Chapter 129

The two agreed to meet at the school's South Gate at noon tomorrow and head to Lizard Alley.

When Andre left, Luo En returned to the study in the workshop, his thoughts surging like a tide.

After long contemplation, he decided to make full preparations to ensure this trip would be safe.

He took out a piece of paper and began to list the items he needed to carry:

Several bottles of recovery potions, two bottles of defensive potions, one bottle of speed enhancer, several alchemical flashbangs.

Although the transition to Bloodline Knight had greatly improved his physique, facing the potential dangers of Lizard Alley, being extra prepared was never wrong.

Oliver stood in his private residence on the top floor of the high tower, looking down at the scenery of the Black Fog Jungle through the window.

Night fell, and countless magic crystal lamps lit up throughout the school, like stars scattered in the dark forest.

Strange lights occasionally flickered in the distant experimental area, accompanied by low rumbling sounds; that was some wizard conducting extraordinary experiments.

This scene should have been refreshing, but Oliver's expression was unusually gloomy.

On his desk lay the latest ranking list of the candidate wizard sequence, with a certain name specially circled in red ink—Luo En Ralph.

"Twenty-fourth... rose six places..." Oliver whispered to himself, his fingers tapping the desk lightly: "The speed of this kid's rise is a bit too fast."

The candidate wizard sequence has a total of thirty members, all of whom are the school's most promising middle-level and high-level apprentices.

A higher ranking means more resources and opportunities, and also represents more attention from the school's high echelons.

"'Medicine-Body Resonance'" Oliver whispered; this was Luo En's publicly known special talent, and also one of the important reasons for his rapid rise:

"It is indeed a rare talent; no wonder Mentor Corinna would be interested in him."

Mentioning Corinna, Oliver's expression became more complex.

As an important formal wizard within the school, Corinna's every move is highly watched.

The interest she has shown in Luo En recently has already caused much speculation.

Oliver picked up a glass of red liquid and sipped it slowly.

This is a special magic potion that can soothe mental fatigue, with a faint strawberry aroma, but the aftertaste is a hint of bitterness.

Just as complex as his mood at this moment.

"Davod." Oliver sighed, recalling the accident a few months ago.

Originally, that was just a small means aimed at Holt.

He secretly applied a bit of psychological suggestion to Davod, making that already mentally unstable apprentice become more paranoid, thereby creating some trouble for Holt during the patrol.

Who knew that after Davod completely lost control, he also let a batch of precious research materials fall into Luo En's hands.

"Counterproductive." Oliver gave a bitter smile and put down the wine glass.

He originally thought those materials were useless to Luo En, especially those research notes on sonic spells.

Everyone in the school who had studied them believed that Davod's sonic spell concept had fundamental flaws, was difficult to perfect, and had limited value.

Even the complete memory fragments Oliver extracted from Davod's brain only confirmed this point.

The theoretical framework of sonic spells itself had problems, the energy structure was unstable, and it was fundamentally impossible to form a truly effective spell model.

"Strange." Oliver said to himself:

"I clearly extracted complete memory fragments from Davod's brain, including all his research results, but those materials were clearly incomplete. Could it be that he hid something else elsewhere?"

This question had been bothering him, especially since he recently heard that Luo En seemed to have mastered some kind of enhanced sonic spell, which deepened his doubts.

He walked to the bookshelf and pressed a hidden mechanism.

The bookshelf moved slowly, revealing a secret door.

Passing through a narrow passage, he came to a hidden room.

In the center of the room was a huge cage made of special alloy, inside which a twisted figure was curled up.

That creature was neither human nor beast, its limbs extended disproportionately, and black patterns covered its skin, flowing like ink.

The only thing that still retained human characteristics was that twisted but still recognizable face—that was once his brother, Ma Kusi.

Earlier, he learned of Karl's death through the secret channels of the law enforcement team.

That primary apprentice who always took commissions in the fringe forest was found dead on the outskirts of the North District, his body covered in traces of distortion and pollution.

He knew very well the real reason for Karl's death—it was caused by the loss of control of the stitched experimental body he used to test the effect of the "Sin Domain Black Crystal."

And that experimental body was precisely his failed brother, Ma Kusi.

"Good evening, Ma Kusi." Oliver said softly, his voice full of exhaustion.

The creature in the cage raised its head suddenly, emitting a sound between a roar and a cry.

