Chapter 7

Opening his eyes, the familiar stone walls came into view, and not far from him, a blonde little girl was still sitting with her eyes closed, meditating earnestly.

Xivei found himself back in the small mage tower. The adventure in that dark forest seemed like a dream, giving him an unreal feeling.

If it weren't for the simple bronze ring on his index finger, the small ruby in his pocket, and the architectural blueprint he won in the final draw, he might have really thought everything that happened was just a dream.

Although he didn't get the equipment or potions he wanted, he was already satisfied with the proof of strength—after all, life is full of disappointments.

Moreover, compared to the scarce resources, the architectural blueprint seemed quite good.

【Dean's Mage Tower Construction Blueprint (LV1)】

【After use, generates a Dean's Mage Tower at the designated location】

【Consumption: 100 stones, 120 metals, 100 woods, 70 alchemical materials, 5 gems】

Although he didn't know what a "Dean's Mage Tower" looked like, it was definitely several levels better than his current substandard mage tower.

"Other resources are enough, but I'm still 15 points short of metal." Checking his resource panel, Xivei found that he couldn't even build this basic structure.

Should I enter the dungeon again?

Elisa won't wake up for a while anyway.

Since I'm familiar with the environment and prepared for the final goblin spellcaster, and with the Lesser Fireball Spell, I should be able to clear it much faster this time.

Besides, the previous evaluation was only B. If I get an A, the rewards will definitely be better.

Thinking about this, Xivei switched the panel to the Trial Gate section.

He found that all the points except for "Night Forest · Periphery" were red, but now there were two yellow points around "Night Forest · Periphery."

He tried selecting those two points, and the information that appeared was:

【Noisy Seaside】

【Unlock Condition: "Night Forest · Periphery" evaluation B or above, Dean's Mage Tower built】

【Yellowish Sand Dunes】

【Unlock Condition: "Night Forest · Periphery" evaluation B or above, School Building built】

It seems I need to build the magic academy to access higher-level dungeons. Unfortunately, I don't have enough resources, so even with the blueprint, I can't build it...

So Xivei reluctantly selected "Night Forest · Periphery" again, planning to bully the goblins once more.

But the option to enter didn't appear; instead, red text appeared, but the content was different.

"Today's trial opportunity has been used. To enter the Trial Gate again, please pay the corresponding achievement points."

What the heck, can I only enter the dungeon once a day? That's way too low a fatigue value!

Xivei was dumbfounded.

As for the mysterious achievement points, he couldn't find any related information in any of the panels.

"Looks like it ends in disappointment again. Systems are just unreliable," Xivei grumbled unhappily.

In the end, he had no choice but to meditate reluctantly with Elisa.

Meditation increases and refines mental power, an essential practice for a mage, along with elemental perception, one of the two core subjects for mages.

It's said that meditation can also increase elemental affinity, but Xivei's predecessor thought it was a rumor, as his elemental affinity remained poor despite years of meditation...

However, as soon as Xivei entered the meditative state, he noticed something was off.

His predecessor, due to poor elemental affinity (otherwise, he wouldn't have practiced multiple elemental magics), had to use a special perception potion on his temples to increase his perception and communicate with elements during meditation. Otherwise, he wouldn't feel any elements even in a meditative state.

Today, when he entered the meditative state, he realized he had forgotten to apply the perception potion. But before he could exit the meditative state, countless small red dots suddenly appeared, like red fireflies floating in the previously empty void.

Are these fire elements? Could it be that activating the Basic Fire Element skill allowed me to perceive fire elements?

Xivei immediately associated the cause with the mysterious system.

Compared to the fire elements he felt with the perception potion, which were like strangers, these directly perceived fire elements were much more friendly.

With the fire elements' active assistance, his meager mental power grew rapidly.

No wonder those specialized mages progress so quickly; there are such benefits!

Noticing his magic power growing three times faster than usual, Xivei couldn't help but mutter to himself.

The sense of fulfillment from the magic power growth made Xivei lose track of time. He only came to his senses after a long while, ending the meditation that was more effective than a month of bed rest, and opened his eyes.

The sky outside the window had already turned dark. He hadn't realized so much time had passed. The feeling of power enhancement was too wonderful, and he hadn't noticed the time.

His gaze fell on an alchemical product that looked like a globe but had a sand timer in place of the ball. This Millennium Sand Timer, equivalent to a modern clock, had a simple structure and low energy consumption. It was said that a standard magic crystal could power it for a thousand years, hence its name.

According to the sand timer, it was around 8 PM.

Elisa, who should have finished meditating at 5 PM, had already returned. However, from the dinner on the table, which was cold but still decent, it seemed the little girl had come back to bring him a meal after returning.

Even though Xivei didn't say it, he enjoyed the feeling of being cared for.

Elisa had excellent talent, almost reaching the edge of perceiving magic power in just a month, and her teacher, who couldn't help her with perception, was still him. This level of talent was already at the threshold of genius.

If the little girl had a good affinity for a particular element, she would almost certainly become a high-level mage unless something went wrong during her growth.

Not long ago, Xivei was worried that he wouldn't have much to teach the little girl, but after learning the Lesser Fireball Spell, he found that his mind contained a lot of information about it.

It seems that learning skills from the system not only means mastering them but also gaining a deep understanding of the principles. This way, he wouldn't have to worry about making a fool of himself while teaching Elisa due to a superficial understanding of magic.

Eating the meal brought by the blonde little girl, Xivei smiled dreamily, envisioning a beautiful future.