The Wizard's Secret Journey

Chapter 253 Bait (4.2k)

The Gray Forest Ruins are located in the northwest area of ​​the Third Ring Road.

In mid-air, Lynn appeared calm, but his heart was churning.

He had been engrossed in studying the Black Moon Runes lately, so his feeling just now couldn't possibly be wrong.

The faint fluctuation emanating from the alien spirit's body was very similar to the fluctuation of the Black Moon rune!
'What exactly is going on?' Lynn's eyes flickered, and he suddenly recalled a description from the quest crystal—

"The strange creatures and bizarre occurrences at the Gray Forest Ruins this time are all due to the previous Gray-White Catastrophe."

"Speaking of which, when the Gray-White Catastrophe broke out, I also vaguely sensed the aura of the Black Moon Rune... Now it seems that it probably wasn't just a hallucination."

It's sizzling!

Lynn tried to unleash his lightning spell again, and the azure lightning streaked across the air in a winding path before landing on the alien spirit.

zizi——

The powerful electric current tore the alien's body apart, and the fluctuations resembling black moon runes reappeared.

Lynn focused his mind and observed carefully.

Unfortunately, the fluctuation only lasted for a moment, and Lynn didn't have time to investigate it further before it disappeared in an instant.

'No, in such a short time, I can only discern at most that it's a fluctuation similar to the Black Moon rune; it's impossible to obtain any further information.'

In fact, Lynn was able to discern this fluctuation thanks to his recent intensive study of the Black Moon Rune.

Otherwise, if it were the previous Lynn, he wouldn't have been able to distinguish that this fluctuation was similar to the Black Moon Rune.

Over the past month, Lynn not only researched the three modes of the "Healing" rune and expanded the flying serpent rune from two forms to three, but he also inscribed the traceless rune into his mental sea.

The original strength of the Traceless Rune was already among the top in the first-level advanced flight techniques, even surpassing the exquisite Golden Mist Shadow Technique. Now that Lynn has inscribed it in his mental sea, its strength has been further enhanced.

Although it hasn't reached the level of the Second Ring Road yet, it's very close.

In addition to the teleportation ability granted by the Black Moon Enforcement Order, Lynn's claim to the three McKinley School wizards that he was skilled in flying magic was not just empty talk.

Flight and movement have now become one of Lynn's greatest strengths!
In addition, Lynn also inscribed the Hidden Assassin Rune, which was of the same 0-ring high-level as the Healing Rune, into his mental sea.

After both runes were inscribed into his mental sea, they both rose to the first level of strength, but the Shadow Assassin rune was clearly not as effective as the Healing rune for Lynn.

Lynn didn't put too much effort into it; after engraving it, he didn't bother with it anymore, treating it merely as a way to enrich his own abilities.

As for why the Shadow Assassin rune is only at the first-tier, low-level, and practically useless, it's still inscribed in the mental sea. This is mainly because activating the Shadow Assassin rune doesn't consume mental energy. It might come in handy at certain times, since there's still space in the mental sea. If a better rune becomes available, it can simply be erased and a new one inscribed.

As for backup plans, Lynn can never have too many.

"What's wrong, Lynn? Have you run out of magic?"

Not far away, Charles had already dealt with the alien in front of him and was waiting nearby. Noticing that Lynn had paused for a while, he hesitated for a moment before asking.

Lynn snapped out of his daze and quickly shook his head, explaining, "It's nothing. I just released it too quickly. I'm just calming down my mental state."

Sometimes, when a wizard uses high-intensity spells continuously, it may lead to mental or magical overload, which manifests as increased fluctuations in mental or magical energy, making it more difficult to control.

Although such situations are relatively rare, and the wizard can choose to continue using the spell, the chances of the spell failing will increase. Therefore, it is usually recommended to pause for two or three seconds, which will allow the spell to recover most of its power.

Ultimately, wizards are not machines, and even machines can make mistakes. Therefore, wizards cannot guarantee that every spell they cast will be successful or that every spell will be exactly the same.

It's sizzling!

“Okay.” Charter nodded when he saw that Lynn had successfully cast the lightning spell again.

He hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should help, but when he saw Vivian, who was also attacking the alien spirit, and Weiss, who was standing by and watching helplessly, he suppressed the impulse.

After all, the alien spirit was only barely at the first level, and apart from being difficult to kill, it posed no threat. Lynn didn't really need its help.

