"May I help you with something?"
Behind the counter, the unpleasant woman from before was gone, replaced by a kindly-looking old man.
"Where's the woman from before?" Leilin asked.
"Dokost? She's dead!!!" A faint shadow of sadness crossed the old man's face.
"Here." The old man handed Leilin a notebook made of parchment.
Leilin opened it. The very first page contained a zero-level Fire-element spell, and the paper itself glowed with a bright crimson light, signifying the spell's elemental attribute.
Leilin continued flipping through — Water-element, Plant-element, Light-element, and Necromancy-element zero-level spells appeared one after another.
As for Shadow-element zero-level spells, Leilin had already collected most of them, so there was no need to look for those.
While browsing the notebook and comparing prices with what he'd seen before, Leilin found that the spell models had dropped by more than half — they were practically being sold at a loss.
Unfortunately, for an ordinary apprentice, mastering even a single zero-level spell would take several months at minimum. Against the imminent Blood Battle, that was completely useless.
"The Fire-element Lesser Energy Fireball, the Water-element Damp Surface, the Necromancy-element Bone Manipulation, and this one, this one… I'll take one of each."
Since the spell models had dropped so dramatically in price, and Leilin had plenty of Magic Stones on hand, he naturally held nothing back and bought a whole stack.
For him, this was a rare opportunity to stock up at rock-bottom prices.
After handing the old man a heavy bag of Magic Stones and arranging for the books to be delivered to his room, Leilin asked, "Do you have any First-level Spell models here?"
"Sorry, this counter only sells Apprentice-level Zero-level Spell models!" The old man shrugged with an expression of polite helplessness — clearly Leilin wasn't the first apprentice to ask him that.
Receiving the expected answer, Leilin nodded and left the counter.
That inquiry had been a long shot from the start, so he wasn't particularly disappointed.
*Click!! Creak!!* First came the sound of a brass key turning in the lock, then the creak of a wooden door swinging open.
"This is the place. Set everything down!"
Leilin opened the door to his room and addressed the several servants carrying boxes behind him.
*Thud!!* The servants set the boxes full of spell materials and books on the ground with a heavy crash.
After depositing Leilin's supplies, the servants bowed and exited through the door.
"It hasn't really changed at all!"
Leilin surveyed everything inside. The room still glowed with bright light, and apart from a bit more dust, nothing was different from when he'd left.
"Amanse!!"
Leilin snapped his fingers, and a green whirlwind suddenly rose from the floor.
The whirlwind spun ceaselessly, sending the bedsheets and tablecloth fluttering gently. Dust was drawn directly into the green vortex.
The green whirlwind swept through the entire room in short order, collecting enormous amounts of dust and turning a dark green before dropping straight into the waste bin.
"Now that looks much more pleasant and clean!"
Leilin looked at his freshly tidied room with satisfaction, then organized the spell materials and books into their proper places.
Once everything was done, Leilin went to the dining hall for a hearty dinner, then returned to his room and picked up a spell model book.
"Lesser Energy Fireball, is it?" Leilin glanced at the fire-red cover. "Chip! Record!"
"Ding!! Scanning!!!" The Chip's mechanical voice rang out.
Several hours later, the Chip's feedback came again: "Lesser Energy Fireball spell model has been recorded. Currently under analysis. Progress: 9.23%."
After Leilin's advancement to Third-rank Apprentice, the computational capacity of the Chip, fused with his soul, had clearly increased as well.
For Leilin, while other apprentices needed to memorize a zero-level spell through endless repetition, continuously tracing the model framework in their minds with Spiritual Power — a process that consumed enormous amounts of time, where a single mistake meant starting over — for him, the Chip simply transmitted the analyzed spell directly into his memory region, and he would remember the spell model forever. All he had to do then was channel his Spiritual Power into it, and he would have complete mastery.
In short, the Chip performed the memorization process on his behalf and had already built the framework in his mind. It was like digging a pool — the Chip had already excavated it for Leilin, and all he had to do was pour in his Spiritual Power like water. This saved an enormous amount of time, allowing Leilin to learn spells far faster than any ordinary apprentice.
"Chip! Establish a new task!! Based on the existing zero-level spell models, begin simulating and extrapolating a First-level Spell model!"
In Leilin's view, a First-level Spell was simply a more powerful zero-level spell. And with sufficient source material, the Chip's computational power might very well be able to derive certain First-level Spell models — potentially even creating entirely new spells that had never existed in the
"Task established. First-level Spell data insufficient. Beginning construction of hypothetical models…"
The Chip projected a dense web of light before Leilin's eyes.
