Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

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Deep inside the passage, the light was irregularly swallowed by the surrounding gray-white vines, making the view dim.

Ian sketched out a vague outline based on his spiritual perception.

"Ian, there are two around the corner."

A low, wary voice echoed in his mind.

"They remained stationary, their mental energy continuously scanning our direction..."

Ian did not stop walking, his expression calm, only a faint golden glint flashed deep in his pupils.

From the moment he stepped onto this side path blocked by the "Vine of Annihilation," he felt a subtle, almost imperceptible, gaze upon him.

It wasn't the chaotic malice of the monsters, but a more restrained and sinister covetousness.

Like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows.

"Aren't you afraid of death? You still dare to make a move on me."

The corner is just 30 meters ahead.

Ian's left hand was tucked into the pocket of his wizard's robe, his fingertips lightly touching the cold [Ring of Layers], while his right hand hung naturally at his sides.

Inside the sleeve, thirty-six floating crystal cones had quietly taken their place, hovering silently.

"They've moved... they're heading this way, not very fast."

Gaga reminded her again that her heterochromatic eyes shimmered faintly in the shadows.

"Ian, the one on the left has a twitching mouth and eyes like a hyena eyeing a piece of fat meat."

"Understood," Ian replied in his mind, his tone flat and emotionless.

He turned the corner.

There were indeed two people ahead.

Their footsteps were very light, almost blending into the deathly silence of the environment.

But in this silent world, any slight movement is clear and jarring.

The two men were about thirty meters away from him, one on his left and one on his right, maintaining a subtle angle.

They were the two liquefied wizards who entered the passage earlier.

A tall, thin man, as thin as a bamboo pole, with dark red stains on the hem of his dark blue robe.

The other was short and stocky, his right hand tucked into his sleeve, with a faint green light swirling between his fingers.

The moment he saw Ian, a hint of undisguised greed flashed in his eyes.

"Oh? Isn't this the wizard Marcus?"

The tall, thin wizard twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing a smile.

"What a coincidence! There are so many forks in this 'Eternal Silence Corridor,' yet I still managed to run into someone I know."

He said "skillful" but his feet subtly moved half a step.

They formed a subtle pincer movement with their companions, blocking the widest part of the passage.

Ian stopped and calmly glanced at the two men before finally settling on the tall, thin wizard's face.

"Is there something you need?"

"It's nothing serious," the tall, thin wizard chuckled.

His gaze lingered on the dimensional pouch at Ian's waist.

"But this ruin is dangerous, and Wizard Marcus is all alone; I'm afraid..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

Ian has launched an attack.

There were no warnings, no idle chatter, not even the slightest sign of energy fluctuations.

Just as the other party was uttering half of the word "I'm afraid," Ian suddenly raised his right hand, which had been hanging down!

laugh!

Three thin, hair-like energy lines burst forth from the palm.

Two streaks of ice blue and one streak of gold and red completed their spiral entanglement the instant they left the body.

It transformed into a pale purple thread, tearing through the air and piercing straight for the tall, thin wizard's brow.

too fast!

Before the tall, thin wizard could react, he felt a chill between his brows.

A pale purple thread pierced through his head, and then all the sounds of the world vanished.

The [Entropy Change Domain] erupted instantly.

Two completely opposite forces were clashing wildly within his body.

It stirs up flesh, bones, meridians, and even the soul into a chaotic mess.

puff.

The body fell limply to the ground, its face still frozen in shock.

From the moment Ian made his move to the death of the tall, thin wizard, the entire process took less than half a second.

"you!"

The short, stocky wizard's pupils constricted sharply; he had never expected Ian to be so decisive.

I never expected the attack to be this fast!

But none of the liquefied wizards who could enter the ruins were weak.

Almost at the same moment his companion fell to the ground, the short, stocky wizard slammed his poisoned staff down hard!

"The putrefaction is spreading!"

A turquoise poisonous mist gushed out from the poison sac at the tip of the staff.

