Imperial Crown.

Chapter 371 Fourth-level magician!
In the public's impression, magicians are not only mysterious, powerful, but also "rich".

Imperial, who was killed by Raven before, only had 2 gold coins on him. That was a special case.

Who made him insist on following the Death Hand Cult?

In comparison, Flindo's private collection is much richer.

As a 5th-level magician, his daily expenses have basically nothing to do with gold coins. Even so, he still carries about 6 gold coins with him.

It was obvious that he didn't care much about it and just piled it in the corner of the space ring. Because inside it, Raven also found a few purchase and payment slips mixed in.

What Flindo really cares about are all kinds of magic materials, including magic cores, magic crystals, magic plants, magic ores, and they are clearly divided according to rank and attributes.

Although Flindo's henna looks fancy, the types of raw materials she has stockpiled are very clear, and most of them are related to blood, darkness, and life. This is probably because she is studying flesh and blood magic.

The blood crystal that Raven gave to William and Ernada was part of her collection.

If these collections were sold in a package, they could fetch at least 30 gold coins; if one were willing to slowly look for buyers, 50 gold coins would not be out of the question.

"such a pity……"

Counting the number, Raven shook his head.

A magician of a Mage Guild will not carry most of his possessions with him, but will store them in the Mage Tower.

I can carry materials worth 30 to 50 gold coins with me, so it is normal to have three to five times more in the Mage Tower. If I think about it this way, it’s a bit of a loss...

But there was no way Raven could let Flindo go at that time.

Flindo knew too much.

So far, most of the strong people who have seen Raven take action have died.

Even though Palmer was shot dead in public, the witnesses were all soldiers. They would only be confused but would have no idea what kind of power Raven used.

But Flindo is different.

She is a well-informed 5th-level magician, and has seen almost all of Raven's hidden tricks.

Once this news spreads, Raven will encounter more troubles when he fights the enemy again in the future.

The outcome of combat between extraordinary people depends largely on the information gap.

The more tricks your opponent doesn't know about, the more likely you are to win.

Take a simple example.

If Palmer had known that Raven controlled the Origin Wildfire, he would not have used "Desolate Creation" to create the fire giant, and the direction of the battle might have changed accordingly.

And what Flindo proposed, signing a magic contract and becoming Raven's slave, seemed tempting, but in fact it was not safe.

She is a 5th level magician after all.

She is fully capable of doing this, and, at some cost, ask the 6th or even 7th level magicians in the Mage Guild to help her lift the restrictions of the contract.

If this is true, Raven might have to face a Level 5 magician who is hiding in the dark, knows him well, and hates him to the core.

So after weighing the pros and cons, even if the benefits of enslaving Flindo would be huge, they had no choice but to kill her with great pain.

And it didn't look like Flindo was telling the truth entirely.

At least she wasn't that indifferent to her apprentice, Quarley.

In her storage ring, apart from the magic raw materials and various clothes and jewelry that she used for changing, the only things that were sorted and stored in a separate space were a few kinds of magic raw materials that were very inconspicuous compared to her collection.

Among them is the Core Flower that can help Quarry break through to level 4.

Even the numerous magic scrolls were scattered together.

The core flower is the last ingredient that Raven lacks in refining the magic potion!
Now Raven's magic power has grown to level 3, 10 stars, and he has also engraved the Fireball spell.

The first two hurdles have been overcome, and the only condition left is the magic upgrade potion!
"It's time to start trying to break through to the fourth level."

Just as a knight can activate a battle pattern at level 4, a magician can also have new methods when he reaches level .

But before that, there is still business to attend to.

Raven ordered someone to call Eric and issued several instructions again.

As Eric listened, his expression became more and more excited and a little nervous.

Since following Raven into Eivor, this was the first time he had experienced the frustration of only defending and not attacking, and he could no longer endure it.

Now that Raven's plan is so thorough and rigorous, he can't help but look forward to it before he even starts to execute it.

But amidst the anticipation, there was also nervousness: "But sir, this way, wouldn't it be obvious to the other party that you are awake?"

