The wizard starts by trimming the donkey's hooves

Chapter 403 Twin Snakes

Since he planned to reject the Second Prince's offer, Ryan naturally had to be prepared to deal with it.

Especially since the selection of dragon knight reserves will be held next week, Ryan is sure that the other party will ask him for his final decision before that.

Although relevant information can be obtained through the Sword Bearer's channel, Ryan is not clear about the effectiveness of the Sword Bearer's purge work. As a person who participated in the last selection, Luther should know better.

Luther was stunned at first by Ryan's question, then he laughed and said, "Sir Ryan, I think with your strength, you don't need to worry about this assessment at all."

"But since you asked, I'll give you a brief account."

"First of all, the first assessment is the actual flight assessment. The key lies in the two points of 'flying' and 'actual combat'."

"'Flying' is the requirement of the assessment. The candidate must ride a flying mount. The purpose is to observe the flying skills. This is why the assessment subject needs to have a flying mount."

"The general meaning is that if the candidate can control a flying mount to pass through obstacles, make sharp turns and dives in the air, etc., then it can be determined that he or she will also have the relevant ability to control a dragon in the future."

"As for 'actual combat', it tests whether the candidate and the flying mount they ride can cooperate and defeat the enemy."

"Because there are many people who have superb flying skills, and dragon knights are not circus animal trainers, so they need to show sufficient combat power."

Luther added another sentence, seemingly to make it easier for Ryan and Harlowin to understand.

"The first item is the actual combat assessment? What about the second item?" Hearing this, Hallowen couldn't help but look puzzled.

After all, if a general assessment consists of multiple items, the difficulty level will generally increase from easy to difficult.

For example, the first item tests physical fitness or skills, and the second item is a practical test.

"As for the second item, Lord Ryan, Lord Hallowen, and all those who participate in the second item have signed a high-level confidentiality agreement with the royal family, so it cannot be disclosed." Luther frowned and said.

"But... I heard that Lord Ryan also went to the Flame Canyon recently?" Luther seemed to have thought of something and emphasized the word "Flame Canyon". Then, he stopped and looked at Ryan with a smile on his face.

Ryan thought for a moment, then smiled, nodded, and said, "Thank you, Sir Luther. I understand."

He understood what Luther meant.

The second test should be in a secret place similar to the Flame Canyon. Although the specific content is unknown, there are only a few possible situations.

For example, in this special secret realm, it is more difficult to kill specific enemies, or there are dragons or dragon-born creatures in the secret realm itself, etc.
At this time, after pondering for a moment, Harlowen also looked enlightened.

After learning about the relevant situation of the Dragon Knight Reserve Assessment, Ryan said goodbye and agreed to go to the camp together tomorrow to familiarize himself with flying skills.

After all, for Ryan, since he started riding Blood Feather, he has had very few opportunities for air combat. In comparison, Luther and Harlowen have much more experience in this regard.

Of course, Ryan is not worried about the coordination problem.

As someone who possesses the Beast Priest (Legendary) profession panel, there will be no problem in cooperating with Bloodfeather. The main purpose is only to become proficient in the field and communicate with Luther and Harlowen on how to deal with different enemies.

Just as Ryan was about to get on the carriage to head to the school's headquarters, he suddenly found that Olena was already waiting there.

"Hey, Lady Olena, is there something urgent?" Ryan saw Olena's solemn expression and guessed that something bad must have happened.

"Lord Ryan, let's talk in the carriage."

"it is good!"

After the two sat down in the carriage, Ryan cast a soundproofing spell. Only then did Olena begin to report:
"I just received an urgent message from Major General Tatia. During the cleanup after the purge, someone discovered that the details of the mission you performed in the Sword Bearer File Management Department had obvious signs of being leaked."

"Yeah, I guessed that." Ryan nodded calmly.

He had actually anticipated this situation.

The locations and times of the previous attacks on him were almost optimal. It is almost impossible to say that no one leaked his relevant information.

Olena was quite surprised to hear what Ryan said.

However, she could sense a sense of confidence from Ryan's calm expression and tone, and immediately, she couldn't help but feel admiration for him.

"There is another piece of news. Yesterday, the Sword Bearers' internal supervisors learned from some of the prisoners that your personal mission records were deliberately leaked to the cult organization."

"Oh?" Ryan raised his eyebrows and said.

This situation is quite interesting.

But after a little thought, Ryan understood and guessed the general outline.

"According to analysis, it is very likely that someone from the old school leaked your mission execution records."

Olena's words confirmed Ryan's guess.

"In other words, the other party wants to use the cult to kill me?"