It transformed into a dense green circle with a diameter of fifty meters, enveloping both himself and Ian simultaneously!

The poisonous fog has a strong corrosive and nerve-paralyzing effect; an ordinary liquefied wizard would suffer from festering sores all over his body and become sluggish if he inhaled even a single breath.

But Ian didn't even flinch.

When the [Furnace Tempering Technique] is activated to its maximum, the jade-like radiance under the skin suddenly brightens, instantly evaporating and purifying the toxins that have invaded the body!

At the same time, he raised his left hand, his five fingers loosely clenched.

hum!

An invisible gravitational field erupted from him, forcibly compressing and distorting the surrounding poisonous fog.

It forms a vortex that rotates in the opposite direction.

"What?!" The short, stocky wizard's expression changed drastically.

He could feel that the poisonous fog he was releasing was getting out of control.

Those carefully orchestrated corrosive energies, drawn by some unseen force, began to backfire on themselves!

"Damn it!"

The short, stocky wizard gritted his teeth, quickly forming a hand seal with his left hand, and a gray-green shield condensed in front of him.

But it was too late.

Ian raised his right hand again.

Spread your fingers, palm facing the short, stocky wizard, and then...

A gentle squeeze.

[Gravity-collapsed sphere]!

A black dot the size of a grain of rice appeared out of thin air on the short, stocky wizard's chest.

There was no sound, no light, only the ripples of space being forcibly distorted and compressed.

The short, stocky wizard lowered his head, looking at the "hole" that had suddenly appeared in his chest.

The hole was only the size of a fist, and you could see the wall behind it through it.

But the flesh, bones, shields, robes surrounding the void...

All matter collapsed rapidly inward, as if being swallowed up bit by bit by an invisible giant mouth.

"No...it's impossible..."

The short, stocky wizard opened his mouth, as if to say something.

But before the sound could even escape his lips, he was completely sucked into the miniature gravitational singularity.

puff.

With a soft click, the black dot disappeared.

Only a small clump of grayish-white dust remained on the spot, the residue left after being crushed by extreme gravity.

From the moment the two launched their attack to their complete annihilation, the entire process took no more than three seconds.

Ian withdrew his hand, his eyes calm, as if nothing had happened.

"Gah..." Gah gurgled softly.

"Ian, you were way too fast! I wasn't even warmed up yet..."

"There's no need to waste time," Ian said calmly.

"In a place like this, any hesitation can be fatal."

He crouched down and quickly examined the two bodies.

Or rather, a corpse and a handful of ashes.

The tall, thin wizard's dimensional bag contained several bottles of intermediate healing potions, some common alchemical materials, and a dozen or so high-grade magic stones.

The short, stocky wizard's poison staff was quite good; the poison sac at the tip was still throbbing slightly.

But Ian had no interest in poison magic and casually tossed it into a corner of the dimensional ring.

"A penniless wretch," he remarked.

Gaga rolled her eyes: "You think everyone's like you, making medicine and stealing resources?"

Ian didn't reply, but stood up and looked at the desolate vines in front of him.

Although the battle was brief, the energy fluctuations had already affected these sensitive things.

Sure enough, the previously still vines began to slowly wiggle.

On the grayish-white surface of the "blood vessels", those fine, sharp spikes stand up one by one.

The surrounding light began to dim, and the sound completely disappeared.

This is not a lifeless environment, but rather some force actively devouring it.

The vine's unique ability: Silent Field.

"They're here." Ian's eyes narrowed.

The next second, dozens of vines shot out like venomous snakes!

Their speed was so great that they left trails of gray-white afterimages in the dim light.

The spikes tore through the air, but made no sound.

Each vine's attack trajectory was cunning and vicious, sealing off all of Ian's evasive options!

But Ian had no intention of dodging.

He stood still, raised his right hand, and spread his five fingers.

[Frost Ray] - Full Power Unleashed!

This time, it's no longer a thread compressed to its maximum.

