Wizard: My career panel has no upper limit

Chapter 483 Settling "Debts"

When the rift in the imaginary space closed again, the night sky over the land of quicksand returned to its surface calm.

But all living things could clearly feel the lingering terror in the atmosphere.

Those were terrifying "traces" left by the all-out battle of four great wizards, as clearly visible as the ions in the air after a storm.

Leonardo stood on the viewing platform, his eyes behind his glasses filled with terror.

"The three great wizards...were all defeated..."

His voice trembled with shock, and the notebook made of human skin in his hand almost slipped from his grasp:
"Such a thing... has never happened in the last thousand years of wizarding history..."

At the level of a Grand Wizard, the difference in individual strength is rarely so vast.

After all, they've all cultivated to the level of a Grand Wizard. Who wasn't a once-in-a-century genius in their youth, with few rivals among their peers?

But the power Cassandra just displayed has completely surpassed the scope of a regular archmage.

"It seems our assessment of her increased strength was too conservative..."

Leonardo shook his head bitterly and began to recalculate the Tree of Life School's losses in this conflict:

"It's not just the severe injuries to the three great wizards, but also the complete failure of their deterrent power..."

In the wizarding world's ecosystem, strength is the foundation of all power.

When a faction's top combat power is publicly crushed, its position in various negotiations will inevitably decline significantly.

"We must immediately contact other schools of thought..."

He forced himself to calm down and began to consider specific strategies for dealing with the crisis:
"If Cassandra really decides to liquidate her, we need as many allies as possible to support her..."

On the other side, after the battle ended.

"Serafina".

Cassandra's voice was calm as still water, but the underlying threat silenced the entire arena.

"Although according to the rules, I cannot kill you great wizards."

However, completely annexing your entire school's territory is still achievable.

She descended slowly:
Give me one reason not to destroy this place.

Serafina's projection re-condensed in the air, but it was noticeably dimmer than before.

The severe damage to the ethereal body made it difficult for her to even maintain normal consciousness projection.
“Cassandra…we have an agreement…”

Her voice was noticeably weak, each word seeming to drain all her strength:

"The Tree of Life School and the Crystal Spire, a cooperative relationship spanning countless years..."

"protocol?"

Cassandra sneered:
“The agreement doesn’t say you can hurt my people.”

Purple flames began to leap around her.

Under this threat, even the earth began to tremble, as if in fear of the impending judgment.

"We didn't know how important that young man was to you..."

Serafina attempted to defend herself, her tone almost pleading:
“If we had known he was your… most valuable asset, we would never have let him get involved in this level of experiment…”

This argument actually acknowledges the "fault" of the Tree of Life school, but at the same time implies that this fault was "unintentional."

But Cassandra was clearly annoyed by this kind of pointless platitudes.

"I know now."

She waved her hand: "Stop this foolish ritual immediately and release all the survivors."

"Otherwise, the Tree of Life School should disappear from this world."

………………

In the central area of ​​the arena, the members of the Sand Sea School team, who were struggling to hold on, could hardly believe their eyes.

"Master Tower, what's wrong...?"

Before Ron could finish speaking, he saw Cassandra easily raise her right hand.

The gesture was so casual, as if he were shooing away an annoying mosquito.

But the effect was devastating.

The human centipede aggregate emitted a desperate scream, but that sound was quickly swallowed up by nothingness.

The entire monster shrank and decomposed at a visible speed, and the forcibly fused flesh and blood tissue was forcibly separated by some irresistible force.

Leona and Winnie's twisted consciousnesses let out their final wails:
"No, it's the perfect form we finally achieved!"

"Why...why do you have to destroy our art..."

But this lamentation quickly vanished as it was swallowed by the "Abyss of Greed".

Those resurrected individuals who were forcibly merged were separated back into independent individuals.

Although they are all dead, they have at least gained the basic dignity of being "human beings".

The entire process took less than ten seconds, and the terrifying enemy that had left Ron and his team helpless was easily dealt with.

Cassandra stood in the center of the arena ruins, but her expression was not as gentle as Ron had imagined.

"Ron."

Her voice regained its usual coldness and sternness:

Do you know how much I paid to save you this time?

This question was like a bucket of cold water poured over Ron's head.

"Master of the Tower, I..."

Cassandra raised her hand to stop him from speaking.

"Crossing the quadrant, forcibly projecting a phallus to fight three great wizards."

Cassandra slowly walked towards him:
"Activating the Crown Clan's highest-level teleportation array consumes enough star threads to purchase a small colony."

“Using the core capabilities of ‘Abyss of Greed’ has depleted my accumulated power over the past few years.”

"Not to mention the series of chain reactions brought about by completely breaking ties with the Tree of Life School."

She stopped in front of Ron, looking down at the young man:
Do you think this level of rescue operation is free?

Upon hearing this, Edwin, Lacour, Pattridge, and the others quickly and tactfully stepped aside and waited at a safe distance.

They were all intelligent people and could sense that this conversation was not suitable for outsiders to overhear.

