coolly down his throat, spreading a mint-like freshness from his abdomen outward until it enveloped his entire body.
Instantly, he felt as though he were submerged in a tranquil lake.
Calmness flowed through him; his thoughts sharpened, his senses cleared.
Time seemed to blur. When he finally opened his eyes again, an unmistakable vigor filled him from within.
That subtle clarity was the unmistakable sign of increased mental power.
Eagerly, Magus summoned his personal status panel.
[Magus Yaniesite · Human Male · Age 16]
Spirit: 2.82 Physique: 2.94
Skills:
Star Ring Meditation Lv1 (750 / 1000)
Potion Making Lv2 (289 / 3000)
"Spirit up by 0.03, and Star Ring Meditation proficiency up by twenty-five points!"
Magus's eyes lit with excitement.
This efficiency was nearly five times greater than before.
The Sub-Active Potion had far exceeded his expectations.
"At this rate," he said with a confident smile, "I'll be able to construct my first Star Ring within ten days!"
He set down the empty vial, its silver residue gleaming faintly in the candlelight.
Outside, the wind carried the scent of early spring—the season of growth, of new beginnings.
For Magus, it marked the dawn of his ascension as a true wizard.