Chapter 140: Chapter 119: Griffith
The mornings in the Black Mist Jungle always carry a certain gloom; sporadic sunlight pierces through the heavy mist, casting a faint golden shimmer on the ancient buildings.
At dawn, Ron stood on the workshop terrace, gazing at the morning glow of the Black Mist Jungle.
The morning breeze gently caressed his cheeks, and he could clearly feel the monumental changes happening within himself.
The powerful strength of the Bloodline Knight flowed within him, and among the four consciousness cores of the Chimera, the dragon head representing the Red Blood Flying Dragon was continuously pumping scorching blood into his heart.
It had been three days since he completed the bloodline activation ceremony, during which he had been adapting to the changes brought by the Chimera bloodline and the Red Blood Flying Dragon ability successfully copied by the first consciousness core.
Now, he was able to control the generation and retraction of dragon scales at will, and could even form a thin layer of scale armor deep beneath his skin, providing protection without being noticeable to others.
"It’s time," Ron said to himself, tidying his new deep-gray robe one last time.
This was specially prepared for today. Compared to the light gray of a normal Elementary Apprentice, this robe’s hue was deeper, symbolizing the imminent change in status.
Ailan stood at the doorway, holding a small wooden box.
"Master, this is a gift I prepared for you," she said carefully, handing the box to Ron.
Ron took the box, opening it gently to reveal a delicate brooch in the shape of a green leaf outline, with a small red gemstone in the center, glimmering warmly in the morning light.
"I made it using one of my leaves and a red crystal left over from your potion refining,"
Ailan’s vines swayed slightly: "I hope it brings you good luck."
Ron was somewhat surprised; he hadn’t expected Ailan to prepare such a thoughtful gift.
He carefully pinned the brooch onto his robe, right over his heart.
"Thank you, Ailan, it’s the best gift," Ron said sincerely, a warm feeling rising in his heart.
Leaving the workshop, Ron walked along the stone-paved path towards the Central Tower.
The Black Mist Jungle was especially quiet today, with sunlight filtering through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
As he walked, Ron’s thoughts drifted to his recent achievements.
The [Bloodline Knight] profession was already completed, and through the dual breakthroughs, the attribute enhancements allowed him to meet the basic requirements for several other professions.
"[Demon Hunter] requires a constitution of 2.5, now it’s 2.7; [Magic Swordsman] requires a constitution of 2.5 and a spirit of 2.0, both of which I’ve already exceeded."
Ron calculated in his mind:
"But I’m still not very familiar with how to perform beast organ grafting and ’Magic Sword Creation’, so I’ll need to check the library for relevant information."
This advancement in the [Bloodline Knight] profession provided an important insight: leveraging the synergy between professions to create a positive cycle of attribute growth.
He could first seek professions with relatively simple requirements, then use the attribute enhancements gained from profession advancement to pursue other branches with higher attribute requirements.
This snowballing development strategy would allow him to make significant progress on all extraordinary paths.
"Once I advance to Middle Apprentice and enter the Candidate Wizard sequence, I’ll obtain higher access rights and find more detailed information on these professions."
Ron thought to himself, eyes gleaming with anticipation.
Passing through a quiet garden, the Central Tower loomed ahead.
This lofty ancient building was the central landmark of the Black Mist Jungle and the most important administrative center of the school, where various important certifications and ceremonies were held.
Arriving sufficiently early, there were only a few people in line at the desk, where the duty personnel weren’t solely handling apprentice certifications; they also dealt with various other tasks.
Ron queued patiently at the end.
Ahead of him, an elderly male apprentice was also undergoing certification; from his nervous expression, this seemed to be another attempt after multiple tries.
When it was Ron’s turn, he calmly approached and handed his Elementary Apprentice badge and various documents to the duty officer.
"What do you need to handle?" asked a neatly dressed Middle Apprentice, with a polite yet distant expression on his face.
"I’m here for the formal certification as a Middle Apprentice, and to apply to enter the Candidate Wizard sequence. I have already met the requirements to enter the sequence."
Ron calmly replied, presenting the joint recommendation letter prepared for him after communicating with Eric and Leia, along with his test results from last week.
Aside from the spiritual power requirement, a Middle Apprentice also needed to meet the comprehensive capability requirements related to Magic Construction, and these test scores were the best proof.
The duty officer examined the documents, eyebrows slightly raised:
"Skipping a grade directly to the third term courses? And personally recommended by Master Eric?"
"Yes," Ron maintained a humble posture: "I was fortunate to receive the appreciation of both senior apprentices Eric and Leia."
Hearing this, the officer confirmed it with the alchemy items on the desk and his superior, then nodded to Ron:
"Involving the Candidate Wizard sequence, my duty authority cannot handle it; please follow me to the dedicated certification room."
The duty officer led Ron through the hall to a deep corridor.
Statues lined both sides of the corridor, each one lifelike, as if they might awaken at any moment.
Ron noticed some of these statues depicted creatures with strange forms, some even difficult to recognize as any known race.
"These are all significant figures in wizard history."
Noticing Ron’s gaze, the duty officer explained:
"Not just humans, any race that achieves on the path of wizardry might leave a trace here."
