Wizard: Starts with Advanced Meditation

He stood quietly by the window, gazing at the dim light emanating from the wooden house across the way. His fingertips unconsciously rubbed the rune pouch at his waist, and his eyes darkened in the shadows.

Clearly, Hughes and his companions had successfully completed their mission and returned to their cabin.

His gaze was fixed on the wooden house opposite, as if he could see through the walls into the scene inside. Suddenly, his golden pupils lost their original color and were enveloped in darkness, as if they had been soaked in ink.

This pitch-black color surged across the pupil like a tide, continuing to spread until it swallowed the entire eyeball, leaving no trace of other colors.

His dark eyes gazed across the way, everything in his vision shrouded in a gray gloom, except for the clear outline of the wooden house opposite. Within the wooden walls, four figures formed from white mist were vaguely suspended.

Two downstairs and two upstairs, four figures moved about, seemingly busy with their own affairs. The apprentice stopped observing, the shadows in his eyes receding like the tide, revealing his golden pupils once more.

He rubbed his dry eyes and turned to look at his companions sitting in the common area. They had all taken off their hoods, revealing their true faces.

He raised his hand and slowly took off his hood, revealing a face full of scars. These old scars varied in depth, some looking like they had been cut by a sharp object, while others were shallow indentations.

Even the lowest-grade rejuvenating potion would be enough to erase these hideous scars, but in every shallow groove on his face, there was a trace of blue substance, like congealed blood, firmly embedded deep in his flesh.

The scars made his face look somewhat "fragmented," with only his dark eyes standing out among them, their cold gaze revealing no emotion whatsoever.

"Well then... let's discuss this properly—about how to capture Hughes Craig alive, and how to forge a death certificate for him."

His fingertips unconsciously rubbed the old scar on his palm, picking out the blue substance from it. His golden pupils narrowed slightly in the dim light, and his tone was as indifferent as if he were talking about an insignificant item.

His name is Reber Cortane. He was promoted to a third-class wizard apprentice two years ago. He comes from the Forsaken Lands and, like Rhys, has organized a group of followers by virtue of his status as a prince in the Mortal Empire.

Through countless life-or-death trials, his apprentices either perished in the jaws of monsters or succumbed to temptations. Now, only a few companions remain by his side.

As the final battle between the Everfrost Spire and the Frostskin Dwarves approached, Reber organized his companions to go to the battlefield, but in one battle, Reber was seriously injured by the Azure Flameman.

The eerie blue flames clung to his body like a malignant sore. Although his companions saved his life, the flames, like poisoned roots, planted an inextinguishable seed within his flesh and blood.

From then on, day and night, the fire became an inescapable torture for Reber, sometimes like thousands of ice needles piercing his flesh, sometimes like a red-hot iron branding his skin.

Outpost Seven has a special fire extinguishing agent, but that blue flame man was clearly mutated. Not only was his body larger, but his surface was also engraved with runes, and the embers he left behind could not be removed even with the best fire extinguishing agent.

Just when he was at his wit's end, Thorne Callent, the wizard stationed at Outpost Seven, found him...

Thinking of this, Reber clenched his fists in hatred. That blue flame creature was personally enhanced by Thorne, and the purpose was naturally to force him to do things for him and to send a second-class wizard apprentice named Hughes to him.

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"Creak—"

The sound of the wooden door opening interrupted Reber's reverie.

"Boss Reber, I've found out who Hughes's squad is."

An apprentice, also dressed in black robes, entered. He was also an apprentice under Reber, but a third-class wizard apprentice could only lead four apprentices, so the rest of his men went to other strongholds.

Bos was an apprentice assigned by the academy to work at Outpost Five, and he had just gathered information about Hughes before Reber and his group arrived.

Bosch spread the intelligence on the table and pointed to the portrait of Hughes on the parchment, saying:

"This is Hughes Craig, the son of a fallen family. His family only has three third-class wizard apprentices left. However, his eldest sister, Nora Craig, was recently promoted to third-class wizard apprentice, and Hughes himself is said to have a very high talent for potions."

"Is his mentor Lady Serafina Canningt?" a handsome apprentice, who looked like a noble young master, asked. "His name is Yotar Ksodo."

"Yes, oh! I know, he's your Lily's junior brother—oh no, that's not right, she's not your Lily yet," Boss said, winking at Yotal.

Yothal fell in love with Lily at first sight, but Lily didn't even know him. In order to have common topics, he even tried to learn how to make potions, but unfortunately he had neither talent nor hard work, and eventually lost most of his savings.

However, he hasn't given up on pursuing Lily. The reason he volunteered to go with Reber to Outpost Seven on a mission was because he found out that Lily was refining potions there.

Thinking that it was because of Hughes that he and Lily "separated," and that he had even become Lily's junior brother, Yotal felt an overwhelming jealousy and hatred towards Hughes.

"How is Hughes' talent?" Reber asked.

"It has a fourth-degree affinity with spatial properties and ice element," Boss said.

"Could it be because of an affinity with spatial properties?"

Reber wanted to know why Hughes had been targeted by Thorne, and in fact, he himself had been persecuted by Thorne because of Hughes.

Thinking about the torment he had endured these past few days, Reber couldn't help but also harbor resentment towards Hughes, his target this time.

"I, Reber, am not someone to be trifled with," a crazy idea popped into Reber's mind—he wanted to find out why Thorne wanted to bring Hughes with him before he brought Hughes to Thorne.

If it's a talent, then complete the mission properly and exchange it for the antidote and resources from Thorne. But if it's because Hughes possesses some kind of treasure...

Thinking of this, a sinister glint appeared in Reber's eyes. If even a senior, formal wizard would covet it, then he would take the treasure and go elsewhere.

In any case, the resources for his advancement to a formal wizard are still a long way off. With this treasure, he will most likely be able to exchange it for an enormous amount of resources, and may even be able to use it to directly become a disciple of other white-robed wizards who still have a moral bottom line, in order to seek protection.

As for his companions? Reber glanced around at the group of people talking. Over the years, he had personally executed many of his comrades, some disloyal and some loyal. Perhaps he was no longer the "Empire's Young Eagle" he once was...