Chapter 728: Chapter 706: Level 2 Advancement Plan (Part 2)

"Resources for increasing Spiritual Power? I see..." Merrick seemed to understand something.

If one manages to obtain these things by chance, it’s quite normal for Spiritual Power to increase quickly.

It’s just that the threshold for Crystalized Wizard to Level 2 Mage is quite high; how many similar resources would be needed to achieve this level of growth?

Duke most likely relied on his own hard work and cultivation to gradually achieve such results, Merrick thought to himself.

"...Monster," after a long while, Merrick transmitted a thought mixed with amazement, envy, and complete resignation, accompanied by a self-deprecating smile, "I was so pleased with getting a cursed crystal and came to show off to you... but you, quietly, have almost reached the next station, how can I still feel arrogant?"

His spiritual waves gradually calmed, regaining his usual sharpness, but his competitive spirit was evidently suppressed by Duke’s astonishing progress:

"Alright, I suppose I need to compress my originally planned leisure adjustment period a bit. I had intended to take my time, but now it seems I must hurry to complete crystalization and catch up like mad. Falling too far behind you, how could we still have fun together in the future?"

Duke could sense the sincerity in Merrick’s words. This proud and ambitious friend, after being shocked, was ignited not with jealousy but with a stronger sense of competition and motivation to pursue.

"I look forward to hearing your successful crystalization news." Duke conveyed an encouraging thought, "The road to Level 2 is long and perilous, I’ve only just started, and it’s uncertain whether I can succeed."

"Of course!" Merrick’s spirit became exuberant again, "Level 2, huh... just wait, I will catch up. By the way, advancing to Level 2 is incredibly dangerous. If you need help or have special preparations, remember to speak up. At Land’s place, there might be some unconventional yet useful experiences or gadgets."

"Certainly, you too, be careful," Duke replied.

The two exchanged a few words about recent developments. Merrick mentioned that Master Land was recently engrossed in researching a large-scale joint Witch Array, busy beyond measure.

Then, this contact, which took Merrick on an emotional roller coaster, came to an end.

After disconnecting the mark connection, Duke seemed to see Merrick at the other end, possibly holding his newly acquired cursed crystal, with a complex expression of shock, a bitter smile, and intense fighting spirit, then diving headlong into the lab to frantically compress his preparation timeline for advancement.

For a genius like Merrick, a sufficiently strong peer who is a step ahead might be the best incentive.

After concluding the contact with Merrick, which deeply stimulated the latter, Duke did not relax or indulge in self-satisfaction.

He knew clearly that what he was about to embark on was a far more challenging path than Merrick imagined, a road to advancement seldom seen in the history of wizardry.

The powerful potential and unique structure of the Six-element Composite Crystal dictated that on the path to Level 2 elementalization, he could not simply copy any existing experiences.

He strolled toward the heavily witch-array-guarded underground entrance, and the heavy metal door silently slid open, revealing a spiraling staircase extending downward.

At the staircase’s end was the advanced laboratory he had spent a fortune on, capable of withstanding the experimental fluctuations of a crystalized wizard.

Here, it would become the battleground where he designed and simulated that unique advancement plan.

The lab’s lighting was perpetually gentle, and the runes carved on the walls and floor for energy absorption and stabilization glowed faintly, isolating external disturbances.

Duke walked straight to the largest central experiment table, and with a wave of his hand, numerous scrolls, encrypted crystals, and his accumulated notes on Energy Wells, Elementalization, and Level 2 Magic Models appeared out of thin air, neatly spread out.

His Spiritual Power calmly and attentively swept over these materials.

The core of advancing to Level 2 Mage is achieving bodily elementalization, and the key resource is the Energy Well, a specially crafted object storing massive, stable, high-purity Elemental Energy used to provide violent yet precise transformative power during advancement.

Ordinary single-element Mages need only prepare one Energy Well with attributes matching their primary study, valued in the tens of millions of Magic Stones, and the process is extremely dangerous, requiring resistance to the risk of physical damage due to energy impact and spiritual illusions.

However, what Duke faced was six times the complexity and danger.

"Six Energy Wells... six attributes’ balanced blessing..." Duke’s fingertips unconsciously tapped on the smooth metal surface of the experiment table, his mind rapidly calculating and simulating.

His Six-element Compound Spiritual Crystal used the Light Divine Status as the core, merging the five major Elemental Attributes: earth, fire, water, wind, and dark.

This meant that during advancement to Level 2, he needed to simultaneously evoke pure energy of six different attributes to perform a miraculous balanced blessing on body and spirit crystal, guiding them to interact and achieve theoretically unlimited attribute transformation through general elementalization.

The risk of energy conflicts, difficulty in balancing control, and demands on mental will far exceeded that of single-element advancement a hundredfold.

Fortunately, the two most critical and hardest to obtain attributes, Light and Dark Energy Wells, were already secured and being nurtured in his safest and most controllable domain.

With a thought, Duke entered the Light God Court to inspect the situation inside.

Currently, the Light God Court spanned nearly ten thousand square kilometers, with mountains, rivers, forests, and lakes in an orderly arrangement, and the air permeated with rich Life Energy and the aura of light, a qualitative change brought about by the fusion of the World Tree Seed and Spring of Life.

In this miniature Plane, he was the rule itself.

His perception quickly locked onto the central area of the Divine Court, a purposely planned plain, the most stable and calm.

Here, two critical projects were underway, with the accumulation of both the Light Attribute Energy Well and Dark Attribute Energy Well.

As before, Duke inspected everywhere, ensuring all locations were operating normally.

No carelessness was allowed since matters concerning his advancement to Level 2 Mage required caution and care, with no room for error.

After confirming no issues, he left the Light God Court and returned to the laboratory.

Duke spread out a special piece of spell parchment capable of enduring direct Spiritual Power inscription and began sketching the complex energy flow model.

Starting all six Energy Wells was not simply simultaneous activation and brute force flushing; he had to design a sophisticated energy sequential import and balance circuit.

First, it was necessary to determine the ignition core.

Undoubtedly, it was the Light Attribute Spiritual Crystal part based on the Light Divine Status.

Utilizing its shared origin and high level of control with the Bright Energy Well, he first evoked the Bright Energy to establish a stable, highly inclusive, and harmonizing light framework within the body and Spiritual Sea.

Next, under the premise of a stable light framework, following the complex principles of light begetting darkness, light harmonizing wind and water, and light subduing earth and fire, he designed precise entry points, energy flow rates, and buffer and neutralization regions for the sequential or batch introduction of the other five attribute energies.

This required him to employ a profound understanding of the essence of six elements and the vast amount of cutting-edge theories on multi-attribute energy coordination and conflict obtained from the Black Sail Treasure Vault.

Any calculation error in any step could lead to energy imbalance.

At best, advancement failure with bodily elementalization mutation; at worst, the rampaging and annihilation of six-element energy within the body, resulting in total destruction.

In the days that followed, Duke was completely immersed in this extensive and precise project.

The laboratory’s simulation system was driven to the fullest, simulating the results of the six attribute energies at different introduction sequences, different flow ratios, in cleansing virtual Spiritual Crystals and simulated flesh repeatedly.

Failure, adjustment, re-simulation... in a loop.

Of course, the task of building proficiency wasn’t overlooked, as the proficiency of various skills steadily increased.

It was estimated that in five to six months, he would have enough free attribute points.