Wizard: Starts with Advanced Meditation

Once he confirmed that Reber was completely lifeless, Hughes could no longer hold on and collapsed heavily to the ground. He stared at the clear blue sky above, his chest heaving violently, breathing heavily with difficulty, his mouth filled with the thick smell of blood.

As Hughes struggled to get up, his body suddenly convulsed.

"vomit--"

A large mouthful of blood gushed out, mixed with several pieces of bright red flesh, probably fragments of internal organs. Hughes looked at the horrifying mess of flesh before him, still shaken by what he had just experienced.

Hughes quickly pulled out a bottle of top-grade blood-replenishing potion from his storage bag. Trembling, he uncorked the bottle and poured the entire potion into his mouth. As the bright red liquid slid down his throat, Hughes's outward-turned skin visibly tightened, and tender white new flesh grew back.

The effects of the top-quality potion were remarkable; Hughes felt the excruciating pain in his body rapidly subsiding, and his shattered internal organs were gradually healing.

However, the two wounds on Hughes' chest and waist had not completely healed. Hughes glanced at them and saw that the remaining wounds were emitting wisps of green putrid odor. Hughes knew that these were areas severely affected by necromantic energy and required special treatment.

Hughes drank another bottle of low-grade antidote. Although it couldn't remove the necromantic energy, it could alleviate the symptoms, since he was afraid that he and Heleto wouldn't be able to hold out until they returned to the base for treatment.

He looked at his robes; even the high-grade sorcery artifact, the Dark Absorb Robe, had been torn in several places. Fortunately, the damage to the runes was not severe, and there were sorcery artifact masters at the stronghold who could repair it.

This battle was truly a matter of life and death. Unexpectedly, Reber had undergone necromancy modification. Fortunately, it was necromancy modification, and Reber was not yet familiar with his "new" body. Otherwise, if it were the normal Reber, the two of them might not have been able to defeat him.

After a while, Herleto arrived and helped him up. Herleto was in a worse state, covered with large and small wounds emitting green smoke, and the witchcraft he was wearing was completely broken.

"Oh, I almost thought I was really going to die," Heleto exclaimed.

"When are you planning to fake your death?" Hughes asked curiously.

"We'll wait for the right opportunity, but it'll be soon. Reber and the others didn't complete their mission, so Thorne will probably start paying attention to me, who's on your team," Heleto said solemnly.

Hughes and Heleto began collecting the spoils, stripping them of their magical tools one by one. The fattest item belonged to Reber, the third-class wizard apprentice, though unfortunately Hughes had broken his bone whip.

Not wanting to attract attention, the two began dividing the spoils on the spot. Since Hughes had killed most of the victims, he got to choose first. What Hughes coveted most was Reber's Necronomicon Notes.

Hughes and his companion decided to sell the group's magical artifacts to the black market for redistribution, but Heleto couldn't wait that long. Hughes first appraised them and then gave Heleto some magic stones in advance.

Heleto selected magic stones and potions as spoils of war, which had immediate effects, in preparation for his escape. Hughes also stuffed the five corpses into Reber's storage bag, where the bodies would not decompose.

Hughes was preparing to study necromancy. Necromancers could perform necromancy on corpses for their own use even when they were still apprentices, but usually the best one was the corpse of a great knight.

These precious apprentice corpses were perfect for his experiments and necromancy modifications. Unfortunately, the strongest corpse, Riber, was probably not up to the task, as he had already undergone necromancy modification and died once more.

After cleaning up, the two cleaned up the scene again. The disappearance of an apprentice squad would definitely be investigated by the base, and they didn't want any more trouble.

On the way, Heleto said, "Hughes, I suspect they have people at Outpost Five. They know us too well; they don't seem like they just arrived at Outpost Five."

"Indeed, Reber's apprentice squad clearly seemed to be a self-organized group; they must have been a team before the mission," Hughes said gravely to Heleto, thinking of Rice.

At the same time, he glanced at his own wounds. If he went to the base's infirmary for treatment, the base's investigation would inevitably increase suspicion against them if they learned that Reber was an apprentice of the necromancy faction.

Moreover, there might be members of the Reber organization in the treatment room or the artifact repair room, and it would be terrible if they attacked us.

Just as Hughes was troubled, Heleto smiled mysteriously and said to Hughes, "I know a small settlement nearby with ample facilities. Would you like to go there for treatment?"

Hughes agreed without hesitation. Not everyone has the protection of a wizarding academy or wizarding organization, and not every wizard has the resources to support them.

Those wizards who have no affiliation with any power for various reasons and rely solely on their own efforts are called wandering wizards, but this does not mean that wandering wizards are all weak.

Some powerful wandering wizards or small wizarding groups would establish small settlements or black markets in various parts of the continent of Maransel. This provided them with channels to collect resources and also gave some wandering wizards a temporary place to stay.

However, before going, Hughes had to ask their captain, Elena, for leave. Fortunately, their team didn't have any missions recently, and Elena approved it. The destination was very close, so the two chose to walk there.

"Thorne is very controlling of his apprentices. He monitors their progress in learning any runes. After all, he basically uses us as guinea pigs. Apprentices who know too much are not good for experimenting on," Heleto said through gritted teeth on the way.

"Therefore, I usually exchange for the resources and knowledge I want in places like the black market, and I also pay attention to the surrounding black markets and gathering places when I go out to do missions." Heleto sighed.

Upon hearing this, Hughes realized that Heleto seemed to have bought potions from him before. He was wearing a mask engraved with golden runes and the same black robe with gold patterns that he was wearing today.

This black robe with gold patterns seems to be Heleto's trump card. The light membrane it wore was indeed very strong defensively and its energy dissipation was also very fast, but it has now been completely destroyed.

Hidden deep within the Blackwood Forest, Blackwood Town was built by a powerful wandering wizard. Calling it a "town" is an understatement; it's more like a black market, shrouded in vines and mist, and requires specific methods to enter.

Soon, the two arrived at the Blackwood Forest. Blackwood is a type of tree that is completely black and constantly emits dark particles.

The two entered the Blackwood Forest. Under Heleto's guidance, Hughes gradually ventured deeper, recording the changes in the path as he did so, knowing he might return in the future.

Soon, the two arrived at an open space where the blackwood was relatively sparse, and thick vines intertwined and blocked the path ahead.