Wizard: My career panel has no upper limit

Chapter 128 Old Spider

The two agreed to meet at the south gate of the school at noon tomorrow and head to Lizard Alley.

After Andre left, Ron returned to the study in the workshop, his thoughts flooding in.

After pondering for a long time, he decided to make full preparations to ensure the safety of this trip.

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

Several bottles of recovery potions, two bottles of defense potions, a bottle of speed enhancer, and several alchemical flash grenades
Although the Blood Knight's job change had greatly improved his physical fitness, facing the potential dangers of Lizard Alley, it was always a good idea to be more prepared.

………………

Oliver stood in his private residence on the top floor of the tower, overlooking the dark fog jungle through the window.

As night falls, countless magic crystal lamps light up throughout the school, like stars scattered in the dark forest.

The experimental area in the distance occasionally flashed with strange lights, accompanied by low roars. It was a wizard conducting extraordinary experiments.

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

On his desk was spread out a list of the latest rankings of candidate wizards, with a certain name circled in red pen - Ron Ralph.

"Twenty-four. Up six places." Oliver muttered to himself, tapping his fingers lightly on the table. "This kid's rise is a little too fast."

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

A higher ranking means more resources and opportunities, and also means more attention from the school's top management.

"'Medicine-Body Resonance'" Oliver whispered. This was Ron's publicly known special talent, and one of the important reasons for his rapid rise.

"He's a rare talent. No wonder Teacher Corinna is interested in him."

Oliver's expression became more complicated when Corinna was mentioned.

As an important official wizard in the school, Corinna's every move is closely watched.

Her recent interest in Ron has caused a lot of speculation.

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

This is a special potion that can relieve mental fatigue. It has a light strawberry aroma, but the aftertaste is a bit bitter.

Just as complicated as his mood at the moment.

"Dawood" Oliver sighed, thinking back to the accident a few months ago.

Originally, it was just a small trick against Holt.

He secretly gave Dawood some psychological hints, making the already mentally unstable apprentice even more paranoid, thus causing some trouble for Holt during the inspection.

Unexpectedly, after Dawood completely lost control, a batch of precious research materials fell into Ron's hands.

"You've done more harm than good." Oliver smiled bitterly and put down his glass.

He originally thought that the information would be of no use to Ron, especially the research notes on sonic magic.

Everyone in the school who has studied it believes that Dawood's sonic magic concept has fundamental flaws, is difficult to perfect, and has limited value.

Even the complete memory fragments that Oliver extracted from Dawood's mind only confirmed this.

The theoretical framework of sonic magic itself has problems. The energy structure is unstable and it is impossible to form a truly effective spell model.

"Strange," Oliver muttered to himself.
"I clearly extracted complete memory fragments from Dawood's brain, including all of his research results, but the information is clearly incomplete. Could he have hidden something else somewhere else?"

This question has been bothering him, especially since he recently heard that Ron seemed to have mastered some enhanced version of sonic magic, which deepened his doubts.

He walked to the bookshelf and lightly pressed a hidden mechanism.

The bookshelf slowly moved away, revealing a secret door.

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

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

The creature was neither human nor inhuman, with disproportionately extended limbs and black lines all over its skin that flowed like ink.

The only thing that still retained human features was the distorted but still recognizable face - that was his younger brother Marcus.

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

The junior apprentice who always accepted commissions from the edge of the forest was found dead on the outskirts of the North District, his body covered with signs of deformation and contamination.

He knew the real reason for Carl's death - it was caused by the loss of control of the stitched experimental subject he used to test the effects of the "Sin Domain Black Crystal".

And that experimental subject was none other than his failed brother Marcus.

"Good evening, Marcus," Oliver said softly, his voice full of fatigue.

The caged creature suddenly raised its head and let out a sound somewhere between a roar and a cry.

The eyes that originally resembled Oliver's were now filled with dark liquid, leaving only a faint red light in the center.

"I brought a new one." Oliver paused and took out a black crystal from his arms: "This should ease your pain."

Marcus' attention was not attracted by the black crystal.

His ferocious face turned to the wall, where the latest ranking list of candidate wizards was posted.

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

Following Marcus's gaze, Oliver saw Ron's picture on the table.

Before he knew it, Marcus' claws had already scratched deep marks on the ground, almost tearing the metal floor apart.

"You've noticed him too?" Oliver gave a wry smile. "Yeah, that kid's rise to prominence is incredibly fast."

Marcus let out a low growl, as if in response to Oliver's words.

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

His recent situation has made him feel more depressed than ever before.

Cynthia almost stopped meeting him, as she seemed to have found a stable way to obtain the "Sin Realm Black Crystal".

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

What made him even more worried was that his mentor had been looking at him in an increasingly strange way recently.

That scrutinizing look made him shudder, as if all his secrets were seen through.

"I'm in a real mess, am I?" Oliver muttered to himself.

He knew his options were dwindling.

Continuing to rely on the "Sin Domain Black Crystal" to increase strength means greater risks and the school may discover it at any time;
But if he stops using it, his ranking in the wizard candidate sequence will inevitably decline, which is tantamount to slow death for an ambitious senior apprentice.

Perhaps using the Sin Realm Black Crystal to fully awaken and then defecting from the school is his last option.

Although this road is full of dangers, there is at least a glimmer of hope.

