Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

Deep within the dimly lit hall, three lamps glowed a ghastly green on the offering table.

Three sounds, then the sound went out in quick succession.

The old man who was in charge of watching over the lamps suddenly opened his cloudy eyes, and his hunched body stiffened.

He shakily reached out and touched the cold edge of the lamp to confirm that it wasn't a hallucination.

"Raven... Ashes... and the Cursed Eye."

The old man made a gurgling sound in his throat. He grabbed a black bone cane and slammed it against the ground.

Boom!Boom!Boom!

The dull, resonant knocking echoed through the empty, deathly silent hall.

Several blurry figures emerged from the shadows, their aura chilling and carrying a heavy scent of death.

"The contract... is broken?" a hoarse voice asked.

"It's broken, three people, one after the other."

The old man nodded slowly, his loose skin twitching, and his eyes blazing with fury.

"Shadowmoon's territory..."

Another figure spoke, his voice like the scraping of rusty iron.

"Who did this? Could it be... that Shadowmoon Tower sent someone to eliminate our people?"

"Impossible," the hoarse voice denied.

"That old fox Morton won't directly target our core deacons until things get really heated; that's typical of him."

"That's strange. Ash and Cursed Eye are about to liquefy, while Raven is still at his peak, with one foot in the crystallization threshold, carrying the 'Heart of the Dead'..."

Who could kill those three silently?

The figure from before spoke with a tone full of doubt, and a hint of shock and anger.

"Could it be that Ian Marcus?"

Some people raised questions, but they immediately denied them themselves.

"He was promoted less than a year ago, and he probably hasn't even learned first-level sorcery yet. He wouldn't even be enough to fill a crow's teeth."

A brief silence fell over the hall.

"Investigate!" The owner of the hoarse voice suppressed his anger.

"First report to the chairman, then send a letter to the senior management of Shadowmoon in the name of the elders' council."

Exactly six months from now, the 'Sleeping Palace' will also open, so we'll take this opportunity to discuss the number of slots.

"Also, where is the 'Cursed Dead' squad?"

"We're already on our way. At our pace, we should be able to reach the outer edge of Shadowmoon within ten days."

"Tell them the plan has changed. Raven and Ash are dead, the cause of death is unknown, and the mission has been changed."

First, investigate the cause of death and find the murderer. Among the fragmented information Hector preserved before going to the Withered Forest, the existence of the "Eye of the Gazer" was clearly mentioned.

That thing... is related to advancement to crystallization!

"yes!"

The figure in the shadows accepted the order and slowly retreated.

Inside the hall, only the old man and the owner of the hoarse voice remained.

"You think... it was that little wizard who did it?" the old man asked in a low voice.

"I don't believe it." The hoarse voice sneered.

"But he's definitely involved; perhaps... someone within Shadowmoon is helping him."

Or perhaps someone is trying to double-cross us and has found a stronger backer. In any case, the Eye of the Gazer must be taken back.

Hector died for it, and the raven, for this opportunity to advance, also perished...

The price is too high.

His voice finally betrayed a hint of heartache and a chilling killing intent.

On the road to Shadowmoon.

Five people dressed in gray-black hooded robes walked silently through the wilderness.

They walked slowly, but with each step they took, the weeds beneath their feet quickly withered and turned yellow.

The man in the lead pulled down his hood, revealing a pale face.

The eye sockets are deep-set, and the pupils are pure grayish-white with no focus.

He was holding a cracked communication bone talisman in his hand, having just finished reading the information inside.

"Raven, Ash, and Cursed Eye are all dead," he said, his voice hoarse.

The other four people stopped walking at the same time, and the temperature of the surrounding air seemed to drop a few degrees.

"Who?" a female voice asked.

"Unknown, suspected to be related to target Ian Marcus, but the possibility is not high."

The council has demanded that we determine the cause of death and seize any possible Eyes of the Gaze.

'

The leading man put away the bone talisman, his gray-white eyes darting around as he looked towards the Shadowmoon Tower.

