Wizard: Starts with Advanced Meditation

After class, Hughes went to the market area, intending to visit Bohr's potions shop in person and deliver the goods for the next three months.

It's been three months since I last came here, and it's still the same as always, the noisiest place in the Everfrost Spire.

But unlike before, some of the apprentices on the road were now wearing thick robes.

Although Everfrost Spire resembles a snow-covered city, the temperature within the academy remains constant year-round thanks to the magical array.

But now...

Hughes looked up and saw that the massive energy shield above the market had been torn open, and the wind and snow were pouring in.

This wasn't because the academy had been attacked by another force; according to one of the letters Nora sent, the large hole was caused by their headmaster, Nord, a few weeks ago.

Just as the incident occurred, Nora had returned from her training and was strolling through the market with Lily. She witnessed the entire event and vividly described the scene in her letter.

According to her, a dragon's roar suddenly came from the Mellonlos Wizard Tower in the center of the academy.

The dragon's roar was deafening, almost covering the entire academy. Some first-class apprentices couldn't withstand the mental strain and were knocked unconscious on the spot.

Immediately, a streak of blue light flew out from the top of the tower. It was the dean, who had almost turned into a dragon. He rushed outside like a madman, and even the two vice deans who rushed over later could not stop him.

The academy's protective shield was easily breached with a large hole the instant it collided with Nord.

Later, Nord returned on his own, and his body lost some of its human characteristics. He claimed that the bio-modification had gone wrong and his consciousness had been temporarily contaminated by the dragon's ferocious nature.

As for the large hole that was smashed open, it was originally supposed to be repaired by Thorne, who was most proficient in runic literature. However, he suddenly learned of the annihilation of his family and rushed to Kodia.

Therefore, the damage could only be repaired slowly by the remaining rune masters in their spare time. The market town directly below the hole was the most severely affected, becoming extremely cold and even freezing several slaves to death.

Thinking of this, Hughes tightened his dark robe, but as a third-class wizard apprentice specializing in ice element, he was not afraid of the wind and snow that was rushing in.

"Crunch—crunch—"

Stepping through the snow, Hughes arrived at Bohr's potion shop. A thin layer of ice had formed on the wooden door, and the signboard hanging above the door was covered with a thick layer of snow.

Hughes tried to get closer, but found that the gate was blocked by a high layer of snow, clearly indicating that no one had cleaned it for a long time.

"Knock knock—"

Hughes knocked on the door tentatively, but as he expected, there was no response.

In the past, Bohr would already be standing in front of the counter by this time. After all, there were always apprentices who needed potions, and missing a customer by even a minute would be enough to break Bohr's heart.

Hughes quickly wiped the white fog off the glass and looked inside, only to find that there was no one in sight and not even a light on.

He could barely make out the furnishings inside, only with the faint light coming in from the window.

The interior of the potion shop was the same as before. Various materials were displayed on the wooden shelves behind the counter, and the potion shelves around it were neatly arranged with various kinds of potions.

However, some of the materials inside had frozen black and had obviously lost their effectiveness. Even some of the Blazing Ointment on the potion shelf had lost its fiery red color and turned into waste liquid.

"It seems Bohr hasn't been to the potions shop since at least a few weeks ago when the shield broke." Hughes frowned, his eyes filled with inquiry, as he continued to scan the scene inside the potions shop.

There were still many pedestrians coming and going on the roadside, so Hughes couldn't use his Boundary Anchoring to break into Bohr's potion shop to find out what was going on.

But just as he was about to leave, a voice called out to him:

"Are you Hughes Craig's apprentice?"

Upon hearing this, Hughes turned around and saw a third-class apprentice dressed in a purple-gold robe standing behind him, looking at him with a puzzled expression.

"If there's only one person with this name in the Oren plane, then that's me," Hughes replied calmly.

"Oh! It really is you! The genius potion master Hughes! My name is Hedge Dalyfors, and I'm a stall owner in the slave quarter next door."

After confirming Hughes's name, Hufflepuff visibly showed excitement. He excitedly moved closer to Hughes, shook hands with him, and tried to get on his good side.

Hughes is quite famous in the Everfrost Spire, partly because he was certified as a low-level potion master at the apprentice level.

Although he is still at the bottom of the same level, he has definitely surpassed most potion apprentices.

As for the other reason, it was because he had a sudden inspiration during the war and invented a powder that could paralyze the Frosty Dwarves.

This caused quite a stir at the time, since the outcome of a duel can be decided in milliseconds, and this powder could indeed be surprisingly effective at crucial moments.

Hughes knew that because of the low-level potion master he had been given the title of a few months ago, some people had been gossiping about his personal information.

Therefore, he was not surprised or moved, but instead asked Hedge with a puzzled look:

"So, what do you want from me?"

"..."

"Oh! I'm so excited to see you, I almost forgot."

Hedgehog slapped his forehead upon hearing this, then exclaimed in surprise and uncertainty.

As he spoke, he took out a storage bag from his waist and handed it to Hughes in front of him.

"This is a storage bag that Bohr asked me to deliver to you. The way to unlock it is through your communication rune."

Hedge glanced at Hughes with some envy; clearly, the contents of the storage bag were very tempting.

"He left here a few weeks ago to go to his family. He seemed to be in a hurry when he left, and told me to tell you if I saw you coming."

"Oh? Did something happen to his family?" Hughes asked curiously, a glint in his eyes.

He remembered that Bohr always wore the family's three-ringed glove, which signified Bohr's high status within the family.

"I don't know. He only said he was going to take care of some family business. In fact, he left the shop suddenly without even cleaning it up."

As he spoke, Hufflepuff turned to look at Bohr's potions shop behind Hughes.

Through the cleaned glass, he naturally noticed the scene inside the potion shop and couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the frozen materials.

"Alas... In this accident, the most severely affected were us slave traders. The protective shield shattered too suddenly, and many of my mortal slaves froze to death."

Hedgehog's lips curled into a bitter smile. The academy would naturally not compensate them for their losses, and they dared not ask the academy for it directly. They could only swallow their bitterness and suffer in silence.