Chapter 240: Starry Concerto

Luo En stood at the edge of the school's temporary settlement area, looking at the four-wheeled carriage just assigned to him, frowning slightly.

This was an ordinary travel carriage, its wooden body covered with a layer of simple protective paint.

The interior of the carriage was slightly narrow but tidy, but the front of the carriage was empty—the pack animal that should have been there was nowhere to be seen.

"Sorry, Wizard Luo En."

The law enforcement officer responsible for arranging the evacuation explained apologetically:

"Recent pack animals have all been arranged to transport evacuated personnel. Your application was a step late, so we can only provide the carriage frame first, but we will arrange your application with the highest priority permission, and it is expected that a pack animal will be provided for you within half a day."

The officer who delivered the carriage bowed respectfully after finishing, fearing that this newly promoted wizard would be unhappy.

Since the news of his promotion spread, everyone in the school who came into contact with him was both curious and in awe, both eager to approach and instinctively keeping their distance.

Luo En nodded slightly, not surprised by this arrangement.

In the school's emergency state, resources would naturally be prioritized to ensure the safe evacuation of the majority, even if he was already a formal wizard, he would not overly interfere with this arrangement.

On a deeper level, he didn't care about such trivial matters at all.

Looking at the slightly nervous expression of the law enforcement officer, Luo En waved his hand lightly:

"No need to worry, the carriage frame is enough."

His voice was calm and emotionless, like a pool of stagnant water without ripples, but this calmness itself made people feel inexplicably pressured.

The law enforcement officer was visibly relieved and hurried away.

After walking a few steps, he couldn't help but look back—the newly promoted formal wizard was standing quietly in front of the carriage.

His black robe fluttered gently in the breeze, and his whole person was as calm and mysterious as a statue; although he had no threatening movements, he made people feel fearful.

Luo En watched the other party leave, a flash of inspiration crossing his mind.

His thoughts had already flowed to the substitute puppet he carried with him.

"Since there is no pack animal, why not..."

A thought formed in his mind—using the substitute puppet to pull the carriage.

This not only saved magic stone expenses but also allowed the puppet to further adapt to complex movements in practice; besides, this was also a rare practical test.

Before making the decision, his mind had already automatically evaluated the magical power consumption, efficiency comparison, and potential additional effects—this analysis had almost become an instinct.

"Without borrowing a pack animal and a coachman, how do you intend to proceed?"

Lady Ailan, who was seeing him off, couldn't help but ask, her voice carrying a hint of confusion and more curiosity.

Even by a wizard's standards, a carriage frame without a pack animal was just a burden.

The school usually provided strong pack animals and guides for departing wizards to ensure their dignity was not compromised.

A formal wizard walking? That was simply a matter of losing status.

Although Luo En was never one to care about trifles, Lady Ailan was still confused by his choice.

"You will see soon." Luo En's mouth curled up slightly, revealing an almost imperceptible arc, without further explanation.

He took out the puppet that had undergone multiple evolutions from his inner robe pocket.

The puppet's appearance had become increasingly human-like, but its skin surface was covered with strange scale-like patterns.

The eyeballs were a pair of deep green complexes, emitting weird light, and tiny blood vessel textures were faintly visible at the edges.

Luo En injected a wisp of spiritual power into the puppet, just like a surgeon precisely piercing a scalpel into a specific part.

The puppet immediately came to life in his hands, rapidly expanding to near adult height.

At this time, the puppet was about 1.8 meters tall, its muscles firm and taut, covered with translucent dark scales, and a row of small spines was faintly visible on its back spine.

The overall appearance presented a kind of semi-human, semi-beast heteromorphic characteristic.

Those scales showed faint patterns in the light, like traces of some ancient creature.

"Very good." Luo En nodded with satisfaction, giving the instruction in his heart: "Pull the carriage for me."

The puppet walked silently to the front of the carriage, its hands grabbing the crossbar that should have been equipped with a harness.

A gray-black energy surged from its body surface, forming a structure similar to a harness, fixing itself on the carriage shafts.

This was precisely the puppet's self-adaptive ability that Luo En had recently cultivated, capable of changing parts of its own structure and function as needed, greatly improving its practicality.

Several apprentices who were setting up protective arrays in the distance noticed this scene, unable to help but stop their work, watching everything in a daze.

A wooden puppet pulling a four-wheeled carriage that should have been pulled by horses—the scene was weird enough to make one's hair stand on end.

The puppet's movements were smooth and natural, as soft as silk, without any mechanical feeling, just like a real creature.

And no matter from which angle one looked, its pair of complex eyeballs seemed to be silently watching every bystander, even though its head did not turn.

Whenever its gaze swept over, the person being watched would feel a bone-chilling cold, as if locked on by some predator.

After waving goodbye to Lady Ailan, Luo En jumped into the carriage and closed the door casually.

He watched with satisfaction as the puppet moved forward according to his will, the magical power consumed being far less than he had expected.

