The evening of the next day, Ivan was standing on a floating disk as it carried him toward the academy district.
During today's hunt, he had discovered two low-level Poison Fang Spider nests. After dealing with the spiders and collecting their valuable materials, he had exchanged everything for a considerable number of Magic Stones.
Yet despite the harvest, there was no smile on Ivan's face.
His brows remained slightly furrowed, as if he were deep in thought.
Soon, the floating disk descended into the residential district.
Ivan quietly returned to his dormitory.
After entering his room, he first took a shower, washing away the dirt and blood that had accumulated on his body during the hunt.
After freshening up, he ordered a meal containing magical beast meat.
Ever since his financial situation had improved somewhat, Ivan had regularly consumed magical beast meat to strengthen his physique. The energy contained within the meat, combined with his Knight Breathing Method, allowed his body to steadily become stronger.
After finishing his meal, Ivan returned to his room and instructed the puppet Eve not to disturb him unless there was an emergency.
He then locked the door and sat cross-legged on the bed.
An open book lay before him, its pages filled with dense instructions, diagrams, and intricate spell circuits.
The final rays of the setting sun fell across the pages, slowly fading as darkness descended upon the academy.
The book was the spell manual for Wizard's Hand.
After returning to his dormitory from yesterday's class, Ivan had once again read through the entire manual.
Although Nova had already recorded all the information contained within it, this was still the first spell Ivan had ever learned. Therefore, he wanted to personally understand every detail rather than simply relying on Nova's recorded data.
He spent nearly three hours reading the manual from beginning to end.
Only after thoroughly understanding its contents did Ivan finally close the book.
Then, with Nova's auxiliary assistance, he began attempting to construct the spell circuit.
Ivan's mind became completely focused as his Mental Energy slowly flowed through his Soul Sea, following the construction method recorded in the manual.
At first, everything proceeded smoothly.
The various spell circuits gradually took shape within his Soul Sea, and the completion rate steadily increased.
Ten percent.
Twenty percent.
Fifty percent.
Everything continued without any problems.
However, when the construction reached nearly seventy percent, Ivan suddenly noticed something was wrong.
His Mental Energy had been completely exhausted.
There was no longer enough Mental Energy to continue constructing the remaining portion of the spell.
Unable to provide any additional Mental Energy, the incomplete spell circuit immediately began to tremble violently.
Fine cracks quietly spread across its surface.
Then—
Crack!
The incomplete spell circuit shattered like broken glass.
Countless fragments scattered throughout the Soul Sea before gradually disappearing.
Ivan's brows furrowed.
The result was somewhat different from what he had expected.
Previously, when he had constructed his meditation rune, he had not experienced such exhaustion. At that time, Ivan had even felt that he could have constructed several more meditation runes with the Mental Energy he had remaining.
However, the meditation rune was fundamentally different from a spell circuit.
The meditation rune only required a strand of Mental Energy to complete its construction. More importantly, it was a beneficial rune for Ivan's Soul Sea. Once successfully engraved, it would continuously assist in increasing his Mental Energy, and as his Mental Energy increased, his soul would gradually become stronger as well.
Therefore, although constructing the meditation rune was complicated, its consumption of Mental Energy was relatively low.
A spell circuit was completely different.
It required Ivan to continuously supply Mental Energy throughout the construction process.
The construction method was also fundamentally different.
When constructing a meditation rune, a single strand of Mental Energy was enough to carve the entire rune into his Soul Sea.
A spell circuit was fundamentally different. Unlike the meditation rune, which required only a strand of Mental Energy to carve the entire structure into his Soul Sea, a spell circuit required Mental Energy to construct and maintain each individual circuit. Wizard's Hand itself consisted of multiple interconnected circuits, each of which had to be constructed with extreme precision before they could be combined into the complete spell.
As a result, the Mental Energy required was far greater than that of a meditation rune. That was why Ivan had managed to construct only seventy percent of Wizard's Hand before completely exhausting his Mental Energy.
At first, Ivan was somewhat confused.
Why couldn't his current Mental Energy support the construction of Wizard's Hand?
After carefully reviewing the information in the manual, however, he quickly understood the reason.
Although Ivan was considered a Low-Level Wizard Apprentice by the academy, that classification was based on the academy's own standards.
The standards commonly recognized throughout the wizarding world were different.
A Wizard Apprentice needed at least ten points of Mental Energy to be considered a true Low-Level Wizard Apprentice.
Ivan had not yet reached that threshold.
Therefore, in the eyes of most wizarding forces, he was not truly considered a Low-Level Wizard Apprentice yet.
And Wizard's Hand required the Mental Energy reserves of a genuine Low-Level Wizard Apprentice to be constructed and used effectively.
Ivan's current Mental Energy was still far from sufficient.
After understanding this, Ivan temporarily abandoned his attempt to construct Wizard's Hand.
He recovered his Mental Energy through his daily meditation and then went to sleep.
