Levi's three basic attributes—Strength, Constitution, and Agility—had all increased to five times that of an ordinary person. This made him an existence like a humanoid tank. His bone density had increased, his muscle strength had risen, and his neural reaction speed had accelerated. In the modern world where Levi had once lived, he would have been an existence like a super soldier.
His physical body had already reached the level of a Great Knight.
He had a feeling that even without using weapons, he could make an army of around a hundred men lose its combat ability in a short period of time—relying on physical strength alone.
He could even dodge bullets.
The entire world had slowed down in his eyes.
No, it was not that the world had slowed down. It was that he had become faster.
Levi spent a long time before he barely became familiar with this state.
This made Levi feel slightly relieved.
No matter what, an increase in strength was a good thing.
Night came again.
Levi once more activated his Daily Intelligence Detection—
[Intelligence One: the Magic Mirror Queen still does not know of Knight Hassein's death.]
[Intelligence Two: the seven dwarfs' attempt to restore Snow White's appearance has failed. They feel very discouraged because of this.]
[Intelligence Three: the magic potion you consumed came from a witch in a lettuce garden. She placed her adopted daughter inside a tall tower without a door, preventing anyone else from coming into contact with her.]
[Intelligence Four: one of Old Bar's important missions was to help the king of the Kingdom of Amtyr search for his son, who had been missing for many years. Now that Old Bar has suddenly died, the King of Amtyr is extremely angry, and he suspects even more that his son's disappearance is inseparable from the Magic Mirror Queen.]
Seeing this intelligence, Levi's eyes immediately lit up.
Ever since Detection had risen to Level 4, reaching the level of a First-Ring Wizardry, its daily Intelligence Detection had also become more valuable.
Levi's gaze first swept over the first piece of intelligence, and his heart stirred. Although the Magic Mirror Queen still did not know that Hassein had already been dealt with by him, she would find out sooner or later. He could not continue staying here. Otherwise, Rudolf's family would be dragged into trouble when the time came.
'Tomorrow, I'll say goodbye to them,' Levi thought.
After making this decision, Levi looked toward the other three pieces of intelligence.
The second piece of intelligence had no value.
He looked directly at the third piece of intelligence. "This seems like the plot of some fairy tale. Unfortunately, I don't know the specific location. Otherwise, I could go take a look."
Levi thought this regretfully.
As for the fourth piece of intelligence, it also did not seem to be of much use to him.
He swept his gaze over it once and paid it no further attention.
Although Levi had already made his decision, it was not as if he did nothing. Instead, taking advantage of this time, Levi continued casting other wizardries as much as possible to increase their experience points and raise their levels.
He said "their," but in reality, Levi only had Gathering Technique as an option.
The other two wizardries either did not offer a good cost-performance ratio or were unsuitable.
So there was only Gathering Technique.
Levi cast Gathering Technique again and again inside the room.
From the fleas in the room, to the dust inside his shoes, to the salt in the soil, to the moisture in the air... Levi repeatedly cast Gathering Technique.
The level of Gathering Technique also increased as Levi used it repeatedly.
Finally, before daybreak, after Levi meditated once more to recover his Magic Power, he cast Gathering Technique again.
[Gathering Technique experience +1.]
Levi's Gathering Technique had also reached the Level 3 standard, only one level away from the standard of a First-Ring Wizardry.
For every 60 points of Magic Power consumed, Levi could gather from an area within a radius of ten meters, gathering all kinds of tangible objects. It had no effect on living creatures, but it did have a certain restraining effect on the target object.
As expected of a Level 3 Gathering Technique.
Its effect was extraordinary!
Not only that, after Levi raised Gathering Technique to the Level 3 standard, his soul sea experienced the same situation as before.
Wizardry resonance!
The intensity of will in his soul sea increased.
Levi felt that if he could find a more advanced meditation method, the speed at which his Spiritual Power increased would become even faster!
But where could he find a more advanced meditation method? That was a problem.
Levi could only look forward to gaining something from his next Intelligence Detection.
There was temporarily no way to obtain a higher-level meditation method, but...
