Wizard: My career panel has no upper limit

Chapter 476 Frenzied Spores
Let's go back to when the three-person team from the Tree of Life had just completed the "resurrection ritual".

As the Sand Sea School's team approached the core area of ​​the arena, Ron suddenly felt a strong sense of unease.

The sensation was like an electric current shooting straight from his spine to his brain, sending every nerve in his body into a frantic state of alert.

This is not just a normal sense of danger, but a mad warning from a deeper level of inspiration.

Something extremely terrifying is about to happen.

"and many more!"

He immediately stopped the group from advancing and looked around for suitable cover:
"We can't get any closer; there's great danger ahead."

Edwin was somewhat confused:
"But the other participants are all converging on the core area, if we stop here..."

"Believe me."

Ron's tone was unusually firm:
“My intuition has never been wrong. We need to find a location that allows us to observe the overall situation while also being relatively safe.”

He pointed to a natural barrier formed by keel bones on the east side:
"There, we wait for our chance."

This decision was somewhat overly conservative, but it quickly proved to be correct.

When the light of the three moons converges perfectly, the night sky over the entire land of quicksand is as dazzling as a burning aurora.

With the enhanced perception of the "Eye of Observation," he was able to see deeper layers of the scene.

Those rays of light were not pure energy, but rather a kind of "malicious projection" with conscious attributes.

"This feeling……"

Edwin stared blankly at the sky, his eyes beginning to glaze over.
"It's like returning to my mother's embrace, so warm..."

Lako's reaction was even stranger.

He began to draw patterns in the sand with his fingers, muttering some kind of ancient incantation.

Patricia spun uncontrollably in mid-air, the rhythm of her wings flapping becoming chaotic and disordered, swaying erratically like a drunken butterfly.

But the most terrifying change occurred in the center of the arena.

The contestants, who had been fighting individually, suddenly stopped all their attacks.

They stared blankly at the sky, the light of reason in their eyes rapidly fading.

Instead, a kind of primitive and savage bestial light shone through.

"What's happening here?"

Ron immediately realized something was wrong.

He carefully observed the subtle changes in the air.

Countless tiny, translucent particles drifted slowly down from the sky, like pollen.

These particles are extremely small, finer than dust, and almost invisible to the naked eye.

They appeared pale green under the moonlight, exuding an eerie aura of life.

Each particle has a microstructure on its surface that resembles a neural network.

It is immediately activated upon contact with a living organism and begins to penetrate into the host's respiratory system.

"Rampaging Spores!"

Acelia issued a warning in his consciousness:
"This is a classic technique used by life-based wizards."

These spores act directly on the primitive cortex of the brain, suppressing higher cognitive functions and amplifying the most basic survival instincts.

"Infected organisms lose their ability to make rational judgments and are left with only the most primal desires."

Driven by hunger, anger, fear, and mating urges, they will attack any moving target, including former allies.

Sure enough, signs of chaos began to appear in the arena.

A normally calm Sandwalker warrior suddenly attacked his companion, tearing at his throat with the cruelty of a wild beast.

Several heavily armored warriors from the Stoneheart tribe began indiscriminately attacking everything around them, including the rocks on the ground and their own weapons.

The wind whisperers in the air lost their coordination and began to collide with each other, feathers and blood raining down on the ground.

"We must build protection immediately!"

Ron quickly warned his teammates, but found their response had become sluggish.

Edwin's eyes began to flash red, and the temperature on the surface of the lava armor was rising uncontrollably.

The sand in Laku's hands began to form aggressive spikes, as if ready to be aimed at any approaching target.

Although Patricia was still flying in the air, her wind blades began to shoot wildly in all directions.

"Damn it! They're already starting to be affected!"

Ron immediately realized the urgency of the situation.

He must build an effective protective barrier for everyone before his teammates completely lose control.

But what puzzled him was that, although he had also inhaled these spores, he did not experience any obvious decline in rationality.

"Why wasn't I affected?"

He asked Acelia in his mind.

"Because of the 'intellectual triangle' in your consciousness."

"Speaking of which, I was quite surprised when you mentioned establishing connections with these three such important stars during the Morning Star stage."

There was a hint of surprise in Acelia's voice:

"The energy balance formed by the Hermit Star, the Scholar Star, and the Observer Star can provide a stable anchor for your consciousness."

While those spores can influence a single thought process, they have little chance of disrupting this triple-balanced structure.

"It's like a tripod in a storm; even with a strong impact, it can maintain basic stability."

This is true.

Ron could sense that the spores were trying to erode his rationality.

However, whenever a primal impulse begins to rise, the balancing properties of the intellectual triangle automatically adjust, pulling distorted thinking back onto the right track.

