Wizard: My career panel has no upper limit

Chapter 457 "Life and Death as Fleeting as Day and Night"

Back in his room, Ron first checked the room's privacy features.

As an academic institution, the Sand Sea School takes excellent care in protecting the privacy of its guests.

The walls of the room are inlaid with "silencing stones," which can effectively block the leakage of sound and magical fluctuations.

After confirming his safety, he began preparing for an in-depth divination.

The book "Illustrated Guide to Ancient Plant Pathology" that Sheena had given me lay quietly on the table.

"To safely acquire knowledge from it, you must first thoroughly understand its essence."

Ron took out a complete set of astrological divination tools from his storage bag.

Unlike simplified pendant readings, a complete astrological chart reading requires more preparation.

However, the information obtained was more detailed and accurate.

He first laid out a divination blanket woven from silver threads on the ground, with intricate constellation patterns embroidered on it.

Next, he placed the main astrolabe in the center of the blanket.

Ron silently recited the meditation rhythm of "The Star Eater's Ramblings" in his mind, and his consciousness began to converge inward.

The deep silver light of the Hermit Star was the first to illuminate him, giving him the ability to see the truth beneath the surface;
The scholar star's gentle golden radiance responded immediately, endowing him with the wisdom to interpret complex symbols;
The observer star's composite spectrum is added last to ensure that it can capture the most subtle fluctuations in information.

The three starlights converged and merged in his mental space, forming a stable and powerful cognitive amplification field.

"Let me see what secrets this book holds."

Ron gently placed his right hand on the center of the horoscope and began to type in the core question for the divination:

What is hidden in this book, and how can I safely access the knowledge within?

The horoscope immediately reacted.

The runes on the surface began to light up in sequence according to some mysterious pattern, forming a complex energy circuit.

The light spread outwards from the center like ripples on water.

When it touches the edge of the divination mat, it folds back and converges, weaving a hazy image in the air.

The first layer of the image gradually becomes clear:

It's still that huge spider web, but this time the view is clearer and more detailed.

Ron was able to see that the "flowers" on the internet were not simple disguises, but rather elaborate traps.

Each flower's petals are sharp metal plates, and tiny nozzles that release paralyzing toxins are hidden in the stamen.

The entire net is constructed with extreme precision, like a complex machine specifically designed to capture a particular prey.

What made him frown was that traces of other victims could be vaguely seen deep within the web.

Clearly, Ron was not the first victim to be lured by this "academic bait".

The second layer of images begins to overlap and appear:
The disguised flower begins to shed its gorgeous outer layer, revealing its true inner structure.

They were strange black mushrooms.

These mushrooms have bizarre and twisted shapes, and their surfaces are covered with patterns that resemble human faces.

When Ron looked closely, he could hear faint murmurs coming from the mushroom.

Those were the whispers of the dead, the lamentations of forgotten souls.

"Necro mushroom..."

He confirmed the symbolic meaning of these images in his mind.

In traditional interpretations of divination, necromantic mushrooms represent forbidden knowledge, particularly occult arts related to death and the soul.

"Therefore, necromancy knowledge is indeed hidden in Sheena's book."

The appearance of the third layer of images brought the entire divination to its climax:
Just as the undead mushroom was emitting its alluring, poisonous fragrance, a silver bird suddenly appeared in the sky.

This bird has an extremely elegant appearance, with wings as light as gauze, and its body is full of time energy.

Without any hesitation, the silver bird swooped down and devoured the entire undead mushroom.

Surprisingly, those deadly toxins and negative energies did not harm the silver bird; instead, they made its feathers even shinier and more lustrous.

After swallowing the spider web, the silver bird spread its wings and flew high, circling once above the web.

It seemed to be mocking those meticulously designed traps before disappearing into the horizon.

The divination images gradually faded, and the astrological chart returned to calm.

But Ron's heart felt as if it had been struck by lightning, and he suddenly felt enlightened.

"Silver bird...a symbol of time..."

He instinctively reached for the silver pocket watch on his chest, then suddenly realized the message the divination was trying to convey:
"Predation ability!"

This is a possibility he has been ignoring.

The pocket watch's "hunting" ability, in theory, can not only devour living beings, but also act on non-living objects.

If one can acquire the knowledge in the book in this way, one can both avoid the traps set by Hina and ensure one's own safety.

