His physical body was severely damaged. If it weren't for the robust physique gained from practicing the Ascetic Body Forging, an ordinary Wizard would have to undergo drastic alchemical modifications to survive, even if they didn't abandon their physical form.
Even so, the power of the Dawn Tier Spell, the Bone Flame, had seeped into his body. Despite the life energy sphere within him working tirelessly to "extract" it, a portion still lingered, causing his injuries to heal quite slowly. If he were to shed his robe and mask now, he would be unrecognizable.
Of course, the benefits Ronan gained from this were not insignificant.
Enduring the erosion and burning of the Spell flames for half a month had significantly boosted his mastery of Ascetic Body Forging, breaking through the 1,400-point barrier and nearing 1,500 points, making it the skill closest to master-level perfection on his character panel.
In addition, there was a superficial easing of his relationship with Moriel.
The two could now at least engage in simple exchanges like ordinary friends, no longer filled with resentment and tension as before.
"Giggle, giggle."
A girl's delicate laughter floated up from somewhere below.
Ronan slowly picked up the silver metal mask from the ground and put it back on, then looked in the direction of the laughter.
He saw two girls standing together on the deck at the bow of the Spell ship, chatting. One of them was Moriel, whom Ronan knew well; he didn't know when she had suddenly gone down there.
Standing next to Moriel was a girl with light green hair, about the same age as Moriel, and quite cute in appearance.
She seemed to be very amused by Moriel's words, and the laughter Ronan heard was coming from her.
Not far from the two, there was a stern-looking man with many black markings on his face, likely a bodyguard for the green-haired girl. As Ronan's gaze fell on the two, the black-marked man immediately turned to look at him, his eyes carrying a hint of cold scrutiny.
Ronan glanced at him briefly before looking away.
In the nearly two months of travel, confined to a single ship, it was impossible for Moriel, with her personality, not to find something to pass the time.
Let her be. Compared to worrying about Moriel, Ronan felt he should be more concerned about the safety of those who interacted with her.
Despite Moriel's seemingly harmless demeanor now, she was previously a notorious figure in the central Wizarding world known as the "Ash Witch."
As for the green-haired girl across from her, she was just an ordinary first-level Wizard, while the black-marked man beside her was at the late second level.
This ship heading towards the East Coast was also set in motion because of them, so Ronan and the others were indeed benefiting from their presence.
Homer Blue Town had been destroyed under the hands of a level four Dawn Wizard from the Resurrection Society, and the agreement between Ronan and the "Black Heron" Chamber of Commerce was naturally void. He was fortunate to have found this ship after lingering at the port for two days.
Ronan stood on the deck for a while, and once the Spell ship had completely entered the ocean area, with the dock no longer visible, he returned to his room.
After setting up the Rune Array for shielding and protection, Ronan took off his mask and robe, and as usual, began to assess his physical condition.
His body was covered in wounds that looked like they were festering and rotting from burns, a truly ghastly sight.
But upon closer inspection, he noticed that some flesh was already growing beneath those wounds, and his internal organs were quite healthy. Aside from the pain from the worsening and healing of the wounds, it wasn't too serious.
At this rate of healing, he might fully recover before the ship reached the East Coast.
By then, his physique would become even stronger.
Ronan took out the healing powder and carefully applied it to all his wounds, then summoned Ithium to continue devouring the Crimson Lotus Staff.
Ithium had also suffered significant depletion during the Homer Blue incident, now only the size of a human head remained. If Ronan had felt a bit guilty about feeding Ithium with Moriel's Crimson Lotus Staff before, now he felt completely justified.
He also released the long-absent metal goat, Tordel III, allowing it to roam around the small room after placing some useless metal scraps on the floor.
After completing all this, Ronan officially began his rigorous training for the day.
In addition to the daily meditation practice, he was currently focusing on two main areas.
One was the metal-based Spell inheritance of the Golden Fire Spirit, Moya.
After advancing to a third-level Wizard, Ronan could almost study all five Spells of the Golden Fire Spirit.
However, he soon realized the profound difficulty of this Spell inheritance. Although they were all Mist-tier Spells, they felt more esoteric than the Ghost Arrow inheritance he received from Mafulin's Bones' Death Knell.
