Xu Zhou whispered, "For an ordinary Mage, grasping the Root Source is already the absolute limit..."

"But in reality, it’s merely the first step on the path to pursuing the Root Source."

"Seeing a corner is not the same as seeing the whole picture."

...

When he awoke, the sky was faintly lit.

He had fallen asleep so quickly last night that he hadn’t even drawn the curtains. Sunlight streamed in, illuminating the bed.

’My strength as a Level 3 should be consolidated by now.’

’Hasn’t Iz returned yet?’

’Has she been chasing Meiser for this long?’

Lu Cang went downstairs and felt a sense of relief when he saw Obades still in the dining room.

Chi Cheng and Kumironi had gone to investigate the Death Church. It was a good thing Obades was still here; otherwise, his sense of security would have plummeted.

As he was eating breakfast, he suddenly felt the ground tremble...

RUMBLE—

The tremor only lasted for a moment before it stopped.

Lu Cang didn’t panic. He simply sat where he was and extended his Perception.

’Obades is here. If a Level 6 Defender can’t protect me, running away would be pointless.’

He didn’t detect anything unusual within his Perception Range.

Lu Cang walked out of the hotel’s main entrance and saw the sky had grown dark. Fierce winds were swirling, and colorful lights were gathering far to the northwest.

A vast and majestic aura of Magic Power filled the air.

BOOM—

He could feel that the shockwave was coming from a great distance.

’It’s not targeting the City in the Circle.’

’Is it a war?’

’The Lorren Kingdom is at war with other nations, which is why all of Lorren’s territory is unaffected by the negative influences of the months.’

’And the City in the Circle isn’t on the front lines, so it’s unlikely the flames of war will reach here.’

Lu Cang went back inside and checked today’s meteorological forecast. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

It seemed the Demon tide over at Thousand Army Ant Mountain would be much denser today, but not dense enough to spawn a Tier Five Demon.

"Whatever..."

’Since it’s not happening here, there’s no need to worry about it. As the saying goes, if the sky falls, it won’t be my problem to deal with.’

’Little power, little responsibility.’

’While I’m not strong yet, I should enjoy the pleasure of being weak. Once I’m powerful, I’ll probably have to shoulder many responsibilities.’

’It’s not convenient for me to Upgrade my Death Priest Profession at the moment.’

’I need to go to the Capital and get a permit first.’

’Only then can I reach Level 2. After all, I changed to this Profession under emergency circumstances at Level 1. It’s an illegal Profession, so upgrading to Level 2 without a permit would be unjustifiable.’

’Since he was living in this world, Lu Cang planned to be a law-abiding citizen for now.’

’Perhaps as a genius under the protection of Iz and the others, I could get some special privileges and an exemption.’

’But that would also be an act that lowers my credibility.’

’Iz and the others have helped me so much; I don’t want to just cause trouble for them.’

However, after reaching Level 3 as a Mage, its upgrades were no longer affected by his other Professions, which gave Lu Cang more flexibility with his multiclassing.

The Puppet Master Secret Scroll he’d bought for 500,000 Gold Coins some time ago also gave Lu Cang a strong desire to change his Profession.

’However, changing Professions... is a major decision.’

’It wouldn’t be too late to discuss it with Iz after she gets back. If I rush into it and there’s some hidden catch, it’ll be too late for regrets.’

’Besides, to be frank, a Secret Scroll is just rare. It doesn’t mean Secret Scroll Professions are necessarily stronger than conventional ones. Since I have a choice, I could also try Professions like Warrior or Assassin.’

’But I’ll have to pay attention to the principles of those Professions... I’m not changing Professions just to leave them at Level 1; I plan to raise every single one to a High Level.’

’If I want the highest possible ceiling and true invincibility, I have to take things seriously. Being careless won’t do.’

Lu Cang walked as he browsed.

Along the way, he restocked many consumable items, focusing on buying some Blood of Evil Demons and Copy Paper.

Lu Cang had learned a Ritual from a book for Summoning a Demon tide, which required using the Blood of Evil Demons to draw a Ritual Array. As for the soul, which should have been the most difficult component to acquire, he already had one.

The Copy Paper could be used to print directly onto a book’s pages, copying the contents of one page.

However, the price of this paper was much more expensive than a normal book—1 gold coin per sheet.

Being quite wealthy, Lu Cang bought a thousand sheets at once, completely buying out the store’s stock.

’The main reason I bought this paper is for a future opportunity to steal someone else’s Magic Book.’

’First, I’ll head to the Battle Arena.’

’Time to grind out the last 100 wins for my streak.’

’I was grinding yesterday, but it turned into a discussion on principles. Otherwise, I would have already finished my 500-win streak.’

He entered the Gate of Battle.

[Quick Match]

Lu Cang chose the simple and unadorned Quick Match as usual.

The speed was indeed very fast.

’I wonder how many experts are honing their skills in the Battle Arena, and just how vast this world truly is.’

’In any case, ever since I started choosing Quick Match, the battles have started instantly.’

[Opponent: Mino]

...

Perhaps because everyone was still sleepy in the morning, his opponents were slightly weaker than the ones he’d encountered yesterday.

In 50 matches, he only encountered one opponent with a Special title.

He basically scored instant kills all the way.

He only ran into four Mages. When he did encounter someone of the Mage Profession, Lu Cang was happy to communicate and exchange ideas with them.

After getting to know Xu Zhou, Lu Cang realized that the Battle Arena wasn’t just for fighting.

’It’s also a means for exchanging information and learning...’

’So that’s another layer of meaning to "growing through battle."’

’Still, it’s not too late to know this now. To be honest, the Mages I encountered when I was matchmaking within the City in the Circle were all subpar anyway.’

’I couldn’t have learned anything from them.’

500-win streak...

The final victory was actually a bit difficult.

He encountered an Assassin who was invisible from the very beginning.

The opponent didn’t even have a name.

Everything was empty. If not for the sudden start of the countdown, Lu Cang wouldn’t have even realized his enemy had appeared.

Against this completely invisible enemy...

Lu Cang immediately cast "Daylight." However, the invisibility that should have been rendered useless under the illumination somehow wasn’t revealed by the spell.

Lu Cang had no choice but to haphazardly throw his Magic around, covering the area in a Sea of Fire, unleashing thunderous shockwaves, and having his summoned Void Creatures rampage through the surroundings.

In the end, he still won, but the victory felt a bit baffling.

’To think there are enemies that are completely invisible like that.’

’This world is truly full of wonders.’

’I need to find out what race that was and be on my guard...’

’That was seriously sneaky.’

...

[500-Win Streak]

But fortunately, the 500-win streak was secured. Lu Cang awaited his mysterious grand prize.