Chapter 234: The Path to Formal Wizard

Ace’s consciousness body within the Dream Crystal Sphere felt an unparalleled sense of pleasure, surpassing any joy he had experienced in his two short lives.

This was a leap in the essence of the soul, a watershed moment for life forms. Once crossed, the level of life would be forever different. The collective Mana nourished him, and the flow of information washed over him repeatedly, causing the essence of his soul to transform bit by bit.

If someone were to observe with the Mana Sensitivity spell, they would find that within the dazzling white light of Ace’s soul, a pale red light was emerging bit by bit, slowly replacing the white.

Ace’s soul felt itself growing stronger. His mental scale was climbing continuously: 11 Unit, 12 Unit… finally, his mental power stabilized at 21 Unit, and his entire spirit body was dyed pale red.

Ace could clearly feel the Wizard Subconscious Sea rejoicing, seeming to guide him, seeming to welcome him.

“Welcome me?”

Ace’s consciousness body suddenly shuddered, seeming to realize something terrible. He tried his best to control himself, resisting the pull of the embryonic Subconscious Sea, to think about this strange feeling.

“Why guide me? Why welcome me? After advancement, I should return to my body.”

If someone observed from the vision of mental perception, they would see Ace’s consciousness body gradually detaching from the Dream Crystal Sphere, turning into a ray of pale red light.

At the same time, Ace’s physical body became increasingly weak and withered. The Chain of Rules connecting his body and soul became increasingly fragile. The Wizard Subconscious Sea, hidden in the Sea of Illusion and Reality, was trying its best to tempt the pale red light formed by Ace’s soul.

“Become one with me, Torch-Bearer. We will become stronger.”

A voice that sounded like a chorus of many transmitted into Ace’s soul, tempting him, pulling him.

Ace had a premonition that if he complied, he might become stronger, and the embryonic Subconscious Sea would also become perfect.

However, this was not what he wanted. What he wanted was to follow the footsteps of pursuing truth, gathering flowers along the path of truth, and making himself stronger.

The pale red light gradually turned into a human shape, revealing Ace’s form. He said firmly: “I am sorry, I refuse!”

The rejected embryonic Subconscious Sea seemed very disappointed. It was premature and imperfect. If a more powerful Wizard soul could merge with it, it would make up for its deficiencies.

Ace’s soul had already noticed the drastic changes in his body. He wanted to follow the Chain of Rules and return to his body immediately, but he was dragged by the binding power of the Subconscious Sea.

Ace controlled his emotions and tried to communicate calmly with the Subconscious Sea. He activated the authority he had left in the Subconscious Sea and understood its predicament and expectations.

The Subconscious Sea lacked a Main Consciousness to preside over the overall situation. As the founder of the Wizard’s Path, Ace was the best Main Consciousness it favored.

The pale red Ace could not preside over the embryonic Subconscious Sea; that was not the path he wanted, nor did he want to become the agent or puppet of the collective consciousness of Wizards.

However, he did not want to give up his authority over the Subconscious Sea. This was a magical existence capable of subtly influencing the Wizard group. It had to be replaced by something.

Ace cast his gaze upon the clone in the Dream Crystal. He expelled the consciousnesses of the other Wizard Apprentices from the Dream Crystal, then summoned the Dream Clone and dispersed a part of his own pale red light to it.

After the separation, Ace’s mental strength rapidly declined to 11 Unit and stabilized again. The pale red light became dim, barely maintaining the soul level of a Hero.

The embryonic Subconscious Sea pulled the pale red Dream Clone. The Dream Clone entered the embryonic Subconscious Sea, transforming into a giant statue holding a torch, presiding over the operation of the Subconscious Sea.

In just an instant, the Dream Clone understood something through the Subconscious Sea and mixed the information transmission into a Subconscious Sea Gift, bestowing it upon Ace.

Subsequently, the Subconscious Sea slowly hid and vanished.

Wizards also have aptitude and talent. This talent is Mana Affinity and Adaptability. To go far on the path of a Wizard, Mana Affinity and Adaptability must be at least above average.

Once above average, one can rely on talent to overtake others. If one possesses both brilliance and talent, it is almost difficult for anyone to surpass them.

Someone like Betty, born with good talent and brilliance, faces almost no bottlenecks on the path of Magic.

Of course, talent can be changed.

Ace’s natural talent should have been only average. However, when writing the article Spellcasters—A Systematic Study of Corrosive Hyenas, he resonated with the World Source and received a gift from it, greatly enhancing his Mana Affinity and Adaptability.

This was one of the reasons why he advanced from Lesser Apprentice to Mid-level Apprentice, and from Mid-level to Advanced Apprentice so quickly.

And now, the clone, by controlling the Wizard Subconscious Sea, also bestowed a gift upon him, optimizing his aptitude and talent to the peak.

The pale red soul of Ace followed the mental chain and returned to his body. He opened his eyes.

A sense of discomfort and extreme physical weakness, as if he were terminally ill, made Ace, who had been strong and healthy since becoming a Wizard, very unaccustomed.

The elevation of his soul level exacerbated this discomfort. His body and soul could not coordinate!

His soul had achieved a leap, reaching the level of a Hero, but his body remained where it was. It had even become weaker to facilitate the soul’s leap.

“I must find a way to elevate my body.”

Ace murmured. Looking at the Wizard Apprentices swaying and collapsing in the hall, Ace struggled to make arrangements and then staggered back to the West Tower.

Mid-level Apprentice Eddie felt exhausted all over. Lord Ace did not announce whether the promotion was successful, and no one dared to ask. With doubts in his mind, he silently ate dinner, jumped on his Flying Magic Carpet, and returned home.

He calmed his mind, used self-suggestion to maintain a lucid dream state, placed his hand on the mental imprint of the Grimoire, and entered his dream space.

He tried to pass through the “sun” to enter the public dream space but found that the public dream space was inaccessible, so he had to give up.

“Forget it. I’m too tired today. I’ll sleep first.”

Meanwhile, in the West Tower of the Magic Castle, Ace was checking the state of his body and soul.

“My body seems to be in a state of extreme starvation and has lost an unknown amount of lifespan. I used Advanced Apprentice-level Youth Potions and Rejuvenation Spells, which clearly made up for the loss, so why is it slowly weakening again?”

Ace frowned in thought. He had already used Youth Potions made from powerful low-level Monster materials several times and eaten a large amount of food. His body indeed returned to normal briefly, but then fell into weakness again.

“Perhaps, I have to try that method!”

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