Wizard: Starts with Advanced Meditation

An inconspicuous little tavern is located in a corner of the market in the central district. The thick stone walls are covered with moss, and a few distorted characters of the common mainland language, "Starfall Wine Cellar," are carved on a somewhat rotten wooden sign.

Hughes pushed open the oak door studded with copper nails, and the damp aroma of ale, mixed with the dim yellow glow of the magic stone lamp, rushed towards him.

In the stone fireplace in the center of the tavern, crackling flames licked the wood, and occasionally, greenish-blue flames leaped out, casting scorch marks on the rough stone walls.

Faded animal head specimens hang haphazardly on the walls, broken rune arrows are stuck between the werewolf's fangs, and faded battle flags sway gently in the wind beside them.

The curved bar is crafted from a single piece of ebony, with elven runes embedded in the deep and shallow engravings on its surface. It is said that these patterns keep the drinks ice-cold.

A dwarf bartender wearing an eyepatch is wiping glasses.

On the wooden shelf behind, a crystal bottle containing fairy mead gleamed with an eerie dark gold color, and the mead, brewed from crystal wheat, was stored in an oak barrel with dark wine stains seeping out.

In a corner, several cloaked orcs sat around an ornate round table, their rune-inscribed longswords and staves casually leaning against the edge. Wax dripped from the bronze candlesticks on the table.

In the dim light, one could see a forest elf slicing smoked meat made from some unknown magical beast with a dagger, oil splattering onto the sheepskin map in front of him, spreading out in the places marked with blood-red symbols.

Several slender human maids carried different colored drinks and food back and forth between several wooden tables.

The guests chatted loudly about recent interesting events, making quite a racket, with various languages ​​mingling on the first floor.

Although wizards use the common language of the continent among themselves, they still tend to communicate in their own race's language among themselves.

"Give me a cup of Bloodthorn's Kiss, old Tolin."

He casually tossed a few gold coins and went upstairs. Wizards also paid for their daily expenses with copper, silver, and gold coins.

Even before becoming a formal wizard, one still needs to consume food. Even a first-level wizard can only go without food for a few months. Only by becoming a second-level wizard can one be considered to have transcended the normal species and become truly extraordinary.

Some wizards who have undergone extraordinary transformations even need to consume certain minerals and plants.

三种货币的兑换比例是100：10：1，不过巫师一般是用金币，100枚金币可以兑换1个魔石。

However, they generally don't exchange them. Official banks like Corella do stipulate that 120 gold coins can be exchanged for 1 magic stone, but this is only for official residents of Corella.

After finding a seat in a corner on the second floor, a glass of blood-red, bubbling liquor was brought up by a waitress. Savoring the stinging taste of Bloodthorn Kiss, Hughes sipped the wine while listening to the guests loudly sharing their amusing stories.

"Those bloodworms are getting a bit restless; I heard the bloodstone was stolen again."

"By the grace of Man Shi! We should have wiped them out completely back then!"

"The sea creature caravan will arrive at our port tomorrow."

"I heard that Imos from the Spirit Pivot Workshop has become a Limitless Apprentice!" This news caught Hughes's attention.

"I only heard about it half a year ago that you had just become a third-class apprentice. Fifth-class aptitude is really different."

Extreme Apprentice, also known as Wizard Prospector, refers to an apprentice who, barring unforeseen circumstances, has a 100% probability of becoming a full-fledged wizard.

Their mental strength, magical power, and research into their major knowledge are already very close to those of a formal wizard. With proper preparation, they can successfully advance to the next level.

However, what caught Hughes's attention was the Academy of Spiritual Pivot Workshop. "Playing with souls and being mentally unstable" was the stereotype of these dark wizards.

Hughes was worried that the wizards who studied this might discover his secret, but strictly speaking, his soul was originally one person, only it was awakened when he was poisoned by memories from Earth, so they shouldn't be able to tell anything.

Speaking of dark wizards, Everfrost Spire seems to be a dark wizarding academy. Dark wizards mainly focus on individual strength and are more bloodthirsty and belligerent, while white wizards value inheritance and are more inclined to research and teamwork.

However, these are just general, macro-level faction divisions. Hughes was unaware of the deeper levels of faction divisions. The black and white wizards were actually opposed in the past, but by the end of the Fourth Age, there was basically no conflict between them.

Even the representatives of both sides signed a soul contract, but minor frictions continued. Hughes didn't care which camp he joined, as it was all for the purpose of continuous exploration and research.

After finishing his drink, Hughes arrived at the "Iron Guard of the Molten Anvil" on the street corner.

This is a witchcraft shop run by dwarves. Some dwarves live in caves and enjoy mining and forging witchcraft items. They have even hollowed out entire mountains to use as fortresses.

Of course, some dwarves would come to live elsewhere, and Tok, who was 150 years old, was one of them.

Tok and Tolin, the bartender from Starfall Winery, came to settle in Corera together. Tolin was a different kind of dwarf, who generally lived in places suitable for growing crops.

They have a particular fondness for wine made from various enchanted crops, and as natural earth elementalists, they build fortresses out of stone.

It's unclear why the two decided to settle here. Both were third-class apprentices, and it's said they offended a volcanic dwarf. This was something Torin casually mentioned when he was drunk.

These dwarves like to build cities in lava, but just like their environment, they have very fiery tempers. These dwarves who like to live in extreme environments have all undergone some degree of physical mutation.

Upon entering the shop, a strong dwarf was engraving runes on a mithril breastplate, his thick arms performing the most delicate work.

He held a dragon spine engraving brush in his large hands and meticulously traced the name on his breastplate while silently chanting incantations.

The elements gather on the strokes following the trajectory of the engraving. The engraving does not actually leave marks on the breastplate, since very few engravings can carve hard materials like keel.

The essence of an engraving pen is to help break down the material's resistance to magic, making it easier for runes made of magic to be imprinted on the material and exert their corresponding properties.

A powerful runemaster can perform the inscription directly; this is different for a wizarding weapon master and a runemaster.

The former requires mastering the properties of various materials and how to integrate them with magic, while the latter involves creating runes from magic and casting them using items as materials.

"Hey, old Toby, how's my weapon coming along?" Hughes said after the other person finished engraving the runes.

"That's on the top floor." Toby looked up.

Hughes had previously ordered a cross-shaped longsword made of mithril, with sharp runes engraved on its long blade.

As for the Mithril Sword itself, it can release a wind barrier spell in all directions or around the user. The magic power of one magic stone can be released 10 times, and it can store the magic power of up to three magic stones.

The sword cost three magic stones. Hughes swung it around to test its feel, then sheathed the sword and headed towards the manor.

Back home, Hughes first looked through his father's notes as usual. After packing his luggage, he went to rest early, knowing that the road ahead might not be peaceful.