At the same time, they are also reassessing Ron's true position within the Conquest faction.

"For the tower owner to go to such lengths for the rescue..."

Edwin pondered to himself:

"It seems that Ralph's value far exceeds our previous understanding."

Laku then recalled some rumors that his mentor, Salamander, had mentioned:
"It is said that the cost of activating the Crown Clan's teleportation array each time is enough to bankrupt a small family..."

Although the three were quite far apart, they could all feel the heavy atmosphere emanating from the core of the conversation.

"Moreover, you put yourself in this danger because of your own choice."

Cassandra's tone became sharper, cutting to the heart of the matter:
"No one forced you to participate in this Night of Elements, and no one asked you to take risks beyond your capabilities."

A hint of disappointment appeared in her eyes:
"As a wizard, you should understand the importance of risk assessment."

This criticism is more powerful than any angry roar.

Ron understood that what Cassandra said was absolutely true.

Although he came to the Land of Shifting Sands for the purpose of bloodline awakening, participating in this competition was indeed his own decision.

Moreover, after discovering the anomaly of the ritual, he had the opportunity to retreat, but instead chose to delve deeper.

“I understand, Tower Master.”

He spoke sincerely, his voice devoid of any pretense or excuse:
"It was indeed my oversight this time that caused you trouble."

"Cause trouble?" Cassandra sneered.
"If it's just troublesome, I won't bother with it at all."

She turned to look at the ruins of the battlefield, her eyes sweeping over the scattered fragments of dragon bones and the distorted elemental crystals:
“You are the key figure in our plan, Ron.”

Your safety is crucial to the future strategic plans of the entire conquest faction, and to the life and death of countless people.

"We need to do some serious calculations."

At this point, she turned around, her gaze sharp.

"So, how do you want me to compensate you for this?"

Ron looked up and stared directly into Cassandra's eyes.

Since Cassandra chose to openly discuss the costs, he should respond with the same candor.

Cassandra nodded, clearly approving of her reaction:

“Very good, it seems you have indeed learned something important tonight.”

She gently stroked her chin:

"Do you remember what I said after I treated Eve?"

Besides letting you choose treasures from the Crown Clan's treasury, I also promised to repay you in due course.

Ron nodded; of course he remembered that conversation.

"This rescue operation has just offset that debt of gratitude."

Cassandra said calmly, "From now on, we're even in this respect." For wizards, owing favors is often a heavier burden than owing magic stones.

Because the standards for repaying favors are often vague and unclear, and their value increases over time.

"in addition."

Her tone became more serious:

"You must fully cooperate with the next 'peaceful evolution' plan."

This is not as a reward for the rescue efforts, but as a reasonable return on my investment.

At this point, the witch's voice took on an undeniable air of authority:

"The risks I take to protect you need to be offset by your technical contributions."

This is an investment, and I look forward to seeing the corresponding returns.

Although Cassandra's coldness is oppressive, this clear sense of self-interest is more reliable than feigned warmth.

At least within this system, Ron knows his place, understands the other party's expectations, and knows how to maintain this cooperative relationship.

In the distance, Dean Salamanda arrived hurriedly with a group of members from the Sand Sea School.

“Lord Tower.” He bowed respectfully to Cassandra.

"Thank you so much for your timely support. Without your intervention, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

“It’s within my job responsibilities.” Cassandra’s response was concise:
“Ron is an important researcher for the Conquest faction, and protecting his safety is in our overall interest.”

"The Night of Elements has come to an end," she announced.
"The follow-up work will be handled by you, including site cleanup, treatment of the injured, and writing of relevant reports."

“Understood, Tower Master,” Salamanda replied immediately.
"I will arrange a special investigation team to record this incident in detail."

“Special attention should be paid to documenting the violations committed by the Tree of Life School.” Cassandra’s tone became serious.

"They used the guise of academic exchange to conduct large-scale human experiments, which seriously violated the basic rules of the wizarding world."

“I want to see the complete evidence document within a week, which will be an important basis for our attack on them in the Court of Truth.”

After finishing her administrative duties, Cassandra turned to Ron, her expression becoming even more focused.

"Your bloodline awakening seems to have been very successful," she commented succinctly.
"In a sense, this is the only satisfactory outcome of this chaotic operation."

Ron could understand the subtext in her words.

Although they successfully prevented the Tree of Life School's large-scale ritual, the Conquest faction actually gained very little from this incident.

A lot of resources were spent on support, but the main rewards were some intelligence value and research samples.

From a purely input-output perspective, this isn't particularly worthwhile.

"Thank you for your timely assistance, Tower Master." He expressed his gratitude respectfully.
"Without your intervention, we really couldn't have dealt with that level of threat."

“A pragmatic choice.” Cassandra waved her hand dismissively.
"Your research capabilities are crucial to the Conquestists' future planning, and protecting this investment is a rational decision."

"As I promised you, I will devote myself fully to the project development work," he assured.

