A Step Away: Oliver's Arrival

He carefully examined the information, feeling both pleasantly surprised and somewhat regretful.

The pleasant surprise was that he had already completed two of the three advancement requirements for Wizard Apprentice;

The regret was that one requirement remained—raising the zero-ring spell Slime Splash to the proficient level.

"Just one step away." Ron murmured to himself.

In fact, he had practiced the spell intermittently before. However, because there was no suitable target for casting it in his dormitory room, he had practiced it far less diligently than Corona Swordsmanship.

Even so, the experience value of Slime Splash was already close to breaking through the "Initiate" level. With just a little more practice, he would fulfill the advancement requirement.

If the matters concerning Darund and Marcus had not followed one after another, he might already have been able to advance directly to Wizard Apprentice.

Ron began planning his next steps:

Once he left the Confinement Room, his first priority would be to quickly practice Slime Splash to the proficient level and complete his advancement to Wizard Apprentice.

The information on the panel showed that Wizard Apprentice provided bonuses to both spell experience gain and mental power recovery.

This complemented the specialties of Knight Squire and Potion Apprentice perfectly, allowing them to create an even stronger synergistic effect.

"Developing all three classes in parallel." Ron lightly tapped the tabletop with his finger.

"That will maximize the advantages of the panel and create a virtuous cycle."

He imagined the possibilities of the future:

The mental power accumulation and magic affinity bonuses provided by Potion Apprentice could accelerate the growth of Wizard Apprentice;

Meanwhile, the magic growth and spell abilities of Wizard Apprentice could complement the physical enhancement of Knight Squire, ultimately achieving a powerful Trinity of combat strength.

"As long as I can complete the advancement smoothly, when I go for apprentice identification and receive my initial resource allocation, the potential I display should be even..."

Just as he was deeply considering his plans for the future, a sudden burst of footsteps came from the corridor, interrupting his thoughts.

The footsteps were unusual—light and rhythmic, carrying an indescribable elegance and sense of oppression. They certainly did not belong to an ordinary apprentice.

Ron immediately became alert. He reined in his thoughts and focused his attention on sensing the situation outside.

An extremely disgusting Mental Fluctuation, twisted enough to make his scalp crawl, suddenly entered the range of his perception.

This unknown Mental Fluctuation was filled with decay and eeriness. It was like the sound of hundreds of maggots writhing in rotting flesh, except that now, all of it had been transformed into a mental sensation.

Even more unsettling was that the fluctuation seemed to be heading straight toward the Confinement Room where he was being held.

Ron instinctively tensed his body. His mental power contracted into a spherical defensive stance, easing the discomfort in his heart.

He swept his gaze around and noticed that the eyeball-like monitoring devices in the corridor were all operating normally, which reassured him somewhat.

In a monitored public area like this, nothing too outrageous should happen.

At that thought, he had already more or less guessed the identity of the visitor. It was definitely someone connected to his unlucky "neighbor."

The Confinement Room holding Marcus was not far away. In the past, when Ron practiced, he could occasionally hear Marcus cursing the terrible food in the Confinement Room.

Sure enough, before long, a figure slowly walked around the corner of the corridor.

Through the ventilation opening in the door, which offered a fairly broad view, Ron discovered that the visitor was actually an exceptionally handsome young man. He had black hair and black eyes, and his features were so beautiful that they were almost demonic.

His skin was so pale that it seemed nearly sickly, glowing faintly beneath the dim corridor lights.

The most eye-catching thing was the deep-blue gemstone badge hanging on his chest—it was the symbol of a High-level Apprentice.

Behind this unknown visitor, Marcus followed closely with his head lowered, resembling a stray dog that had lost its home.

His appearance was completely different from his usual arrogant attitude. He even seemed somewhat pitiful and humble.

"Ron Ralph?" The black-haired man stood before the door of the Confinement Room and asked in a strange tone. His voice was unexpectedly gentle.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Oliver, Marcus's elder brother."

Ron's heart tightened. As expected, this was the High-level Apprentice who specialized in curse spells.

"I've heard of you." He nodded politely before answering cautiously, doing his best to make his voice sound calm and unruffled.

A smile that could be called perfect appeared on Oliver's face, revealing a row of neat white teeth. "I apologize to you on behalf of my brother for his rude behavior."

As he spoke, he reached into his robe and pulled out a string of keys, easily unlocking the door of the Confinement Room.

"As compensation, I have already paid Magic Stone Fragments to obtain an early release opportunity for you."

Ron raised his eyebrows, secretly considering the matter.

In the Black Mist Forest, there was indeed a rule allowing Magic Stone Fragments to be used to reduce confinement time. The price was roughly ten Magic Stone Fragments for one day.

But he had never considered that option. For one thing, he was reluctant to part with those precious Magic Stone Fragments. For another, although the conditions in the Confinement Room were crude, they met his basic needs and allowed him to practice in peace.

"Thank you for your kindness." Ron spoke neither obsequiously nor arrogantly while observing Oliver's every move.

He did not immediately step out of the room. In fact, there were several trigger-type Magic Arrays inside the Confinement Room.

On the one hand, they prevented the person inside from escaping. On the other, they stopped visitors from making any small moves during inspections. Now, those Magic Arrays had instead become his protective shield.

Oliver's performance was flawless. His words and actions were refined, and he wore a gentle smile, like a true gentleman.

Yet it was precisely this overly perfect facade that made Ron wary. How could a High-level Apprentice capable of standing out in the Black Mist Forest be harmless?

"You don't have to be so formal." Oliver waved his hand. "My brother is always doing things that annoy people. He's truly a headache."

He turned and lightly patted Marcus on the shoulder. The gesture seemed intimate, but Ron caught the instant stiffness and fear in Marcus's body.

"If you still feel you haven't vented your anger, you can teach him a lesson now."

The smile on Oliver's face did not change, but an unfathomable glimmer flashed through his eyes. "I won't mind at all."

Ron remained vigilant. He glanced at the cowering Marcus and shook his head. "There's no need. Since you've already apologized as his elder brother, we can consider this matter over."

"Your generosity is admirable." Oliver praised him before seamlessly shifting the conversation to the subject that interested him most.

"By the way, I heard that you've been researching Sonic Spells recently—the project belonging to Darund?"

Here it came! Those words set off an alarm in Ron's heart.

It seemed that his research in the Confinement Room had not been completely confidential. Even this High-level Apprentice had heard about it.

"It was only out of curiosity. I was just researching it casually." Ron answered cautiously.

"The most important quality of a qualified wizard is the tireless pursuit of knowledge. It seems you possess this admirable quality as well."

Oliver nodded with a smile, but his true intentions seeped through his flattering words.

"Sonic Spells and curses actually have something in common. Both influence their targets silently through special methods. Perhaps we'll have a chance to exchange ideas in the future."