The five Spells had a subtle connection, with Schbiert's Golden Edict at their core, and the ultimate goal seemed to be to completely construct the true form of the Golden Fire Spirit's Spell.
This was the first time Ronan encountered such an interesting Spell, capable of independent casting and complex combinations.
The process of practicing and exploring new Spells was inherently enjoyable, and Ronan was thoroughly engaged.
The second direction was the study of runes.
Ronan's Mental Power Crystal had reached six, with the seventh one currently coalescing, but he had only refined five Soul Runes.
He still had at least four positions for Soul Runes.
For these four positions, the Ice Flame Iris of the Lanster Family's ice magic inheritance would certainly not fill them all. Ronan was considering combining the Elemental Magic Ring's inheritance with various spatial, mirror, and Herams' Mage's inheritance to make the most suitable choice for himself.
"The previous Soul Runes can also be further optimized and upgraded."
Whether it was Spatial Silvering, Tundra Permafrost, or Multiple Mirror Image, from Ronan's current perspective, there was significant room for improvement and refinement.
The rune knowledge contained within the Herams' Mage's arm ring was vast as the starry sky. After this period of research, Ronan had gained many new insights, along with a deeper understanding of the Myriad Treasure Orb and the "dynamic" spatial rune obtained in the mysterious garden.
Coupled with the gains from the series of battles in the prodigy competition, Ronan's mind was constantly flooded with various inspirations.
He needed some time to consolidate these inspirations and insights. Given time, his overall strength would surely undergo a transformation.
Days passed, and Ronan had not stepped out of his room since boarding the ship.
Every meal was delivered to his room by designated personnel, and he only occasionally sensed Moriel's presence and location, remaining indifferent to everything else.
In the dim room, sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, casting a straight orange beam on the tung wood floor.
A tall figure stood in front of a metal silver mirror, while at his feet, a fluffy gray goat lazily licked his toes.
"My injuries are healing faster than expected."
"Crack, crack, crack—"
Ronan looked at himself in the mirror, stretching his limbs slightly, and a crisp, dense sound of bones cracking echoed from his body.
Compared to over a month ago, he undoubtedly looked much better now.
Most of the "burns" on his body had healed, leaving only some pockmarked, hypertrophic scars that would take time to smooth out.
His facial features revealed their originally handsome contours, hair had begun to regrow on his scalp, short and chestnut-colored, which, combined with the scars that had yet to fade, added a fierce and domineering aura to Ronan.
Ronan found a Wizard Robe and slowly draped it over himself, covering his well-defined muscle lines. He donned the silver metal mask, revealing only a pair of deep blue eyes that sparkled like gems.
The man in the mirror appeared cold and profound, giving off an air of unfathomable mystery.
In a daze, Ronan seemed to see the shadow of a slightly plump boy in the sunlight, continuously drifting away from him in the mirror. Shaking his head, he brushed away the ripples that had surfaced in his heart.
He casually pulled up his current character panel.
[Name: Ronan Damien]
[Age: 21]
[Strength: Third-level Official Wizard (65%)]
[Skills: Basic Meditation Technique—Clarity Realm (Master 1369/1600).]
After more than a month, aside from his strength, the data for his skills on the character panel had not changed much since the end of the competition.
Aside from a significant increase in the proficiency of Basic Meditation Technique, the remaining five inherited Spells of the Golden Fire Spirit—Moya's Black Steel Touch, Silver Body, Brass Head, Diamond Heart, and Golden Soul—had all been mastered to above "Proficient" level.
Among them, the highest proficiency, Moya's Black Steel Touch, had even reached "Expert" level.
The rapid progress was not only due to Ronan's exceptional Spell comprehension ability but also because he had previously sensed that the true starting point of these five Spells lay in deriving an extraordinary law domain.
Compared to the progress in Spells, the gains from rune research were even greater.
He had already gained some insights into the profound applications of spatial and mirror systems within his Spell framework, just waiting for further refinement before putting them into practice for thorough verification.
"Time to go out for a walk."
Ronan bent down, petting Tordel III's soft, fluffy head, which hardly resembled a metal creation, and stored it in his space ring before pushing open the door and stepping outside.