But if Charles helps Lynn now, does that mean he has to help Vivian too? And if he helps, what should Wess do? Would it make Wess seem too heartless? Would Wess be displeased?
Chartreau's strength is not weak among first-tier high wizards, but Weiss's strength is clearly superior to Chartreau's, making him a true elite wizard of the McKinley School!
Charter had to consider Weiss's idea.

Several minutes later, as Lynn unleashed his final lightning spell, the alien spirit in front of him vanished completely in the flashing lightning.

Lynn let out a sigh of relief, but a barely perceptible hint of regret flashed in her eyes.

He tried his best, but still couldn't find anything useful.

Lynn turned around and saw that only Vivian was still attacking the alien spirit. The witch's cheeks were covered in sweat, but she looked serious and did not ask for help at all.

But this feigned stubbornness only makes people feel more sorry for her.

Unfortunately, Lynn only glanced at her before calmly looking away, once again marveling at Vivian's acting skills.

Weiss, who was closest, remained indifferent and unmoved.

If it were before, Chalt might have offered his help, but now he was only focused on gazing at the ruins beneath his feet, pretending not to see them.

After another ten seconds or so, Vivian successfully dealt with the last of the alien spirits.

Such a performance is not actually exaggerated. After all, although Lynn's strength was the same as hers, which was at the intermediate level of the first tier, Lynn used lightning-type sorcery, which had slightly stronger attack power, so he eliminated the alien spirits faster than her.

"Alright, now that we've dealt with the alien spirits, let's discuss what to do next," Weiss said in a deep voice.

Four wizards slowly approached.

"First of all, a direct landing and head-on collision is definitely not an option."

"There are 67 of these otherworldly spirits on the surface, plus 4 rotten monsters. It doesn't seem like a lot, but that's just the number on the surface."

"No one knows whether new alien spirits or rotten monsters will appear after they are eliminated. At the same time, these are only alien spirits and rotten monsters within a two-hundred-meter radius. The streets further away are still silent, so there must be many more alien spirits and rotten monsters hiding there."

Weiss looked around at the four wizards and emphasized again, "A head-on confrontation is absolutely not going to work; we need to come up with a safer approach."

Vivian spoke quickly, wiping the sweat from her face, and said, "There were dozens of alien spirits and rotten monsters surrounding us just now, but in the end only 4 alien spirits caught up with us."

"These alien spirits don't seem very intelligent, though they might be under some kind of restriction. But in any case, we might be able to try luring them over little by little and gradually eliminating them all!"

Weiss nodded, giving Vivian a satisfied look; the witch's thoughts coincided with his own.

However, while this plan is good, there is still one thing that needs to be determined.

“I think this plan is feasible,” Weiss said decisively, then added slowly, “However, to implement this plan, we need a bait.”

Lynn's heart sank; he had a premonition of what was to come.

As expected, Vivian glanced at him and said without hesitation, "I am not good at flying magic, so I am definitely not good at being bait. But didn't Lord Lynn say that he is good at flying magic? I think this important task is perfect for him."

“After all, killing the alien spirits requires a more powerful wizard. Lord Weiss and Lord Charles are the best candidates and should not be used as bait.” “Although I am skilled in flight magic, my own strength is only at the mid-level of the first rank, and I am afraid I am not capable of this job.” Lynn said with a wry smile, “If I accidentally attract too many alien spirits, that would be troublesome.”

“Even in that situation, only four otherworldly spirits chased after us. You can rest assured, Lord Lynn. The situation you're worried about won't happen.” Vivian smiled sweetly, but her words were a rebuttal.

Lynn frowned slightly, knowing that no matter how eloquently he spoke, it would probably be of no use, since there were three people on the other side, while he was all alone.

But Lynn was unwilling to accept it so easily.

He also wanted to study the strange fluctuations emanating from the otherworldly spirits. If he was only responsible for luring them in and not for eliminating them, he would have no chance at all.

At this moment, Charles suddenly spoke up.

He looked at Vivian and shook his head slightly: "I don't think it's appropriate to let Lord Lynn act as bait all the time."

Vivian's smile froze for a moment, but Charles didn't seem to notice and looked at Weiss again, continuing,
"This mission has a time limit. If we want to eliminate the alien spirits and rotten beasts as soon as possible and gain more exploration time, then everyone must be willing to do their best to complete this task."

"Therefore, I think it's best if we take turns being the bait. Those alien spirits aren't very strong, any one of us could easily deal with them, there's no need to divide them up so carefully."

