Chapter 23 – Four years. Earth Wizard.
Four years later-
Ewan sat in a meditation circle, checking the three Greater Runes in his spiritual space, orbiting each other as if wanting to fuse, yet separated through some invisible force.
Yes, in these four years, Ewan became a Pseudo Wizard, a step away from a Wizard. And he was about to advance to Wizard now, being in the life-and-death seclusion. If Ewan succeeded, it would extend his lifespan to around 300 and gain incredible magical prowess. If he failed, he would waste most of his bodily vitality and die.
Before starting, he checked the fruits of four years of endeavor.
Name: Ewan Knightledge
Sex: Male
Age: 35
Classes: Earth Warrior(Rare, lvl 7), Earth-Blessed Farmer(Rare, lvl 5), 3rd-level Wizard Apprentice(Uncommon, lvl 10(Max)), Earth Knight(Rare, lvl 7)
Stats:
Strength: 133
Physique: 139
Agility: 126
Intelligence: 206
Spirit: 128
Charisma: 97
Willpower(Special): 3
Earth Warrior: Weapon Proficiency(lvl 5), Military Drills(lvl 5), Robust(lvl 10 (Max)), Earth Defense(lvl 10(Max)), Omitted(+)
Earth-Blessed Farmer: Farming Tool Proficiency(lvl 5), Farmer's Wisdom(lvl 5), Loved by the Earth(lvl 10(Max)), Blessing of the Land(lvl 10(Max)), Omitted(+)
3rd-level Wizard Apprentice: Meditation Affinity(lvl 10(Max)), Magic Attunement(lvl 10(Max)), Spellcasting Proficiency(lvl 10(Max)), Omitted(+)
Earth Knight: Horse Affinity(lvl 5), Armor Specialization(lvl 5), Strong(lvl 10(Max)), Earth Aura(lvl 4), Omitted(+)
Each of Ewan's classes went up by two levels. Ewan also completed the first 14 Stances of the Breathing Technique and would complete the last four by next year. With the 8 Skill Points, he raised Spellcasting Proficiency to lvl 10 and poured the rest into Earth Defense and Earth Aura, raising Earth Defense to lvl 10. It was to improve his self-defense ability and Earth Affinity, raising his advancement speed and improving the soil quality. While the soil was still Grade 4, the crops became better and better with every passing year, slowly reaching the peak of Grade 3.
Also, after eating Grade 3 produce for five years, his innate stats were now 20. His family and children also greatly benefited. It went doubly so for the babies, nourished from the womb with high-grade foods, and were born far healthier and more intelligent than other babies. Ewan's children from that point had a minimum talent of Regular Grade 5, with five having Peak Grade 5. Ewan didn't know if it was because of the food or himself.
He also fixed his 2nd Greater Rune, raising it to lvl 10, creating a perfect Wizard Foundation, and studied a 1st-order Wizard Spell of the Earth Element, which would serve him as his Core Spell. Most Wizards chose a defensive spell as their Core Spell since their bodies were usually more fragile in the early stages, with some even neglecting their body due to lacking Warrior Talent, replacing Breathing Techniques with elixirs to artificially raise them.
Most Wizards went down this path, viewing Breathing Techniques as a waste of time and energy, instead choosing to pick more production or other auxiliary classes. After all, they only have until they turn 50 to become Wizards, and wasting two or more hours a day on practicing when they lacked the talent was a poor choice.
More talented Wizards like Fladrinne, Efora, Ezith, and Idugreth, who had a talent for both paths and plenty of resources, all had one Warrior-Type class for Breathing Techniques and two magic-related production classes. Interestingly, Breathing Techniques are the same for everyone, a universal technique for all, hence their naming sense of being called after animals and magical creatures.
And naturally, with five eager wives, he had to plow the fields day and night, even when his hips felt tired to plant seeds in fertile soil. By now, Shiri had her 9th child, Valli and Theli had their 4th child, and his two new wives, Sanno and Junres, had their 3rd child. Miraculously or not, all of his children and wives survived without suffering complications, which made Ewan a father to 23 children.
Of these children, the ones born from Valli and Theli would go down the Wizard Path, while the ones born to Junres and Sanno would be Shamans, and they had high affinities to Fire, Lightning, and Darkness. As for Shiri's children, they could choose as they pleased- Or so he thought.
It turned out that after seeing how favored the occupation of Earth-Blessed Farmer is(And not willing to part with Grade 3 food), his children wanted to take up the family legacy, both males and females alike. So after choosing either Lesser Shaman or Apprentice Wizard and a secondary occupation of Warrior for breathing techniques, they all decided to be a Farmer in their third occupation!