"Estimated First-level Spell power: 20 degrees or above. Source materials: *Spell Model Compendium*, *Universal Studies*, *Structural Studies*, Shadow Hand spell model, Lesser Energy Fireball model… Extrapolation timeframe: Unable to estimate!!"
The Chip listed an extensive array of source materials and, for the first time, gave a conclusion of unestimable timeframe.
But a smile spread across Leilin's face: "Just as I thought — while the timeframe is uncertain, the Chip does have the potential to derive First-level Spell models…"
"All I need now is one standard dose of Green Water, and to raise my Spiritual Power to the advancement threshold, and I can attempt to advance…"
For Leilin, First-level Spells could potentially be extrapolated by the Chip. Green Water, however, was another matter. As an intermediate-grade potion, its recipe was strictly held by the major Wizard organizations and never leaked. The key ingredients were monopolized by Wizard factions, making self-preparation completely impossible.
Therefore, his primary objective in the Blood Battle was to survive while collecting as many Contribution Points as possible to exchange for Green Water!
Originally, if he also needed to obtain First-level Spell models, the required Contribution Points would have been astronomical. Leilin had no confidence that he could fight off the joint pursuit of apprentices from both academies, counterattack, and accumulate enough points on top of that.
And even if he did, he would certainly be marked by the enemy Wizards, which would be extremely detrimental to his future development.
But if he only needed to pool enough for one thing, the difficulty was immediately halved, and the attention he attracted would be drastically reduced.
"There's also this — to survive the Blood Battle, I must complete the Falling Star Pendant!!"
Leilin turned his hand over, and the silver cross appeared in his palm.
Under the bright lamplight, the various gemstones set into the cross blazed with dazzling radiance.
"With this defensive-grade low-tier Magical Item, my survival odds in the Blood Battle secret realm will surely increase significantly!"
Leilin murmured to himself, then walked into the herbal laboratory adjoining his room and retrieved the Soul-binding Orb containing Roman.
The originally dull crystal sphere gradually began to emit light after Leilin removed the seal, illuminating the semi-transparent figure inside — like a small insect frozen in amber.
"Roman! I originally wanted to spend more time extracting intelligence from you, but I'm afraid there's no more time…"
A look of regret crossed Leilin's face.
Inside the crystal sphere, the evil spirit Roman suddenly shuddered. The manic, bloodthirsty expression on his face rapidly dissipated, revealing a pair of clear, intelligent eyes.
"A soul transformed from a Third-rank Apprentice — it will certainly be enough to complete the final spirit-activation of the Falling Star Pendant!"
Leilin placed the silver cross next to the Soul-binding Orb, then began using a quill pen and other tools to draw various symbols and lines on the large laboratory table beside him.
Numerous symbols and lines twisted and merged together, forming a peculiar magical sigil.
As Leilin continued his incantation and fed in materials, the enormous magical sigil began to emanate a hazy gray luminescence.
Meanwhile, Roman inside the Soul-binding Orb seemed to be witnessing something utterly terrifying, his voice already becoming distorted: "No… you can't do this…"
The final step of the Falling Star Pendant required sealing within it an energy-filled soul entity, serving as the final activation catalyst.
And Roman, who had possessed Third-rank Apprentice strength in life, was the most suitable material Leilin could think of.
Once the evil spirit was sealed into the Falling Star Pendant, Roman's soul would be bound within the silver cross for eternity, enduring endless torment day and night. Only when the cross was destroyed would his soul finally be released into oblivion.
"For someone in your current state, what bargaining chips could you possibly have?"
Having completed the magical array, Leilin regarded the figure inside the Soul-binding Orb that was frantically begging for mercy, a look of amusement on his face.
"I… I'm a highly skilled alchemy wizard. I know many goblin alchemical techniques and secret arts. If you let me go, I'll give them all to you…"
Seeing the resolve in Leilin's eyes, Roman began throwing out everything he knew, desperate to trade it for even the slightest chance of survival.
"Not enough! Most of your knowledge is already recorded in that alchemy notebook. It's nowhere near enough to compensate for the loss of my Falling Star Pendant!" Leilin's expression was cold.
"I… I also know secrets about advancing to a formal Wizard!! As long as you swear to release me, I'll tell you!! It's intelligence that every Wizard authority on the South Coast has worked desperately to keep concealed!!"