After over a month of effort, Lynch saw significant improvements in several newly acquired skills.
[Elementary Magic Plants Transformation lv1: 88/1000.]
[Basic Extraordinary Cultivation lv1: 82/300.]
[Shadow Touch lv1: 28/1000.]
[Meditation lv0: 382/1000.]
Aside from meditation, the rest of the skills successfully broke through to lv1, reaching the entry-level stage. While meditation hadn't yet reached entry-level, Lynch's spiritual power had increased by 0.2.
Spirit: 1.5.
The accumulated skill proficiency amounted to over a thousand, all achieved within just over a month. Anyone else might find this unbelievable. After all, within this timeframe, ordinary apprentices managing to reach entry-level for even one skill would already be impressive. Yet Lynch had mastered three!
Of course, the price was that Lynch spent virtually all his time during the month engaged in relentless activity—reading, performing experiments, meditating—day and night without a pause.
Each time his spiritual power was exhausted, he'd consume some Sober Magic Beans as mentioned in Chapter Two, and when unbearable sleepiness hit, he'd wash his face in the Morning Dew Pond at the Shadow Square. He truly embodied the phrase "utterly devoted," pushing it to its absolute limit.
Over the course of more than a month, Lynch's total sleep time likely didn't even amount to 36 hours.
"Yawn～"
Lynch let out a big yawn, rubbed his eyes, and directed his gaze toward the teapot on the other side of the table.
Inside the pot was tea brewed from ground Screaming Fruit powder. Drinking it produced screaming sounds that echoed in one's ears, stimulating spiritual power to a certain extent.
With a mere thought, something strange began to occur.
Beneath the flickering light of the flames, the shadows suddenly transformed into a long tendril, reaching out toward the teapot, wrapping around it and slowly drawing it toward Lynch.
Spell: Shadow Touch.
After over a month of hard work, Lynch had managed to complete the modeling for Shadow Touch a week ago, finally mastering this spell.
This was the first spell Lynch had truly mastered since stepping onto the Wizard's Road.
The ability of this spell allowed him to manipulate shadows into tendrils to perform various tasks. Lynch had tested the tendril's maximum strength, which was approximately 100 kilograms.
Translated into the wizards' commonly used energy units termed "degrees," it roughly equaled 3 degrees.
The tendril wrapped around the teapot and swiftly moved it across the tabletop to Lynch. However, before Lynch could fully savor the joy of this Extraordinary Power, a wave of dizziness hit him. His already drained spiritual power grew even more depleted.
Extraordinary Power was indeed potent, but its consumption was likewise immense. Even for a casual task like this, the consumption was relatively mild. Yet if performed at full capacity, Lynch's current spiritual power could only support three uses of Shadow Touch.
[Shadow Touch Skill Level +2.]
Lynch quickly poured himself a cup of Screaming Water and downed it. As the ear-piercing scream of "AH!!!" suddenly rang beside his ear, a tingling sensation spread through his entire body, as though even his soul had been jolted awake.
His previously drowsy mind instantly became alert. Lynch felt ready to continue grinding.
Glancing at the time, it was already 3:30 a.m. Lynch rubbed his dark panda-like eyes, grabbed a bowl of chopped frog legs and rat tails mixed with Fire Juice Fruit peels, and carried it to Parker's cage.
Through Extraordinary Cultivation, Lynch had learned numerous techniques. For instance, he now understood that this was the time of day when a Fire Dragon Lizard's self-evolution and growth peaked, requiring a substantial amount of energy support.
However, many often overlooked this, causing the Fire Dragon Lizard's evolution to come to an abrupt halt due to lack of energy.
Thus, more professional wizards always prepared an additional meal for their Fire Dragon Lizards at this time to ensure sufficient energy for optimal growth.
"Hiss hiss!～"
Seduced by the enticing aroma of the feast, the little one groggily opened its eyes and crawled out of its "Dragon Nest." Clearly still half-asleep, but driven by instinctive hunger, it stretched its neck and plunged headfirst into the pile of food.
After more than a month of Extraordinary Cultivation, even Parker showed clear signs of improvement, the most notable being its claws. They had become sharp and gleaming, resembling steel.
This was a clear sign of an extraordinary effect: Steel Claw.
Now its claws were no less dangerous than a sharp treasure sword. During high-speed flight, a single swipe could genuinely decapitate someone.
[Basic Extraordinary Cultivation Skill Level +3.]
After feeding Parker, Lynch returned to his desk. First, he glanced outside the window.
The night outside was thick, and the forest predators had retreated to their nests after their hunts, leaving the world in eerie silence. The only sound was the soft rustling of the nighttime breeze weaving through the forest.
Silence reigned; not a crow, not a sound.
No distractions, no disturbances—the entire world seemed as though it was his to command in solitude.
"The perfect time to grind experience!"
Muttering an admiring comment, Lynch braced himself, grabbed a new Magic Devouring Flower, and began yet another round of magic plant transformation...
...
Meanwhile, in a certain area within the Red Mushroom Forest.
"Tap tap tap!"
Frantic footsteps echoed clearly through the silent woods as Chris darted frenetically through the forest.
At this moment, he seemed to have encountered something terrifying, looking utterly battered. His cloak was tattered like strips of cloth, revealing wounds so deep the bones were visible, with blood ceaselessly flowing out.
His expression was one of utter fear, his three eyes constantly darting backward as if some horrifying presence was pursuing him.
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, a sharp whooshing sound broke through the air as a black shadow struck Chris from behind.
The running Chris was sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground and rolling over a dozen times before coming to a stop.
"AH!!!"
Chris shrieked in agony, clutching his abdomen with both hands.
His belly had been torn open with a massive gash, causing his intestines and organs to spill out onto the ground with a sickening splatter.
Chris's face turned pale with terror, seemingly too shocked to think rationally. Instinctively, he picked up the spilled intestines and organs, desperately trying to stuff them back into his abdomen, as if doing so would miraculously restore him.
"Tsk, still managed to run this far!" At this moment, a cold sneer came from behind.
Emerging from the bushes were two figures.
One was a young man cloaked in a robe, about the same age as Chris, with a sinister gaze and chilling demeanor.
The other was a monstrous figure.
Towering at roughly three meters tall, this man had unnaturally long arms that extended down to his knees.
It was evident that these lengthy arms weren't natural but rather the result of alchemical fusion between mechanical components and some unknown biological elements. The arms were embedded with various weapons, and it seemed the blade that had slit open Chris's stomach was one of them.
His chest was exposed, revealing no internal organs, not even a heart. Instead, rows of glass containers filled with green liquid were connected by tubes, bubbling as the man breathed.
This being could no longer be regarded as human but rather a grotesque alchemical lifeform. The only human trait remaining was his head, which appeared to belong to a man in his thirties. His expression was ice-cold.
Chris, both furious and terrified, screamed at the young man, "Richard, you bastard! You betrayed the Tower and sided with the Black Wizards!!!"