CHAPTER 71: CHAPTER 71: CHANGE AND TRUSTED AIDE

Time flies, and another two years and three months have passed.

During these two years and three months, Lor worked tirelessly on marking tasks day and night, accumulating a total of 38.8 million contribution points, which is more than anticipated.

Since he has been lingering in the Shallow Sea Area, he hasn’t encountered any fourth-tier Sea Beasts, and the two Guardian Tree Scrolls remain safely in the Space Ring.

Meanwhile, his Spiritual Power has reached 950 points.

He is only 49 Spiritual Power points and one Core Sorcery Rune advancement away from breaking through to the Second Ring.

"From here to the Cooper Wizard Tower on Betula Continent will take nearly two months."

Lor looked at the white birds circling around the Cliff Gold Spaceship and thought to himself:

"During this time, I can increase my Spiritual Power a bit more, and by the time I reach Kupa Wizard Tower, I’ll have met the Spiritual Power requirement to become a Second Ring Wizard."

"The Core Sorcery Rune has also been chosen, just waiting for advancement to integrate and improve it."

The Core Sorcery Rune he intends to advance to the Second Ring is the Adaptive Rock Barrier Spell, mainly to enhance defensive capabilities.

If lucky, he might uncover that basic Space Rune during the advancement, making defense his second strong suit.

As for speed...

Upgrading the Earth Vein Shuttling Technique to the Second Ring and then breaking the limit could also suffice for a while.

With short-term goals planned, Lor opened the panoramic mode to look at the first level of the spaceship.

At this time, Levan’s cabin didn’t activate panoramic mode because it was study time.

However, Kateya’s cabin had panoramic mode on, and she was staring blankly at the white birds provocatively circling the spaceship outside.

She had been on this spaceship for over two years now, and besides meditating, there was nothing else to do every day, making it somewhat dull.

And ever since she learned about Levan’s identity, her attitude towards him had subtly changed.

There was less intimacy and more respect, cautious not to overstep.

Levan had tried to mend the relationship by offering Kateya some resources, but she refused, leaving young Levan quite troubled.

Honestly, Lor was surprised to hear about this.

He recalled that when he first met Kateya, she was a woman willing to deliver meals and handle daily chores just for a chance to become an assistant.

Concerned for his subordinate’s mental well-being, Lor had straightforwardly asked about this.

The answer he received left him speechless.

Kateya’s response was that she feared drawing certain people’s ire by accepting gifts since Levan’s resources came from his family; she might die without a trace.

Although Kateya didn’t spell it out, Lor understood.

This assistant was thinking far ahead, even considering the attitude of Levan’s future wife.

Had she still been that apprentice with nothing to lose, she might have accepted Levan’s goodwill without hesitation.

But things were different now; she was Lor’s experiment assistant, and with a stable job, her future was assured, eliminating the need to take risks.

Now with shoes on her feet, she no longer needed to pursue the dreams from her barefoot days.

Lor didn’t have much to say about this, only feeling that his cautious nature seemed to have rubbed off on her, which wasn’t a bad thing.

He even considered developing her into a confidant.

"Kateya, in a little over a month, we’ll arrive at the Cooper Wizard Tower."

Lor looked at the cabin below and communicated: "Before that, I need to brief you on some matters."

"Go ahead, Lord Lor," Kateya stood up immediately upon hearing him and bowed to Lor.

"Once we reach the Cooper Wizard Tower, I will leave you there and supply you with a Continental Communication Board."

Lor continued, "Your task is to receive my research findings through the Communication Board, find apprentices to conduct experiments, and then forward the results to me."

In the future, he will be marking schools of fish, spending most of his time at sea.

It’s no problem to deduce Elemental junctions and build basic rune models in his spare time, but personally following up on the Adaptive Rock Barrier fusion experiments would be impossible.

Thus, carrying out experiments indirectly through Kateya became a suitable choice.

This method is also commonly used by high-level wizards.

Some players in past lives became Exploratory Wizards thousands of times, accumulating resources without ever meeting one in person due to this reason.

"Yes, Lord Lor," Kateya nodded in agreement, feeling a flash of delight in her heart.

For a wizard to hand over an experimental task entirely to an assistant essentially means treating the assistant as a confidant.

Being the confidant of someone valued by Speaker Yassen, Kateya felt she now wanted nothing more.

As long as she continues following Lord Lor, everything will be provided.

"Hmm, since you’ve followed me for so long, I should at least give something in return."

Lor spoke bluntly: "At that time, I will leave 1.2 million contribution points on the laboratory account, with two hundred thousand at your discretion to buy whatever you want."

The two hundred thousand contribution points seem modest, merely the reward for marking a school of third-tier sea fish.

But in reality, it’s enough to buy six bottles of Talent Enhancement Potion and still have some left.

If Kateya used the two hundred thousand to buy potions, breaking through the fifth level of Meditation Talent would be a certainty, and even the sixth level might be reachable.

Lor once taught Levan that to get subordinates to accomplish more, you must provide more benefits, a lesson he himself certainly won’t forget.

"Thank you, Lord Lor," Kateya responded with a face full of joy, repeatedly expressing her gratitude.

Just a moment ago, she was thinking that as long as she stayed with Lord Lor, everything would eventually be hers.

And now, with just a few words, she truly had everything she could want.

Moreover, these contribution points came without any consequences; she just had to serve Lord Lor more diligently in the future.

"No need to thank me," Lor smiled, "As long as you do your job well, I’m not a stingy person, and everything that’s deserved will be given to you."

"I will definitely give it my all," Kateya bowed deeply to Lor.

...

In the northwest of Murphy Continent, deep within a canyon shrouded in darkness.

A strange corpse, about a hundred miles long, lay across the canyon floor, punctured with thousands of caves, appearing tattered.

From time to time, the deep dark divine power surged from the corpse, seemingly the source of the canyon’s darkness.

"A deity, truly strange." An old man dressed in black, his face lined with wrinkles, stepped out from one of the caves on the creature’s massive forehead, unable to suppress the smile on his face.

He had found the path to the Fifth Ring, and without unexpected developments, the Wizard Alliance would have a new Speaker in six months.

"The path of a Faith Wizard is much simpler compared to a Bloodline Wizard."

The old man gazed up at the sky above the dark canyon, filled with ambition, "If I can maintain this progress, perhaps I’ll become the Wizard Alliance’s first Sixth Ring."

Becoming a Sixth Ring is the dream of every Speaker, but due to a lack of experimental materials, they can only endure slowly.

Validating a small idea sometimes requires years of waiting.

But Faith Wizards differ; as long as there is Power of Faith and the path of a deity is thoroughly analyzed, it can be harnessed as their own.

Meditation Talent endowment among mortals is rare, but mortals capable of providing Power of Faith are everywhere.

The better path is evident when comparing the two.