Chapter Ninety-Four: Sorcery Pattern Two

Zack was sensible enough not to interrupt; right now, all he hoped for was a larger reward.

"Here!" With a flick of his hand, Hugh tossed out a small purse.

Zack hurriedly caught it, and merely by touch he could tell there was certainly no small amount of money inside.

"Then, sir, I’ll be going back first!" Having received the purse, Zack could hardly wait to leave.

"Mm." Hugh had no time to pay him any heed and went straight into the room. Seeing this, Zack took the money and fled.

"Th-thank you, sir..." Bavi stood to one side, looking at Hugh, at a loss for what to say.

"Unless there’s something important, don’t come and disturb me." Hugh set his things aside and likewise handed Bavi a purse.

"Yes, yes! Don’t worry, sir. I guarantee no one will come to disturb you!" Bavi took the purse with one hand, beaming, and closed the door behind him.

"We’ve struck it rich this time!" Gazing at the glittering gold coins in the purse and weighing its heft in his hand, Bavi’s grin nearly reached the back of his ears.

"Listen up, all of you. Whoever’s staying in that room, keep your distance and mind your manners. If there’s nothing urgent, stay away. If you anger the person inside, you’ll regret it!" Taking Hugh’s gold, Bavi went over to where the cargo was still being carried and shouted at the top of his lungs to the busy crew.

"Captain, who’s in there?" The men at work looked at their captain like that and could not help but be curious.

"Keep your voices down! Don’t ask what you shouldn’t. In short, all of you stay far away from that room! Otherwise..." Bavi gave a couple of cold laughs, which served as warning enough.

The others saw Bavi like this and took his words to heart. They knew he was not joking. They had heard plenty about him; for him to sit so steadily as a captain, it was not merely because he had connections with certain people.

"So he has some authority after all." Hugh heard everything clearly from inside the room. Bavi’s words spared him much trouble.

It seemed Bavi was trying to curry favor with Hugh, for what had originally been a departure set for three days later was somehow forced forward by a whole day. Hugh did not mind; the journey was long anyway, and one day more or less made no difference.

At night, when silence had long settled over the ship, Hugh stood alone beside the rail, looking out over the sea and the countless stars above.

"Chip! How much longer until the sorcery template is ready?"

Hugh felt that his advancement to formal wizard should be hastened.

"Beep! Estimated time: 6 days, 8 hours!"

"Nearly there." Looking at the time, Hugh only felt the wait grow more and more grueling, and he could not help but long to see this sorcery template for himself.

After blowing in the sea breeze for a while, Hugh returned to his room and began his meditation for the day.

He entered the sea of consciousness and looked at his spiritual runes; with the final two, his own spiritual runes would be fully assimilated.

"With three months left, they’ll be completely assimilated. Before we reach the destination, I should be able to advance to formal rank!" Hugh’s two tasks were progressing steadily. Once the time came, he would be able to attempt advancement to formal wizard.

Originally, Hugh had wanted to try refining a vitality potion, but after seeing the layers of data analyzed by the chip and the various materials listed upon it, he decisively gave up. Moreover, now that he had left the Ring of Shadows, gathering those materials would be even harder.

Still, he remained somewhat worried about his advancement. With only a single success path, Hugh dared not be certain.

"Should I wait until I meet Gregal and ask him to guide my advancement?" Hugh suddenly thought of Gregal. Though Hugh did not know Gregal’s true strength, it was certainly no simple matter—he was surely more than an ordinary formal wizard. Having him guide the process would definitely be safer.

"Let’s take it one step at a time." Hugh was somewhat indecisive.

Life aboard the ship was peaceful. After hearing Bavi’s warning, the sailors did not dare approach Hugh’s room. In this way, Hugh also enjoyed a rare quiet.

"Beep! Sorcery template analysis and simulation complete."

"Quick, transmit it to me and let me see!" The moment Hugh heard the chip’s voice, he was instantly energized, eager to examine the analyzed sorcery template.

"Beep! Defensive sorcery template, unnamed: forms a defensive field over the host’s surface; instant cast; physical defense: 27 degrees; spell resistance: 29 degrees; consumption: ????; trait: can convert a certain amount of magical attacks to enhance defense!"

"This sorcery template!" Hugh stared at the stream of data, eyes fixed. Whether in terms of defense or its special trait, it was enough to leave him dazzled.

"This sorcery template has absolutely reached the level of a first-rank defensive sorcery template!"