Eventually, they arrived at a door inlaid with sapphires.
The duty officer gently knocked three times, then stepped aside: "The certification officer is inside, I wish you good luck."
"Thank you." Ron nodded in gratitude, took a deep breath, and pushed open the heavy gemstone door.
The interior of the room was unexpectedly simple, without any luxurious decorations or complex ceremonial equipment, just a rustic oak table and a few chairs.
Behind the table sat a middle-aged man with a solemn demeanor, his gray-white hair neatly combed back, his face marked with the traces of years.
Judging from the strong magic power fluctuation hidden in his aura, it was obvious he was an Official Wizard.
It seemed the School indeed placed great importance on these wizard seeds, actually assigning an Official Wizard to be responsible for this matter.
"Good morning, young man." The Certification Officer raised his head, a hint of scrutiny flashing in his eyes:
"I am Soron Griffiths, one of the Certification Officers in the Candidate Wizard sequence of the School. Are you here for the Intermediate Apprentice certification?"
"Yes, Lord Griffiths." Ron responded respectfully, handing over the documents:
"I am Ron Ralph, a Professional Alchemist."
Soron took the documents and started reading them carefully, his eyebrows occasionally furrowing, occasionally relaxing.
"Interesting." He finally spoke, his gaze fixed intently on Ron:
"You have been an Elementary Apprentice for less than half a year? And now you want to become an Intermediate Apprentice?"
"Yes, sir." Ron responded calmly.
"Usually, it takes at least three to five years to move from Elementary to Intermediate Apprentice."
There was obvious doubt in Soron’s voice: "Your progression is rather too fast."
This was precisely the skepticism Ron anticipated.
He nodded slightly, his voice humble yet firm: "I understand your doubts, Lord Griffiths. In fact, it is related to my Special Talent."
Soron raised an eyebrow: "Special Talent?"
"Yes, I have a talent known as ’Medicinal Body Resonance.’"
Ron cautiously explained: "This allows me to absorb the effectiveness of magic potions more efficiently, especially those used to enhance Spiritual Power."
Soron’s gaze became sharp:
"’Medicinal Body Resonance’... It is indeed recorded in the ’Special Talent Collection’ as a second-tier talent. How did you discover you had this talent?"
"At first, I just noticed that magic potions had a stronger effect on me than on my peers. Later, by conducting comparison experiments with friends around me, I gradually confirmed this matter."
Ron answered steadily, without overemphasizing or underplaying, letting his current level as a Professional Alchemist speak for itself.
"Interesting, very interesting." Soron rubbed his forehead, as if contemplating something:
"This does explain why you’ve achieved such success in Magic Potion Making, but the speed of your Spiritual Power increase is still surprising."
Soron pondered for a moment, then stood up: "In any case, we need to conduct a formal test, follow me."
He led Ron through several corridors, arriving at a room shrouded in a Magic Field.
In the center of the room stood a gigantic Crystal, positioned like a mirror.
"This is the ’Star Mirror,’ capable of directly reflecting a person’s Spiritual Power intensity and quality."
Soron explained: "Please stand before the Crystal and concentrate your Spiritual Power."
Ron nodded, stepping in front of the Crystal.
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, concentrated on his Spiritual Core, then slowly released a stream of Spiritual Power, guiding it toward the Star Mirror.
The Crystal immediately lit up with a bright blue light, countless starlit spots appearing within it, moving and gathering like living entities, finally forming a bright orb.
"A Spiritual Power intensity of 3.6 scale..." Soron’s voice carried undeniable astonishment:
"This far exceeds the entry standard for an Intermediate Apprentice, and the quality is quite pure, without significant chaotic fluctuations."
He observed the light orb in the Crystal for a while longer to confirm there were no anomalies before indicating for Ron to stop the test.
"Let’s proceed with a Magic Construction test." Soron retrieved a special Crystal Plate from a nearby cabinet:
"Please construct a triple-layered Magic Model on this, maintaining it for at least one minute."
Ron nodded and received the Crystal Plate, concentrating again.
This was precisely what he had practiced repeatedly in Eric’s course, and it was already quite familiar to him.
His Spiritual Power flowed into the Crystal Plate, beginning to construct a complex three-layered circular structure.
With the augmentation of the "Stable State" trait, the Magic Model he constructed was exceptionally stable, three energy rings perfectly overlapping, forming a harmonious and unified whole.
"Outstanding control ability." Soron nodded approvingly:
"Such stability is challenging even for some seasoned Intermediate Apprentices."
As the test concluded successfully, Soron led Ron back to the initial room and signed his name on the certification document.
"Congratulations, Ron Ralph. You are now officially an Intermediate Apprentice of the Black Mist School, and also a member of the Candidate Wizard sequence."
Soron handed a light blue Apprentice Badge to Ron: "This is your new badge, symbolizing your identity and status."
Ron accepted the badge cautiously, feeling a faint magic power fluctuation emanating from it.
This badge was not only a symbol of identity but also a simple Magic Energy Storage Device that could provide a small amount of additional magic power in emergencies.
"Thank you, Lord Griffiths." Ron bowed politely to express his gratitude.