The Wizard's Secret Journey

Chapter 137 Deadlock
Silver Ring Prison, first floor above ground.

This is where senior prison guards are on duty on weekdays. They monitor the cells below their feet at all times through the central crystal installed here.

blah blah-

After a clear sound of footsteps, a middle-aged wizard in a white robe pushed open the door.

He has brown hair and the wrinkles between his brows seem to never fade, making his face look particularly serious.

Judging from the badge on his chest, he is actually a second-level wizard!
"Good morning, Master Bradley!"

The wizard apprentice in the duty hall noticed his arrival and turned around to greet him loudly.

Bradley nodded slightly and asked in a deep voice:
"Still nothing unusual happened?"

"No, Sir Bradley," the apprentice on duty replied, and after thinking for a moment, he added,

"If there are any unusual circumstances, we will notify you immediately, as you instructed."

This sentence has actually been said many times, but Bradley still comes on time every morning and noon.

Especially in recent days, Bradley has come more frequently, sometimes even 5 times a day.

Even people who don't know Bradley at all can see the impatience in his heart.

Bradley nodded slowly without saying anything else, and the apprentice on duty returned to his post, staring intently at the screen of the central crystal in front of him.

In addition to the most basic images and sounds, the Silver Ring Prison's entire monitoring system can also monitor fluctuations in magic power and mental fluctuations.

The situation underground was clearly displayed on the crystal screen in front of the apprentice on duty, with a clear view.

Bradley paced back and forth behind the apprentice on duty, looking at the crystal surveillance screen from time to time. His brows furrowed even deeper, and no one knew what he was thinking.

It has been a month and a half since the day this group of apprentices were imprisoned in the Silver Ring Prison.

However, whether it was the first or second underground floor, whether it was a multi-person cell or a single cell, all the apprentices, one by one, were safe and sound, with no signs of any abnormality.

'Perhaps we should persuade them to find a few unimportant first-class wizard apprentices for a more in-depth examination... That kind of pollution is either attached to the mind or the body. As long as the mind and the body are separated and screened bit by bit, we will always find something useful.'

Bradley looked at the wizard apprentice on the surveillance screen and thought silently.

"Sir Bradley, how long do we need to keep these apprentices in prison? They have been getting more and more impatient recently, clamoring for freedom."

At this time, a wizard apprentice on duty suddenly asked.

Bradley came to his senses and replied indifferently: "Freedom? What kind of freedom do wizard apprentices need? If they are just yelling, then ignore them. If there are signs of resistance, you can treat them as normal prisoners."

Bradley looked around at the wizard apprentices in front of him, and finally said in a deep voice:
"As long as the Silver Ring Wizard does not issue a notice, and as long as this crisis is not completely resolved, these wizard apprentices must stay here."

After Bradley finished speaking, he turned around and walked away slowly.

Only the wizard apprentices in the duty room were left looking at each other in silence.

As they watched the wizard apprentice on the surveillance screen, they couldn't help but feel a sense of grief.

At the beginning, the order they received was actually to detain this group of wizard apprentices "temporarily".

But as time goes by, there is no end in sight for this brevity.

That's why the wizard apprentice on duty today asked this question.

But Bradley's answer was inexplicably terrifying.

That short moment seemed to have the potential to become forever.

You know, there are thousands of first-class wizard apprentices who have participated in the Holy Ring Society...

……

Central City, inside Silver Ring College.

Bradley landed in front of a cluster of castles next to the central tower and began walking.

Bradley continued along the path in front of him and walked into the main castle.

This was originally a spare teaching building, usually used to store some unimportant supplies.

But now, after the transformation by the Silver Ring Wizard, it has become a large laboratory with strict defenses.

After passing through two layers of defensive magic array, Bradley came to a laboratory.

There were quite a few people in the laboratory, about twenty or thirty. The badges they wore on their chests were even more eye-catching. Looking around, the lowest level were first-level wizards.

Several wizards in the center are even third-level wizards.

Bradley walked over to the third-level wizard in the middle and greeted him respectfully:
"Sir Stephens."

Stephens is a student of the Silver Ring Wizard and the main wizard responsible for investigating and studying the pollution of the Holy Mi Ring Society this time.

