Wizard: My career panel has no upper limit

Chapter 22: The giant brain fights the beast!
Ron closed his eyes, trying to grasp the source of this strange feeling, but the sound was gone in an instant.

"strangeness."

He muttered to himself and turned over uneasily.

Just at this moment, the noise next door suddenly intensified.

That was no longer a sound that a human could make. It was more like the painful howl of some wild beast, mixed with the strange sound of metal friction.

"It seems that the thing I least expected really happened..."

Ron muttered to himself, a strong sense of foreboding coming over him.

He quickly turned over from the bed, his movements light and quick, without making any sound.

The hunting training that his father had forced him and his brothers to occasionally participate in when they were in the kingdom came in handy now.

The noises from next door became more rapid, occasionally interspersed with the muffled sound of heavy objects hitting the wall.

It seemed as if something was struggling, banging, and roaring in that small room.

Ron hesitated, his mind rapidly processing his current situation.

As Dallender's immediate neighbour, he was the most vulnerable person.

Andre once specifically warned about the terrifying nature of the deformed creatures in the Black Mist Jungle.

In the early stages of distortion, most mutants can still maintain the most basic sanity, but as time goes by, their sanity will gradually be devoured, and they will eventually become monsters that only know how to kill.

What's even more terrifying is that once sanity completely disappears, the power of the aberration will skyrocket at an alarming rate.

By completely liberating themselves from their own limits and eating frantically to obtain nutrients, they can even reach a terrifying level comparable to that of a high-level apprentice in a short period of time.

There are still two months before the assessment, and he can't take any risks here.

"Darend has already started to mutate. By the time the law enforcement team finds out, it will be too late." Ron thought quickly, "We must leave here immediately."

After getting dressed, he grabbed his wooden sword and tucked it around his waist, stuffing his valuables into his arms.

"I'd rather die than let my friend die." Ron whispered to himself, "It's more important to save my own life first. We can talk about it later."

Just as he finished packing his things, he heard the strange noises from next door suddenly stop, replaced by an even more terrifying silence.

The silence lasted only a few seconds, followed by the creaking sound of bones breaking and the sticky sound of muscles squirming.

Ron's heart was beating faster. He walked carefully to the door, opened it a crack, and looked out.

The corridor was deserted. Most of the candidate apprentices were either resting or practicing in seclusion in their rooms, completely unaware of the danger lurking among them.

He had to stay away from here and wait until he was in a safe place before considering notifying the law enforcement team.

Ron took a deep breath, quietly opened the door, and prepared to leave quickly.

The moment he stepped out of the room, the wall suddenly exploded, and a twisted figure broke through the wall like a cannonball and rushed directly into the corridor.

Bricks, splinters of wood, and dust flew everywhere, mixed with an inhuman howl.

Ron reacted quickly and instinctively took two steps back to avoid being knocked away by the clashing monster.

"Damn it!"

Is that... the former Darend?
His eyes widened, and he could hardly believe what he saw.

The person standing in front of Ron was no longer the slightly plump researcher, but a deformed monster.

Darend's body seemed to be twisting in pain, his clothes torn, revealing the squirming muscle tissue underneath.

But the most terrifying thing was his head - the entire skull seemed to be pushed open from the inside by some force, and a huge, beating, translucent brain broke out.

The surface of the deformed brain was covered with constantly wriggling blood vessels, and some areas even emitted a faint blue light, as if electric current was running through them.

"Ron." The monster actually recognized him and uttered a few words with difficulty in a voice that overlapped two words: "Run away."

But this spark of humanity was fleeting, and Darend's eyes quickly became empty, and his pupils expanded into darkness.

"Ouch...ow!"

Its words turned into a beast-like howl halfway through, and the light on the exposed surface of its brain became even more dazzling.

Ron felt an invisible shock wave coming towards him, and in an instant, he felt like he was hit in the chest by a sledgehammer.

Thanks to the physical enhancement brought by the Knight Squire class, he barely withstood the attack, but still felt as if his internal organs were being kneaded by invisible hands, the pain was excruciating. If it were him in the past, he would have probably suffered severe internal bleeding from this force.

The distorted giant brain monster no longer responded to the call, but instead emitted a series of shrill screams, each sonic attack more powerful than the last.

The wooden railings of the hallway began to crack, and several nearby doors were shaken to the point of crumbling.

Ron knew that the situation was irreversible.

Darend has been completely transformed by the drug and turned into a dangerous deformity.

In the Black Mist Jungle, there is only one way to deal with this situation - eliminate the threat!
Looking at the monster's wild and muscular posture, and the continuous powerful penetrating sound waves, he didn't think that if he turned around and ran away now, exposing his back to the other party, there would be no good end.

Thinking of this, Ron's eyes became cold and focused, and all his reluctance and timidity were suppressed in the deepest part of his heart.

At this moment, he had only one thought in his mind - survival!
The deformed Darend seemed to feel threatened, let out an angry roar, and then rushed towards the target.

It was incredibly fast. With a stomp of its thick, muscular legs on the ground, it crossed the distance between the two people almost instantly.

Ron did not attack hastily. He followed the essentials of the Corona Sword Technique, perfectly coordinating his breathing and movements, and dodged the attack by turning sideways at the last moment.

At the same time, he held the sword in his right hand and slashed accurately at Darend's leg.

[Perfect dodge and counterattack! Basic Swordsmanship EXP +2]

The sword hit the target with a dull sound.

Darend felt pain and staggered for a moment, but he quickly steadied himself, turned around and attacked again, but his speed was significantly reduced.

This time, he did not charge directly, but opened his mouth and emitted a special sound wave vibration.

The energy in the air began to distort, forming translucent sound wave rings that attacked Ron.

Ron tried to dodge, but the sonic rings were so fast that it was almost impossible to avoid them completely.

He barely dodged the first wave of attacks by turning sideways, but the second wave of waves hit him directly on the shoulder.

"what!"

There was a sharp pain, and Ron felt his right arm temporarily lose sensation.

This was not just a simple physical impact, but an attack that combined mental power and sound waves - exactly the prototype of the sonic spell that Darend had been researching.

He struggled to distance himself, but Darend suddenly raised his head and let out a piercing scream. Circles of more powerful sound waves spread out from his distorted brain, forming an all-round impact.

A trace of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. Ron knew that he had to end the battle as soon as possible, otherwise he would definitely be shocked to death.

Seeing that the opponent was gathering strength again and preparing to launch a stronger sonic attack, he had an idea and cast the zero-ring spell he mastered.

"Slime splatter!"

With the surge of mental power, a ball of sticky liquid shot out from his fingertips and hit Darend's feet accurately.

The liquid quickly solidified, sticking the giant brain monster's feet firmly to the ground.

[Accurate Hit! Slime Splash Experience +2]

The deformed Darend roared angrily and tried to break free, but the slime was extremely strong.

He couldn't move and could only stand there and continue to launch those sonic attacks.

The mucus's binding effect was rapidly weakening, and in less than a few seconds, Darend had freed one leg.

If I wait until it breaks free completely, I will surely die.

Taking advantage of the opportunity when the target was briefly restrained, Ron dodged the sonic ring while looking for an opportunity to attack.

Soon, he noticed that after each sonic attack, Darend would pause - the mutant brain needed to rest after the attack.

"It's now!"

Taking advantage of the moment when the sonic attack ended, he quickly went around behind Darend.

At this distance, Ron could clearly see the pulsating blood vessels in the deformed brain.

Without further hesitation, he raised his sword—and stabbed it with all his might towards that exposed, vulnerable part!

(End of this chapter)