The next day, the room is quieter than before, yet the tension within it feels sharper, heavier, as all five apprentices stand ready, their attention fixed on the central table where Wizard Valerie prepares to begin the lesson.
Wizard Valerie raises her hand slowly, and in her palm appear five small seeds, each radiating a faint glow of a different colour, each belonging to a low-level tree of one of the five elements.
Without looking at them, she speaks calmly.
"I am going to refine a basic spiritual seed."
The five seeds float upward from her hand and arrange themselves into a perfect pentagram, each seed occupying one point, suspended steadily in the air.
Olivia's eyes lock onto the formation, her focus deep and unwavering.
She has still not succeeded in refining Memory Liquid.
Because of that, she wants, no, needs, to succeed this time.
Even if it is only a spiritual seed.
Wizard Valerie moves her fingers slightly.
The seeds begin to respond.
From each one, elemental energy emerges,
Green for wood.
Red for fire.
Yellow for earth.
White for metal.
Blue for water.
The five elements gather in the space between the seeds, flowing outward like threads before being pulled inward again under her control.
They do not clash.
They do not resist.
They move as one.
Wizard Valerie speaks again.
"Now, you must refine the seed using the Cyclone Refining Method."
The gathered elemental energy begins to spin.
At first, slowly.
Then faster.
The five energies intertwine, forming a miniature cyclone in the air, pulling in surrounding free magic energy as it stabilises itself.
The motion becomes smoother.
More controlled.
The original colours begin to fade.
The distinction between elements blurs.
What remains is balance.
Gradually, the cyclone compresses inward.
The energy condenses.
Then,
It stabilises.
Floating in the air is a single crystal seed, its surface shimmering with faint traces of all five elements, perfectly harmonised.
Wizard Valerie lowers her hand.
"This is a basic spiritual seed," she says.
"It can only form basic puppets."
She pauses briefly before continuing.
"There are higher-level spiritual seeds, and you may also refine your own unique spiritual seed depending on your path."
Olivia and the others nod, absorbing every word, every movement, every detail of the process.
Wizard Valerie waves her hand.
Five magic bags appear and float toward them.
"Like yesterday, there are three sets of materials," she says.
"You may begin."
Without waiting further, she turns and leaves the room, the door closing softly behind her.
Silence follows.
Then the movement begins.
All five apprentices take out their materials and start refining.
Olivia places the five seeds before her, her hands steady as she channels her mana.
She lifts them into the air.
Forms the pentagram.
Just as she saw.
Then she begins extracting the elemental energy.
At first, it goes well.
The elements emerge.
They gather.
But the moment she attempts to merge them,
They resist.
The energies clash.
The balance collapses.
The formation breaks.
The seeds fall.
Failure.
Olivia exhales slowly and tries again.
Second attempt.
This time, she is more cautious.
She extracts the elements more carefully.
Controls the flow.
But when she forms the cyclone,
The rotation becomes unstable.
The elements separate.
The structure collapses again.
Second failure.
Her expression tightens slightly, but she does not stop.
Third attempt.
She focuses harder.
Forces the elements into alignment.
Tries to stabilise them through control alone.
But harmony cannot be forced.
The elements rebel.
The cyclone shatters.
All three attempts fail.
Olivia lowers her hands slightly, her mind replaying the process again and again as she searches for what she is missing.
Not technique.
Not knowledge.
Balance.
She cannot reconcile the five elements.
That is the root of her failure.
Time passes.
The day ends.
The next day arrives.
Wizard Valerie returns to the room, her presence once again bringing silence.
She looks at all five of them.
"Can any of you refine the two materials required for Puppet Seed?"
The room remains quiet for a moment.
Then only one responds through action.
Wizard Li Jiyun steps forward slightly, presenting the refined Memory Liquid.
Wizard Valerie observes it briefly.
Her gaze is sharp.
Then she asks, "Have you refined Memory Liquid a second time?"
Li Jiyun shakes his head.
"No."
Wizard Valerie nods once.
"Then refine ten sets of Memory Liquid later," she says calmly.
Li Jiyun nods immediately, accepting the instruction without hesitation, his expression steady as he prepares himself for the repeated refinement.
The others remain silent.
Wizard Valerie's gaze sweeps across them once more before she speaks again.
"Now, I am going to show you how to refine a Puppet Seed."
Olivia straightens slightly, her attention sharpening instantly, while the other four also focus completely on Wizard Valerie.
Valerie continues, her tone steady and instructive.
"Before refining a Puppet Seed, you must first construct a puppet model and engrave it into the Memory Liquid."
As she speaks, magic power flows out from her palm, smooth and controlled, forming a stream of energy that spreads into the air before dividing into countless threads.
Those threads condense.
Transform.
Runes begin to appear.
One.