Instead, three beams of energy, each about the thickness of a thumb, burst forth from the palm, spiraling together in ice blue and golden red, instantly separating from the body.

This created a pale purple area with a diameter of ten meters!

[Entropy Change Domain] - Fully Unlocked!

Chi Chi Chi!

The moment the vines rushed into the area, their speed suddenly decreased.

Frost and scorch marks appeared on the grayish-white surface at the same time. Extreme cold and scorching heat alternated in milliseconds, causing the vine's structure to quickly become brittle and disintegrate!

But the vitality of the withered vines is terrifyingly tenacious.

Even though it was severely weakened by the [Entropy Change Domain], more than a dozen vines still broke through the blockade, their sharp thorns piercing Ian's vital points!

"Gah!"

Gaa took flight from Ian’s shoulder, its wingspan instantly expanding to three meters, its feathers gleaming with a deep, shadowy sheen.

【Shadow Messenger】Prototype: Shadow Manipulation!

The shadows on both sides of the passage suddenly came to life!

They peeled off the wall, transforming into jet-black tentacles that precisely entangled the vines that had broken through the barrier.

Shadows intertwine and tear at the vines...

Although it cannot be completely suppressed, it is enough to slow down the vines' movements by a beat.

That one shot was enough for Ian.

He raised his left hand, his five fingers loosely clenched, and the tiny black dots, the size of rice grains, reappeared in his palm.

The black dot flew rapidly toward the ground ahead.

hum!

Invisible gravitational ripples spread out from the black dot.

Wherever it passed, the ground, walls, and ceiling collapsed inwards simultaneously!

The desolate vines that had taken root in the wall were forcibly pulled out of the wall by this terrifying force.

The grayish-white "blood vessels" broke apart inch by inch, spurting out a thick, dark red liquid.

"hiss!"

A piercing, inhuman shriek filled the air—the energy shockwave emitted when the vines were collectively injured.

Although it was mostly swallowed up by the field of silence, it still pierced people's eardrums painfully.

Ian remained expressionless and raised his right hand again.

【Frost Ray】·Sweep Mode!

A pale purple spiral beam of light swept out like a scythe, severing the vines pulled out by gravity in half.

At the break, half of it froze into ice crystals, and the other half melted into coke.

The chaotic energy of ice and fire spread wildly towards the roots along the "vessels" of the vines.

Three breaths later, all the vines at the end of the passage completely stopped wriggling.

Large swaths of grayish-white vines withered and dried up.

It eventually turned into puddles of dark red, viscous liquid, emitting a nauseating, putrid odor.

"It's resolved." Ian withdrew his hand, his breathing steady as usual.

The cackling bird landed back on his shoulder, its little eyes scanning the mess on the floor, and it couldn't help but smack its lips.

"Ian, you're fighting so violently right now."

"As long as it works," Ian said calmly.

He walked to the remains of the vines, squatted down, and carefully scraped off some dark red sap with a small alchemy knife, putting it into a specially made sealed crystal bottle.

The sap of the Annihilation Vine possesses the property of "annihilation of existence," making it a precious material for crafting certain special potions.

"Let's go." Ian put away the crystal bottle.

He got up, stepped over the vine debris, and walked deeper into the passage.

Gaga followed behind him, muttering to herself.

"Those two people just now...aren't you afraid Herman will hold you accountable?"

"Pursue?"

Ian didn't stop walking, his voice tinged with sarcasm.

"In a place like this, dead people are the least unusual thing. If Herman couldn't even see that, he wouldn't have survived this long."

He paused, then added a sentence.

"Besides, they attacked first, I was just... acting in self-defense."

Gaga tilted her head: "But you didn't even wait for them to completely make their move..."

"If they make the first move, I might get hurt."

Ian said calmly, "In the ruins, injury is equivalent to death, so any potential threat must be nipped in the bud."

This is his current code of conduct.

Once a move is made, there will be no room for compromise.

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