Passerby Villain In A Wizard World

It wasn't the first time Ian felt the sudden change in his body.

At first, he felt such a sudden reaction only from his anchor, the Cocoon. It always showed movement when it came to the soul and spirit.

Moreover, he could feel its movement getting larger while his consciousness was ready to get promoted.

However, today was the first time Ian felt such a change in his Life Core.

First, his Life Core suddenly changed to a half-translucent state after seeing the Lava Serpent. Even the red streak began to beat rhythmically, not to mention the weird reaction from those creatures.

Now, it also began to act like this in front of this Sylvan Warden?

'Why is it at this time all of a sudden?'

Ian cursed as his vision suddenly shifted involuntarily, causing him to miss the punch.

However, before he could take care of this, as if the Sylvan Warden could feel its existence, its long tendril that had stopped before suddenly moved.

"Swish!"

Then, without waiting for even a second, those thorned tendrils directly headed for Ian's location, intending to pierce him into a sieve.

From Ian's attack to his abrupt behavior to the Thorn Lash attack, everything happened so fast that Ignysyl was caught off guard.

"What is he doing?"

The little dragon was confused why Ian suddenly stopped attacking. But still, seeing that those thorns were about to pierce him, he immediately teleported directly above Ian, intending to stop it in time.

Although his power was limited, he could still parry a Peak Tier 1 attack barely.

"Stop!"

However, before he could do so, Ian's strong shout reverberated in the entire garden, stopping him in his tracks.

"What do you mean? What happened to you?"

Ignysyl was getting more and more confused.

However, he suddenly noticed that with Ian's shout, not just him, but the Sylvan Warden also suddenly stopped in its tracks.

"Hmm? Hey, did you use some kind of Power?"

He asked again as he couldn't get any reply from Ian at all.

"Go Back!"

However, to the surprise of Ignysyl, Ian didn't reply or even turn around but ordered in a cold voice while exiting his Ethereal form.

"What? Why?"

The little dragon thought Ian was talking to him and was about to question when, suddenly, numerous rustling sounds echoed around them.

Then, suddenly, the Sylvan Warden, whose tendrils and roots were everywhere, ready to attack, began to burrow inside the soil rapidly as if in response to Ian's command.

Just like they appeared before, they also disappeared the same way, as even the main body once again turned into the old tree, unremarkable from the mere sight.

If not for the ruined herbs and devastated land around, it would have been truly hard to notice there was such a battle just now.

"Let's go inside the tower. I can't wait."

While Ignysyl was bewildered at such a twist, he heard a soft voice from the side, a little anxious.

Then he saw Ian hurriedly running towards the black tower at the center without waiting for him.

'What happened to him?'

Although the little dragon was curious, he didn't ask but followed along without saying anything.

It didn't take long for both Ian and Ignysyl to arrive at the central tower.

Although it was called a tower, only its shape resembled one, as after arriving near, they could see that it was only one story tall with nothing fancy.

However, they could still see a shimmering barrier and runic enchantment around the entire tower, protecting it from harm.

Ignysyl saw that the only way they could enter it was from the large door in front, which seemed closed.

"How are we going to enter? Do you want me to use teleportation?"

Ignysyl asked Ian as he couldn't find any other way around.

However, Ian shook his head at his proposal and ordered,

"Follow me and don't say anything."

After saying that, Ian walked straight along the moss-covered makeshift path, so old and overgrown it was barely visible.

Ignysyl could clearly feel that Ian's mood had suddenly changed. He didn't know what had happened just now, but he knew that Ian had too many mysteries around him.

So, he just landed on his shoulder, allowing him to do whatever he wanted.

However, if he could look inside the black cloak Ian was wearing, he would see his eyes were completely green, glowing faintly with an eerie light that pulsed with each step he took.

It wasn't the natural green of envy or nature—it was something deeper, more ancient, as if a storm of magic brewed silently behind them.

As soon as Ian arrived in front of the large wooden door, he suddenly opened his mouth, saying only one word,

"Open!"

"Click!"

It was as if he said a code word, the ancient door, which seemed to not have been opened for who knows how long, automatically opened by itself.

