Seeing that Pierce's gaze was calm and devoid of any resentment or indignation, Morven nodded secretly in approval.

  "An excellent Wizard must learn to be calm."

  "Being steady when facing an enemy is one aspect. On the other hand, one must also learn to calmly evaluate the disparity in power between oneself and the enemy."

  Morven spoke indifferently:

  "As long as you are still a Wizard Apprentice, your weight in the eyes of the high-level officials will never compare to Yugo."

  "But conversely, the day you become stronger than Yugo, you can use the exact same methods he used against you, back on him."

  "If you become powerful enough, the Dawn Council will not only hold you blameless but will also try every means to cover up for you."

  Morven reached out and patted Pierce on the shoulder with earnest gravity.

  "Strive to advance to Wizard as soon as possible."

  "Yes, Teacher!"

  Pierce nodded heavily.

  Morven's words were realistic and cold, yet they were unbreakable truths.

  The Wizard World did not speak of human rights, warmth, or reason.

  Here, the fist was the greatest logic.

  Pierce pursed his lips, a renewed and urgent desire to advance to Wizard surging from the depths of his heart.

  "Alright, now let's talk about what you want to exchange those 1000 Merit Points for," Morven said.

  Pierce's eyes flickered, and he smiled. "Teacher, what do you think would be best for me?"

  Morven was slightly stunned, then shook his head with a laugh. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Exchange it for a Tier 1 Artifact."

  Pierce was taken aback, surprised. "Teacher, aren't artifacts only usable by Official Wizards?"

  "Who said that?" Morven shook his head. "A Rank 3 Wizard Apprentice can also use a Tier 1 Artifact. It's just that doing so places a heavy burden on the mind, so very few people can achieve it."

  "Usually, only apprentices who practice an Advanced Meditation Technique and have constructed more than twelve Will Runes can use a Tier 1 Artifact for a short time. Like your senior sister."

  Pierce turned to look at Yuna , who nodded with a smile, confirming Morven's words.

  Seeing this, Pierce's eyes lit up immediately.

  If he could own a Tier 1 Artifact, the improvement to his strength would be self-evident.

  It would be equivalent to having another trump card!

  Coming back to his senses, Pierce hurriedly asked, "Teacher, then what artifact should I exchange for?"

  "Do you want an offensive type or a defensive type?"

  Pierce didn't even think before saying, "It's best if it takes care of both aspects!"

  Only children make choices; adults naturally want it all.

  Oh, he was only sixteen and not yet an adult?

  No matter, his psychological age was already that of an adult.

  "...Then exchange for the Silver Star."

  Morven flipped his wrist, and a silver metal ball the size of a fist appeared out of thin air in his palm.

  Without any visible movement from him, the metal ball suddenly floated up, twisting and squirming in the void as it changed rapidly.

  One moment it turned into a metal shield half the height of a person, carrying a heavy texture of indestructibility.

  The next moment it turned into countless metal spikes as long as chopsticks, densely packed and glistening with a chilling cold light.

  Then it transformed into a semi-circular metal dome, shrouding Morven within it.

  After demonstrating for fully ten seconds, the silver liquid metal re-condensed into a spherical shape and fell back into Morven's palm.

  "The Silver Star is an artifact refined from 188 kinds of rare metals. It has the characteristic of ever-changing forms. Depending on the form, it can be used for defense or offense. It should satisfy your requirements."

  Morven tossed the metal ball to Pierce.

  Pierce hurriedly reached out to catch it and examined it carefully.

  Yuna , standing aside, laughed. "Junior Brother, Teacher really picked a good thing for you this time. Among all Tier 1 Artifacts, the Silver Star belongs to the top batch. There are only a few in the entire academy. There is no other channel to obtain it except for Merit Points."

  Pierce nodded with shining eyes, but he had some doubts in his heart.

  Magic items emphasized extremity, meaning they usually had an extreme focus in one direction.

  Whether it was attack, defense, curse, or crowd control, there always had to be a standout feature.

  For an Enchanter, mediocrity was the least desirable trait, often meaning uselessness.

  Being capable in both offense and defense sounded good, but if an artifact could truly achieve such perfection, how could it be merely a Tier 1 Artifact?

  Seeming to see Pierce's doubts, Morven said lightly, "The Enchanter who made the Silver Star initially wanted to refine a perfect artifact that combined offense and defense. But he tried many times, and without exception, they all failed."

  "There is no artifact in this world that can perfectly balance attack and defense. One must inevitably choose a focus between the two."