………………

Ron sighed as he recalled the moment his "hunting" ability first awakened.

Initially, he planned to analyze a raven with a faint extraordinary bloodline to determine its value as an alchemical material.

At that time, I did not fully understand the true nature of this newly acquired ability.

With an experimental mindset, he probed the silver pocket watch with his mental energy, attempting to activate the dormant "hunting" mechanism within it.

However, the moment the ability was activated, even he was startled.

A terrifying pressure, almost solidified, erupted from the pocket watch.

It was a primal desire mixed with hunger and possession.

It was as if an unseen behemoth was scrutinizing every living creature in the room with hungry eyes, ready to tear them apart and devour them at any moment.

The raven on the experimental table, as the direct target, endured the most intense pressure and impact.

This extraordinary creature, which was usually quite calm due to its upbringing, suddenly bristled, its feathers exploding as if in an explosion.

It let out a piercing, terrified cry and frantically flapped its wings, trying to escape.

But his body was completely stiff with fear, and he could only slump helplessly in the cage.

He recalled the reactions of Alan and Dale when he first gained this ability.

His two usually gentle and kind assistants were also secretly on guard when they sensed the strange aura emanating from him.

That experience made Ron realize that "hunting" was more like an ultimate "attack declaration" than a covert detection method.

It exposes the user's most primal greed and possessiveness, and has a completely negative effect in social and surveillance situations that require caution.

In comparison, skills such as "superior identification" and "observational eye" are not only more covert, but also safer and more practical to use.

In the days that followed, he kept this enormous potential hidden.

On the one hand, the enemies encountered (such as the Dark Sun-class Sheena) are either too powerful, and rashly using them may lead to even greater trouble;

On the other hand, most of the creatures he can "hunt" without any threat are ordinary people or low-level superhumans, which makes him have no desire to devour them.

But now, the divination result, like a lightning bolt, has shattered the misconceptions in his thinking.

"If I can devour inanimate objects, can I devour free magic in the air to quickly replenish myself?"
Or perhaps consume a piece of obsidian containing special minerals to enhance your physique?

These possibilities excited him, but he also maintained the necessary caution.

Every powerful ability comes at a price; he must first conduct small-scale experiments to confirm its safety and efficiency.

………………

His gaze fell on an ordinary quill pen on the table.

This pen is standard equipment in the room. Made of ordinary goose feathers and a simple wooden handle, it has no extraordinary properties and is an ideal experimental subject.

"Let's use it to test the specific mechanisms of hunting ability."

Ron took a deep breath, took out the silver pocket watch, and gently placed it next to the quill pen.

Then, focusing his mind, he carefully activated the dormant power within the pocket watch.

This time, he controlled the intensity of the pressure, trying to make the energy release more gentle.

The pocket watch did indeed react; the three hands on the dial began to rotate at different rhythms.

The hour and minute hands move slowly in the normal direction.

But the black "predator pointer" began to spin rapidly counterclockwise, as if reversing some unseen process.

An invisible force enveloped the quill pen, as if countless unseen tentacles were carefully "tasting" the texture and value of its target.

The quill pen began to undergo subtle changes; its surface luster gradually dimmed, as if some essence within it was being slowly extracted.

Then, something unexpected happened.

The pocket watch emitted a distinct sense of "dissatisfaction".

That feeling is like the disappointment a gourmet feels when faced with coarse food.

Immediately afterwards, Ron felt a sharp pain in his chest, as if something was being forcibly pulled out from deep within his body.

That's not the depletion of magic or spiritual power, but something more fundamental—the loss of the source of life.

"what?!"

He immediately stopped activating his ability, but it was too late.

A wisp of pure, fine primordial power has been forcibly extracted by the pocket watch and used as "digestive fluid" to "digest" the quill pen.

Although the number is small, the sense of weakness brought about by this loss is all-encompassing.

Not only did my body feel tired, but my mind also became sluggish.

It's as if the "life density" of a person has decreased by a level.

Most importantly, this feeling of weakness cannot be eliminated by conventional means.

He immediately tried using the "time reset" function on his pocket watch to try and restore his physical condition to the level it had been a few minutes earlier.

The silvery power of time surged through my body like a tide, repairing some of the surface fatigue, but the emptiness that originated from the essence of life still lingered.

"The loss of primal power cannot be reversed even by resetting time..."

Just when he was almost in despair, Ron suddenly remembered that he had a special power—"Grace".

