Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

There is no free lunch in the world.

In particular, this witch came from a large family that owned three city-states.

Adele remained silent for a moment.

The cabin was quiet, with only the low hum of the airship's engines faintly audible through the thick bulkheads.

The sky outside the window had completely darkened, and the dim yellow light inside the cabin and the two silent figures were reflected on the glass.

"That remnant is a trophy left behind by one of my family's Morning Star Wizard ancestors more than three thousand years ago after he killed a 'Shadow Devourer' in a void rift."

Adele spoke slowly, her voice devoid of pride, only carrying the calmness of stating a fact.

"It has always been sealed in the deepest part of the secret vault as one of the family's treasures, and it cannot be used without the joint decision of the patriarch or the council of elders."

She looked up at Ian.

The dark brown pupils reflected the flickering light, yet remained unfathomably deep.

"I came to the East Coast in search of a medicinal ingredient."

"My father, the current patriarch of the Just family, was afflicted with a rare bloodline curse more than three years ago."

Her tone remained calm, but Ian keenly noticed that her fingers, resting on her knees, curled slightly.

"In three years, his cultivation level plummeted from the peak of Level 3 to the early stage of Level 3."

"Now... even maintaining a few hours of wakefulness each day is difficult."

Ian didn't speak, he just listened quietly.

"In the family's secret vault, there is an ancient prescription for breaking the curse."

"The family has reserves of the main ingredients, but we are missing one ingredient: the complete tentacles of the 'Ice Soul Jellyfish.' We need to go to the depths of the far northeast sea to find them."

Adele's voice was soft, yet every word was clear.

"I spent eight months traversing three dangerous zones marked as 'Death Seas,' hunting down two Tier 2 sea beasts and suffering three near-death injuries."

"Finally, in the deep-sea rift valley beneath the 'permafrost glacier,' we found a jellyfish that had been sleeping for a thousand years."

She paused, as if recalling that fierce battle.

"I used the life-saving trump card bestowed upon me by my family, risking half my life, to cut off one of its intact tentacles."

After she finished speaking, she fell silent.

The air inside the cabin seemed to have frozen.

Ian looked at her pale, bloodless face, and at the deep weariness and determination hidden in her eyes.

Eight months.

The Sea of ​​Death.

Second-tier sea beast.

A thousand-year-old jellyfish.

Behind every word lies a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood, a life-or-death struggle.

"And then?" Ian asked softly.

Adele twitched the corners of her mouth, revealing a hint of self-mockery.

"Then, just as I received the tentacles and was preparing to return home, a message arrived from my family."

"My father... has fallen into a deep coma."

"The family elders have begun the selection process for a new patriarch."

She looked up at Ian, her eyes devoid of any emotion, so empty it chilled one to the bone.

"I am the seventh in line of the ten successors."

"Third from last."

"If my father dies before the selection process is over, my lineage... will be completely marginalized."

"My mother died early, and I had no support from my maternal family."

"My two older brothers, Edwin, second in line, and Adrian, third in line, wish I were dead out there."

Her tone remained calm, as if she were talking about someone else's business.

"Edwin kept assassins and secretly executed the fifth-ranked competitor three years ago."

"Adrian colluded with the Outer Realms Merchant Guild and bribed three elders with smuggling profits."

"If I go back, and we lose the competition..."

She paused, and a hint of coldness finally crept into her voice.

"'Leaving the territory without permission,' 'wasting family resources,' 'accomplishing nothing'... let them find any charges they want."

"At the very least, strip them of their inheritance rights and imprison them for life."

"The worst... is that they might 'disappear'."

Inside the cabin, there was an eerie silence.

The quack stopped moving around and seemed to understand the gravity of the words.

It buried its little head in its wings, leaving only its eyes peeking out, and secretly watched Adele.

Ian leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Regular and slow.

He understood the other party's purpose.

The medicinal ingredient that Adele Just had risked her life for eight months to obtain suddenly lost its meaning in the face of the power struggle within the family.

The father fell into a coma, and the selection process was initiated.

She went back not to save her father, but to get caught up in a life-or-death struggle for inheritance.

She needs allies, she needs strength.

So, she set her sights on him.

