As Rein flipped through the pages, his facial expression alternated between frowning and relaxing.
Finally, he let out a long sigh and began to ponder deeply.
It turned out that Adams, unlike the roguish wizard apprentices like Endri who became involved halfway, had a relatively orthodox background.
According to the diary, Adams had once been a wizard apprentice to Solin Bergman, the advisor to Duke Louis of the Dragan Empire, many years ago.
However, the young and impetuous Adams eventually became involved with the Duchess Catherine, wife of Duke Louis, but the affair was quickly exposed and secretly relayed to Duke Louis by one of Catherine's personal maids.
Fortunately, Adams, sensing something was amiss, discovered the squadron of knights sent to capture him.
Adams believed that if he were caught by the furious Duke Louis, his life would not be spared, and moreover, he harbored resentment towards his mentor Solin for not protecting him.
Immediately, Adams stole numerous casting materials and Sorcery Scrolls from his mentor Solin and fled the Imperial City quickly.
"Not bad, this story could be passed down by the Wandering Bards! Tsk tsk, indeed, 'tis folly to be sage and serious in youth!"
"Who would have thought that Adams, in his youth, was such a charmer."
"He slept with the Duke's wife... worth it."
"Hmm, certainly stronger than that wandering bard Endri, who merely hooked up with an Earl's wife, but Adams is different, that was the Duke's wife..."
"But... are all wizard apprentices so licentious?"
"Plus, they all fancy married women, with a rascal's attribute points maxed out..." Rein stroked his chin, musing to himself.
"Additionally, the advisor Solin of Duke Louis, as described by Adams, seems to be a formal wizard from a school called the 'Igni Sect'."
Although Adams's description of his mentor Solin was limited to a single sentence, Rein felt it revealed quite a lot.
First and foremost, in this world, some wizard apprentices or wizards themselves belonged to certain schools, meaning there was a complete lineage and training system.
The existence of the 'Igni Sect' indicated that there were probably other schools as well.
This was certainly good news for Rein, who strove to seek the mysteries of witchcraft yet had always been groping his way like crossing a river by feeling for stones.
Secondly, the fact that a formal wizard served as an advisor to a Duke of the Empire, upon reflection, suggested to Rein that the upper echelons of the Empire did not regard wizards as dangerous beasts; instead, they were seen as a source of strength.
This instantly made Rein recall the advisers to lords from ancient times in his previous life.
Putting all these ideas together in sequence, Rein thought that if he kept climbing upward with the support of the Empire, he would gradually come into contact with systematic wizardly knowledge.
Moreover, there were other contents in the diary that left a deep impression on Rein.
It appeared that in the eyes of a third-level wizard apprentice, knights below the level of Great Knight, be they veterans or Peak Knights, were no different from the weakest links.
In Adams's view, with strength at his level, it was only other mystical side professionals who could possibly pose a threat to him, meaning in his heart, 'only witchcraft can combat witchcraft.'
Knight types, who relied purely on physical attacks, were not even worth consideration to Adams.
No wonder Adams had looked down upon the assault from him and Hamilton, believing he could escape with ease.
Thinking carefully, Rein recalled that under normal circumstances, and logically deducing the battle, indeed, there was hardly any chance for Adams to lose.
Given the strength Adams had shown, he could easily have handled the assault of one Peak Knight and one veteran knight.
It was just unfortunate for Adams to have come across someone like him who 'cheated'!
An encounter later, with strength surpassing that of a Peak Knight and possessing a bit of witchcraft, a 'little monster' was born.
Thus, Adams met his unfortunate end in an unexpected place.
Of course, what Rein focused on was that in Adams's cognition and judgment, he, a third-level wizard apprentice, was at least on par with a Great Knight, if not slightly superior.
Does this then mean that in terms of combat power in this world, a third-level wizard apprentice is equivalent to a Great Knight?
After thinking it through more carefully, Rein felt there were one or two conditions that needed to be added.
That is, a third-level wizard apprentice with a 'formal education' and possessing several Sorcery Scrolls as trump cards should be considered above a Great Knight. As for wandering wizard apprentices or 'pauper' apprentices, that may not necessarily be the case.
'Whether or not external forces can be borrowed' directly determined the combat strength of a wizard apprentice!
After pondering, Rein continued to flip through the pages of the diary, reading on.
A quarter of an hour later, Rein picked up the crystal orb that was slightly smaller than a baby's head and examined it carefully.
"Who would have thought that this Crystal Ball is actually a testing crystal, capable of crudely testing a person's affinity for various mystical side energy particles," Rein muttered to himself.
Simply put, each person attracts different mystical side energy particles to varying degrees.
For a wizard apprentice, energy particles that are more naturally attracted to and are thus easier to control would also be slightly more powerful.
Therefore, Adams's diary made it very clear that it was important for orthodox wizard apprentices to determine their affinity before learning witchcraft.