Wizard: My career panel has no upper limit

Chapter 95 The First Knight on the Dark Wizard's Path

"Nothing serious, Apprentice Norris." Andre adjusted his breathing and suppressed the fluctuations in his heart: "I just ran into a few... old acquaintances."

Norris's eyes swept over the three people kneeling on the ground, and a meaningful smile appeared on his face:

"I think they hope to be taken in as a servant by Ron the Potions Master through you, right?"

Andre didn't answer, but the subtle expression on his face revealed the answer.

"From what I know, Potion Master Ron has just acquired a workshop and is preparing to expand his business."

Norris's tone seemed casual, but in fact it was clearly testing: "At this time, we really need some help..."

Andre's thoughts raced. What Norris mentioned was true. Ron did intend to recruit an assistant.

But they had already discussed that the first choice would be those alien races with special talents, such as tree elves or clam people. These creatures could often provide additional bonuses with their racial talents when processing potion materials.

"Ron the Potions Master..." The blond boy chose his words carefully while thinking about how to respond.

"Please, for my father's sake..." Helena's pleading voice sounded again, but was interrupted by Andre raising his hand.

He struggled in his heart for a moment, and finally made a decision - a bitter and cruel decision.

"Sorry." Andre heard his own voice, which was so cold and unfamiliar, "Potion Master Ron currently has no plans to take in ordinary slaves."

Byron's body began to tremble uncontrollably, Helena's eyes changed from despair to a bitterness that was almost hatred, and Tonys had completely collapsed on the ground, his eyes empty as a dead object.

“Especially…” He continued with a hardened heart under Norris’s gaze: “This kind of ordinary people who don’t have any special skills and can only consume resources.”

The words were like a knife, cutting off the last thread of hope for the three people.

"I understand." Norris showed a hint of satisfaction on his face and waved out an invisible wave.

Concentrated bursts of mental interference without affecting unrelated people are skills that can only be learned through advanced courses and are also one of the entry requirements for the law enforcement team.

The three candidate apprentices collapsed to the ground and fell into coma almost at the same moment when the mental wave hit them.

They had no resistance to the mental interference of the intermediate apprentice level, just like ordinary people were powerless in the face of an overwhelming natural disaster, but Andre standing next to them was not affected at all.

"Please, everyone, drag these defective products away." Norris instructed the two team members behind him without turning his head, and then turned to Andre and said casually:
"Your Highness, please don't worry about this. The fate of these guys has already been determined."

Andre nodded silently, watching his former acquaintance being dragged away like garbage, his hands clenched quietly in his sleeves.

He knew that his decision just now might lead to the death of these three people, but in this black fog jungle where the fittest survive, any choice was no longer determined by his own subjective will.

"Your Highness is still too merciful. This is already the best arrangement for them. At least throwing them out can give them a glimmer of hope. If they are chosen by those people..."

There was a hint of subtle sarcasm in Norris' voice, and he directly pointed out:

"Also, you should be aware of who gave you your current position. Doing less unnecessary work is the first principle for your long-term survival."

Andre did not respond, but his attention was drawn to the sudden commotion on the other side of the courtyard.

I saw a female apprentice in a purple dress walking through the crowded crowd. It was Cynthia.

Everyone else consciously made way for them. As members of the reserve wizard sequence, they had the right of priority in selection.

Her eyes wandered among the male candidate apprentices, like a professional hunter searching for her favorite prey in the hunting grounds.

"This one looks pretty good..." The woman stroked the face of a blond boy with her hand, her voice carrying a chilling sticky feeling:

"The skin is also very tender, it should be able to last a few more times..."

As she spoke, she took out an exquisite silver chain from the silk bag at her waist and tied it around the boy's neck with her own hands, just like putting a collar on a pet.

"Don't worry, sister, I won't let you suffer too much..." Cynthia leaned over and whispered in the boy's ear, like a poisonous snake licking an apple: "At least not at the beginning..."

Andre looked at this scene and felt a churning in his stomach.

