Chinese professors at the Wizarding Academy

Inside the cave, the golden oak leaf pattern shimmered faintly. There had been no light in the cave before, but it began to sparkle as the two entered.

"Dark Summoning".

To be fair, the Dark Eroder spoke very softly, and unlike Calcosa's hoarse middle-aged voice, his tone was quite gentle.

Perhaps it was the confidence of someone with great strength; his voice was as soft as a bard telling a story.

The voice was soft and flat, but... it carried an undeniable chilling intensity.

Gu Chen's heart tightened in an instant.

"...We need to find a way to leave!"

This was his only thought.

The moment the Dark Eroder finished speaking, Gu Chen felt the world around him change.

At this moment, the originally turbulent underground river suddenly became incredibly viscous! It was as if an unknown amount of thick ink had been injected into the river water, making every drop of water in the river as sticky as glue, and it was constantly pulling on the hull of the boat and dragging the oars!

Even more frightening is that the river water itself is deepening in color, turning from dark green to almost pure black, and a layer of constantly wriggling, oily sheen is beginning to appear on the surface.

What was originally disgusting has now become a direct slap in the face to the word "horror".

"Splash—!"

"Splash splash splash splash splash!!!"

suddenly!

Dozens, even hundreds, of dark tentacles suddenly erupted from the river without warning!

"……Depend on."

Gu Chen's lips twitched; the scene before him was truly spectacular...

If the fight with JonBeck was visually stunning, then there was still a glimmer of hope...

The scene that the Dark Eroder is creating is telling you in a straightforward way:

Hey, you're dead meat!

After all, if you really want to talk about it, he still has a fighting chance against Joebeck. After all, the power Joebeck obtained is not stable. Even if he had fragments of rules, his chaotic mind at the time didn't know how to use them, and the situation during the battle proved this point.

Not to mention that back then, Gu Chen could also use the chaotic power he obtained to specialize in combat...

Now, a second-tier powerhouse, undoubtedly a second-tier wizard, stood before him, his oppressive aura incomparably strong, as if every place untouched by light had become Gu Chen's enemy.

I'm just kidding. Even light can be an enemy.

Gu Chen could clearly feel that with the appearance of the tentacles and the increased power of the Dark Eroder, the cave was becoming visibly darker...

Those tentacles were bared and clawed, and looked to be of various shapes and sizes.

Some are as thick as an arm, their surfaces covered with suction cup-like protrusions, and each suction cup has a dark red eye that constantly opens and closes in the center.

Some are as thin as a hair, but their numbers are frightening, numbering in the thousands. They intertwine, forming an impenetrable net.

Some of them split open at the top, revealing mouthparts filled with sharp teeth, and continuously dripping black liquid. This liquid fell into the river water, turning the dark green water black and causing it to sizzle as it corroded the water.

"Did magic directly create living beings...?"

"No, it's a summoning. This is a monster from the Dark Dimension..."

Gu Chen could tell that these tentacles were not formed from dark magic; they were not a manifestation of energy, but rather legitimate physical entities…

These tentacles kept waving and baring their claws.

So these tentacles weren't summoned for some kind of welcoming ceremony or to add a sense of urgency to the cave...

They have clear goals.

That means obeying the summoner's orders and killing the target!

"Then the target must be me..."

"Damn it!"

"brush!"

"brush!"

"brush!"

A gigantic tentacle is coming!

Their attacks are powerful and heavy, with unpredictable trajectories, and the ship is the first to suffer damage!

The three thickest tentacles wrapped around him, just like three living pythons!

Immediately, the wooden planks groaned under the strain. The three tentacles, each covered in suction cups, clung tightly to the ship. Then, dark energy seeped in, and the planks visibly blackened, rotted, and cracked.

The wood chips fell and turned black in mid-air, like a black snowfall.

Gu Chen's expression changed drastically, and he instinctively swung the oar in his hand.

Then he slashed at a tentacle that came from mid-air and tried to wrap around his left leg!

"puff!"

The oar did hit the tentacle, but it felt like cutting into a pool of thick asphalt!

