Wizard: Start with Biological Transformation to Grind Experience-Chapter 131 - 006: The Significance of Talent

In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had passed.

On the last day of the month, Lynch finally maxed out his skill level for the "Dark Flame."

"Dark Flame Max"

Now, among the six mid-level apprentice spells, only the "Earth Sinking Spell" remained.

It was understandable that the progress of Earth Sinking Spell cultivation was slow, as there was an opposition relationship between it and the Wind Element, belonging to opposite system elements. Lynch had learned Wind Element spells first, so there was some difficulty in getting started with the Earth Element.

However, although there was an opposition relationship between the Wind and Earth Elements, it was a weak opposition, unlike the strong opposition between light and dark. Although challenging, it was not completely unlearnable.

That night, at the Lynch Mansion.

In the house, Graham was preparing dinner in the kitchen, while in the nearby living room, Subaru and Carl were lounging across chairs, surrounded by a mess of scrolls, books, and paper money on the carpet.

In front of them, Lynch stood before a small blackboard, holding a pointer, and explained the knowledge points to them in detail:

"The Youye Forest belongs to a dark environment, Carl, you should pay attention to this. I just explained what reactions the elements might produce in a dark environment, I’ll review it with you again later."

"As for Subaru, the Ice Wind Valley is a standard Ice Element environment..."

Their tasks had come down not long ago; Carl was to collect twenty Night Mushrooms from the Youye Forest, while Subaru was to gather ten Ice Crystals from Ice Wind Valley.

For their tasks, Lynch began targeted intensive training, meticulously teaching them about the elemental environment of the task locations, possible encounters with Magic Plants, Demons, as well as elemental dynamic changes there.

As long as these contents were mastered, Lynch believed passing the assessment should not be a problem.

However, the process of mastering them was somewhat painful for Subaru and Carl.

Although neither could be described as lacking knowledge, their grasp of basic knowledge was limited to just the basics.

At that moment, listening to Lynch’s in-depth explanations, they began to feel the strain.

Lynch asked, "How is it? Do you understand?"

Subaru and Carl exchanged glances, speechless. They both read expressions of confusion in each other’s eyes.

Lynch raised his eyebrows, "Why is it so difficult? Are you two not normal?"

Subaru retorted, "You’re the one who’s not normal!"

They had known that Lynch was studying diligently and that there was a knowledge gap between them, but it wasn’t until Lynch started tutoring them these past days that they realized the gap was more than just a gap.

It was a chasm, a gulf!

How could an apprentice know so much? From the basic logic of elements, environmental analysis, to what grows underground, what kinds of Magic Plants and Demons there are, how to deal with them, what elemental reactions might occur, etc.

This guy is like a freak, there’s nothing he doesn’t know.

And now,

he’s trying to cram this myriad of jumbled knowledge points into our heads. Subaru didn’t know what to say.

"Take a break, take a break, my brain is turning to mush," Carl interjected.

Subaru nodded repeatedly, "Yes, exactly."

Lynch, dissatisfied, said, "You’re already calling it quits after just a dozen hours of learning? How is that going to work?"

Subaru had the urge to strangle him.

Just a dozen hours!

Just a dozen hours, he says!

Graham, in the kitchen, couldn’t listen any longer and interjected, "Now I know why every time I see you, you look half-asleep. So, this is what your usual cultivation looks like. Honestly..."

He earnestly looked at Lynch and said, "You’re a freak."

Lynch rolled his eyes, "Can you talk properly?"

"Haha," Graham laughed and continued, "Lynch, I’ve been curious, what was your talent assessment level when you initially entered the Tower?"

Wizards classify apprentices’ talents into five levels, with the First-class being the lowest, also called inferior talent, and the Fifth Rank being the highest, also called enhanced talent. The first thing every apprentice does when entering the Tower is to test their talent.

Lynch replied, "Third-class, why?"

Third-class Talent is also called regular talent, 98% of apprentices fall under this category, while the remaining 2% are distributed between Second Class and Fourth Rank. The former are generally advised to leave, while the latter are mostly selected into the Netta for training from the outset.

