Wizard: My career panel has no upper limit

Chapter 152 Acne
In the final moments of his life, Marcus's consciousness became unusually clear.

He recalled his life, the painful days he spent in his brother's laboratory, and the forced "transformation" and "enhancement" he was subjected to.

Oliver never treated him as a brother, but only as an experimental subject that could be sacrificed at any time.

Each "extraction" steals a part of his soul, taking him further and further away from humanity.

Initially, those experiments were just basic tests, and the pain was still bearable.

But as Oliver's ambitions grew, the nature of his experiments became increasingly cruel.

He remembered that long night when Oliver first pierced his brain with the tentacles.

He felt a part of his memories and knowledge being forcibly ripped away; the pain transcended the physical realm, it was the agony of his soul being torn apart.

From that day on, he knew he could never go back.

His consciousness gradually shattered, his personality disintegrated, leaving only fragmented memories and emotions.

Oliver made more and more frequent "improvements" to him, transforming him into all sorts of bizarre shapes, as if he were searching for some perfect recipe.

Marcus thought he had long been accustomed to this fate, until that day when he saw Ron Ralph's figure in his brother's peeping crystal.

That guy who clashed with me over a servant—but to be fair, his conflict with Ron was also at Oliver's behest…

His brother's attention to Ron grew daily, and this attention contained a kind of morbid jealousy.

Marcus had even overheard his brother mutter, "Imagine if I could acquire his special talent in potions."

He knew that if given the chance, Oliver would definitely target Ron, just like he would target all the "materials" he coveted.

This realization, for some reason, planted a completely illogical idea in Marcus's mind: that Ron was indirectly responsible for his tragic situation.

Without Ron, perhaps Oliver wouldn't have fallen into madness so quickly, and perhaps he wouldn't have become a twisted experimental subject.

This illogical yet perfectly reasonable resentment within a distorted mind became Marcus's final pillar of support.

In a sense, this may be the only emotion that allows him to retain a sliver of his own identity.

“Ron.”

In the flames, he saw a blurry figure.

That was the blond-haired boy, Andrei, who was clad in scale armor and held a sword in his right hand. Dragon breath flames spewed from his mouth like flowing water, forming a magnificent yet deadly pillar of fire.

In Marcus's distorted vision, the blond figure overlapped with Ron.

He remembered that Ron often appeared with this blond nobleman, the two were inseparable and supported each other.

“It was you.” Marcus felt a surge of anger welling up inside him: “It was all your fault.”

Amidst the flames, his bones suddenly emitted a series of terrifying cracking sounds before reforming into a posture more suited for a sprint.

The black blood vessels beneath the skin began to writhe wildly, providing the dying body with its last bit of energy.

Suddenly, the burning body burst forth with astonishing power, bursting out of the sea of ​​fire at incredible speed and rushing straight toward Andrei.

Andrei clearly hadn't expected the half-charred monster to still be able to move. He hastily dodged to the side, but Marcus's teeth still bit deeply into his arm.

"Damn it!" Andrei cried out in pain, then plunged his longsword into Marcus's head.

The blade pierced through the brain, its sharp tip protruding through the back of the skull, blood splattering everywhere.

Even after his brain was pierced, Marcus's teeth remained firmly clenched, even penetrating deeper.

"Help me get this thing down!"

Andrei shouted at the surrounding law enforcement officers, trying to break free, but Marcus's jaw was as tight as a vise.

Several law enforcement officers rushed forward, some shooting beams of light from their staffs, while others tried to entangle Marcus's body with magical ropes.

"It must be decapitated; its central nervous system has mutated!"

A senior apprentice commanded:

"Ordinary damage won't work; we must cut it off completely!"

Despite the excruciating pain, Andrei forcefully drew his sword and slashed at Marcus's neck once more.

At the same time, another law enforcement officer also slashed at the same spot with a sharp energy blade.

Under the combined force of the two forces, Marcus's head was finally severed, but his teeth remained firmly gripping Andrei's arm, refusing to let go.

Blood flowed down Andrei's arm, staining his cuffs and boots red.

Black liquid kept oozing from the bite wound, mixing with the blood to form an unsettling dark red color.

"What about the rest of the body?"

Andrei asked through gritted teeth, his face extremely pale from the pain.

"It has been completely burned down, and there are no signs of activity."

"One of the law enforcement officers answered, while keeping a wary eye on the head that was still twitching slightly," a law enforcement officer replied.

"Please help me remove it." Andrei pointed to the head biting into his arm:

"I need to treat my wound."

Several law enforcement officers worked together and, with great effort, finally removed Marcus's head from Andrei's arm.

