"Emptying this warehouse was my doing," Locke said as he stepped out. "To prevent any sudden encounters with Black Wizards, it's best to take precautions."
"If even one of them escapes, it'll be troublesome."
Locke softly chanted the incantation for [Summon Graveyard Spirit]. Instantly, his vision seemed to scan the entire corridor of the research facility like a laser, lines of Moduo Language information appearing before his eyes.
Two invisible Grave Spirits emerged, one moving left and the other right, scouting the corridor ahead while maintaining a distance of a hundred meters from him.
With this method, even if he ran into a Black Wizard head-on, he would have enough time to react.
Locke glanced at the [Magic Painting Map] in his hand. With this map, he could navigate the research facility freely, avoiding its various [Magical Devices] and [Magical Traps].
Of course, the quality of the [Blood Curse Court]'s magical traps was mediocre at best.
"Their fall positions were likely randomized, and I'm currently at the southernmost edge of the facility."
"I can have the Grave Spirits search for them. Plus, there's still my mole inside this place." Locke mused. "Through the Grave Spirit on him—hmm?"
"Andy Senior is moving way too fast. He shouldn't be using magic at full power, yet he's already slaughtered all the [Second-Class Wizard Apprentice] Black Wizards in the [Curse Hall] responsible for folding [Curse Formulas], relying only on [Basic Mana] and a single [High-grade Enchanted Item]."
"It must be due to his profound understanding of fire magic, a sub-branch of the [Shaping School]. Both Andy Senior and Albert Senior possess traits that make them nearly qualified to become [Formal Wizards]."
At that moment, through the Grave Spirit attached to Leoni Murphy, Locke saw Captain Andy standing beside the witch Gabriel, wielding an enchanted [Candice Wizard Sword].
Captain Andy held a blazing greatsword, surrounded by corpses charred to cinders by his strikes.
With a single swing of the Candice Wizard Sword, he cleaved through the Second-Class Wizard Apprentice supervisor in charge of the hall. In an instant, the supervisor's body turned to ash, engulfed in flames.
A whirlwind of fire encased him, and before he could even scream, the flames had already destroyed his throat.
Just as the [Incinerator] Andy raised his flaming greatsword to strike down the cowering Leoni Murphy, he suddenly frowned. The blade veered slightly, slamming into the ground instead. The obsidian floor of the research facility instantly melted, turning into a pile of shattered glass.
Andy arched an eyebrow. "Locke? Is this Black Wizard maggot one of yours? I can sense your [Magic Pressure]."
A voice emerged from behind Leoni Murphy. "Indeed, Andy Senior. He's mine."
At that moment, the invisible Grave Spirit behind Leoni Murphy, stimulated by Locke's [Ancient Creature Bloodline] from the [Three-Eyed Tiger Eye Cat], began to materialize. A [Pharaoh Mask Tomb Spirit] emerged from within the invisible Grave Spirit, replacing its form.
Leoni Murphy shuddered, feeling an oppressive weight pressing down on his head.
The ghost parasitizing him had undergone some decisive qualitative change.
Yet Leoni Murphy suddenly became overjoyed. "Master?"
"Honorable White Wizards, I am my master's Black Wizard slave. Don't kill me—I'm your servant, I'm on your side."
Leoni Murphy cast a smug glance at the supervisor who had been offending him constantly during this period. That supervisor was now a charred corpse.
He sighed again, reaffirming that his risky decision to become Locke's subordinate had been the right choice.
Andy sheathed his Wizard Sword and raised an eyebrow at the Pharaoh Mask Tomb Spirit. "Archaeological Scholar techniques? Impressive. Archaeological Scholars are core wizard professions among Black Wizards. Junior Locke, you've even mastered this magical discipline."
"This is excellent. Having an archaeologist in our team would greatly assist this operation."
Through the tomb spirit, Locke responded, "Senior Andy, Lady Gabriel, where are my teacher and Senior Albert?"
Incinerator Andy immediately replied, "Junior Locke, Lady Gabriel and I were randomly teleported directly here. Left with no choice, I had to eliminate all the Dark wizard apprentices who saw me."
