Wizard: I Have a Nightmare World

Lynn pushed open the door to the incubation room, and the morning breeze carrying the unique herbal scent of White Raven Tower rushed towards him.

He took a deep breath, left the incubation room that held months of memories behind him, and strode towards the bottom of the tower.

Amber popped its little head out of his inner pocket, its four transparent wings fluttering slightly as it curiously looked around.

The White Raven Tower was exceptionally quiet in the early morning, with only a few sporadic spellcasting booms coming from the training ground in the distance, and the hurried footsteps of a few early-rising apprentices.

Passing through the familiar spatial folds, Lynn once again stood outside the Bloodvine Wizard's study.

The door was already open, waiting for him to enter.

Today, the Bloodvine Wizard was not sitting behind his desk, but standing in the center of the study with his back to the door, staring at a dark red star map on the wall.

Lynn had never seen that picture before. It was covered with countless stars, one of which was circled by the Bloodvine Wizard with a dark red mark.

"You're here?"

The Bloodvine Wizard turned around and his gaze fell on Lynn.

His gaze lingered for a moment, then his brows furrowed slightly.

"A third-class apprentice?"

Lynn was not surprised that the other party could see through his breakthrough at a glance.

Bloodvine Wizard is, after all, a formal wizard, and he does possess this level of perception.

Lynn nodded: "I just broke through last night, and my mental strength level has reached 6.2."

A barely perceptible smile appeared on the Bloodvine Wizard's lips.

"Not bad, you're much faster than I expected."

He didn't say much praise, but the fleeting expression on his face said it all.

He then walked toward the teleportation array room on one side of the study.

Lynn followed, and as he passed through the narrow door, his gaze fell on the teleportation array in the center of the room.

It was a circular base about three meters in diameter, made entirely of dark gray astral stone, with its surface covered with dense silver runes.

A faint light flowed between the runes, like a sleeping living thing.

"Before you step into the teleportation array, there is something I must tell you."

The Bloodvine Wizard stood at the edge of the teleportation array, turned around, and his expression became more serious.

"You have broken through to the third-level apprentice level, which means that your mental power has solidified into a crystal."

The Bloodvine Wizard extended his finger, and a wisp of pale red spiritual energy condensed, outlining a wary shape in the air.

"But you probably don't know that the biggest difference between a third-class apprentice and a second-class apprentice is not just the form of mental power."

Lynn listened attentively to the Bloodvine Wizard's explanation.

"Once the spiritual power of a third-class apprentice solidifies into crystals, it can completely absorb elemental particles and form a magical circuit within the body to store magical power."

"And magic is ten times the power of spirit."

The Bloodvine Wizard paused, his gaze falling on Lynn.

"Your current mental strength scale is 6.2. Based on this multiplier, your magic power reserve is 62 points."

"62 points of mana means you can cast Wind Blade at least twenty times without running out of mana."

"Before that, you used the Wind Blade Technique six or seven times and your mental energy was depleted."

Lynn only realized what was happening when he heard this.

At that moment, the previously vague concepts in his mind instantly became clear.

He used to think that the difference between apprentices shouldn't just be a difference in mental strength.

Why are some third-class apprentices able to cast multiple high-cost spells simultaneously, while second-class apprentices can only manage a few rounds before running out of mana? It turns out the difference lies in their mana.

"The existence of magic is the core difference between a formal wizard and an apprentice."

The Bloodvine Wizard continued speaking.

"Zero-ring magic is mainly driven by mental energy, with minimal energy consumption."

"But starting from the first level of sorcery, without the support of magic, mental power alone is simply not enough to keep the sorcery model running."

"You can think of mental power as guidance, and magic power as fuel."

"Without fuel, no matter how precise your guidance is, you cannot complete the release."

Lynn took a deep breath to suppress the shock in his heart.

He suddenly realized that his understanding of the wizarding power system was far from sufficient.

He originally thought that the third-class apprentices were just stronger in spirit, but he did not expect that this was a completely different track.

"Then... how do we absorb elemental particles to form a magical circuit?"

Upon hearing this, the Bloodvine Wizard took out a yellowed book from his sleeve and handed it to Lynn.

The book cover had no text, only a dark red rune that shimmered with a faint light.

