CHAPTER 102: CHAPTER 95: [APPRENTICE’S STAIRWAY], [INVESTIGATION OF THE ORIGIN OF KNIGHTS]

The Black Mist Jungle in the early morning was still shrouded in a light mist, but Ron had already spiritedly arrived at the School Library.

He came to the library once again, utterly different from the last time he was here; back then, he had just become an Elementary Apprentice and even needed repeated approval from the guard to enter the most basic reading area.

As a newly-minted Professional Alchemist, he couldn’t wait to use his new status and permissions to delve into more extraordinary knowledge.

The library was housed in an ancient stone tower, plain and unadorned from the outside, but every apprentice knew that here was the place, aside from paid courses, that most enhanced their development.

The person guarding the entrance was not the same as last time, now replaced by an elderly gray-robed guard.

"Alchemist Badge?" the elder said softly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, "Young man, you look at most sixteen or seventeen years old."

Ron nodded with a smile, "Ron Ralph, just passed the Alchemist certification exam, presided over by Master Magnus himself."

The old guard examined the badge closely and after a moment, nodded slightly, "The mark cannot be forged; it seems you are indeed a genius."

He stepped aside, "Professional Alchemists have ’dual-level clearance,’ allowing access to most ordinary texts and some advanced materials."

"Thank you," Ron replied politely and then stepped into this hall of knowledge.

The interior of the library was astonishingly spacious, far exceeding its external appearance. Clearly, some kind of space-expansion magic was employed here.

Bookcases stacked layer upon layer reached up to the ceiling, forming a maze-like ocean of knowledge.

In the center of the great hall stood a half-height deep brown crystal pillar, engraved with intricate runes.

That was the library’s "Guiding Stone," which could direct users to the relevant area based on their inquiry.

Ron walked up to the crystal pillar, gently placing his palm on it, and silently reciting the keywords he wished to search for:

"Intermediate Apprentice, Magic Mastery, Advanced Requirements."

The runes on the surface of the crystal pillar lit up with a gentle blue glow, and then a path of light dots unfurled in the air, guiding him to a specific bookcase area.

Following the light dots to the designated location, Ron found a section dedicated to apprentice advancement materials.

His gaze was quickly drawn to a heavy brown leather book, with the title "The Apprentice Ladder" embossed in gold on the cover.

He took down the book and found a quiet oak table nearby to sit at, carefully opening its yellowed pages.

"Intermediate Apprentice—The Second Stepping Stone on the Path of the Apprentice," a bold title came into view.

Ron focused intensely on reading, occasionally noting key points in the notebook he carried:

"...Unlike the Elementary Apprentice stage, the core task of an Intermediate Apprentice is no longer simply to increase the value of spiritual power, but to deepen the control over spiritual power, particularly as expressed in magic construction..."

"...A qualified Intermediate Apprentice must master at least three zero-level spells and be able to cast them with ease. This requirement is not arbitrarily set but is based on the scientific principles of brain domain development..."

Ron furrowed his brow, paying particular attention to this key point.

The book explained in detail:

"...The magic model construction process is actually creating specific ’thought circuits’ within the mental sea. For every spell mastered, a corresponding neural connection pathway is formed in the brain domain."

"When spells mastered reach three or more, these pathways gradually weave into a web, forming a unique ’thought network,’ significantly enhancing the flexibility and extensibility of spiritual power..."

"...More importantly, once this ’thought network’ is formed, it becomes the foundation for casters to access higher-level spells."

"Without this foundation, even if one possesses strong spiritual power, they cannot support the complex model construction required by high-circle spells..."

Ron suddenly understood: "No wonder Eric and Leia emphasized the mastery of magic, turns out this is the basic rule of brain domain development."

As he continued to read, he began to understand the requirements for the Advanced Apprentice stage:

"...An Advanced Apprentice is marked by spiritual power reaching a specific threshold while developing at least one spell to a personal specialization level."