That is the pure energy gained through establishing teacher-student relationships with students, possessing healing and purifying qualities.

He tentatively mobilized the power of grace within his body, allowing that invisible and intangible higher-dimensional blessing to flow through his damaged origin.

A miracle happened.

The power of grace seems to possess the natural ability to repair the source, gently but effectively filling that tiny gap.

Although a small portion of the grace reserves had been depleted, the feeling of weakness finally began to subside.

"I see……"

After returning to normal, Ron stared at the remains of the quill pen on the table, now reduced to specks of light, and felt a surge of intense heartache.

Although the pocket watch successfully devoured its target, the amount of energy it returned was negligible.

Compared to the benefits consumed, it was a losing proposition that was extremely costly.

"If the value of the hunting ability is not enough, it is necessary to consume one's own source power as a 'supplement'."

This means I must ensure that the goal is of sufficiently high value, otherwise it would be a foolish act that backfires.

This restriction calmed him down and made this seemingly incredible ability appear more balanced and reasonable.

After all, in the wizarding world, everything follows the rule of equivalent exchange; no power can be obtained without a price.

Having clarified the mechanism for using the "hunting" ability, Ron no longer hesitated.

Sheena's books are clearly of sufficient value, and the divination results also indicate that this is the best way to safely acquire knowledge.

He placed the book, disguised as "An Illustrated Guide to Ancient Plant Pathology," in the center of the table, and then gently placed the silver pocket watch on top of it.

Taking a deep breath and adjusting his mindset, he reactivated his "hunting" ability.

This reaction was much stronger than when it swallowed the quill pen.

All the hands of the pocket watch began to spin wildly, defying the laws of physics.

The hour and minute hands rotate rapidly clockwise, while the predator hand races counterclockwise.

The crystal glass in the center of the dial began to undergo a strange change. The originally hard and transparent surface rippled like water, forming a bottomless miniature vortex.

The edge of the vortex shimmered with silver light, but the center was absolutely dark, as if even light would be sucked into it.

The entire book was being dragged along by an invisible force, and began to undergo incredible deformation.

The pages were stretched and twisted like noodles, then sucked into the vortex one by one.

The process was completely silent, but I could clearly hear the auditory hallucinations of paper being torn and chewed.

The process of the book being swallowed up lasted for nearly ten minutes.

During this time, Ron was able to sense the pocket watch's real-time assessment of the "food's" value.

Unlike his dissatisfaction when it swallowed the quill pen, this time the pocket watch showed obvious "satisfaction".

"Success..."

Ron breathed a sigh of relief.

After the last page was sucked into the vortex, the pocket watch's frantic spinning gradually subsided.

The dial has regained its transparency, but now it contains some tiny specks of light that were not there before; these are the essence of the knowledge that has been "digested".

The pocket watch did not plunder his primal power to compensate as it had done before.

This suggests that Sheena's books were considered "high-value prey," making the energy expenditure entirely worthwhile.

As the vortex reached a virtual "burp," a vast and pure torrent of knowledge surged into his mind like water bursting its banks.

But this is not a simple and crude indoctrination of information; rather, it is the pure essence that has been "digested" and "filtered" by the pocket watch.

The false facade of "An Illustrated Guide to Ancient Plant Pathology" was completely stripped away, and the true title was branded deeply into his consciousness like a hot iron:

An Introduction to the Boundary Between Life and Death

The author's signature immediately appeared: "The Hand of Withering" Barnabas.

The name was not unfamiliar to Ron.

In historical records, Barnabas is described as the last necromantic master after the complete decline of the Tree of Life school.

His research touches upon the ultimate taboo of life forms, attempting to completely deconstruct the nature of death.

He was eventually expelled from the school of thought for his overly radical ideas and was subsequently executed in secret in an "accident".

But it now appears that his theoretical legacy did not disappear with his body, but has been passed down to this day in this secretive way.

The book's introduction echoed in Ron's mind like the tolling of bells, every word a gem:

People fear death and see it as the end.

However, the wise see death not as the end, but as a transformation of form and a continuation of existence.

What we do is not to desecrate the dead, but to build bridges and listen to the echoes from the other side.

Life and death are like day and night; they appear to be opposing forces, but in reality, they are unified.

Those who grasp this principle can glimpse the mysteries of the universe's operation.

(End of this chapter)