"Will it?" Raven asked.

Eric thought about it carefully and nodded slowly. "Yes, you said that you wanted to dig a tunnel starting from your tent. Although you said that the excavated earth can be stored in the storage ring and then carried away by the Hippogryph Cavalry, it is inevitable that many soldiers will go in and out of your tent. This cannot be concealed for Blue Castle with its flying monsters. It must be very eye-catching."

"Besides, we have been keeping the camp closed for so long. If we suddenly launch an attack, it can only be interpreted as you waking up!"

Raven smiled. "What you said makes sense, but let me ask you, now that I'm awake, why don't I show up in public?"

Eric stammered, "Well... maybe you are afraid of the next assassination... or..."

Before he could finish, Raven said casually, "If they still have someone to carry out the next assassination, why didn't they come in and kill me while I was still alive? If they don't have anyone, why should I be afraid?"

This time, Eric finally couldn't find a reason.

"You can't think of it, and the other party won't think of it either." Raven smiled: "Besides, even if they can guess that I'm awake, what can they do?"

"Could it be that they didn't dare to attack me during the time I was unconscious, but now that they are sure I'm awake, they dare to attack me again?"

"One thing that won't harm me, and might even make the other party spend more energy, so why not do it?"

Eric was speechless and convinced. He turned around and left, taking the city defense force deployment map brought back by William and Ernada and left the central tent.

Soon, the Wind King's troops took off into the air and rushed towards the Blue Castle.

A large number of Eagle soldiers were mobilized, crowded into Raven's tent, and began digging on the spot.

There is strength in numbers, and with Raven on site to supervise, the tunnel excavation progressed rapidly. That night, a 5-meter-deep, inclined stepped walkway was opened.

The efficiency was so high that they even dug out a separate room for Raven next to the trail for quiet meditation, practice and rest.

In the following days, the stairs continued to extend inward, and Raven's room was raised and widened, and padded with various relatively easy-to-obtain sound-proofing materials.

Although it cannot be said to be very comfortable or exquisite, it is at least a qualified place to rest.

After settling down, the first thing Raven had to do was, of course, to brew the "magic-enhancing potion".

Fortunately, the magician Flindo carried two sets of enchanting and alchemical equipment with her.

This process was not smooth, even though Raven had read the recipe countless times beforehand, had collected all the raw materials, and even had the help of the Eye of Truth.

But it still took him eight full days and he had to waste two batches before he finally finished brewing this magic-enhancing potion that was specifically for Raven himself.

It looked like a whirlpool trapped in a jar. It kept spinning and flowing without moving, and its color kept changing from gray to white to yellow to black.

It only took 8 days to brew this potion.

But it took Raven two years to put it all together.

The magic-enhancing potion cannot be stored for long, and Raven is not prepared to wait any longer.

After giving the order that no one should be disturbed, Raven sat back in the center of the room, tilted his head back and drank the potion.

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle...

His stomach and intestines began to make rumbling noises, and Raven felt that the magic power in his body was expanding as if it were inflated, so he quickly closed his eyes tightly.

From level 3 to level 4, it is the first transformation in a magician’s practice.

There are 3 steps to achieve a breakthrough.

The first step is to subdue the magic power that is about to run wild!

Raven sank into a meditative state.

At this moment, in his magic pool, the magic power that was trickling like water was surging like the sea surface after a typhoon. Magic power continuously surged out from it and hit the edge of the magic pool.

The feeling of magic power running rampant in the body was like a bug squirming and crawling through the gaps between muscles.

In the real world, the magic power that flowed out of Raven's mouth and nose had turned into magic flames and began to burn!
Raven immediately mobilized all his mental strength and built an invisible barrier around the magic pool, like a deliberately raised river embankment.

It expands and grows wildly, like a deep well surging backwards.

Just like a water current, the greater the depth, the greater the pressure.

Mental power is an extension of thinking.

Raven's permanent mental power continuously raised the barrier, blocking the outflow of magic power. A strong pressure from the inside out came down, as if to tear Raven's soul apart!