  "So he settled for the second best and created the Silver Star, a Growth-type Artifact."

  Pierce was stunned.

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  Growth-type Artifact?

  "Tier 1 is not the limit of the Silver Star."

  "It can enhance its abilities by absorbing and fusing with more rare metals, thereby advancing to a higher level. There was once a Wizard who cultivated a Silver Star into a Tier 3 Artifact."

  "Depending on the combination of metals absorbed and fused, the direction of the Silver Star's enhancement also differs—either focusing on attack or focusing on defense."

  "The original creator of the Silver Star wanted to evolve a perfect artifact through this method. But in fact, since the creation of the Silver Star until now, no one has been able to achieve this."

  "To this day, no one has researched a metal combination that can perfectly balance offense and defense without leading to mediocrity."

  Hearing Morven say this, Pierce's heart suddenly moved.

  "In summary, the Silver Star is an artifact with infinite potential. But to bring out that potential, the requirements for the holder's knowledge reserve and financial resources are extremely harsh. If cultivated poorly, it is likely to become a useless artifact. This is its biggest flaw."

  "You'd better think carefully before deciding whether you want this artifact."

  Think about what?

  Of course I want it!

  Pierce felt a burst of excitement in his heart.

  According to Teacher, the Silver Star was practically custom-made for him.

  Others couldn't research the perfect metal combination, but could the Omniscient Eye fail to analyze it?

  As long as he knew the perfect metal combination, he could completely evolve the Silver Star into a top-tier artifact.

  As for financial resources, he was a Potioneer himself, so money was not too much of a worry.

  Knowledge and money—the two biggest obstacles to unleashing the Silver Star's potential were already solved. What was there to consider?

  Pierce made his decision almost immediately.

  However, on the surface, he pretended to think for a while before nodding heavily. "Teacher, I'll choose this one."

  Morven didn't say much. He nodded slightly, then waved his sleeve, and a book slowly floated toward Pierce.

  "The book records the metal combinations researched by multiple Silver Star holders. You can study and reference them when you have time."

  "You can also try to research the perfectly balanced metal combination, but don't invest too much energy. That is a combination that only exists in theory. You should think about which aspect you want to focus on, and then research your own metal combination."

  "Yes, Teacher."

  Pierce took the book and agreed readily.

  Of course, only he knew what he was actually thinking.

  "What do you want to exchange the remaining 200 Merit Points for?" Morven asked.

  Pierce thought for a moment and said, "I'll exchange for Phantom Potion."

  Morven waved his hand and said, "You can just buy Phantom Potions directly from me. There's no need to waste Merit Points."

  Pierce originally had this intention, so he nodded in agreement.

  "Teacher, can I keep the Merit Points for now and exchange them later when I have something I want?"

  He remembered that there were various rare metals in the exchange list.

  It wouldn't be too late to buy the corresponding rare metals after he went back and analyzed the metal combination formula for the Silver Star.

  Morven nodded. "As you wish. You can go directly to the Logistics Department to exchange later."

  Pausing, Morven asked again, "How is your potion practice going recently?"

  "Very smoothly. I am attempting to refine Dragon Blood Potion. It shouldn't take long to succeed."

  Hearing this, a gratified smile appeared on Morven's face as he nodded. "Very good. Your talent in Potions is indeed outstanding. You didn't disappoint me."

  "Keep working hard. If there is anything you don't understand, you can come to find me."

  Pierce agreed immediately.

  Yuna looked at Pierce and marveled secretly in her heart.

  At Pierce's age, she had only just successfully refined unranked potions not long ago.

  After that, it took nearly another year to successfully refine the first bottle of Tier 1 potion.

  Even so, she was already called a potion genius.

  But compared to Pierce, she was far inferior.

  After offering a few more words of encouragement, Morven waved his hand, signaling the two to leave.

  Walking out of the potion room, Pierce smiled and asked Yuna , "Senior Sister, I heard that the Silver Legion's Witch Hunt Squad invited you. What are your plans?"

  Yuna said, "I have already agreed. I will go to the Witch Hunt Squad to take up the post in three months. However, I will still stay in the academy during this time."

  Pierce nodded; it was about what he thought.

  Having just advanced to Wizard, his senior sister also needed time to stabilize her realm.

  After chatting for a few more sentences, the two separated at the entrance of the plantation.

  Pierce went straight to the medicine warehouse, intending to buy Phantom Potion.

  There was only a one-level difference between Tier 2 potions and Tier 1 potions, but the price difference was disparate.