It was so weird that Ignysyl had a hard time believing, as he couldn't feel anything with his perception.

However, Ian seemed to be in a hurry as he directly entered the door without any additional reaction.

As soon as Ignysyl and Ian entered the tower, what came into their view was a vast, shadowy hall with cold stone floors and towering columns.

While the air felt thick with the scent of old magic, scattered across the room were large, intricately carved stone tables and dusty wooden chests with nothing inside.

Although there were a few closed rooms around, it was clear that the first floor primarily served as a storage area.

"Let's go up!"

So, Ian didn't waste time looking around and immediately headed towards a spiral staircase leading upward.

Just like the cloud stairs outside, the steps on the stair were also engraved with arrays that glowed faintly when Ian stepped.

But there was no danger as they safely reached the top floor without incident.

"Finally... this is the place I want."

As soon as Ian stepped to the top of the tower and looked around, he couldn't help but mumble unconsciously, a little excited.

"Yeah, like I said before, we indeed hit the jackpot."

Ignysyl also agreed with Ian as he looked around the large room with interest.

The second floor of the wizard tower was a stark contrast to the first, as it seemed to be the main part of the tower.

Rows upon rows of shelves filled with rare herbs, scrolls, and glowing crystals lined the walls.

Below lay intricate alchemical instruments atop workbenches scattered around the room for various purposes.

Moreover, it seemed some kind of array had been used to channel lava directly into the room, aiding in potion brewing.

In the center, a large circular platform was raised, covered in intricate arrays, runes, and symbols, glowing softly with light, allowing one to meditate with peace of mind.

The entire setup was the perfect alchemical lab that Ian desired, or perhaps even more than he had imagined.

"Stay here and guard me for a while. I need to brew an Ascension Potion right away. I cannot afford to wait."

After seeing that everything he needed was here, Ian finally breathed a sigh of relief and took his hood off his head.

"Hey, your eyes?"

And, of course, Ignysyl immediately noticed his oddity as he asked in surprise.

"Yeah, just a side effect of using power too much. Should be fine after getting promoted to the First Ring Wizard."

Ian answered calmly and quickly walked toward a shelf filled with scrolls, browsing through everything rapidly.

"Potion of Strength, Potion of Wisdom, Potion of Levitation, Regeneration Potion, Berserker's Brew,..."

Ian looked through each scroll calmly while searching for the Ascension Potion recipe.

In fact, he also didn't know if the ingredients for the recipe would be the same even if he found one. But he had to try, as he felt that he could no longer wait.

If there was no choice, he would advance to the next realm without the help of any potion.

"Found it..."

Fortunately, Ian quickly found what he came here for.

"Ascension Potion Recipe!"

The scroll was old yet preserved beautifully. But Ian had no time to admire it as he quickly opened the scroll and looked through each ingredient carefully for a few minutes.

After reading each property of the ingredients needed to make the potion, Ian finally visibly relaxed with a happy smile.

"Thank god, it is the same. Although the name has changed over time, it should be fine if the property is similar. Besides, with these eyes, I can make the potion even faster."

Ian mumbled and excitedly headed toward the large workbench filled with a complete brewing setup.

Like he said, he was going to immediately make the Ascension Potion here and use it to reach the First Ring Wizard in this tower.

After all, the frequent occurrence of these Life Cores and Cocoon's unusual behavior had become too common. He could even feel the subtle stretching and expansion of his consciousness space.

So, he had to hurry up.

After all, the use of the Ascension Potion wasn't just to increase his mental power nor to elevate his Realm, but was meant for the Transformation of a Life Form.

Although Ian didn't know what effect it would have if he didn't use it, he wasn't going to take risks with his future.

"Fortunately, I got these items after killing Ethos, otherwise?"

Ian thought while taking out a few items from his mana ring.

[Inferno Lotus: A lotus born in an area with abundant lava that has rich fire elemental energy.

Effect: Main ingredient for the Ascension potion. Can enhance the realm of the wizard. Can also be consumed directly, but the effect would be much lower.]

[Hellfire Ferns: Somewhat rare herbs generally found in areas with rich fire elemental energy.

Effect: An ingredient of the Ascension potion.]