His gaze fell on the Moon Wolf Knight Breathing Technique. With a thought, Level 4 Detection—that is, Detection at the level of a First-Ring Wizardry—activated.
[This Knight Breathing Technique can be trained up to the level of a Great Knight. The seed of life energy it condenses provides enhancements in Strength and Agility.]
[By making the following adjustments to the first, sixth, seventh, eleventh… and other movements of this breathing technique, changing the breathing rhythm, and combining it with ointments made from Silver Moon Grass, Grey Flower, Hericium Mushroom, and other materials for synchronized use, the level of this breathing technique can be improved, allowing it to be trained up to the peak level of a Great Knight.]
[The advanced version of this breathing technique primarily imitates the magical creature, the Silver Moon Azure Wolf.]
[You have used Detection once. Experience +1. Current experience: 3/800.]
Seeing this information, a trace of joy appeared in Levi's eyes.
This Level 4 Detection had truly not disappointed him.
However, with the help of the potion's effects, his physical condition had already reached the level of a Great Knight. This detection result did not seem to be of much help to him.
Levi shook his head inwardly.
Although he had not slept all night, he was still full of energy.
At dawn, while the mist covering White Stone Village had yet to be pierced by the morning sunlight—
Rudolf knocked on Levi's door with an excited urgency.
He brought Levi two pieces of news.
The first piece of good news was that the alchemical carriage he and his brother Phil had specially crafted for Levi had already been completed.
The second piece of good news was that Phil and Rudolf's younger brother—Mark—had successfully graduated from his master craftsman, who was also one of the Three Sages of the Forest.
He had received letters from his two older brothers. He was very grateful that Levi had helped them retrieve their treasures, so he hurried back home, wanting to meet Levi in person.
Hearing this, Levi's eyes lit up.
He said he also wanted to meet Phil and Rudolf's younger brother, Mark.
As for the alchemical carriage, that was not important.
What mattered was the small stick in Mark's possession.
Of course, Levi was not referring to the one on Mark himself.
Rudolf quickly brought Levi to meet his younger brother, Mark.
Mark looked very similar to his two older brothers—the kind of resemblance where one could tell at a glance that they were siblings.
The difference was that Mark had some freckles on his face.
Of course, that was not the point.
Levi habitually used Detection on him—
[Mark possesses even greater wizard talent than his two older brothers. He is now already a Third-Tier Wizard Apprentice, only one step away from becoming a true First-Ring Wizard.]
[His teacher holds high expectations for him and has given him a magic stick imbued with "Wizard's Hand" for self-defense. It is stored in a pocket; as long as he chants the incantation, it can be summoned and will attack enemies according to the user's will.]
[This magic stick is placed inside the pocket at his waist.]
[You have used Detection once. Experience +1. Current experience: 4/800.]
Levi's gaze immediately fell on Mark's pocket.
Seeing this, Mark said to Rudolf, "You were right—your friend truly possesses some astonishing talent."
"He actually noticed at a glance that the pocket my teacher gave me is extraordinary."
"May I take a look?" Levi pondered for a moment before asking.
"Of course, no problem. You're my brother's friend, so naturally you're my friend as well. Just for the fact that you returned my brother's belongings to him on your own initiative, that favor alone is enough for you to earn my highest friendship," Mark said with a grin as he untied the pocket and tossed it to Levi.
"Thank you." Levi's hand touched the pocket, and he also felt the stick inside. The Origin Energy within his soul flowed into it, then quickly returned to his soul.
At that moment, a new wizardry crystal structure appeared within his soul sea.
[Level 1 Wizard's Hand—consumes Magic Power to form an invisible hand capable of lifting objects weighing no more than 50 kilograms.]
Levi's soul sea trembled violently. With the appearance of this wizardry crystal structure, its intensity increased significantly.
The standard for a Third-Ring Wizard, aside from meeting the Spiritual Power requirement, is to have four wizardry crystal structures within the soul.
If Levi's Spiritual Power met the standard, and among his four wizardry crystal structures, one reached the level of First-Ring Wizardry, two reached the level of Second-Ring Wizardry, and one reached the level of Third-Ring Wizardry, then Levi would be able to break through to the realm of a Third-Ring Wizard.
