Opened Path

He took the wizard and they journeyed to one of the caves in the Forest of Death. Yeah, it's got a spooky name, but it basically covers this massive area up north on the continent. Nobody knows where it ends. See, on the northern side of the forest, there's this abyss that stretches as far as the eye can see, just like the forest itself. Stand at the edge, and you can barely see trees fading into the distance, no end in sight.

Nobody's ever made it to the other side of the abyss. Not by flying over it or sailing around it. The seas around it are full of whirlpools and storms. Even a level 3 wizard hasn't cracked it. Feels like the abyss is nature's way of saying, "This is as far as it goes, folks."

Every time he thinks about it, he gets this shiver down his spine. Are we stuck on this tiny continent? Did someone create the abyss and the whirlpools? Shaking off those creepy thoughts, he remembers why he chose the Forest of Death as their hideout.

The forest is massive, with tons of mountain ranges scattered around. And guess what? Loads of caves in those mountains. Trying to find him and the wizard in one of those caves is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

He zoned in on the wizard perched on his shoulder once more. Remembering a trick he picked up from one of those dusty old books in the library, he sealed off the wizard's magic pathways. So, even if the wizard woke up, his magic would be as useful as a wet noodle. Not that he was planning to off the wizard or lay a finger on his stuff.

Sure, the wizard might harbor some resentment after being snatched for a few weeks, but he hoped it wouldn't turn into full-blown hatred. Hopefully, he could avoid catching the eye of the fire magic tower. 

It had taken him a solid two weeks to snag this level 1 wizard after sneaking out of the tower for his little mission. After another week of trudging through the wilderness, he finally stumbled upon a cave in the Forest of Death. He went all out, setting up a bunch of fancy-sounding formations around the cave: concealment, befuddlement, detection, defense—you name it. Then, he turned to face the wizard.

The wizard had been awake for ages now, shooting him these looks of fear and loathing. But hey, at least it wasn't as intense as it was a week ago when the wizard first came to. Maybe the wizard figured out he needed to stay alive for something and wouldn't off him just yet.

But the wizard's looking pretty rough, all thin and pale. Refusing to eat or drink, trying to prove some point about dignity or whatever. But hey, no sweat. A level 1 wizard can pretty much survive on mana alone. He should be able to hold out for about a month without chowing down or sipping on anything.

Now, you might be thinking, can't the wizard just cut off his mana supply and kick the bucket early? Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but that's a no-go. Zack already went ahead and cut off all the magic paths in the wizard's body, remember? Deprived him of the ability to control mana from his mana heart. So, the body and mana heart are on autopilot, soaking up mana from outside to keep themselves going. No intentional mana suicide happening here.

Then, he goes ahead and puts his hand on the wizard's belly, sending a strand of his own mana inside. Since he's already cut off the wizard's control over his mana heart, he slips into the mana heart without any issues.

With the sound of a raging storm and crackling flames as the backdrop, he's greeted by a truly breathtaking sight. There's this massive swirling mass of mana, surrounded by this slowly rotating magic circle. Or wait, is it a formation? Either way, it's a sight to behold. He's used to his own mana heart, all blue and crackling with lightning, but this wizard's red mana is on a whole other level. It's denser and surrounded by this intricate magic circle.

As he studies the magic circle further, he realizes it's a combo of a spell and a formation. A spell's like this big module of a program with a single power source, while a formation's this massive program made up of multiple modules and power sources.

Now, the wizard's magic circle? It's made up of multiple modules, but with only one power source, which he assumes is the clump of mana in the middle. Pretty neat stuff, if you ask me.

So, he takes a stroll around the mana heart, thinking maybe he can reach the end of it. And lo and behold, there's an end to this mana heart. It's all spherical-shaped, and as he reaches the walls, he spots these simpler magic circles embedded in them. They're not as complex as the one in the middle, but they're still pretty intriguing.

So, here's the deal with those magic circles covering the walls. If those circles are what it takes to level up to a level 1 wizard, he's in some serious trouble. Why? Well, his mana heart doesn't have walls. Nope, instead of seeing those fancy magic circles like in the wizard's mana heart, all he sees is darkness. Pitch-black, nothingness.

His lightning mana's just floating there in the void, looking all sad. He tries to fly out and check out the end of his mana heart, but after a while of zooming around, he realizes there is no end. It's like a bottomless pit of darkness. Scary stuff. He flies back, thinking this is just how things are.