As the charging progress continued to improve, the connection between the puppet and him became closer, and the energy transmission efficiency was significantly improved, which might also be the reason for its reduced consumption.

"Let's go." Luo En gave the order, and the puppet immediately stepped forward, pulling the carriage forward.

Its steps were steady and powerful, like a precisely calculated metronome, and the sound of the carriage wheels rolling on the ground was clearly audible.

And after Luo En skillfully controlled the carriage, its speed even exceeded that of those pulled by ordinary pack animals.

More importantly, this method did not require additional magic stone fragment expenditure, nor did it need to worry about the feeding and rest of pack animals.

"The application of the substitute puppet is even more extensive than I imagined."

Luo En analyzed in his heart, beginning to systematically evaluate the various indicators of this usage method.

Casually, he opened the space bag and released a vine sphere tangled together.

After being released by him, the emerald green branches constantly contracted, then turned into a graceful female body; it was Ailan.

In terms of portability, Dai'er was still slightly inferior to Ailan, and the tree spirit could also use the plant's sensing to provide a wider range of alert effects.

The tree spirit asked softly:

"Does the master need to stay awake to control it? That must be very hard, right?"

Her green eyes revealed concern, and the vines swayed gently.

"No need." Luo En shook his head:

"The spiritual link is already stable; I can meditate and rest while maintaining the basic connection. I only need to check the road conditions and surrounding environment every few hours. Several basic instructions have been engraved into the puppet's memory, and it can automatically avoid simple obstacles."

This was another obvious change after being promoted to a formal wizard.

The qualitative change in spiritual power allowed him to allocate attention more efficiently, handling multiple tasks simultaneously without feeling tired.

The spiritual control that previously required full concentration could now be stably maintained with only a small part of his consciousness.

He saw the doubt in the tree spirit's eyes and explained:

"The substitute puppet doesn't need rest, nor will it feel tired, and can move day and night. The only limitation is that I need to maintain the spiritual connection with it."

After confirming that the puppet had adapted to the rhythm of pulling the carriage, Luo En sat cross-legged in the center of the carriage and took out a small bottle of special spiritual stabilizer from his bosom.

This liquid presented a faint blue color, crystal clear like the purest gem, swaying gently in the bottle with the shaking of the carriage.

Luo En took a light sip, letting the liquid stay in his mouth for a moment, feeling the exquisite energy components in it, and then swallowed it slowly.

He intended to continue practicing the meditation method during this journey, especially the consolidation and deepening after breaking through to the third stage.

Although the journey time was only three short days, he did not intend to waste any moment that could be used for improvement.

As a meditation method characteristic, "Star Projection" required constant absorption of starlight energy to increase the magical power limit.

He took out several energy crystals from the space bag and placed them around the meditation mat.

These crystals could enhance the convergence effect of starlight and improve energy absorption efficiency.

At the same time, he also set up a simple isolation array to ensure that the meditation process would not be disturbed by the outside world.

His breathing gradually became slow and deep, and every breath carried a specific rhythm; this was the unique breathing method of the third stage of "The Star Eater's Babble."

With the sinking of consciousness, the sounds of the outside world gradually disappeared, replaced by a profound silence.

His spiritual perception began to expand outward, penetrating the roof of the carriage, directly perceiving the cloud layer floating in the high sky, and the vast starry sky above the clouds.

Although the stars during the day were not as clear as at night, for Luo En, who had already mastered "Star Projection," their existence was still clearly perceptible.

The energy contained in those stars was like tiny rays of light, passing through the atmosphere, reaching the ground, and being captured by his spiritual perception.

His consciousness quickly detached from the flesh, rebuilding the starry sky in the spiritual landscape.

Unlike before, the starry sky became clearer and more three-dimensional.

Each star had a unique light and rhythm, just like musical instruments playing separately in the universe, together forming a grand song of the universe.

He could feel the energy characteristics and fluctuation frequencies contained in the starlight; these were subtle differences he could not perceive when he was an apprentice.

Surprisingly, Luo En found that he could consciously choose which stars to establish a stronger connection with, thereby obtaining specific types of energy.

This selective absorption allowed him to adjust the energy structure according to his own needs, maximizing the improvement effect.

"The energy of the Annihilation Star Cluster can enhance the power of destructive spells, but it will bring spiritual pressure;

The light of the Hermit Star can improve spiritual acuity, but weakens the power of physical attacks;

The energy provided by the Binary Star System is balanced and gentle, suitable for long-term accumulation..."

Luo En wandered in the starry sky, his spiritual tentacles like countless tiny tentacles, gently touching each star, feeling the energy characteristics of different stars.

This energy was not simply a matter of good or bad, but each had its own characteristics, suitable for different uses and occasions.

He began to try a new absorption method—mixing the energy of different stars in a specific proportion to create a more balanced and powerful energy structure.

This required extremely precise control and calculation, and any tiny mistake could lead to energy disorder.

However, at this moment, he heard those strange babbling sounds again.

