Chapter 465 - 195: Oh? You’re Awake.

All in all, however, the reward from the Ghost Soul School was definitely a generous one.

’It’s a shame a reward like this only comes once a year...’

After examining the reward from the Ghost Soul School, Wei’en slipped the Space Ring onto his finger, then picked up the scroll about advancing to Great Mage and began to read.

"The conditions for advancing to Great Mage are: Brand each Origin Power sub-body with ten Magic Runes, achieve a Magic level of four, a Spiritual Power level of five thousand, an Origin Power level of four hundred, and reach the ’Introductory’ level with your Talent Ability."

’Introductory level for my Talent Ability?’

Wei’en was stunned. ’Isn’t a Talent Ability considered ’Introductory’ from the moment it awakens?’

Puzzled, he continued to read.

"From the apprentice stage to the Great Mage stage, Spiritual Power, the number of spells, Origin Power, and knowledge of subjects like runology and potion-making are all necessary accumulations on the Wizard’s Path."

"However, when advancing to Great Mage, there is one more crucial requirement in addition to these conditions—achieving the Introductory level with one’s own Talent Ability!"

"A Talent Ability is a core skill not only for Wizards but for other Extraordinaries as well. However, for a Wizard, the Talent Ability awakened through the mutation of one’s Origin Power during advancement is far more difficult to master than one awakened through a bloodline."

"According to research conducted since the Third Era, if one attempts to advance to Great Mage without first achieving the Introductory level with their talent, the risk of losing control is one hundred percent!"

"Therefore, since the beginning of the New Calendar, all existing Wizard Schools have made achieving the Introductory level with one’s Talent Ability a prerequisite for advancing to Great Mage."

"In fact, much like potion-making and runology, Talent Abilities are also divided into Introductory, Adept, and Master levels. However, the conditions for reaching the Introductory level vary for each talent."

"That said, frequently using and exploring new ways to apply your Talent Ability is the most effective and direct method. This does not apply if your talent was awakened through a bloodline, which offers more convenient paths to the Introductory level."

’So the only way is to use it frequently and figure it out myself?’

At this, Wei’en suddenly remembered something. He opened the panel in his mind and began to search.

[Survival Points can only be used to unlock knowledge and improve skills and Talent Abilities!]

’So the panel had given me a hint all along!’

Looking at the note on the panel, Wei’en realized that because his Talent Ability hadn’t reached the Introductory level, he couldn’t use Survival Points to upgrade it.

At the same time, he also understood why, when he first awakened his Deception talent, everything besides "Psychological Control" and "Illusion Creation"—like "Verbal Power" and its subsequent abilities—had been displayed as question marks...

All these clues had long suggested that Talent Abilities could be improved.

He simply hadn’t noticed.

A wry smile touched Wei’en’s lips. ’And here I thought I could quickly advance to Great Mage with my current base stats and Origin Power. I never expected to be held back by my Talent Ability...’

Of all the requirements for advancement, the only one he hadn’t met was the number of branded spells. He’d already fulfilled all the others.

But when he could actually advance to Great Mage... that now depended on when his Talent Abilities reached the Introductory level...

Worst of all, he had two of them...

Double the difficulty!

’"Frequently use and explore new ways to apply the talent?"’

Wei’en looked at the scroll and sighed. It seemed he had no choice but to try that method to get his talents to the Introductory level.

But there was a silver lining to this bad news: once his talents reached the Introductory level, he could use Survival Points to upgrade them.

Wei’en then put the scroll back into his Space Ring, cleaned up his workbench, and started brewing an Aberration-Suppressing Potion.

He remembered the Wizard gathering in the Nightmare Realm World tomorrow. He could ask the other Wizards there how they got their Talent Abilities to the Introductory level.

He also needed to find a Wizard from the Spiritual Mystery School to ask about the destiny divination system.

’Yes, it would be best if I could trade for some related knowledge, or find a Legendary Mage willing to cast a Destiny Barrier for me...’

...

...

While Wei’en was busy, news of him killing Huberto Watson, a Judgment Knight of the Dawn Church, was spreading like wildfire.

It began with an emergency edition of the *Cordo Sea Gazette*, which was distributed to the various coastal city-states on the Eastern and Northern Continents.

The front page featured a photo of Wei’en after his mutation in the Caster City State, as well as one of him on the *Leonard*. The angle of the latter shot, clearly chosen with care, made his face seem utterly cold, his eyes radiating killing intent.

"According to a reliable source, the Mutated Mage Wei’en Loft killed... Therefore, the person who killed Captain Henrik was not Red-haired Marco, but this very same Mutated Mage!"

"The proof is that after the Dawn Blessing Ceremony, the *Bai Ke Li*, carrying Jack Kim Adros, First Officer of the Black Pearl Pirate Gang, also sailed through the X1087 Sea Region."

"This paper has reason to suspect that others may have been involved in the killing of the Dawn Church’s Judgment Knight."

Immediately afterward, the various Cathedrals of the Dawn Church announced an escalation of the judgment against the Mutated Mage Wei’en Loft and Ales Kilibali.

"...The Dawn Church will severely punish any heretic who dares to offend the great Dawn Radiance. To this end, we will dispatch the Judgement Saintess, Celestia Edas, and the Candidacy Saintess, Kali Morris, to pass judgment upon Wei’en Loft."

"Furthermore, Saint Jobin XV, leading several Cardinals, will travel to the Northern Continent tomorrow to open negotiations with the Ghost Soul School!"

"Finally, a solemn warning to all heretics: all who blaspheme the great Dawn Radiance shall face the Judgment of the Dawn!"