In reality, true wizards master quite a number of spells and also possess corresponding wizard knowledge.
Someone like Levi did not quite resemble a proper wizard.
But Levi did not care; his expectations of himself were not high.
After all, he had never undergone formal wizard education.
He had been on this path of spellcasting for less than a month.
What right did he have to demand more of himself!
…
Levi's objective had been achieved.
Without any attachment, he returned the stick to Mark.
Mark was somewhat surprised. "You should be able to tell how precious it is, yet you're just returning it like this? Not even taking a few more looks?"
"No need. Beautiful things don't have to be possessed—quietly appreciating them is also a kind of happiness," Levi said.
All those inspirational sayings he had read in his previous life had not been useless after all.
Mark's gaze immediately changed.
Rudolf also said, "Mark, I told you—Levi is a true gentleman."
"I can indeed see the excellent qualities of a gentleman in him," Mark said in full agreement, looking at Levi with admiration, which made Levi feel a bit embarrassed.
Mark smiled and said, "Levi, let me show you the power of this stick."
"How will you show it?" Levi asked.
"Come with me." With that, Mark and Rudolf led Levi into the forest outside the village.
Seeing that no one was around, Mark began chanting. Along with the words "Stick, out of the pocket," a short rod glowing with red light flew out from the pocket. It spun once in midair, then shot forward in the direction Mark pointed. Along its path, the massive trees blocking the way were snapped clean in half.
The magic stick flew over a hundred meters, breaking countless trees, and finally, with a thought from Mark, it struck the ground. The ground was instantly smashed into a huge crater.
Only then did Mark call out, "Stick, return to the pocket," and the magic stick flew back, landing in the pocket at his waist.
Seeing this scene, both Levi and Rudolf's expressions changed slightly.
Levi was shocked by the power of this magic stick. Even a Great Knight would probably be beaten into complete helplessness against it.
No wonder the innkeeper in the fairy tale had begged for mercy!
Being struck like that—even a Great Knight would not be able to endure it!
It was truly extraordinary.
Levi estimated that this magic stick had at least the power level of a First-Ring Wizardry—perhaps even more.
However, he did not feel envious, because he had copied Wizard's Hand. Although its initial power was inferior to that of the magic stick, it had enormous room for growth and was far more flexible.
Levi's Wizard's Hand could do far more than just pick up a stick and beat people!
Thinking this, he said to the Rudolf brothers, "This stick is really powerful!"
"With it, your treasures will be well protected."
"However, I should be leaving," Levi said.
Rudolf was somewhat surprised and tried to persuade him to stay, saying that there was no shortage of food and drink here and that Levi could stay a while longer.
Levi shook his head. "I've offended a very powerful figure. If I stay too long, I'm afraid that person might take it out on you."
"Oh, then you'd better leave quickly," Rudolf said immediately upon hearing this, without the slightest hesitation.
Levi fell silent.
What happened to that so-called friendship?
Even his younger brother Mark looked down on him. "Brother, how can you be like this?"
"Sorry." Rudolf also realized he had misspoken and lowered his head to apologize.
Mark glanced at Rudolf speechlessly. "At the very least, let Levi finish breakfast before he leaves."
"You're right! What I was thinking is that the alchemical carriage we made for Levi is already finished. We can give him food so he can eat on the road."
"…" Mark fell silent for a moment, then said, "That makes sense too."
At this point, Levi fell even more silent.
Of course, Levi knew the two brothers were joking… or at least, he could only treat it as a joke.
The atmosphere became a bit awkward.
At that moment, Rudolf and Mark's eldest brother, Phil, drove a carriage over.
This carriage looked very similar to the gypsy caravans Levi had seen in his previous life. It was pulled by a single horse, with an arched roof shaped like a rounded canopy. This design was both aesthetically pleasing and practical—it helped rainwater slide off and also increased the sense of interior space.
The exterior and underside of the carriage were painted with mysterious patterns. On the surface, they looked like abstract images of the sun, the moon, and flowers, but Levi's Detection revealed that these mysterious patterns were actually alchemy inscriptions with magical effects. This carriage should be called an alchemical carriage.