  The price of Tier 1 potions was generally between 400 and 600 gold coins. For example, the Dragon Blood Potion was worth 500 gold coins.

  Tier 2 potions, however, cost at least 5000 to 6000 gold coins, nearly a tenfold increase compared to Tier 1 potions.

  Potions like the Phantom Potion, which were considered top-tier even among Tier 2 potions, were priced as high as 7500 gold coins, or 15 Magic Stones.

  Pierce exchanged for 4 bottles in one go, spending a full 60 Magic Stones.

  If he hadn't suddenly become rich a while ago, he estimated he would have had to sell one or two batches of potions to scrape together enough money to buy the Phantom Potions.

  Back at the apartment.

  Pierce went to the bedroom and sat down, taking out a Phantom Potion and placing it in his palm.

  The potion was contained in a transparent glass bottle, a narrow-necked vial shaped like a vase, only the length of a palm, corked with a brown wooden stopper.

  Inside was a violet liquid, dotted with sparkling star-like points like a scattered chessboard.

  The moonlight shone in from the window, landing on the liquid in the bottle, flashing with an intoxicatingly beautiful hue.

  Just looking at its appearance, it was hard to guess that such a beautiful potion would have the malicious words "Phantom" (Evil Illusion) in its name.

  Gently pulling out the cork, Pierce took a deep breath, then tilted his head back and drank the potion in one gulp.

  The slightly cool liquid poured into his stomach, turning into a chilling aura that quickly flowed through his limbs and bones.

  Pierce fell backward onto the bed, relaxing his mind and limbs.

  About ten seconds later, his body suddenly tensed up, and then he began to convulse violently.

  The muscles all over his body twisted and cramped visibly to the naked eye. An abnormal flush appeared on his skin, and large beads of sweat seeped out, soaking his clothes in the blink of an eye.

  If a Wizard were present at this time and scanned with mental power, they would see a large number of energy particles gathering around Pierce.

  The dense energy particles almost completely wrapped him up, looking like a colorful human-shaped cocoon.

  Every second, countless energy particles entered his body through his pores.

  Pierce clenched his teeth, enduring the severe pain surging like a tide in his body.

  Just then, he suddenly felt a gloomy and cold aura slowly spreading in the room.

  Tap!

  There seemed to be the sound of faint footsteps by his ear.

  Pierce tried hard to turn his head and found that a group of Zombies with pale skin and rotting flesh had appeared in the room at some point.

  Kimon, Chauncey, Riker, Harlan... each one was an enemy who had once died at his hands.

  They roared in low voices, their features twisted, approaching him slowly with venomous malice.

  Pierce lay on the bed, his whole body stiff and unable to move, able only to watch helplessly as these zombies approached.

  He could even clearly see the rotting flesh on these zombies, constantly dripping with foul and viscous cadaveric fluids.

  Finally, these disgusting zombies pounced completely, their sharp teeth biting fiercely into Pierce's flesh.

  Pierce was in so much pain that he was numb all over, without any sensation.

  He watched helplessly as he was bitten and torn apart, slowly turning into minced meat and white bone, entering the mouths of the zombies, eventually leaving only a head to witness the entire process of his own dismemberment.

  Hiss!

  After a soft sound, everything disappeared.

  The zombies, flesh, and mucus all vanished.

  The room returned to calm.

  Pierce lay on the bed, dripping with sweat as if he had just been fished out of the water.

  "This side effect is too strong..."

  The side effects of the Phantom Potion were severe pain and hallucinations.

  Pierce knew this long ago, but the intensity was somewhat unexpected.

  Not to mention the severe pain.

  As for the hallucinations, even if his subconscious clearly understood it was just an illusion, watching the process of his own dismemberment with his own eyes was very unpleasant.

  "Phantom, Phantom... the name lives up to its reputation."

  Pierce rested for a good while before recovering some spirit and sitting up.

  "Omniscience, check my current status."

  [Spirit: 123.68] [Constitution: 66.56]

  "Increased by 3.2 points of Spirit. Not bad."

  A look of joy appeared on Pierce's face.

  With his Spirit attribute currently exceeding 120 points, to still have such a large increase meant the effect of the Phantom Potion was truly good.

  It wasn't in vain that he was tormented severely.

  "There are three bottles left. Taking into account the diminishing effect of drug resistance, it should still increase Spirit by another four or five points."

  Pierce nodded secretly and decided to take a bottle of Phantom Potion every two days from now on.

  It was uncomfortable, true, but to improve mental power, there was no other way.

  The road to improving strength was never easy.