Chapter 36 – Bottleneck
Chapter 36 – Bottleneck
“Didn't you read the notice? If you aren't a level 3 acolyte, then going out is practically throwing your life away!”
A voice sounded, and Kaliweir appeared behind Neela.
“You're back?” Leylin asked.
“Yeah! Here is the reward for our mission. 15 magic crystals!” Kaliweir opened the pouch and there, sat 15 magic crystals.
“According
to our prior agreement, each of us gets 3 magic crystals!” Kaliweir
divided the magic crystals and then opened a large black sack. It was
filled with many Red-Eyed Raven claws, as well as feathers, eyeballs and
other miscellaneous materials.
“There is also this stuff! Only
the Red-Eyed Ravens’ two claws have some worth. Each one can be sold for
about 1 magic crystal. As for the other materials, they’re worth
roughly 15 magic crystals in total! Do you guys have any questions? If
not, we'll be dividing them accordingly!”
The Red-Eyed Raven claws
were only needed to prove that the mission had been completed. After it
has been confirmed, the acolytes are allowed to keep them, and they can
be considered additional income.
“I have no problem with that!”
Leylin smiled. This time, he merely wanted to gain experience and was
not too fussed about the number of magic crystals.
This time,
earning 30 magic crystals at once could be considered a lot. However,
there were also the expenditures of this mission to factor in — Neela
and Lilisse used a hastening potion, and Kaliweir used the seed from the
Nimble Grass. As for Leylin, he had used an explosive potion,
hemostasis potion, and a strength potion. All these expenditures
amounted to over 30 magic crystals.
If they were to calculate
everything, the mission would be considered a flop and would not even
compare to Leylin’s brewing of potions to earn money.
Seeing as Leylin had agreed, Neela, Lilisse, and Raynor could only nod their heads.
“In
this mission, Leylin, you did the most. If not for you, we would have
long been dead, so it’s alright if you take a little more!” Kaliweir was
extremely sincere, and it seemed as though he had made up his mind
about this long ago.
“I don't need it!” Leylin smiled and picked
out two of the Red-Eyed Raven claws, as well as some other materials,
from the bag. After estimating that the things he had taken out were
worth around 6 magic crystals, he stopped.
“These will be enough for me.”
“Alright,
then we will redistribute the items again...” Kaliweir felt a little
forced, but Lilisse and Raynor were obviously happy about it.
All
of them, more or less, had wounds on their bodies. Something seemed to
have happened recently to the academy, and accepting missions would no
longer be a possibility if it turned out to be dangerous. The group
quickly exchanged their contact information and left the mission area.
Kaliweir
left the fastest. By now, the black fur had already grown to his
thighs, making his legs look like those of a gorilla, and it seemed like
he could not wait to seek help.
“Goodbye!” Lilisse and Raynor bade farewell too.
“Could you tell me your dorm number?” Neela stuck closely to Leylin’s side while whispering into his ear.
Warm air blew into his ear and he felt a little ticklish.
“I’m
not in the mood for that! Maybe next time!” Leylin declined. Right now,
his body still ached faintly, so how could he be in the mood to do it?
“Alright! I’ll be waiting!” Neela laughed coquettishly and gave him a light peck on the cheek, before running away quickly.
Leylin shook his head and turned around, returning to his dorm.
As
he opened his door, he saw that everything in the room had remained the
same as before his departure and a feeling of security washed over him
as he entered.
“The mission did not even last for a month, so why do I feel like a lot of time has passed?”
Leylin shut the door, placing the cross blade, sack, and other items aside before lying on his bed.
He enjoyed the soothing comfort provided as he rested on the soft bed.
“A.I. Chip! Show me my current stats!”
[Beep!
Leylin Farlier, level 2 acolyte, Knight. Strength: 2.5, Agility: 2.7,
vitality: 3.0, spiritual force: 4.2, Magical Power: 4.0. Status:
Healthy]
There was an overall increase in the stats; his Strength,
Agility and vitality had all increased by 0.3, while his spiritual
force increased by 0.1.
“After advancing to a proper Knight, all
my stats have risen. As for my spiritual force, this is the result after
one month of continuous meditation!”
Leylin gazed at the 3D image of him, “A.I. Chip, calculate how much more the internal life energy in my body raises my stats.”
After
a Knight ignites their internal life energy, there will still be a
breakout period for their stats to increase. However, Leylin had already
increased his stats plenty through meditation, so the effects may be
diminished slightly.
[Establishing task, calculation in progress…...]
[Beep!
The simulation has ended. Expected increase in Host’s stats: Strength:
0.6, Agility: 0.3, vitality: 0.1!] The A.I. Chip’s voice sounded.
If
my stats were at 1.9 like the average person, this internal life energy
would be able to raise all my stats by at least 1. However, now that my
foundation is so high, raising it will be even more difficult!”
Leylin reasoned.
“The
Farlier Family is only a newly established line of Knights. They have
no training methods to pass on for after one turns into a Knight, so I
have no inkling of how to advance to a Grand Knight.”
Although
there should be information regarding this aspect in the academy, the
potential of Knights are much inferior to that of Magi, so I can forgo
this goal for now!”
Ever since he entered the academy, Leylin had
devoted all his time and effort to his Magus studies and delayed his
training to become a Knight.
