Chapter 124: Advanced Wizard Apprentice Promotion Experiment (Part Three)

Guided by the spell, his state rapidly became unusual. His soul trembled violently and completely floated upward. The Mana in the surrounding environment resonated inexplicably.

“Something seems different? Is this because the mirror image is essentially a magical creature, and its soul and body are one entity?” Ace analyzed silently in his mind.

The floating mirror image felt its body undergoing a process of re-magification into Mana Particles. It seemed as if all things were whispering to him.

He listened carefully, yet he could hardly hear clearly. This state continued for an unknown duration. He suddenly fell, an uncontrollable descent.

Ace watched the mirror image slowly descend. The moment it touched the Magic Array, a flash of light, nearly invisible to the naked eye, occurred.

He immediately closed his eyes and activated Mental Perception. A dazzling white light appeared on the mirror image’s head, then immediately vanished, turning completely black.

The mirror image felt attracted by a point of light. He followed the light, and suddenly, a massive suction pulled his mental power into a bottomless vortex.

This was a dimensional space existing in an unseen realm: the Soul Sanctuary!

After a long while, the multi-frequency Mana rhythm disappeared. The Mana essence fog had been completely absorbed by the mirror image. He opened his eyes, stood up, and declared: “I have successfully opened the Soul Sanctuary! I am now an Advanced Wizard Apprentice!”

Ace and the mirror image met eyes, initiating soul synchronization and resonance. Ace sensed the mirror image’s experiences—a promotion experience similar yet distinct from his own.

“The difference between the promotion of a pure magical creature and that of an ordinary supernatural creature? I must write a thesis summarizing this experiment—the complete Advanced Apprentice Promotion Ritual.”

Ace thought this. He immediately drafted the title in his Grimoire: An Exploration of the Advanced Apprentice Promotion Ritual, recording the experiment’s purpose, process, and final results, along with corresponding deductions.

He concluded the thesis by writing:

“This experiment is only a tentative summary and verification of the commonalities of a single, successful, accidental case. The success of this attempt does not yet fully prove the repeatability of this set of promotion rituals. Further, better experimental samples are needed to expand the scope and diversity of the verification.”

“Regarding the promotion to Advanced Wizard Apprentice, we can make the following assumptions:

First, the goal of the promotion is the sublimation of the soul’s essence—breaking through a boundary to open the Soul Sanctuary.

Second, the promotion requires high Mana concentration and diverse, rhythmic Mana pulsations. We can try collecting more Mana #N and even Mana-Crystal #N runes. Diverse, similar-type runes, while not effective for Spell Model construction, play a crucial role in Magic Array construction.

Third, a mental power breakthrough to 1 Mental Power Unit is likely a necessary condition. Future experiments should attempt to verify this using apprentices whose mental power has not reached 1 Mental Power Unit.

Fourth, once the soul detaches from the body, it seems to align with a certain rhythm of nature. This alignment may be the key to the soul’s transformation.”

Meanwhile, the mirror image adapted to the state after opening the Soul Sanctuary, attempting to enchant Soul Runes. Although his mental power reached the threshold for opening the Soul Sanctuary, he had not actually opened it. Replicating Soul Spells in the air was too difficult. Therefore, he only enchanted the root runes for the Advanced Magical Trickery, Reinforced Advanced Apprentice Meditation, Transformation Spell, Imperfect Transformation Spell, Insight Perception, and Mana Sensitivity Spell Models.

He was now prepared to infiltrate the dark worshipers. The mirror image and the host body worked together, tracking a tall, thin dark worshiper who intermittently went out to purchase supplies.

Ace easily controlled him using the Charm Human spell, meticulously questioning the dark worshiper about the plan, his daily routine, personality, and social connections.

Subsequently, the mirror image transformed into his likeness and practiced the tall, thin dark worshiper’s habits. After confirming the imitation was adequate, the mirror image infiltrated the dark worshipers’ hideout.

“Kevin, did you buy all the supplies? Everyone is starving!” A bald man with a scarred face opened the door and asked the mirror image in a low, booming voice.

“Priest, our water is plentiful,” the mirror image performed the standard dark worshiper greeting and replied with the passphrase.

The bald, scarred man, seeing the passphrase matched, grinned sinisterly and allowed the mirror image inside.

From the interrogation, the Aces had learned that the dark worshipers had infiltrated the fortress in multiple groups. This was one of them. The dark worshipers themselves were unaware of the total number of people or groups involved.

The mirror image did not act immediately. He proceeded with Kevin’s daily routine, storing the food, and then preparing the bizarre ritual with the other followers.

This was an extremely grand ritual. Their current preparation was only a small part of it. Due to his low rank among the dark worshipers, Kevin knew very little.

Therefore, the mirror image had set his sights on the bald, scarred priest at this location. He was sure to know more.

A few days later, in the underground magic laboratory, Sub-Level 1.

Ace was observing the apprentices in the fortress. The spontaneous gatherings they had formed showed signs of genuinely talented individuals.

“I hope you can pass my trial in the coming days. I need more fellow travelers. Before proving your research capability, you must first prove your courage and wisdom in aligning with my camp.”

He watched the image of Bayen and slowly sank into contemplation.

Meanwhile, Bayen, the black cat, had integrated into the Enchantment Enthusiasts Research Group. Relying on his outstanding mathematical skills and his superior ability to create Spell Models, Bayen was highly respected by everyone.

“Mr. Bayen,” Betty said to the black cat on the floor. “Why don’t you transform into human form?”

Bayen had no simple answer. The Lesser Transformation Spell could not transform clothes, and he was naked. He certainly could not transform into human form. Furthermore, staying in his cat form maintained an air of mystery. Over time, he simply remained a black cat.

Of course, he couldn’t explain this. Since the apprentices were not familiar with the Lesser Transformation Spell, he maintained his cool reserve, simply meowing softly and walking away.

Betty watched the black cat Bayen walk away. She quietly tugged on Daina, who was diligently studying, and whispered, “Don’t you find it suspicious that Bayen always remains a black cat?”

Daina, immersed in her studies, looked at Betty with dark circles under her eyes and confusion, then immediately dove back into the sea of mathematical problems.

“Suspicious, very suspicious. Either he himself has a problem, or the Lesser Transformation Spell has a problem.” Betty continued to mutter to herself.

Soon, the gathering time had arrived. Apprentices from other groups even came to attend, attracted by Bayen’s reputation.

Due to Bayen’s presence, everyone gained a new understanding of rune analysis, and the modification and even creation of rune arrays saw considerable progress.

The analysis of runes and rune structures relies heavily on mathematical skills. Many of their previously unattainable ideas found a starting point through Bayen’s explanations.

Bayen lectured on the connection between runes, rune structures, and mathematics, while observing everyone. He could clearly see that Betty was the most naturally gifted among all the Wizard Apprentices. Not only did she have mental power talent, but the child also possessed excellent mathematical talent.