"How can I help my teammates?"

“Create a ‘purification zone’.”

Acelia quickly offered her advice:
"Use your light element, combined with my lightning properties, to create a high-energy ion field in the air. This environment can neutralize most organic spores."

Ron immediately sprang into action.

He raised his hands and began to mobilize the light element magic within his body.

Golden light surged from his fingertips, weaving into a complex energy grid in the air.

At the same time, he activated his bloodline connection with Azalea, allowing silver lightning to leap and travel through the net of light.

—Lightning Purification!
This is an improvised composite spell that combines the purifying properties of light with the decomposing power of lightning.

High-energy particles cut through organic pollutants in the air like invisible blades, while lightning completely decomposes the internal structure of spores.

The effect is immediate.

Within a radius of twenty meters centered on Ron, the air began to become clear and transparent.

The dense green spores vanished as quickly as snowflakes encountering fire, revealing the clear sky.

Edwin was the first to regain consciousness; the red light in his eyes faded, replaced by confusion and lingering fear.
"Just now... I wanted to kill everything... that feeling..."

He shook his head, trying to shake off the lingering effects:
"It's like something planted a seed of hatred in my mind."

Laku and Paitui also recovered, but both could feel the aftereffects left by the spores.

It was a deep sense of fatigue, like the weakness one feels after recovering from a serious illness.

"Now I understand why the Tree of Life school dared to design this kind of carnival."

Ron shared his observations:
“From the very beginning, they planned to turn all the contestants into out-of-control beasts and then pick out the most valuable ‘materials’ from the chaos.”

………………

The scene in the center of the arena grew increasingly terrifying.

The resurrected contestants are undergoing unprecedented mutations under the catalysis of the rampant spores.

In the short time after her resurrection, Leona's body had completely merged with the vine circulation system.

Dozens of thick main vines extended from her spine, dancing in the air like tentacles.

At the end of each vine, a huge carnivorous flower blooms.

These flowers have serrated petals and a deep red digestive cavity in the center, emitting a nauseating, corrosive acidic odor.

The most bizarre thing is that deep within each flower is the outline of a human face, the face of the native warriors she "fused" with.

Their eyes have become flower stamens, and their mouths are the digestive organs of the flowers, but you can still see expressions of pain and despair on their faces.

"Food...we need food..."

Leona let out a superhuman roar, and countless flower-shaped mouths opened and closed simultaneously, like a giant feeding machine:

"Life...blood...everything...must be devoured..."

Her rationality had completely vanished, leaving only the most primal instincts of plants—to grow, expand, and devour.

Catalyzed by the frenzied spores, this instinct is amplified to the extreme.

Winnie's transformation was even more chilling.

Her body split into hundreds of tiny individuals, each retaining a fragment of her consciousness.

These mutated insects swirled in the air like black vortexes, emitting sharp, piercing buzzing sounds.

Their wings shimmer with kaleidoscope-like colors, but those beautiful colors contain deadly neurotoxins.

Any living being that stares for more than three seconds will fall into a state of deep hallucination.

"Kill the intruders...protect the hive..."

Countless tiny sounds converged into a jarring chorus, and Winnie's collective consciousness was reduced to nothing more than the most basic instinct to defend her territory.

She began indiscriminately attacking all non-insect creatures, viewing them as a threat to the survival of the bee colony.

As for Caroline, her situation is slightly more unique.

Although the incubation chamber in her abdomen had expanded to an unbelievable size, her main consciousness remained relatively clear.

This may be because her mutation is "reproductive specialization," and her maternal instincts, to some extent, resist the influence of the rampant spores.

But she faces an even more serious problem—she has lost control of the creatures she has hatched.

Hundreds of fist-sized parasitic wasps poured out of her abdomen, but these "children" became extremely ferocious under the influence of the spores.

They not only attack external targets, but have even begun to turn around and attack their own "mother".

"My children...why...why did they attack their mother..."

Caroline pleaded in a trembling voice, trying to calm the out-of-control parasitic wasps, but only received more ferocious attacks in return.

Her arms and cheeks were covered with a dense network of stings, and the venom had turned her skin a purplish-black color.

………………

"This is our opportunity."

Ron calmly observed the three out-of-control mutants and began to formulate a tactical plan in his mind:

"Although they have become stronger, they have lost the ability to think rationally."

This means they can only act on instinct, and instinct can be guided.

He began to explain his plan to his teammates:

"Leona is now completely dominated by plant logic."

Her predatory flowers prioritize attacking fast-moving, high-health targets; we can take advantage of this.

