Chapter 85 Advancement in Rank

Blackstone City Prison. To prevent a repeat of last time’s incident, Chu Yun made a point of patrolling the perimeter, ensuring neither Hagrid nor any other formidable professionals were lurking nearby. He had no intention of being cornered in the prison with no escape.

In truth, at this stage, even if the Fire Elemental encountered Hagrid, there would be little danger. Should a stronger opponent appear, it would still buy enough time for Chu Yun to retreat safely.

The strongest inmate in Blackstone City Prison was only third-tier. After days of rest, all prisoners’ mirror images had fully recovered. In the past, there had been fourth-tier criminals, but convicts of that magnitude were sent to the capital for trial and never remained here.

As Chu Yun’s level increased, the experience gained from these inmates decreased. Yet, due to their notorious evil, the neutral law granted considerable experience bonuses, whether the targets were virtuous or wicked.

This round of grinding would be enough to promote Chu Yun to the second tier!

Chu Yun couldn’t help but anticipate the outcome as he quietly chanted, drawing forth the Fire Elemental. Since this was routine monster farming, he didn’t use a second-tier fire crystal, summoning with a first-tier one instead. Even after exhausting the first-tier crystals in his pack, he still had forty left.

He had originally intended to sell these crystals, never expecting he’d use them himself.

He began his sweep from the powerful inmates of the second underground floor, as before. With prior experience, things went smoothly this time.

The sole mage dropped the spell “Arcane Burst,” but since Chu Yun had already learned it, he couldn’t absorb it. On a whim, he implanted it into a guard’s mirror image for experimentation.

Sure enough, the guard’s mirror image mastered the spell. However, due to weak mental strength and a lack of magical knowledge or blueprints, his casting was slow and the power mediocre.

Still, Chu Yun felt he’d done the guard a favor, so, after slaying him, he took the experience as his reward.

The real-life guard was equally stunned. When he tried to cast “Arcane Burst” in the real world, his heart nearly leapt out of his chest.

“I must have received the blessing of the Goddess of Magic!” he thought, keeping the discovery to himself and foolishly buying a statue of the goddess to worship day and night.

Though Chu Yun was slightly disappointed not to learn a new spell, the third-tier powerhouse did grant him a new skill.

After another sweep, Chu Yun’s gains were plentiful. He checked his spoils using his gamer’s specialization.

[Total Acquired]
Experience: 2048 points
Basic Abilities: Lockpicking x2, Disguise x1, Deception x5, Riding x3, Traps x1
Class Features: Longbow Mastery
Additional Skills: Stone Body Tempering Technique 2

Stone Body Tempering Technique wasn’t a combat skill, but a physical training method. By following its regimen, Chu Yun could strengthen his constitution.

The body is the foundation of all things; for a mage, a frail body is a fatal flaw even with magical protection. Thanks to his mirrored world abilities, Chu Yun could pursue multiple development paths when he had the resources, preparing for any circumstance.

For instance, in an anti-magic field or against an enemy’s spell-sealing techniques, he wouldn’t be left powerless.

As for the other basic abilities, Chu Yun’s skill at deception had now surpassed meditation as his strongest trait. These foundational skills, recognized as abilities, would grant effects whenever Chu Yun actively invoked them.

“If I keep grinding the prison dungeon every day, will I eventually become a master thief?” Chu Yun joked to himself.

To avoid any unexpected incidents during his promotion, Chu Yun didn’t remain on site after clearing the instance, but returned to his room to enjoy his moment of empowerment.

“Let’s level up once and see,” he mused, allocating his general assessment points to class experience.

[Traveler Mage class advanced to Traveler Mage Lv10 (0/1400)]
[Health +5]
[Mental Strength +10]
[Skill Points +19]
[Traveler Mage class advanced to Traveler Mage Lv10 (0/1400)]
[Class reached Lv10. As a Traveler Mage, you will randomly acquire a class skill from the corresponding level in the multiverse.]
[Acquired 1st-tier spell: “Spell Annihilation”]
[Acquired 0th-tier spell: “True Word: Shield”]

[True Word: Shield]
Tier: 0th-level Protection
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 20 meters
Components: Incantation, gesture
Duration: 10 minutes
Effect: Create an energy shield around a visible creature within range or yourself. Shield durability = Intelligence attribute + class level + mental strength spent.
Description: This shield blocks both physical and magical attacks.

[Spell Annihilation]
Tier: 1st-level Evocation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 meters
Components: Incantation, gesture
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Forcibly breaks down a spell model the target is building or has completed, thereby nullifying their magic.
Description: Annihilation speed depends on both parties’ Intelligence and Perception—the greater the disparity in your favor, the faster the effect.

[Tip: Advancing to Lv11 will grant an evolution reward.]

Zero-tier spells may be low in rank, but that doesn’t mean they’re weak. Many powerful mages prefer simple, low-level spells for their efficiency.

Now, although Chu Yun already possessed formidable autonomous magical defense, having an extra active shield in “True Word: Shield” would be quite useful. With his 27 Intelligence and Lv10 class, even spending just 1 point of mental strength would summon a shield with 38 durability—enough to withstand many blows. Spending more mental strength would further enhance its resilience.

Spell Annihilation was perfect for a mage like Chu Yun, whose tier was modest but whose base attributes were high. Its power would only grow with his strength.

After reviewing his new spells, Chu Yun didn’t rush to assign skill points but chose to keep leveling up.

The experience requirement at Lv10 hadn’t spiked due to the class breakthrough; it was only 100 more than the previous level, needing just 1400 points to advance.

Chu Yun still had 1578 experience left—enough for one final promotion!

Excitement surged as he allocated 1400 experience to his class, triggering a cascade of notifications.

[Traveler Mage class advanced to Traveler Mage Lv11 (0/2000)]
[Traveler Mage class advanced to Tier Two!]
[Health +15]
[Mental Strength +21]
[Skill Points +20]
[Received Mage Camp’s blessing: “Spell Fusion”—combine two low-tier spells to create an advanced spell.]
[Received one 0th-tier spell fusion opportunity—choose any two 0th-tier spells to combine.]
[Received one 1st-tier spell fusion opportunity—choose any two 1st-tier spells to combine.]
[Legendary Skill: Lord of the Mirror Realm advanced to Tier Two!]

The benefits of advancing in tier were tremendous: the boost to health and mental strength far outstripped normal level-ups, and Spell Fusion would grant him a unique evolved spell.

As for the promotion of Lord of the Mirror Realm, its effect was now truly worthy of the title “Lord.”