From the system warning, Rein knew that the key issue must be related to spiritual power, with the critical difference being between "solidification" and "activation".
Thinking about it, Rein soon realized that it probably had to do with the way of the swordsmen, where pursuing an extreme attack power with the sword necessitated the solidification of spiritual power.
"That's right, Master Ganther had talked about the 'Glory of Will' before," Rein murmured. "Could solidification of spiritual power be a necessary step or condition to create the 'Glory of Will'?"
After some thought, he shook his head. He wasn't very familiar with the way of the swordsmen; it was merely a speculation.
However, one thing he was sure about was that he was now at the peak of being a second-level Wizard Apprentice, about to step into the third level, so he vaguely felt something about the path of wizards.
That was, one of the essential requirements for the path of wizards must be the activation of spiritual power to manipulate various mysterious side energy particles.
Thus, the professions of wizards and swordsmen seemed to be incompatible, suggesting entirely different paths.
Clearly, the path of the swordsman could also have a promising future, as seen from Master Ganther!
However, Master Ganther was probably not just a swordsman but something beyond that, a greater swordsman? Rein speculated.
No matter what it was called, being a swordsman indeed meant possessing extremely high attack capabilities, and for the ultimate profession... Rein blindly guessed, could it possibly be something like 'Sword Saint'?
"You can't have the best of both worlds!"
For Rein, a person who had crossed into this world, the mysterious and unfathomable path of wizards held special significance.
So he had to give up on the path of the swordsmen for now!
Perhaps... there might be a chance in the future?
"I wonder if high-level witchcraft includes dummies, split bodies, or something of the sort, which might not entirely close off the possibility...."
Standing in front of the corpse of the sea serpent, Rein's thoughts were racing at this moment.
Meanwhile, Master Ganther was nearby, in the seawater at the outermost part of the cave, but he was in a state of shock, which was extremely rare for him.
A few minutes earlier, before he had entered the cave, he had felt a sudden tremor from within the cave.
At that moment, he was shocked and thought, "How could Rein suddenly become so reckless? He just came in and immediately battled the sea serpent without observing carefully."
This made him accelerate his pace in the passage!
But when he emerged from the water, ready to rescue, he was stunned!
Because what he saw was the corpse of the sea serpent, comparable in strength to a Great Knight, lying in a pool of blood!
It took him quite a while to come back to his senses!
Rein had already finished off the sea serpent!
Although he had previously tried to assess Rein as highly as possible, in the end, Master Ganther found that he had still underestimated him!
Master Ganther coughed, which instantly drew the attention of Rein, who was deeply in thought on the shore.
Rein quickly turned his head, first startled, but then, upon recognizing Master Ganther, immediately showed a look of joy.
"Master, what brings you here?"
Suddenly, Rein realized something.
The 'Trial of Conviction' was the fifth training task arranged by Master Ganther, and since it was training, it would not truly put the apprentice at risk of dying.
What was special about the 'Trial of Conviction', however, was that its purpose was to let the apprentice feel on the brink of death, thereby inspiring conviction, fully mobilizing the primal force, and seeking survival from death!
Obviously, this meant that Master Ganther could not tell his apprentice in advance, "I am actually following you and will protect you."
Therefore, Master Ganther must have followed into the underwater cave shortly after entering himself to avoid genuinely dying at the jaws of the sea serpent.
Realizing this, Rein felt a warmth in his heart.
As for if the master saw his 'triple state' appearance with swollen muscles, it didn't matter.
Rein had already thought of a reason that could be attributed to his Transcendent trait "Huge Strength"; his Transcendent trait was just powerful.
"I was intending to protect you, but it seems my worry was unnecessary," Master Ganther said, confirming Rein's guess.
"By the way, how did you kill this sea serpent?" Master Ganther approached the serpent, circled the body lying in a pool of blood, and began to examine the cause of death.
Upon discovering that the serpent had died from a sword stroke that split its skull, a gleam suddenly flickered in his eyes!
"Master, just now when I was slaying the serpent... facing a life-and-death crisis... it was so sudden, I mobilized all my primal forces and channeled them into the greatsword in my hand...."
"I originally thought that one strike would get me out of trouble! But to my surprise, I managed to split open the hardest part of its beak and even the head into two halves," Rein expressed his doubts, taking the opportunity to ask since Master Ganther had brought it up.
He also wanted to know exactly what had happened with that strike.
Because just a moment ago, after killing the sea serpent, he tried a few more times. Although mobilizing the primal force was effortless, it seemed that the power was significantly different compared to that strike. Experience more on empire