Genius!

"For people like me, our mental strength, that is, our magical power, is sufficient. But our sensitivity is too poor. We can't sense the magical elements in the natural environment around us. So I thought, it's like a person with poor hearing—if the surrounding sounds are too low, he naturally can't hear them… But if the sounds are very loud, very noisy! Then perhaps he can hear them!"

Freyr's eyes lit up too, and he immediately interjected, "So… you figured out a way to increase the concentration of magical elements around you using the extracts from Potioncraft?"

"Exactly! The most basic thing in fire magic is the 'fire element,' but even the most advanced Wizards don't know what the 'fire element' actually is, because they only know how to use it, not what it truly is. And those combustible potions, since they can burn, it means that these potions also contain the 'fire element'! I made a hypothesis: my sensitivity is too poor, so in the same environment, someone with strong sensitivity can sense the surrounding magical elements, but I can't. Therefore… if the magical elements in the environment are increased to a certain proportion, then even someone with poor sensitivity like me should be able to sense them! In that case, wouldn't I be able to use magic?"

"And… you succeeded?" Freyr sighed.

"Yes!" The Wizard said solemnly. "I conducted numerous experiments, focusing mainly on fire magic. I hypothesized that those combustible potions contained the fire element. But extracting these fire elements took me a lot of time. I left my teacher and moved to the south, where I set up a small magic laboratory. There, I created many extraction tools, and after several years of research, I finally found it."

Freyr couldn't help but feel excited as well. "You found the fire element… What exactly is the fire element?"

"…I still don't know." The Wizard admitted with a slight frustration. "I experimented with at least a hundred different formulas and over three hundred extraction methods. Until recently… after completing one of my experiments, I used a formula to extract something from over a dozen plants, synthesizing a kind of powder, a black powder. Then… suddenly, I felt it!"

"You felt it?" Freyr raised an eyebrow.

"Yes! I felt it! My original magical sensitivity was extremely dull, unable to sense any magical elements around me! But when I created this powder and, following my experiment's procedures, used a blower I made to disperse the powder into the air… I finally sensed it! I tried a fire spell and found that I could clearly feel the flicker of the fire elements in nature! I… I actually succeeded!"

As he spoke, the Wizard became agitated. "I started on the path of magic at the age of thirteen, and it took me twenty full years! I could finally use magic… Although it was only the most insignificant, lowest-level fireball spell! But at that moment, seeing myself shoot out that fist-sized fireball with magic, I was almost overwhelmed with joy."

Freyr looked at the man's face and couldn't help but sigh. "So, the fireball spell you used in the tavern battle that day was also…"

"Yes," the Wizard nodded. "I carried some sealed vials with me. Inside these vials was the powder I had extracted. When I needed to use magic, I would discreetly open a vial with my hand hidden in my sleeve, allowing the powder to be exposed... then I could sense the presence of fire elements and use magic."

A strange method... but this guy was truly a genius!

However... Freyr suddenly thought of another question, and his expression turned a bit peculiar. "Did you obtain your Wizard qualification using this method?"

The Wizard blushed. "I know, this method is akin to cheating. But my desire for the title of Wizard was something I couldn't control."

"I understand," Freyr said. "But I'm curious, why did you only qualify as a lowest-level, first-tier Wizard? Given your magical talent and now having solved the sensitivity issue, shouldn't you be able to qualify for a higher-level Wizard?"

"No, I can't," the captive shook his head. "While my method solved the sensitivity problem, it immediately presented a new challenge. And that challenge, despite my long contemplation, I haven't been able to solve."

"What challenge?" Freyr was very interested in these matters... after all, whether he could learn and use magic depended on this guy.

"I conducted experiments. Despite extracting that yellow powder rich in fire elements, my sensitivity was still too poor. So, with such abundant fire elements, I could only cast the most basic fireball spell." The Wizard smiled bitterly. "Do you think I don't want to use higher-level magic? I've even fantasized that, since I can increase the fire elements in the environment using my method... theoretically, if the fire element concentration in the environment kept increasing, I might be able to cast the ultimate forbidden spell of fire magic, 'Inferno's Wrath'! Becoming a forbidden spell caster, what glory, what achievement! That way, I would instantly reach the pinnacle of the continent's Wizards!"

He was very excited, but his tone turned bleak at the end. "Unfortunately, my problem is... my sensitivity is too poor. So, if I want to use higher-level fire magic, I can only increase the fire element concentration around me.

The higher the concentration, the higher the level of fire magic I can use. But, you see, the yellow powder I extracted already contains a high level of fire elements! I can't think of any other way to further increase the concentration of fire elements... Moreover, I even did a rough calculation...

even in such a high concentration of fire elements, I can only cast the most basic fireball spell... So, if I want to use mid-level fire magic, the fire element concentration around me would need to increase by dozens of times! Dozens of times! What kind of concept is that?