Unlike the blurriness when he first heard them, these babblings had become clearer and more complete, just like a radio gradually adjusting from noise to the correct channel.

", aψ"

These sounds were not heard through the ears, but sounded directly in the spiritual world, bypassing the limitations of conventional senses.

They were like ancient codes, each syllable carrying some deep meaning.

Although he still couldn't understand the exact meaning, Luo En could feel the emotions contained within.

It was a kind of deep hunger and endless greed, as if the energy of the entire universe could not satisfy that eternal desire to devour.

This greed was not a simple desire at the material level, but an essential, unfillable void, forever craving more energy and existence.

The essence of the "Devourer" was just as its name suggested, a cosmic existence forever in a state of hunger, constantly devouring stars to maintain its own existence.

It was not malicious, just following its own nature, just as a hurricane would not feel guilty for destroying a city, and a flood would not feel regret for drowning a village.

Luo En began to analyze the potential impact of this emotion on himself; the essence of greed brought great power, but it could also become a source of danger.

If he were too greedy when absorbing starlight energy, it could lead to disorder in his own energy structure, or even trigger some kind of unpredictable mutation.

"I must stay vigilant and not let this greed affect my own essence." Luo En warned himself in his heart.

This was also a pragmatic choice. Uncontrolled power was not true power; only energy within a controllable range had value.

At the same time, the rhythm and cadence of these babblings also gave him new inspiration.

He recorded these sounds in his meditation, trying to find the patterns and rules within them, adding new elements to his "Erosion Movement."

"Erosion Movement" was essentially a technique that transformed spiritual interference into music, and the rhythm contained in these cosmic babblings was precisely the most primitive and powerful spiritual interference pattern.

They were not simple sounds, but vibrations acting directly on the soul level, capable of bypassing conventional spiritual defenses and directly affecting the target's consciousness structure.

If they could be integrated into the movement, the power would be significantly improved.

But this was also accompanied by great risks—too powerful erosion could conversely affect the caster himself, just like staring into the abyss for too long, the abyss would also look back at you.

In the gaps of starry sky meditation, Luo En took out paper and pen to record his new inspiration, every word carrying rigorous logic and experimental spirit:

"The third movement should integrate the rhythm of the 'Devourer's' babble, creating a cyclically accumulating sound wave structure.

Each cycle will enhance the effect of the previous one, forming a continuously superimposed spiritual impact.

This structure is similar to a geometric progression in mathematics, and the power growth will be exponential, not linear.

In practice, one can try to integrate the effect of 'Spiritual Blast' into the final part of the movement, forming a collapse structure similar to a black hole in the target's spiritual world, disintegrating the target's spiritual defense from within.

However, this attack method also has obvious flaws—the energy circulation structure is extremely complex, and any tiny error could lead to energy backlash, requiring further experiments to verify and optimize this theory..."

As the pen tip slid across the paper, a brand-new movement structure gradually took shape in Luo En's mind.

This was not a simple burst of inspiration, but an innovation based on rigorous analysis and logical deduction.

He decomposed the observed phenomena into basic elements and then reorganized them in a new way, creating a brand-new attack mode.

This would be a technique one step further than "Erosion Movement," and he tentatively named it "Starry Concerto"—a terrifying power capable of directly destroying the target's spiritual world.

The reason for naming it so was the grand ambition he possessed in his heart.

There were clearly far more terrifying existences outside the starry sky than just the "Devourer," and there were likely more similar terrifying existences; perhaps one day, he would be able to melt all their babblings into one furnace...

This conception was still in the theoretical stage and required a lot of experiments and adjustments to be truly realized, but the potential contained within was exciting.

After recording these inspirations, Luo En's thoughts returned to reality.

He first checked the status of the substitute puppet, confirming that its operation was stable, the route was correct, and there were no potential threats around.

Then he summoned the big-mouthed parrot that had been staying on the side of the carriage roof; the other party had sent him many letters since he was an elementary apprentice, so it could be considered an old friend.

He specifically borrowed this messenger bird from the school; it was also a modulation product, possessing several characteristics that ordinary birds did not have:

Super strong target perception ability, capable of accurately finding the designated person;

Flight speed and endurance far exceeding ordinary birds;

And certain defensive spells, capable of resisting simple interference and attacks.

He performed precise calculations in his mind—the average speed of the substitute puppet was 1.6 times that of ordinary pack animals.

Considering the advantage of not needing rest, the actual travel efficiency could reach 2.3 times that of ordinary teams.

According to the conventional route, the journey that took a week should be completed within three days, which fit his itinerary arrangement.

Luo En wrote a short letter on a piece of special parchment:

"Andre,

I will arrive at the Royal Capital at noon three days later.

Please inform me of your current location so that we can meet.

In addition, the promotion is complete, and I have now officially entered the ranks of wizards.

Luo En Ralph"

This letter was both short and contained the most important information, completely fitting Luo En's consistent style.

He did not explain too much about how he completed the promotion, nor did he mention the school's crisis, just expressing the core information in the most concise way.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 241 =====