After Lynn finished his explanation, Martha and Darwin finally understood. It turned out that Lynn had not advanced to a Second-Level Wizard but had only just broken through to become a Formal Wizard.
Martha immediately recalled their first meeting. Back then, Lynn had only a single layer of energy radiation, which meant he was merely at the level of a Third-Level Apprentice.
However, awakening an extraordinary plant while still a Third-Level Apprentice was an extremely rare feat, even among Nature Wizards.
Martha couldn't help but sigh in her heart. Thinking back, she had been deceived by Lynn's confident words, never once doubting his strength. She hadn't even considered the possibility that he had already revealed a flaw.
"Actually, at that time, Lynn had already shown a flaw. But his words were so full of confidence that he completely fooled me... I never even questioned his strength."
Martha chuckled at herself. She finally understood why Lynn had needed to borrow Darwin's armor to fly over the Red Swamp.
It was because Lynn hadn't been capable of flying on his own back then.
However, all of that was now in the past.
Although Martha felt a mix of emotions, she chose not to dwell on them.
After all, regardless of the process, the outcome had turned out well.
Now, Lynn was a Formal Wizard who wielded two permanent spell imprints. Even though he had just reached the First Level, he was still a force to be reckoned with.
Forming a friendship with a powerful First-Level Wizard was certainly not something Martha would regret, so she didn't care about those little details from before.
"However, if you're not a Second-Level Wizard, obtaining citizenship will be a bit tricky..."
When Martha heard that Lynn wanted to acquire official citizenship, she shook her head and sighed.
"It's a pity that the City of Nature has long since disappeared. Otherwise, as a Nature Wizard, you could have simply gone there."
In the City of Machinery, there were two ways to become a citizen.
The first was that any wizard at the Second Level or above could directly receive citizenship.
The second was that Formal Wizards could gain citizenship by passing an assessment provided they had some research achievements in mechanical studies.
If they passed the test, they would obtain citizenship and enjoy the City of Machinery's protection and privileges, though they would also have to fulfill corresponding responsibilities.
After all, if one wanted the rights of a citizen, one had to contribute in return.
Lynn listened quietly to Martha's explanation, gaining a clearer understanding of the City's citizenship system.
However, what intrigued him even more was the mention of the long-lost City of Nature.
"What exactly is this City of Nature you mentioned?" he couldn't help but ask.
Martha lazily took an apple from a hovering flying robot, took a casual bite, and said while chewing,
"I'm not too sure about that. All I know is that, a long time ago, there used to be a City of Nature entirely composed of Nature Wizards within the Nightmare Rift. But something drastic happened, and the city's ruler took the entire city and vanished overnight… It's been so long that barely any records remain. I don't know much beyond that..."
Hearing this, Lynn's expression remained unchanged, but deep inside, his heart trembled.
His thoughts immediately turned to that will slumbering within the Azure Spirit.
He had a strong intuition that the catastrophe surrounding the City of Nature was deeply connected to the Azure Spirit perhaps even caused by it.
Unfortunately, that consciousness remained dormant. He could only wait patiently for it to awaken before uncovering the truth.
Martha didn't notice Lynn's subtle reaction. She continued munching on her apple and casually remarked,
"The City of Machinery's citizenship assessment isn't all that difficult. Any Mechanical Wizard who has undergone systematic training can usually pass it with ease. But since you've never studied mechanical knowledge, you'd have to start from scratch, which would take quite a long time..."
With the apple still in her mouth, her words were slightly muffled. She showed no concern for etiquette, acting in her usual carefree manner.
However, though she spoke casually, Lynn keenly grasped the key point in her words.
If the citizenship test wasn't particularly hard, then he might just have enough time to qualify for the Well of Machinery!
The world of wizards was vast and profound. Over countless years, it had given birth to an immense number of academic disciplines Elemental Theory, Alchemy, Potionology, Mechanics…
Each of these fields was extremely complex, with the most advanced knowledge bordering on the unfathomable.
For any wizard, reaching the pinnacle of a single field often required a lifetime of study, as the knowledge was simply too intricate.
Over the centuries, every academic discipline has developed structured learning paths, progressing from basic concepts to high-level expertise.
However, since a wizard's time and energy were both limited, most chose to specialize in a single discipline.
Only a rare few geniuses could achieve mastery in multiple fields.
For example, a wizard who studied Potionology as an apprentice would usually continue down the same path after becoming a Formal Wizard.
Thus, diving deep into a single discipline was already a tremendous challenge that consumed most wizards' time and effort.
Few attempted to pursue a second field, and even fewer found success in multiple domains.
But Lynn was different.
He wasn't the type of genius who could grasp knowledge intuitively, like Darwin with mechanics. Instead, he had something even better an unparalleled ability to turn effort into results.
With his Heaven Rewards Diligence talent, as long as he put in the work, he would always see progress.
As long as he had access to a structured learning system, he could grasp the fundamentals of a new discipline in an incredibly short time.
More importantly, his talent wasn't static it evolved.
As his strength grew, his mental power expanded, and his thought processes became more agile, his learning ability would only accelerate.
In other words, his Heaven Rewards Diligence talent would continue to multiply his progress exponentially.
Every time Lynn improved by even a fraction, his talent would amplify that growth significantly.
"I have some prior knowledge of mechanics… I'll push myself over the next few days. Maybe I can make it in time for the Well of Machinery..."
Lynn wouldn't reveal his talent outright, so he had to use this excuse to justify his future rapid progress.
Hearing this, Martha the "old-timer" was naturally skeptical. After all, a Nature Wizard claiming to have deep knowledge of mechanics was hard to believe.
But young Darwin believed it completely and immediately said,
"Lynn, once my teacher leaves in a few days, I'll lend you my citizen token. You can try the Trial Rankings… it's quite fun and educational."
A citizen token was vastly different from the mechanical token Lynn currently possessed. Each citizen and machine had a designated token that was strictly bound to its owner, making it impossible to lend.
Luckily, Darwin's citizen token had been specially crafted by his teacher. Since Darwin wasn't a Formal Wizard, it hadn't been officially bound to him yet, meaning he could let Lynn use it for a couple of days.
Lynn didn't know much about these tokens, but Martha had once boasted that the citizen token was the greatest benefit of being a citizen of the City of Machinery.
Compared to it, the city's protection, housing benefits, and various services were all secondary.
As such, he was quite intrigued by the citizen token…
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