Before he knew it, October was over.
In early October, after the Xinghuo Literature Society published the novel *Dragon Knight*, its popularity continued to soar.
By the end of the month, the single-issue novel had already gone through four printings. (The Xinghuo Literature Society had also done a supplementary printing of the first installment.)
Countless people were eagerly awaiting the Xinghuo Literature Society's release of the subsequent content.
At the same time, "Wooden Man," the author of *Dragon Knight*, became a hot topic of discussion in Maple City.
Opinions were mixed.
Some offered praise, while others leveled criticism...
While Li Wei was shining brightly in the literary world, his Magic Cultivation was facing its Waterloo.
[Basic Meditation Method (Adept)] 424/1000
[Small Fireball Technique (Tier Zero Entry Level)] 53/1000
The Cultivation of his Small Fireball Technique progressed at a snail's pace.
In November, the ground outside Maple City was blanketed in red maple leaves, dyeing the earth a crimson hue.
Li Wei, dressed in thick clothes, hurried toward the Xinghuo Literature Society.
Although it hadn't snowed in Maple City, the temperature had dropped significantly.
Aside from a few Extraordinary Professionals with astonishing constitutions, most people had already started wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants.
Just as he arrived at the entrance of the Xinghuo Literature Society, Jimmy opened the main door and called out, "Mr. Li Wei, come in quickly! It's too cold outside."
Li Wei quickly slipped inside.
"Did Mr. Gus ask for me?" Li Wei asked as he walked.
Jimmy said, "Last month's total sales for the standalone copies of *Dragon Knight* are in. Director Gus asked you to come so he could explain your royalties."
"Oh."
Li Wei went to Gus's office. After the two sat down, Jimmy stood to the side, pouring tea.
Gus picked up a sheet of paper and handed it to Li Wei, saying, "These are last month's sales records."
Li Wei glanced at it hastily, his eyes going straight to the bottom line.
"Total sales for all four printings: 9,642 copies."
Gus said, "In October, we released four printings covering the first four installments of *Dragon Knight*. Each copy was priced at 10 Copper Coins. The second printing sold the best, moving 3,792 copies. Subsequent sales dropped slightly but remained stable at over 2,500 copies each. The first printing had lower sales because it had already been published in the Xinghuo Collection, which is normal."
Hearing this, Li Wei nodded to show he understood.
Gus continued, "According to our contract, the Xinghuo Literature Society will deduct the distribution costs for *Dragon Knight* and give you half of the net profit."
"The distribution cost per copy changes based on the print run size. The larger the print run, the lower the unit cost."
"The second printing sold nearly four thousand copies, bringing the unit cost down to 2.64 copper. The first run only sold a little over a thousand, so its unit cost was 3.33 copper."
"The unit costs for the third and fourth printings were 2.98 and 3.06, respectively."
"In the future, we might have to do reprints of older installments, which will make cost calculations quite difficult down the line."
Upon hearing this, Li Wei said directly, "Director Gus, just say what's on your mind."
Gus smiled and said, "After a discussion among the Xinghuo Literature Society's upper management, we propose calculating your royalties based on a fixed unit cost of 3 Copper Coins, Mr. Li Wei. Even if sales decline and our costs rise, we will still pay you a royalty of 3.5 Copper Coins per copy."
Li Wei thought for a moment, then nodded. "Acceptable."
Seeing his agreement, Gus said happily, "Please wait a moment, Mr. Li Wei."
He walked outside and returned shortly after, handing a cloth bag to Li Wei.
"Your total royalties for October come to 33,747 Copper Coins. This has 3 Gold Coins and 50 Silver Coins in it. Please, take it."
Li Wei hefted the bag, satisfied with its weight, and put it away.
'Xinghuo Literature Society really is great,' he thought. 'They even gave me a little extra on their own initiative.'
After getting the money, Li Wei bid Gus farewell.
Gus, ever the editor, quickly added, "Mr. Li Wei, don't forget this month's manuscript!"
