Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

With a tap of the finger, one is instantly transported to the exciting world of Chapter 172, the Channel Crisis.

three days later.

When Kenna rushed into the alchemy room, Ian was cooling down a potion.

The firelight illuminated half of his face as he held a crystal rod in his fingers and stirred it at a steady pace, the liquid turning from deep purple to a stagnant dark blue.

"grown ups."

Kenner stood in the doorway, panting, his forehead covered in sweat.

He didn't dare go inside, his hand gripping the doorframe. "Something's happened."

Ian didn't look up. With a flick of his wrist, the crystal rod tapped twice on the edge of the pot, and fine bubbles rose to the surface of the liquid.

"explain."

"The message Robert just sent back."

Kenner swallowed hard, his voice strained. "All three of our suppliers have cut off contact."

"Regarding the Abyss Runestones, the manager of the Rococo Merchant Guild said that 'someone made a call,' and he dares not supply us anymore."

"The warehouse supplying the etching magic iron powder was raided last night. All the goods are gone, and the boss has run away."

"And that black market dealer who smuggles Abyss Crystal fragments... Robert went to see him today, but the place was deserted, with only a corpse left in the shop, its throat slit and the blood still wet."

Ian stopped.

On the surface of the medicine, bubbles burst one by one, making a soft "pop" sound.

He put down the crystal stick and turned around.

The fire cast a long shadow behind him, stretching all the way to Kenner's feet.

"Where is the body?"

"South alley of the outer tower area, behind the abandoned warehouse."

Kenner's voice trembled. "Robert was still there staring, and he said... there was something on the body."

Ian took the dark gray cloak off the wall, put it on, and fastened the collar.

"lead the way."

He didn't bring Gaga this time; it was sent to monitor the library and usually spends most of its time playing at the potions shop.

It was already completely dark in the South Alley of the Outer Tower District.

The alley was narrow, with half-collapsed stone walls on both sides, and dark green moss growing in the cracks between the walls.

The wind blew by, carrying with it a smell of rotting wood and blood mixed together.

Robert crouched in the shadows behind the warehouse door. When he saw Ian coming, he went to meet him and pointed to the ground.

A male corpse.

Wearing a black leather robe, he lay face down with a long gash cut from the back of his neck to his spine, the flesh turned inside out, exposing the bone, and blood soaking the stone slab beneath him.

But the fatal wound was in the throat.

The blade was very fine, making a clean and neat cut from left to right; it was clearly done by an experienced hand.

Ian crouched down and used his fingertips to pull open the corpse's collar.

There is a mark on the skin, near the collarbone.

It has five purple petals and a twisted rune pattern in the center.

"The Purple Iris Merchant Guild," Robert said in a low voice.

"A well-known dark organization in the underworld, specializing in dirty work, charging high fees, but they are clean and leave very few traces."

"I kept it this time," Ian said.

"It was intentional." Robert's face turned pale.

"This is a warning: anyone who supplies us again will suffer the same fate."

Ian didn't say anything.

He stretched out his hand and hovered it three inches above the mark.

A faint silver light shone from the fingertip, like a probe gently piercing the skin.

hum.

Deep within the imprint, a faint spiritual fluctuation remains.

Chaotic, cold, with a certain... sense of ritual.

"Not an ordinary assassin." Ian withdrew his hand and stood up.

"The person who did this must be at least a level one wizard, and proficient in shadow-based or curse-based tracking techniques."

The killer left "anchor points" on the body so that anyone investigating could trace the evidence in reverse.

Robert and Kenner both took a step back.

"So now we..."

"It's already triggered." Ian interrupted him, his gaze fixed on the depths of the alley.

"The other side knows we're here."

Before he could finish speaking...

Footsteps could be heard from both ends of the alley at the same time.

It was light, but dense, like a group of cats scurrying across the roof tiles.

In total, there were at least seven or eight people.

Kenner drew his greatsword from his back, and Robert pulled out two explosive rune nails. They stood back to back.

Ian's expression remained calm.

