Wizard: Starts with Advanced Meditation

Hughes's voice, though calm and even, struck like a boulder, shattering the tension between the two men.

The powerful spiritual fluctuations emanating from the shadowy figure caused both of them to show fear. They instantly stopped fighting and stared intently at the humanoid shadowy figure in front of them.

"You...you are...a third-class apprentice?"

The apprentice who had asked for the potion earlier trembled in his voice. He subconsciously took a half step back and held his tattered staff horizontally in front of him, but then immediately realized what he was doing and let the staff hang down at his side, afraid of displeasing Hughes.

Neither of them had the courage to even cast a level zero spell. In fact, compared to Hughes, the blood-replenishing potion they had just fought over was nothing more than dust.

Hughes ignored their fear, his cold gaze sweeping over the simple staffs in their hands and the robes that showed no trace of magic.

With a flick of his wrist, a powerful surge of spiritual energy swept out, causing the two men's staffs and the blood-replenishing potion to slip from their hands and float into Hughes's palm.

Even when facing incredibly weak first-class apprentices, Hughes remained cautious, never allowing them to possess any powerful means of attack.

The shadow on the head receded like a tide, and before Hughes' eyes could be revealed, he put on the bird-beak mask he had taken out of his storage bag, covering his face.

Immediately afterwards, a hoarse voice came from the pointed tip of the mask:

"I have a few questions for you..."

With a flick of his fingertips, Hughes caused a thin layer of white frost to instantly condense on the blood-replenishing vial floating in his palm.

"What activities has the Nister family been up to lately in the outer city?"

Wizards need humans and a few apprentices as test subjects, so the outer city is not only the residence of mortal servants, but also the breeding ground for wizards.

The Nister family was always responsible for the clandestine task of selecting people from the outer city who met the requirements of various wizard experiments.

This is also why the Nister family was the first to approach the Chiss family when they moved in.

"The Nister family?!"

Upon hearing this, Eddie looked up abruptly, a flicker of fear crossing his eyes, before quickly lowering his head again.

"Sir, they...they just raided the black market in the outer city last week and took several vendors away..."

His voice trembled, and after a pause, he added:

"I heard... I heard that it's time for the wizards to replenish their experimental subjects again. They've been coming almost every time these past few days, capturing people from our outer city."

At this point, Eddie lowered his head even further, a hint of evasion in his eyes, a sight that Hughes keenly observed.

"you--"

Hughes's gaze fell on Eddie, who was already so frightened that he was almost curled up on the ground, his body still trembling slightly.

"You seem to have something else to say..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hughes pressed his mental energy onto Eddie, and almost instantly, Eddie's psychological defenses collapsed completely, and even his consciousness space was in danger.

"Me! I..."

Eddie had no choice but to tell the whole story.

"..."

"This! You!!"

The apprentice standing nearby was so shocked by what he heard that his eyes widened, and then he looked up at the bottle of blood-replenishing potion in Hughes' hand with a face full of disbelief.

Suddenly, his gaze inadvertently fell on the other person's hand, his eyes froze, and his heart tightened...

"Black—!! Waaah…"

He cried out, but the moment he uttered the first word, he covered his mouth, his eyes filled with despair.

This scream instantly startled Hughes, who was deep in thought.

As for Eddie, who was standing to the side with a blank expression, he looked up when he heard this and was instantly so frightened that he collapsed to the ground.

Hughes turned his head to look at the two of them, his gaze sweeping over their slightly trembling bodies, but his eyes remained calm beneath the masks.

He slowly raised his hand, his gaze settling on the black ringed glove on his hand, a hint of understanding in his eyes.

Hughes's raised hand startled the other man, who hurriedly begged for mercy and even lost control of his bladder in fear.

"M-My lord!! I swear, I will never reveal your identity! I'm willing to sign a contract with you! No…"

"grown ups--"

The apprentice was speaking when Eddie suddenly looked up abruptly, interrupting him. His eyes held both fear and resentment.

"Sir, we just... just want to survive, and... we are just lowly apprentices from the outer city. The Golden Ring family lives in the middle and inner city."

Hughes listened quietly, but a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"I'm sorry, but the matter of the Black Ring Crown can only be known to the Nister family."

"Thump, ping, gurgle gurgle..."

He released his grip, and the staff and healing potion rolled to the sides of their feet. His shadow form completely dissipated, revealing his tall figure draped in a black robe.

"There are many ways to survive, but... don't get in my way."

"Whoosh—"

Before he could finish speaking, Hughes's figure swept past the two of them like a ghost, leaving only a faint chill in his wake.

"Da da da..."

For a moment, Eddie and his companion froze on the spot, until Hughes's figure disappeared into the depths of the narrow alley, at which point a layer of white frost quietly covered the two of them.

"Click—click—"

"Splash—!"

Unbeknownst to them, their bodies had already been quietly eroded and destroyed by the ice element. The next moment, their bodies instantly shattered, turning into two pools of ice shards.

Meanwhile, Hughes had already walked some distance and entered the entrance of a dilapidated alley, with old oil lamps hanging on both sides of the alley.

In the dim light, deep within, several apprentices dressed in the Nister family's standard robes were chatting idly against the wall, their staffs gleaming.

They are the team responsible for making arrests tomorrow, to prevent some people from being unwilling to give up and escaping under the cover of night.

"Looks like they were right, it starts tomorrow...?"

A cold glint flashed in Hughes's eyes. Taking advantage of their inattention, his figure once again turned into a shadow, hugging the wall, and then silently slipped into the depths of the wall.

……

"My lord wizard! Please don't arrest me!"

"I'll fight you to the death!"

"Buzz—Pfft"

"Sati! Hurry up, don't delay what the adults told us to do. Also, catch one more, this one is already dead."

"Don't worry, there are plenty of 'consumables' like him in the lower urban areas."

"..."

The Lower City was bustling in the early morning as the Nister family began "recruiting" their experimental subjects. Some dared not resist and followed their apprentices into the Middle City, while others, unwilling to accept their fate, rose up in rebellion.

Amidst the noise, one alley was particularly quiet. There were no streetlights, and even during the day, the light was so dim that it was almost impossible to see anything.

Just then, a rustling sound suddenly came from the depths of the alley, as if something was churning in the shadows.

The next moment, a humanoid black figure emerged from it and stepped into the depths of the alley.