Chapter 52: Close-Combat Magic Sword

In the span of three months, or precisely three months and twelve days, Ronan's status panel had undergone significant changes. His strength had jumped from a Level 5 apprentice at 11% to Level 7 at 69%.

This leap was largely due to potion use.

Four bottles of mid-tier zero-order spirit-enhancing potions boosted Ronan's mental prowess by over two levels.

The cost was eight intermediate magic stones.

Aside from unlocking the storage pouch of a second mid-tier black-robed wizard apprentice, which yielded more magic stones, Ronan's improved rune engraving skills also contributed to his confidence in pursuing this "luxurious" training method.

His rune engraving skills had advanced considerably, with [Protection] runes reaching proficiency. His success rate in engraving had climbed above 50%.

He could now successfully engrave five to seven runes per day, depending on his luck.

With the current market price of [Protection] runes hovering around twelve low-level magic stones each, Ronan's monthly net income easily reached ten intermediate magic stones.

With newfound financial stability, Ronan upgraded his gear: a new staff he had long desired, a new robe, the spells he wanted, and a steady supply of combat potions.

His overall strength had increased tenfold compared to three months ago.

"The key was really addressing the lack of control skills..."

Previously, Ronan had no control skills. Now, his skill panel boasted three mid-tier zero-order control spells.

Besides [Electric Current], which he found in a market stall, the other two—[Weakness Curse] and [Wailing of the Souls]—came from the black-robed wizards.

Initially, Ronan had no intention of learning necromancy spells, but after opening the second mid-tier apprentice's pouch, he found [Weakness Curse] alongside [Flesh Puppet], a spell for summoning corpse minions. The more he studied it, the more tempted he became.

A moment of weakness led him to learn it.

He then decided to also learn [Wailing of the Souls], which paired with the ghostly ring.

Of course, he didn't delve too deeply, only practicing enough to cast them effectively.

On the other hand, he put considerable effort into mastering [Electric Current], reaching proficiency.

Each control spell had its unique strengths.

[Electric Current] summoned electricity to travel along the ground, attacking targets.

Its damage was moderate, but the paralysis effect of electric spells was excellent. However, the summoned electricity was hard to control and could be blocked by energy shields.

Initially, Ronan could only summon two streams of electricity. With practice, he increased it to four.

[Weakness Curse] directly weakened opponents physically, causing rapid stamina depletion. It had a wide range and could affect multiple targets, ignoring energy shields, which was quite unfair.

This domineering nature of curse spells made it Ronan's favorite control skill.

Its downside was its difficulty to learn and slow casting. Against weaker foes, one spell could leave them incapacitated, but against equal or stronger opponents, its effectiveness diminished quickly.

At Ronan's current novice level, casting [Weakness Curse] on a peer-level advanced apprentice reduced their stamina by about 20%.

Lastly, [Wailing of the Souls] was straightforward: the ghostly woman shouting "Valensuna, you wretch!" would leap out, startling anyone.

Her "wail" could disrupt an opponent's mental state, affecting spellcasting and decision-making.

The spell required little guidance, simply commanding the ghostly minion.

As proficiency increased, the wail's effect and the frequency of commands improved.

Ronan speculated the spell's potential was tied to the number of spirits the caster controlled.

One screaming woman might just startle you, but a hundred could create a hysterical "wailing storm," potentially overwhelming one's mind.

In other aspects, his [Basic Meditation] skill showed steady growth.

[Energy Missile—Particle Stream] had become challenging to advance since reaching mastery.

Over the past three months, Ronan only managed to increase its proficiency by two points.

Besides requiring more practice to gain insights, the significant energy cost and difficulty finding suitable practice locations meant Ronan sometimes couldn't practice even once a day.

However, Ronan noticed that each proficiency point increased the number of particle streams in the spell, boosting its power significantly.

At full strength, [Energy Missile—Particle Stream] now covered nearly double its previous range, with much greater force.

Moreover, three months of practice had allowed Ronan to control the spell's power at will.

This was crucial, as he no longer had to worry about depleting his mana or life force with each cast.

"With magical beast meat, both [Ascetic Body Training] and [Basic Swordsmanship] advanced to expert level surprisingly smoothly..."

Ronan picked up his staff, gripping the top with his right hand and applying slight pressure.

"Clang!"

A flash of cold light cut through the forest, revealing a slender, black, single-handed longsword in Ronan's grasp.

The sword was hidden within the staff, its blade narrow—half the width of a regular single-handed sword—but heavier.

Ronan approached the two-headed lizard's corpse, effortlessly slicing off its smaller head with a fluid motion.

"It slices through high-level zero-order magical beast hide and flesh with ease. Worth every bit of those three intermediate and twenty-five low-level magic stones."

Pleased with the sword's sharpness, Ronan's investment felt validated.

This magical sword was custom-made at the Veering Workshop, enchanted with two [Sharpness] runes, one [Durability] rune, and one [Light Absorption] rune.

He had sacrificed typical staff functions for close combat optimization.

Initially, Ronan hadn't planned this, but reaching expert level in [Ascetic Body Training] and its eighth movement significantly enhanced his physique.

It felt wasteful not to leverage his close combat potential, rather than solely for escape.

Typical staff enchantments enhanced spell power and casting speed.

But for Ronan, with his master-level [Energy Missile—Particle Stream], already devastatingly powerful and nearly instant-cast, those effects were superfluous.

Thus, Ronan chose a different path, crafting a close-combat magic sword.

The main reason, of course, was the cost—

This custom sword was significantly cheaper than a standard staff!

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