The following morning, Ivan once again continued his daily routine of hunting Poison Fang Spiders.
And now, Ivan was sitting cross-legged on his bed, silently contemplating how to rapidly increase his Mental Energy.
With Nova's assistance, Ivan had already gathered information about several possible methods.
The first method was to use a Mana Gathering Array.
A Mana Gathering Array was a special type of magical array that could be constructed using various wizardry materials.
Once activated, it would gather the surrounding magic particles and concentrate them within a specific area. As the density of magic particles increased, the cultivation speed of anyone meditating within the array would also increase.
Under normal circumstances, meditating inside a Mana Gathering Array could make one's cultivation speed two to three times faster than meditating in an ordinary environment.
However, after examining the requirements for constructing one, Ivan quickly abandoned the idea.
To construct the array, he would need various wizardry materials as well as the assistance of an experienced alchemist.
The total cost would easily reach five hundred Low-Level Magic Stones.
That amount was currently far beyond Ivan's means.
The second method was considerably more dangerous.
Some Official Wizards occasionally conducted various experiments and required assistants—or, more accurately, experimental subjects.
Related missions could sometimes be found in the academy's mission hall.
Accepting such a mission essentially meant becoming an experimental subject in the hands of an Official Wizard.
Although the danger was extremely high, there was always a possibility of obtaining extraordinary benefits from such experiments.
An increase in Mental Energy was one of them.
However, experiments conducted by Official Wizards could be extremely dangerous. There had even been occasions when the wizards conducting the experiments themselves had died.
For Ivan, who had only recently entered the wizarding world, this method was clearly not worth the risk.
He had enough time.
There was no need for him to throw himself into an unpredictable experiment simply to increase his strength a little faster.
The third method was potions.
There were many different potions in the academy store capable of increasing Mental Energy.
However, in the wizarding world, anything capable of directly increasing Mental Energy was considered extremely precious.
Naturally, such potions were expensive and always in high demand.
Of course, not every potion was outrageously expensive.
There were also cheaper options.
Unfortunately, the cheaper ones often came with severe side effects.
One such potion was the Nightmare Potion. It could rapidly increase Mental Energy, but its side effects were terrifying. Whenever the user slept, they would enter a nightmare filled with dangerous creatures and deadly situations. The injuries suffered within the nightmare could directly damage the user's soul, and severe cases could even destabilize the Soul Sea.
For Ivan, such a method was clearly not worth the risk.
Fortunately, while examining the various potions, Ivan suddenly remembered something important.
Back on the Valen Continent, when he had ventured deep into the forest and dealt with a group of bandits, he had obtained the legacy of a High-Level Wizard Apprentice named William Lionheart.
Within that legacy was the remaining portion of a potion.
The Blue Moon Potion.
Ivan had also seen this potion in the academy store.
It was one of the most popular potions for increasing Mental Energy.
Its price was equally astonishing.
A single bottle could cost between two hundred and fifty to three hundred Magic Stones.
More importantly, the Blue Moon Potion did not possess any severe side effects.
Its only significant restriction was that it could not be consumed too frequently.
Normally, a Wizard Apprentice needed to wait at least one week before consuming another bottle.
Thinking about this, Ivan's eyes gradually brightened.
Fortunately, he had obtained some of the potion's residue from William Lionheart's legacy.
More importantly—
He had Nova.
With the Void Furnace, Nova could reproduce various items as long as sufficient energy was available.
After briefly considering the matter, Ivan immediately gave Nova an order.
"Nova, produce a Blue Moon Potion."
As soon as his words fell, a slight hum sounded within the room.
Right before Ivan's eyes, space suddenly twisted.
A faint spatial distortion appeared, and from within it, a small glass bottle gently emerged.
Ivan immediately caught it.
He brought the bottle closer and carefully examined its contents.
Inside was a shimmering blue liquid.
Countless tiny points of white light floated within it, making the potion resemble a miniature night sky filled with stars.
It was the Blue Moon Potion.
Nova had successfully reproduced it using the energy of the Void Furnace.
Ivan looked at the potion for several moments before asking,
"Nova, is all the data confirmed? If I consume this potion, there won't be any additional side effects?"
Nova's calm voice immediately answered.
"Master, I have cross-referenced the potion's structure and effects with the available data thousands of times. No additional negative effects have been detected."
"Furthermore, the potion produced through the Void Furnace is extremely pure."
"Based on its current composition, your body should be able to safely tolerate one dose every two days."
Ivan nodded.
That was enough.
He removed the cork and directly drank the Blue Moon Potion.
The moment the potion entered his body, a strange sensation spread throughout him.
Ivan immediately closed his eyes and began meditating.
As his meditation method circulated, he quickly noticed something unusual.
The efficiency of his meditation had increased significantly.
However, Ivan did not stop to examine the change.
He simply continued meditating.
Two hours passed in the blink of an eye.
Moonlight quietly poured through the window, illuminating the room with a faint silver glow.
Ivan slowly opened his eyes.
