Wizard: Starts with Advanced Meditation

Finally, the view ahead suddenly opened up, and Hughes and his companions finally saw the familiar road. In the distance, there was a black dot—the tower where the official wizards stationed at Outpost No. 5 lived.

As Hughes and his group of five rushed out of the Whispering Forest, the Corrupted Dryads behind them dared not approach. The Corrupted Dryads had a strong sense of territory, and besides, this place was just the limit of Wols' control.

The remaining corrupted tree spirits stayed at the edge of the forest, roaring at Hughes and his companions who had run out of the forest. After a while, the five figures gradually disappeared from their sight, and they had no choice but to turn around and leave, their figures disappearing into the depths of the forest.

Hughes and his group of five stepped onto the familiar road, their steps becoming lighter as they relaxed, but their speed remained unchanged. The distant black dot gradually became clearer in their field of vision, and the tall tower stood silently, like a stable coordinate, marking the boundary of safety.

The roars behind them grew fainter and fainter until they were completely blown away by the wind. The giant ice hand that Elena summoned could no longer hold on and, with a crisp "crack," it turned into a pile of ice shards in the air.

They glanced back at the deep forest, only to find that the corrupted tree spirit had vanished into the depths of the woods as if it had never existed. The trees of the Whispering Forest remained as dense as ever, as if there were no entrance at all.

……

Hughes and his group arrived at the gate of Outpost No. 5. The screening at the outpost was very strict, and each person had to show proof to enter. Elena gripped Hughes's clothes tightly with her left hand and reached into her storage bag with her right hand to take out her entry pass.

After the two guards confirmed their presence, they allowed everyone to enter. Vivian then prepared for the three of them to go to the fortress to report the situation in Whispering Woods to the person in charge of the outpost.

Hughes, meanwhile, was carrying Elena, preparing to take her to heal her wounds. The stronghold had a healing room where a wizard skilled in healing magic provided blood-replenishing potions. Just as Hughes was about to head there, a fair, delicate hand grabbed his collar tightly.

It was Elena. She opened her eyes with difficulty, her crimson pupils staring silently at Hughes, her right hand gripping Hughes' collar trembling slightly.

"Take me back to my room, not the treatment room," Elena said in a cool voice. Her eyes were fixed on Hughes, but Hughes seemed to see a faint threat in those beautiful eyes.

Hughes simply carried her to their dormitory. On the way, Hughes sensed something was wrong. Elena was quite famous, not only because she was the daughter of a second-level wizard, but also because of her enviable talent.

Their intimate behavior naturally attracted the attention of the apprentices on the road.

"Hey, isn't that Irene from the Mosold family? She's being held in the arms of a male apprentice!"

"Could he be her boyfriend?! Who is that male apprentice? Could he be some young master from the heart of the mainland?"

"Are you stupid? How could someone from the center of the continent be here? Isn't that Hughes Craig?"

"Hughes Craig? That supposedly very talented Potions apprentice?"

"It is said that he cursed a male apprentice to death."

"..."

Hughes carried Elena down the street, veins throbbing on his forehead. He rarely went out except to attend classes, and when he did, he would disguise himself and sell potions on the black market. He never expected so many people to recognize him.

"I didn't expect them to still remember those things from before, and to spread them so wildly," Hughes thought.

Irene, however, ignored the surrounding chatter and quietly rested in Hughes's arms with her eyes closed.

Hughes "laboriously" returned to the cabin, and as he went upstairs, he retaliated by bouncing up a bit, taking the opportunity to gain some advantage. Looking at the swaying "white rabbit," Hughes sighed inwardly at the small, large fruit hidden under his black robe; he hadn't had time to notice it while he was busy escaping.

Elena remained expressionless, but a faint blush seemed to rise on her face. Hughes didn't linger, after all, she was a third-class wizard apprentice and his captain; it was best to stop there for now.

Hughes opened Elena's door. Her room was simple and tidy, with bookshelves filled with books. He put her on the bed and left the room.

……

Each outpost is guarded by at least one official wizard from Everfrost Spire. They are not usually on missions, but are stationed at the outpost to handle emergencies that the apprentices cannot resolve.

The academy will automatically distribute battle merits to them according to the date, and it is only when the war between Everfrost Spire and Frostskin Dwarves comes to an end and the two sides engage in the final battle that they will make their appearance.

El Puss is a formal wizard stationed at Outpost Five. He usually stays in the tower of Outpost Five, conducting experiments.

In the laboratory at the top of the tower, the fluorescent liquid in the distillation flask was bubbling, its sound blending strangely with the faint noise coming from below.

El raised his hand and rubbed his temples, shifting his attention away from the swaying liquid. Outside the window, the stronghold's defensive barrier gleamed faintly in the setting sun, and the apprentices at the bottom of the tower were carrying out their tasks in a chaotic yet orderly manner.

During this period, nothing important came from the stronghold below the tower. The apprentices were either fighting or doing chores. Countless apprentices would surely die in this war, after all, that's how he had survived it all.

Just as he was admiring the view outside the window, a snow spirit flew up carrying a package. El recognized it; it was sent by the head of the outpost. It seemed that something had happened at the outpost.

El took the package from Xue Ling and opened it. Inside was a letter and a recording crystal. This recording crystal was distributed by the academy to each apprentice team so that apprentices could use it to quickly record unexpected situations.

El watched the letter and the video recording in the photographic crystal. The contents of the recording sent a shiver down his spine, and a memory from his adulthood surfaced in his mind...

"Soul intervention is an advanced technology in biological modification. It can make subtle modifications to an organism when its soul is weak, and the organism may develop some characteristics that are inconsistent with its race after it grows up."

An elderly wizard stood in a spacious classroom, explaining the knowledge of biological modification. The students below were all formal wizards, and they listened very attentively. The wizard on the podium was none other than the headmaster of Everfrost Spire—Nord Mellonros!

"Soul intervention involves knowledge of soul anatomy, soul structure, etc."

A young wizard in the audience listened intently, clearly very interested in the knowledge of soul intervention. He took out a thick notebook and recorded everything the dean explained.

……

"boom!!"

A huge purple fireball roared as it hurtled toward the corrupted tree spirit, striking it precisely in the face and causing a massive explosion.

The corrupted tree spirit's head was blasted off by the massive fireball, and it, having reached the level of a full-fledged wizard, met its tragic end in the northwest.