"Yes, Lord Ren."

When Olena saw the smile on Ryan's face, somehow the tension in her heart was greatly relieved.

At first, when she learned about this situation, she was very nervous, because even a powerful adamantium-level swordsman would be in great danger once he was targeted by one or more cult organizations.

This is why the missions performed by the Sword Bearer need to be kept secret.

"Major General Tatia said that she will arrange for someone to encrypt your subsequent missions, and after they are carried out, they will be sealed to ensure that such incidents will not happen again."

"However, she is reminding you to be careful if you are going out on a mission in the near future. Also, she advises your family not to leave the imperial capital unless there are special circumstances."

"The cult is not one of those old-school nobles. There is a high possibility that they will take direct revenge on your family," Olena added.

"Okay, I understand." Ryan nodded and said.

Fortunately, he has brought his family to the imperial capital. With the defense power of the imperial capital, it is still relatively safe unless a situation like last time where the incarnation of the gods descended directly occurs.

Just as Olena was about to leave, Ryan thought of something and said:

"By the way, Ms. Olena, can you help me go to the library at the headquarters to look up some information about the Bloodline Polluters and Broken Ones."

"Blood Polluter and Broken? Okay, Lord Ryan."

The headquarters of the Bixiu Construction School.

It took about two hours, and Ryan quickly earned 550 contribution points by helping to make puppet components.

Together with his remaining 1463 contribution points, he quickly accumulated 2000 contribution points, which he exchanged for the third level of the Iron Heart Advanced Meditation Method.

At the same time, it is also the last layer possessed by the school.

In other words, if he wanted to practice the original fourth level of the Iron Heart Advanced Meditation Method, perhaps he would have to explore the ruins of the ancient wizard school mentioned by his mentor Mogaro last time.

"But now, of course, I have to study and master the third level first."

After saying goodbye to his mentor Mogaro, Ryan quickly returned to the mansion.

In the study, Ryan took out the memory crystal that recorded the third level of the Iron Heart Advanced Meditation Method.

As a special memory content appeared in his mind, Ryan began to read, understand and comprehend it carefully.

"The third level of the Iron Heart Advanced Meditation Method, extremely difficult to practice"

"But after successfully practicing, in addition to being able to further condense mental power and promote the crystallization of mental power, it will also increase the power of metal-based witchcraft by about 60%."

"Sixty percent?"

"I remember that when I was at the second level, the power of metal magic was increased by 40%. This was already amazing, allowing my second-level metal magic to almost reach the threshold of third-level magic. Now it's only 60%."

Seeing this, Ryan's eyes lit up!
This also made his idea of ​​mastering the third level as quickly as possible become stronger and stronger.

After calming down, Ryan immediately concentrated his mind and began to try seriously according to the practice requirements of the third level of meditation.

Unlike the three-dimensional model on the second layer with a total of sixty will runes, the three-dimensional model on the third layer is more complex. According to the description of the difficulty of practice in the crystal, the word used is "extremely high".

If your talent is not good enough and your mental strength is not strong enough, just looking at this three-dimensional pattern will make you feel nauseous and dizzy, and you will not be able to persist.

Ryan counted carefully and found that the model of the third layer was composed of exactly 108 will runes.

This is nearly twice as many as the second level, which is already very difficult!

It is conceivable how difficult it is to outline the three-dimensional pattern of the third layer in one's mind at once.

"However, my spiritual power is as high as 123 points, so I should be able to comprehend it faster."

"in addition."

Ryan glanced at the attribute panel. The 22 remaining attribute points were a strong guarantee for him to quickly master the third level.

It wasn't long before Ryan began to visualize a three-dimensional model of the third floor in his mind.

Two hours later.

After trying dozens of times, Ryan can now successfully visualize a pattern composed of ninety-six will runes. He is still twelve short of one hundred and eight, a number that is neither too many nor too few.

According to the multiple records in the memory crystal, his progress far exceeds that of a wizard who has just entered the third level of crystallization.

According to records, most crystallization wizards who practiced the third level could only barely squeeze into the stage of outlining ninety will runes after the third month.

But Ryan was still not very satisfied with the progress.

You know, when he was practicing the second level before, when his mental strength was about to be exhausted, he was only five will runes away from completing it, but now, he was missing twelve.

"It really is an extremely difficult level." Ryan rubbed his slightly swollen temples and said to himself.

"Then, start adding some!"

Without much hesitation, Ryan added 1 point to his mental attribute. As his mental attribute increased from 123 to 124, Ryan instantly felt a coolness in his brain, as if a clear mountain spring suddenly emerged in his mind, taking away all his mental fatigue.

