Wizard: Starting from the Skill Tree-Chapter 461: Contribution Settlement

The strength of those young wizards in the Seventh Squad varies greatly, but they are at least Level 1 Gaseous Mages.

However, it is difficult for them to fully exert their strength, and their combat power is quite weak.

These young wizards may progress rapidly in the practice of the Meditation Technique, meeting the standards for Spiritual Power levels, and successfully advancing to Level 1 Gaseous Mages.

But their understanding of Magic often remains theoretical, their casting skills are rusty, their ability to react to enemies is extremely poor, and they lack the psychological resilience to remain calm and efficiently output in high-pressure environments.

Once they leave the protection of elders and the familiar laboratory environment, and are placed on the harsh and chaotic battlefield of the Devourer Plane, their weaknesses are exposed completely.

Many possess abundant Magic Power but cannot even deploy the simplest shield spell at the optimal moment, or in panic, cast powerful spells haphazardly, not only diminishing effectiveness but even causing friendly fire.

The harshness, bloodiness, and ongoing pressure of war rapidly crushed the psychological defenses of some, who ultimately chose to withdraw and return to the safe Wizard Plane.

But those who stayed and survived experienced significant growth.

War is the best touchstone and the harshest teacher.

It forces them to squeeze out every ounce of their power, learning in life-or-death situations how to most effectively use Magic, how to collaborate with teammates, how to assess situations.

Their abilities were quickly solidified through repeated real combat, although the process was filled with pain and danger, the rewards were also immense.

These individuals took a solid step from being academy-trained wizards to becoming qualified wizards.

Duke’s strength, piled up through free attribute points, is certainly not superficial; behind each free attribute point were countless spells, countless repetitions.

The speed of his strength enhancement was astonishing, even surpassing his peers who amassed resources, yet his foundation’s solidity, his real combat abilities seemed akin to an old battle wizard seasoned in seas of corpses and blood over decades.

With increase in proficiency, an elevation in Skill Level offers substantial skill-related experience feedback, even without an attribute boost.

Every success and failure in casting, every minor adjustment and optimization produced a massive influx of experience, skills, and even lessons, like a silent stream pouring continuously into Duke’s consciousness, fully absorbed and digested.

Every spell’s usage and tips reside in his mind, obtained through grinding proficiency, which cannot be reflected on the attribute panel.

Thus, when Duke stepped onto the battlefield, he didn’t need time to adapt.

Every spell he mastered seemed like an innate ability, executed effortlessly.

He remained calm, not like a young man first entering the battlefield, but more like a veteran accustomed to killing and survival.

Any small movement by the enemy immediately triggered the best counter-plan in his brain, honed to perfection, executed in the most efficient, precise manner.

So in reality, one shouldn’t be overly harsh on the other young wizards’ subpar performance, their display is normal for those with little real combat experience, new to Plane Warfare’s battlefield.

Duke’s performance is the outlier; of course, not everyone else is entirely inexperienced.

For instance, Samuel also performed exceedingly well on the battlefield, adapting to the harsh, changing environment, earning considerable merit.

This correlates with previous experiences, most academy-trained wizards are overly protected, lacking genuine life-and-death combat experience.

This is why Vivian signed up for this Plane Warfare, since she progressed from an ordinary person to a Knight to a Wizard, understanding the importance of practical combat experience.

...

Another half month passed, Duke finally received a document summarizing his contributions on the Devourer Plane battlefield.

This document spanned over a hundred pages, detailing every contribution he made on the Plane Battlefield, every task he executed, down to each task’s specifics.

All contribution points stem from these details, calculated logically.

If questions arise, one can submit a request for dispute, which will undergo further review and approval.

Black Sail would never overlook any contribution made by any wizard, being highly attentive to submitted disputes, ensuring strict and multiple reviews.

[Duke, Level 1 Liquidation Mage, belonging to Black Sail Third Legion]

[Task: Devourer Plane battlefield (Sixth United Legion)]

[Duration: 8 months]

[Task Evaluation: Excellent (by Sixth United Legion’s Seventh Squadron Commander Catherine, confirmed by United Legion Command)]

[Base Contribution Points: +55,000 (calculated by tenure and basic tasks)]

[Extra Reward Contribution Points: +162000 (based on excellent evaluation and actual task contributions conversion)]

[Extra Compensation: +40000 (for using the disposable Level 2 Witchcraft Artifact Annihilation Holy Nail to save teammates)]

[Total Earned Contribution Points: 257000]

Looking at the final summary in the document, two hundred and fifty-seven thousand contribution points, this trip to the Devourer Plane wasn’t in vain.

Earning this much contribution over just eight months is considered extremely cost-effective, enough to make many wizards envious.

Duke mainly made use of the Seventh Squadron’s uniqueness to accumulate such contribution points.

The Seventh Squadron consists of young wizards with backgrounds and connections, and tasks assigned to them were both simple and could yield high contribution points.

Added to the World Tree Seed and the Spring of Life, this harvest was considerable.

With previous contribution points, Duke already possesses 287000 Black Sail contribution points.

These are enough for him to exchange for abundant resources within the Black Sail Treasure Vault, likely sufficient for resources needed for the Crystalized Wizard advancement.

However, Duke dares not confirm, as his Crystalized Wizard advancement differs from ordinary wizards, requiring resources beyond conventional reasoning.

Duke’s upcoming task will be researching the Crystalized Wizard advancement plan, numerous specific details need investigation and determination, which similarly requires ample knowledge.

He also noted, the document included extra compensation for the Annihilation Holy Nail, accounted as teammates’ rescue loss.

It seems mentioning this to Catherine previously was beneficial, as Catherine recorded and submitted it.

The higher-ups did not hesitate, compensating Duke for this loss.