Those eyes that were once similar to Oliver's were now filled with pitch-black liquid, leaving only a faint crimson light spot in the center.

"I brought new..." Oliver paused and took a black crystal from his bosom: "This should be able to alleviate your pain."

Ma Kusi's attention was not attracted by the black crystal.

His ferocious face turned toward the wall, where the latest candidate wizard sequence ranking list was posted.

Rolling black liquid overflowed from his eyes, falling to the ground with a slight hissing sound, and the ground was instantly eroded into several small holes.

Following Ma Kusi's gaze, Oliver saw Luo En's photo on that list.

I don't know when, Ma Kusi's claws had already scratched deep marks on the ground, almost tearing the metal floor.

"You noticed him too?" Oliver gave a bitter smile: "Yes, the speed of that kid's rise is abnormally fast."

Ma Kusi let out a low roar, as if responding to Oliver's words.

Putting down the black crystal, Oliver prepared to leave the secret room.

His recent situation made him feel unprecedentedly oppressed.

Cynthia almost never met with him anymore; she seemed to have found her own stable channel for obtaining "Sin Domain Black Crystal."

"Those guys..." Oliver clenched his fists: "They must have bypassed me and contacted Cynthia directly."

What worried him even more was that his own mentor's gaze toward him had become increasingly strange recently.

That scrutinizing look made his hair stand on end, as if all his secrets had been seen through.

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" Oliver muttered to himself.

He knew his choices were becoming fewer and fewer.

Continuing to rely on "Sin Domain Black Crystal" to increase power meant greater risks and the possibility of being discovered by the school at any time;

But if he stopped using it, his ranking in the candidate wizard sequence would inevitably slide, and for a high-level apprentice with ambition, this was no different from chronic death.

Perhaps using the Sin Domain Black Crystal to fully awaken and then defecting from the school was his last choice.

Although this path was full of danger, at least there was still a glimmer of hope.

Oliver closed his eyes in pain, his temples throbbing.

He felt an unprecedented exhaustion and despair, as if standing on the edge of a cliff, with pursuers behind him and a bottomless abyss in front.

And in the secret room, the mutated Ma Kusi still stared fixedly at Luo En's photo on the wall, pitch-black liquid seeping from all over his body, gathering into a constantly wriggling black lake at the bottom of the cage.

His claws were still scratching the ground incessantly, the metal scraped out a sharp sound, stinging Oliver, who was on the side, to become even more irritable, and he frowned and pressed the electric shock button...

"Aooooooo..."

At noon the next day, Luo En and Andre met at the South Gate as agreed.

Andre was specially dressed in light clothing convenient for movement today, with a sharp longsword at his waist.

Luo En was wearing an ordinary dark robe, holding a seemingly ordinary wooden staff, which was actually a disguise for the ironwood sword.

"Ready?" Andre asked, excitement flashing in his eyes.

Luo En nodded: "Everything is ready. Let's go."

Leaving the school area, the two chose a secluded path to Lizard Alley.

Compared to the last visit, they were more familiar with the route this time, and their speed was faster.

On the way, Luo En briefly explained the purpose of his trip to Andre:

"I need to find the old woman who sent people to attack us last time; she might have the information I need."

"Old woman? You mean that terrifying old hag with yellow skin and deep-set eyes?" Andre recalled:

"I couldn't see anything special about her, but if she really sent people to attack us, then she must have some unusual abilities."

Luo En nodded, confirming his guess: "Exactly, but this time we are fully prepared and won't be easily schemed against."

Passing through the dark path, the mycelial network of the Peeping Mushroom spread out under their feet like a spider web.

Luo En noticed that the mushrooms today were more active than last time, and the patterns on the caps flickered with faint fluorescence, as if transmitting some kind of information.

At the entrance of Lizard Alley, the multi-headed dragon totem on the stone pillar appeared exceptionally ferocious in the dim light.

Passing through the archway, the two stepped into the familiar chaotic market.

Lizard Alley today was even more noisy and crowded than when they came last time.

The hawking of various alien merchants rose and fell, and the air was filled with a complex smell mixed with spices, herbs, and the body fluids of some unknown creatures.

"We took a shortcut this time; the Sunset Tavern should be further away." Luo En pointed in one direction:

"Let's go find the gray dwarf Otto first; he should know the news about that old woman."

The two passed through the noisy crowd and came to the Sunset Tavern.

