“A place?” Matthew’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Indeed.”
Sutton lowered his voice slightly, but it remained clear.
“That is where a Fifth-Grade Apprentice fell. This person originated from the ‘Ash Tower.’ Having no hope of advancing to an Official Wizard, he chose to return to his homeland, the Kingdom of Cher, in his twilight years and died in a hidden location. My lineage happened to learn of this, and I have already confirmed the location.”
Matthew understood immediately—this was an expedition to explore a high-grade apprentice's legacy. To put it bluntly, it was grave-robbing.
His expression remained unchanged as he listened quietly.
Sutton continued, “You don’t need to worry too much either. I won’t be going alone on this trip. I will also invite another trusted Third-Grade Apprentice to join us. That person’s strength is comparable to mine, and they specialize in protection and detection, which should be enough to handle most unexpected situations.”
He paused briefly, his tone calm.
“The place of his passing has no complex mechanisms or guardian golems. After all, that apprentice passed away in quiet meditation, not to fend off thieves. The only thing we need to be careful of is any residual spiritual marks or leaking energy fields—but under the perfected Spirit of us Second and Third-Grade Apprentices, those are nothing to fear.”
Matthew could hear the confidence in his words, but he still asked cautiously, “Why did you choose me, Brother Sutton? I’ve only just stepped into the Second-Grade. I’m afraid I won’t be of much help.”
Upon hearing this, a flicker of unnaturalness flashed deep in Sutton's eyes, but it vanished in an instant. He then smiled faintly.
“I’ll be blunt. There are very few wizard apprentices near the Kingdom of Cher, and those I’m familiar with can be counted on one hand. On the surface, this tomb seems safe, but having one more companion during the exploration ultimately adds another layer of security.”
“Furthermore, as a Second-Grade Apprentice, what you currently need is nothing more than basic resources like magic stones. To me, that is just a minor expense I can easily afford, so there is no conflict of interest. You can rest easy.”
These words were spoken candidly, with a clear distribution of interests, which actually made them more believable.
Matthew fell silent for a moment. He did not agree immediately, only saying, “I still need to consider this for a couple of days.”
“Of course.”
Sutton stood up and tucked the parchment into his shirt.
“Just give me an answer within a week. If you are willing to come along, we will set a schedule and discuss the preparations in detail. If not, that is fine too. Let our conversation today end here.”
With that, Sutton pushed open the door and stepped out, his figure quickly blending into the morning streets.
Matthew stood in place, repeatedly weighing his options.
In terms of safety: Sutton himself harbored no ill intent toward him; otherwise, he could have made a move long ago.
Inviting another Third-Grade Apprentice along, with a clear target and controllable risks, did not look like a trap.
The combined strength of two Third-Grade Apprentices would be enough to suppress the vast majority of unexpected situations. As long as he did not get greedy or reckless, his safety should be guaranteed.
In terms of gains: the legacy of a Fifth-Grade Apprentice.
According to Matthew’s estimation, this was the pinnacle below an Official Wizard. Even if it was just remnant items, it could be considered a treasure to him right now.
Especially the potential spell structures, potion formulas, or meditation insights—these were precisely the resources he needed most urgently at the moment.
The only uncertainty was whether Sutton had concealed some critical dangers, or the true intentions of that fellow traveler.
But given the rationality and frankness Sutton had shown previously, the likelihood of him intentionally plotting harm was low—after all, if he really wanted to act against Matthew, there was no need to go through such a roundabout way.
Matthew slowly exhaled, temporarily pulling his thoughts away from Sutton’s invitation.
‘There’s no need to rush this either.’
After all, he still had a week to think about it. The pressing matter at hand was to test the actual changes after his breakthrough.
He stopped lingering, turned, and headed toward the valley in the outer city.
As the morning light grew brighter, the streets on both sides gradually became bustling. Yet in Matthew’s current Perception, all of this was so clear it felt almost slow—the cries of vendors, the rumbling of wheels rolling over stone slabs, and even the faint sound of sparrows flapping their wings under the distant eaves all flowed into his consciousness like tiny streams.
He walked with steady steps and a calm breath, as if separated from the surrounding noise by an invisible membrane. This was the subtle domain formed by the natural externalization of his Spirit.
As he stepped into the valley, the forest wind brushed past the treetops, rustling the leaves like waves.
Matthew paused for a moment and closed his eyes to feel—the breath of the wind, the dampness of the soil, the gurgling of the distant stream, and even the rustling of a few insects crawling beneath the grass roots all unfolded in his spiritual vision like a scroll.
Breaking through to a Second-Grade Apprentice was not just an increase in power, but a transformation in how his perception connected with the world.
He had originally raised his hand, a faint light already shimmering at his fingertips, intending to test the power of his spells under this new realm first. However, his movement suddenly paused. He withdrew his hand from midair, reached into his shirt, and pulled out the ancient ring that had accompanied him for a long time.
“I should still test this first,” he thought to himself.
Testing the upper limit of the ring's tolerance had to be done when his Spirit was at its fullest and peak state—just like testing a new bow, one had to draw it with maximum strength to know where its limit lay.
If he tried it while weakened, not only would it lead to an inaccurate test, but he might even damage the ring due to unstable control.
He slowly slid the ring onto his finger, its touch slightly cool. Then, taking a deep breath to focus his mind, the newly transformed, steel-like Spirit in his sea of consciousness immediately surged like an awakening tide!
Without holding back in the slightest, Matthew willed it, pouring this majestic and pure Spirit entirely into the ring!
Buzz—
A faint silver glow instantly rippled across the surface of the ring, the light flowing like water, soft yet firm. Immediately after, a translucent shield silently emerged around him. The light patterns slowly rotated like flowing water, radiating an aura as steady as a mountain and completely airtight.
“It really is different now...” Matthew’s eyes brightened slightly.
Compared to the thin, glass-like shield from before his breakthrough, the one before him had not only expanded in range by nearly thirty percent, but its texture had also undergone an earth-shattering change—it was heavy and solid, with the flowing light patterns faintly carrying the texture of crystal steel.
He estimated silently: the previous shield, even with his best efforts, could perhaps withstand a heavy blow from a Silver Rank; but this one, even if a weaker Gold Rank attack crashed into it, could probably hold it off steadily for a brief moment.
Such a significant improvement was entirely rooted in the qualitative change of his Spirit.
Stepping into the Second-Grade Apprentice realm, his Spirit had not only increased greatly in total volume, but more importantly, it had become incredibly condensed and resilient. His guidance and control of energy had become more than twice as precise.
The same ring, driven by different levels of Spirit, naturally displayed power as different as heaven and earth.
However, the cost also manifested immediately.
Matthew could clearly feel that the energy stored within the ring was depleting at an unprecedented speed. Previously, filling it with three charges would last a few days; now, channeling his Second-Grade Apprentice Spirit to fill it up would probably take nearly a week.
“Just where is the limit of this ring...?” He frowned, unable to sense it for the time being.
But he was very clear about one thing: the stronger the shield was activated, the greater the wear and tear on the ring itself would be. This item was excellent, but it must absolutely not be used as a daily consumable. He had to save it, keeping it for truly life-threatening moments.
With this thought, he withdrew his mind. The crystal steel-like shield around him receded like a tide, its light dimming as the ring returned to its ancient appearance.
He carefully put the ring away before redirecting his attention back to his original goal.
Next, it was time to test his spells.
...
...
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