Then dozens.
Then hundreds.
A complete set of runes forms, each one precise, each one connected through faint spirit lines that bind them into a single structure.
Gradually, the shape becomes clear.
A wolf.
A complete puppet model formed entirely of runes.
"I will refine a wolf Puppet Seed," Wizard Valerie says.
With a slight motion of her hand, the rune diagram descends.
It sinks into the Memory Liquid below.
The moment it touches,
The liquid reacts.
It begins to boil.
Energy surges within it.
Then,
A sound emerges.
A low, distant howl.
The sound of a wolf echoes from within the liquid itself, as if something alive is taking shape inside.
Without pause, Wizard Valerie takes the Spiritual Seed refined the previous day and drops it into the vessel.
The reaction intensifies instantly.
From within the liquid,
A sprout emerges.
It grows rapidly.
Branches extend.
Leaves unfold.
A tree rises from the Memory Liquid, its roots embedded within it as it absorbs every drop of the liquid into itself.
The vessel empties.
The tree grows taller.
Then stabilizes.
Moments later, fruits begin to form along its branches.
One.
Two.
Five.
Ten in total.
They swell as they absorb the remaining energy within the tree.
But not all are stable.
Three of the fruits tremble violently.
Then burst apart.
Destroyed.
The remaining seven ripen fully.
Their surfaces crack open.
From within each one,
A seed emerges.
Seven Puppet Seeds.
Wolf Puppet Seeds.
They float gently in the air before descending into Wizard Valerie's palm.
She selects one.
Channels her mana into it briefly.
Then tosses it onto the ground.
The seed lands.
Instantly, it sprouts.
Wood spreads outward.
Forms structure.
Limbs.
Head.
Body.
Within seconds, a wooden wolf stands where the seed had fallen.
It moves slightly.
Alive.
Its aura spreads outward.
Comparable to that of a peak Wizard Apprentice.
The demonstration ends.
Wizard Valerie looks at them briefly, then distributes one Puppet Seed to each of the five apprentices.
"Study it," she says simply.
Then she turns and leaves the room.
Teaching them is only one part of her responsibilities.
She has her own tasks.
Her own goals.
She needs merit points.
To obtain a Golden Spirit Potion.
A rare resource that can form a golden barrier around her soul during her breakthrough to the Second Stage Wizard, increasing her chances of success significantly.
The room falls silent again.
Olivia stands still, holding the Puppet Seed in her hand, her thoughts deep in contemplation as she reviews every step of the process she just witnessed.
Then she returns to her table.
No hesitation remains.
She begins practising again.
Memory Liquid.
Once more.
The next day arrives.
Wizard Valerie returns and assigns them a new task.
To refine Wind Spiral Arrows.
A practical task.
One that earns merit points.
They receive the materials and begin working.
Days pass in repetition.
Refinement.
Failure.
Adjustment.
Practice.
Amid all of this, Olivia continues focusing on her weakness.
Again and again,
She practices refining Memory Liquid, repeating the process with unwavering persistence, correcting her mistakes little by little as her control improves, though success still remains just beyond her reach.
A few days later, Olivia sits quietly in her room, her legs crossed as she meditates, her mana circulating smoothly within her body as she stabilises her condition after continuous practice.
The room is silent.
Then—
A knock.
It echoes clearly against the door.
Olivia's eyes open slowly.
She pauses for a moment, then rises to her feet and walks toward the door, her expression calm but slightly curious.
She opens it.
And freezes.
Standing before her is someone she does not expect.
Someone she does not want to meet at this moment.
Ophelia.
Her mother.
Ophelia looks at her daughter, her expression composed, her presence carrying a quiet authority that fills the space between them.
"Olivia," she says, "come with me."
Olivia blinks once, then her brows knit slightly as she forces out a response.
"Mother… why are you here?"
Ophelia answers without hesitation.
"To take you somewhere."
Olivia's thoughts move quickly.
Then she says, almost instinctively, "To visit… Grandfather?"
The word leaves her lips softly.
"Grandfather…"
It feels unfamiliar.
Yet meaningful.
She has always wanted to meet him.
To see the one known as the Ancestor of Wizards.
For a moment, excitement rises within her.
But then—
Reality returns.
Her task.
Her responsibilities.
She straightens slightly and says, "I still have a task to complete."
Ophelia's expression does not change.
"I have already arranged a one-week leave for you," she says calmly.
"Now, come."
At that moment, Olivia feels a faint vibration from her identification card.
She checks it immediately.
A notification appears.
Approved leave.
One week.
Her task is suspended.
Olivia pauses for only a second.
Then her hesitation disappears.
Excitement replaces it.
Without wasting time, she steps out of the room and closes the door behind her, moving quickly to follow Ophelia, her steps light with anticipation.