Chapter 102: Advancement
Late at night, under the cold moonlight, the pale beam passed through the glass window and gently fell upon Janna’s delicate face, porcelain-like and still. It was like a frozen painting—silent and beautiful.
“Hoo—inhale—hoo—”
Long breaths flowed steadily from Janna’s mouth and nose.
Accompanied by the swirling green light particles hovering around her, the surrounding magical plants also quietly grew in the thick aura of life.
Even the branches and leaves, under the reflection of the bright moonlight, took on a translucent emerald hue.
“Hoo——inhale——hoo——inhale——”
The rhythm of breathing gradually elongated.
As the moon rose above the treetops and the hands of the mechanical clock had just passed midnight, Janna’s tightly closed eyes suddenly opened.
“Character Panel.”
【Name: Janna Roland
Profession: First Tier Wizard Apprentice
Profession Level: Level 10
Spirit Power: 20
...】
After this period of meditation, finally, in this moment, Janna’s Spirit Power had broken through the critical threshold of twenty points.
“Next is the construction of the Soul Circuit.” As her consciousness sank and passed through the Sea of Spirit, Janna arrived beneath the Wizard Tree at the depth of her soul.
“After the upgrade of the Wizard Talents, the Wizard Tree also received a feedback boost.”
Looking at the crystal-clear A-level 【Spirit Phase Travel】 talent and the slightly dimmer B-level 【Plant Affinity】 talent on the Wizard Tree, Janna didn’t hesitate and immediately cast her will into the Wizard Tree.
“Crack—”
The trunk shot upward, and the branches split.
Under Janna’s conscious control, the Wizard Tree rapidly extended a branch toward the Soul Barrier.
“Swoosh—”
As the branch drew closer to the Soul Barrier, the Sea of Spirit encasing her soul roared turbulently in Janna’s soul vision.
Soon, the water condensed into silvery white chains, continuously supporting the rapidly growing branches of the Wizard Tree.
Finally, when the branch pierced through the Soul Barrier, just as the Sea of Spirit was about to dry up, like a spiderweb of threads, the second Soul Circuit was formally constructed by Janna’s conscious control—connecting the Wizard Tree and the ecology of the Wizard World.
“Success!”
Boom—
With a loud noise on the Soul Barrier, Janna, having successfully advanced to a Second Tier Wizard Apprentice, opened her eyes once more.
As the magic aura around her continued to surge, the green plant-based magical particles danced joyfully around her, just like her surging emotions—difficult to calm.
“Hoo…”
She exhaled deeply, and as she watched the magical particle phenomenon gradually subside around her, Janna’s joyous mood also began to settle.
“It’s said that when a Third Tier Apprentice breaks through to become a full Wizard, the infusion of Law Authority can even trigger changes in weather—”
Of course, the anomaly during a Wizard’s breakthrough mainly depended on the Law Authority they mastered.
If the authority involved the sky—like 【Fog】 or 【Hurricane】—then a temporary climate shift around them was natural.
However, if the Wizard grasped a special Law Authority like 【Blood】, 【Undead】, or 【Mirror】, then the resulting Law Anomaly could vary wildly.
In severe cases, it might even endanger the lives of ordinary people nearby.
Thus, Wizards always advanced in uninhabited or heavily protected places.
“Next is—”
“System, upgrade all Wizard Skills to the current level cap!”
Swoosh—a silvery light flashed across every entry in the skill list.
With a rapid consumption of the vast amount of accumulated Skill EXP, waves of witchcraft knowledge surged into Janna’s mind, causing the Sea of Spirit to churn violently.
【Wizard Skills:
Contract Summoning (Level 29),
Spirit Summoning (Level 29),
Soul Lash (Level 29),
Vine Bind (Level 29),
Acid Spray (Level 29),
Soul Chain (Level 29),
Siren Chanting (Level 29),
Basic Transfiguration (Level 29),
Eagle Eye Spell (Level 29),
Magic Missile (Level 29),
Floral Guard (Level 29),
Wizard's Hand (Level 29),
Magic Reading (Level 29)】
Looking at the skill list where all spells had been upgraded to the current level cap, Janna’s face was full of the satisfaction that came with leveling up.
“After advancing, the soul capacity has more than doubled. At this rate, I can contract at least three more summoned creatures.”
According to Janna’s original plan, after advancing to a Second Tier Wizard Apprentice, the expansion of her soul capacity would allow her to perform at least two more summoning rituals.
However, plans often failed to keep up with changes.
This time, the extent of her soul’s capacity growth far exceeded Janna’s expectations.
In the current state, Janna could contract five summoned creatures while still at the apprentice stage.
Although it would place a greater burden on her soul, as long as it was managed wisely, there shouldn’t be a major problem.
“Indeed, factions like the Undead, Spirit Faction, and Summoning Faction—those that primarily rely on contracted creatures in battle—see the greatest power gains in the later stages.”
The most typical example was the principal of White Coral Academy.
With his formidable undead summoning, he could face off against at least two Elemental Wizards of the same tier at once.
Or the Spirit Faction apprentice Janna had met last time in Blackbone Grove, the ghost child Padin Green.
He relied on a Skeletal Ghost with strength rivaling a Third Tier Apprentice.
Not only did he earn an A-rank mercenary title within the Turin Mercenary Corps, but also, with his Dark Witchcraft that rivaled ghost summoning, Padin Green possessed the confidence to take on two opponents of the same rank.
“Of course, the weakness of the Summoning Faction is equally well known. Everyone knows that in a fight against a Summoning Wizard, taking down the Summoner causes the summoned creatures to naturally collapse—”
The night was tranquil. In the latter part of the night, the moonlight dimmed due to cloud cover.
Gradually returning to calm after the joy of her advancement, Janna closed her eyes again. With deep and steady breaths, she entered into a deep meditative state.
The next morning.
“Welcome to Bauhinia Bank—oh, it’s Miss Janna.”
This time, Janna was greeted once again by the same gray-skinned goblin as before. Though goblins’ aesthetics differed from humans’, Janna’s exceptionally high Charisma still left a lasting impression on him.
“I’d like to withdraw all the Gold Surrel inside.”
Placing the withdrawal card with the Bauhinia flower emblem on the tray behind the counter’s glass window, Janna then quietly sat down, waiting for the count.
“A total of three hundred and sixty Gold Surrel. Miss Janna, would you like to withdraw the entire amount?”
“Yes.”
Clatter—
After receiving Janna’s confirmation, the goblin poured all three hundred and sixty Gold Surrel—the remaining wages and overtime bonuses she had earned over the past month—onto the tray.