Wizard Lord:I can Extract Anything

Richard had heard nobles on the airship mention magic stones, but this was his first time seeing one in person.

The magic stone was about the size of a thumbnail, jet black, and diamond-shaped, resembling a black gem when viewed in sunlight.

Using his mental power to perceive the stone, Richard discovered that it stored more magic than his own magic reflux and was absorbed effortlessly.

This was undoubtedly a great boon for Richard.

The magic a wizard apprentice could store in their magic reflux was limited. Once depleted, even wizards needed to replenish it by absorbing magic again.

However, absorbing magic from nature was inefficient. On the airship, it took Richard two days to recover half of his spent magic. With this stone, he could reduce that time to just two minutes.

"No wonder a single magic stone can fetch a hundred thousand gold coins in Plantagenet. With two of these, a wizard apprentice could breeze through the exam," Richard marveled, clutching the stone.

"If wizards have no special means, battles between them could turn into contests of individual wealth," he thought, eyeing the stone with renewed fervor.

Magic stones were not just wealth; they were a part of a wizard's strength.

Pocketing the stone, Richard continued on his journey.

But this time, there was a difference. As he moved, a faint glow enveloped him.

Zero-ring spell: Lighten.

With the magic stone as a backup power source, Richard no longer hesitated to use spells.

The Lighten spell made him feel lighter, allowing him to walk briskly and making the pouch at his waist feel almost weightless.

For half an hour, the Lighten spell's effect allowed Richard to cover nearly twice the distance he would have without it.

At this pace, Richard estimated he could reach the light pillar in about three days.

However, as Richard pressed on, a whistling sound cut through the forest air.

Whoosh!

Instinctively ducking, he narrowly avoided an ice spike that whizzed past his head, embedding itself in a tree trunk with a sharp crack.

"That was close!"

Richard's heart raced as he stared at the ice spike, realizing that a second's delay would have meant his skull getting skewered.

"I need to be more cautious. Rushing is important, but I can't lose sight of safety," Richard reminded himself, sending a Magic Missile in the direction from which the ice spike came.

Since someone attacked him, he would, of course, return the favor.

With a flash of blue, Richard didn't wait to see the result, casting another Lighten spell on himself and zigzagging toward the attack's origin.

Whoosh!

Another ice spike flew his way, but this one missed him by a wide margin.

"Seems they're panicking," Richard thought. "The ambush failed, and now they can't keep their composure."

Such a person dares to kill me?

With a smirk, Richard spotted his attacker—a petite, well-dressed noble girl.

She was visibly flustered, her ring-adorned hand shaking as she tried to launch another ice spike at Richard.

"Stay back! Don't come any closer!"

The girl screamed, eyes shut tight, as she sent out another ice spike.

But fortune did not favor her, and the spike again missed Richard by a large distance.

"It's over."

Richard stood a short distance away, his expression cold, with a blue glow dancing on his fingertips.

He had no intention of sparing her due to her beauty.

Bang!

Blood and brain matter splattered.

Richard approached the girl's corpse with indifference, finding two bags beside her, likely belonging to an unlucky victim of her previous ambush.

Removing the ring from her finger, Richard observed its gray metallic band and a setting designed to hold a magic stone, giving it an ancient appearance.

"This must be the magical artifact the nobles talked about, the reason behind Kevin's alliance," Richard mused, trying to use the Miracle Furnace to extract its crafting method. However, the ring's quality was too low to be of interest to the Miracle Furnace.

After removing the ring, Richard searched the girl's body further.

He found three more magic stones and a magical dagger. The Miracle Furnace showed no interest in the dagger either.

"Nobles are really loaded. If they're all this foolish, I'd consider hunting them," Richard thought, examining the dagger. Its hilt had a recess for a magic stone. When he inserted a stone, the blade was inscribed with runes.

Swinging the dagger twice, Richard found it easily pierced the trunk of a nearby tree, a centuries-old behemoth.

"What a sharp dagger!"

Richard exclaimed, recalling the Wind Raven Sword Technique he learned from the first Black Forest Baron's sword.

Though now a wizard apprentice, he would revert to being a weak farmer's son if someone got too close.

The dagger, though short, was a formidable weapon, sufficient for him to employ a portion of the Wind Raven Sword Technique.

With the technique and this dagger, sharp enough to slice through iron, he'd not only cover his close-combat weakness but also elevate his strength.

Suppressing a laugh, Richard removed the magic stone from the dagger's hilt.

Valuable resources should be used wisely; he wasn't rich enough to use magic stones indiscriminately.

After pocketing the magic stone, Richard put on the ice spike ring, sheathed the magical dagger at his waist, and continued his journey.

The remaining items on the corpse were of little use to Richard and would only be a burden, so he left them behind for someone else to find.

Learning from his experience, Richard no longer rushed recklessly, staying vigilant as he navigated the forest.

Though this approach slowed him down, it ensured his safety.

Thus, Richard spent the first day of the exam.

At night, the forest was alive with the sound of insects, and Richard made a bed of leaves under a large tree.

The temperature in this primal forest was not high, much milder than the harsh winters of the Black Forest. At night, Richard felt only a slight chill, not enough to make him shiver.

Opening a vial of nutrient potion, Richard took a sip.

The potion tasted odd, reminiscent of diluted vinegar mixed with grass juice, fermented for a month.

Despite the unpleasant taste, its effects were undeniable.

After consuming a vial, Richard felt warmth spread through his stomach, banishing his hunger.

Finished, he lay under the tree, the day's fatigue washing over him like a tide.

But he didn't sleep; instead, he chose to meditate.

On the airship, Richard realized meditation alleviated mental fatigue, its effect surpassing even eight hours of sleep. In a perilous forest, staying alert longer was undoubtedly beneficial.

Moreover, meditation naturally increased mental power, a win-win situation.

As he slipped into meditation, an eerie beastly roar echoed through the forest.