His blue eyes were exceptionally sharp and bright.
Anyone who looked directly into those bright blue eyes at this moment would be immediately mesmerized and dazed.
It was not because Ivan had suddenly become more attractive.
Rather, the sudden increase in his Mental Energy had caused his spiritual fluctuations to become much stronger, subtly affecting his gaze.
At this moment, Ivan was stunned by the result.
He could clearly feel the dense Mental Energy flowing within his Soul Sea.
Compared with before the meditation session, his Mental Energy had increased by a considerable amount.
"Nova, display my current status."
A translucent status panel immediately appeared before him.
Name: Ivan Thornheart
Race: Human
Physique: 8.6
Agility: 8.3
Constitution: 8.7
Mental Energy: 6.7
Ivan first examined his physical attributes.
His Physique and Constitution had already surpassed 8.5 points.
Although his Agility was slightly lower, his overall physical strength had already reached the level of a mid-stage Intermediate Knight.
Ivan was not particularly surprised by this.
Every day, he consumed magical beast meat, and the energy contained within the meat continuously strengthened his body as he practiced his Knight Breathing Method.
After breaking through to the Low-Level Wizard Apprentice realm, Ivan had also spent several days fighting continuously within the D4 Resource Zone.
Those constant battles had further stimulated his physical potential.
Yet what truly surprised Ivan was his Mental Energy.
When he had first broken through to the Low-Level Wizard Apprentice realm, his Mental Energy had jumped from 3.9 to 5.5.
That had already been a considerable increase.
Since then, he had continued his daily meditation. Over the following days, his Mental Energy had gradually risen to 6.3.
A total increase of 0.8 points.
And now—
6.7.
In a single meditation session, his Mental Energy had increased by another 0.4 points.
Ivan's eyes widened slightly.
Although this was his first time consuming the Blue Moon Potion, and the effect of the first consumption was always the strongest, the result was still astonishing.
One meditation session had increased his Mental Energy by 0.4 points.
That was almost equivalent to a week's worth of normal meditation.
The Blue Moon Potion had increased his meditation efficiency by at least four to five times.
At this rate, if he consumed the Blue Moon Potion once every two days, Ivan calculated that he could reach the required ten points of Mental Energy within half a month.
A hint of excitement appeared in his eyes.
Ten points of Mental Energy.
Once he reached that level, he would finally meet the true standard of a Low-Level Wizard Apprentice.
At that point, constructing Wizard's Hand would no longer be an impossible task.
However, just as Ivan was imagining his rapid increase in strength, Nova suddenly issued a notification.
"Master, the energy reserves of the Void Furnace have reached the preset critical point."
"The current energy reserve is 940 points."
Ivan's expression immediately became thoughtful.
Before arriving at White Wing Saint Academy, the energy reserves of the Void Furnace had been much higher.
However, along the way, he had used the Void Furnace for various purposes, producing auxiliary medicines, Golden Dew Potion, various grenades, and now the Blue Moon Potion.
Therefore, Ivan was not particularly surprised that the energy reserve had fallen to the critical level.
He gently waved his hand.
Ten black metallic cubes suddenly appeared before him.
These were the Miniature Energy Collectors that Ivan had created back on the Valen Continent.
Ivan had originally prepared them precisely for situations like this.
He stood up from the bed and placed the ten energy collectors at different locations throughout his room.
The moment they were activated, the small metallic cubes began operating simultaneously.
They began drawing energy from their surroundings—ambient light, thermal energy, solar radiation, and other forms of environmental energy.
Although the amount of energy obtained from each source was extremely small, the ten collectors continuously absorbed and converted it into usable energy.
The energy stored within the Void Furnace slowly began to increase.
Ivan quietly observed the process.
Then, he suddenly noticed something unusual.
Using his spiritual perception, Ivan sensed that the energy collectors were also absorbing the free-floating magic particles in the air and converting them into energy.
Ivan was completely surprised.
The universe where the Orin Civilization had originally existed was a purely technological universe.
There was no energy source equivalent to the free-floating magic particles that existed in this world.
Yet the Miniature Energy Collectors were actually absorbing those magic particles.
Ivan immediately asked Nova,
"Nova, what's going on? The energy collectors are absorbing the surrounding free-floating magic particles. Can those magic particles also be transformed into energy?"
Nova did not immediately answer.
Several seconds later, her calm voice finally sounded.
"Master, there is insufficient data to analyze this phenomenon."
"My suggestion is to allow the energy collectors to continue absorbing the free-floating magic particles and converting them into energy."
"After sufficient data has been collected, we can analyze the properties and effects of the energy transformed from those magic particles."
Ivan nodded quietly.
To understand an unknown phenomenon, one needed rigorous data.
Without sufficient data, there was no reliable way to reach a conclusion simply through observation.
Therefore, Ivan did not interfere with the process.
He quietly watched as the energy collectors continued absorbing the free-floating magic particles and converting them into energy for the Void Furnace.