A noun entry: Wizard

With the badge pinned to his chest, Russell's ascent up the mountain was unimpeded.

The knights on patrol only glanced at it before bowing respectfully.

Unless one is a Grand Knight, even a high-ranking knight must bow when facing any wizard apprentice.

And so, Russell climbed all the way to the top of Panlong Mountain, to the front of the Shilling Wizard Tower.

He stood at the entrance of the wizard's tower, looking at the huge, tightly closed stone door, and felt somewhat at a loss.

Should I knock on the door?

Just as Russell was wondering, an old, mottled human face appeared on the stone door, as if it were carved entirely from stone.

The face opened its eyes, turned slightly, and looked at the badge on Russell's chest.

"A new apprentice? Don't be nervous. I am the tower spirit of this wizard tower, Lord Shilling's most loyal servant—Laps. You can call me that directly."

"Laps said, his voice booming, and then the stone door opened to both sides with a rumbling sound."

After he finished speaking, he closed his eyes, clearly not intending to talk any more.

"Tower spirits? That's a common concept."

Russell entered the tower, his face disappeared, and the stone door slowly closed.

Not long after, a middle-aged wizard apprentice dressed in a black robe and wearing a badge with three stars came downstairs.

The wizard apprentice held a crystal ball in his hand, raised it towards Russell, held it for a moment, then put it down, nodded, and said:

"Russell Insec, ten years into his training. Hmm, release a wisp of your spiritual energy so I can see."

Russell did as instructed, and a wisp of pale silver spiritual energy appeared in his hand.

"Huh? Your mental energy is surprisingly pure. It seems your mental sea is quite vast, which is good."

The wizard apprentice was somewhat surprised and, unusually, said a few more words.

Russell remained silent; he understood the principle that the more he said, the more mistakes he would make.

If I say something wrong and the wizard apprentice in front of me notices something amiss, then things will be bad.

He then revealed a puzzled expression.

Seeing Russell's puzzled look, the wizard apprentice chuckled and explained:

"What you may not know is that the size of the spiritual sea that each wizard apprentice can open is actually different."

"Some people can advance to the rank of wizard apprentice in a very short time by practicing meditation."

"This is because their spiritual sea is very small, and the purity of the spiritual power it contains is not high enough."

"For a wizarding apprentice like this, advancing to level two might still be easy, but forget about level three, and becoming a full-fledged wizard is just a pipe dream."

"Take you for example. Although it took you nearly ten years to reach the level of a wizard apprentice, your spiritual power is pure. If you live long enough, you may be able to go even further."

Russell nodded, indicating that he understood.

In the wizarding profession, it's not good to cultivate too quickly, because it means that one's mental scope is not broad enough and one's mental power is not pure enough, making it difficult to break through to the wizarding level.

Cultivating too slowly is also not good, otherwise you might die of old age before you've even broken through to the level of a wizard.

It requires both speed and depth.

The most outstanding among them should be those who, after only four or five years of practice, successfully mastered the Ent Meditation Technique and broke through to the level of Wizard Apprentice.

"Cultivation speed is low to medium, purity is high, and overall level is above average."

The wizard apprentice held the crystal ball and muttered to himself, seemingly updating Russell's information.

After a moment, the old face of Laps appeared on the wall of the wizard tower, his gaze fixed on the black-robed apprentice.

"Gus, the master said he will teach him the 'Very Meditation Method,' and the spell he will choose is 'Wind Blade Technique.'"

Laps' voice was hoarse and deep as he relayed the words of the wizard Shillien.

"As you wish, Mentor Schilling."

Gus placed his right hand on his left chest, bowed deeply, and paid his respects to the wizard Shillien, who was located at the top of the wizard tower.

Russell followed suit, bowing respectfully.

"As you wish, Wizard Shilling."

This is a ritual among wizards; those of lower cultivation level must bow to those of higher cultivation level, and the title "Sir" must be added when addressing them.

Wizards believe that knowledge is power, and every wizard is an explorer in the ocean of knowledge.

Etiquette and titles are not only about addressing the other person, but also about showing respect for knowledge.

Of course, since Shilling the Wizard is Gus's mentor, he doesn't need to address him as "sir," but simply as "mentor."

A few seconds later, Gus turned to Russell and said, "Come with me. I'll teach you the Fury Meditation Method first."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gus turned and went upstairs, with Russell quickly taking two steps forward to follow behind.

Soon, the two arrived at Gus's research lab.

The research lab was large and filled with various instruments that Russell couldn't name.

Most striking were several enormous transparent jars containing various strange creatures, preserved by being soaked in a pale green solution.

One type is a bizarre fish that is reduced to a skeleton covered with dark blue patterns, but whose head still retains the shape of a ferocious fish head, and even grows hands and feet.

One type is a small creature, no more than half a meter tall, covered in slippery tentacles, and dark blue in color; it is an unnamed, bizarre creature.

A blue crystal core emerged from the strange creature's tentacles, resembling an eye. When Russell looked over, the core looked back at him, meeting his gaze.

The others are some seemingly common wild animals, but they all have strange transformations.

For example, the tail is a blue octopus tentacle covered with suckers, and the face even has gills growing from the sides of the wolf.

Or perhaps a strange bird that has no feathers but is covered in scales.

"This...this is a creature modified by wizarding methods?" Russell dared not look any longer, only feeling that the wizarding methods were truly bizarre.

Seemingly guessing what Russell was thinking, Gus shook his head and said, "This is not some kind of evil biological modification; these mutated beasts have been corrupted."

"And what contaminated them were the creatures in those two jars."

"What's in those two jars...?" Russell couldn't help but swallow.

Besides the legendary elves, griffins, dragons, and other fantastical creatures, does this strange creature also exist in this world?

Russell even imagined himself covered in tentacles and scales, with cheeks sprouting out of his face, looking like he was about to lose his sanity.

A chill ran down his spine, and Russell quickly banished the image from his mind.

"Haijir."

Gus said, "It's a supernatural creature that exists in the ocean, and it has terrifying polluting properties."

"They are also adept at injecting their own blood into other organisms, transforming them into their own kind."

"Mentors would build wizard towers in such remote places, take in a large number of students, teach them meditation and spells, and make them wizard apprentices, also in order to fight against Hai Si."

"Fight against...this thing?" Russell looked at the sea creature in the transparent jar, feeling a little apprehensive in the face of such a bizarre creature.

"Right now, you still have the mindset of an ordinary person."

Seeing Russell's expression, Gus didn't seem to care.

It's perfectly normal for someone without power to feel fear upon seeing such a strange creature.

"You need to change your mindset quickly. After all, you're a wizard apprentice now!"

"Once you master the Wind Blade Technique, you'll be able to kill low-level Sea Spirits like this very easily."

Russell nodded, indicating that he understood, but the thought of fighting a monster that could corrupt him at any time still made him a little uncomfortable.

"Alright, let's keep going."

Seeing that Russell's expression had calmed down, Gus turned and left, continuing to lead the way.