Li Wei laughed and said, "Of course I won't! I'm counting on writing to make a living!"
In October, besides meditating to cultivate Mana and practicing Magic, he had also found time to write tens of thousands of words for the Xinghuo Literature Society.
Later, finding it too troublesome to submit his work weekly, he had arranged with Gus to submit it once a month, with at least four chapters each time.
Now that he had money, the first thing Li Wei did was go buy Calming Incense.
The Calming Incense he had bought before was long gone.
"Do you have any Magic Potions here?"
"Magic Potions? Only Mages know how to make those. We don't have any. Besides, no one but Mages has any use for Magic Potions. You could try looking at the Mage Tower."
Li Wei spent fifty Silver Coins to buy five sticks of Calming Incense.
Five sticks of Calming Incense would probably be enough to last him about ten days.
Returning to the Mage Tower, he thought for a moment and then sought out Teacher Gu Ze.
Gu Ze looked at him in surprise. "You want to buy a Magic Potion?"
He said, "It's far too early for you to be using Magic Potions. Besides, even the lowest-level ones cost at least a few Gold Coins."
Li Wei explained his situation.
After hearing his explanation, Gu Ze's expression turned to one of astonishment.
"You've been consuming Mana to construct the Magic Model every time you practice Magic?" Gu Ze asked, taken aback.
Hearing this, Li Wei froze for a second, then asked, "Isn't that how you're supposed to do it?"
Gu Ze let out a laugh. "Of course not. You only use Mana to construct a Magic Model when you're actually casting Magic. For normal practice, you just need to use your Spiritual Power to construct the Magic Model in your mind."
Li Wei was dumbfounded.
'No one ever told me that before.'
Gu Ze shook his head. "You're too hasty. A teacher would only teach you how to practice casting Magic after you pass the Apprentice examination next year and officially become an Apprentice."
Back in his dorm, although he hadn't managed to buy a Magic Potion, he had learned the correct way to cultivate Magic.
Li Wei lit a stick of Calming Incense and tried to construct the Magic Model in his mind using his Spiritual Power.
In less than five minutes, his Spiritual Power had formed the Magic Model for the Small Fireball Technique.
It was much easier than constructing it by controlling Mana.
Soon, Li Wei discovered the difference between the two methods.
Using Spiritual Power to construct the Magic Model had its advantages: it was simple, easy, and consumed few resources during practice.
The disadvantage was that it didn't improve his Mana Control Power.
Since the practice didn't consume Mana, it naturally wouldn't increase his Mana, either.
On the contrary, practicing Magic this way could lead to excessive consumption of Spiritual Power, which would affect his normal Mana Cultivation through Meditation.
Each method had its pros and cons.
If one wanted to learn a spell quickly, the Spiritual Power construction method was the natural choice.
Li Wei destroyed the Magic Model in his mind, then reconstructed it, destroyed it, reconstructed it...
...constantly seeking a faster construction speed.
He practiced for over an hour straight, only exhausting his Spiritual Power after constructing the Magic Model fifteen times.
The excessive consumption of his Spiritual Power gave him a headache. Li Wei pressed his temples firmly, trying to alleviate the pain.
It wasn't just a headache; he also felt nauseous.
'Fifteen times is my limit. I have to reserve some Spiritual Power for my Mana Cultivation, so I can practice at most twelve times a day.'
Li Wei took a deep breath, and the pain seemed to lessen slightly.
He lay down at once to rest and sleep.
He woke up early the next morning.
It had become a habit for Li Wei to wake up naturally at six every morning.
He would then meditate and cultivate for about an hour, eat around seven, and head to class at eight.
That morning, Li Wei didn't attempt to practice Magic; Mana Cultivation was just as important.
He drew some water to wash his face and concentrated. The water formed into words.
[Basic Meditation Method (Adept)] 432/1000
[Small Fireball Technique (Tier Zero Entry Level)] 68/1000
Seeing the significant progress in his Small Fireball Technique, Li Wei broke into a smile and exhaled a breath of hot air into the cold room.