Although Cynthia's "hobby" was no secret in the school, it was still chilling to witness the process of her selecting a "plaything".

The law enforcement officers turned a blind eye to all this. Their job was just to clean up the "defective products" that no one wanted.

Those candidate apprentices who are not selected by the senior apprentices will be directly expelled to the wilderness outside the Black Mist Jungle.

What awaits them is not only hunger and cold, but also hunting and enslavement by various alien races.

This time of year is the most active season for the slave-hunting teams of various alien races.

They also knew that the Black Mist Jungle would regularly clear out a batch of "fresh goods", and these candidate apprentices who had no combat ability were the most ideal source of slaves.

"Your Highness, we should continue working." Norris's voice brought Andre back to reality: "Do you have anything else to say?"

Andre shook his head. He understood that Norris was politely asking him to leave.

Bystanders are neither needed nor welcome to the cleanup operations here.

"Then I won't disturb you from working." Andre nodded, feeling a little dizzy.

Before leaving, he took a last look at the candidate apprentices who had been divided into several groups. Those who were selected were lucky but unlucky; those who were not selected seemed even more desperate.

"Your Highness, you seem to be going in the wrong direction." Norris suddenly called him:
"As far as I know, the dormitory area where Ron the Potions Master is temporarily staying should be east along the main road. You should be looking for him, right?"

"Thanks for the reminder." He forced a smile and quickly left this suffocating place.

There were a few desperate cries from the courtyard behind him, but Andre chose not to look back.

………………

Cynthia's tower is located in an open space in the northern corner of the Black Mist Jungle, surrounded by thorn vines, forming a natural barrier.

The walls here are covered with all kinds of strange instruments, their shapes and uses are very imaginative;
The floor is not covered with ordinary carpet, but a kind of living tissue that groans slightly when stepped on.

There were a few unfamiliar faces in the tower today, all of whom were fresh "toys" she had just selected from the candidate apprentices.

They were chained and caged, their eyes filled with fear and despair. "Well, this batch is of pretty good quality." Cynthia stretched out her body and looked at her spoils with satisfaction. "At least it will last for a while."

She randomly picked out a blond boy and stroked his trembling cheek with her fingers. "What's your name, cutie?"

"Thomas, mistress." The boy's voice trembled, but he tried his best to maintain an obedient posture.

"Thomas, what a sweet name." Cynthia's lips curled up with a dangerous smile: "I'll let you go first today, okay?"

Without waiting for an answer, she signaled two maids to drag the boy away and began her cruel and strange "game".

As the boy's painful groans gradually sounded, Cynthia's eyes began to glow with a strange purple light.

She pressed against the boy's chest, and every movement caused his body to tremble violently, and at the same time produced a trace of energy fluctuation that was difficult to see with the naked eye and was easily absorbed by him.

"It's a pity that this feeling fades too quickly."

Cynthia sighed softly, gathering the pure magic power transformed from her emotional fluctuations while muttering in dissatisfaction:

"The first time is always the most delicious, and after that it takes a stronger stimulus to induce the same effect."

"So you have to replace them every few months." Oliver, standing beside him, commented calmly without even looking up.

"Shouldn't you consider a more permanent solution? This consumption rate is too fast."

"That's easy to say." Cynthia continued to move, but her voice was full of obvious dissatisfaction:
"My talent is this. I need to constantly collect fresh emotions. Without an adequate supply of magic power, how do you think I can maintain my current position in the wizard candidate sequence?"

Oliver was sitting in an armchair by the window, holding in his hand a list he had just taken down from the school's bulletin board - the "Candidate Wizard Sequence Points Ranking".

Ron, who had just become a professional potion master, was also marked as an "entry candidate" even though he had not yet entered the sequence.

"The ranking situation has been a bit troublesome lately." Oliver's words were filled with hidden worry.

He laid the list flat on the table:

"Holt is still far ahead in first place. Levin, Gardner, and Simons are all catching up, especially Levin. He has a fourth-class spiritual power qualification, and the gap between him and me is only 20 points."