Not only were they not severed, but they were instead firmly stuck together! Even more terrifying, the moment they made contact, the part of the paddle that touched the tentacles began to rapidly turn black, the wood fibers being directly disintegrated by the dark power.

Then it turned into black powder and fell down in a flurry.

The black snow fell again, lasting only a few seconds.

In just two or three breaths, most of the oar had disappeared!

Gu Chen decisively let go, abandoned the oar, and quickly retreated.

But with such a small boat, where could it possibly retreat to?

More tentacles surged in from all directions.

A tentacle as thin as a hair silently wrapped around his right ankle. By the time Gu Chen felt the icy sensation in his ankle, it was already too late...

pain!It hurts so much!

The power of darkness is eroding the skin and seeping into the blood vessels!

Gu Chen looked down and saw that a strange black pattern had appeared on his ankle. The pattern spread upwards along his calf like a living thing. Where the pattern passed, the skin lost its color, the muscles began to stiffen, and he lost consciousness.

Blackness is spreading!

"Damn it!"

Gu Chen gritted his teeth, his right hand forming a knife-like shape with his fingers, a wisp of life magic gathering at his fingertips, and he slashed fiercely at the circle of black patterns!

This life magic was left in the Grip of Life and Death when the dark power was eliminated with the potion. It was originally intended to accelerate recovery. Although the internal balance cannot be restored with this, it should at least allow the arm to move again...

However, the situation is urgent now, so if we can't move, we can't move.

If you just leave that thing on your foot alone, you might as well wait to die!

"Sizzle!"

The white life force collided with the dark force, producing a slight sound. The spread of the black lines slowed down slightly, but it still did not stop.

Life is the enemy of darkness, but the dark power of the Dark Eroder, a second-circle wizard, is far more refined than Gu Chen can easily neutralize in his current state.

Moreover, the source of this life magic was just a healing potion given by Ysera; how could it be resolved so easily?

"A way, a way..."

Gu Chen couldn't laugh at all now, his lips were too sore to twitch, and he couldn't even utter a single sarcastic remark. His mind was completely racing, trying to think of a solution.

However, before a solution could be found, an even greater crisis had already arrived.

"Snap! Snap!"

The sound of the ship breaking apart rang out one after another.

The three main tentacles continued to tighten their grip, causing the keel to finally give way and break in two!

The icy river water rushed in instantly, and Gu Chen's body sank as he fell into the frigid, dark river!

It was pitch black underwater.

The river water was not only icy cold, but also carried a strong dark power. The dark power constantly invaded his body, and Gu Chen felt as if countless fine needles were piercing his skin at the same time. The dark power was simply all-pervasive!

Skin, wounds, ears, nose, throat... they burrowed into his body from all directions, frantically polluting his magical pathways and eroding his mental strength!

Even more terrifying, those tentacles did not disappear as the ship disintegrated; instead, they swarmed back like maggots clinging to a bone!

Tentacles coiled around it, then tightened suddenly!

"Ugh...!"

Feeling suffocated!

The tentacle wrapped around his neck tightened continuously, Gu Chen's vision went black, and his lungs burned with pain!

He struggled desperately, reaching his hands upwards repeatedly, trying to tear the tentacles off his neck and pull them away!

But the moment his fingers touched the slippery, cold surface, he was attacked by the power of darkness, and his skin felt a burning pain, forcing him to let go!

The attack of darkness is not limited to the body; darkness is all-pervasive, and it not only affects the body but also the soul.

At a deeper level, the erosion began on the soul level.

Gu Chen felt his consciousness beginning to blur, his mind sinking into endless darkness...

There were no desperate cries, no faces of betrayal, and no lonely deaths...

There was nothing, yet everything was there; it was a void. Gu Chen's consciousness was sinking, losing the ability to think, and becoming unable to feel anything...

In a sense, darkness is gentle. As long as you embrace darkness, no matter what color you are, darkness will dye you completely black.

There is nothing in the darkness. You just need to close your eyes, become part of the nothingness, become part of the darkness.

You do not exist, nor do you need to exist...

The power of darkness is acting directly on the essence of his soul, attempting to distort his perception and undermine his will.

"I can't... I can't give up..."