He raised his right hand, his five fingers loosely clenched, and thirty-six floating crystal guardians silently slid out from his sleeve, hovering around him and slowly rotating.

A figure appeared at the alley entrance.

The three in front and the four behind were all dressed in black robes, masked, and holding curved short knives.

The blade was engraved with fine runes, which gleamed with a dark purple light in the night.

The one in the lead wasn't very tall, but he had broad shoulders.

He wasn't wearing a mask; his face was covered by a silver-white metal mask, revealing only his two eyes, whose pupils were dark red.

"Ian Marcus".

The masked man spoke, his voice hoarse, like sandpaper grinding against a stone, "I've been waiting for you for a long time."

Ian ignored him, his eyes filled with curiosity. How could an ordinary merchant guild dare to offend a first-level wizard?

His gaze passed over the masked man and landed on the two black-robed figures behind him who hadn't moved an inch.

His aura was as deep as an abyss.

The two people stood casually, even a little relaxed, but the energy fluctuations around them were as solid as blocks of iron.

Level 1, and the pinnacle of atomization, just a step away from liquefaction.

"When did the Purple Iris Merchant Guild acquire such a powerful figure?" Ian said.

The masked man sneered.

"Don't pry into our origins." He flicked his wrist, and a curved dagger was held horizontally in front of his chest.

"Someone has offered a high price for the procurement channels for the materials you have, and... you yourself."

"Me?"

"Alive, double the price; dead, also acceptable." The masked man paused.

Lost items? He has a lot of shady things on him, I don't know which one the other person is talking about.

But the most likely candidates are the Crimson Court and the Withered Council.

But the underground caverns have been closed, and the Demon Hunter War ended months ago, so how can they still trace it back to him?

The wizarding world certainly has more methods than he imagined.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ian denied calmly.

"But since you're here, let's see what you're really capable of."

The masked man stopped talking nonsense.

With a wave of his hand, seven black-robed figures rushed forward simultaneously!

Kenna and Robert faced the three ahead. (The novel "Wizard: My Skills Can Break Through Infinitely" is currently being serialized on Cola Novels and is not to be missed!) The greatsword and rune nail clashed, sparks flying.

The four men in black robes behind them were even faster, forming a pincer movement in pairs. Their curved short swords drew dark purple arcs as they aimed straight for Ian's throat and chest!

Ian's eyes showed disdain.

He took a half step forward with his left foot, and brought his right index and middle fingers together, pointing forward slightly.

【Frost Ray】.

Pale purple light burst forth from fingertips, causing the temperature to plummet and the moisture in the air to instantly condense into ice crystals.

The light swept across like threads, and the first black-robed swordsman's blade stopped in mid-air. His arm and shoulder were severed diagonally, and his upper body slid directly to the ground.

The second man in black robes tried to dodge, but the ray swept past his ribs and burned his body to ashes.

"Ah! Ah!"

The two screams stopped abruptly.

Ian spread his fingers on his left hand and pressed down.

Thirty-six floating crystal satellites lit up simultaneously!

hum!

A pale golden energy barrier unfolded around him, and the third and fourth black-robed swords struck the barrier.

It emitted a piercing, metallic clang, and the blade chipped.

Just as the two were blasted away, the floating crystal guards caught up and pierced their skulls.

The whole process took less than two seconds.

The masked man's pupils contracted.

The intelligence report stated that the target was a newly promoted Level 1 Alchemist, skilled in potions, but with average combat abilities.

This is what you call average?

He suddenly stepped back, at the same time pulling a bone whistle from his pocket, putting it in his mouth, and blowing it forcefully.

No sound.

But suddenly, the shadows on the walls on both sides of the alley came to life!

Black tendrils emerged from the cracks in the bricks, growing wildly and weaving into a net that enveloped Ian.

The surface of the tentacles is covered with fine barbs, the tips of which split open to reveal sucker-like mouthparts.

Shadow-based parasitic witchcraft.

Ian frowned.

This thing is troublesome; it's not afraid of physical attacks and has high energy resistance.

Once entangled, it will continuously drain the host's life force and mental energy.