Even a Grand Knight will only end up
as a follower or servant of an official Magus. Besides, a Knight’s
journey will end after becoming a Grand Knight. As for Magi, they can
continuously advance, so Leylin naturally chose the path with a better
prospect.
“Besides advancing to a Knight, this map is the only benefit of my trip outside this time.
Leylin projected the image of a huge map.
Faint
blue lines formed the general outline of the Abyssal Bone Forest
Academy as well as its surroundings. It was even more detailed than the
one Kaliweir had.
On this map, the path that Leylin and his party
had taken was the clearest. Furthermore, the vicinity of where the
Spider Faced Mushrooms had been found was even marked as a dangerous
zone.
This map was formed through his own exploration, the scanning from the A.I. Chip, as well as the map that Kaliweir had.
It
could not be said to be completely free of mistakes. But this was
definitely the most detailed map amongst the acolytes. He would be able
to fetch a price of at least 2 magic crystals if he were to sell it.
In the centre of the map, green words highlighted the location of Abyssal Bone Forest Academy.
“From
this map, it can be seen that our Abyssal Bone Forest Academy is only
taking up an insubstantial area on the south coast. It could also be
said to be in a rural area.
“Furthermore, with Abyssal Bone Forest
Academy in the centre, the Death Seas would be to the south. To the
north, it would be the Mountain Plains of Despair; to the west, Sage
Gotham's Hut; and lastly, the Poolfield Kingdom to the east.
The
north and south area are all forbidden regions, with countless dangerous
creatures residing within them. Some with differing bloodlines, some of
which have been contaminated. They are also haunted by evil spirits
that are filled with grievances. Any acolyte stepping foot in those
regions would die ten out of ten times.
“As for Sage Gotham's Hut,
it is another faction of the Magi. I have heard that there are some
conflicts between Sage Gotham's Hut and Abyssal Bone Forest Academy, so I
can't go there either.”
“The only one left for acolytes to explore would be the Poolfield Kingdom.”
Leylin
thought indifferently. The factions in this world were similar to those
of the Japanese during the world war, where various factions were
divided in accordance to their territory and they controlled the various
kingdoms from the dark.
In these kingdoms, the Magi bloodlines
would be either royalty or nobility. As for the Knights, their
bloodlines would commonly be those of wealthy families.
“In
regards to their social hierarchies, the Magi would be like the feudal
lords of the Warring States and the Knights would be the warriors and
soldiers serving under them. Furthermore, they don’t have a lone
sovereign governing them as a whole; there are as many small kingdoms as
there are stars in the sky, fighting solely for their own benefits in a
chaotic era.
“There are a few Magi families supporting the
Poolfield Kingdom behind the scenes. The kingdom has a total of 19
provinces. Each area is extremely vast, with many small Magi families,
wandering Magi, and travellers living there. They would definitely not
come to the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy to make any trades, so there
should be some kind of small markets over there. I’ll try concealing my
identity and head there to sell my potions!”
Leylin’s Potioneering
skills were only average, but with the help of the A.I. Chip, his
succession rate for brewing had long surpassed his senior Merlin and
could even be comparable to that of his mentor, Kroft. However, all of
this had to be kept with the utmost secrecy. As such, Leylin did not
dare sell too many of his potions inside the academy.
However,
once he advanced to a level 3 acolyte, he would reach a bottleneck.
Without a vast amount of resources to use, one could only slowly
progress with time.
Even a fifth-grade acolyte, without resources, would require at least 3 years advancing to a level 3 acolyte!
Leylin
was only an average, third-grade acolyte, and could only rely on this
bit of income on the surface. To satisfy the requirements for
advancement, who knows how long he would have to wait.
“A.I. Chip! Simulate the requirements that I need to advance into level 3 acolyte!”
[Prerequisites
for level 3 acolyte: spiritual force: 7, mastery of at least 3 spell
models, 500 grams of Reactive Elixirs required to aid with
breakthrough.]
“Learning the 3 spell models is easy, but the
Reactive Elixirs will be troublesome to obtain. I will need at least 500
magic crystals!”
Leylin’s expression was extremely solemn. As a
Potioneering acolyte, he naturally knew what Reactive Elixirs were.
These potions were not the same as elementary potions like the strength
potions or hemostasis potions. However, they required someone to have
reached the basic level of Potioneering. There are those which increase
spiritual force, vitality, or even potions that can reinforce the mind
runes at an alarming rate. The demand is always greater than the supply
for them.
“500 magic crystals is a little too much. However, after
I have finished mastering the elementary Potioneering techniques from
Mentor Kroft, I can then start practicing with basic potions. I might
only need to purchase 100 magic crystals worth of ingredients to make
the potions myself.”
“It seems like the most important thing will
be to get my spiritual force up to 7!” Leylin appeared to be deep in
thought, “A.I. Chip! According to my current status, how long will it
take to meet these prerequisites through meditation?”
[Using the Host’s spiritual force as a base, simulation in progress!]
[Beep! The simulation has been completed. Estimated time needed: 8 Years 6 Months and 15 Days!]
The A.I. Chip responded without any emotions.
“That
long?” Leylin’s face turned pale, “What’s the problem? It only took me a
little over a year to raise my spiritual force to 4.2 from the stats of
an ordinary human... “
[The host has gained a resistance towards
meditation, changing to a higher tiered meditation technique is
recommended. Another option is to find ingredients that are compatible
for raising the effects of meditation!] The A.I. Chip projected a
screen, with the various data and results on it.
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