Chapter 30: One Step Away, Oliver's Arrival

He carefully checked this information, feeling both pleasantly surprised and somewhat regretful.

The surprise was that he had already completed two of the three job change conditions for [Wizard Apprentice];

The regret was that one was still missing—upgrading the zero-ring spell "Slime Splash" to the proficient level.

"Just this one step away..." Luo En whispered to himself.

In fact, he had practiced this spell intermittently before, but because there was no suitable release target in the dormitory room, he practiced this skill far less diligently than "Corona Sword Technique".

But even so, the experience points of "Slime Splash" were already on the verge of breaking through the "entry" level, and it only needed a little more practice to reach the job change requirement.

If it weren't for Darren and Marcus's matters following one after another, he might have been able to directly take the job of [Wizard Apprentice] now.

Luo En began to plan his next steps:

After getting out of the confinement room, the first priority was to quickly practice "Slime Splash" to the proficient level and complete the job change to [Wizard Apprentice].

The information on the panel indicated that [Wizard Apprentice] had bonuses in spell experience acquisition and mental power recovery.

This happened to complement the specialties of [Knight Attendant] and [Potion Apprentice], which could create more powerful linkage effects.

"Three professions developing in parallel..." Luo En tapped the table with his fingers gently:

"This can maximize the advantages of the panel and form a virtuous cycle."

He imagined the possibilities of the future:

The mental power accumulation and magic affinity bonus provided by [Potion Apprentice] could accelerate the growth of [Wizard Apprentice];

And the magic growth and spell ability of [Wizard Apprentice] could complement the physical enhancement of [Knight Attendant], finally achieving a powerful combat force of three-in-one.

"As long as I can successfully complete the job change, when I go for apprentice identity recognition and initial resource allocation, the potential I show should be more..."

Just as he was thinking deeply about future planning, a sound of footsteps suddenly came from the corridor, interrupting his thoughts.

That kind of footsteps was very special, light and rhythmic, carrying a kind of indescribable elegance and oppression, not something ordinary apprentices could have.

Luo En immediately became alert, collected his thoughts, and focused his attention on perceiving the external situation.

A mental fluctuation that was extremely disgusting and twisted to the point of making his scalp tingle suddenly broke into his perception range.

This unknown mental fluctuation was full of decay and strangeness, just like the sound of hundreds of maggots squirming in rotten meat, but at this moment, they were all converted into mental feelings.

What was even more disturbing was that this fluctuation seemed to be approaching the confinement room where he was located.

Luo En couldn't help but tense his body, his mental power instinctively shrinking into a spherical defensive posture to alleviate the discomfort in his heart.

He scanned the surroundings and noticed that the surveillance devices similar to eyeballs in the corridor were all operating normally, which made him feel slightly relieved.

In this kind of public area with surveillance, there shouldn't be anything too excessive happening.

Thinking of this, he had already roughly guessed the identity of the visitor. It must be someone related to his unlucky "neighbor".

The confinement room where Marcus was held was not far away. In the past, when he was practicing, he could occasionally hear Marcus's cursing at the terrible food in the confinement room.

Sure enough, before long, a figure walked slowly from the corner of the corridor.

Through the ventilation opening of the room door, which was quite open, Luo En found that the visitor was actually a young man with an extremely outstanding appearance, black hair and black eyes, and his appearance was beautiful to the point of being almost demonic.

His skin was pale to the point of being sickly, glowing with a crystal-clear luster under the dim corridor light.

The most eye-catching thing was the dark blue gemstone badge hanging on his chest—that was the sign of an advanced apprentice.

Behind this unknown visitor, Marcus followed closely with his head lowered like a stray dog, shrinking.

That appearance was completely different from his usual arrogant attitude, and even looked a bit pitiful and humble.

"Luo En Ralph?" The black-haired man stood in front of the confinement room door and asked in a strange tone, his voice surprisingly gentle:

"Nice to meet you, I am Oliver, Marcus's brother." [3

Luo En felt a chill in his heart; it really was that high-level apprentice who specialized in curse spells.

"I've heard much about you." After nodding politely, he answered the other party cautiously, striving to keep his voice sounding calm and ripple-free.

A smile that could be called perfect appeared on Oliver's face, revealing a row of neat white teeth: "I apologize to you for my brother's rude behavior."

As he spoke, he reached out and pulled a set of keys from his robe, easily opening the lock of the confinement room:

"As an apology, I have already spent magic stone fragments as the cost to secure an opportunity for your early release."

Luo En raised his eyebrows, pondering to himself.

In the Black Mist Forest, there was indeed a rule that magic stone fragments could be used to reduce confinement time; the price was roughly ten magic stone fragments to reduce one day.

But he had never considered this option; for one, he was reluctant to part with those precious magic stone fragments, and for another, although the conditions in the confinement room were simple, they met basic living needs and allowed him to practice in peace.

"Thank you for your kindness," Luo En said neither humbly nor arrogantly, while observing Oliver's every move.

He did not immediately step out of the room; there were actually some trigger-based arrays inside the confinement room.

On one hand, they prevented those inside from escaping, and on the other, they prevented visitors from pulling any tricks; now, these arrays had instead become his protective umbrella.

The performance of this Oliver before him was perfect; his speech and manners were refined, and he wore a gentle smile, like a true gentleman.

But it was precisely this overly perfect facade that made him vigilant. How could a high-level apprentice capable of standing out in this Black Mist Forest be a pushover?

"No need to be so polite," Oliver waved his hand: "My brother always does things that are annoying; it really gives one a headache."

He turned and gently patted Marcus on the shoulder, appearing intimate, but Luo En caught the momentary stiffness and fear in Marcus's body.

"If you don't feel satisfied, you can teach him a lesson now as you please."

The smile on Oliver's face remained unchanged, but a flash of inscrutable light passed through his eyes: "I wouldn't mind at all."

Luo En was wary. He glanced at the cowering Marcus and shook his head: "No need. Since you, as his elder brother, have already apologized, then this matter is over."

"Your magnanimity is admirable," Oliver praised, seamlessly transitioning the topic to the part he was most interested in:

"By the way, I heard you have been researching sonic spells recently? That project of Daren'de's?"

Here it comes! This sentence made alarm bells ring in Luo En's heart.

It seemed his research in the confinement room was not entirely confidential, and even this high-level apprentice had heard of it.

"Just out of curiosity, researching it casually," Luo En answered cautiously.

"The most important quality of a qualified wizard is diligent pursuit of knowledge. It seems you also possess such a fine quality."

Oliver nodded with a smile, but his true intentions were revealed amidst the flattery:

"Sonic waves and curses actually have commonalities; both use special means to influence a target silently. Perhaps we can exchange ideas if there is an opportunity in the future."

(End of chapter)