Wizard: Starts with Advanced Meditation

As the core died, its vine-like body withered rapidly, and the vines it grew also lost their vitality.

However, some vines outside the "core" still survived, wriggling and spreading throughout the corridor.

The ice cones we just saw were some of the preliminary results of Hughes's research based on Shutal's notes. The elemental energy contained in one ice cone was comparable to the total energy of several ice cones.

However, this is only "overlay" and not fusion. It also lacks variability and can only be used in a form similar to an ice cone, which is the form that Hughes is best at condensing.

The remaining vines seemed to be afraid of Hughes, and they all wriggled and kept some distance from him.

Seeing that there was no longer any threat, Hughes found the nearest door and prepared to check on the neighbors inside.

"Knock knock—"

"Who? Huh?! What are you doing in the hallway?"

"Um... hello, my name is Hughes Craig, I'm a new apprentice who moved in a few weeks ago. What were you saying earlier...?"

"Oh! You're the new neighbor!"

"Click—"

As soon as he finished speaking, the door opposite opened, and a disheveled head peeked out.

The other person had unusually long, messy black hair that was clearly neglected.

"Oh! Don't mind me, apprentice Hughes, I'm researching a new potion."

The other person brushed aside the hair that was covering their face, revealing a pair of pale green eyes.

"My name is Beerus, Beerus Croesus. I only returned a few days ago. Before that, I was stationed in a mortal empire."

Beerus spoke with great interest, clearly unconcerned about the scene in the corridor outside.

"I've heard of you! A young, low-level potion master. It took me nearly ten years to earn that title from the Potion Masters Guild."

Beerus excitedly shook hands with Hughes, then tilted his body and turned his head to look at the scene behind Hughes.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you, these are Cordoba vines, and the toxins they secrete can even corrode human bones."

"They are all enchanted plants cultivated by the apprentices of Lotil on the top floor. They go out of control and cause trouble almost every month, so the apprentices of Lotil always inform us in advance so that everyone can be prepared."

As he spoke, Beerus pulled out a bottle of purple liquid, shook it, and said to Hughes:

"In compensation, she would periodically give us venom extracted from Cordoba vines."

"Of course, everyone knows that this venom is the result of her previous research, and the improved venom is still firmly under her control."

Hughes took the venom from Beerus and examined it closely. The purple liquid was completely free of impurities, clearly indicating that it had undergone some kind of modification.

Why didn't I receive a notification?

"Return the venom to Beerus," Hughes asked, puzzled.

"Hmm? Even the apprentices who didn't come will leave messages on the stone. Why don't you go back and check?"

Beerus scratched his head, and his messy hair fell down again, obscuring his face once more.

"Click—"

After talking with Beerus, Hughes turned and went back to his room. With a wave of his right hand, all the ice crystals on the door fell off.

Hughes examined the items carefully but found nothing of the kind that was supposed to be a message stone.

"Do I have some past conflict with that Lothier?"

After confirming that the vines around him were not getting any closer, Hughes returned to his room and tidied up the slightly messy living room.

There is a protruding stone on the wall of the room with a blue rune engraved on it, which can activate the cleansing array set up in the room.

Apprentices can use this rune to manually clean the house, and the building manager will also activate the cleaning array once a week to clean the entire building and every room.

As magic was infused into the runes, the blue runes suddenly lit up, and then the ground began to glow with a faint blue light.

Fortunately, after the fluorescent light came on, the ice shards on the ground automatically decomposed, turning into magic and dissipating into the air.

Moreover, the damaged wooden household items in the room began to automatically grow wooden structures and restore their original shapes.

After tidying up the room, Hughes set off for the top floor. He wanted to find Lothier and ask her directly why she hadn't informed him beforehand.

Considering that each floor would likely be covered in dense Cordoba vines, Hughes decided to climb from the window to the top floor as quickly as possible in order to reach the top floor as soon as possible.

In fact, Hughes could set up coordinates in the corridor and then use the Boundary Anchor to teleport upwards floor by floor.

However, Hughes did not intend to teleport rashly to a scene he had never seen before, not to mention that the upper floor must be full of vines, making it difficult to find a foothold.

Hughes looked out the window, and as he expected, the outside was now covered with vines, leaving no gaps.

Hughes pressed his hand tightly against the window, and the next moment, a "crackling" sound came from outside. Ice crystals began to condense on the surface of the vines, and then they shattered completely.

"Crunch—"

He opened the window, stepped out, and gripped the edge of the window tightly, hanging there outside the building.

For Hughes, who possesses the physique of a proper knight, climbing a building while suspended in mid-air is a piece of cake. After closing the window, Hughes began to climb up the building, floor by floor.

"Click—click"

Where there were protrusions, Hughes would grab onto them; where there were no protrusions, he would condense ice crystals on the wall to use as footholds and gripping points.

The problem was that the walls were covered with Cordoba vines, but thankfully there was no troublesome "core," so Xiu easily froze them one by one, turning them into ice shards.

Soon, Hughes reached the top floor, where the rooftop was no longer visible. Deep purple vines, like countless twisted giant pythons, tightly coiled around every inch of the roof structure.

The iron railings engraved with runes were deformed by the constriction, and the smooth ground that should have been bare was now completely covered by a "carpet" woven from vines, and not just one layer.

The most terrifying thing was the mother vine in the center of the rooftop. Its trunk was so thick that it took several people to hug it. Its surface was covered with purple flowers, and countless branches spread wildly outward from the trunk.

Unlike other "cores", this mother bead seemed very friendly. Its huge scarlet light spot turned to look at Hughes and saw that Hughes was not on guard and even took the initiative to avoid some of the vines.

Hughes finally had a place to stand, but it still felt very sticky under his feet.

Seeing that the vine mother was still rational, Hughes began to observe the situation. Since he didn't see Lothier, Hughes guessed that she must have gone to deal with those troublesome "cores".

Releasing his mental energy, Hughes sensed a figure moving continuously in the corridor on the second floor below, which must be the apprentice Lothier.

Hughes looked around and saw that the entrance to the building was blocked by vines. Hughes looked down at the ground and thought of a good idea—Shadow Breath Liquid.