Chapter 228: Mission

However, Gao Jie Ming had to admit that the deaths of Amy and Victor had still left an unhealable scar in his heart.

Though this scar no longer bled, it still throbbed faintly.

It made him feel somewhat uneasy whenever he conducted experiments requiring extreme precision and focus, causing frequent errors during his research.

Sizzle—!

Accompanied by a pungent smell of burning, another preliminarily modified lava golem experimental subject spontaneously combusted on the operating table into a pile of worthless charcoal; this occurred because Gao Jie Ming made a dosage error of zero point zero one milliliters while injecting a gene catalyst, causing the energy circulation within its body to collapse instantly.

"Sigh..."

After once again completely ruining the experimental subject before him due to his own mistake, Gao Jie Ming finally stopped his movements and sighed helplessly.

He knew that continuing to force his research in his current state would only waste time and materials.

He walked to the side and reopened his Magic Net terminal.

This time, instead of browsing those obscure knowledge bases, he directly opened the mission release platform of the local Plane Nuolun Academy on the Alosia plane—he intended to see if there were any suitable missions.

It was not to earn points or fulfill any quotas.

His main purpose was to go out for a walk, change his environment, and see if he could shift his mood.

The mission list refreshed like a waterfall, displaying a dazzling array of various commissions.

There were missions to explore certain remote planes within the Alosia plane cluster, to collect rare materials, and to support the academy's construction.

Just then, a somewhat peculiar mission title caught Gao Jie Ming's eye.

【Hunt Mission: Eliminate Illegal Wizards.】

【Mission Rank: Tier Two.】

【Acceptance Restriction: Only official wizards of Tier Two or above may accept.】

No further information was available.

The detailed description section of the mission was locked by permissions and could only be viewed after acceptance.

Gao Jie Ming felt somewhat curious about the title "Illegal Wizard."

In a highly centralized and ordered society like wizard civilization, could there actually exist officially recognized "illegal wizards"?

As far as he knew, besides the contracts related to wizard civilization signed upon enrollment, restrictions were also imposed within all wizard artifacts inscribed with meditation methods; without relevant contract authentication, they simply could not be activated.

Without the assistance of an initial meditation wizard artifact, it was impossible for a normal person to even enter a meditative state, let alone become a wizard.

Under such tight protection, could entities like "illegal wizards" actually exist?

Driven by curiosity, Gao Jie Ming did not hesitate much and directly chose to accept the mission.

Soon, after his permission authentication passed, subsequent mission information flooded into his terminal like a tide.

This information included the detailed movement routes and activity tracks of that "illegal wizard" as previously monitored.

The file also included an estimated strength assessment made by the academy's intelligence department based on the traces of destruction caused: estimated comprehensive strength was equivalent to that of an ordinary Tier Two wizard.

Therefore, to ensure safety, Plane Nuolun Academy had released this mission as a team mission.

Its activation condition required at least two Tier Two wizards to accept it before it could officially commence.

Coincidentally, before Gao Jie Ming accepted it, another person had already accepted this mission in advance.

Now, with Gao Jie Ming's addition, the mission's activation conditions had been met.

Gao Jie Ming glanced at the designated assembly location specified in the mission: the new Plane Nuolun Academy branch currently under construction on the main Alosia plane.

As for the final assembly deadline for the mission... it was three days later.

"Such a short assembly time; it seems the academy attaches great importance to this illegal wizard..." Looking at the information displayed on the light screen, Gao Jie Ming stroked his chin in thought.

He made some preparations, switched the laboratory to automatic maintenance mode, left several lava golem guards modified into bio-beasts in the Purgatory Sulfur plane, and then directly boarded the teleportation array inside the laboratory.

Accompanied by a slight spatial distortion, the next second, he arrived at the new Plane Nuolun Academy on the main Alosia plane, which had already taken initial shape and was filled with a sense of future technology.

For missions like this, once accepted, the Magic Net terminal would automatically activate recording mode, primarily to record the wizard's movement tracks.

Therefore, Gao Jie Ming was certain that the moment he stepped onto the teleportation array, the other party should have already received information that he was heading toward the assembly point.

After arriving at the designated assembly location in a corner of the academy square, Gao Jie Ming immediately spotted the person who had been waiting there.

Upon sensing that somewhat unfamiliar soul aura, Gao Jie Ming couldn't help but freeze.

Because the person was actually David, who had just contacted him not long ago!

Of course, David's appearance now was slightly different from what was seen during the trial and when they mutually signed the contract.

Back then, he resembled more of a blood-drinking, raw-eating barbarian.

Now, although the wild aura around him had greatly diminished and he no longer looked like a barbarian, his entire body clad in a set of pitch-black heavy armor adorned with ferocious bone spikes and runes made him look nothing like a traditional wizard.

The way wizards unleash power is mainly by using spiritual strength to leverage the power of external elements.

Therefore, regarding attire, there are indeed no major restrictions; whether one prefers to wear nothing at all or don an construct resembling an entire city, it is all acceptable.

However, under normal circumstances, no one would actually wear a suit of heavy armor.

It is not that heavy armor is ineffective; in fact, heavy armor can utilize more materials, meaning it offers stronger defensive capabilities and more stable effects compared to wizard artifacts of the same tier, as well as more positions for inscribing runes.

Moreover, for some wizards who also cultivate body enhancement, heavy armor can serve as extremely effective protective gear and weapons during close combat.

The only drawback is... the cost!

Judging by size alone, the materials required for a set of heavy armor are far greater than those consumed by wizard artifacts like staffs or masks.

The price of a complete set of heavy armor wizard artifacts is two tiers higher than that of wizard artifact sets of the same level.

Therefore, not only Gao Jie Ming, but other wizards passing by here could not help but glance at David standing there.

He stood like a silent steel fortress, quietly emitting a cold aura that warned strangers to keep their distance.

To be honest, if not for that familiar soul aura, as heavy and thick as the earth itself, remaining completely unchanged, Gao Jie Ming would have almost failed to recognize that this "iron can" was David.

(End of Chapter)