"Master Mage, this is the Ice Crystal Stone dropped by the Snow Elf you killed."
A look of surprise crossed Li Wei's face. He had noticed the Ice Crystal Stone before.
But he hadn't seen any more drop when he killed the subsequent Snow Elves, so the matter had slipped his mind.
He didn't expect that a soldier cleaning up the battlefield would have found it for him.
Li Wei accepted the Ice Crystal Stone. "Thank you."
The soldier beamed, overjoyed. "No need for thanks. It's our duty."
This was the first time he had received thanks from a Master Mage.
To ordinary people, anyone who could cast Magic like Li Wei was a Mage.
They didn't understand the different ranks of Mages.
On the way back to the Mage Tower, he ran into Gu Ze and asked about the Ice Crystal Stone.
Gu Ze explained, "Snow Elves have a chance to drop an Ice Crystal Stone when they die. An Ice Crystal Stone is an Ice Elemental Crystal. It can be used to craft various Magic Items, or you can directly absorb the Ice Element within to cultivate your Mana."
"When a Snowman Knight dies, there's a high chance it will drop an Ice Elemental Crystal Core, which is a valuable and rare Magic Material."
"Compared to the Demon Cores inside ordinary Magic Beasts, the Elemental Crystal Cores left behind by Elemental Elves are purer. For a Mage, they are exceptionally rare treasures."
Realization dawned on Li Wei.
No wonder so many Extraordinary Beings were willing to volunteer to help eliminate the Snow Elves.
No wonder even the Mages who stayed cooped up in the Mage Tower all year round, unwilling to leave, were willing to help out for free.
He looked at the Ice Crystal Stone in his hand, his expression full of anticipation.
On the way back to the Mage Tower, Gu Ze also reminded him of some precautions for absorbing the Magic Elements from the Ice Crystal Stone.
That evening, Li Wei first meditated for a while. Once his Mana was fully restored,
he took out the Ice Crystal Stone and began to cultivate his Mana.
Normally during Cultivation, after entering a meditative state, he could perceive specks of red Fire Element floating freely in the surrounding air.
Today, Li Wei discovered a second color appearing in his perception.
A large mass of icy-blue Ice Element was gathered in a cluster.
He used his Spiritual Power to peel away the clustered Ice Element layer by layer. The Ice Element surged into his body; some of it dissipated back into the air and vanished, while the rest was converted into Mana.
Before he knew it, more than an hour had passed. His Spiritual Power depleted, Li Wei withdrew from his meditation.
The Ice Crystal Stone in his hand had already shrunk by a third.
[Basic Meditation Method (Proficient)]856/1000
[Small Fireball Technique (Tier Zero Entry Level)]487/1000
Li Wei was pleasantly surprised when he saw the results of his Cultivation.
Cultivating with the Ice Crystal Stone was twice as efficient as usual.
'If I could use an Ice Crystal Stone for Cultivation every day, I could level up my Basic Meditation Method in three or four days at most!'
Glancing at the Ice Crystal Stone in his hand, he decided to see where he could get more of them tomorrow.
The next morning, Li Wei used the Ice Crystal Stone to cultivate once more, and it shrank to one-third of its original size.
On the first day of December, Li Wei skipped class.
This disappointed the teacher, who had been looking forward to seeing the little genius in class.
The story of Li Wei's achievements had already spread throughout the Apprentice Mage circles.
Practically every Apprentice Mage in the Mage Tower knew of him.
The Mage Tower's management of its Apprentices was very lax. As long as you could pass the annual assessment, you could skip class every day.
Li Wei rushed to the Xinghuo Literature Society, carrying the *Dragon Knight* side story, "The Snow King Chapter," which he had finished writing the previous night.
The Xinghuo Literature Society wasn't open yet. He knocked for a while before an employee who lived at the society as a caretaker opened the door.
He learned from the man that the director and the others had held a celebration party the night before and had all gotten drunk.
They probably wouldn't come in to work properly until the afternoon.
The director of the Xinghuo Literature Society personally leading the charge in skipping work was something Li Wei hadn't expected.