The Silver Ring Wizard is now in the Holy Mi Ring World, so Stephens has the highest status in this laboratory.

"Bradley, is everything normal at the Silver Ring?" Stephens turned around and asked.

"Yes, everything is still normal." Bradley replied, and then hesitantly asked, "Sir Stephens, are we going to wait like this?"

Stephens nodded gently: "Be patient, Bradley, I know you are worried about your wife, but we are already working hard, and the rest can only be left to time."

Bradley raised his head, his eyes passed Stephens, as if through the thick wall in front of him, and saw his wife, a first-level wizard, who was staying in a house in the castle.

During this period, Lin En often talked to the prison guards to obtain some information. Through indirect inquiries, he learned that no official wizard had yet been transformed.

But he didn't know that, like the apprentices like them, the first-level wizards who had participated in the Holy Ring of Mithril were also restricted in their movements.

This was the decision made by the Silver Ring Wizard.

Bradley retracted his gaze and said in a deep voice: "Sir Stephens, more than a month has passed. If simple observation is ineffective, we may be able to find a few wizard apprentices to conduct a more in-depth examination."

Stephens half-closed his eyes, he understood Bradley's words, and frowned:

“Before the alienation actually occurs, we have no way to confirm which apprentices are contaminated and which are not, just like we now have no way to determine which first-level wizards are safe and which are contaminated.

"There are more than 1000 wizard apprentices imprisoned in the Silver Ring Prison. If we are unlucky, even if we find 500 wizard apprentices, we may not be able to gain anything. In the end, those 500 wizard apprentices will just sacrifice their lives in vain."

Stephens turned around and looked at the crystal coffins placed in the center of the laboratory.
"Rather than trying our luck with the wizard apprentices, what we should do now is to find a breakthrough from these apprentice corpses and the unconscious Myerson."

The corpses of the apprentices were naturally those of the wizard apprentices who had undergone mutations, and Myerson was an unlucky first-level wizard.

Although none of the first-level wizards who participated in the Holy Ring of Mithril have shown signs of alienation so far, Myerson, a wizard who was injured in the battle with the alienated apprentices, has fallen into a strange coma.

It was precisely because of the strange coma that Myerson appeared that the Silver Ring Wizard issued a restriction order to all first-level wizards who had participated in the Holy Mithril Society.

It is worth mentioning that this restrictive order only applies to first-level wizards. Some second-level wizards who have also participated in the Holy Mithril Circle Society are not subject to such restrictions.

The explanation given by the Silver Ring Wizard is that if a second-level wizard is contaminated, he should have a premonition before the attack and should have a certain degree of resistance.

So no special monitoring is needed.

These were the judgments made by the Silver Ring Wizard based on Myerson's condition - this unfortunate first-level wizard had a brief period of consciousness before he fell completely into a coma.

As for the third-level wizards, the strongest wizards participating in the Holy Mi Ring Conference were only second-level, so they did not need to be considered. In addition, the Silver Ring Wizard also ruled out the possibility that the remaining wizards were not contaminated, but he did not give a reason.

Bradley seemed to want to say something, but Stephens was no longer willing to talk to him and waved him away:

“If you have time, go check if Teacher Yinhuan has sent any useful information.

"Teacher has been in the Saint Mi Ring World for almost a month. A few days ago, he told me that he had made some discoveries. Maybe he has already found the source of the pollution and found a solution."

Bradley was silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

Bradley was not good at research experiments and was not actually qualified to join the laboratory at the beginning. For the sake of his wife, he begged Stephens for a long time before the latter agreed to let him do some dispensable errands like the current one.

After leaving the laboratory, Bradley exhaled slowly and regained his spirits.

What Stephens said was right. We still have the Silver Ring Wizard here. That man is a fourth-level wizard and he will definitely be able to find a way to solve the pollution.

Bradley then went to check if the Silver Ring Wizard had sent any news, but the same message came back: no.

After doing this, Bradley returned to the laboratory.

Perhaps he felt that he was just a hindrance here, so he didn't stay there for too long and went to the room where his wife was.

His wife can't leave here easily, but Bradley can visit her at any time.

Compared to the simple cells where wizard apprentices stay, the rooms here are much larger and are equipped with washrooms and meditation rooms.

