Wizards begin with Occlumency.

Chapter 132 First Exploration of the Secrets

Link did not resist.

Jingjing let Jasmine hug her for a while.

Once she calmed down, Jasmine sighed inwardly. She had promised herself to be independent and self-reliant, but...

She left Link's embrace, turned around, and without saying a word, simply lowered her head and kicked the sand on the ground absently.

This scene was witnessed by the five guys and the socially awkward trio through the real-time reconnaissance footage from the circular flying saucer.

Everyone had different thoughts and feelings.

"Oh no, our boss is completely infatuated with the big boss, she's fallen head over heels in love and can't extricate herself from it."

Buck Watt spoke without thinking, blurting out this remark out of the blue.

Lynn Hewitt barely managed to restrain himself from strangling Buck, and coldly said, "If you're so capable, say those words to the boss's face."

Upon hearing this, Buck couldn't help but shudder.

The title "Big Sister" was initially just a nickname that came up when the five men were hastily changing their way of speaking, and it was more of a playful nickname.

Jasmine Kidman's most commendable quality is her academic performance.

After studying diligently with Link for a semester and a half, he ranked among the top students in the first grade.

However, her disadvantage is obvious: her overall wizarding aptitude score is only third-class.

A wizard's aptitude is not reflected in their academic performance.

Rather, it is reflected in aspects such as the speed of meditation, the speed of learning witchcraft, the degree of mastery, and the intensity of witchcraft.

Logically speaking, Jasmine's meditation progress should lag behind the five gentlemen whose wizard aptitude is all at the lower fifth level.

In terms of learning and applying witchcraft, they are even less capable.

However, the reality is quite the opposite.

In the first two months of this semester, Link organized many practical witchcraft drills on the top floor of the laboratory building.

Each time the five gentlemen faced Jasmine, they couldn't gain the upper hand.

Sometimes, not only do they not have the upper hand, they also get beaten black and blue.

Even before the competition between the two districts began, none of the five brothers had been able to advance to the second-class wizard apprentice level, but Jasmine had secretly completed the advancement.

This surprised and surprised the five gentlemen.

Her status as the "big sister" has gradually become a reality, no longer just a nickname, but carries a certain intimidating power.

"Don't let the boss know what I just said, guys."

Reminded by Lynn, Buck couldn't help but recall his unpleasant past, and felt a slight toothache. He quickly looked pleadingly at his four good brothers.

Because of his talkative nature, Buck often speaks without thinking.

Sometimes, I don't know how, but I end up offending Jasmine.

Jasmine was especially enthusiastic when fighting Buck during each live-fire exercise.

Buck naturally suffered the most damage.

"rest assured!"

Ezio Leakey patted Buck on the shoulder forcefully, making a solemn promise.

Buck couldn't help but show a look of delight.

Ezio is a straightforward person who doesn't talk much, but he values ​​his word above all else and always keeps his promises.

With Ezio's promise, Buck felt much safer.

Who knew that honest people could be even more ruthless when they got into a scheme?

Ezio said with a serious expression, "We'll definitely let Big Sister know that you were just making fun of her, Buck."

"No!"

Buck, in a dramatic moment, buckled at the knees, looked up to the sky, and cried out, "The boss will kill me!"

The author expresses a wide range of emotions, including misery and grief.

It's so good that everyone who hears it grins from ear to ear and everyone who sees it is delighted.

"Alright, don't keep the big boss and the big sister waiting too long."

Lynn glanced at the socially awkward trio who weren't quite used to the way the five guys were getting along, and reminded them that it was time to get down to business.

Buck led the way, followed by Ezio, then Dijk, with the socially awkward trio sandwiched in the middle. Dalton, who was almost nowhere to be seen, came in second to last, and Lynn brought up the rear. The group climbed the ropes one by one, crossed the river, and arrived at the sandbar in the middle of the river.

"Big Sister, hehe..."

The first thing Buck did upon landing was to greet Jasmine with a sheepish grin.

"You're talking badly about me again?"

Jasmine had calmed down and, in front of Buck, resumed the demeanor she had gradually adopted this semester as a strong, independent woman.

"No...no. How could that be?"

Buck has a bad habit: he tends to stutter when he's feeling guilty.

As soon as Jasmine heard this, she knew that Buck had fallen into his old habit of speaking without thinking again.

However, she didn't pay any attention to it.

He simply followed Link's example and secretly made a mental note of it, planning to get revenge later.

Upon seeing this, Buck subconsciously touched his cheek.

Looks like you're going to have a tough time again.

"Boss, big sister."

The remaining four gentlemen and the three socially awkward individuals arrived one after another and greeted each other in unison.

Anyway, whatever the guys did or said, the three socially awkward people just followed suit.

