CHAPTER 125: CHAPTER 112: HYDRA

The first ray of morning sunlight shone through the window, casting a warm golden spot on the wooden floor of the workshop.

Ron stood in the center of the training room, took a deep breath, and felt the ever-growing flow of power within his body.

He closed his eyes, his thoughts drifting towards the origins of his bloodline.

The Ralph Clan—a venerable family that existed since the founding of the Faruk Kingdom.

According to family ancient texts, their bloodline traces back to the Hydra Giant Poison Snake from the Divine Era.

However, every knight nobility with a bloodline inheritance can trace their ancestors to extraordinarily powerful creatures.

It’s not surprising; our ancestors were affluent, but the current Ralph Clan can at most awaken the ordinary Swamp Multi-headed Snake bloodline.

The Ralph Clan’s crest, adorned with the image of a multi-headed snake, symbolizes the family’s roots and power.

In the past, while in the kingdom, he was puzzled as to why humans would possess the bloodlines of giant serpents or dragon species.

He even had inappropriate fantasies because of it, but now it seems... everything is just the experimental products of wizards.

"But now..."

Ron murmured softly, his fingers brushing over his arm where golden meridian patterns were faintly visible beneath the skin, a trait gained from practicing the "Crown Breathing Technique" called the "Sun’s Protection".

Since consuming the modified "Sun Flame Essence" to break through, he often felt a heat flowing within, a sensation both unfamiliar and strangely familiar, as if some long-dormant power was gradually awakening.

"The Ralph Clan’s Multi-headed Snake bloodline and the Sun Flame Dragon Subspecies bloodline evoked by the Crown Breathing Technique... two distinct extraordinary bloodlines coexist within me."

Ron fell into deep thought:

"Along with the ’Origin Tracing’ trait I just acquired, perhaps I can trace back to a purer, more ancient bloodline form."

The possibility of multiple bloodline overlays made Ron’s heart race.

Of course, there was caution amidst this anticipation.

Bloodline activation is a double-edged sword; uncontrolled direction or excessive intensity can lead to mutation.

But with the "Origin Tracing" trait and his precisely concocted Bloodline Activation Potion, he might be able to minimize these risks.

"In any case, in a few days, I’ll have the chance to uncover the answers," Ron said softly, slowly opening his eyes.

He raised his hand and picked up the Ironwood Sword placed to the side, executing a series of basic sword techniques with ease.

Each movement flowed like water, with natural and smooth sword momentum, devoid of any excessive force.

Every muscle in his body worked in precise coordination, each swing of the sword carried a chilling precision and sharpness.

The sword light traced a graceful arc in the morning light, emitting a slight whistling sound, as though slicing the air.

[Current Progress: Basic Swordsmanship (Mastery max)]

"It really has reached its peak..." Ron murmured to himself, sheathing his sword, "Continuing to practice won’t increase my experience points any further."

His basic swordsmanship had reached its limit, and the profession panel indicated no more improvements.

In this situation, merely practicing sword techniques was clearly a waste of time, given the panel’s fixation, his skill wouldn’t regress even without practice.

"To further advance in swordsmanship, it seems I have to wait until I advance to [Magic Swordsman]."

"Until then, I’ll focus on magic." Ron decided.

Today marked the beginning of his second week living in the workshop. To save unnecessary travel time, Eric and Leia scheduled the weekly assessment together; passing it would allow direct entry into the second phase of courses.

"The weekly assessment is this afternoon, better practice some magic first." Ron smiled slightly, turning his hand towards the spellcasting medium—a delicately crafted silver bracelet.

He had purchased this specifically some time ago to better guide the flow of magic power and increase spell efficiency, costing about a dozen Magic Stone Fragments.

Though a basic alchemical artifact, for his current stage, it was sufficient as an aid.

Standing in the open area of the workshop, Ron took a deep breath, adjusting his breath and mental state. Raising his hands, he closed his eyes to sense the flow of magic power within.

He first concentrated on perceiving the room’s energy field, then gradually shifted attention to the special training subject: a white lab rat placed under a transparent glass dome.

