Advancing to Intermediate Wizard Apprentice

Rustle, rustle...

Wei En held a quill pen and wrote the course of the case's investigation on the parchment.

He did not need to think much at all when writing a file like this. Just brag, and that was that.

He even exaggerated Claire's strength a little to highlight how arduous the battle had been.

A brief battle had been forcibly piled up by him with gorgeous rhetoric into an epic of Lacy the hero.

Of course, without affecting the structure of the piece, he also appropriately highlighted the flair of that shot of his...

Only after he finished the entire report did he take out the photos Marco had taken of the scene and glance at them.

"As expected, no matter how many times I look, I still can't accept it."

"Tina can't accept it."

Wei En looked at the white-haired girl sitting beside him and sharing the same desk, then smiled. "Good job."

After spending half a day together, his opinion of Tina had changed quite a bit, and he was slowly accepting the reality that he had formed a contract with her.

The white-haired girl was fine in every way—she was just too clingy...

Just now, he had wasted a great deal of breath before finally persuading Tina to give up on the idea of sharing the same chair...

Meanwhile, in the rest area on the other side of the office, Marco had already been standing in front of the mirror for ages. He had arranged his hairstyle meticulously, and had straightened the clothes on his body again and again.

"Wei En, I'm going out to take care of something. If Lacy asks later, tell her I'll be back before the end of the workday."

Wei En looked up and saw his getup, then teased, "Are you going on a date?"

"A date? No, nonono, I merely received a divine revelation from the God of Love. He ordered me to go rescue a beautiful young lady."

As he spoke, Marco spun lightly in a few circles and flamboyantly flicked his ponytail. "Handsome?"

"...Handsome." The corner of Wei En's mouth twitched. "Good luck."

Best if he hit the mark in one shot and went straight from a household of one mouth to a family of three.

"Of course... Huh?"

Marco had just opened the door and stepped out when Lacy, who was walking toward him, pressed him back inside with one palm.

"Where are you going?"

"Chief Lacy, you're ba—no, I was just going to see how much longer you'd be."

Lacy would not believe a single word of such nonsense. She grabbed him by the back of his collar and dragged him back into the office.

"Lacy, you can't do this. I finally got everything tidied up..."

"Mm?"

"...I wanted to ask whether Minister Yegor gave you any trouble."

Lacy really could not be bothered to pound him anymore. She glared at him. "Go back to your seat. A mission came in."

"Oh."

Marco could only return to his seat with his head drooping in dejection.

Wei En looked at her in confusion. "Is it a mission related to Claire?"

He was very concerned about what Claire had said at the end. If that beautiful lunatic really set her sights on him, he would not even know how he died.

"No. The follow-up work regarding Claire and the Eternal Life Society has all been transferred to the Combat Department. We don't need to take part."

It had been transferred to the Combat Department?

Wei En relaxed inwardly. That was good. He only hoped the Combat Department would be useful enough to take that woman down.

Marco asked, "Then what mission is it?"

"Yegor reported the matter regarding that Forbidden Object to the higher-ups. Now the higher-ups require us to confirm the coffin's location as soon as possible."

"Hasn't it already been confirmed to be in Crimson Cathedral?"

Wei En reacted and pointed at the cathedral outside the window. "You mean we have to find the exact place where it's sealed?"

"Mm." Lacy nodded with an ugly expression. "And we can't let the people of the Church of Dawn discover us."

"This... will be a bit difficult, won't it?"

Wei En thought of the Church of Dawn's tyranny. Just the rule that "non-believers of Dawn are not permitted to approach" was enough to give them a headache.

Let alone going deep into the interior of the cathedral to investigate.

Marco also frowned. "Lacy, what's your plan?"

He knew very well where the mission's difficulty lay. Once they were discovered by Dawn, no one would be able to escape!

"We need someone to pretend to be a believer of the Church of Dawn and infiltrate the cathedral to investigate," Lacy said, taking a deep breath.

"Pretend to be a believer?" Marco asked in surprise. "Don't tell me you don't know that everyone in our Secret Investigation Bureau is already on the Church of Dawn's no-entry list?"

"Even someone with Somlai's status is only permitted to appear around the outside of the cathedral..."

The so-called no-entry list was a list specifically drawn up by the Church of Dawn clergy guarding Crimson Cathedral, targeting all "dangerous" transcendent individuals within Kaster City-State.

It contained not only personal information, but also their appearances and so on.

Lacy said helplessly, "You said it yourself—most people. Right now, the only one not on the list who also understands what happened is someone from our First Division..."

Before she could finish, both their gazes turned to the black-haired youth holding the quill.

Wei En froze. Someone not on the list?

He pointed at himself in astonishment. "You're not seriously planning to hand such an arduous task to me, are you?"

He put heavy emphasis on the word "arduous."

He was just a newcomer who had only recently joined the Secret Investigation Bureau...

Uh, come to think of it, this mission needed a fresh face...

