Chapter 10 Magic Stone and Magic Tools

Magic Stones had been mentioned by the nobles aboard the airship, but this was the first time Richard actually laid eyes on one.

This Magic Stone was about the size of a thumb pad, jet black, and diamond-shaped; it resembled a black gemstone under the sunlight.

Richard used his spiritual power to sense the Magic Stone and found that the Magic Power stored within it not only exceeded his Magic Rebound but was also effortless to absorb.

This was undoubtedly great news for Richard.

A Wizard Apprentice's Magic Rebound had a limited storage for Magic Power. Once the Magic Power from the Rebound was exhausted, even a Wizard would need to absorb Magic Power anew.

However, the efficiency of recovering Magic Rebound by absorbing Magic Power directly from nature was very low. It took Richard two full days on the airship to recover only half of the Magic Power he had used up. But with this Magic Stone, the time it would take for Richard to recover his Magic Power could be reduced from two days to two minutes.

"No wonder a Magic Stone can fetch a hundred thousand gold coins in the Golden Bird Flower market; if someone carried two of them, they could walk sideways in an exam as long as they were a Wizard Apprentice," Richard exclaimed, holding the Magic Stone.

"By that logic, if Wizards don't have any special methods, the battles between Wizards could also turn into a competition of personal wealth."

With these thoughts, Richard's eyes glowed with even more fervor when he looked at the Magic Stone.

The Magic Stone was not just wealth, but also a part of a Wizard's strength.

Pocketing the Magic Stone, Richard continued on his journey.

But this time was different; before moving, a sudden flash of light swept over his body.

Zero-Ring Spell: Light Body Skill.

With the Magic Stone as a backup source of Magic Power, Richard was no longer frugal with his spells.

As the effects of the Light Body Skill took effect, Richard immediately felt lighter. His steps quickened, and the pocket at his waist felt lighter too.

Maintaining the Light Body Skill for half an hour, Richard managed to cover nearly twice the distance he would have without the spell in that time.

If he kept this up, he would only need about three days to reach the location of the light column.

But as Richard pressed on with all his might, a whistling sound came from within the woods.

Whoosh!

Instinctively, Richard ducked; he saw an Ice Cone fly out from the woods, whisking past the top of his head.

"That was close!"

Peering at the Ice Cone that had bored a hole in the tree trunk, Richard felt a wave of relief. If he had ducked a second later, the Ice Cone could have shattered his skull.

"I can't be so reckless. As important as it is to hurry, I cannot lose sight of the bigger picture," Richard reminded himself. With a raise of his hand, he launched a Magic Missile in the direction of the Ice Cone.

Since someone had made a move against him, it was only natural for him to return the favor.

A blue glow shot forth. Without waiting to see the outcome, Richard immediately cast another Light Body Skill on himself and, crouching low, he zigzagged toward the source of the Ice Cone.

Whoosh!

Another Ice Cone followed.

But this Ice Cone was far off the mark from Richard.

"It seems this person has panicked," Richard thought to himself. "Their ambush failed to kill with a single hit, and they lost their composure once they faced resistance."

Do they even deserve to kill me?

Richard scoffed at the thought and soon caught sight of the attacker.

The ambusher was a petite figure dressed in lavish attire, a beautiful noble girl with panic written all over her face.

Her hand, adorned with a ring, shook as she attempted to launch another Ice Cone Skill to finish off Richard.

"Don't come any closer! Stay away! Don't you dare come closer!"

As Richard drew ever closer, the girl suddenly squeezed her eyes shut and let out a piercing scream, firing another Ice Cone.

But the gods did not pity her; this Ice Cone was as far from Richard as before.

"It's over,"

Richard stood a short distance from the young girl, his expression cold and indifferent, as a hint of blue light flashed from the tip of his raised arm.

He harbored no sympathy for the fairer sex.

Bang

Red and white splattered.

Approaching the girl's corpse with indifference, Richard noticed two bags beside her, indicating that another unfortunate soul had already fallen victim to a stealthy attack.

He pulled the ring off the girl's finger. This ring, made of gray metal, had an old look to it, with a metal setting designed to hold a Magic Stone.

"So this is what the Nobles refer to as Magic Tools, the underlying reason why Kevin's alliance was able to be established."

Racked by inspiration, Richard wanted to refine it using the Miracle Furnace to see if he could acquire the method for crafting such a ring. However, the Miracle Furnace didn't react to it at all, as if the quality of the ring was too low to catch its interest.

After removing the ring, Richard searched the girl's body further.

Ultimately, he found three Magic Stones and a Magic Dagger. Similarly, the Miracle Furnace showed no reaction to the dagger either.

"The Nobles are really loaded. If all Nobles are such idiots, it makes me want to hunt them down."

Examining the dagger in his hand, which had an indent similar to that of a Magic Stone at the base of the handle, Richard placed a Magic Stone into it and immediately, a line of Runes appeared on the blade that was previously plain.

Swinging the dagger a couple of times, Richard found it easily plunged into the trunk of a nearby tree that was likely over a hundred years old.

"What a sharp dagger!"

Richard exclaimed in surprise, immediately recalling the Wind Crow Sword Skill he had acquired from the sword of the first Baron of Heisen.

Although he was now a Wizard Apprentice, if someone got too close, he would instantly revert to being the vulnerable son of a farmer.

Although the dagger wasn't long, it was still a formidable weapon, capable of employing a fraction of the Wind Crow Sword Skill.

With a third of his Wind Crow Sword Skill and this dagger which could slice through metal as if it were mud, not only did he compensate for his weakness at close range, but his strength also rose a notch.

Suppressing the urge to laugh out loud, Richard removed the Magic Stone from the dagger's handle.

Good steel should be reserved for the blade edge; he wasn't affluent enough to waste Magic Stones recklessly.

After securing the Magic Stone, Richard wore the ice cone ring on his finger, tucked the Magic Dagger at his waist, and continued on his journey.

The rest of the items on the corpse were of no use to Richard, and bringing them along would only be a burden, so he just left them behind for whoever might be fortunate enough to find them.

Learning from his experiences, Richard set out with caution, alert and vigilant as he made his way through the forest.

Although this slowed him down, it was safer.

In this manner, Richard survived the first day of the test.

In the evening, the forest was alive with the sound of insects, as Richard piled up a heap of fallen leaves beneath a large tree to serve as his bed for the night.

The temperature in this primeval forest wasn't particularly high, but it was a vast improvement over the cold winter months of the Heisen Territory. Even at night, Richard was merely cold, not shivering uncontrollably.

Opening a bottle of Nutritional Potion, Richard took a sip.

The Potion tasted strange, reminiscent of diluted, fermented vinegar mixed with grass juice sealed away for a month.

But despite the off-putting flavor, the effect of the potion was genuinely remarkable.

A tube of Nutritional Potion warmed Richard's belly instantly, eliminating the sensation of hunger from his stomach.

After his drink, Richard lay under the tree, exhaustion from the day washing over him like a tide.

However, he did not choose to sleep; instead, he opted for meditation.

While aboard the Airship, Richard had discovered that the Meditation Method could alleviate mental fatigue, and two hours of meditation was even more beneficial than eight hours of sleep. In this treacherous primeval forest, spending more time awake was undeniably advantageous.

Moreover, meditation also had the effect of enhancing spiritual power, making it a perfect solution.

But as he began to meditate, a strange animal roar echoed through the forest.