Seeing this, Ewan couldn't help but feel complicated in his heart. Usually, a farmer would want their children to be NOT farmers, yet his children WANTED to be farmers.
Naturally, as a father, he supported their decision, and the Storm Raven Clan and Great Raven Clan also did! If they were their Clan Children, they would likely be against using such top talents for such a gamble, but these children were from an unrelated wife and were born outside the Clan. And since they were so motivated, why not? And so, they invested resources in them to help them progress faster as Wizards and Warriors and to quickly go and help Ewan on the farm.
"Hah... Even if I fail, this life was fruitful." Ewan sighed with emotion.
Of course, his chances of failing as a 35-year-old with three level 10 Greater Runes, almost all stats above 100, a top-notch Meditation Circle, and the best elixirs one can buy were negligible. Unless someone sabotaged him, he would succeed. Of course, sabotaging his advancement was incredibly difficult. First, few people knew about his advancement, and only the four fierce female Wizards at home and the two Great Shamans from the Storm Raven Clan and Great Raven Clan were privy to this information. With four fierce female Wizards guarding at home and two Great Shamans secretly guarding outside, there was no chance for anyone to do anything to him.
He also checked the Meditation Circle and Promotion Elixir several times to ensure there were no flaws, and he received several top-notch enchanted items that helped the promotion process and even blocked curses.
And finally, with over 200 Intelligence, he thoroughly memorized the 1st-order Spell model he was about to engrave into his Wizard Core. Most Wizards would choose a combat-related spell, usually defensive. After all, they only had one life, many needing to fight other Wizards or monsters to obtain resources to further their research and advancement.
In reality, the naming sense of Wizard Spells was the same as Apprentice Spells. For example, there was an Apprentice-level Fireball and a Wizard-level Fireball. If an Apprentice and a Wizard used the same spell, its potency would be the same if both had the same elemental affinity and spell mastery. However, a Wizard could more effortlessly cast the spell, even multicasting dozens of Apprentice-level Fireballs for the cost and speed of an Apprentice casting one.
However, these spells were ineffective against a Wizard's 1st-order defensive barrier, and only 1st-order offensive spells like a 1st-order Fireball could sufficiently damage it. It was like the difference between arrows and a ballista bolt. Arrows lacked the same punch that a ballista bolt had. A regular arrow would barely nick a city wall, while a ballista bolt would leave noticeable damage. All apprentice spells are thus called 0th-order spells by Wizards.
Of course, Wizards couldn't casually cast 1st-order spells, and it took a long time to master them, unlike apprentice spells. A Wizard might have many tricks, but only several 1st-order spells he focused on.
Of these few spells, the Core Spell is essential since a Wizard would obtain an almost instinctive mastery over it, etched in their Wizard Core. It was the same as immediately obtaining a level 10 1st-order spell, saving decades of training.
Although he wasn't afraid for his life and protected by many powerhouses, Ewan picked a generic defensive spell, Earth Barrier. There were other spells he wanted, of course, but he selected it so that his women would be less worried. And he could always practice spells while farming or training.
"Okay, I think I am ready," Ewan muttered as he picked up his elixir, uncorked it, and drank its contents.
As soon as it entered his stomach, his body started digesting it, and Ewan felt his vitality begin to skyrocket, feeling extremely vigorous. However, this was merely an illusion. It converted his remaining lifespan into vitality, making it incredibly abundant. With this vitality, he needed to combine the three Greater Runes into one while etching his Core Spell. If he succeeds, Ewan will have a lifespan of about 200 and can restore it to the limit of 300 with life-extending medications. But if he failed, he would become a dry husk and die. That was why Pseudo Wizards had to promote before turning 50, or they wouldn't have enough vitality to condense the Wizard Core.
The second factor that affected this advancement was Willpower. This stat, unused in regular times, played a role during such advancements, improving the ability to endure hardship and condense the core. Some say that, with enough Willpower, one didn't even need to consume these potions, using raw Willpower to condense it. But one needed a monstrous Willpower to do something like that. Ewan was far from that level.
The three Greater Runes inside Ewan's spiritual space got pushed to the center, but they were showing some resistance. Meanwhile, a spell module was formed at the center, awaiting to become the Core Spell of the Wizard Core.
Seconds became minutes, and minutes turned to hours.
