This wizard only wishes to be a teacher
Chapter 93 - 87 Breakthrough

Chapter 93: Chapter 87 Breakthrough

Yet in this "White Forest," there was an unspeakable stillness, with no sign of life activity beyond the endless giant silver mushrooms.

"Among the minions under the Moon Wolf, there doesn’t seem to be any punitive beast related to fungi." Due to his previous encounter with the giant toad Kuka, Lucian didn’t dare to underestimate the Mushroom Forest before him. He feared that a careless step might draw out some abnormally terrifying Magic Beast.

During Lucian’s observation of this "Mushroom Forest," other Wizard Apprentices and half-fairies also arrived at the Mushroom Forest area from the original garden.

"This... these are Kukas! And they’re so big!" A relatively young half-fairy couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise upon seeing the Mushroom Forest before them.

"Kukas?" Hearing this unfamiliar term, Lucian guessed that it must be the name of some kind of mushroom. It seemed that these mushrooms must also exist in the outside world, but nowhere near as large as the ones here.

However, to be safe, Lucian still attempted to identify the mushrooms.

[Item]: Kuka

[Classification]: Fungus·Edible Mushroom·Giant Specimen

[Description]: An edible mushroom cultivated and improved by the Fairy Clan, which has grown gigantic due to special planting environments. It is rumored that some of the more powerful fairies often use this type of fungus to feed domesticated Magic Beasts.

[Details]:

1. Aside from its spores, the Kuka can be eaten directly; eating it raw somewhat resembles the taste of bread. However, it’s important to note that one shouldn’t consume too much at once, as it may produce effects similar to drunkenness.

2. Kuka spores have a certain transformative capability. They can parasitize on nutrient-rich materials and use Transfiguration to convert them into their own nurturing beds. Also, Kuka spores are a common ingredient used in transformation-related witchcraft to assist casting spells.

3. ...

"We found traces of a structure, but we have to cross through this Mushroom Forest!" Under the command of Bennett and the Fairy leader, three individuals adept at long-range Probe Witchcraft, either half-fairies or Wizard Apprentices, employed their methods. Soon after, they shouted out almost simultaneously, all pointing towards the south of the Mushroom Forest.

Bennett and the Fairy leader exchanged glances and tacitly chose to maintain their current cooperative state. After all, both parties were a bit short on hands, and working together would benefit both sides before entering the real heritage site.

As a sign of good faith, the Fairy leader also shared some basic information about the Kukas.

After a brief rest, the two groups cautiously entered the Mushroom Forest, slowly exploring as they moved forward. But within this "forest," things seemed eerily uniform. The team trekked through the forest for nearly a day, witnessing similar scenes, finding it somewhat monotonous but not encountering other creatures, let alone danger.

At night, the team split into small groups of threes and twos, keeping a safe distance from each other.

Carly took two pieces of roasted dry food from beside the campfire and handed one of the larger pieces to Lucian. "Instructor Lucian, here you go."

Out of caution, even the half-fairies accustomed to eating Kukas didn’t gather the giant mushrooms from here, opting to survive on some of the food they had brought with them.

Lucian waved his hand, instead taking out the Song of the Deep Sea he had obtained in exchange for the Ritual Badge.

He wanted to consume this natural Magic Potion to achieve a qualitative enhancement of his spiritual power. But seeing Lilia, not far away, meditating with her eyes closed to recover her spiritual power, Lucian felt apprehensive, worried that this individual, whose mind had been twisted by the cloth doll, might deliberately cause disruption.

After a bit of thought, Lucian looked at a giant Kuka mushroom nearby.

It might be a risk, but based on the system’s identification results, the risk seemed to be within controllable limits ...

Lucian weighed the pros and cons swiftly in his mind, then clenched his teeth. His mouth opened slightly, but he quickly began discussing the plan with Carly through a mental connection.

"Ah?" Carly, who was holding the dry food and munching away happily like a little hamster, looked startled upon hearing Lucian’s telepathic message. Her eyes visibly widened, then she appeared somewhat flustered, but soon after, she seemed eager to try.

Lucian’s mouth twitched, but he still carefully peeled off some grayish immature spores from the mushroom filaments on the ground that resembled an extensive root system ...

Soon, the preparation of the plan was complete. Without any hesitation, Lucian opened the stopper of the Song of the Deep Sea and quickly swallowed this precious natural remedy.

Although the Song of the Deep Sea was a natural alcoholic drink, it felt cool and refreshing upon entry, devoid of the spicy sensation of alcohol. Instead, it was like drinking ice-cold fresh mountain spring water.

However, Lucien quickly felt the "burning sensation" of Song of the Deep Sea that belonged to strong alcohol. Once the liquid started to diffuse throughout his body, he felt light and airy, while his Spirit Sea inside his mind began to rapidly heat up, with a massive amount of pure spiritual power erupting like an underwater volcano from the Spiritual Vortex in the central region of the Spirit Sea.