The height keeps rising, rising, and rising!!!
Until the overflowing water was ten times more than the magic pool could hold!
It's like a sand sculpture without any foundation that will collapse at the slightest breeze.

And the wind did indeed start to blow at this moment.

It was not from the outside, but from the inside. At the bottom of the magic pool, the two whirlpools connected to the astral world slowly stopped rotating under the huge pressure from the magic. They finally stopped frantically transforming elements into magic.

But their cessation also means the severance of a magician's communication with the elements.

Next, Raven would have to take the second step, which was also the most dangerous step in the process of breaking through the fourth level.

He extracted the only remaining mental strength, turned it into a lid, and pressed it hard on the soaring magic power!
The human body serves as a container, and the pool of magic power it produces is limited in size, so the growth of its magic power naturally also has its limits.

Only by compressing the magic power and transforming it into a new form can a greater improvement be achieved.

Therefore, this step is not only to compress the magic power, but also to temper the magic pool so that it can accommodate deeper magic power!

Countless pores on Raven's body opened, and trickles of blood oozed out.

The pressure from the magic pool water not only acted on Raven's soul, but also on his body, and then continued to exert pressure on his soul through his body!
A vicious cycle that is almost impossible to stop.

This step not only tests the magician's will, but also tests his control of mental power.

If the will is not strong enough and cannot bear the pain brought by the pressure, the out-of-control magic power will at least burn out the magician's magic power and turn him back into a mortal; if it is more serious, the magician will be directly roasted into a mummy!
If the control of mental power is not detailed enough, either the magic power cannot be compressed quickly, or the magic power pool will be directly crushed.

Fortunately, Raven's will is strong enough, and he has the Eye of Truth to assist him.

The surging magic power was pressed back to the surface of the water bit by bit, and its texture began to become thicker and heavier, as if it had turned from water into mud.

At this point, Raven breathed a sigh of relief.

The second step is finally basically completed.

Now comes the last step -

His mental power turned into a probe, pierced into the pool of magic power, and touched the two whirlpools that had stopped functioning.

then
Stir hard!

boom! !

An explosion like the restart of the universe rang out in Raven's soul, and the two original vortexes of magic power suddenly collapsed!
Without the support of these two whirlpools, the magic power that had been compressed into a muddy texture began to leak out through the Star Gate!

The mental probes inside were twisted, curled, and changed by pressure from all sides.

But Raven did not withdraw it. Instead, he controlled it and let more mental tentacles probe into it, turning them into tweezers and pliers, exploring and piecing together the broken pieces of the vortex bit by bit!

The mud magic in the magic pool will flow away in 2 hours at most.

And Raven must piece together the vortex that has been broken into thousands of pieces within these two hours!
Magic is a product of fantasy.

Raven not only had to piece together the fragments, but also had to clearly imagine what the vortex would look like.

Mental strength is being tempered and forged unconsciously.

Time passed by minute by minute.

Just when the water in the magic pool dropped to 1/3, a brand new magic light wheel was finally pieced together.

It was no longer like in the past, with two halos sandwiching a Star Gate, but now it started to rotate again with the Star Gate as the core!
The water in the magic pool began to slide down at an unprecedented speed.

At this point, Raven's mouth curled up into a smile.

Watch quietly as the magic power dries up, and then the newly formed light wheel slowly turns.

Magic power began to flow from the Star Gate!
Different from the muddy texture before, the magic power gushing out from the Astral Gate is now purer and more transparent. To use a metaphor, it is like colorless mercury.

The magic power filled the bottom of the pool, making it look like a small bubble.

But the texture now is dozens of times better than before. This bubble alone exceeds the total magic power of Raven when he was at level 3 and 10.

"Finally it worked!"

Raven opened his eyes and let out a long breath, his eyes full of emotion.

从1阶到2阶，用了半年；从2阶到3阶，用了整整1年。

From the time he was promoted to level 3 to now, Raven has already gone through...

6 years!
He stretched out his palm, and a trace of magic power flowed through it, turning into an almost invisible water film that covered his entire body. After flowing, it gathered along his fingertips and formed several drops of black water that fell to the ground.