Oliver closed his eyes in pain, his temples throbbing. He felt an unprecedented exhaustion and despair, as if he was standing on the edge of a cliff, with pursuers behind him and an abyss ahead.

In the secret room, the mutated Marcus was still staring at Ron's photo on the wall. Dark liquid seeped out from all over his body and gathered at the bottom of the cage to form a constantly wriggling black lake.

His claws continued to scratch the ground, making sharp scraping sounds, which made Oliver even more irritated. He frowned and pressed the shock button...

“Aaaaaaaaaaaa…”

………………

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

Andrei was wearing light clothes today to facilitate movement, and had a sharp sword on his waist.

Ron, on the other hand, wore ordinary dark robes and carried a seemingly ordinary wooden staff, which was actually an ironwood sword in disguise.

"Are you ready?" Andre asked, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

Ron nodded, "Everything is ready. Let's go."

Leaving the school, the two chose a less traveled path to Lizard Alley.

Compared with the last visit, they were more familiar with the route this time and moved faster.

On the way, Ron 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 may have the information I need."

"Old woman? You mean the scary old woman with yellow skin and deep-set eyes?" Andre recalled:
"I don't see anything special about her, but if she really sent people to attack us, then she must have some unusual abilities."

Ron nodded seriously. "That's right, but we're fully prepared this time and won't be easily tricked."

Walking through the dark path, the mycelium network of the peeper mushroom spreads like a spider web under your feet.

Ron noticed that the mushrooms were more active today than last time, and the lines on the caps were flashing with a faint fluorescence, as if conveying some kind of message.

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

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

Lizard Alley was even more bustling and crowded today than the last time they were here.

The cries of vendors of various ethnic groups rose one after another, 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 a little further away." Ron pointed in a direction:
"Let's go find the gray dwarf Otto first. He should know about the old woman."

The two walked through the noisy crowd and arrived at the Sunset Tavern.

Compared to last time, there were more customers in the pub and the atmosphere was more lively.

They walked through the crowded hall. Because of the friendly deal they had made last time, they no longer had to be restricted at the door, and they found Otto's compartment with ease.

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

Seeing Ron and Andre, he was stunned at first, then he smiled slyly.

"Ah, it's you!"

Otto greeted him in a rough voice, "Long time no see. What good things do you want today?"

Ron didn't say anything polite 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 on it. Every wrinkle and every spot was drawn with incredible precision - thanks to his photographic memory brought about by his "universal knowledge" trait.

Otto glanced at the portrait and immediately became wary. "This old woman. What do you want with her?"

"She wasn't very friendly to us last time, and I wanted to pay her a return visit," Ron said calmly, a hint of coldness in his eyes.

Otto shook his head. "Young man, this is not a wise choice. That old woman is no ordinary person. There are not many people in Lizard Alley who are more powerful than her."

Ron smiled slightly, took out the potion master's badge from his pocket and placed it on the table: "I am not an ordinary person either."

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

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

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

Otto hesitated for a moment, then finally shook his head:
"Even though you are now of a distinguished status, this information is still somewhat dangerous."

Ron was not in a hurry. He slowly stretched out his hand, and a circle of golden-red light suddenly lit up in the palm of his hand - a small part of the energy configuration of the Ring of Light appeared in his palm.

"I think we can work out a mutually beneficial deal."

Ron's voice remained calm, but Otto was keenly aware of the enormous magic power in his palm.

I'm afraid that once he's released, everyone in this tavern will suffer a terrible price of either death or injury.

"I can give you ten magic stone fragments, plus a free identification service from me as a professional potion master. The bottles of potions you were just examining seemed a little hard to tell, right?"

This guy is really crazy!

The gray dwarf's expression became complicated, a mixture of surprise, greed and fear.

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

Under Ron's identification and the temptation of ten magic stone fragments, Otto revealed the old woman's information in detail:
"Her name is Maura, nicknamed 'Old Spider'. She is said to be proficient in all kinds of strange spells. She owns a shop called 'Maze Pawn Shop' in the deepest part of Lizard Alley, where she collects all kinds of strange items."

Otto lowered his voice. "She has a group of lizardmen warriors and other thugs under her command. It's said she even has an ogre mage in her care. Even high-level apprentices don't dare to mess with that creature."

"Why did she attack us?" Ron asked bluntly.

"Old Spider never makes a deal with anyone for the first time," Otto explained.

"She always 'tests' visitors first to see if they are worth doing business with. You were lucky to escape last time."

After leaving the Sunset Tavern, the two headed deeper into Lizard Alley.

Andre sneered, "A test is just a nice excuse for robbery... If she wants to play this game again this time, I don't mind using dragon breath to treat her hired thugs."

The two walked deeper along the narrow cobblestone road. The stalls and shops around them gradually became sparse, and the smell in the air changed from the bustling market atmosphere to a gloomy and damp feeling.

Just as they turned a corner, Ron suddenly felt a mental wave.

He stopped immediately and scanned the surroundings alertly with his mental power.

"There's an ambush," he whispered, the staff in his hand ready to transform back into an ironwood sword.

Andre nodded slightly, his golden pupils shrinking to a needle-like line. "I smell the scent of some reptile. Maybe a lizardman."

As soon as he finished speaking, several figures suddenly flashed out from the shadows in front, completely blocking the road.

They were eight burly lizardmen warriors, fully armed with scimitars and shields.

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

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

Ron and Andre looked at each other and saw the determination in each other's eyes.

(End of this chapter)