Wizard: Starts with Advanced Meditation

"Waaaah... Waaah—"

Soon after, deep within that crimson forest, a pillar of Quiris was emitting a faint, eerie blue light, clearly in operation.

Fern was standing next to the pillar, his eyes fixed on the crystal screen at the top of the pillar.

The colorful lines on the screen intertwine and move about, gradually untangling and outlining the underground network of this area.

However, he seemed to be in a rather strange state.

Fine beads of sweat dripped down his jawline, and his knuckles, gripping the recorder, were slightly white from the force.

Suddenly, Xiu En's voice came from beside him:

"Fern, why do I feel... the blood energy here... seems even stronger?"

His voice was noticeably paused, because the blood rushing into his nasal cavity was making him very uncomfortable.

Fern clearly realized the seriousness of the problem, and while he was rapidly taking notes, he responded:

"That's really strange. How about this, after we finish recording this one, we'll—"

"Click—"

Just then, a sound of a branch breaking suddenly rang out not far away—the sound seemed to indicate that some creature had accidentally stepped on it.

——！

Fern and Shuen exchanged a glance, and against the backdrop of the surroundings, their hearts simultaneously clenched, and a chill crept up their backs.

"who!!"

Xiu En exclaimed in surprise, and at the same time, he quickly raised his staff with his right hand and swung it sharply in the direction from which the sound came.

"Whoosh—whoosh! whoosh! whoosh!"

The next moment, three wind blades, each five meters long, instantly condensed and slashed forward simultaneously, accompanied by bursts of air explosions.

"Click—click click click—"

In an instant, the crisp cracking sound of tree trunks breaking came one after another, followed by the roar of trees falling down in unison.

"Boom! Thump—thump thump!!!"

Taking this opportunity, Fern's eyes narrowed, and his mental energy rapidly spread out in all directions.

Even though the trees in front had all fallen, the moonlight poured down, illuminating a large clearing in the forest.

However, the area from which the sound came remained completely silent, without the slightest suspicious fluctuation.

As for the darkness further away, only the intermittent chirping of insects could be heard.

At this moment, the dark forest was like a lurking beast, its jaws wide open to the two of them.

"Shuen! Immediately retrieve the communication crystal and report the anomaly here."

Fern tensed instantly, his hand already reaching for the short cane tucked into his waistband.

Xiu En didn't dare to delay and quickly took out a piece of faintly glowing crystal from his pocket.

However, just as he probed the crystal with his spiritual power, a wisp of black mist suddenly appeared out of thin air and darted onto his hand like a venomous snake.

"Sizzle—!"

With a "whoosh," the black mist instantly severed his hand, and blood gushed out, splattering onto the Pillar of Quiris beside him.

"ah--!"

Xiu En cried out in pain, then quickly covered his severed hand and knelt down on the ground with a pained expression.

Thick black energy was seen seeping into his flesh from his grotesque severed wound, gradually devouring his blood and flesh.

"Black...Black Crown of Honor!!"

Upon seeing the black mist, Fern immediately thought of the Shadow of Black Mist. His pupils contracted sharply, and he was about to activate his displacement spell.

"Whoosh—whoosh!!"

But then, two wisps of black mist instantly flew out from the bushes not far away and condensed in front of them into two figures wearing black cloaks.

Beneath the hood, two pairs of scarlet eyes stared intently at them, their sharp fangs gleaming coldly in the darkness.

"Vampires?!"

Fern's body jolted, and he immediately drew his short staff from his waist, ready to subdue the two "ignorant" vampires in front of him.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be staying in town and keeping to yourselves?!"

—Whoosh, whoosh

Before he could finish speaking, the two vampires vanished from their spot in a flash.

Their movements were as fast as ghosts, and they subdued Fern, who was about to make a move, in an instant.

"Whoosh—swish! Swish!"

Before the other party could resist, several black chains shot out from nowhere, locking his body firmly in place.

"Ugh—!"

The next second, the chains turned into black mist, which also seeped into Fern's body, rendering him unable to move.

"Heh, two idiots."

After dealing with the two, one of the vampires quickly stepped forward, and a drop of scarlet blood immediately appeared on the tip of his raised finger.

With a gentle flick, the blood droplet condensed into two dark red lines, which burrowed into the necks of Fern and Shuen respectively.

"Ugh—Ahhh!!"

The next moment, the two men suddenly convulsed, the veins on their foreheads bulging, and muffled groans of pain escaping their throats.

While the two were struggling in pain, another vampire had already flashed to the Pillar of Quiris.

He tapped the crystal screen a few times, and the lines on it suddenly changed, outlining an underground network diagram that was slightly different from the previous one.

At the same time, Shuen and Fern stopped convulsing.

"Splash, splash—"

Not only that, Xiu En's severed hand regrowed at a speed visible to the naked eye, without even leaving a scar.

However, the clarity in their eyes gradually faded, replaced by a dull, scarlet red.

The two were like puppets on strings, quietly awaiting the instructions of the vampire before them.

This is Bevic's mark, and its most terrifying aspect is that the aura of a vampire can only be detected when it is in effect.

When it is not in effect, it dissolves into the host's blood, just like ordinary blood, and almost no abnormality can be detected.

Just like now—

"Snap—"

The vampire snapped his fingers crisply, and the next second, the crimson in Fern and Shuen's eyes faded abruptly, and their vision gradually cleared.

"..."

But then, the two of them closed their eyes and immediately fainted while standing.

"How is it?"

After glancing at the two unconscious men, the vampire turned his head and looked at his companion who was walking towards him.

"With the authority granted by Lord Valerius, no trace of alteration can be found on those Pillars of Quiris."

The other person nodded, then looked at the two people who were standing there blankly.

"What will they do?"

"Let's keep them for now. If they disappear, it will definitely alert the watchers. Anyway, with Bevic's mark, 'they' can wake up at any time, after all..."

The conversation abruptly shifted, and the vampire's tone suddenly became strange:

"After all—aren't we the same kind of beings?"

"Hehehehe..."

With their laughter, they transformed into two wisps of black mist once more and sped off into the distance.