The bite wound revealed a horrific sight, with muscle tissue almost completely torn apart, exposing the bare bone.

Even more worrying is that black lines have appeared around the wound, as if some kind of pollution or curse is spreading.

"You need to see mentors and receive treatment immediately."

The law enforcement medical apprentice simply retrieved the medication and bandages: "This wound may be deeply contaminated, so I can only provide you with basic treatment."

Andrei looked at his wounds, then at the expensive medical supplies, and could only nod.
"Thank you for your help. I am a Blood Knight, and this injury will heal itself quickly."

"But the pollution might... You'd better go talk to your advisor..."

The medical apprentice wanted to persuade him further, but stopped halfway through his sentence.

Seeing Andrei's worried expression, he understood the other man's predicament.

"Then let me take care of it for you briefly..."

"Where's Marcus's head? Does it need to be dissected?" someone asked.

"No, burn it directly."

The enforcement captain decisively gave the order:

"This kind of case is too dangerous and not suitable for ordinary apprentices. Valuable information will be extracted by the mentors; you should not meddle."

The group nodded and then threw Marcus's head back into the fire.

The head hissed eerily in the fire, as if in a final protest, but was quickly consumed by the flames.

Andrei stood aside, witnessing all of this, his expression complex.

His arm was in excruciating pain, but he forced himself to remain calm.

As a member of the royal family, he was taught from a young age to maintain his composure in all circumstances.

Moreover, such an injury is really nothing for a Bloodline Knight.

With just a few days of rest, the power of the bloodline will automatically repair the damaged tissue.

But what he didn't notice was that the black stains didn't stop spreading even after being simply bandaged.

Instead, it is slowly but steadily spreading upwards, like an invisible venomous snake, quietly slithering into the depths of his blood.

"Report the situation."

The enforcement captain walked up to Andrei: "What did you find before you arrived?"

“After receiving the notification, I rushed to the scene. Marcus had already rushed out of the tower and was wandering around the central area. He was in a very unstable state and extremely aggressive, and had already caused minor injuries to several junior apprentices.”

Andrei briefly recounted what happened:

"I tried to corner him with dragon breath, but I didn't expect his resistance to be stronger than I thought, so I had to resort to physical attacks in the end."

"You did a great job." The enforcement captain nodded.

"Where's Oliver? Any leads?"

"Unrelated personnel, stay away!"

Suddenly, a dignified voice came from behind the crowd. The crowd quickly parted, making way for them.

A tall figure in a dark purple robe strode over; it was Vice Dean Hayek.

Everyone immediately stood at attention, including the captain of the enforcement team, who all showed respect.

"Vice Dean!" The enforcement captain stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

"How is the situation?" Hayek asked directly, without any pleasantries.

"Oliver West has defected. He released the experimental subject Marcus, causing chaos, and then took the opportunity to escape into the Edge Forest. The pursuit team has tracked him deep into the forest, but..."

The enforcement captain paused for a moment, then continued hesitantly:

"We have lost contact."

"Lost contact?" Hayek's brow furrowed even more. "How many people?"

“Three intermediate-level apprentices and one advanced-level apprentice.” The enforcement captain’s voice lowered slightly.
"Latest intelligence indicates they've located Oliver's trail in the northeastern part of the Edge Forest and are preparing to encircle him."

"and then?"

"And then there was no further response."

The enforcement captain lowered his head:
“We tried to contact them through mental links, but they broke down one by one. The last team member reported that Oliver had begun to awaken, exhibiting extremely strong aggression and some kind of special ability.”

Hayek's expression grew even more grim:
“Take me to the place where Marcus was found; I want to examine it myself.”

"Yes, my lord."

The atmosphere at the scene eased slightly after Hayek and the enforcement captain left.

Andrei was about to leave when a law enforcement officer stopped him.

"Andrei, please wait a moment. The Vice Dean has instructed that all personnel involved in tonight's operation must be meticulously recorded and checked, just in case."

Andrei nodded, though his arm was in excruciating pain, he knew it was a necessary procedure.

He's currently unable to perform field missions, his income is meager, and the increased appetite he's gained since becoming a Bloodline Knight has left him unable to make ends meet, so...

He looked down at the bandaged wound; some blood had seeped through the outside of the bandage, but the bleeding had slowed down.

The Blood Knight's healing abilities are working; the wound should heal quickly.

"I'll go ask Ron for help tomorrow; he always has a lot of ideas..."

The reason he didn't seek out a formal wizard was not only because he couldn't afford the magic stone fragments, but also because he had an instinctive trust in his genius potion-making friend.

(End of this chapter)