Those were the traces left after the dirt and mud on Raven's body were washed away.

From level 3 to level 4, it is a process of breaking down and reconstructing, and it is also the process of a magician truly becoming a master.

Starting from level 4, the magician can mobilize elements directly from the astral plane and is no longer constrained by the environment.

The magic power that has been enhanced in essence can evoke and control elements in a limited way in the material world without chanting. The process of cleansing the body just now is an application of this.

Directly connecting to the astral world also brings a new ability to the magician:
Magical creations can last forever!
Just like water.

A first-level water magician can summon large amounts of water - they can be used to cleanse the body, wash away stains, and even to put out fires.

But I can't drink.

Because once the magic in the water source dissipates, the magic that summons the water flow itself will also disappear.

In other words, drinking it is the same as not drinking it and it cannot relieve any thirst.

But after reaching level 4, it’s completely different.

The created water is real water. It can be evaporated into steam and condensed into ice, but it will never disappear from the world!

With Raven's current magic reserves, I can't say anything else, but maintaining the daily water needs of a standard legion is not a problem at all.

"Magic power is closer to the essence of the world than fighting spirit."

Raven thought of the words on the title page of the book "The Path of the Mage".

At that time, he thought it was just the magician's boasting, but now he felt deeply touched.

Because created objects will not disappear, they themselves are a kind of power belonging to the Creator!

Taking advantage of his good mood, Raven opened Flindo's ring again, picked and chose, and selected 4 magic scrolls from it.

Now that you have been promoted to level 4, of course you must master at least one level 4 magic first.

These four scrolls are all the 4th-level magics hidden in Flindo's collection.

The shadow magic she has released before include "Dust of History"; lightning magic "Wrath of the Titans"; fire magic "Jade Pearl"; and arcane magic "Element Disintegration".

After weighing the pros and cons, Raven held the scroll of elemental decomposition.

The arcane magic is not included in the basic element classification. It is pure magic based on the operation of magical power. It is also called "magic among magic" and "magic of the wise".

Most arcane magic was developed from scratch by bored mages.

Therefore, the effects can be said to be varied, some are ridiculously weak, some have inexplicable effects that make people confused, and some are so strong that they are jaw-dropping.

Although he was no longer a novice in magic and had mastered the Elvish language, and had the assistance of the Eye of Truth in mental control, Raven estimated that it would take at least a month to fully master it.

But Raven chose it resolutely.

After 42 days.

"If I had known this earlier, I wouldn't have practiced this kind of magic..."

When he was sure that he had fully mastered this magic, Raven sighed.

Arcane magic was still too difficult, far beyond Raven's expectations.

If Flindo heard Raven's emotion, she would definitely want to bury Raven under the wizard tower.

When she was at level 4, she had studied this magic for three months but had not even entered the door.

After being promoted to level 5, I was not sure I could master it within 2 years, so I abandoned it!
Raven took 42 days, and he still thought it was too slow! ?

The reason why Raven was able to hold on was because his level 4 magic was powerful enough.

Generally speaking, a newly promoted wizard has just enough magic power in his body to cast a spell of the same level.

For example, Flindo.

她生前是5阶2星，就只能释放1次5阶魔法，到3星时才能释放第2次，5星时可以勉强释放第2次，即便到了10星，也只能用处5次而已。

But Raven is different. He has the blood core of the True Ancestor. Even though he is only level 4 and 1 star now, he can release level 3 magic 4 times!
A 4th-level magic spell can potentially change the course of a battle; the value of 3 4th-level magic spells is even more self-evident!

Of course, there are pros and cons.

Thinking back, if it weren't for the exaggerated and overloaded magic depth, Raven wouldn't have had such a hard time in the first two stages of his promotion to level 4.

June 1200, 6 in the Guangming calendar.

Raven put on the leather armor that he hadn't worn for a long time and left the room. He gave an order to the hyena that had been guarding the door:

"Pass my order and summon all officers to the central military tent for a meeting."

"It's time to launch a general attack!"

……

(End of this chapter)