Listening to Charles's words, Weiss fell into deep thought.

Vivian glanced at Charles, her brows furrowing slightly. "Lord Viss, I think..."

“I think Charles is right. We’ll take turns being the bait.”

Weiss raised his head and said in a deep voice.

Chartreau is right. The most important thing now is to eliminate these aliens as soon as possible and leave more time for exploration.

They could certainly force Lynn to act as bait, but they couldn't directly threaten him, much less kill him. So if Lynn started to dawdle, they wouldn't be able to do anything, and ultimately everyone would suffer.

Compared to the consequences of not being able to explore the Greywood Ruins, Weiss was clearly more willing to take turns being the bait.

Anyway, it's not a difficult task, it just requires a little more effort.

“Lord Charles and Lord Weiss are right.” Lynn smiled and then said, “Then let’s start by being the bait.”

"Is everyone ready? If so, I'll head down now."

Weiss nodded slightly, and Chartres nodded as well.

Vivian seemed to want to say something, but Lynn ignored her and descended towards the Gray Forest Ruins below.

The witch's face showed a rare hint of displeasure, but it was fleeting and she quickly returned to her calm state.

After thinking for a moment, Vivian walked towards Charles.

The latter neither avoided it nor actively welcomed it.

Vivian maintained her smile, but she didn't understand why Charles's attitude towards her had changed so drastically.

In reality, her behavior of not offering any help is like a couple falling into the water together. The girlfriend can swim and has a life jacket and a swimming ring, but she only cares about escaping herself and doesn't think about helping her boyfriend at all... even though she clearly has the ability to do so.

This is something that would be difficult for anyone to get over, even though Charles knew long ago that Vivian didn't really love him.

Dozens of seconds later, Lynn returned with three alien spirits.

When they were almost close to the group, Lynn turned around to greet the alien spirit.

This action startled Weiss, who, after a moment's thought, also took the lead in facing one of the alien spirits.

Charles looked at Lynn, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes, and headed towards the last alien spirit.

In the end, only Vivian remained, hovering in place, watching the three of them destroy the alien spirit.

But this situation did not make Vivian feel fortunate; on the contrary, it made her very uncomfortable and felt isolated.

'What's going on? Why are they all suddenly working so hard?'

A few minutes later, the three-headed monster was successfully dealt with.

It was the next wizard's turn to lure the spirit.

Whether it was to save face or to fit in with the group, Vivian took the initiative and said, "I'll do it the second time."

After she finished speaking, she flew down, slightly slower than Lynn. She seemed very nervous after landing in the ruins and was almost surrounded by alien spirits. It took her a lot of effort to finally break through.

If Lynn hadn't already known Vivian's strength as a first-tier high-level wizard, he probably would have been fooled by her superb acting skills.

But soon, Lynn frowned again.

Perhaps because Vivian was delayed a little, there were as many as five alien spirits following behind her this time!

"Get ready," Weiss warned in a deep voice, then added after a moment of silence, "I'll deal with the extra alien spirit."

Vivian looked flustered, seemingly aware that five otherworldly spirits were following behind her.

She flew straight toward Lynn. The latter was not surprised and took the initiative to meet one of the alien spirits, releasing lightning magic from his hands. After attracting the attention of one of the alien spirits, he decisively retreated.

Vivian's eyes flashed, realizing she couldn't catch up with Lynn. However, this was just a side effect of hers, so she didn't mind and decisively stopped to meet the alien spirit behind her.

Then Weiss and Chalt stepped forward, each facing one of the two aliens and the other one.

The five alien spirits were thus divided up.

The four wizards fought their respective battles. A few minutes later, Lynn defeated the alien spirit and sighed inwardly.

He still gained nothing.

Turning around, Lynn saw that Weiss was still dealing with the two alien spirits, which made him slightly surprised.

However, he soon discovered that it wasn't because the wizard was weak, but because Weiss was intentionally controlling the frequency of his attacks in order to minimize energy consumption and maximize the attack effect.

By this time, Chalt had already dealt with the alien, and even Vivian had dealt with her own alien.

The two of them coincidentally stood beside Weiss, providing support.

The two alien spirits struggled under the attacks of the three wizards, their bodies covered in wounds, constantly reassembling themselves.

Lynn was about to step forward to help, but at that moment, as he carefully sensed the two shattered alien spirits, he suddenly froze.

'Within the spirit's body, there seems to be... Black Moon runes?'

(End of this chapter)