Wizard: Starts with Advanced Meditation

"Hughes...Craig."

In stark contrast to before, Valerius's tone suddenly turned icy cold, devoid of any warmth.

"I'll be frank with some things, so you'd better not play dumb with me or try to fool me."

At this moment, on the other side...

Hughes felt as if his body and soul were being crushed, yet he was precisely locked at the point where he could still speak, unable to move an inch.

At that moment, Valerius's voice came from ahead again:

"Just now... you must have seen Barossa's true identity."

His eyes narrowed slightly, and his originally bright golden pupils had somehow turned crimson.

"Don't be surprised, because I am too."

As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding air suddenly turned scarlet, and a faint smell of blood instantly filled Hughes's nostrils.

"clatter--"

Valerius walked slowly forward, the hem of his robe gently brushing the ground without making a sound.

In the blink of an eye, the originally white robe was stained with scarlet, and even the five most dazzling gold rings were dulled by the blood.

"But you don't seem surprised?"

He walked up to Hughes and slowly extended his hands toward him.

"Tell me, why? Did you always intend to become a blood witch, or... have you been in secret contact with a vampire all along?"

With that, he placed his palms on either side of Hughes's head.

"Buzz...buzz..."

The next moment, crimson light slowly emanated from his palm, accompanied by a series of eerie buzzing sounds.

Clearly, if Hughes's answer did not satisfy him, he would not hesitate to crush the other's head on the spot.

Surprisingly, despite the overwhelming sense of death, Hughes showed no fear in his eyes; instead, he calmly gazed at his opponent.

"Lord Valerius, I think you have misunderstood me."

The next moment, he calmly spoke:

"From the very beginning, I've actually been one of your people."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Valerius frowned slightly, and his hands, which were imbued with blood energy, paused for a moment.

"What do you mean?"

The next second, a beam of blood suddenly burst forth from Hughes' neck without warning.

"Buzz—!"

Under the glow of the blood-red light, a scarlet line slowly flowed across his neck, gradually outlining a vampire rune imbued with ancient rhythm.

"This is?!"

Upon seeing this, Valerius's pupils suddenly contracted, and even the blood energy swirling in his palm slightly subsided.

"How did you get this?!"

He questioned him sharply, his expression already betraying his rage.

"I think... this is what you, Lord Valerius, are thinking."

In contrast, Hughes remained calm, his tone barely changing.

"Actually, I had originally intended to visit Lord Valerius on behalf of my master."

He paused, then his lips twitched slightly, and he said with a hint of helplessness:

"But I didn't expect you to 'invite' me over first."

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire hall fell into dead silence, with only the humming sound of blood energy flowing through Valerius's palm.

"Buzz, buzz..."

As for him, he fell into deep thought.

That blood-red light was none other than "Bevic's Mark," which meant that Hughes had already become a slave of the vampires.

But what caught his attention was the vampire runes that appeared on the other person's neck when the blood light surged.

But that rune only has...

"Buzz—whoosh..."

After a brief moment of contemplation, Valerius withdrew his hands and dissipated the blood energy in his palms.

At the same time, the pressure on Hughes suddenly eased.

"Hmm, it seems I was overthinking it."

Valerius resumed his previous friendly attitude, as if the threat had never occurred.

"Please give my regards to the man behind you, Wizard Hughes."

Across from him, Hughes had straightened up again, but his expression turned somewhat strange after hearing the other person's words.

"Of course, Lord Valerius. I also extend my greetings to you on behalf of my master."

"Hehe, I wonder..."

Unexpectedly, Valerius suddenly changed the subject and became somewhat serious.

"I wonder...when is she planning to come back?"

The tone was like that of an elder questioning a younger person who has left home, but there was also a hint of unusual urgency in it.

Upon hearing this, Hughes was slightly taken aback, then replied respectfully:

"Lord Valerius, please do not concern yourself with this matter."

Then, he also changed the subject, speaking quite seriously:

"My mistress has her own plans."

As soon as he finished speaking, a deathly silence fell between them once again.

Valerius's eyes narrowed, his sharp gaze falling on Hughes opposite him, and an invisible sense of pressure suddenly came over him.

"..."

After a long silence, he let out a cold snort.

"Hmph, then tell her for me: come back soon, time is running out."

Upon hearing this, Hughes felt a sudden chill.

Knowing a great deal, he naturally understood the meaning behind those words.

But on the surface, he still smiled faintly and said:

"I understand, Lord Valerius."

Suddenly, he seemed to remember something and then spoke:

"Oh, right, Lord Valerius, there's actually one more thing."

As he spoke, he slowly stepped forward and took out the badge that once belonged to the Everfrost Spire from his pocket.

The badge was engraved with a blood-red rune, and inside were sealed the points he had accumulated during the trial, which were also the blood of Osiris.

(As mentioned in chapter 349, Iluya tampered with the badge, ensuring that Hughes' points were not taken back after the trial.)

"This is for you. The master said it will be helpful for 'that plan' you're currently undertaking."

After saying that, he handed over the badge.

"Furthermore, when the Five Crown Trials were underway, my master had already taken some treasures from your treasury as payment for your help this time."

"In order to stabilize the situation, she rashly used the imitation stone to imitate the stolen items. Please don't mind it."

Judging by the timeline, those magical artifacts that were originally placed in the treasure vault should be reaching the point where their mimicry effects dissipate...

"Oh, it's you guys."

Upon hearing this, Valerius immediately understood, and then remembered that someone had broken into his secret realm.

After dealing with his troubles, he thoroughly searched the treasure vault but found no trace of it.

Therefore, he had already determined that the incident was simply an accident in which an apprentice had inadvertently wandered into the cave.

"It's okay, those are just little trinkets. Let her play with them if she wants."

With that, Valerius took the badge from Hughes's hand.