Compared to last time, there were more customers in the tavern, and the atmosphere was even more boisterous.

Passing through the crowded hall, because of the friendly transaction last time, they no longer needed to be restricted at the door, and they found Otto's compartment with ease.

The gray dwarf was sitting there, with several potions of different colors in front of him, checking something with a focused expression.

Seeing Luo En and Andre, he was stunned for a moment, then revealed a cunning smile.

"Ah, it's you!"

Otto greeted in a rough voice: "Long time no see, what good things do you want today?"

Luo En didn't exchange pleasantries and went straight to the point: "I'm looking for someone."

He took out a piece of paper with a lifelike portrait of an old woman drawn on it, every wrinkle and every spot drawn precisely—thanks to the photographic memory brought by his "Well-informed" talent.

Otto glanced at the portrait, and his expression immediately became vigilant: "This old hag... what are you looking for her for?"

"She wasn't very friendly to us last time, and I want to pay a return visit." Luo En said calmly, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes.

Otto shook his head: "Young man, this is not a wise choice. That old hag is no ordinary person; there aren't many forces in Lizard Alley bigger than hers."

Luo En smiled slightly, took out the alchemist badge from his bosom, and placed it on the table: "I am no ordinary person either."

The gray dwarf's eyes widened instantly: "Professional alchemist?"

His voice was full of surprise: "Last time you were only..."

"People always grow, don't they?" Luo En said calmly, "Now, how much do you know about that old woman?"

Otto hesitated for a moment, but finally shook his head:

"Even if you have an extraordinary status now, this information is probably still a bit dangerous."

Luo En was not in a hurry; he slowly extended his hand, and a golden-red ring of light suddenly lit up in his palm—a small part of the energy configuration of the Ring of Radiance was displayed in his palm.

"I think we can reach a mutually beneficial transaction."

Luo En's voice remained calm, but Otto keenly sensed the vast magic power between his palms.

If released, everyone in this entire tavern would likely pay a terrible price of death or injury.

"I can give you ten magic stone fragments, plus a free identification service from me as a professional alchemist. Those potions you were checking just now seem a bit difficult to distinguish between true and false, right?"

This kid is really a lunatic!

The gray dwarf's expression became complex, surprise, greed, and fear intertwined.

Finally, he took a deep breath and nodded: "Deal."

Under Luo En's identification and the temptation of ten magic stone fragments, Otto detailed the intelligence about the old woman:

"Her name is Mola, nicknamed 'Old Spider,' and it is said she is proficient in all kinds of weird spells. She has a shop called 'Labyrinth Pawnshop' in the deepest part of Lizard Alley, which collects all kinds of peculiar items."

Otto lowered his voice: "She has a group of lizardman warriors and other thugs under her command, and it is said she also keeps a cannibalistic mage, a thing that even high-level apprentices dare not provoke easily."

"Why did she attack us?" Luo En asked directly.

"Old Spider never makes a first transaction with anyone." Otto explained:

"She always 'tests' visitors first to see if they are worth trading with. The fact that you were able to escape last time is already considered lucky."

Leaving the Sunset Tavern, the two headed toward the depths of Lizard Alley.

Andre sneered: "Testing, that's just finding a nice-sounding reason for robbery... If she wants to play this game again this time, I don't mind using dragon breath to treat the thugs she hired."

The two went deep along the narrow stone path, the surrounding stalls and shops gradually became sparse, and the smell in the air changed from the noisy market atmosphere to a gloomy dampness.

Just as they turned a corner, Luo En suddenly felt a mental fluctuation.

He stopped immediately, his spiritual power scanning the surroundings vigilantly.

"There's an ambush." He said in a low voice, the wooden staff in his hand already prepared to turn back into an ironwood sword.

Andre nodded slightly, his golden vertical pupils shrinking into needle-like thin lines: "I smell... the smell of some kind of reptilian creature, possibly lizardmen."

As soon as the words fell, several figures suddenly flashed out from the shadows ahead, completely blocking the road.

Those were eight burly lizardman warriors, fully armed, holding scimitars and shields.

"Humans, hand over your magic stone fragments and valuables."

The leading lizardman said in a hoarse voice, flicking his forked tongue: "Otherwise, be prepared to become our meal."

Luo En and Andre looked at each other, both seeing the determination in the other's eyes.

(End of chapter)