Wizard Bloodline

"So, you weren't heading to the 'White Stone Wasteland'?" After a brief exchange, the middle-aged wizard from the Ring who tried to recruit Ronan shook his head in disappointment upon learning that Ronan was waiting for a flight to the "Damp Jungle" secret realm.

"Never mind then."

Before leaving, he couldn't help but offer Ronan some advice, "The 'Damp Jungle' is a public task for the Seventh Ring. If you go alone, there's a high chance you'll end up with nothing. Even if you're lucky enough to find something, it's likely to be taken by others from the Rings. Joining us in the 'White Stone Wasteland' would be better for both risk and reward..."

Ronan shook his head.

Seeing that Ronan couldn't be persuaded, the wizard's attitude turned cold.

Just then, a small spell airship landed, and he hurried back to his group, boarding the ship with them.

After this brief interruption, Ronan waited a bit longer. A larger, elegantly designed spell airship appeared in the sky outside the task hall, eventually hovering above the small plaza.

The streamlined metal hull was adorned with light blue rune patterns, and behind the thick energy shield, figures could be seen along the ship's edge.

Ronan activated his flight ring, lifting himself towards the airship.

He prepared the rune stone that served as his task proof. A mental force scanned it from the airship, confirming his credentials before opening a gap in the energy shield.

Just as Ronan was about to enter the airship, a terrifying mental force, akin to a void storm, suddenly descended upon him.

Dark, cold, and carrying the sharpness typical of a metal wizard.

Ronan turned abruptly, but the mental force quickly retracted, disappearing without a trace, as if it had never been there.

"Are you getting on or not?" a wizard on the airship called out impatiently.

Maintaining a calm demeanor, Ronan lightly landed on the airship's deck, his robes billowing.

The energy shield closed, and the airship quickly ascended.

"Who was that? Travis?" Ronan pondered as he stood on the deck, watching the Seventh Ring city recede below him.

There weren't many of Benigo's former adversaries who would transfer their "grudge" onto him.

Most were third-ring wizards with their own affairs and wouldn't bother with a mere first-level wizard.

Even Lanny, who harbored the deepest resentment against Benigo, wouldn't show such overt hostility due to his fourth-ring status.

The only one eager to "crush" him, besides Travis, who coveted his Demon Tungsten, was no one else Ronan could think of.

"Would he act against me during this task?"

Ronan considered but soon dismissed the thought. "I'm not even a core member now, and the Damp Jungle is primarily for first-level wizards. Travis wouldn't be so foolish as to leave such an obvious point of reproach. He'd likely use someone else to achieve his aims."

Travis, being a third-ring wizard, could only mobilize second-ring resources, average second-level wizards at most.

"For a first-level wizard, there's no such thing as 'average' when it comes to second-level wizards."

Ronan shook his head. Second-level wizards' mental power crystallized, and even a newly advanced second-level wizard had mental power at least ten times that of a late first-level wizard.

What did this mean? It meant that a second-level wizard's casual spell had at least ten times the power of a late first-level wizard's.

This didn't even account for the boost from second-level spells and soul sigils.

The raw power gap was a chasm between first and second-level wizards.

But after two months of [Ascetic Body] training, Ronan felt an urge to challenge and break through this chasm.

"Two months ago, I could kill a second-level Green Spike Gale Wasp King. While wizards generally have greater combat prowess than beasts, I've grown much stronger."

Ronan looked at his hand, his fingers long and elegant, almost too beautiful to belong to a man's hand, a hand that wielded a sword.

But no one knew the terrifying power flowing beneath.

Ronan himself was uncertain.

He longed to test this power, the result of two months' rigorous training, the countless pains from spell bombardments, all accumulated within him, seeking an outlet.

"If I can't overcome this hurdle, I have no right to think about challenging any of them within six months..."

Ronan murmured, gently clenching his hand.

"Hello."

Suddenly, a pleasant voice broke Ronan's contemplation.

He turned towards the voice, seeing a young, beautiful witch beside him.

Black hair, green eyes, and strikingly uncommon tanned skin that radiated health and vitality.

She wore the silver robes of a core member, exuding a late first-level wizard's mental power.

"Hello."

Though unsure of her intentions, Ronan politely responded.

"I'm Beyonce, from the Second Ring."

The beautiful witch introduced herself and asked, "Are you participating in this trial task alone?"

Seeing Ronan nod, she quickly got to the point, "Would you like to join us? We have quite a few people from various Rings."

"Beyonce!"

Before she finished, someone called out from the deck.

A handsome blond youth approached quickly.

His mental power was so intense it seemed to solidify the surrounding air. He glanced dismissively at Ronan, then spoke to the witch with slight irritation.

"What are you doing? I've told you many times not to invite random wizards from other Rings, especially..."

Beyonce tried to say something more to Ronan but was pulled away by the blond youth, only leaving an apologetic glance.

Ronan calmly turned his attention back to the rapidly passing scenery.

It was clear that most Ring wizards preferred teaming up for missions.

"Loners" like him were a rarity.

The spell airship finally stopped in a picturesque forest, where the "Damp Jungle" secret realm's entrance was a massive tree hollow.

Ronan followed the Ring wizards through the hollow, entering a completely different world.