"This is the 'Magic Foundation Building Method'."

"It contains a complete guide on how to guide elemental particles into the body, how to construct magical circuits, and how to convert spiritual power into magical power."

The Bloodvine Wizard pointed to the yellowed book and said.

"I used this book during my apprenticeship, and it contains my annotations."

"Once we reach the Astral Plane, we should seize the opportunity to master it as soon as possible."

"In the Astral Wars, whoever masters magic first has a greater chance of survival."

Lynn solemnly accepted the book, but without opening it, placed it directly into the deepest part of his spatial ring.

"The student has remembered."

The Bloodvine Wizard nodded in satisfaction, then took out a short sword from his robes.

The short sword was about two feet long, with a black scabbard that was undecorated and even looked somewhat rough.

But when Lynn's gaze fell on the sword, he felt a sharpness rushing towards him, as if the short sword were a ferocious beast that had been lying in wait.

"This short sword is called [Wind Slash]."

The Bloodvine Wizard held the short sword horizontally in his hand, flicked the scabbard lightly with his fingertips, and produced a low hum.

"It was a reward from the academy when I was still an apprentice and I got first place in the White Raven Tower assessment."

His voice carried a hint of reminiscence.

"It's not some kind of enchanted item, it's not imbued with any witchcraft, but it's sharp enough and tough enough to accompany me through three years of battle."

Bloodvine Wizard raised his head and looked at Lynn.

"I don't need it anymore, so you can have it."

Lynn took the short sword with both hands.

The moment he held it, he felt a heavy weight, not just the weight of the metal itself, but also the weight of its heritage.

He slowly drew out a section of the sword, its toughness gleaming with a cold, eerie light, its sharpness revealed.

"Teacher, this..."

"Stop being so wishy-washy."

The Bloodvine Wizard waved his hand, his tone returning to its usual hoarse and indifferent tone.

"I've said it before, I've given you everything I could. The rest of the journey is up to you."

He turned around and walked to the edge of the teleportation array, raised his palm, and pressed it on the rune groove on the edge of the base.

The silver runes lit up instantly, and pale blue ripples began to appear in the center of the teleportation array.

"Stand up."

Lynn took a deep breath and stepped onto the teleportation array.

Amber poked its head out of his pocket, glanced at the swirling light patterns at its feet, then withdrew, revealing only its pair of dark green eyes.

The Bloodvine Wizard stood outside the teleportation array, his withered fingers hovering above the rune grooves.

"remember!"

His voice suddenly became very soft, as if he was afraid of being overheard by someone.

"In the Astral Outposts and Totem Worlds, trust no one!"

"Including your teammates!"

He said that before.

But this time, he spoke with unusual seriousness.

Lynn stood in the teleportation array, the silver light patterns already reaching his knees and beginning to swirl around his body.

He felt the space violently distorting, as if his whole body was being torn apart and then pieced back together.

He looked up at the Bloodvine Wizard's gaunt face.

"teacher!"

He spoke a few words before the light patterns completely engulfed him.

"The students will definitely come back alive!"

The Bloodvine Wizard did not answer; he simply pressed his palm heavily onto the rune groove.

A burst of silver light.

Lynn's vision was overwhelmed by pure white.

A violent sense of spatial pull surged from all directions. Amber let out a short gasp from her inner pocket, and then fell silent.

I don't know how much time passed, maybe a few seconds, maybe a quarter of an hour.

The pure white faded, replaced by an unfamiliar gray-brown sky.

Grayish-brown, like old rust.

A faint smell of sulfur and metal filled the air, and a deep rumble came from the far distance, as if something deep in the earth was whispering.

Lynn landed on a hard surface.

He looked down and saw dark gray metal plates at his feet, pieced together with rivets, surrounded by walls and pillars of the same material.

This is a teleportation platform without a dome, surrounded by a metal fence five or six meters high.

In the distance, a low, grayish-brown building could be vaguely seen at its base, with wisps of black smoke rising from behind it, and the smell of sulfur in the air grew stronger.

Lynn took a deep breath, gripped the [Shadow Fang] ring on his right hand, and felt the warmth from the three layers of defensive runes beneath the lining, as well as the faint breathing of Amber in his chest pocket.

Astral Outpost!

Lynn is here!