"The spirit burns, but the consciousness is extremely clear, and thoughts are incredibly active," Lucien’s consciousness immersed in the Spirit Sea felt buoyant yet filled with infinite possibilities. "Rather than calling it Song of the Deep Sea, it might be more appropriate to call it an underwater volcano."

However, he also swiftly took the time to refine and purify the surging spiritual power.

The changes within Lucien’s body also caused some disturbance. At this moment, several apprentices who were meditating sensed the fluctuations of the Magic Essence around them. A large amount of free-floating Magic Essence seemed to be drawn by something and began to move massively in one direction.

Lilia was even the first to open her eyes and stand up to look in the direction where Lucien was.

She immediately recognized this aura, which was the unique fluctuation produced when taking the Song of the Deep Sea.

She had originally thought that Lucien asked for this unit of Magic Potion to prepare for his promotion to a Formal Wizard and had even considered taking it back from him later at some cost. But she hadn’t expected him to use up such an extravagant potion like that!

And "Lucien" merely glanced coldly at Lilia, snorted softly, and then closed his eyes again.

Lilia watched Lucien, her chest rising and falling slightly, and she gripped Adeline’s right hand a bit harder.

"Mentor, stay calm, now is not the time, and there is also that group of fairies..." Gagarin seemed to notice Lilia’s restlessness. He mustered his courage to remind her, simultaneously directing her gaze towards the half-fairies who seemed to wear expressions of anticipation on their faces.

"Hmph." Lilia sat down heavily and then coldly met the gaze of that group of half-fairies.

At that moment, "Lucien" was nervously clutching the mycelium beneath him with his hand.

Carly felt like her heart was about to leap out just now: after all, this was also the first time she had challenged a Third-level Wizard Apprentice head-on!

Although Lilia did not use spiritual power to oppress Carly because of the disadvantage she experienced in the previous collision of spiritual power with Lucien, the simple confrontation with Lilia still made Carly’s heart flutter. If the standoff had lasted any longer, Carly might not have been able to maintain her composure.

But fortunately, the simple Transfiguration spell set up by Mentor Lucien was rather intimidating... Carly silently rejoiced in her heart and looked towards the "herself" on the side, silently praying that Mentor Lucien’s meditation would end soon.

At this moment, Lucien’s consciousness was fully driving the Spiritual Vortex in the Spirit Sea to refine the spiritual power, maintaining only a wisp of spiritual power on the outside to stay alert.

And now, under the effect of Song of the Deep Sea, he could feel his spiritual power level soaring at an exaggerated pace.

If Praise of Moonlight is a relatively gentle potion with a slightly slower effect and no significant side effects, then Song of the Deep Sea is a more domineering potion.

Under the effect of Song of the Deep Sea, Lucien felt a huge amount of spiritual power pouring into his Spirit Sea all at once, the amount so vast that his Spiritual Vortex couldn’t purify it completely before it was "squeezed out" by the subsequent influx of spiritual power.

Even the faint moonlight spots on the Spiritual Vortex caused by taking Praise of Moonlight were now squeezed into less pure spiritual power under the simple and crude pressure of Song of the Deep Sea and forced out of the Spiritual Vortex.

This spiritual power obviously contained impurities and was relatively insubstantial, with a significantly decreased purity. If Lucien wanted a solid foundation, he would have to find a way to further refine and purify these spiritual forces.

Despite its drawbacks, Song of the Deep Sea’s enhancement of spiritual power was immense. A massive amount of spiritual power condensed into spirit runes under Lucien’s control, anchoring themselves within his Spirit Sea.

Before long, Lucien’s Spirit Sea began to vibrate slightly. The Spiritual Vortex started its transformation under this vibration. The Spirit Sea started a slow, secondary expansion.

According to the description of the Greybone Meditation Method - Revised II, Lucien has now formally advanced to a Third-level Wizard Apprentice, and his spiritual power has also seen a significant increase during this expansion.

Boom—

Lucien’s consciousness was faintly rumbling, but compared to his previous transformation, this time’s transformation was much milder. The expansion of the Spirit Sea had only increased by about one-third, but the walls around it had become exceptionally thick and resilient, greatly enhancing the tolerance of Lucien’s Spirit Sea.

"Hm?" Lucien suddenly felt a sort of "urge" from his body.

It was an innate desire to ascend to a higher life form. As Lucien tuned in, he also sensed a sense of "completeness" on the level of spiritual power.

If he so desired, he could now attempt to break through from a Third-level Wizard Apprentice to the threshold of a Formal Wizard, without the need for any potion assistance or the arrangement of any ritual to increase the chances of promotion. With a mere slight "lift of his leg," his spiritual power could easily break through the bottleneck, allowing his spiritual power to undergo another transformation and sublimation.