Seeing this, he didn't stay any longer. He left the Xinghuo Literature Society and went to the largest shop in the Upper City District—the Treasure Basin Commerce Association.
"Do you have any Ice Crystal Stones here?"
"Yes, Master Mage. Please follow me."
In a private room, he met the owner of the Treasure Basin Commerce Association. The owner took out a box of Ice Crystal Stones, placed it in front of Li Wei, and said with a broad smile, "These are freshly acquired from yesterday, guaranteed to be in perfect condition!"
Ten Ice Crystal Stones were arranged neatly in a mahogany box. Li Wei was instantly captivated.
He asked, "What's the price?"
The owner said with a smile, "Since a Master Mage has personally graced us with his patronage, we will naturally offer our best discount."
"The original price is sixty Silver Coins each, but for you, a special price of fifty Silver Coins each!"
In November, Li Wei had burned Calming Incense every day during his Cultivation.
Over the course of the month, his daily Cultivation alone had cost him 170 or 180 Silver Coins.
He had gone from being able to use each stick of Calming Incense four times to only three times.
His consumption was gradually increasing.
He had one Gold Coin and over sixty Silver Coins left.
Li Wei took out a Gold Coin and said, "I'll buy two Ice Crystal Stones for now."
The owner smiled, took out two Ice Crystal Stones, packaged them, and handed them to Li Wei in exchange for the Gold Coin.
"Thank you for your business!"
In the afternoon, Li Wei went to the Xinghuo Literature Society again.
Jimmy was already waiting at the entrance to receive him. Li Wei had told the gatekeeper that morning that he would be back in the afternoon.
"Mr. Li Wei, please, come in. Director Gus is waiting for you in his office."
A short while later, Li Wei and Gus were seated in the office.
Gus said with a smile, "I've read 'The Snow King Chapter' side story you wrote. It's a wonderful story. I've already arranged for the society's printing department to work overtime to publish it, trying to get it released before the buzz from the Winter Festival dies down."
'He certainly knew how to capitalize on the hype.'
Li Wei got straight to the point. "Director Gus, are the royalties for November calculated yet?"
Gus beckoned to Jimmy, who understood immediately and hurried out of the office.
He chuckled, "Rest assured, Mr. Li Wei. We calculated your royalties the moment sales closed at the Xinghuo Literature Society yesterday."
Jimmy jogged back in and, at a nod from Gus, presented a money pouch to Li Wei with both hands.
Li Wei took the pouch; it felt heavy.
Gus said from the side, "The total is 74,231 Copper Coins. The bag contains 7 Gold Coins and 43 Silver Coins."
Li Wei was astonished. He hadn't expected it to be more than double last month's amount.
He couldn't help but ask, "How is it so much?"
Gus explained, "During the days of the Winter Festival, many people from other towns came to participate. A lot of them bought single issues and full volumes of the *Dragon Knight* novel. Some even placed orders with the Xinghuo Literature Society, planning to sell the novel in other towns."
He said with a face full of smiles, "If we can break into the markets of other towns, sales of the *Dragon Knight* novel will skyrocket several times over next year!"
Hearing this, Li Wei also felt a surge of anticipation.
After leaving the Xinghuo Literature Society, Li Wei went to the Treasure Basin Commerce Association again.
He spent four Gold Coins to buy all the remaining Ice Crystal Stones at the Treasure Basin Commerce Association.
Ten Ice Crystal Stones were enough to meet his Cultivation needs for a month.
While he was at it, he spent 100 Silver Coins to buy ten sticks of Calming Incense to save himself another trip.
Returning to the Mage Tower, Li Wei couldn't wait to begin his Cultivation.
For three consecutive days, he focused solely on cultivating his Mana, not even sparing time to practice his Magic.
Finally, on the evening of the third day, his Basic Meditation Skill leveled up.
[Basic Meditation Method (Small Success)]0/2000
[Small Fireball Technique (Tier Zero Entry Level)]508/1000
After grinding his Basic Meditation Method to the Small Success Level, Li Wei's perception underwent a monumental change.