The remaining First-class and Fifth Rank are considered legendary talents, and Lynch only heard of them, never having seen them.

Graham said, "That’s a pity, you have such a strong learning ability. If you coupled it with a talent of Fourth Rank or above... I can’t even imagine how far you could go. I would believe if you said you’d rival the Judge."

As he spoke, he brought a few cups of strange drinks filled with a dark green, viscous liquid to the table, "Try it, it’s frog potion mixed with Awakening Lemonade; it’ll help you recover some spiritual power."

Carl took a sip and asked, "By the way, is this wizard talent really that important?"

Lynch was also somewhat curious.

There was little recorded in the library about wizard talents, and Lynch was unsure of how specifically wizards classified them; was it meditation efficiency, Elemental Affinity, or knowledge absorption ability?

Graham nodded, "Very important."

After a pause, he added, "This importance is not reflected in the cultivation progress. Even between a Fifth Rank and First-class talent, theoretically, there isn’t much difference in cultivation efficiency."

He continued, "The real difference between talents is in the Chains."

"Chains?" Subaru asked in confusion.

Graham nodded, "On the Wizard’s Road, there are many Chains and bottlenecks, especially during power transitions, when you will find that strength stagnates in cultivation for prolonged periods, spiritual power doesn’t increase, and may even backslide; these are Chains and bottlenecks."

"You two are still low-level apprentices who haven’t experienced leveling up, so you’re not aware of this. Lynch, you’ve leveled up once, right? You should have experienced chains by now?"

Lynch thought for a moment and nodded.

When he transitioned from a low-level apprentice to a mid-level apprentice, there was indeed a period when things felt different. Cultivation became particularly difficult at that time, stalling Lynch for quite some time, but seeing the skill level continually increase, he didn’t think much of it.

Graham’s expression turned a bit fearful, "These chains can be quite terrifying. You may not feel it now given your low strength, but the further along you go, the more you feel their dreadful power."

"You might find that after reaching a certain period in cultivation, your strength will completely stop moving, remaining unchanged for a year, two years, even decades; continually meditating every day, yet without any fluctuation in strength, possibly even regression."

"Is there growth? Is there progress? Is your cultivation correct?"

He stuck out his tongue, showing a horrified expression, "The Wizard’s Road is like a lonely little boat adrift on an endless sea, searching for a possibly existing land. But where is that land? Is the direction of sailing correct? Does the land really exist?"

"When longtime efforts show no results, and you feel your strength slipping back instead, any wizard would become confused, uncertain if their cultivation is right, and unclear how much longer they’ll stay at their current level."

"Especially when one’s life force is nearing exhaustion and yet cultivation shows no progress, the feeling is... enough to drive one crazy!"

Subaru and Carl shrank their necks, indeed realizing how terrifying it was even to think about it.

Graham continued, "That’s why most wizards choose to break through with Magic Potions instead of self-cultivation, even though they know the former carries risks and side effects. The tangible opportunity is far better than enduring endless suffering in unclear chains."

Lynch asked curiously, "So, does the difference in talent lie mainly in breaking through chains?"

Graham nodded, "Exactly."

"The biggest difference between High-level Talent and Low-level Talent is in the chains; apprentices with High-level Talent find it easier to break through chains. Take a Fifth Rank talent, for example; during the apprentice period, chains are almost non-existent, and they have no problem becoming a wizard."

"But for a First-class Talent apprentice, the chains period can last who knows how long; maybe decades, maybe forever within their lifetime strength!"

He added, "Now you understand why the Tower pays so much attention to talent? They deliberately select apprentices from among you with Fourth Rank or higher for training because they are more likely to advance to being a wizard and have greater prospects."

Listening to Graham’s explanation, Lynch couldn’t help but become a bit curious.

Of course, he had encountered chains.

However...

During the chains period, he could still see his skill level increasing. Regardless of changes in strength, with each cultivation, his skill level certainly increased.

If that’s the case...

How would this be classified in terms of talent?

Based on this deduction...

Actually, the so-called chains simply didn’t exist for him at all, right?