But his wife Lina's brow was still shrouded in lingering sorrow.

House arrest is not a pleasant experience, even for a first-level wizard. There is essentially no difference between a larger room and a simple cell.

Moreover, compared with the annoyance of having her freedom restricted, Lina, who knew more information, actually felt more fear in her heart.

The Silver Ring Wizard told them that all first-level wizards who had entered the 9th ring and deeper rings at that time had at least a % chance of being contaminated.

That means she has a 60% chance of showing symptoms of alienation...

This is more than just an injury.

The last mutated Myerson is still unconscious, and even the Silver Ring Wizard can't find any way to save him for the time being.

As more than a month passed, Myerson's vital signs became increasingly weak.

If the academy had not done its best to prolong his life, he might have died. Of course, this death might also have been a complete alienation.

"Are you okay, Lina?" Bradley closed the door and hugged his wife.

"Is there any progress with Sir Stephens?" Lina hugged him without answering, but just asked.

Bradley was silent for a moment and shook his head.

He has lived with his wife Lina for nearly a hundred years and knows that he cannot deceive the person next to him.

Lina couldn't help but sighed, Bradley thought for a moment and said:

"However, Mr. Stephens just told me that there seems to be some progress from Mr. Silver Ring Wizard's side."

"Really?" Lina looked up at him.

"Yeah." Bradley nodded, "Didn't I tell you last time when I came here that all the lives in the Shengmi Ring World, except Shengmi, have generally shown signs of alienation.

"With so many samples, I believe the Silver Ring Wizard will be able to find a way to solve the pollution."

Bradley said firmly, hugging his wife again.

……

Silver Ring Prison, second underground floor.

"What are you doing?" The prison guard in charge of delivering meals looked at the magic stone that Lin En handed to him and said subconsciously.

"It's like this, sir. I want to ask you for a favor." Lin En replied with a smile, and at the same time stuffed the magic stone into the hands of the prison guard in front of him.

But the prison guard took a step back and avoided the magic stone he thrust at him.

Lin En paused, but did not give up and continued:
"I have been in the Silver Ring Prison for a month and a half. If it is convenient, I would like to ask you to help me convey some information to my relatives and friends."

"Delivering a letter or something?" The prison guard looked a little hesitant.

"Yes, it's not anything dangerous, and we're not actually criminals, right?" Lynn continued.

Samuel and Gray behind him also became interested after hearing this and helped persuade him:

"That's right. We are not prisoners. It shouldn't be a problem to pass a message or something to the outside world, right?"

Although Lin En had not discussed this with them in advance, none of them wanted to re-establish contact with the outside world.

The prison guard was a little shaken. Seeing this, Lin En shook the magic stone in his hand and added fuel to the fire:

"We are all members of the Silver Ring Academy. We won't let you work for nothing."

The prison guard took a look at the magic stone in Lin En's hand and was about to say something when a message suddenly came from the badge on his chest.

The wizard on duty on the first floor saw the situation here, sent a warning message, and ordered him to stop talking to the apprentice in front of him.

And told him that Master Bradley had sternly told him that morning not to pay attention to the apprentices' shouting.

The prison guard was startled and immediately changed his expression. He shook his head and refused: "Sorry."

Then he left in a hurry.

"Asshole!" Samuel cursed in a low voice, "It was said that we were cooperating with the investigation for a short period of time, but now more than a month has passed, not only did they not let us leave, they even refused to let us send a letter to the outside world!"

Gray and Lynn's expressions were also very ugly.

After a long silence, Gray suddenly looked at Samuel and asked, "Your father..."

As soon as he said this, Samuel interrupted him decisively:

"He can't come to save me."

The cell fell silent again, and the three men ate in silence.

"If bribing the prison guards doesn't work, then how can we get the seeds of talent in? No, compared to that, we need to worry about how to get out.

"According to the attitude of Silver Ring Academy...are we going to be locked up here for the rest of our lives?"

Lin En finished his meal hastily and sat in a corner, thinking quietly.

In the evening, the prison guard came to their cell again.

Not because he figured it out, but because a visitor arrived.

"Samuel Barnes, right?
"Your father, the Honourable Chester Barnes, is here."

(End of this chapter)