Ewan's tanned skin noticeably reddened, veins popping up from the pressure. He frowned from the pain and gritted his teeth, forcing the three Greater Runes to collide and merge with the spell module. Finally-
Hum*
The three Greater Runes and the spell module merged, becoming a round core with a brown spell module etched on it.
The next moment, Ewan felt a rush of energy rushing through his body, filling it and raising his existence level to a higher state.
Ewan slowly opened his eyes, flashing with a brown light before dimming. His hair also turned a shade more brown than before.
"Success." Ewan smiled and checked his notifications.
[You have condensed Basic Meditation Technique(1st-3rd Greater Runes)(lvl 10) to 1st-order Wizard Core(Earth Element, Earth Barrier).]
[You have obtained the 1st-order Core Spell: Earth Barrier.]
[Conditions met. Automatically promoting class- 3rd-level Wizard Apprentice(Uncommon, lvl 10) to 1st-Order Earth Wizard(Rare, lvl 1).]
[You gained +4 Intelligence, +5 Spirit, +3 Charisma]
[You gained the Core Skill: Earth Elementalization Affinity(lvl 1)]
[Earth Elementalization Affinity: Increases Earth Affinity and positively modifies Earth Elementalization.]
Elementalization is converting the Spiritual Space to the Earth Element and condensing it into a more solid form, improving all spells of said element. To become a 2nd-order Wizard, one condenses their spiritual space to a certain standard.
While the changes might seem underwhelming, it wasn't the case. Many unwritten changes in the system were affecting Ewan's qualitative strength. As he was now, casting 0th-order spells was a dozen times easier than before, and 1st-order spells were now possible. Also, it made a profound change to his Intelligence. If Intelligence only affected his memorization and learning ability before, then it now also affected his ability to multitask and make complex simulations in his mind. While working on projects, he could divide his attention to simulate new spell modules while having a complex conversation. He could also emit his spiritual power, suppressing weaker foes.
"No wonder they say Wizards are different creatures. It is incredible." Ewan muttered in awe.
"Okay... I need to restrain my spirit lest I harm my wives and kids." Ewan muttered.
It was common for those who recently advanced to harm family members by accident. They didn't mean it, but the spiritual pressure they emitted could cause mortals to shake uncontrollably, faint, or even have a heart attack. He had to learn how to control himself.
After trying for a short moment-
[You learned Spiritual Self Restraint(lvl 1)]
Learning this skill was simple, but the problem was that it occupied a considerable portion of Ewan's attention, around 90%! Although 10% of his attention span was sufficient for daily activities, it was no different than crippling him. That was why most Wizards stayed in seclusion for a week and reached lvl 5 in it to free at half of their attention span. From there, they could gradually learn the skill while multitasking on other things until it finally reached lvl 10, becoming reflexive.
However, before entering seclusion, he had to inform the ladies guarding outside the room.
Ewan opened the door and saw four female Wizards smiling at him, having already sensed his advancement.
"Congratulations, Wizard Ewan," Fladrinne said.
"I knew you could do it," Efora said while fixing her glasses.
"It feels amazing, doesn't it?" Ezith asked.
"As expected." Idugreth nodded.
"Thank you for guarding me." Ewan thanked them.
"Our pleasure, Ewan. Do you feel well?" Fladrinne asked with some concern.
"I am fine. It went smoothly." Ewan smiled.
"Hm. For the next week, you should stay in a secluded area and focus on improving your spiritual self-restraint to level 5 or 6." Fladrinne said.
"Okay. I will return to seclude myself. Please tell the two Clan Heads my thanks." Ewan said and was about to go back inside the room.
"Hold up, Ewan. You won't be doing it there." Fladrinne placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.
"Hm?!" Ewan stopped, sensing something was wrong.
"You will be training in our bedroom." Efora smiled while squinting her eyes.
"We will consummate our marriage now that you are a Wizard," Ezith added.
"We waited four years for this- Husband~" Idugreth playfully said.
"Five for Fladrinne and I." Efora corrected.
"Erm... Can't we wait for another week? I need to concentrate..." Ewan meekly said.
"I think you have enough attention for us. Making four beautiful Wizards and Shamans wait on you for four to five years while you had fun with your mortal wives and then requesting another week? Tsk* Tsk*. We must educate you about how to treat a female Wizard, dear." Fladrinne's smile widened as her grip, which was as strong as a Grand Knight, pulled Ewan out of the room.
"NOOO!!!" Ewan mentally cried as four sex-starved women took him to their bedroom, taking turns with him for eight consecutive days while force-feeding him energizing elixirs and aphrodisiacs whenever he was down.
Ewan's job as a hardworking Farmer never ends.