Just as he was about to activate [Collapse Starburst], a muffled groan came from behind him.

Over there, one of the three men in black robes suddenly pulled out a handful of powder and scattered it, filling the air with a pungent, sour smell.

Kenner couldn't dodge in time, and his arm was slightly touched. His skin immediately ulcerated and emitted white smoke.

"Be careful, sir!" Robert shouted after casting his shield. "The powder is highly poisonous!"

The masked man laughed.

"game over."

With a flick of his finger, the shadowy tendrils sprang to a sudden speed, like a giant net, and were now less than two meters away from Ian.

Just then.

Ian raised his right hand, palm up, and slowly closed his fingers.

hum!

The runes on the surface of the gray sphere lit up one by one, turning from pale white to incandescent white, as energy was frantically compressed, collapsed, and compressed again inside...

[Collapse Starburst], an improved version.

The new model that Ian has been developing over the past two months has increased energy compression efficiency by 70%, at the cost of doubling energy consumption, but its power...

He pushed his palm forward.

boom!!!

A blazing white sphere of light erupted from the center of the Crystal Guardian, expanding instantly and engulfing the entire alley.

Light, heat, shock wave.

The shadow tentacles vaporized the moment they touched the sphere of light, leaving not even ashes.

A black-robed figure was thrown by the shockwave, crashing into the wall and the ground, the sound of bones shattering clearly audible.

The masked man reacted the fastest, tearing open a scroll the instant the light sphere exploded. His figure blurred, transforming into a cloud of black mist as he retreated rapidly.

But we were still a step too late.

The edge of the sphere of light grazed his left shoulder, instantly carbonizing his black robe. His skin and muscles charred and peeled off, revealing the white bones beneath.

"Ugh!"

The masked man screamed, the black mist dissipated, and he disappeared, presumably having used a secret escape technique.

Another person in black robes looked up at Ian, their eyes filled with fear.

"You... what exactly are you...?"

He hadn't finished speaking.

Ian was already standing in front of him.

He raised his right hand, placing the tip of his index finger against the black-robed man's brow.

"The employer's name," Ian said calmly.

The man in the black robe was completely stiff.

He could feel that the energy gathered at that fingertip was enough to blast his head to pieces from the inside out.

"...The Purple Iris Merchant Guild has rules..." he said through gritted teeth.

Ian pressed his fingertips down a point.

The skin between the black-robed man's eyebrows was sunken, and blood beads oozed out.

"name."

"...I don't know his real name." The man in black finally broke down.

"The other party contacted us through an intermediary, paid a deposit, and said that the final payment would be tripled after the deal was done."

All I know is... they came from the south, and they carried the stench of death and decay.

The Crimson Court is mostly filled with the smell of blood, and is most likely the Withering Council.

The man in the black robe was on the ground, panting heavily.

"Where is the middleman?" Ian asked.

"Night... Nightingale Bar." The man in black robes gasped for breath.

"The outer tower area borders the black market. The signboard is a red bird, and the proprietress is called Redbird. She is one of the most well-informed middlemen in the area."

Ian nodded, killed the other man with a single finger, and turned to walk towards Kenner and Robert.

Kenner's wound on his arm had turned black, and Robert was rinsing it with first aid, but it wasn't very effective; the rotting flesh was still spreading.

Ian crouched down, took out a dark green potion from his dimensional ring, uncorked it, and poured it directly onto the wound.

[Potential treatment]

The moment the medicine came into contact with the skin, a plume of black smoke rose from the ulcer, and the rotten flesh peeled off at a visible speed, revealing new pink flesh growing underneath.

Kenna winced in pain, but didn't cry out.

"Bear with it," Ian said. "This medicine stimulates cell regeneration, so pain is normal."

Half a minute later, the wound healed, leaving a light red scar.

Kenna stretched his arms and let out a long breath: "Thank you, sir."

"Go back and rest." Ian got up and searched the man in black. "Robert, come with me."

"Yes."

The two men left the alley, leaving behind several corpses and a pile of ashes.