But then, he starts racking up mana like nobody's business, and it hits him—this endless abyss in his mana heart might not be normal. It's probably thanks to his talent, the [Limitless Mana Well] thing.

After a week of dissecting those magic circles, he stumbles upon some good news. Those circles on the wall? They've got attributes like fortify, stabilize, absorb, and growth. And get this, there are faint particles of mana floating all around the wizard's mana heart. They're so everywhere that he didn't even notice them at first. It's only when he compares his mana heart to the wizard's that he realizes his is pretty barren, except for the clump of mana in the middle.

These particles? They're coming from that clump of mana in the middle. And the magic circles? They're absorbing these particles to stabilize and maybe even grow the mana heart, slowly but surely increasing its capacity. So, looks like things might not be as dire as he thought.

Alright, so here's the deal: Since his mana heart is limitless anyway, he figures he doesn't need those magic circles on the walls. So, he shifts his focus to the magic circle in the middle. After another week of digging into it, he finally figures out what this magic circle is all about.

His studies in spell patterns and formations really paid off. He figures out that the magic circle acts as some kind of innate magic for the wizard, while also acting as a mana compressor for the mana heart. Every time the mana heart slurps up mana from the outside, it gets squished into a purer and denser form and gets sent over to the clump of mana. Plus, the magic circle doubles up as a spell.

And get this, since the magic circle's already set up, the wizard doesn't have to whip up a whole new spell pattern. All he's gotta do is pour his mana into the magic circle, and bam, spell casted. He even notices that certain parts of the magic circle slowly fill up with mana, and once they're full, they're always ready to roll. There are two other parts like this, and he's got a hunch.

So, he springs into action. Activates [Double Enhancement I] at max output, and busts out [Lightning Palm] with five layers. He slams his palm right onto the wizard's chest.

The wizard's caught off guard. One minute, he's chillin' with this masked weirdo examining his mana heart, and the next, he's getting zapped and smacked in the chest.

"Damn you!" the wizard yells, trying to twist away, but it's too late.

Boom!

In Zack's eyes, as soon as his palm makes contact with the wizard's body, this fiery barrier pops up, trying to swallow up the lightning. Just like last time, the lightning bursts outward, blowing away the fiery shield. Zack pulls back his palm and turns off [Double Enhancement].

Ignoring the coughing wizard, Zack's mind raced with thoughts. So, that's why the lightning couldn't break through the fire layer. Logically, lightning should be faster than fire. Back when he tussled with that apprentice fire wizard, some of his lightning zapped the apprentice before the fire fully formed.

But here, the fire layer was like fully loaded the instant it appeared. To double-check, he zapped the wizard again, this time with a measly [Zap] at minimum output.

Zzap!

The wizard screeched like a banshee. Zack shot him a look of disgust. The zap should've been blocked entirely by his robe. Who did this guy think he was fooling? Ignoring the wizard's theatrics, Zack confirmed his assumption. The [Zap] hit the wizard square on without any obstructions.

That's because none of the parts in the magic circle were filled up. Zack figured that once those parts are filled, the magic circle's spell would always be active, providing an automatic defense barrier for the wizard. But man, the filling process was snail-paced. Two weeks passed, and only two parts were filled. The second part was almost there, but not quite. Zack guessed that once the wizard could control his mana heart, he'd be able to speed up the process.

But hey, this magic circle concept was fascinating stuff. After another week of diving into it, Zack finally cracked it. He was confident he could replicate the magic circle using his own spell. He was pumped that his blocked advancement path was finally opening up!

With no use for the wizard anymore, Zack decided to drop him back at the magic realm encampment. Of course, he had to strong-arm the wizard into eating and promise to send him back to his tower. After plopping the wizard at the encampment's outskirts, Zack [Zap]ped the place with max output and bolted. Then, he headed back to the tower.

Just like that, after two months of being outside the tower, he found a way to level up to a level 1 wizard.

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Name: Zack

Age: 10/100 (150)

Occupation: Apprentice wizard

Mana: 60/60 (1107/1107)

Overt Talent: [Low Mana Manipulation Correction], [Low Mana Sensory Correction]

Hidden Talent: [Limitless Mana Well], [Advanced Mana Manipulation Correction], [Advanced Mana Sensory Correction], [Advanced Intelligence Correction] 

Hidden Boss Abilities: [Hidden Strength]

HBP: 0

HB Progress Bar: 35/100% 

Expand Hidden Boss abilities Store? yes/no

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