Wizard: Starts with Advanced Meditation

Morning light streamed through the exquisitely decorated glass, weaving a golden trail at the foot of the bed.

As the sunlight shone on Hughes' face, his consciousness gradually returned. He slowly sat up, washed up briefly, and then went downstairs for a meal.

The wizards recruiting students from various academies will arrive at the port tomorrow, so he must go out and buy some essential items before entering the academy.

In the morning, his father and uncles were still in their respective alchemy rooms conducting experiments. Today's breakfast was dragon flame pancakes, covered with a thick layer of fairy honey sauce.

Hughes bit into a warm pancake while glancing at the copy of "Beyond the Continent: Blood Domain" he'd taken from the study.

It roughly tells the story of a period in the history of this continent, which is also an important node in the Oren plane.

In the year 3001 of the Mithril Calendar of the Fifth Era, a wizard named Gabriel from the Wizarding Dimension discovered this dimension.

Later, after the wizards' initial exploration, they engaged in battle with the native inhabitants of that plane (whom the racemologist Morad named "Vampires").

Vampires can wield bizarre blood magic, and consuming blood rich in magic is highly beneficial to the race.

It wasn't until 3005, when the Crimson Singer-Viser betrayed the vampires and soaked the heart of the Blood Ape Grand Duke in a special potion, and the high-ranking wizards of the Prime Material Plane intervened to suppress the vampires, that the vampires were finally defeated.

From then on, the wizards officially took over this plane, while the vampires, due to their rich experimental value and ability to cultivate meditation techniques, were driven to a distant archipelago, later known as the Blood Domain.

After finishing the last bite of the pancake, Hughes slowly closed the book.

"Perhaps... that plane will also be discovered by the wizard plane?" Hughes thought.

That's right. A few weeks ago, Hughes was poisoned by his servants and fell into a coma, whereupon he awakened another set of memories from the Blue Star plane (the protagonist's reincarnation, whose soul after death on Blue Star was attached to this life).

Wizards have the ability to teleport between planes, and Hughes suspects that his soul after death may have been teleported from the Blue Star plane by someone else or through some accident.

Back in his room, Hughes chose a loose-fitting purple robe with delicate lace embroidered around the cuffs and collar, and a raven pattern embroidered in black thread on the left breast.

The raven's wings are slightly spread, and its lower body appears as a blurry mist; this was the Craig family crest in the past.

The robe was engraved with runes of the Cleansing spell, a level zero sorcery spell that could clean stains from clothing.

After putting on a pair of black soft-soled leather boots, Hughes went out to prepare to buy some items in advance for school.

Walking through a market in the midtown of Corrilla, several shops are scattered along the street, and a few vendors are scattered on the bluestone-paved ground.

There were few pedestrians on the road, most of whom were wearing wizard robes, and some were dressed in fitted silk clothes, accompanied by great knights in rune-inscribed heavy armor.

Knights are the main power system in the mortal realm, and also the power that mortals in this plane use to fight against vampires. They temper their bodies with the meager magic in the air through breathing techniques.

Once the seed of life condenses in their heart, they become Great Knights, whose strength is generally equivalent to that of an early-stage third-class wizard apprentice.

Many wizard apprentices sign master-servant contracts with high knights. Wizard nobles rarely practice breathing techniques because they can use expensive magical artifacts and scrolls for self-protection in the early stages, allowing them to focus on learning magic.

Hughes practiced breathing techniques mainly because his family didn't have the financial resources to purchase powerful magical artifacts in advance, and coupled with the poisoning he had suffered previously, he desperately needed the ability to protect himself.

Moreover, perhaps because of his two incarnations, he is learning magic very quickly from his family and has plenty of time to learn breathing techniques. Hughes is currently a formal knight and can easily imbue his weapons with magic to enhance their power.

Arriving at the end of the alley, a potion shop stood with brightly colored potions displayed on its shelves, and a sign hanging from the eaves read "Sage Raven's Hut".

Pushing open the heavy oak door, a pungent smell of sulfur mingled with the sweet aroma of potions wafted out. A graceful female forest elf stood before the counter.

She has long, emerald-green hair that reaches just to her waist, and a leaf-shaped rune on her fair forehead, representing the rich pharmacological knowledge bestowed upon her by the ancient tree.

Wizards are not just humans. In the wizarding world, there are countless races that have improved and practiced meditation based on their own characteristics, but in essence, they are all using magic.

After thousands of years of development, the influx of various races, and the intervention of high-ranking wizards, the ecology of this plane has formed a mature wizarding world ecosystem.

Good morning, Miss Morrie.

"Good morning, little Hughes."

Arriving at the counter, I handed the list to Moriel, who glanced at it and then turned to take the materials from the wooden shelf.

"Ugh, 10 Dragonblood Grass plants, two ounces of Shadow Petal Powder, three ounces of Moonkiss Lizard molted scale powder... Let's head to the academy tomorrow. I recommend visiting the Mossy Crystal Tower; the Emerald Greenhouse there is spectacular."

Pack the materials you have collected and place them in front of the counter.

"Six magic stones."

Hughes took the package and placed the six small, purplish-black stones on the counter.

Magic stones are the primary currency used by wizards for trade. They originate from naturally formed magic stone veins on the continent and are essentially highly concentrated forms of magic.

Therefore, magic stones are not only a form of currency, but can also be used to restore magic power or to recharge magical artifacts and rune arrays in critical situations.

Magic stones circulate almost exclusively among wizards, or are collected by royalty or nobles in mortal kingdoms under the management of wizard organizations.

They used it to train offspring with wizarding potential or to befriend wizards, as for the several islands outside the continent of Maltheran.

It was known as the Abandoned Land, where resources were extremely scarce, and only a few wizarding apprentices who had no hope of ever advancing to the next level settled there.

However, the major academies regularly send apprentices to the Abandoned Lands to recruit students. Some planar historians speculate that the large difference in magical concentration was the reason why the knights were defeated by the vampires.

Because of his family connections, Hughes was able to get some resource assistance in the early stages. Although his family had declined, it was still good to receive some magic stones regularly.

Before this trip, Murray gave Xiusi a total of 20 magic stones, and allowed him to choose a level zero magical artifact from the family treasury. He would also receive some magic stones every six months thereafter.

His sister Nora, because of her superior aptitude, has 30 magic stones and can also choose a level zero magical artifact.

This has been usable for quite some time among ordinary apprentices, after all, the Craig family has only produced a few formal wizards in a few generations, and most of their resources have been used up by the three Craig brothers.

Seeing that nearly half of the magic stones had been used up so quickly, Hughes sighed softly, put the package into his storage bag, casually responded to Moriel, and then pushed open the door and left.

This storage bag was the magical artifact that Hughes chose. It can hold two to four cubic meters of inanimate objects, and it is said that high-end storage bags can hold living things.

This storage bag is made of wyvern hide and has a constant spatial expansion array inside. It is a relic of a potion maker from the Craig family.

However, this magic circle has been damaged by external forces, and if it is kept in normal working order, it will be completely unusable in about three years.

Most wizard apprentices will initially carry a large backpack with a levitation spell or rent a magical beast that can drag their luggage. The price of a space bag is calculated based on the size of its storage space.

As Hughes strolled around, a rune quietly appeared inside the storage bag, flickering slightly.

"Phew... let's go check out the tavern."

Hughes thought for a moment and, seeing that he didn't need to buy anything for the time being, decided to go to the tavern to relax.