A Crown of Shadows and Starlight

Chapter 17

In Meilin’s sea of consciousness, the twenty-four Will Runes seemed to have become part of the nebula, shining even more brilliantly. Their surfaces shimmered with a crystalline glow, appearing somewhat different from the descriptions of Golden-tier meditation techniques she had found in the records. Meilin speculated that this was likely due to the presence of the nebula. As she hadn’t noticed any discomfort, she decided to leave things as they were for now.

What truly caught Meilin’s attention, however, was the change in the nebula itself. Previously, it had resembled a mass of multicolored mist, but after her breakthrough, it appeared more condensed. The light spots nurtured within the nebula also became more solid, no longer floating vaguely as before. Most intriguingly, when she attempted to manipulate these light spots, she unintentionally caused a wisp of the nebula to move along with them.

Calling it a ‘wisp’ might be an exaggeration—more accurately, it was an extremely fine thread, barely perceptible unless observed closely, unlike the light spots that were visible to the naked eye. Hmm, perhaps they shouldn’t be called ‘light spots’ anymore. Meilin thought they now resembled miniature stars. By that logic, as she advanced further, these ‘spots’ would become even more solid. Thus, she decided to name them ‘Stars.’

Meilin already understood the purpose of the Stars—they were used for purification. Perhaps with further advancements, they would become even more effective. But what could the wisp of nebula be used for?

She first controlled a wisp of the nebula, separating it from the main body and making it float around within her sea of consciousness. However, she soon realized that the main nebula exerted too strong an attraction. In no time, it forcibly reabsorbed the stray wisp.

“How interesting.”

Immersed in her experiment, Meilin treated it as a game, enjoying it thoroughly. She was completely unaware that she should have been utterly exhausted after her breakthrough. Nor did she notice that the wisp of nebula she was manipulating was already showing signs of dissolution.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

“Meilin, are you okay?” A voice called from outside, followed by knocking on the door. It was Qianyu.

“I’m fine.”

Meilin abruptly opened her eyes and glanced at the window. “Oh no! I missed breakfast!”

According to academy rules, meals in the cafeteria were only available for a limited time. Once that time passed, even academy mentors had no room for negotiation. While there were restaurants in the academy’s trading district, they were expensive. Even though Meilin was relatively well-off now, she wouldn’t spend one or two magic stones just for a meal on a regular basis.

Muttering to herself, Meilin walked to the door and opened it. “Qianyu, thanks for waking me up. I would have overslept otherwise.”

“I figured. I didn’t see you at the cafeteria today, so I got an extra cheese bread for you. Here, take it.”

Standing at the door was Qianyu. He pulled out a cheese bread wrapped in parchment and handed it to Meilin. Suddenly, he noticed the unusual energy fluctuations emanating from her. His eyes widened in surprise. “Meilin, you advanced?”

A wizard’s energy fluctuations differed based on their level unless they used a special method to conceal it. Since Meilin had just advanced, her energy fluctuations were quite obvious, and Qianyu noticed immediately.

“I just broke through…”

Meilin was about to respond modestly when she saw Qianyu shut his eyes and exclaim, “Damn! You’ve surpassed me! I need to go back and train immediately!”

With that, he turned and dashed away, disappearing around the corner with hurried footsteps.

Meilin was stunned for a moment before chuckling to herself.

After breakfast, she followed her usual routine of tending to the herb garden, watering the plants, and harvesting the mature ones, carefully categorizing them.

“It looks like I won’t be able to keep this stable job for much longer… but it’s about time for a change anyway.”

According to academy regulations, these types of jobs were usually handled by unofficial apprentices. Meilin should have given up this position when she advanced to a Level 1 apprentice, but because she kept a low profile, no one noticed, so she got away with it. However, now that she had advanced to Level 2, the academy would definitely take note, and she would have to give up her job at the herb garden.

But this wasn’t much of a problem for her. What she needed to focus on now was purchasing spell templates and training in actual spellcasting. Though wizard apprentices could only use zero-level spells, they were still a mark of a true wizard.

All wizard apprentices could, at most, cast zero-level spells. The ability to use Level 1 spells was the defining trait of a full-fledged wizard. As for magical wizard artifacts, that was a different matter entirely. Even if an apprentice could use them, there were strict level restrictions. Using a wizard artifact beyond one’s level could result in self-destruction.

But that was straying too far from the point. Over time, Meilin had developed a deeper understanding of how wizards cast spells.

Spells were formed when wizards used special techniques to guide energy particles and combine them to produce various effects. These energy particles existed throughout nature and had different attributes. By condensing them in specific ways, different spells could be created.

As living beings of the natural world, wizards had varying affinities for different energy particles. For example, Meilin had the strongest affinity for lightning energy, followed by fire and wind. Her affinity for earth, water, and darkness was much weaker.

To cast a spell, a wizard first needed to construct a spell model. Each category and level of spell had a different model. These models were created using one’s mental power in their sea of consciousness, and by altering the properties of their mental power, they could attract and manipulate external energy particles to form spells. However, constructing spell models was an extremely intricate process. If it failed, the mental damage could be severe, requiring at least half a month to recover before trying again.

“In other words, I need to be extremely careful while training.”

After reviewing her notes, Meilin exhaled lightly, put them away, and headed toward the academy’s teaching building. Regardless of the challenges, she needed to establish her spell models as soon as possible. Having the ability to cast spells was a crucial step in her plan.

To the side of the teaching building was the academy’s trading hall. The prices there were high, but the products were guaranteed to be safe—unlike the items in the marketplace, which were often laced with traps. If one got scammed there, they had no choice but to accept their loss.

“What do you want to buy?”

An old woman behind the counter eyed Meilin like a predator watching its prey.