"You're always like this, Oliver," Cynthia said lazily, her fingers playing with the hair of the boy next to her.

"Overthinking will only hinder action. Now that we've embarked on this path, why hesitate any longer?"

"Observe, analyze, execute... this is my motto."

The black-haired young man's voice was like cold metal. "With our method of improvement, every step must be precisely calculated. I don't want to become completely distorted and lose myself so quickly."

Thomas had begun to struggle weakly, seemingly unable to withstand the almost life-sucking power.

Cynthia frowned impatiently, stopped, put on half of her dress and turned to Oliver.

"Look, we all know where we are." Her voice became calm and sharp:
"Although we possess special talents, the strength we gain through unorthodox methods is not fundamentally sound, and the orthodox path of spiritual cultivation is closed to us. The only way out now is..."

Oliver continued in a low voice, a trace of worry flashing in his eyes: "The path of the dark wizard."

He took out a black crystal that shone with a strange light from the inside of his robe and placed it carefully on the table.

The black crystal emitted an ominous glow under the candlelight, and there seemed to be countless tiny insects crawling on its surface, which was chilling.

Cynthia's voice became soft, almost reverent: "Did you get it from those people again?"

Oliver nodded. "It's a high price, but it's worth it. After all, it's the key ingredient to complete the ritual."

His slender fingers gently stroked the surface of the black crystal, and the stone seemed to respond to his touch, pulsing faintly.

"Interestingly, I noticed that Ron, the suddenly rising potion master, seems to have similar mental aptitude to ours."

Oliver's eyes flashed. "Sixth magnitude, maybe even lower, but the speed of progress is amazing."

Cynthia's interest was piqued: "What are you implying?"

"Without special methods, it would be impossible for people of low aptitude like us to achieve such an achievement in such a short period of time."

Oliver's voice was filled with precise reasoning: "He must have found some method similar to ours to make up for his inherent shortcomings... Perhaps we can consider incorporating it."

He walked gracefully back to the window and looked at the outline of the dark foggy jungle in the distance:
"Knowledge sharing is power multiplier. You used to be my competitor, but now you've become my most steadfast ally, right?"

Cynthia smiled slightly, recalling the intoxicating feeling of power she had felt when she first tasted the Sin Domain Black Crystal:
"The taste of black crystal is truly irresistible. The feeling of transforming mental pollution into pure power is simply ecstasy."

"That's right." Oliver nodded, his expression still perfect, as if a mask had been frozen on his face.
"He certainly wouldn't refuse this insane boost... In just a few months, or even weeks, he could gain the same power as if it had been accumulated over decades."

He opened an ancient book and pointed to a passage of explanatory text:
"According to records, those with strong constitutions have a significant advantage during the contamination transformation process. Strong bodies can withstand more distortion, not only achieving higher transformation efficiency but also maintaining sanity for longer periods of time."

A trace of regret flashed in his eyes:
"Unfortunately, none of us have any talent for knight training. It is said that the first knights and demon hunters were invented by dark wizards who specialized in bloodline research in order to create better 'vessels'."

"Ron might have it." Cynthia said suddenly, with a sharp glint in her eyes.

"Remember how he executed that aberrant Davod? His swordsmanship was quite impressive."

Oliver thought for a moment, then shook his head:
"Even if he has a knight's talent, it can only be a minor subject. With his achievements in Potions, it is impossible for him to devote himself fully to another path of cultivation at the same time. Everyone's time and energy are limited."

"So what are you going to do?" Cynthia asked, her fingers gently stroking the blond boy's trembling neck.

"Approach, test, and evaluate." Oliver smiled perfectly. "If he suits our path, we will gain a powerful ally; if not..."

He didn't finish, but those cold eyes conveyed enough information.

"Then let's proceed according to the plan. I'll be responsible for research and production, and you'll be responsible for material collection and testing."

Oliver looked out the window, as if he could see Ron in the distance through the foggy jungle:
"As for the young potion master, I will find an opportunity to evaluate him."

There is one more update today, I am still typing, it should be posted during the day



(End of this chapter)