"Um."

Link nodded.

He looked at the rope spanning the river and pondered how to deal with it.

Seeing that Link was thinking about serious matters, everyone stopped laughing and joking and remained quiet.

If you leave it there, others will immediately know that there is activity on the sandbar in the middle of the river, or that someone has been there.

Once suspicion arises, or curiosity takes hold, one is very likely to log in and explore.

At that time, the probability of conflict breaking out is extremely high.

If we don't keep it, and take it back now, we'll have to find another way to leave the sandbar in the middle of the river.

After a moment, Link made a decision: to focus on the immediate situation.

Let's not end up with our own people exploring ahead only to get kicked in the backside.

He gestured to Dalton to control the circular flying saucer to descend, and made some minor modifications, adding a wrapping and shearing device to the bottom.

After the modifications were completed, Link personally piloted the circular flying saucer to the hillside by the river, wrapped a portion of the rope around it, cut it, and then retrieved the rope.

As a result, only some traces remain on the hillside.

The likelihood of exposure will be greatly reduced.

After gesturing for the five guys and the three socially awkward ones to straighten the ropes, Link looked at Jasmine and asked, "Now can you tell me if you've figured out the key point?"

Perhaps because it had been a "quite long" period since they last met, Link's attitude towards Jasmine had changed, and his tone even carried a hint of sarcasm.

Jasmine quickly realized that Link was teasing her for giving her a bear hug when they first met, and then being too shy to look up and speak.

She blushed slightly, clenched her teeth, glared at Link fiercely, and rolled her eyes.

Who is this person?

If a girl is shy, and you don't show her gentleness and consideration, but instead tease her?

I wish you a lifetime of single life.

After muttering a few complaints to herself, Jasmine decided not to bother arguing with such a blockhead.

He deliberately raised his voice and adopted a businesslike demeanor, saying, "When I was digging a tunnel in my spare time, I unearthed an iron door hidden underground. When I opened the door, I found a secret passage covered with murals. At the end of the passage was a large bronze door."

After a pause, Jasmine raised her voice: "The murals record the process and reasons why this world was on the verge of destruction. The secret passage and the bronze door are somewhat sinister; they amplify emotions and tempt people to explore them."

Upon hearing this, Link immediately became intensely curious.

Secret passages, murals, and bronze gates are all classic elements in adventure stories.

Unraveling the secrets hidden behind the murals and bronze gate could greatly advance the progress of the third main quest, the righteous faction's quest: Saving the World.

"Boss, the ropes are all packed up."

Eager to prove himself, Buck shouted a report the moment the ropes were arranged.

He hoped to deepen his positive impression on Link in this way.

Fortunately, at the crucial moment, a powerful figure was able to step in and "restrain" the boss, preventing him from being beaten too badly.

"it is good."

Link responded and immediately began making arrangements, "We'll enter the tunnels immediately, rest for a while, and then move on after we've recovered. You guys will remain in your groups, while Jasmine and I will be independent."

As he spoke, Link looked at Lynn and Dalton and emphasized, "Your missions are extremely important, so you must be on high alert. If anyone lands on the sandbar, I expect you to detect it immediately and notify me. Also, I'm preparing to move two reconnaissance golems away."

"Yes, I'll do whatever the boss says."

Without hesitation, Lynn immediately expressed his opinion.

Me too.

Dalton followed closely behind.

"Lead the way, we need to go down into the tunnel to rest."

Link gestured for Jasmine to lead the way.

She dug the tunnel herself; she was most familiar with the terrain.

Without saying a word, Jasmine turned around and led the entire team into the tunnel she had spent more than a day digging.

With no external enemies, Jasmine didn't pay much attention to the layout when digging the tunnels.

Apart from the relatively well-maintained traffic trenches, everything else is barely passable.

Its biggest advantage is its flatness.

After all, Jasmine used a minor mudslide spell, not a shovel.

As she approached the iron gate, Jasmine stopped.

She pointed to the more obvious marks on the earthen wall and said, "If you dig through the section of the tunnel that I blocked up, you'll see that iron gate."

"Okay. Let's rest first."

Link was the first to take off his large backpack and begin to rest.

After driving for nearly five hours straight, everyone on the team was exhausted.

With an upcoming adventure fraught with unknowns, restoring oneself to full health is of paramount importance.

The tools used for lighting in the tunnels are discarded magic stones.

Rune items and magical artifacts are all powered by magic.

It can be obtained by slowly drawing free magic from nature, by wizard apprentices or wizards using their own magic, or by coming from magic stones.

Some rune items and magical artifacts are used frequently and cannot wait to slowly draw mana from nature to restore their mana reserves, nor are they suitable for consuming their own mana to supply them, so they must use magic stones.

