Duke looked at the Space Ring full of Shadow Squids, feeling as if he were running a seafood business.

He was now quite far from Academy Island, and estimated it would take an hour to swim back.

As Duke increased his speed, he remained vigilant, occasionally altering his route to avoid any Deep Sea Magical Beasts he spotted in advance.

Avoiding conflicts wherever possible, he didn't want to create unnecessary trouble for himself.

His Space Ring was already full, so even if he hunted more Deep Sea Magical Beasts, it would be difficult to bring them back, only adding to his burden.

It took him almost an hour and a half to reach the vicinity of Academy Island, spending much time avoiding Deep Sea Magical Beasts along the way.

[Underwater Breathing level increased, Spiritual Power +0.3, free attribute points +1]

[Underwater Breathing: LV5 (Feature: Sea Race Blessing)]

[Sea Race Blessing: Receive a blessing from the Sea Race while in water, increasing swimming speed by 100% and reducing stamina consumption by 70%]

Duke felt some information transmitted from the Skill Tree, and upon checking, he found that the Underwater Breathing skill had also reached its maximum level.

Besides 0.3 Spiritual Power and free attribute points, he also obtained a new feature.

Still in the water, Duke already felt the benefits of this feature, its effect remarkably apparent.

He now swam in the sea almost without feeling any resistance.

Normal swimming consumes a lot of stamina, but Duke's physical strength was enough to support him for long-distance swimming.

Now, as the water's resistance almost disappeared, Duke's speed more than doubled as if he were flying in the water.

Duke now felt like a bird in the sea, the scenery around him quickly receding, the surrounding water seemingly making way for him without any obstruction.

The journey that originally would have taken five minutes to the shore now took just a little over two minutes.

If Duke further manipulated the surrounding water flow to assist, his speed could be even faster.

Upon returning, Duke didn't rush to deal with the Shadow Squid but instead took out the silver-white bracelet.

Only then did he see clearly that the bracelet was engraved with extremely intricate patterns, appearing ancient, its age unknown.

After probing with his Spiritual Power, Duke quickly gathered the Spiritual Power information left inside the bracelet.

This bracelet was named the Evil Spirit Crown, its engraved spell was called Spiritual Protection, which had good defensive effects against malicious attacks, curses, and other negative spiritual effects.

It was an automatically triggered spell, not needing active activation.

As long as it's worn on the body, it would automatically trigger protection when encountering malicious attacks or curses.

Upon examining the Evil Spirit Crown, Duke realized its design was indeed like a small crown.

But with such a small crown, one's head would have to be tiny to wear it.

Naturally, Duke couldn't wear it as a crown and instead wore it as a bracelet on his left hand.

Demonized Items are never too many; having one more means having one more method for oneself.

For a Wizard Apprentice, Demonized Items are very important.

Most Wizard Apprentices initially master very few spells and do not have enough Spiritual Power and Magic Power to cast spells multiple times.

Demonized Items only require a small amount of Magic Power to activate, making them highly cost-effective for Wizard Apprentices.

Currently, Duke only had three Demonized Items, including the Space Ring, with the Brass Ring and Evil Spirit Crown both being defensive, without any offensive Demonized Items.

This realization made him attentive to the sea, hoping to find something useful.

The vast ocean conceals countless treasures buried over the years.

Duke could use his advantages to extract wealth from the surrounding sea areas.

He glanced at the Space Ring, noticing the Shadow Squids inside were mostly half-dead.

Without water or oxygen in the Space Ring, these Shadow Squids wouldn't survive long.

Familiar with the routine, Duke started dissecting and producing Shadow Water, then continued refining.

...

Three days later.

Just as Duke returned from the sea, he received a message from the Black Sail Badge.

The Black Sail Badge serves both as an identifier and a channel through which Black Sail conveys various information.

As long as a Black Sail Wizard remains in the Wizard Plane, they can receive notifications from Black Sail through the badge.

Only relatively important announcements are communicated through the badge, such as the examination for Wizard Apprentices.

All Wizard Apprentices receiving the message are required to take the examination.

If the distance is too great and immediate return isn't possible, they must inform Black Sail via the badge to postpone the examination to the next opportunity.

But the chance to postpone comes only once, and regardless of any reason, participation in the next examination is mandatory. Otherwise, they risk expulsion by Black Sail.

Duke, being somewhat unfortunate, had just joined less than two months ago and is now required to prepare for the examination.

Black Sail doesn't care if a person is new; as long as one is a third-level or higher Wizard Apprentice who has started the Meditation Technique, they must participate in the examination.

This method may seem unfair, but it is easier to manage.

Unless Duke procrastinates on starting the Meditation Technique, avoiding this examination is pointless.

There's no purpose in avoiding it; eventually, it must be faced.

The examination date is set to occur in a month.

As long as Duke passes this examination, there won't be another one for at least six months.

Duke sent a Spiritual Power signal back to the Black Sail Badge, acknowledging receipt of the message.

Watching the azure ocean ahead, he resolved to accelerate his capture of Shadow Squids these days.

With continuous efforts over recent times, the Shadow Water has reached near its limit of refinement.

A few days later, Duke extinguished the alcohol lamp, the crucible still emitting some residual heat.

With a single thought, a layer of shadow covered his skin.

If not observed closely, they could be mistaken for shadows cast from elsewhere.

Duke had refined Shadow Water with a very high concentration, and with his current capability, he couldn't enhance it further.

The amount of Shadow Water coating his body was significant, allowing him to employ the Water Arrow Technique and other spells even without absorbing the Water Element.

Spells fully comprised of Shadow Water boasted high strength.

Duke hadn't tested it, as doing so would greatly deplete the Shadow Water.

Every drop of this precious Shadow Water was hard-earned, demanding extensive time and effort from Duke.

Although integrating some into spells would gradually consume Shadow Water, it occasionally needs refreshing.

Duke's Space Ring held a supply of refined Shadow Water in case of need.

He planned to continue going to sea, but his main goal was no longer the capture of Shadow Squids, but rather to increase his proficiency with the Water Arrow Technique and Water Shield Technique.

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