Chapter 231 Search

High in the sky, the fierce gale was blocked by an invisible shield.

Benjamin and David transformed into two elusive streaks of light and flew towards the next marked area where the target was suspected to have been active.

During this high-speed flight, David closed his eyes under the visor, and his surging mental power was like the most sophisticated probe, carefully examining the broken soul that was forcibly imprisoned in the head.

After a moment, he opened his eyes and his voice sounded muffled through the armor: "Inspection completed."

"This guy is just unlucky." David concluded, "He's not one of the target's subordinates. He just happened to run into that illegal wizard not long ago and was forcibly infected by him with an unknown power, which is why he turned into this horrible appearance."

In the fragments of his soul, only memories twisted by endless hunger and pain remained, as well as the most primitive fear of the figure that turned him into a monster.

Almost at the same time, Jermyn also completed his analysis.

He used "Analysis", "Alchemy" and "Eye of All Use" at the same time to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the twisted flesh and blood.

In front of him, a light screen projected by the terminal displayed the most microscopic structural diagram of the "wizard" body sample analyzed by Jemin.

"I've also got some results," Benjamin said calmly. "I've confirmed that the 'negative energy' this guy is using is essentially a negative transformation of life force. The reason he's become that half-human, half-ghost appearance is precisely because he's been continuously infiltrated and corroded by this energy."

Benjamin pointed at a decaying energy chain on the screen and continued to speculate, "According to the model, the opponent's body should be constantly depleting its own vitality under normal circumstances. This explains why he has become such a withered ghost. It seems that he probably needs to constantly absorb the vitality of others to barely maintain his existence."

Next, Benjamin changed the subject and pointed out the most crucial and strange doubt.

"However," he pointed at the startling data on the screen, "according to the energy traces I collected, when the 'wizard' cast the spell just now, he must have wasted most of the life force he plundered—or more accurately, the vast majority of the life force was dissipated and disappeared during the conversion process. In the end, only a tiny portion of the energy was successfully converted."

"Otherwise, judging from the total amount of energy traces remaining on this guy, he must have successfully absorbed the entire vitality of at least a hundred ordinary people. With such a huge amount of energy, even if the conversion efficiency is low, the black fireball he released should definitely not be so weak."

After Jieming finished sharing this information, he lowered his head and fell into a brief period of thought.

His brain was rapidly searching through all the knowledge systems about energy utilization in his knowledge base at a speed thousands of times faster than that of an ordinary person.

After a moment, he shook his head and asserted, "It is certain that this series of energy utilization methods is absolutely not present in the mainstream system within the Norn Workshop."

He couldn't help but let out a hint of disdain. "The main thing is, this way of using energy... the efficiency is incredibly low. It's so low it's outrageous. Anyone who dares to fight this way would probably be laughed to death on the spot."

Benjamin looked up and glanced at David who was silent beside him.

David immediately understood what he meant.

His brows, covered by heavy armor, were also tightly furrowed. He lowered his head and thought for a moment before shaking his head and speaking in a very affirmative tone:

"I can also be sure that there was absolutely no such power in the old supernatural system of the Eloxia plane."

"Although they also have similar 'necromancy power' involving life and death, the nature of their energy is completely different from this energy."

After exchanging information, the two looked at each other in the air, and saw a strange look in each other's eyes.

The other party displayed a power that did not belong to the original system of the Norn Workshop and the Elosia plane, coupled with the special enhancement of this power to absorb life...

Based on this intelligence, this is no longer a simple mission to hunt down defectors.

"If our inference is correct... let's ask the college for additional support," suggested Benjamin.

"Agreed. I'm afraid we'll have to expand the search area."

Afterwards, neither of them said anything more, but silently increased their flying speed and continued to fly towards the next marked city.

Silence stretched between the two, but Benjamin's thoughts were a little confused.

He couldn't help but start recalling everything he had seen in that city before.

Chuck, the child who is full of fantasies and yearnings for "wizards", and other children who regard "wizards" as bedtime stories.