For example, round flying saucers and reconnaissance golems.

Once the magic power within the magic stone is exhausted, it becomes a natural luminous stone.

A discarded magic stone the size of a thumb can illuminate a large area.

It has a wide range of uses.

Jasmine is perfectly suited for use in tunnels.

Drinking water, eating, chatting, closing your eyes and pretending to sleep...

Each member of the team has their own way of resting.

Jasmine sat down next to Link, all the anxiety, panic, and worry she had felt over the past two days vanished.

My mind is extremely calm.

It was as if I suddenly felt safe.

Jasmine felt rather helpless as she realized the change in her state of mind.

She really wants to be independent and self-reliant!

I didn't think much of it when I was in college.

He showed signs of great discomfort less than two days after leaving Link.

Looking back now, the reason she dared to engage in such a protracted struggle with Wizard Ella, using an ambiguous attitude to delay giving a definite answer, was because Link was there for her.

She was indeed tempted, feeling that if she successfully joined the "New Blood Mutual Aid Association," it would benefit both herself and Link's development.

Later, I came to realize the truth.

The "New Blood Mutual Aid Society" can only be Paro Wizard's "New Blood Mutual Aid Society".

Now that we've already gotten involved with the wizard Paro, there's no need to get involved any further.

Let's not dwell on trivial matters.

In a pleasant atmosphere, everyone got plenty of rest and regained their energy.

Then let's take action.

Dalton and Lynn stayed behind to monitor the area around the sandbar and did not participate in the expedition.

Link activated the active defense mode of the "Defender 3202" suit and took the lead.

Jasmine lagged half a step behind Link, walking to his left and slightly behind him.

Dijer led the socially awkward trio, sandwiched in the middle.

Buck and Ezio covered the rear.

Several team members with an affinity for earth elements successively cast secondary mudslide spells, reopening the tunnel where the iron gate was located.

Even though Jasmine had entered the secret passage once before, Link remained extremely vigilant.

Instead of directly pulling open the iron gate, he used the thorns to whip it open, controlling the thorns to pull the gate open.

The moment the door opened, Link sensed the change.

Thanks to the highest level of "brain shut-in", Link is extremely sensitive to his own emotions.

He could clearly feel a very subtle fluctuation stirring his emotions.

It was as if the devil was whispering in his ear, trying to arouse his greed.

"Be careful, control your emotions, and if you have any extreme thoughts, tell everyone immediately."

Link has no solution at the moment, so he can only issue a reminder.

"Yes."

Jasmine responded.

"Yes, boss."

The team members responded as follows.

The wording may differ, but everyone has become more vigilant.

Along the way, Link had issued similar reminders many times.

As it turns out, each reminder helped avoid some unnecessary trouble.

Authority has been established unintentionally.

With a thought, Link threw several water-based and wood-based antidote spells into the secret passage.

Once Link confirmed that there were no toxins in the air of the secret passage, he had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

This is an effect similar to mental magic.

Mind-based witchcraft can only be countered with mind-based witchcraft.

very troublesome.

Link can use "brain shut-off" to ensure that he is not affected, but he cannot take care of others.

This discovery both puzzled and delighted Link.

Where does the joy come from?

Before even entering the door, there are already such subtle "defense" measures. How big must the secrets hidden inside be?

Faction quests may actually be on the way.

Link had his teammates step back a short distance, pushing them out of the area of ​​unknown impact, before entering the secret passage alone.

Starting with the first mural on the left, you'll see the bronze gate approaching, then circle back to the first mural on the right.

Link spent a full half hour.

No detail was overlooked.

All twenty murals were firmly imprinted in the memory palace.

This will be reviewed and verified at any time in the future.

After watching it, Link had only one thought: No zuo no die!

"How was it? How did it feel? Shocking, right?"

Jasmine refrained from telling Link and the others about the contents of the mural so that she could see the shock on Link's face at that moment.

She's been holding back for so long, she's really getting frustrated.

Link shook his head and sighed, "There's nothing you can't do if you put your mind to it."

This seemingly random conversation piqued the curiosity of the five guys and the three socially awkward ones.

What exactly is on the mural that has shocked even the usually composed big shot?

I really want to see it with my own eyes.

"Go and check on them, everything's alright."

During his examination of the murals, Link had already determined that what was stirring up his emotions was the paint used in the murals.

After being sealed for a long time, it occasionally releases some odors when exposed to fresh air.

The odor is still there after being ventilated for a while, but it has become very faint and its impact on my mood has been greatly reduced.

As long as you don't do anything reckless, such as sticking out your tongue to lick the mural, there shouldn't be any problems.

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately filed into the secret passage to examine the murals.

Then they all exclaimed:

"Holy crap!"

"You can do that?"

(End of this chapter)