Wizard: Starts with Advanced Meditation

Seeing that Heleto was wavering, Green took out the rubbing of the 'Dragon Language Rune' and handed it to Heleto opposite him.

Heleto took the rubbing and carefully examined the patterns on it. He loved runes and knew the unique languages ​​of many races. He recognized it as dragon language at a glance, but he couldn't decipher the content recorded within.

Just then, the waiter knocked on the door and, after receiving permission, came over carrying the beer.

"Speak, what is your purpose?" Heleto said, raising his eyes, and added to the waiter, "Another bottle of Fairy Dew."

Sensing Heleto's goodwill, Green smiled and said:

"I wonder what is the relationship between Lord Heleto and Hughes of your squad?"

Upon hearing the name, a hint of doubt flashed in Heleto's eyes, and he spoke almost without hesitation:

"Hughes Craig? We're not that close. He spends most of his time in the alchemy room, we don't have much contact. What, do you have a grudge against him?"

Green took a sip of ale and said slowly:

"Previously, this Hughes explored a ruin with our boss and eventually found this dragon language rune. Unfortunately, it was only the first half; he and our boss each made a copy..."

Seeing that Heleto's interest had been piqued, Green smiled mysteriously and continued:

"However, our boss is quite certain that the second half of the dragon language rune is in Hughes's hands."

"How can you be so sure that the second half of this dragon rune is on him?" Heleto clearly expressed his doubt.

"To be honest, we were sent by your teacher, Thorne Carrent," Green said mysteriously.

"What? My teacher!" Heleto exclaimed in shock, his voice rising several decibels, thankfully the tavern's private rooms were well soundproofed.

Green took out the letter Thorne had given them, but only showed Heleto the unique magical mark on the letter before taking it back.

As Thorne's apprentice, Heleto naturally recognized his teacher Thorne's unique magical mark, which made him more certain.

"That Hughes intended to sell the entire scroll of dragon rune rubbings to Lord Thorne, but it seems that Hughes's teacher, Lady Serafina, and Lord Thorne are at odds, so Lady Serafina stopped the deal between Hughes and Lord Thorne after she found out."

At this moment, the waiter brought over the fairy mead that Heleto had ordered. Grimm took it, took a sip, and continued:

"Now, war has arrived, and Lord Thorne wants to take away his dragon runes while Lady Serafina is unable to protect Hughes. So he has his eye on us at Outpost Seven... Will you help us? After it's done, you can make a complete copy of the dragon runes."

Heleto hesitated visibly for a moment, then asked:

"What kind of help do you expect me to provide? And what are your plans for dealing with him? If he dies, then..."

Green interrupted Heleto, saying menacingly:

"We'll create an opportunity for you to lure him out. As for Hughes... if he knows what's good for him, we'll spare his life. If he doesn't cooperate—the battlefield is where people die most easily... don't worry, Lord Thorne will handle everything."

"Okay, I'll join," Heleto replied without hesitation.

……

One day, inside the wooden house

Hughes is researching the recipe for a low-level mana potion.

"Knock knock—Hughes, are you there?" Heleto knocked on the door and said.

Hughes stood up and opened the wooden door. His gaze lingered on the new black robe on Herato. The golden runes on the robe shimmered with a lustrous sheen, clearly of much higher quality than the one he had seen last time.

Seeing his fully armed appearance, Hughes said knowingly:

"The prey has appeared?"

"That's right, our battlefield was in the Whispering Forest last time, I met them there," Heleto sneered.

"How strong are they?" Hughes asked, still unsure of the enemy's exact strength.

"They live right across from us. There's a third-class wizard apprentice there, but he seems to have been seriously injured by the Azure Flame Man from Outpost Seven."

As he spoke, Heleto walked to the window of Hughes's room, where he could see the houses across the street.

"There are also four second-level wizard apprentices, whose mental strength is very stable. Should we call Elena...?" Heleto asked worriedly, after all, the other side was stronger than them in both numbers and level.

"No...we don't know her, and involving too many strangers will only cause more trouble," Hughes said after a moment of thought.

His fingertips tapped lightly on the edge of the table, his gaze fixed on the wooden house outside the window as he asked:

"How badly was that third-rate wizard apprentice injured?"

"..."

Since the garrison wizard at Outpost Five used fire elemental magic to completely eradicate the mutated corrupted tree spirits, Whispering Woods has been reduced to ruins.

Most of the once lush forest has been reduced to scorched earth, and the tall, dense trees have been licked by the flames into charcoal stumps and broken branches. Only a small area on the outermost edge still retains a faint trace of life.

The Frostskin Dwarves and Everfrost Spire are still at war, and Everfrost Spire has no intention of sending nature wizards to repair the area, leaving Whispering Woods temporarily a wasteland.

Hughes and Heleto appeared in the deathly silent forest, their boots crunching over the scorched dust, making a soft "rustling" sound that was particularly clear in the quiet forest.

The acrid smell of burning vegetation in the air had gradually dissipated, but a faint, lingering heat, a remnant of magic, remained—the residual power of a formal wizard.

Upon reaching the depths of the Whispering Forest, where most of the trees had been burned to ashes, leaving only charred stumps, Hughes frowned slightly, bent down, and picked up a pinch of black ash, feeling the dry, rough texture on his fingertips.

"Are you sure there are any remaining third-class corrupted tree spirits here?" Hughes asked doubtfully.

"There are only five hunters and one poor prey here, hehe." Five dark figures walked out from the surroundings and slowly surrounded Hughes and his companion.

"What!? Heleto, you're lying to me!?" Hughes roared at Heleto in disbelief.

Heleto's face darkened, and he slowly walked to Reber's side, saying in a low voice:

"Hughes, give up resisting. They are all experienced wizard apprentices. You can't defeat them."

Hughes' face turned cold, his icy gaze sweeping over the crowd as he gritted his teeth and said:

"Who are you? Why are you targeting me?!"

Reber smiled smugly and looked at Hughes with a mocking expression, saying:

"Heh, it's your own fault for being targeted by a formal wizard. What treasure do you have that he covets so much? Why don't you just hand it over to me? I'll let you die without suffering."

A glint of greed flashed in Reber's eyes, and the aura of a third-class wizard apprentice erupted from his body.