“Edwin, I need you to create a slowly crawling lava golem in the southeast direction, but not too fast. The speed should mimic the movement of a large creature.”

“Patrick, create strong airflow disturbances to her northwest, causing the air to vortex and mimic the airflow trajectory of flying creatures.” “Raku, create a series of rhythmic vibrations on the ground, mimicking the footsteps of a running group of animals.”

The three immediately began to act.

Edwin controlled the lava golem's speed, making it move forward slowly, dragging its feet.

Patricia creates artificial cyclones in the air, generating the downdrafts characteristic of large flying creatures.

Laku manipulates the sand to produce regular vibrations, like the ground tremors when a herd of animals runs.

Sure enough, Leona's attention was immediately drawn to these "false targets".

The predatory flowers on her body began to frantically dart in all directions, trying to lock onto these false "prey".

However, although plants have sensitive sensory systems, they lack complex judgment abilities.

Without the coordination of rational thinking, different flowers began to receive conflicting information, resulting in a serious "target recognition error".

"It's now!"

Ron seized the opportunity and unleashed a powerful "Radiant Ring" near Leona.

The intense light, as dazzling as the sun, immediately stimulated all of Leona's light-sensitive organs.

In the instinctive logic of plants, a sudden appearance of strong light often means the presence of competitors—other plants are vying for sunlight resources.

Leona immediately viewed Winnie's swarm of insects as a threat, believing that these flying "black dots" were blocking her light.

"Die! You sun-stealing bug!"

Countless carnivorous flowers opened simultaneously, spraying out corrosive acid as an attack.

Winnie's swarm instinctively retaliated, with thousands of mutated insects sweeping in like a black rainstorm.

However, this attack was interpreted as an "intrusion" in Winnie's collective consciousness, immediately triggering the swarm's territorial defense mechanism.

"Defend the nest! Eliminate the invaders!"

The collective consciousness of the Viannoids emitted an angry buzz and began to attack Leona, this "giant threat," with all its might.

The two mutants descended into a frenzied battle of mutual attacks.

Leona's carnivorous flowers were tearing apart swarms of insects, while Winnie's venomous insects darted among the flowers, injecting deadly neurotoxins.

Both sides lost their rational judgment and were completely immersed in the instinct-driven fight.

Upon seeing this, Caroline instinctively wanted to control her "children" and keep them away.

But the parasitic wasps she hatched had already gone out of control; they saw any creature that came near as a threat, including Winnie's swarm of insects.

"Ugh... I can't control my urge to produce!"

Because of its modified properties, Caroline experiences intense pleasure during childbirth.

Now, this pleasure overwhelmed all rational thought, and she began to uncontrollably spit out more parasitic wasps.

However, the newly hatched parasitic wasps were also affected by the rampaging spores and immediately joined the three-way battle.

Now, the three former teammates have turned into monsters attacking each other, and the chaos on the battlefield has reached an unprecedented level.

Acid, poisonous fog, ear-piercing buzzing, and monster roars transformed the center of the arena into a hellish scene.

Amidst this extreme chaos, Ron noticed that Caroline's condition was beginning to become critical.

Although she was relatively conscious, her body could no longer withstand the continuous attacks.

The out-of-control parasitic wasps kept stinging her, and the venom spread through her blood vessels, making her movements increasingly sluggish.

Even more frightening is that her incubation system seems to have gone out of control.

Whenever she tries to stop producing new parasitic wasps, her internal biological mechanisms rebel.

Intense pain surged through her like a tidal wave, forcing her to continue this self-destructive incubation process.

"She can't hold on much longer."

Acelia reminded herself in her mind:
"If she dies, those parasitic wasps will completely spiral out of control, and the entire arena will become hell."

Moreover, judging from her behavior just now, she may possess some important information.

Ron made a quick decision.

This is not out of sympathy, but purely out of self-interest.

A dying enemy is worth saving briefly if he can provide valuable intelligence.

He directed his teammates to move closer to Caroline's location and, in a lull in the fighting, rescued the mutated witch who was on the verge of death.

When Caroline was dragged to a relatively safe area, she was already in a semi-comatose state.

The toxins from those out-of-control parasitic wasps raged through her blood vessels, causing her body to spasm continuously.

Edwin frowned without making a sound:

"Why should we save this monster? She was like those two teammates before, trying to kill us all."

Patricia expressed similar confusion:
"And given her current condition... what if she still has those parasites inside her?"

Laku was even more direct:
"Kill her directly to avoid future trouble."

Ron took out a bottle of high-level healing potion from his storage bag, but did not use it immediately:
“She still has value. As a core member of the Tree of Life school, she must know some information that we need.”

