Chapter 100: Preparing for Advancement

**Chapter 100: Preparing for Advancement **

Though the contribution point system was brutally straightforward, the leaderboard was out.

As for why the updates were so far apart…

The reason was simple.

Each leaderboard update required a seventh-level fate wizard to “sacrifice” themselves.

With only a dozen or so such wizards in the entire Noren Workshop, they couldn’t support frequent updates.

The leaderboard’s impact was immense.

All apprentices checked it immediately.

Less than ten days had passed since the initial deployment, and many apprentices hadn’t even begun their efforts.

Yet Jie Ming’s achievements were synced to the workshop’s total contribution leaderboard the moment the wizard silhouette vanished.

The name “Jie Ming” from “Noren Academy 13,” previously obscure, skyrocketed past thousands of apprentices, charging toward the top ranks at a terrifying speed.

In a short time, he had already broken into the top ten.

The leaderboard’s shift swept through all wizard apprentices in the Elosia plane like a hurricane.

Resting in the ruins of a flattened beastman tribe, Augusta’s gaze cut through Jie Ming’s name like a blade.

Seeing his meteoric rise, her already battle-hungry eyes now blazed like twin thunderstorms.

She gripped her staff tightly, growling inwardly, “Jie Ming… you’ve done it again! Good! This is more like it!”

Her competitive desire to prove herself had reached its peak.

David Kolma, who had just razed an elf tribe, saw Jie Ming’s name leap past his own. A feral grin spread across his rugged face.

“Ha! This Jie Ming? Interesting! Now *that’s* interesting! A wizard’s battlefield should be like this—strong contenders rising, clashing! Let’s see how high you can climb!”

He swung his giant axe, cleaving a towering tree in two, as if venting his excitement.

Seraphina Nightshade whispered faintly from the shadows, her emotions nearly imperceptible. “Intriguing…”

Her gaze, hidden beneath her hood, seemed to pierce the distance, silently calculating.

Kaelern Vania adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, his eyes gleaming with curiosity.

Seeing Jie Ming’s astonishing climb, he mused thoughtfully, “Such high contribution points in so little time. I’ve been too conservative. Hmm… I need to work harder. Perhaps I should try constructing a new elemental array to boost efficiency.”

Inside Rex Magnus’s alchemy-powered armor, a rapid series of electronic calculations hummed. His calm, electronic voice emerged through his visor: “Analysis complete: Target ‘Jie Ming’ contribution acquisition efficiency rated: anomalous. Further observation and in-depth modeling of their action patterns required.”

At Noren Workshop headquarters, in the monitoring hall, several high-tier wizards stared at the main screen’s constantly shifting leaderboard data.

“Oh? This kid from Academy 13 is climbing fast,” a wizard with a monocle said, stroking his beard, a glint of surprise in his eyes.

Another wizard set down his documents, nodding approvingly. “Jie Ming… that name sounds familiar. His efficiency is impressive, making effective contributions so quickly. Far better than those fools still fumbling around.”

In Noren Academy 13’s mentor area, Mentor Clark sat with other instructors.

Seeing Jie Ming’s rapid rise, his stern expression finally broke into a genuine smile.

This kid hadn’t let him down!

…

…

Having crossed the vast primordial forest and desolate highlands from their landing point, Jie Ming and his team shifted direction, moving along the mountains beside the plain.

Their goal was clear—head toward the “frontline battlefield” from the shaman’s memories.

That area was not only a necessary route to rendezvous with the main wizard forces but also promised richer resources and more high-tier magical beasts and natives.

To prepare, the trio began readying themselves en route.

As alchemy apprentices, they employed detection witchcraft while advancing, and their Alchemy Techniques were in full swing, searching for needed materials.

“These materials are completely unfamiliar. Are you sure they can be used to concoct potions?” Victor asked, watching Jie Ming pick up what seemed like an ordinary magical beast corpse.

“And it’s not just the materials we’ve never seen—we didn’t bring proper potion-making equipment either, did we?”

“Don’t worry,” Amy chimed in, holding what looked like magical beast dung. “We may not recognize these materials, but both Jie Ming and I have constructed the Extraction Technique witchcraft model. Making potions is quite simple.”

“Simple?” Victor was even more puzzled. “Isn’t potion-making supposed to be hard?”

He clearly remembered how, back at the academy, many logistics students minoring in potion-making lived in poverty.

The difficulty of potion-making was legendary among apprentices.

Jie Ming activated his Extraction Technique on the beast corpse, carefully isolating a transparent mucus, then explained to Victor, “It’s indeed tricky for those unfamiliar with it. The real challenge lies in discovering new potion formulas. But once a formula is set and you’ve constructed the Extraction Technique, potion-making becomes quite straightforward.”

Jie Ming had deeply studied wizard alchemy, runes, and potion-making, integrating them with the scientific knowledge of his past life.

He saw Alchemy Technique as physics, runes as mathematics, and potion-making as chemistry.

After successfully constructing the Extraction Technique witchcraft model, potion-making became akin to combining chemical formulas—a “simple” process.

As long as he gathered the right materials and mixed them in the correct ratios under the proper conditions, he could produce any known potion.

Jie Ming tapped the transparent mucus. “Extraction Technique can precisely extract the desired elemental structures from any substance. In our world, energy and matter, at the microscopic level, are composed of various elements arranged in specific ways. As long as you understand an object or energy well enough, you can directly extract what you need.”