"During the impact from the institute's automatic defense system earlier, I managed to grab Lady Gabriel. Using some secret techniques of mine, I ensured we could move together."
"But unfortunately, I don't know the exact locations of Lady Sophia and Albert. They're likely still operating separately. However, it's fine—Lady Gabriel is a witch from the Divination School. She can definitely locate both of them."
"Our original plan was to help Lady Sophia quickly approach our target, then have her eliminate that Formal Wizard while we retreated immediately after her assassination attempt. But as they say, no plan survives contact with reality."
Lady Gabriel nodded. "I'm not worried about Lady Sophia's safety. Locke, your teacher is far more powerful than I am. Perhaps within the academy, only Lord Harun Vera, Madam Morgana, the Dean, and the seven Senior Consultants might surpass her."
"Therefore, I'm only concerned about Albert. I hope he has good luck."
Lady Gabriel held up a ring-shaped Enchanted Item resembling a fishing net. "This is a Dreamcatcher, a magical item from the Divination School. It can capture the locations of Sophia and Albert by intercepting dreams. Strangely though, the Dreamcatcher can't detect any information about your teacher, but it does have Albert's location."
"Let's regroup with Albert first. Your teacher... she's someone even I can't comprehend. She must have her own plans."
"I'll share Albert's location with you. By the way, do you have a Magic Painting Map? Please share it with us. Combining your Magic Painting Map with my Dreamcatcher will make finding Albert's position effortless."
Locke immediately relayed the route instructions through the tomb spirit using the location information provided by Lady Gabriel. "I haven't yet learned the Archaeological Scholar's [Historical Projection], but I can guide you verbally through the tomb spirit."
"Albert appears to be in an isolation chamber area. There are six paths leading there, but five of them are extremely dangerous—either passing through concentrated resting areas for dark wizard apprentices or important security defense measures."
"The only safe route is slightly longer, but the advantage is that we can bypass all the obstacles in between, preventing us from alerting the enemy."
"There's only one defensive corridor we can't avoid, which is lined with curse traps. But we can use some flying magic to quickly pass through. I happen to have a Flying Magic Plant and have learned spells from the Plant Mimicry Series."
Andy and Gabriel listened intently, nodding repeatedly. With this Magic Painting Map, so many problems had been solved.
Andy suddenly spoke up: "Locke, there's one issue—I don't have any flying spells. Gabriel does, but she can't use first-circle spells; that would alert the enemy."
"Albert also lacks flying spells. If what you say is true, then Albert can't escape from his current location. He's effectively trapped in that specific section of the research facility."
It was then that Locke realized—yes, flying abilities at the apprentice level were quite rare.
Gabriel quickly interjected: "Locke, the mission to rescue Albert will fall to you."
"Andy and I will proceed with the original plan to approach Rasheed Tarir. My intuition tells me we should stick to the original plan, assuming Sophia is perfectly safe and her disappearance was voluntary. When we get close to Rasheed Tarir, Sophia will also be able to approach him."
Gabriel continued, "I have absolute confidence in Sophia. If she sets her mind to something, she never fails."
"Therefore, Locke, Albert's safety is in your hands."
Locke fell silent for a moment, feeling the weight of Gabriel's trust and the heavy responsibility placed upon him. Finally, he said, "Understood, Lady Gabriel. I will bring Senior Albert back safely."
Andy suddenly added, "But there's another problem. I was forced to kill too many dark wizard apprentices just now. They carried many curses, and with so many dying at once, it's likely to draw the attention of the research facility's central control room."
"But I had no choice. Gabriel couldn't intervene, and I don't have any control-type spells... I'm not skilled in that area. If only Albert and you had been with us earlier, Locke."
Locke pondered—this was indeed an issue.
The deaths of so many Second-Class Wizard Apprentices, all dark wizards, would cause their curses to vanish simultaneously. To the invisible web of curses, this would stand out far too conspicuously.
Leoni Murphy, who had been lying on the ground listening to his master and the others, suddenly brightened. He spoke up: "Masters... I... I might have a solution."