"However, I think the biggest gain may not be on a material level."

“Oh?” Cassandra raised an eyebrow.

“That witch named Caroline.” Ron pointed to the half-dead figure not far away:
"She possesses the inner knowledge of the Tree of Life school and is currently in a very special state of life and death."

"She is an extremely valuable living specimen for studying the workings of resurrection mechanisms."

Cassandra looked at Caroline, following Ron's gaze.

The other party's current situation is indeed very unusual.

Most of the biochemically modified organs in the body have become ineffective.

However, the residual effects of the resurrection mechanism cause her cellular structure to exhibit a peculiar "active dormancy" state.

It is neither complete death nor normal survival, but a superposition state in between.

This state is unstable under normal conditions and should collapse rapidly toward either life or death.

However, some unknown factor maintained this delicate balance, creating an excellent window of opportunity for transformation.

"It is indeed an interesting sample."

Cassandra approached Caroline and crouched down to carefully observe her physical characteristics.

"The blurring of the line between life and death..."

She murmured to herself, "There have been similar cases in the research records of the Second Era."

"If we can analyze the maintenance mechanism of this state in depth, it will be of great help to our understanding of the nature of life."

Ron added at the opportune moment:

"She had also provided important information about the true purpose of this ceremony."

"Choosing to self-destruct at a critical moment to destroy the internal structure of the aggregate objectively helped our operation."

"From the perspective of cooperation, they should be considered as potential partners."

This pragmatic assessment earned Cassandra's satisfied nod.

"Then let's take it back." She made her final decision.
“Arrange for her to receive treatment in the medical department, but appropriate monitoring and restrictions should be implemented.”

"After all, her body still bears traces of modifications made by the Tree of Life School, and her safety needs to be ensured."

Just as Cassandra was about to finish cleaning up the scene, a strange sight caught her attention.

On the edge of the battlefield, a transparent crystal structure stands silently like a work of art.

Cecilia remains breathtakingly beautiful, like a goddess statue from mythology.

But her eyes burned with an indescribable despair, the pain of being conscious but completely imprisoned.

"What's going on here?" Cassandra walked around the crystal cage with great interest.

“A witch with obsessive-compulsive disorder about aesthetics,” Ron briefly introduced.

“She has the ability to ‘reconstruct aesthetics,’ but she cannot tolerate anything that is imperfect.”

"In the end, he was trapped in this absolutely perfect prison by his own perfectionism."

Ironically, this cage did achieve the perfect standard she sought, but at the cost of forever losing the possibility of change.

This phenomenon reminded Cassandra of some distant memories.

At the end of the Third Age, there was a genius archmage named Theodore the Perfectionist.

He specifically studied the transformative effect of aesthetics on reality, believing that absolute beauty has the power to reconstruct the material world.

But this research ultimately went to extremes.

Theodore attempted to use "aesthetic transformation" to eliminate all "ugliness" in the world, including natural phenomena such as disease, aging, and death.

This arrogant attempt provoked strong opposition from various forces, ultimately leading to his downfall.

“If I’m not mistaken…” Cassandra carefully observed Cecilia’s facial features:
"This girl should be a descendant of Theodore, deliberately raised here by the Tree of Life School."

"That morbid pursuit of perfection and the innate ability to 'reconstruct aesthetics' are highly consistent with the records in ancient books."

This discovery intensified her interest.

A young witch with the blood of a great wizard, possessing special abilities, but with an incomplete mind...

From a research perspective, this is practically perfect experimental material.

Besides, Cecilia's current condition is very suitable for "adjustment".

If intervention can be implemented during this critical period, it could potentially reshape her values ​​and loyalty.

“I will take her back with me,” Cassandra stated her decision.

“Tower Master, this cage…” Ron pointed with some concern to the crystal structure that looked exceptionally sturdy.

"piece of cake."

Cassandra casually cast a space-shrinking spell.

The entire cage was enveloped by some unseen force and rapidly shrank to the size of a palm.

Eve has been complaining lately that life lacks fun.

She stored the shrunken cage in her storage space:
“These two ‘special cases’ should make her free time more fulfilling.”

The night breeze gently swept across the sandy sea, carrying away the lingering smells of blood and sulfur in the air.

Cassandra is preparing for her return.

“Remember, Ron.”

In the final moments before the teleportation was complete, she spoke:

"In this world, true security comes only from absolute power."

"Any state of relying on the protection of others is only a temporary expedient."

"Only when you possess the power to intimidate all your enemies can you truly control your own destiny."

With a flash of light, Cassandra vanished into the night sky, leaving only lingering magical fluctuations in the air.

Ron stared in the direction she had disappeared, his heart churning with emotion.

Cassandra's final advice was both a well-intentioned reminder and a harsh reality.

In this dog-eat-dog world, relying on the protection of others is never a long-term solution.

Only one's own strength can be the fundamental guarantee for facing all challenges.

Bloodline awakening is only the first step; countless problems await him ahead.

(End of this chapter)