Ryan, who had recovered to his peak condition, smiled and began to sketch out the complex three-dimensional model of the third floor in his mind again.

Another two hours passed.

The first rune of will.

The thirtieth
The ninety-ninth will rune!
After this time, Ryan felt a surge of pain in his temple again.

"Consumed 1 attribute point and improved will runes."

“It’s really difficult!”

"But that's within expectations. There are only nine left!"

Faced with possible potential threats, Ryan naturally had to improve his combat power as quickly as possible, especially the special effects of the third level of the Iron Heart Advanced Meditation Method, which comprehensively amplified the power of metal witchcraft by 60%.

For Ryan, it means something special.

So, Ryan added another attribute point to his spirit, and as his condition fully recovered, he repeated the previous process.

This time, Ryan rushed to one hundred and two.

"Come again!"

As Ryan added some more mental strength, he recovered and continued to outline the three-dimensional pattern of the third layer.

"Come again!"

It was not until the sky began to turn pale that Ryan suddenly looked delighted, clenched his fists, and waved them vigorously!
It took Ryan almost an entire night and six attempts to add points. He finally succeeded in outlining the third level of the Iron Heart Advanced Meditation Method in one go.

At this time, his mental strength also increased to one hundred and twenty-nine points.

In his sea of ​​consciousness, he saw that the originally circular base at the bottom of the three-layer crystal had thickened by nearly twice as much, appearing even more stable.

The system prompt also came at this time:

[You have practiced the third level of the Iron Heart Advanced Meditation Method, and your understanding of the relevant knowledge has improved! ]

[Your skill Iron Heart Advanced Meditation is upgraded, experience value +5]

Ryan quickly found the skill icon of Ironheart on the Warhammer Wizard (Legend) profession panel and checked the changes in the description.

The new expression is as follows:

Iron Heart Advanced Meditation Level 7 (1/5000), with the special effect of 'Metal Mastery Level 3'.

[Metal Control Level 3 (Passive) Effect: Your ability to control metal energy particles is greatly improved.]

"For level 3 metal control, the system description changed from 'slightly improved' to 'significantly improved'."

"The third level of meditation method, the corresponding display level is lv7~lv9."

Because of the experience from the second level last time, after some thought, Ryan invested 7 skill points in the lv2 Iron Heart Advanced Meditation Method.

As the Iron Heart Advanced Meditation Method advanced from level 7 to level 9, instantly, a memory of practicing the third level of the Iron Heart Advanced Meditation Method flooded into Ryan's mind like a tide.

In an instant, Ryan seemed to be in a mysterious space, experiencing more than a hundred years of hard practice in the third level of meditation.

A few minutes later, when Ryan tried to outline the third-level meditation model again, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the time spent on visualization was shortened by nearly two-thirds!
Looking at the remaining skill point of only 1, although Ryan knew that the meditation method should have reached its upper limit, he still had to confirm it first.

As the points were added, as expected, the system failure prompt appeared:

[Adding points failed! The current limit of the Heart of Steel Advanced Meditation has been reached. ]

"good."

Seeing this scene, a smile appeared on Ryan's face. Level 9 is the upper limit of the three levels.

At this time, Ryan looked at the attribute panel again and found that the mental power value on it had changed significantly again:
Spirit: 120 (crystallized 2%)

You know, before, his mental strength after adding points was as high as 129 points, but now it is only 120 points, a full 9 points less. However, the crystallization progress has increased by one percentage point, from 1% to 2%.

Because of his experience with liquefaction last time, Ryan was not too surprised, but the magnitude of the reduction was slightly beyond his expectations.

"It should be the effect of advanced meditation on the tempering and purification of mental strength."

"After all, what is concentrated is the essence."

After a whole night of meditation practice, perhaps because of the joy of success or the recovery effect, Ryan did not feel any fatigue. Instead, he felt eager to try.

At this moment, a ray of morning light slowly shone in through the window and sprinkled on Ryan's back. For a moment, the energetic young man and the dawn light inexplicably fit together.

Sword Bearer Headquarters.

In Tatia's office, people were coming in and out reporting every few minutes.

"Lord Tatia, I just received news that last night, several provinces including Oise, Moselle, Nome, and Marne were attacked by the cult."

"The personnel dispatched by the other side this time are of high level and very strong. There are even epic-level strongmen comparable to the Imperial Guardians. The Sword-wielding branches in various provinces have requested support from the headquarters." An intelligence officer reported.

"Enemies involving epic powers will be forwarded to General Augustus for review. The rest will be sent to the mission hall and issued as missions." Tatia handled it quickly.