This specially bred mouse was extremely sensitive to spiritual power fluctuations, making it an ideal subject for practicing spiritual interference spells.

"Spiritual Interference..."

Ron’s spiritual power started to gather, forming a barely visible fine ripple.

This ripple seemed fragile but encapsulated a meticulously constructed spiritual interference model, able to act on a creature’s nervous system, causing temporary confusion or dizziness.

He repeatedly adjusted the ripple’s frequency and intensity, striving to find the optimal balance point.

Too weak, it wouldn’t have any effect; too strong, it could permanently harm the test subject.

The initial attempts were not ideal.

The first time, the test mouse barely reacted;

The second time, it merely twitched its ears slightly;

The third time, it briefly halted its actions but quickly returned to normal.

"Not precise enough..." Ron frowned.

He closed his eyes, fully immersed in the mental construction, attempting a more complex ripple structure.

This time, he constructed a looped spiritual wave, theoretically able to act more precisely on specific brain regions.

"Fourth attempt..."

With the spiritual power released, an invisible ripple precisely aimed at the glass dome.

This time, the effect was immediate—the lab rat suddenly stopped all movements, as if frozen in place, its gaze became bewildered and vacant.

To be precise, it wasn’t just stopped but put into a specific state of nerve disturbance. Ron could clearly sense the brain activity of the lab rat being temporarily halted by him.

Dozens of seconds later, the lab rat returned to normal but appeared a bit fatigued and confused, the typical aftermath of spiritual interference.

[Spiritual Interference Experience Points + 1]

[Breakthrough! Spiritual Interference (Beginner 50/50) → Spiritual Interference (Proficient 1/100)]

[Gained Additional Trait: Lag Circle (Within a specific range, interference effect slightly increases)]

"Success!" Ron softly cheered, feeling the slight changes in the flow mode of spiritual power within him.

After a brief rest, he began practicing "Magic Construction," the foundation of all spells, determining the caster’s control over magic power and the stability of the magic model.

He picked up a special crystal ball, a tool specifically used for practicing magic construction.

The crystal ball could reflect the caster’s magic power control in real-time, with any slight fluctuation and instability manifesting inside it.

"This time I’ll try the triple overlay structure..."

Ron muttered to himself, referring to an advanced technique he saw in the book "Wizard Modeling Essentials", usually only achievable by seasoned casters.

He infused a strand of spiritual power into the crystal ball, beginning to construct a magic model within it.

Initially a simple ring structure, gradually increasing in complexity, adding the second and third configurations, each maintaining a specific resonance relation with the preceding layer.

The interior of the crystal ball gradually revealed complex light patterns, initially somewhat blurred, becoming clearer and more stable with Ron’s continuous adjustments.

This process was extremely consuming of spiritual power, sweat beading on Ron’s forehead, his breath growing slightly labored.

But he persevered, continually fine-tuning every detail until the triple configurations in the crystal ball reached perfect balance.

"It’s now..."

When the last bit of instability was eliminated, the light patterns inside the crystal ball suddenly became exceptionally bright and stable, the three ring structures perfectly overlaying each other, forming a harmonious and unified whole.

[Magic Construction Experience Points + 1]

[Breakthrough! Magic Construction (Beginner 50/50) → Magic Construction (Proficient 1/100)]

[Gained Additional Trait: Stable State (Slight increase in stability of the magic model, slight decrease in magic power consumption)]

"Accumulated for so many days, finally made a breakthrough today."

Ron softly spoke to himself, satisfied with his achievements.

These advancements in the two skills would just be helpful for today’s weekly assessment.

After finishing his spell practice, Ron sat cross-legged, ready to begin his daily meditation cultivation.

As he entered the meditation state, his consciousness gradually immersed into the familiar starry sky—the unique realm of "Star Eater’s Ravings".

As always, countless living stars flickered with eerie glows in the vast universe, as though whispering secrets.

But today, Ron found the stars appeared more active than usual, their glow more dazzling, the whispers more distinct.

He even seemed to discern fragmented words among the murmurs:

"...come...back..."

Ron’s heart skipped a beat, the first time he had heard such clear "voices" in meditation.