The lights were on in the Freshman Residence. Its occupant seemed to be busy.
Closed doors and windows did nothing to hinder Number Two's view inside. His Supernatural Bloodline, the Shadow Dark Crow Bloodline, gave him three special abilities: Shadow Concealment, Thermal Sense, and Dark Breath.
Shadow Concealment hid his presence and let him move through shadows. Even a First-level Wizard Apprentice would have trouble detecting him.
Thermal Sense let him pinpoint a target no matter how dark it was. Paired with Dark Breath, it gave him a clear picture of his surroundings. He was a born assassin.
He leaned against a wall of the residence. Judging by the heat his senses picked up, the Nurturing Chamber lay on the other side.
Number Two instinctively took a deep breath. Answering the call of his Bloodline Power, he activated Dark Breath, capturing every scent within range. Combined with Thermal Sense, it built a spatial map in his mind.
Instead, a mass of pungent fumes poured into his lungs and chest. It smelled like a cesspit left to ferment for decades, mixed with an eerie rose fragrance. His expression changed at once. He had inhaled too much, and his body recoiled.
The Nurturing Chamber seemed filled with nothing but that sickening gas. Number Two's experience and assassin's instincts told him to flee. But his body refused to obey. He could barely move a finger, and the particle energy within him had fallen into chaos.
Hiss! Hiss!
Powerful particle energy converged inside the Nurturing Chamber. Then came heat so intense it seared Number Two's skin. Blinding sparks swelled against the doors and windows before bursting out.
Even the Nurturing Chamber, built with Wizard Technology, could not withstand the terrifying pressure. A roar that shook the soul rang out, followed by a howl.
Crack! That section of wall turned to ash in an instant.
A Fire Elemental Tide formed from dense particle energy engulfed Number Two and surged into the Misty Wizard Array outside.
It was like a monstrous dragon unleashing its breath at will.
For an instant, even the pitch-black night seemed to brighten.
Number Two's pupils reflected the expanding flames until they swallowed him whole.
At the last moment, his face remained numb. He drove his Bloodline Power to its limit, and feather-shaped scales spread across his skin.
The Misty Wizard Array took a tremendous impact. A faint crack even appeared in the residence's central hub, but it withstood the aftermath and concealed the fluctuations of particle energy.
When all was quiet again, a huge charred crater had formed beside the Nurturing Chamber. It was still hot. Deeper down, the heat had fused material into a Crystalline State.
A blackened, charcoal-like figure lay inside. His robes had turned to ash in an instant. His left arm and right lower leg had snapped off; the heat had killed his flesh, Marrow, and cells, leaving the broken edges like charcoal.
About fifteen minutes later, when the heat had mostly subsided, a gray-robed figure opened the door to the main room and stepped out. Tiny blue flecks, too faint to discern, shimmered in his pupils.
Ryan stood before the charred crater. The lingering heat baked his cheeks, but he was smiling.
He had guessed right. Wizard Gandhi was connected to the events at Ancient Forest Mountain, and rather than act personally, he had sent a Wizard Killer to dispose of him.
Of course, Ryan had not used every measure he had prepared. He had also accounted for the possibility that Wizard Gandhi might come in person.
When the Eye of Truth detected an intruder, Ryan had used a Mid-level Wizardry Scroll to make certain the threat was eliminated.
Alert: Target deceased! Target possessed the Shadow Dark Crow Bloodline. Some bloodline activity remains. Analysis: It can induce Bloodline Evolution in the Nurtured Creature Harak.
Ryan's eyes lit up. That was an unexpected bonus.
Even among Low-tier Supernatural Beings, the Shadow Dark Crow Bloodline ranked near the top.
At times, it could even fetch the price of a mid-tier Supernatural Bloodline.
And it could induce Bloodline Evolution in Harak. Ryan wondered whether Harak could develop a Supernatural Bloodline of her own despite being a Mortal Bird, then pass it on through breeding to produce an entire population of Haraks that were Supernatural Lifeforms.
In fact, some powerful Wizards had already achieved what Ryan imagined.
They established personal Resource Areas and earned enormous profits by breeding Supernatural Lifeforms and cultivating unusual supernatural plants.
"Hm?" Ryan's gaze shifted. A black dagger lay in the crater, half-covered in char.
Target: Shadow Blade of Assassination Category: Alchemical Wizard Artifact Grade: Low-level Wizard Artifact Abilities: metal activation, Hyper-frequency Particleization, Particle Energy Interference Assessment: An outstanding Low-level Wizard Artifact. It can channel its user's particle energy and is highly effective against Energy Shields. It can also disrupt particle energy, weakening some low-level wizard arrays and Low-level Wizardry. Note: Part of the Forbidden Core is damaged. Particle Energy Interference is disabled.
Ryan blew the ash and char from the blade. A dark sheen gleamed along it, its edge painfully sharp to look at.
Good stuff!
Now Ryan knew how this strange Wizard Killer had retained some bloodline activity instead of being utterly destroyed by Crimson Dragon Breath.
He tapped the man's chest with the Shadow Blade of Assassination. Feather-shaped scales crumbled into charred ash.
Most of the flesh across his chest was cooked and dead, but a small portion remained viable.
Ryan wasted no time. He fetched tools from the Nurturing Chamber and extracted the Shadow Dark Crow Bloodline from the corpse.
The small glass vial held roughly two to three cubic centimeters of dark liquid. Wizard methods would still be needed to isolate the true Shadow Dark Crow Bloodline factors.
It was not enough on its own, but a Supernatural Bloodline could be cultivated. Ryan was not worried.
Only about three days of the week had passed.
Four days remained. He had killed a Wizard Killer, and whoever was behind him would not let that pass.
More trouble would likely come. There was more than one Wizard Killer.
The good news was that the person behind it would not show himself. Wizard Gandhi, too, was wary of the rules and Wizard Ethan, and would not attack Ryan directly.
Ryan's eyes turned cold. He would face whatever came. At this point, he had nothing left to hold back. Things could hardly get worse.
I'll stay in the Freshman Residence. Surely I can hold out for just four days!
Ryan set about cleaning up the wreckage.
Yet a pair of detached eyes had watched it all. Seeing Ryan dispatch the Wizard Killer so decisively, their owner showed a hint of surprise.
Then curiosity seemed to take hold, and he studied Ryan more closely. At a glance, he saw traces of particle energy and could tell how far Ryan had progressed in his wizardry. To him, Wizards who practiced different systems of wizardry each had a distinctive flavor.
But what he saw next gave him pause.
Ryan bore traces of three Fire Elemental Energy spells. He was probably the only freshman who did.
A figure in a Brown Wizard Robe seemed to step out of empty space. He had purple hair, a middle-aged face, and a habitually impassive expression.
It was Wizard Ethan.
"Interesting little fellow. You've given me quite a surprise." A smile tugged at the corner of Wizard Ethan's usually expressionless face.
Then his gaze fell on the charred crater. His eyes narrowed like a fox's, and his smile widened until he looked ready to burst out laughing.
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