The next morning.
Warm sunlight streamed through the window, blanketing the floor in a layer of golden fleece.
Pei Ze sat cross-legged on his bed, feeling the second Will Rune in his mind, an irrepressible look of joy on his face.
There was no greater happiness in life than waking up to find his strength had grown once again.
The successful construction of Will Rune No. 2 had brought another leap in his Spirit and Constitution attributes.
[Spirit 5.02]
[Constitution 2.24]
Constructing Will Rune No. 2 had boosted his Spirit by a whopping 1.4 in one go!
His Spiritual Power had officially broken the 5-point barrier.
His Constitution had also surpassed 2 points along with it.
Pei Ze hopped off the bed and stretched. He felt more vigorous and full of life than ever before.
'My current physical fitness is more than double that of a normal adult male.'
A slight smile touched Pei Ze's lips.
'An Apprentice Knight's constitution is only two to three times that of a regular person. In terms of physical fitness alone, I'm already on par with an ordinary Apprentice Knight. A First-level Wizard Apprentice, who doesn't even specialize in physical constitution, is already comparable to an Apprentice Knight in terms of fitness. Once I master a bit more Magic, especially offensive Magic, my combat power will be enough to crush an Apprentice Knight. I might even be able to hold my own against a full-fledged Knight. No wonder Wizards are the top fighting force in this world.'
Pei Ze was beginning to appreciate the true power of a Wizard more and more.
Unlike the Mages often seen in fantasy works from his previous life, Wizards weren't glass cannons with high attack and low health. Instead, they were more like well-rounded, hexagonal warriors, developing in all areas.
The constitutions of most Official Wizards were far more robust than even those of Knights, comparable to that of a Grand Knight.
Furthermore, Wizards could also strengthen their bodies through methods like biological mutation and bloodline modification.
A Wizard who had undergone such modifications could beat a Grand Knight to death with their bare hands, even without using Magic.
After a moment of reflection, Pei Ze recited inwardly.
'All-Knowing, analyze Will Rune No. 3.'
[Task created. Beginning analysis of Will Rune No. 3. Estimated time: 8 days.]
'Eight days? Not bad.'
Pei Ze nodded to himself, then initiated an acceleration.
Considering he had to go to the academy later, he didn't exhaust all his Spiritual Power. He only used 3 points of Spirit.
[Task 1: Analyze Will Rune No. 3. Estimated time remaining: 6 days, 18 hours.]
'One point of Spirit can speed up the analysis by about 10 hours.'
Pei Ze estimated that with his current Spiritual Power, he could accelerate the analysis by a maximum of 50 hours a day, after which he would need to recover his Spiritual Power through Meditation and sleep.
By that calculation, he could finish analyzing Will Rune No. 3 in less than three days.
That speed was simply terrifying!
Additionally, because of his increased Spiritual Power, the analysis time for the models of Mage's Hand and the Dizziness Skill had also shortened.
[Task 2: Analyze Mage's Hand model. Estimated time remaining: 8 days, 2 hours, 15 minutes.]
[Task 3: Analyze Dizziness Technique model. Estimated time remaining: 8 days, 4 hours, 45 minutes.]
Everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion, which put Pei Ze in a very good mood.
He changed into his Apprentice Robe and left for the academy.
Since he didn't have classes, he left much later than usual. By now, the streets were already bustling with people, creating a lively clamor.
The area where Pei Ze lived was on the outskirts of Chenxi City. It was relatively run-down, and most of the residents were from less affluent families.
The streets were dotted with small stalls selling snacks and pastries, and the continuous cries of vendors filled the air.
"Sir, two meat pies, please."
Pei Ze walked up to a pie stall, speaking as he took out his money.
"Right away! That'll be four Copper Coins. Here you go."
The vendor deftly placed two pies into a bag and handed it over with a broad smile, his expression holding a hint of eagerness to please.
Pei Ze found it a bit strange. He'd never seen the man act so solicitous before.
But he soon realized something was off.
Many people around him seemed to be furtively sizing him up.
All sorts of envious and curious gazes were focused on him, accompanied by waves of hushed whispers.
"That person is a Wizard Apprentice, isn't he?"
"Judging by the style of the robe and the emblem, he must be a Wizard Apprentice from High Tower Academy."
"That's strange. I don't remember there being any Wizard Apprentices in this neighborhood."
"He probably just got promoted. Tsk tsk, I wonder which family is so blessed to produce a Wizard Apprentice. They're going to make it big now."
"Sigh, if only my kid were that promising."
"..."
Pei Ze suddenly felt like a giant panda in a zoo.
Only then did he realize that he had underestimated the prestige of being a Wizard Apprentice.
He saw Wizard Apprentices all the time at the academy, so he didn't think it was a big deal.
But in reality, that was because High Tower Academy was one of the four great Wizard Academies in Chenxi City, gathering a quarter of the city's new students each year. That was why there were so many Wizard Apprentices there.
If they were scattered throughout the vast expanse of Chenxi City, however, a Wizard Apprentice would be a rare sight.
This was especially true in the relatively poor outlying districts, where few families had the financial means to nurture a Wizard Apprentice.
In the ten-kilometer radius around his neighborhood, forget about a Wizard Apprentice; if a family produced even an Apprentice Knight, they would become the center of conversation and the object of everyone's envy.
As for a Wizard Apprentice... that was like smoke rising from your ancestral graves—a sign of immense, once-in-a-lifetime fortune!
That was why the people around him were so surprised and curious to see a Wizard Apprentice appear.
After figuring this out, Pei Ze couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle.
He didn't pay it much mind, however, and continued on his way with a composed gait.
If a person pursuing the path of a Wizard let themselves be constrained by the stares of others, it would be utterly laughable.
Arriving at the academy, Pei Ze headed straight for the mission area.
It was called the mission area, but it was really just a massive open-air plaza.
The vast plaza was filled with rows of wooden boards that looked like oil paintings, each displaying pages of mission descriptions.
And while Wizard Apprentices were a rare sight elsewhere, there were thousands of them here.
Throngs of gray-robed apprentices moved between the wooden boards, browsing their contents. Once they found a mission they liked, they would immediately note down its number and head to the adjacent building to register.
Pei Ze entered the plaza and began to browse the mission boards.
'Mission No. 2612'
'Content: Tend to Herb Garden No. 12 in the Garden District for 7 days.'
'Requirements: Meticulous personality, proficient in the Plant Cultivation and Identification of Extraordinary Materials courses.'
'Reward: 10 contribution points.'
'Mission No. 3112'
'Content: Clean Biology Lab No. 45 for 7 days.'
'Reward: 10 contribution points.'
'Requirements: Meticulous personality, proficient in the Basic Biology and Anatomy courses.'
'Mission No. 198'
'Content: Assist Master Luan Wen with an experiment for 1 day.'
'Requirements: Constitution at the Apprentice Knight level, high endurance.'
'Reward: 50 contribution points.'