A level two crystallization wizard might be considered someone of importance on the East Coast, but in the eyes of the major families on the Central Continent…

"You're trying to win me over?"

Ian spoke, his voice very soft.

Read the full text of Chapter 262, "Gaga's Opportunity for Promotion," for free. Link:

"On what grounds?"

Adele did not avoid his gaze.

"Because you value your familiar."

She looked at Gaga, her eyes once again filled with that scholarly admiration and certainty.

"A wizard who can possess a 'Shadow Messenger' as a familiar is definitely not an ordinary person."

"And in the Just family's secret vault lies the most crucial item for its advancement to the second tier."

"I can use that remnant of eternal shadow."

She paused, then added.

"Before my father, who was once the clan chief, fell into a coma, he left me with some authority, along with some of my mother's old followers... If I can win, the remains will be one of the rewards."

Ian's fingers stopped tapping.

She didn't make empty promises or offer any unrealistic gains; instead, she directly pointed out the most practical bargaining chips.

Gaga's path to promotion.

"What do you need me to do?"

Ian asked.

"When I returned to my family and participated in the selection process, they did everything they could to help me win."

Adele's voice was calm.

"It's unrealistic to expect you to directly confront my brother."

"But at the very least, in critical moments, I need some reliable second-level wizards as my 'supporters'."

"In the wizarding world, the struggle for succession is largely about the apparent balance of power."

She looked at Ian with a frank and sharp gaze.

"I won't let you go to your death."

"But I need your presence, your strength, as leverage on my side."

Ian remained silent for a long time.

The cabin lights cast long shadows of the two people onto the wall, swaying slightly.

The endless sea outside the window is pitch black, with only the occasional luminous deep-sea creatures that glide by, leaving fleeting, eerie blue arcs on the glass.

"I need to think about it."

Ian finally spoke, his voice calm and unreadable.

Adele seemed to have anticipated this answer.

She was neither disappointed nor did she urge him; she simply nodded gently.

"A very wise choice."

She stood up, her dark blue robe draped over her shoulders, outlining her slender and upright figure.

"There will be a wizard exchange meeting in the banquet hall on the third floor of the Leapfrog tomorrow night."

"The organizer is the 'Giant Sail Trading Alliance,' and most of the prominent wizards on board will be present."

She looked at Ian.

"If you're interested, you can find me there."

"At that time, you may be able to meet more wizards from the Central Continent and learn more about... the Just family."

Ian stood up as well. "I will keep my appointment."

Adele nodded slightly, then turned and walked towards the door.

As she reached the door, she stopped and glanced back at Gaga, who was perched on Ian's shoulder.

The look of admiration and complexity resurfaced in his eyes once again.

"Grow up well, little guy. The potential of the 'Shadowbringer' is far greater than this."

After saying that, she opened the door, her figure disappearing into the dim light of the corridor.

The hatch slowly closed.

Ian stood still, without moving.

The quack flew to him and blinked its little eyes.

"Ian, that witch... what she said seems to be true."

"She had injuries, though they weren't very serious and she concealed them well, but I could smell them."

Ian rubbed its little head.

"I know."

He walked to the window and looked out at the dark, endless sea.

His gaze was deep, like the night outside the window.

House Just, three city-states, the remnants of the Eternal Shadow, a struggle for succession.

"And... a level two wizard as a bargaining chip."

Tonight's events unfolded too quickly and too suddenly.

But Adele's last words kept echoing in his mind.

"The potential of the 'Shadow Messenger' goes far beyond this."

If Gaga can advance to the second tier...

His strength will experience a qualitative leap.

In the perilous Central Continent, this power is of paramount importance.

"Gah gah," Ian murmured.

"Do you want to... become stronger?"

Gaga immediately puffed out its chest, and its feathers bristled.

"Of course I want to! Haha!"

"I will become the strongest Shadow Demon King! I'll help Ian crush all the enemies!"

Ian's lips curved slightly, revealing a very faint smile.

He patted Gaga's little head, "Then let's go take a look."

Look at this wizard exchange meeting...

"Just how many demons and monsters are there?"

Outside the window, the night stretches out over the endless sea, its depths unfathomable.

The airship pierced the darkness and sped silently toward the central continent.

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