"I don't want you to take the risk either, but you know very well that once the Resurrection Coffin appears, it will bring a certain crisis to all of Kaster..."

"So it has to be me?"

"I'm sorry. I confirmed it with Yegor multiple times, but the order from above..."

Seeing her troubled expression, Wei En fell silent for a moment. "What do I need to watch out for?"

He knew very well that this was not something Lacy had decided on her own.

Unless he left the Secret Investigation Bureau right now, he would not be able to refuse this mission.

He might as well ask about the situation first before deciding. If it really was too dangerous—then they could part ways, and he would think of some other way to make money!

Lacy had still wanted to persuade him a little more, but when she heard him relent, she hurriedly said, "It's dangerous for us, but for you, there isn't much danger."

"Tell me in detail. If the risk isn't great, I can accept this mission."

"It's not great, not great at all. Not in the slightest."

Lacy took a glass bottle from her pocket and said, "This is a Dawn Radiance potion. After taking it, your body will possess the power of faith from the Dawn Teachings."

"As long as you leave the church grounds within an hour, you won't be detected."

Wei En took the glass bottle and examined it a few times. Inside was not liquid medicine, but a ball of light, shining brilliantly.

"Is this thing reliable?"

"Of course. In the past, our Secret Investigation Bureau often used it to pretend to be... Ahem, in short, it's very useful." Lacy almost let something slip and coughed. "If Marco and I weren't both on that damned list, we wouldn't be sending you to take the risk."

When Marco saw the bottle of potion, his expression eased. "If you have that potion, then the danger really isn't great. You just need to make sure you don't exceed the potion's duration. I've used it before too."

At this point, an ambiguous expression appeared on his face as he recalled, "Those beautiful girls who believed in Dawn really were broad-minded. A pity it could only be used once..."

"I see."

Since even Marco said so, it seemed the effects of this bottle of potion really were powerful.

Wei En thought for a moment, then put the potion into his pocket. "I have one last question."

As long as the Church of Dawn could not detect that he was a fake, one hour would be more than enough for him to go in and come out several times.

"Go ahead. What question?" Lacy asked while glaring at Marco, signaling him to shut up.

"For carrying out a mission like this, does our Logistics Department... well, is there any reward?"

"Reward?" Lacy and Marco looked at each other. "That's your question?"

Wei En said awkwardly, "It's a special mission, after all. The risk is very high..."

They had to pay more. As long as the money was right, everything was negotiable.

Seeing him mention risk, Lacy nodded. "As long as you find the location of that Forbidden Object, the Logistics Department will commend you."

"Commend me? For example?"

"For example, gold pounds, some Era Relics, weapons, and the like."

Wei En's eyes lit up. "Can I choose the reward I need myself?"

"Well..." Lacy hesitated. "Usually, rewards are fixed. If you want to choose for yourself, I'll go apply to Yegor."

"No problem. Then I'll take this mission."

Originally, he had only planned to ask for some gold pounds as a reward, but after hearing Era Relics and weapons, the range of choices became much wider.

When the time came, he would just choose whichever was worth the most.

Simply perfect!

"Then... then it's settled. Next, I'll tell you how to determine the location of that Forbidden Object."

As she spoke, Lacy took a necklace out of the case and introduced it. "This is equipment used internally by the Secret Investigation Bureau, specially made to detect fluctuations from Forbidden Objects. The way to use it is..."

"Mm-hmm."

Wei En looked at the necklace, and his heart settled.

He had the Dawn Radiance potion, which could let him perfectly pass as a believer of Dawn, and he also had this equipment that could detect fluctuations from Forbidden Objects at long range.

For the rest, he only needed to be a little careful and cautious, and make sure he was not discovered.

At the end, Lacy reminded him, "It would be best to go first thing tomorrow morning. There will be a lot of people then. If you quietly blend in, you won't be easily noticed. Remember, your expression must be devout."

Wei En thumped his chest. "No problem. I'm the most devout."

When it came to making money, he had always been very devout!—

Just after four-thirty in the afternoon, Wei En got off work and left the Secret Investigation Bureau, returning to Golden Street.

Along the way, he even freeloaded a "work meal."

To be honest, honey bread really did taste much better than black bread.

It made him sigh with feeling at this world's working environment. It really was comfortable.

Work started at eleven in the morning and ended at four in the afternoon.

If there was a case, they investigated the case. If there was no case, they could eat snacks and read the newspaper.

Most importantly, working overtime at night was absolutely forbidden.

Even if they truly encountered a mission that required going out at night, the Secret Investigation Bureau had a complete work process.

First, they had to prepare the Church of Dawn's lanterns in advance. Second, they had to wear isolation equipment that blocked the Red Moon's contamination. Finally, the time had to be limited to within two hours.

At the same time, there were strict requirements for the work location as well. They were absolutely forbidden from entering places with few defensive measures, such as the slums.

Only in that way could they protect the investigators' safety to the greatest extent and keep them from being contaminated by the Red Moon.

