Wizard starting from shoeing donkeys

"Hahaha, interesting," a loud laugh came from the opposing giant mouth.

"This is a Nightmare Dragonkin, possessing an ability to control dreams even stronger than mine, but according to the ancient records of my family, these Nightmare Dragonkin were originally the guardians of dreams, but now, they have unexpectedly become destroyers,"

"Nightmare Dragonkin?"

Rein's heart skipped a beat, and he scrutinized the towering creature before him.

Quickly, Rein noticed that the surface of the creature's body seemed to exude wisps of black mist that ordinary people would struggle to perceive.

"Damn! I didn't expect its strength to have truly reached the level of a Great Knight, and it seems to be more than just an entry-level Great Knight at that. This is troubling!" At that moment, Naya had just realized the Dragonkin's strength had seemingly increased once more and expressed her worries immediately.

"Miss Naya, don't your family's ancient records mention why this is happening?"

"It might be due to the strange and evil Strength within the dreams growing stronger. Lord Rein, if you're worried, we can give up this time," Naya seemed to suggest retreat as she judged the enemy's Strength to have surpassed what she and Rein originally anticipated, biting her lip as she spoke.

Rein contemplated for a moment, then shook his head, knowing that if they gave up this time, the monster's Strength might rise again the next time, and it could truly become unsolvable.

"How do we know we can't win if we don't fight."

"What are you two little ones discussing?" came the booming voice.

The towering Nightmare Dragonkin apparently didn't take Rein and Naya seriously, showing no hurry to attack but instead spoke mockingly.

"Miss Naya, let me try first," Rein said, pulling out the pighead hammer from his back and quickly chanting the witchcraft "High-Temperature Force Field."

It had been a long time since he had activated witchcraft in sync with battle, Rein thought.

Two seconds later, the air around Rein's figure rippled slightly.

"Limit Break!"

"Huge Strength lv3"

Rein whispered to himself.

Immediately, the ground beneath his feet exploded, grass and trees flying about as Rein shot towards the towering Nightmare Dragonkin like an arrow released from a bow.

The Nightmare Dragonkin, evidently surprised by Rein's proactive attack, hesitated briefly but quickly responded, swinging its trident to defend.

"Clang!!!"

Under Rein's furious assault, the pighead hammer collided violently with the dragonkin's trident, emitting a piercing metallic clash.
Stay connected with empire

Caught off-guard, the Nightmare Dragonkin was forced to retreat three steps by Rein's hammer, while Rein himself was sent flying into the air by the dragonkin's Huge Strength.

The significant disadvantage in size meant Rein, despite his pre-emptiveness, could only manage a draw.

But being knocked back by a mere little one angered the Nightmare Dragonkin.

"Roar!"

It bellowed and charged towards Rein, but suddenly, a fierce whirlwind blew from the side, kicking up sand and stones, causing the Dragonkin to squint shut its eyes and interrupting its charge, its hands protecting its eyes.

The culprit was none other than Naya, flapping her wings mid-air and casting some kind of witchcraft or innate ability.

Rein's eyes narrowed immediately, thinking it was a good opportunity!

"Strength Burst!"

"Earth-splitting Hammer!!"

Rein, who was leaping in mid-air, swelled up like an inflated balloon!

With both hands raised high holding the dark pighead hammer, his body tensed like a fully drawn bowstring, he smashed down viciously towards the Nightmare Dragonkin, which was still covering its eyes!

By the time the Nightmare Dragonkin realized the danger and hastily lifted its trident to defend.

"Clang!!!"

Sparks flew everywhere!

It immediately felt a severe Shock in its hands holding the trident!

Couldn't hold on!

Under the triple effects of 'Lifts-as-Light', 'Multiple Shock', and 'Precision Lv3', Lord Rein's all-out strike immediately caused the steel fork to slip from the nightmare dragon-person's grip.

Immediately afterward, Rein didn't give his opponent a chance to catch their breath, continuing to swing his hammer relentlessly around the nightmare dragon-person.

Deprived of their steel fork, the nightmare dragon-person was quickly pummeled into continuous, miserable screams, their green scales shattering one after another.

At the same time, the lethal effects of the high-temperature witchcraft field began to show!

In just seven or eight seconds, the towering nightmare dragon-person couldn't hold on any longer, screaming while dragging its wretched body, attempting to flee.

But escape only made the battle end quicker!

Rein once again landed a heavy hammer blow on the spine of the fleeing nightmare dragon-person, instantly collapsing the dragon-person to the ground, unable to stand up again.

Then, another hammer blow landed, cracking the opponent's skull wide open!

Beholding this scene, Naya was left dumbfounded.

She had only used her siren's innate ability 'Flying Sand', and Rein had taken over the fight, pressing the nightmare dragon-person until victory!

It was completely different from the narrow, hard-fought victory or even defeat she had imagined!

This... this strength... is it really merely that of a knight?

Many questions rose in Naya's mind...

After dealing with the dream dragon-person, Naya quickly flew into the cave and cast a certain witchcraft, soon a dense cluster of green specks began to appear in the cavern, rapidly spreading and driving away the dark mists!

Vast areas began to turn green, and the plants gradually regained their colors...

Naya was clearly in high spirits too. She descended from mid-air, transforming into her humanoid form, her smile radiant as she spun around, letting her pale green cinched waistcoat twirl elegantly.

"Lord Rein, thank you!"

"During this time, I've been plagued by nightmares every day, with these black areas closing in on me rapidly. I knew that if the green area were completely gone, and I failed to resist, I might be forever lost in the nightmare."

"Miss Naya, you're welcome."

...

Both awakened almost simultaneously, and Hamilton and Lawrence, who had been anxiously waiting nearby, seeing Naya's smile, immediately understood and relaxed, their expressions brightening with smiles.

"It seems the problem has been resolved, hasn't it?" Hamilton said with a smile.

"Yes, thank you, Baron Hamilton, for the introduction. If it weren't for Lord Rein, I'm afraid it wouldn't have been so easy to resolve my dilemma," Naya said to Hamilton, curtsying in thanks.

...

"By the way, Lord Rein, should I take you to our family's library now, or would you prefer another time?"

"Miss Naya, if possible, I'd like to go now."

"Of course, Lord Rein, please follow me. Knight Lawrence, please entertain Baron Hamilton."

Subsequently, Naya led Rein to the library located on the second floor of the villa.

It was an extremely spacious room with a floor resembling marble, patterned with many red-brown concentric circles, equilateral triangles, squares, and other shapes that lent a sense of mystery. The walls were lined with towering bookshelves filled to the brim with all sorts of books.

"Baron Rein, what kind of books are you looking for? Perhaps I can help you find them?" Naya turned to Rein and offered her assistance.

Rein glanced at the sheer volume of books and couldn't help but frown slightly. Obviously, reading all the books by himself would be impossible without a month's time.

Furthermore, there was no guarantee that the Usman family hadn't hidden witchcraft or, say, wizard-related books in secret compartments or other concealed places.

Moreover, there was another point: Naya already knew of his Wizard Apprentice status from the dream.

So, after a brief contemplation, Rein thought it might be better to be direct and said:

"This, Miss Naya... I would like to know what conditions must be met for a Wizard Apprentice to be promoted to a full-fledged Wizard."