The small room had bare walls on all sides.
The bedding was thin, the iron bed cold and hard, making one's bones ache.
Roy woke up, clutching his head, and gasped in pain.
"It hurts so much...
What exactly happened?"
In a daze, memories of past and present intertwined like illusions in his mind.
It turned out that this was a wizarding world ruled by the "Seven Tower Alliance."
His new identity was also called Roy, an apprentice at the Oakmi Wizard Tower, one of the seven ancestral towers.
Roy rubbed his temples, trying to alleviate the headache.
As a result, more memories of his former self surged forth.
At the age of 12, filled with dreams of becoming a wizard, he boarded a ship and crossed the seas to arrive here.
For six years now, he had been waking up early and working late, trading his labor for three meals a day and the knowledge needed for his training and advancement.
The hardships and sufferings of over two thousand days and nights were still vivid in his mind.
But in just over a month, it would be the annual deadline for the Cleansing Tower.
His former self was about to face the tragic fate of being expelled from the tower and sent back to his homeland.
He didn't know if it was due to overwhelming despair or some other unforeseen event, but he had suddenly died in the night.
Then, he took his place.
"Expelled from the tower…"
Roy murmured softly, frowning deeply.
The Old Continent was not a good place.
It was a land of backwardness, ignorance, and underdevelopment, where the lower-class commoners were worse off than cattle and horses, plagued by famine, disease, and war.
The education received by low-level apprentices was at best equivalent to basic literacy and some knowledge of mysticism.
They had not reached the stage of spellcasting.
Being sent back without becoming a mid-level apprentice was almost equivalent to being exiled to the wilderness, left to the mercy of the bloodline aristocrats there.
Coming back to his senses, Roy surveyed the room.
The interior of the wizard tower was grand like a city, even hiding many portals to small worlds, yet the accommodations for low-level apprentices were as simple as the insides of a medieval stone castle.
However, a chandelier made of magic crystal hung from the ceiling, emitting a clean white light.
On the table beneath the chandelier lay several general knowledge books borrowed from the library, one of which was open, containing the basic knowledge his former self had read many times.
"The books that record wizard knowledge are collectively called the 'Wizard's Book,' which usually includes will runes...
The process of sketching and illuminating the rune images in one's mind through mental power is the process of meditation training…"
Roy pondered.
"Wizard's Book, will runes, meditation training…
Ordinary people's mental power can only continuously sketch and illuminate 1 to 2 will runes.
Reaching 3 or more is the entry standard for low-level apprentices.
This often requires exceptional talent or deliberate training to achieve.
The former self was chosen to board the ship for this reason.
But as a six-year-old apprentice, he must achieve the illumination of 8 or more runes through professional meditation and long-term persistence to advance to mid-level and be allowed to stay!"
Roy quietly checked his current progress.
"Fever ()!
Uruz ()!
Tulizaz ()! Ansuz ()!
Raedhe ()!
Kanaz ()!
Gai…Gai Ber…"
As he meditated, the outlines of 6 will runes emerged in the dark void of his mind, like torches being lit.
By the time he reached the 7th rune, his mental power began to wane, and the once-clear rune image suddenly lost its light, gradually dimming.
"The requirement is 8 runes, but after all these years, I've only made progress on 6…
At this rate, I definitely won't make it in time!"
Roy thought.
Working hard in isolation seemed unlikely to catch up; perhaps he would need to rely on some external forces.
The good news was that the wizarding world was never short of such external forces.
Mental enhancement potions, bloodline transformation potions, soul stones, corpse flowers…
Everything one could imagine was available.
The bad news was that any of these would cost magic stones, starting at least in the hundreds.
For him, this was undoubtedly a sum that would take years of effort to accumulate.
"What should I do to earn this money quickly?"
Roy felt a bit troubled.
The former self was an ordinary low-level apprentice, with the only small highlight being that during his years here, he had studied a bit about potions and perfume making.
But that was merely superficial knowledge.
It was impossible to earn enough magic stones to change his fate in a short time.
Just as he felt helpless, Roy suddenly sensed a warm current surging within him, as if being soaked in warm water, exceptionally comfortable.
Afterward, the warmth faded, returning to normal, but his gaze inadvertently swept over the book, and he suddenly froze.
A semi-transparent illusory panel inexplicably appeared in his vision, with words materializing.
[Alchemy Talent Acquired (100%)]
[Skilled Worker (Black Iron Level)]
[When performing apprentice-level alchemy operations, gain a proficiency boost equivalent to skilled level, and success rate doubles.]
"What is this?"
Roy showed a look of surprise.
In his excitement, he quickly instinctively understood the function of this black iron-level talent.
The "skilled" level proficiency boost meant that he had crossed the initial and entry-level thresholds, and most operations would come easily, allowing him to master them quickly! The doubled success rate was a direct and substantial increase! Of course, this was not a causative ability that could transcend logic.
For example, proficiency…
At the very least, one had to learn first; only after learning could one quickly grasp and master the skills.
Moreover, deliberately knocking over the alchemy table, misplacing materials, being careless, and so on would still reduce the success rate, leading to failure.
Because the foundation for success would be lost, or reduced to a low standard, doubling would be powerless to save the situation.
"Regardless, this talent ability is incredibly useful.
Perhaps I can try to make 'Puwater Fragrance' to earn some money!"
He paced around the room, searching his memories, gradually forming an idea.
Perfume making requires knowledge and skill, often needing a perfumer with a family background to be competent.
Although the former self had studied this area a bit, his skills were mediocre at best, merely capable of assisting others to earn a little pocket money.
But with the emergence of this [Skilled Worker] black iron-level talent, his mind suddenly cleared, and all the details came vividly to him.
This made him feel as if he had been tempered a thousand times, becoming exceptionally skilled, and he suddenly gained immense confidence.
Indeed, the talent ability began to manifest…
It was truly an immediate enhancement!
[Alchemy Talent Acquired (0%)]
Roy suddenly stopped in his tracks, as the words on the panel changed, giving him a second surprise.
"Can I continue to gain more?"
He slapped his palm on the table, causing the books and papers to tremble.
The [Skilled Worker] black iron-level talent seemed to be of low rank and could only apply to apprentice-level alchemy…
Would there be more and better talents in the future?
The wizarding flow, using alchemists as a starting point, integrating systems… During the new book period, please continue to support! The basic structure of this book is based on the wizard tower as the homeland, with wizards colonizing and conquering many worlds (which can be understood in reference to infinite flow). In terms of length, it changes worlds every 100,000 to 200,000 words, so the world changes relatively frequently, raising the perspective to the entire magical universe as a chessboard. However, several core high-magic worlds may break this pattern and may also return multiple times to the same world.
(End of Chapter)