"This ’specialization’ is not merely about increasing power, but importantly involves integrating the caster’s personal understanding to make it unique..."

"...Specialized magic is the necessary path to becoming an Official Wizard. Every Official Wizard possesses at least one entirely unique magic system, a test of personal interpretive ability and a requirement for creativity."

"Those apprentices lacking creativity, no matter how high their spiritual power, will ultimately fail to break through the boundary of an Advanced Apprentice..."

To become a true Wizard, not only was sufficient spiritual power needed but also unique insights and creativity, aligning closely with his vision of what a Wizard should be.

Just as Ron was about to continue exploring the details of advancing to an Official Wizard, he turned to a page that had clearly been tampered with.

That page had only a few lines of text, the rest covered in black ink, leaving only the title "Details of Official Wizard Advancement" and a prominent note:

"Only members of the Candidate Wizard sequence may view."

Ron tried probing with spiritual power, but felt a powerful resistance bouncing him away.

Clearly, the masked contents had special protections against unauthorized peeking.

"It seems higher clearance is needed," he murmured to himself, feeling slightly disappointed but undeterred.

Returning the book to its place, Ron approached the crystal pillar once more, this time seeking information on the origins of the Knight profession.

The crystal pillar lit up again, guiding him to another area.

This new section’s bookcases housed texts appearing even older, with many book covers faded and their corners heavily worn.

In that section, Ron found a thick ancient tome titled "Investigation of the Origin of Knights."

The book’s pages had yellowed and become fragile, requiring great care in handling.

The book’s records on Bloodline Knights and Demon Hunters were exceptionally detailed, opening Ron’s eyes:

"...The origins of Demon Hunters can be traced back to the early Second Era, during the ’Great Cataclysm’ aftermath, many Wizards attempted to transplant parts of magical beasts into humans to obtain corresponding bloodline abilities...."

Ron frowned; this line was crossed out.

He continued reading the subsequent content:

"...Early Demon Hunter experiments often ended in failure, with most transplants suffering severe rejection reactions, resulting in death or uncontrollable mutations. It was not until Adrian Morel of the Black Crow School created a special ’stabilizer’ that success rates somewhat increased..."

Ron paid particular attention to this piece of history—so Demon Hunters were indeed products of experiments!

Continuing to read, he saw the content about the origins of Bloodline Knights:

"...With the continual improvement of Demon Hunter experiments, Wizards gradually realized that directly transplanting magical beast organs, despite rapidly granting great power, did not eliminate rejection reactions or mutation risks."

"Therefore, Elvin Oswo of Aofa Academy proposed the ’bloodline activation’ theory..."

"...Elvin believed that humans naturally carried dormant fragments of ancient biological bloodlines, which could be awakened through specific rituals to gain corresponding powers, while greatly reducing rejection reactions because these bloodlines already existed within the body..."

"...This theory was quickly validated and popularized, forming the basis of the modern ’Bloodline Knight’ system."

"Compared to Demon Hunters, although Bloodline Knights’ power surge was less pronounced, stability and safety were greatly improved, reducing mutation rates by nearly seventy percent..."

Ron suddenly realized:

"No wonder Andre said that most of the Farouk Royal Family awakened the Fire Lizard bloodline; these must be the bloodline traits left by their ancestors."

Turning to the section on advancement potential, Ron encountered some discouraging content:

"...The Knight profession, as a product of Wizard research, essentially has a ’limited development’ advancement path."

"Whether Demon Hunter or Bloodline Knight, after completing the ritual, there is a noticeable enhancement in physical attributes, but the risk of instability and mutation always lingers..."

"To continue progressing, deeper excavation of bloodline potential or the further transplantation of more powerful organs is required, but this simultaneously increases the risk of run-away mutations exponentially..."

Ron suddenly realized:

It turns out that although the Knight profession can bring powerful physical enhancements through bloodline activation, it ultimately has a ceiling, fully tapping into genetic potential makes mere physical training lose its effectiveness.

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