Due to the high level of coordination of the Imperial Guardians, General Augustus needs to be personally involved, and Tatia is only responsible for the internal coordination operations of the Sword Bearers.

In addition, in the past week, Tatia clearly felt that the cult's activity within the empire's territory had greatly increased, and epic-level strongmen had appeared repeatedly.

Accordingly, nearly ten Imperial Guardians had to leave the Imperial capital of Tamriel to deal with the situation.

At this time, a female staff member came to Major General Tatia and reported in a low voice:
"Lord Tatia, we discovered that the 'twin snakes' of the Secret Snake Cult, Erida and Elida, appeared in the province of Vadil three days ago."

"But just yesterday, he appeared in Vosges Province again. Based on the route he took, the Intelligence Hall determined that his destination was most likely the direction of the Imperial Capital."

Upon hearing the news, Tatia's expression changed slightly.

The 'Twin Snakes' are the third-ranked among the twelve Secret Snake Messengers of the evil Secret Snake Cult. Their strength far exceeds that of the Secret Snake Messengers ranked lower. It is said that the two are sisters and have the special ability of telepathy.

It is easy to imagine how tricky this situation is when two people, both of whom are legendary peak powerhouses, can cooperate almost perfectly in battle.

This is also true judging from the battle record.

Apart from anything else, the fact that they have escaped from the imperial guardians many times is proof of their strength.

Considering their destructive power and difficulty, the 'Twin Snakes' Ereda and the Ereda sisters have always been one of the main targets of the Empire's sword bearers.

"What are the specific opinions from the Intelligence Hall?"

"Lady Tatia, these are the specific opinions from the Intelligence Hall." The young female staff member opened a record and presented it to Tatia.

"Hmm? A 70% chance. Not low." Tatia muttered to herself with her eyes slightly narrowed.

It only read: '.Due to the leak, there is a 70% chance that the target of the attack is Mr. Ryan.'

For Tatia, she naturally knew that when Ryan was in the Munster branch, he had a deep entanglement with the Secret Snake Cult.

At that time, Ryan had killed two lower-ranked Secret Snake Messengers of the Secret Snake Cult, namely 'Ice Snake' Edmundo and 'Crazy Snake' Ikosela.

Therefore, she still agreed with the judgment of the Intelligence Hall.

Because the mission execution records were leaked, the other party came to seek revenge this time.

However, the other party does not dare to enter the imperial capital of Tamriel easily, and is most likely looking for an opportunity near the imperial capital.

"Inform Deputy Director Olena of this situation immediately and have her inform Lord Ryan to be on high alert. By the way, also pass on the detailed information about the Twin Snakes to Lord Ryan."

"Okay, Lady Tatia, I'll go right away." The young employee saluted and left immediately.

at the same time.

More than a hundred miles away from the imperial capital, in a manor in a remote area of ​​the small town of Tavlin.

I saw an ordinary carriage parked in front of the manor gate, but the two gray-robed men who got off were very unusual.

The two of them had graceful and slender figures under their grey robes, and they were very similar. Judging from their postures, they were undoubtedly beauties, but they both wore hoods, which was rare.

However, judging from their delicate noses and cherry lips, apart from their beauty, the two look like they were cast from the same mold, and it is impossible to tell which is which.

"Lord Aridar, Lord Aridar, you two must have had a hard journey." An old man in a black robe with an extraordinary demeanor bowed slightly to the two of them and said.

If you perceive carefully, you will find that the old man in front of you is also a wizard at the third level of crystallization.

"Well, we're lucky. The journey was smooth." One of the two women said crisply.

"By the way, Lord Aurelian, how many days are left before the selection of the Dragon Knight Reserve? Has the Empire decided on the time to open the Dragon Valley Secret Realm?"

"Uh Lord Eredar, there are still five days until the selection."

"As for the opening time of the secret realm, we are not sure yet, but according to convention, the secret realm will be opened for the second assessment three to five days after the first assessment is completed." The old man named Aurelian said respectfully.

"Well, then we'll wait for your news. By the way, you should know the importance of this mission, don't take it lightly, Lord Aurelian." Erida said.

"By the way, do we have to take care of a sister by the way? What's her name? The one who killed the Ice Snake and the Crazy Snake." Elida on the side suddenly asked.

The old man in black robes took the initiative to say, "Lady Elida, the man's name is Ryan. We have learned the exact situation and he has also participated in the selection of the Dragon Knight Reserve."

"Hehe, that's interesting. Sister, it looks like we don't need to make two trips. We can solve it in one trip." Alida couldn't help but laugh.

(End of this chapter)