He crouched down, staring at Caroline with a cold gaze:
"Moreover, in her current situation, death might be easier than living."

These words struck Caroline like a bucket of ice water.

She vaguely realized that these people saved her not out of kindness, but because she still had some use to them.

Once she loses her value, she will be discarded without hesitation.

This realization filled her with despair, but it also ignited her survival instincts.

In the wizarding world, the weak must prove their worth in order to survive.

"I...I know many secrets..."

She spoke in a weak but clear voice, trying to make herself sound valuable:
"The true purpose of the Tree of Life School, the truth behind this carnival... and that thing deep underground..."

She paused deliberately, observing the reactions of the others.

Sure enough, these keywords immediately attracted everyone's attention.

"go on."

Ron's tone remained indifferent, but a glint of interest appeared in his eyes.

"I need...treatment..."

Caroline raised her hand with difficulty, pointing to the potion in Ron's hand:
"The poison...is killing me. If I die...you'll never know the truth..."

This was a gamble with no other option.

She was using her last remaining resources to buy herself a chance to survive.

Edwin said impatiently:
"Let her tell us some useful information first, then we'll decide whether to proceed with treatment. What if she's lying to us?"

Although Caroline was weak, her mind remained clear:
"I can... give you some... little information first... to prove my worth..."

A sly glint flashed in her eyes:
"For example...you think this is an arena...but in reality...this is a huge...laboratory..."

With her bloodied fingers, she began to draw simple patterns in the sand:

"Look here...these points where elements intersect, their distribution is not random..."

The first pattern shows seven circles arranged in a specific geometric relationship.

"If you look closely... you'll find that they form a magic circle..."

Ron carefully observed the deeper meaning of the pattern.

The location and distribution of these points where elements intersect do indeed conform to the construction rules of some ancient magic array.

Moreover, the scale of this magic array is large enough to affect the flow of magic power throughout the entire quicksand land.

What is the purpose of this magic circle?

Caroline gave a painful smile:

“This is…more valuable information. I need…real treatment…”

Her tone clearly implied a bargaining mentality.

Ron pondered for a moment, then poured the healing potion on her:
"It's just basic treatment, enough to keep you alive for the time being."

If your information is valuable, it will lead to better treatment; if it's just deceiving us...

He didn't finish his threat, but the meaning was clear.

The warm medicine seeped into Caroline's wound, immediately relieving most of the pain.

Although the toxins have not been completely eliminated, at least it has ensured that she will not die in the short term.

Feeling the renewed flow of life, Caroline's eyes shone with gratitude.

“Now we can continue,” Ron urged.

Caroline shook her head with difficulty:
"I...I can't say it directly..."

Extreme fear flashed in her eyes, and she instinctively touched her abdomen.
"The internal monitoring system... will..."

Her words came to an abrupt halt, as if something had forcibly choked her throat.

Ron immediately realized something was wrong.

He activated his "superhuman perception" and carefully observed Caroline's physical condition.

At a higher level of perception, he saw subtle magical pathways, like a spider web, distributed throughout her nervous system.

These lines react violently when she tries to reveal certain key information.

"It should be the control device; we've seen far too many modified soldiers like this."

Edwin shook his head and explained with a hint of pity:

"The classic method of the Tree of Life school is to restrict the speech and behavior of its members by implanting biological structures in the central nervous system."

“If she tries to leak important secrets, these devices will cause her great pain and could even kill her.”

Ron understood Caroline's predicament.

She wanted to offer valuable information in exchange for a chance to survive, but her physical limitations prevented her from speaking directly.

“You can’t say it directly, but you should be able to guide me?” he asked tentatively.

A glimmer of hope immediately flashed in Caroline's eyes, and she nodded cautiously.

"Okay, let's take it slow."

Ron spoke cautiously as well, fearing that the "prisoner" he had so painstakingly rescued might die unexpectedly:
"Remember, don't try to reveal secrets directly, just give me enough clues."

Sensing that the device inside her body showed no obvious tendency to activate, Caroline cautiously began her "guidance":
"As I said before."

She said softly, "Someone deliberately designed the positions of these intersections to form a magic array."

Caroline drew a second pattern in the sand.

The pattern depicts a giant funnel-shaped structure connected to a complex network of pipes.

"If...if such a collection system existed..."

She pointed to the funnel:

When is the best time to collect data?

Ron observed the pattern and began to deduce its meaning by combining it with the information he had gathered earlier.

The best time to collect.
"When the target is in a state of extreme emotional agitation."

He said, "Fear, anger, despair. These intense emotions can make life more vibrant."

"And then there's the moment of death."

(End of this chapter)