"If it's just for a short delay, it should be possible."
Instantly, Andy, Gabriel, and the Grave Spirit all turned their attention to Leoni Murphy.
Through the Grave Spirit, Locke coldly commanded, "Speak."
Leoni Murphy immediately groveled before Locke to show her loyalty. "Master, I can pretend there's been a cursed object leak in the laboratory causing mass casualties."
"This is a common occurrence within the research institute and wouldn't seem out of place."
"I can activate the [Two-Way Sound Curse] in this Curse Hall right now to inform the First-Class Wizard Apprentles in the central control room about the severe laboratory leak."
The Gabriel Witch nodded slightly. "Approved."
Andy also thought this was a good idea. "Locke, let your Black Wizard slave do it, but be wary of any tricks. These Black Wizards are all cunning beyond measure."
Andy placed his flaming greatsword near Leoni Murphy's neck, then explained respectfully to Locke: "When I was young, I was deceived by a Black Wizard spy and nearly made a grave mistake that would have wiped out my entire combat squad."
"None of these Black Wizards can be trusted."
Although Locke didn't believe Leoni Murphy would betray him—after all, in Leoni's mind, Locke possessed the ability to read his thoughts at will—he still tacitly approved Andy's precaution.
Locke coldly commanded Leoni Murphy, "Leoni, report the experimental leak to the institute's central control room immediately."
"Senior, Gabriel Witch, I'll go rescue Senior Albert first."
"You should evacuate that area quickly—I expect they'll seal it off soon."
...
In the central control room, a First-Class Wizard Apprentice Black Wizard froze momentarily, his expression turning suspicious. "Suddenly, the curses in over thirty Second-Class Wizard Apprentles are dissipating. How could so many Second-Class Wizard Apprentles die all at once?"
"And most of them are from the Curse Hall, those useless fools responsible for folding high-level geometric Curse Formulas, along with a few from other sectors."
"What's happening?"
"Damn it, only Seflin can directly see through their curses to observe their surroundings. I don't have that authority, but Seflin is..."
Just as he was about to report this anomaly to the High-level Curse Master [Rasheed Tarir], a Curse Spirit Line descended toward him, carrying behind it a complex high-level geometric Curse Formula pattern.
Leoni established contact with the central control room through the Two-Way Sound Curse, a simple 0.3-ring curse.
Originally, the Two-Way Sound Curse was merely a curse used to attack and harass enemies—by cursing a target so they would forever hear the caster's voice in their ears, whether eating, sleeping, working, or meditating, as a means of psychological assault.
Later, a First-Class Wizard Apprentice Black Wizard, while researching sound curses, accidentally rotated the original Sound Curse's geometric Formula pattern by 180 degrees and duplicated it once through folding. This unexpectedly created a two-way communication method, transforming the curse from an offensive spell into a functional curse magic.
Leoni's anxious voice transmitted through. "Reporting, sir—there's been a cursed object leak in the laboratory. Everyone here is dead."
"Please send reinforcements, sir..."
The First-Class Wizard Apprentice froze for a moment before speaking nervously, "Even if it's a leaked experimental subject, it couldn't have killed so many of us at once! Could it be... the Pandora's Box has been breached?"
"If that's the case... then we're in serious trouble. Those are Blood Curse Experimental Subjects specifically designed to target wizard apprentices."
"You useless fool, get out of that area immediately! I'll seal all the Magic Alloy doors in that sector and activate the Magic Locks in five minutes."
"Leave that place at once and head to the central control room to report the situation in detail."
The Black Wizard, this First-Class Wizard Apprentice, was utterly panicked. "If it really is a Pandora's Box breach, I must report it to the master. No—if I report it now, the master will surely take his anger out on me."
"Then I'd be finished."
"I don't want to end up like the next Seflin."
"There's only one way—I have to resolve this myself first. Once the situation is under control, I'll report it to the master. Then he won't punish me too severely."
"So I'll wait for that useless Second-Class Wizard Apprentice to arrive first."
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