Wei En returned to his residence and greeted the clinic doctor standing at the door looking around. "Uncle Yuan, good afternoon."

"Wei En, you're back from work this early. How did the first day feel?"

"Not bad."

Wei En rubbed his nose. That answer went rather against his conscience.

If he hadn't seen that enormous eyeball, hadn't seen those three hundred-odd dried corpses, hadn't run into Claire from the Eternal Life Society...

Then this job really was pretty good.

"As long as you like it." Yuan revealed a mouthful of white teeth. "But you still have to be careful. I hear the Logistics Department's death rate is quite high."

"Thank you so much."

Wei En gave him a resentful look, then glanced around and asked casually, "Sister Kali still hasn't come back?"

"They said some big shot over at the cathedral wants to see her." Yuan glared at him. "Wei En, don't keep paying attention to my Kali."

Wei En curled his lip. "Got it... Then I'll head back first."

Wei En had originally wanted to ask about the Saint-Favored, but when he thought that he would be going to Crimson Cathedral first thing tomorrow morning, he was no longer in such a hurry.

When the time came, he could just find someone and ask around.

"Mm."

Then Wei En pushed the door open and entered the house. He shut off the defensive rune array before locking the doors and windows and returning to the bedroom upstairs.

"This day was pretty tiring."

But the gains were also quite large—he checked the information on the panel.

[You were eroded by the power of the Nightmare Realm. Because your Spirit level is greater than level 25, the erosion of the Nightmare Realm's power failed! Reward: Survival Points +1.]

He had been eroded by the Nightmare Realm's power again?

It seemed he had run into it on the way back...

After seeing the reward content at the end, Wei En confirmed his guess—when encountering the same danger, the rewards obtained decreased.

Just like the first time he encountered the erosion of the Nightmare Realm's power, what he obtained was "Toughness Level +1." The second time, he only obtained "Survival Points +2."

This time was even more straightforward. Only 1 Survival Point was left as the reward.

In addition, there were no notifications related to the Bone-Eroding Mother Insect or Bone-Eroding Insect parasitic strains on the panel... Was there no reward, or had he not encountered them?

Then Wei En turned his attention to his Spirit level.

His Spirit level had already reached level 29.54, less than one level away from the requirement to advance to Intermediate Wizard Apprentice.

Based on the meditation speed of the two Little Ashis, he could reach level 30 in half a day.

In other words, by tomorrow at the latest, he could advance to Intermediate Wizard Apprentice and meet the Arcane Wizard spell system's minimum requirement for branding the Soul-Devouring Rune.

Wei En couldn't help but feel delighted. It looked like it was time to raise the level of the Soul-Devouring Rune.

Originally, he had thought it would still take some time to raise his Spirit level to 30. He hadn't expected that going out on a single mission today would add so much.

Thinking this, Wei En no longer hesitated and directly selected the Soul-Devouring Rune to upgrade it.

[Soul-Devouring Rune Level 1 (1/1). Upgrade?]

[Upgrade.]

[Congratulations, your Runic Studies knowledge: Soul-Devouring Rune has risen to level 2. Effect: The success rate of drawing this rune is 20%.]

[Soul-Devouring Rune Level 2 (1/2). Upgrade?]

When he clicked to add points next, Wei En discovered that the level increase for a single rune did not double progressively.

Previously, he had thought that raising it from level 2 to level 3 would require two Survival Points. Because of that, he had even prepared himself to use up all his Survival Points.

That worked too. The remaining Survival Points could be used to improve other things.

A moment later, [Soul-Devouring Rune Level 9 (9/9). Upgrade?]

[Upgrade.]

[Congratulations, your Runic Studies knowledge: Soul-Devouring Rune has reached max level. Effect: the success rate for drawing this rune is 100%.]

[Congratulations, you have obtained one piece of max-level rune knowledge. Your Introduction to Runic Studies advancement progress has been unlocked: learn ten pieces of max-level rune knowledge, and Runic Studies can advance.]

[Congratulations, you have obtained one piece of max-level rune knowledge. Special reward: Spirit Level +1.]

"Spirit Level +1?"

Wain opened the panel to check. His Spirit Level had already risen to Level 30.58.

At the same time, several glaring words shone in the occupation column—[Occupation: Wizard Apprentice (Intermediate)]

Most importantly, he could start imprinting runes now!

Name: Wain Loft

Bloodline: Salute Ethnicity

Occupation: Wizard Apprentice (Beginner)

Tenacity Level: 24 (25-1)

Spirit Level: 29.54

Origin: 4 (5) (1 point of Origin sealed)

Talent: None

Partner Contract: Increased wound-healing speed, increased physical recovery speed. (Calamity Species)

Skills: Ghost Meditation Method Level 2 (0/100), Gonzalez Language Proficient (0/100), Introduction to Marksmanship (0/1)

Runic Studies Knowledge Tree: Introduction to Runic Studies, Soul-Devouring Rune Level 1 (0/1)

Survival Points: 53