Dark, damp, with a pervasive stench of decay in the air, large black mud swamps every few steps, and further beyond, a dense black forest.

Before leaving the airship, Ronan received a simple map from the Ring, showing the "Damp Jungle" layout. As he examined it with his rune stone, the other Ring wizards quickly formed groups and left.

By the time he finished reviewing the map, he found himself alone.

Benigo didn't know where the Brain-Eating Flower specifically grew, only that it thrived where beasts or animals were plentiful, using their brains as nutrients. Such areas often had abundant luminous moss.

"I'll just have to search slowly."

Ronan put away the rune stone, shook his head, and picked a random direction, flying off with his ring.

In the twisted black forest, intense energy particle fluctuations echoed.

"Ice Blade!"

"Frost Howl!"

Ronan hovered in mid-air, his robes hanging naturally, continuously summoning ice spells at a giant purple spider clinging to a black, vine-covered tree.

Around him, silver threads spanned the air, as countless small round-bellied spiders swarmed towards him along the threads.

Yet none reached him, frozen by the icy aura he emitted, falling like small ice lumps, piling beneath him.

"Ice Spear!"

Ronan casually summoned a chilling, crystal-like spear.

As the spear appeared, silver metal liquid flowed from his robe, quickly enveloping it.

With the silver metal's boost, the spear shot like lightning, piercing the giant spider.

The spider shrieked in pain and fear, purple eyes showing terror. But before it could flee, the silver spear impaled in its abdomen exploded.

"High Energy Crucible!"

"Boom!"

The massive spell power shattered the mid-first-level beast spider, scattering limbs and viscous fluids, leaving a foul stench over the area.

Ronan dusted off his robe, walking over the remains, finding in a hidden corner a cluster of grape-like orbs resembling dozens of eyeballs.

He glanced at it, storing the rare potion ingredient in his pouch.

Ronan continued deeper into the forest.

The Damp Jungle had many valuable herbs, and Ronan had already collected five types, potentially earning over a hundred high-grade magic stones by selling them to interested wizards or potion shops.

With his proficiency in first-level ice spells and skilled metal spells, plus the [Silverization] of Demon Tungsten, even without using [Permafrost] or his despair domain, his combat power surpassed typical mid-first-level wizards.

"Demon Tungsten's [Silverization] greatly boosts metal spells. If I dual-trained in dark spells, my power would be even more formidable..."

Ronan mused.

These battles confirmed that even without his transcendent domain powers, he wasn't just an ordinary first-level wizard.

With Benigo's Demon Tungsten, he wielded a powerful "artifact," and with focus on metal spells, he could dominate among first-level wizards.

But Ronan's aim wasn't mere "peerless power."

"Am I searching in the wrong direction? There's no sign of the Brain-Eating Flower."

Ronan walked through the dim forest, feeling a growing urgency.

He wasn't the first to enter the "Damp Jungle," nor the only one aware of the Brain-Eating Flower.

If he continued wandering aimlessly, he might miss the chance to compete for it.

"Crack—"

Suddenly, Ronan's senses heightened, his gaze snapping to a direction.

[Immaculate Body]'s enhanced senses picked up distant sounds of battle.

Without much hesitation, Ronan sped towards the source.

Soon, his mental power detected energy particle disturbances, clear traces of spellcasting.

But as he neared, the traces weakened, as if the battle was ending.

"Swish—"

Ronan's swift figure halted among the trees.

He hovered silently, eyes piercing through twisted branches to a silver-robed wizard in the distance.

From this range, even a first-level wizard's mental power couldn't detect him, but his azure eyes saw everything clearly.

Another Ring wizard, with a beast's corpse at his feet, seemingly just slain, was gathering his spoils.

Ronan shook his head, intending to change direction and leave.

But just as he was about to turn, he abruptly looked back.

His gaze locked on the wizard's boots, noticing a faint glow on the edge, as if stained with luminescent moss.

Following the tracks, he saw several glowing footprints.

"He passed through an area with luminous moss..."

In the damp, stinking air, the scent of decay lingered. Beneath the twisted black trees, broken bones half-buried in the soil were occasionally visible.

Six or seven silver-robed individuals gathered in a small, dirty clearing, discussing something with serious expressions.

"I've heard of Barbus from the First Ring."

A narrow-eyed, brown-haired wizard whispered, "His metal puppet mastery is quite famous among first-level wizards in several Rings..."

"Individual prowess isn't the issue. Velen is near the second-level threshold, handling Barbus isn't a problem. The issue is he has more people..."

Someone suggested.

"Can we ally with the Third Ring's group to eliminate Barbus's team first, then decide the Brain-Eating Flower's ownership?"

"Velen! What's your take?"

In the center, a blond youth exuding intense mental power, almost solidifying the air, was deep in thought.

Suddenly, he scanned around, frowning.

"Where's Beyonce? Has anyone seen her?"

His words drew attention, and the group realized they were one member short.

As they prepared to search for their missing companion—

"Swish—"

From the bushes came rustling footsteps, and a petite figure emerged swiftly.

"Stop looking! I'm here!"

The tanned, beautiful witch responded breathlessly.

Yet she wasn't alone; behind her was another figure.

White hair, blue eyes, silver-gray robe.

A youth of cold demeanor and striking beauty.

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