The Wizard's Pursuit of Truth

Its black-gray feathers were no longer hard like a metal sculpture, but smooth and sleek, clinging to its wings and body in a streamlined form.

Its pupils had changed from blood-red to a deep gray, as if a gray aura flowed within, hinting at some special Ability.

Wang Ya could sense the Extraordinary Fluctuations of Particle Energy coming from it, and they were considerable.

Its size hadn’t changed much. He extended his right hand, and Harak landed steadily on his arm, nuzzling Wang Ya’s fingers with its small head.

Its claws hadn’t changed much either, save for being covered in gray markings that seemed to flow. Their sharpness and hardness had gone up a notch.

Flecks of blue light shone in Wang Ya’s pupils as he carefully observed Harak’s Extraordinary Traits, his expression slightly moved.

’Just as the description suggested,’ he thought. ’The current Harak might just be a perfect specimen among Low-tier Extraordinary Creatures.’

[Extraordinary Physique (Low-tier): Biological Energy, Physical Strength, Speed, Power, and Recovery Ability are all relatively balanced, reaching the peak for Low-tier Extraordinary Creatures.]

One could say it had perfectly assimilated its previous Extraordinary Traits, like Giant Power and Recovery.

[Extraordinary Resistance (Low-tier): By combining the properties of Steel Hide and the Energy Witchcraft resistance from the mutated Thorn Heart, it has gained a stronger Extraordinary Resistance. It is now completely immune to damage from Energy Witchcraft below grade sixteen.]

[Shadow Creature: Can activate its Bloodline Power, causing the gray spots on its feathers to proliferate and secrete shadow fluctuations to conceal its aura. It cannot be detected by Wizards with a Spiritual Power below 18. Its Speed is significantly enhanced at night.]

[Eye of Death: Activates its Bloodline Power to affect an enemy’s visual senses via shadow fluctuations, partially obscuring their Spiritual Perception. This can cause dizziness or even a Mental Shock, capable of interrupting the casting of Witchcraft.]

Wang Ya admitted to himself that he had taken a gamble. A seventy percent success rate was not a guarantee.

Fortunately, Harak had successfully transformed and obtained even greater Power.

Now, even against a typical Middle-tier Extraordinary Creature, Harak could hold its own and wouldn’t necessarily lose.

The only small regret was that during its evolution, it seemed to have lost its ability to withstand water pressure and fight underwater.

As well as the trait where its scales turned to metal to defend against physical attacks.

But as they say, you can’t have it all; there are always trade-offs.

Wang Ya was already very satisfied. Now, he was confident he could seriously injure, or even kill, a Level 2 Wizard Apprentice—provided they were unaware of his abilities and had no life-saving tricks up their sleeve.

”What species should I call you, I wonder? You’re not a Shadow Crow, but you’re not a Black-Feathered Crow either. I’ll have to give you a new name.” Wang Ya sank into thought. He was really bad at coming up with names.

Finally, he made a decision. ”How about Shadow-Feathered Crow, little guy?” he said with a smile. ”I think that name suits you.”

After its transformation, Harak’s intelligence seemed to have improved further, and it could now grasp the simple meaning of Wang Ya’s words.

However, judging whether a name was good or bad was still too difficult for it. Its gray pupils looked at its master in confusion.

”I see you like the name.” Wang Ya stroked Harak’s feathers, gave his shoulder a slight shake to send it flying, then turned and walked out of the laboratory.

Next, it was time to think about advancing to Level 1 Wizard Apprentice and the matter of the assigned task.

Wang Ya’s expression grew calm. There were about two months left in the three-month deadline. Before the task was assigned, he was confident he could complete the outlining of two Wizard Runes through Meditation and advance to Level 1 Wizard Apprentice. He even had a bottle of Clear Heart Potion to assist him.

In that case, he could first consider acquiring those two Middle-tier Witchcraft spells to increase his Power as quickly as possible.

Researching Harak’s bloodline inheritance would have to wait until after the assigned task was complete.

His daily studies in the Extraordinary Courses would provide a sufficient knowledge base to research Middle-tier Witchcraft.

’Alchemy will have to be put on the back burner,’ Wang Ya thought, a helpless expression on his face. ’It’s been a month, and I haven’t seen hide nor hair of the instructor.’

.......

The evening twilight fell upon the many buildings of the Dark Land. Long shadows stretched across a corner of the Business District, and the figures of passing Wizards had dwindled.

A sign, partially obscured by shadows, bore the three words ’Night Night Night’.

The glow from colorful neon tubes along the edges washed over Wang Ya’s pale cheeks as his gaze fell upon the structure of the Wizard Tavern.

It was heavily decorated with colorful neon tubes, making it quite eye-catching and giving off a warm, decadent ambiance.

”Welcome, patron!” The counter strongly resembled a bar from his past life. The cabinets behind it held various liquids glowing in enticing colors, all emitting Extraordinary Fluctuations.

A Bartender was mixing special drinks at the bar. A Wizard Waiter greeted Wang Ya as he entered, then turned and walked toward an inner room, carrying a jet-black drink with a frog’s leg draped over the rim of the glass.

A flicker of interest appeared on Wang Ya’s face. A display sign next to the bar, constructed from neon tubes, showed today’s specials: ’Heart of the Blue Watch,’ ’Crystal Love,’ and ’Gaze of the Storm Cape.’

They had to be Wizard’s Brews. The hall was mostly filled with small, single-person tables, a few of which were occupied by shadowy figures. No one was sitting at the larger tables. The patrons drank their Wizard’s Brews in silence, as if carefully appraising the taste.

The lighting was dim, allowing one to only make out vague silhouettes; faces were blurry and indistinct. The atmosphere was steeped in the kind of mystery appropriate for Wizards.

Wang Ya walked further inside. There were many private rooms, all sealed with Witch Arrays that prevented any aura or conversation from leaking out. The mood lighting inside could also be changed using the Witch Array Core.

Private Room 234.

After a knock, Mona opened the door. In the warm light, her flushed cheeks looked just like a ripe, luscious apple.

”Wang Ya, you rascal, you finally showed up!” Gray’s loud, booming voice echoed from inside the room.

Mas sat in a corner of the sofa, holding a cup of pure green liquid. He had an enraptured expression as he drank—or rather, as he touched the liquid with the tip of his tongue and then carefully savored the taste.

The window was open, and a wind chime tinkled softly. Potted, fragrant flowers swayed gently as a Witch Array circulated the cool outside air into the room.

Wang Ya sat down by the window, his black hair gently lifted by the wind. In front of him was a multicolored liquid with a huge, hairy spider perched on the rim, its rear end pointed right at him.

Gray said with a grin, ”This is the ’Love of the Black Widow’ I specially ordered for you. They say drinking it can slightly increase your Spiritual Power. It’s very expensive.”

”It seems you completed a Wizard Task, and the rewards were quite good.” Wang Ya picked up the drink and took a sip without a change in expression. The taste was bitter, with a slightly salty aftertaste.

”Of course! You have no idea what kind of opponent Mas and I faced! Even an Official Wizard would have been terrified! But with our heroic fearlessness, Mas and I successfully slew it...” Gray, in his usual boisterous tone, rambled on about what had happened.

This was the first time the group had met in a month. Wang Ya briefly talked about his research on Harak and Biological Cultivation.

The four of them now had a general understanding of each other’s current situations.

Gray chugged several mouthfuls of Wizard’s Wine and was clearly getting tipsy. His face flushed Scarlet as he said, ”Wang Ya, you have no idea what the Secret Realm competition means for us newcomers. It’s not just what it seems on the surface; there’s something deeper to it...”