Wizards begin with Occlumency.

Chapter 74 Overture

The angrier Link became, the calmer he became.

He maintained his pace and demeanor, walking very naturally out of the rune item area and arriving near the entrance to the black market.

There's an inconspicuous, hidden stall tucked away in a corner, selling all sorts of blueprints.

For example, the West District recently updated its terrain and topography map.

Link found this message after searching repeatedly on the "forum".

It took a lot of time and effort.

Standing in front of the stall, Link didn't say anything, but directly took out five standard level one magic stones and placed them one by one on the stall's counter.

The five magic stones occupy the five corners, forming a rather abstract pentagram.

This is a code word, indicating that you understand and will abide by the rules of this stall.

Once a bet is placed, it's done; I will never speak carelessly.

Sensing the commotion, the blind old man guarding the stall trembled as he stretched out his withered hand, touched the cutting board, and touched the magic stone.

The blind old man slowly and patiently felt around until he confirmed that the five magic stones were in the shape of a five-pointed star, and then he put them away one by one.

Then, he shakily pulled a crumpled map from under the cutting board, placed it on the board, and slowly turned his back.

Only brand-new maps are for sale.

A crumpled old map is called a lost map.

Although it may seem like a waste of time, at least it leaves room for stall owners, black market operators, and those behind the black market to make money.

Living in the gray area, surviving in the cracks, that's the norm.

There was no carefree spirit, only constant fear and trepidation.

Therefore, excessive mental stress often leads to abnormal and antisocial personality traits.

Link picked up the crumpled map, quickly opened it, glanced at it, compared the information on the map with his memories, noted down the updated parts, and then immediately left the hidden stall.

After emerging from the dark tunnel and returning the mask, Link quickly left the black market.

He wandered around several streets and alleys nearby and finally found the street thugs who had been following him for several blocks.

He kept a distance and repeatedly confirmed that the street thugs were all wizard apprentices, within Link's ability to handle, and that nothing would go wrong.

Link then stood at the entrance of a dead-end alley and casually waved to a few street thugs who had spotted him and become suspicious.

The street thugs, all of them hot-tempered and proud, were immediately enraged upon seeing this.

Who the hell are they looking down on?

Imagine calling us over like you're summoning a few dogs?

So the street thugs dispersed, moved forward, and then regrouped, cornering Link in a dead-end alley.

From all the information he could find about the city of Rivosos, Link learned about the general situation of the street thugs in the West End.

Most of these people are locals from the city of Rivosos and the surrounding area. They possess wizarding qualifications, but they are all at the third-class lower level or below, which is quite awkward.

They couldn't afford the expensive tuition fees, and they were unwilling to sign "indentured servitude agreements" (similar to the agreements for new recruits in Storm Sea), and they were unwilling to spend four years studying hard at the Rivoss Biomedical College only to end up in those sweatshops and workshops in the South District.

They could only casually learn an ordinary meditation method that might not suit them, or a few ordinary witchcrafts that might not have any potential for development, and then, like hyenas, roam the streets and alleys of the West End all day long, looking for carrion.

If they had made even a little effort, they wouldn't have ended up in such a predicament.

At least you can join one of the various gangs, big or small, within the West District.

Link was surrounded, but he remained calm.

He gently pushed up his glasses and smiled very politely, "Gentlemen, I mean no harm."

The street thugs didn't respond, but grinned maliciously, preparing to swarm forward.

I had wanted to rob this fat sheep who was covered in runes and even witchcraft artifacts, but unfortunately he went to the black market.

Unexpectedly, the fat sheep, after leaving the black market, took the initiative to approach them and provoke them.

What else is there to say? Let's do it!

Suddenly, an extremely thick fog, so thick that one couldn't see their own hand in front of their face, enveloped the street thugs.

Suddenly, the situation changed; the street thugs' vision was completely restricted.

Everything was a white blur; apart from the thick fog, nothing could be seen at all.

Including the companions around.

Even though there is physical contact and I can feel its presence, I just can't see it.

The street thugs were shocked and launched a sneak attack!

Just as they were about to launch a counterattack,

Dozens of thorns quietly grew, wandered, and tightly entangled and bound the legs and torsos of the street thugs.

Five sharp, gleaming arrows were thrust into the foreheads of the street thugs at just the right moment.

As soon as Link thinks of it, the street thugs will die instantly before they even have a chance to activate the defensive effects of the runes on their bodies.

The secondary fog spell was withdrawn, and the extremely dense fog dissipated.

The street thugs realized the reality and dared not move an inch under Ye Shishu's threat.

In less than 0.5 seconds, Link first "instantly" cast a perfect-level Lesser Mist Rain spell, and at the same time, he instantly cast Thorn Entanglement in the form of a pseudo-natal spell.

Immediately afterwards, using "parallel casting" developed based on pseudo-natal sorcery, five Leaf Arrow spells were cast simultaneously in less than one second.

This series of disruptive, controlling, and intimidating maneuvers proceeded very smoothly, completely shocking the street thugs.

In the blink of an eye, three spells were cast, all of which were relatively common types of level 0 spells, but...

This is something no ordinary wizard apprentice could do!

Which rich young master from the North District is looking for fun in the West District?

"Brother, just say what you want to say, there's no need for this."

The guy who acted like a boss among the street thugs spoke in a trembling voice.

However, even at this point, the leader was still somewhat reluctant to admit defeat and did not directly beg for mercy.

Link didn't dwell on those things and asked in a warm tone, "Now, can we talk this out calmly?"

"No problem, it's up to you."

Several street thugs responded in unison, "Please remove your witchcraft first. Talking like that is creepy."

Link smiled, withdrew the Leaf Arrow Technique, and two self-destructing fire grenades appeared in his left hand just in time.

If he can manipulate street thugs once, he can manipulate them a second time.

After that, without giving the street thugs any more room for banter, he went straight to the point and asked, "I have a job for you. The pay is ten standard level one magic stones. Are you interested?"

The street thugs looked at each other in bewilderment.

Brother, you've made such a big fuss just to give us a job.

You think too highly of us!

"Please speak."

Circumstances dictate actions; what can the street thug boss do? Of course, he has to agree.

Link immediately described Harold Andrews' height, hair color, build, and clothing to the street thugs, and then said, "This guy will be coming out of the black market soon, and I need you to find a way to lure him to Spider's End Alley."

As he spoke, Link took out ten magic stones with his right hand and threw two to each person.

This is not a discussion, it is an order.

"If you take the money, you have to do the job, right?"

Passing the street thugs bound to the spot by thorns, Link turned back and smiled politely.

Their snow-white teeth gleamed with a cold light.

(End of this chapter)