"Two pieces of trash," a burly man in the group spat.

"He can't even handle a newly promoted level, and he even dragged himself down with him."

"Don't underestimate Shadow Moon, people can die from it," another tall, thin man said sinisterly.

"No one who can gain a foothold there is an easy character."

However... investigating a little guy in the early stages of atomization is not a difficult task for us "Cursed Dead".

Ash and his group were too careless.

The man in the lead didn't say anything, he just pulled his hood up again.

"Speed ​​up. Once we get there, scout the battlefield first, then formulate a plan."

The five figures moved again, their speed suddenly increasing, like five gray ghostly shadows sweeping across the wasteland.

Shadowmoon Tower, Starlight Potion Shop.

The shop door, which had been closed for a long time, was pushed open with a creak.

Kenner took a rag and began wiping the shelves.

Robert and Wade carried boxes of medicine back onto the counter.

Monica took out the ledger and sat behind the counter. The former waitress apprentice also returned.

The signboard was still that same dark blue one, with five silver runes that read "Starlight Potion Shop," gleaming in the sunlight.

The passing wizard apprentices stopped and whispered among themselves.

"Huh? The door's open?"

"Wasn't it supposed to be under internal renovation? It's finally open! I've been waiting for so long."

"Look, the supplies seem to be restocked! [Concentration Potion]! And [Rock Bear Potion]!"

"Go tell Boss Jason right away, he's been talking about it for ages!"

The news spread quickly, and customers gradually returned to the shop.

Most of the customers were regulars, but there were also new faces who came after hearing about it.

Kevin squeezed in again and familiarly leaned over the counter.

"Wizard Marcus, you've finally opened the door! Is the [Starlight Potion] really hopeless? I'll add money! Thirty percent more!"

Ian sat in his usual spot behind the counter, still holding the rune analysis book, without looking up: "No."

Kevin was rebuffed, but he wasn't annoyed. He just chuckled, bought some level-0 potions, and left.

He walked out of the store and glanced back at the quiet figure inside.

He wondered to himself, "What was he doing these past few days? Was he really just keeping to himself and making medicine?"

He wasn't the only one who thought this way.

Inside the most magnificent wizard tower in Shadowmoon.

Morton put down an official letter and rubbed his temples.

The message came from the president of the Withered Council through special channels; the wording was polite but contained an implicit question.

"The members of the Withered Council have died at our doorstep... two core deacons."

Standing before him was the captain of the enforcement team, a stern-faced level two crystallization wizard.

"Have you seen it in person?" Morton asked.

"I've checked it. It's very clean, but the handling wasn't professional. However, the residual energy traces... are astonishing."

The enforcement captain said in a deep voice, "There are signs of a high-intensity burst of death energy. It should be the trump card of the Wither Council's sacrificial summoning."

There is another type of energy residue with extremely concentrated destructive power. It has a small range, but its annihilation effect is extremely thorough.

In that area, a section of the ground had been 'erased' away, creating a perfect hemisphere with vitrified inner walls.

Morton tapped his fingers on the table.

"Can you tell who did this? Which old geezer in our tower couldn't resist taking action?"

The enforcement captain shook his head: "It doesn't seem like it. The nature of that energy is unfamiliar, and there are no obvious traces of the signature power of a level two wizard at the scene."

It seems more like... some kind of powerful innate witchcraft, or a special kind of complex witchcraft.

The two exchanged a glance and both saw the confusion in each other's eyes.

Morton was silent for a moment, a mocking look on his face, and waved his hand.

"Forget it, just reply to the Withered Council and say that we are aware of the situation, it is under investigation, and we will report back as soon as there are results."

As for the selection of the "Sleeping Palace," the old rule applies: each person will compete based on their own abilities.

The enforcement captain was taken aback for a moment, then understood.

A cold smile tugged at the corner of his lips: "Yes, Tower Master."

The withered parliament still dares to send a letter of inquiry; it's utterly absurd.