Obviously, neither the Norn Academy nor the wizards who govern the local area deliberately exaggerate their presence, but they also do not deliberately conceal their existence.

But even so, only a little over a hundred years had passed.

These transformed descendants of the survivors from the Elosia plane have almost completely forgotten the true and cruel things about "wizards".

That history of blood and fire has faded into a series of vague and distant legends.

Jieming couldn't help but think of the time when he first traveled to this world.

At that time, he also thought that there was no supernatural power in this world.

Now that I think about it, the lord who ruled that area at the time did not seem to deliberately conceal the existence of the "wizard".

In the legends of the territory, one can still vaguely find some records about the "mysterious guardian".

However, considering the lord's long life as a second-level wizard, what does the time that is almost eternal for mortals mean to him?

The other party probably just devoted a little time to the research of a more interesting topic, and hundreds of years have passed.

Or maybe, he just participated in a protracted plane war.

And when he leaves the territory and carries out these "daily activities".

The mortals in his territory, whose lives were only a few decades long, gradually forgot the mysterious and powerful lord as generations passed. It was also normal to forget that there really were extraordinary powers in the world.

Memories fade and awe is diluted by time.

Eventually, truth becomes legend.

"Is this... the unbridgeable difference in perspective between higher life forms and lower life forms?"

Benjamin couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

Suddenly, he had a deeper understanding of what Mentor Clark had said before.

Perhaps, the so-called "maturity" that Mr. Clark mentioned does not just refer to emotional indifference and rationality.

It should rather mean completely and thoroughly transforming one's "perspective" into that of a true higher life form - a mature wizard!

No longer use the mortal concept of time to measure gains and losses.

No longer use the emotional shackles of mortals to bind yourself.

Acknowledge and accept that there is an unbridgeable chasm like a natural moat between you and those living beings who are born and die every day.

When he can truly think about problems and plan for the future in terms of "hundreds" or "thousands of years".

Then the deaths of Amy and Victor will become like a mortal's recollection of a pet that accidentally died in childhood, leaving only a faint memory mixed with regret.

Only then would he be considered a truly "mature" wizard.

Thinking of this, an indescribable complex emotion surged in Benjamin's heart.

He knew that he still had a long way to go.

The so-called "maturity" is just the first price that must be paid on this cruel road.

…

…

Two years later.

The sky was clear and the sea breeze blew with a salty and humid scent.

In a temporary base by the sea, Benjamin and David had just exchanged the latest information with another team of wizards who came to support them.

"The target's last suspicious energy fluctuation appeared in the 'Storm' sea area. Thank you for your hard work." The captain of the other team, a second-level wizard shrouded in lightning, said solemnly.

"It's my job." David's signature dull voice sounded.

Benjamin just nodded calmly as a greeting.

Afterwards, the two of them said no more, turned around and transformed into two dark streaks of light, rushing towards the turbulent ocean.

As early as two years ago, after they tracked down the first fake wizard, they immediately sent back all the information they had found to the academy.

Nolen Academy attached great importance to this and immediately dispatched a large number of professional investigators, and mobilized wizard lords from various regions of the Elosia plane to assist in the carpet-style screening of their respective territories.

But even with such a huge force gathered, the wizards still couldn't catch the real illegal wizard.

Every time they closed the net, they could only catch one or two "pseudo-wizards" like the previous ones, who had been infected and turned into neither human nor ghost.

Of course, as time goes by and the entire plane detection network system gradually improves, the areas where illegal wizards can operate are becoming more and more restricted.

He was like a cunning fox that was constantly being chased, with less and less room to move around.

It sounds like the wizards are just unlucky and always one step behind.

However, Benjamin and David had anticipated all this.

Because they had discovered it two years ago after cracking the energy sample of the first pseudo-wizard.

The real role of these infected "pseudo-wizards" is to act as mobile "base stations" and are tools to help the illegal wizard hiding behind the scenes collect vitality.

(End of this chapter)