A burst of orange-red light instantly filled his vision.
It was just around sunset, the sea was calm, shimmering with golden light, and the vast sky was adorned with brilliant fiery clouds.
Ronan walked to the railing at the edge of the deck and looked down.
On the largest deck below, a group of apprentice boys were gathered, loudly discussing trivial matters, their eyes frequently glancing upward, seemingly trying to catch someone's attention.
On the third deck above them, a small white table was set up where the red-haired and green-haired girls were huddled together, whispering and occasionally bursting into soft laughter.
Ronan's appearance caught the attention of both groups. The boys below had nothing to say, but the two girls on the third deck turned to look at him.
The red-haired girl glanced at him before quickly looking away, while the green-haired girl regarded him with a curious expression.
Beside them, the black-marked stern man was still present. He turned to meet Ronan's gaze, his cold demeanor softening, even offering Ronan a friendly smile.
Ronan couldn't help but feel a bit surprised.
He wondered what Moriel had been up to on the ship for over a month. It was one thing for the boys below to be captivated by her beauty, but seeing the green-haired girl, who seemed to have a decent background, getting along with her like best friends, and even the bodyguard's attitude towards him had improved significantly.
"I'm so bored."
A few minutes later, Moriel, yawning, walked over to Ronan from the third deck, leaning against the wooden railing beside him, lazily squinting at the distant fiery clouds.
"There's almost nothing left on this ship that piques my interest."
As Ronan listened to Moriel's grumbling, he suddenly sensed a strange fluctuation from her, his gaze sharpening as he spoke, "Your strength is recovering."
"What else would it be?"
Moriel turned to look at him, the colors of the sunset reflecting on her cheeks, a half-smile on her lips. "Do you want me to remain a useless burden for you?"
The two exchanged silent glances.
To outsiders, they appeared romantic and ambiguous, but only the two of them knew that the air around them was gradually becoming cold and tense.
Finally, "No."
Ronan shook his head, turning his face away to avoid Moriel's gaze.
He stared at the horizon, speaking calmly, "On the contrary, I see this as a good thing. You must be a thousand times more eager than I am to escape your current state."
"Ah."
Moriel sighed softly for some reason. She leaned on the railing, waving at the green-haired girl below who was curiously watching them, then began to talk about seemingly unrelated topics.
"What a pure and lovely girl, forced to bear the responsibility of avenging her entire family at an age when she should be enjoying the beauty of youth."
Moriel spoke to herself, her eyes fixed on the green-haired girl on the third deck, recounting her name and how her entire family had perished at the hands of their enemies. She was taken away by the remaining clan members to escape to a place where the enemies could not find them, seeking an opportunity for revenge. As Ronan listened to Moriel's narrative, he gradually sensed an unusual undertone. His connection with Moriel allowed him to catch glimpses of the emotional fluctuations rising within her.
What she was recounting seemed not entirely just the story of the green-haired girl below.
Previously, in the inn room at Homer Blue, under the torrential rain, the pain and sorrow Moriel had revealed seemed to resurface within her once more.
Perhaps due to the bond between their souls, Ronan found himself inexplicably feeling a sense of "absurd" sympathy and pity for Moriel.
He couldn't suppress the impulse to ask, but when the words came out, he found himself asking a different question.
"How do you know so much about her?
How could she share all this with you?"
"Because we share a common plight."
Moriel propped herself up, her gaze distant and calm, making Ronan feel an unprecedented sense of strangeness.
However, the next moment, she turned back to him, a playful expression on her face, and said, "I told them we eloped, that your family disapproved of us being together because I have no wizarding talent, and that you nearly died several times for me along the way."
"Uh."
Ronan was momentarily stunned, at a loss for words.
No wonder he hadn't shown his face for over a month; the attitudes of the green-haired girl and her companion towards him had changed so drastically, their gazes filled with a strange admiration. It seemed they regarded him as a "great romantic" in the Wizarding world, willing to sacrifice everything for love! Just as Ronan was left speechless, suddenly, the brilliant fiery clouds in the distant sky abruptly faded away in a matter of breaths.
The sky quickly darkened, and the sea below began to churn violently.
--Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there
patreon.com/LegendaryTL
Thanks!