Gu Chen bit his tongue, the sharp pain bringing a sliver of clarity, but it was of little use, because under his severe injuries, his mental strength was like a tattered fishing net, unable to stop the infiltration of the dark power.

The body is sinking.

The river is getting deeper, the pressure is increasing, and the darkness is growing.

The light overhead gradually disappeared... Darkness took its place, a darkness that was both despairing and incredibly gentle.

It's as if a voice is saying:

"Give up, just give up, and you will find eternal peace."

"There is no pain, no sorrow, nothing in the darkness."

In reality, the tentacles tightened their grip, and the darkness deepened its encroachment. Gu Chen felt his consciousness being peeled away bit by bit, like a sandcastle on a beach being washed away by the tide, crumbling away little by little…

The future is predetermined; death is the end.

"...Am I going to die?"

"Haha, it seems my wondrous adventure in the Wizarding World is coming to an end..."

On his deathbed, Gu Chen actually smiled.

Do I remember saying that to Joe Beck once?

No... um... he can't remember.

There's too much darkness, and my memories seem to be fading away...

Just as consciousness was about to completely succumb,

"I'll give you up my ass..."

Perhaps it is the influence of "unyielding will," a talent acquired from Jim that rewards the brave and indomitable, making them fight with all their might the more desperate they are.

Or perhaps it was Gu Chen's own unwillingness to give up.

Even though my memories were already incredibly confused, that indomitable feeling just surged up so forcefully!

"I'm going to blow you to heaven...!"

With his last ounce of strength, Gu Chen pinched the small crystal left behind by Qiao Beike after his death, which contained the chaotic power of rules...

Then, he completely relinquished control of the chaotic vortex in his arm!

resonance!

Just like what happened when I played against Joe Beck!

The two forces of law will devour each other, and their mutual devouring and approach will promote the power of chaos!

When the two are combined, the power of chaos will become even stronger!

It certainly wouldn't work to rely on the chaotic power in his own arm, but don't forget, Joebeck obtained the fragments of chaotic rules from the Sealing Tower and the Seventh Observatory!

He could even use this to possess a domain that only a third-tier wizard could have!

Thinking of this, Gu Chen immediately released control of the structure in his arm while gripping the crystal tightly!

The resonance is beginning!

"Oh?"

The Dark Eroder naturally sensed the chaotic power of the underwater forces.

"Stubborn and obstinate."

He shook his head slightly, and raised his right hand again.

"Snap!"

This time, it wasn't the boat that broke; it was an arm.

Gu Chen's right arm bones groaned as the tentacles tightened around it!

At the same time, more dark tentacles surged out from underwater, like countless iron chains, dragging Gu Chen into the deeper and darker abyss of the riverbed!

Consciousness... completely blurred...

The Dark Eroders on the shore frowned.

How can this low-level blood sorcerer be so ruthless...?

He could sense the changes in that chaotic power, and his instincts told him that the purity of that chaotic power was extremely high. If it self-destructed, it might even make a mess of this cavern. If he stayed here, he would probably also be affected by the "chaos" and experience some unpredictable changes...

"This is really interesting..."

"I couldn't even stop your self-destruction..."

"Moreover, you actually manage to wield this level of chaotic power... and even manage to harm me with it?"

"It must have been some old thing in the grave that gave you something, hehe... How interesting, I've been trying to persuade you for so long and you still won't give it to me."

"But it's alright, I can teleport away and then come back to pack up your remains."

"Now, die."

Just as Gu Chen was about to succumb, and the power of darkness was about to completely corrupt his soul—

"Buzz..."

A soft sound.

"Um?"

The Dark Eroder sensed the sound, but strangely, it wasn't heard through its ears...

What happened?

"……who?"

The Dark Eroder looked around, but nothing happened.

It seems like what just happened was just an illusion.

"You can't stay any longer, just die already."

The Dark Eroder turned its head and manipulated more dark magic, wanting to kill Gu Chen even faster!

suddenly!

At first, it was just a faint, firefly-like light that flickered a few times before the golden oak leaf pattern carved on the stone wall suddenly burst into a brilliant light!

It suddenly lit up!