Death Wizard Diary.

Chapter 304 The Difficulty of Advancement

When Thor and Byron, who had finished adjusting, left the laboratory, Claire had already completed a series of preparations and was leisurely sitting in the front hall flipping through the books that her original owner, Mochi Mochi, had left on the table.

Hearing the sound, she looked up from the text and saw Thor and Saul coming down the stairs one after the other.

Especially Saul, who was carrying a backpack.

"You...are you leaving now?" She casually tossed the book she was holding onto the sofa.

"Yes, I haven't been back to the warehouse for a long time. I originally thought I would be back in about ten days, but I unexpectedly stayed for another half a month. I need to hurry back to hand over my work."

Thor knew that after he and Byron left, Claire would be all alone in Blackburg. Although Claire had volunteered to come and study her witchcraft, and given her personality, she wouldn't care about such things, Blackburg was still less convenient than the Wizard's Tower.

"Sorry, it's so rare for us to meet, and I have to leave in such a hurry." Thor hadn't studied or researched with Claire for a long time.

It seems that after advancing to the second level of apprenticeship, the two of them went in different directions.

Keli, on the other hand, is more carefree.

She shrugged and said, "It's okay. If we're always hanging out together chatting, it probably means we're not far from death."

She added, "I've left teleportation scrolls at the registration office and with Instructor Gudo—the kind that allows you to communicate directly with Blackburg. If you need to contact me, you can go to either of those places... Oh, and by the way, remember to prepare enough magic crystals. Teleportation scrolls consume a lot of magic power."

"Then let's continue to correspond by letter," Thor said with a smile, declining the offer.

Keli rolled her eyes, sat back on the sofa, picked up the book she had left aside, and continued to read it.

Thor said goodbye to her, "Then Byron and I are off."

Keli didn't show her face; she simply raised one hand and waved it casually.

Unexpectedly, Byron suddenly spoke up: "Actually, you don't need to call me 'senior' anymore. If I'm not mistaken, you should have already entered level three, right?"

Thor was surprised that Byron had figured it out, but he didn't deny it. "Yes."

In the past two weeks, Thor has successfully mastered the second-tier sorcery, Torture Touch.

He has now officially become a third-level wizard apprentice!

"Snapped!"

Claire's book slipped from her palm and slammed to the ground.

"You're level three?" She stood up in disbelief. "How long have you been at level two? Only three months?"

Thor thought about it seriously for a moment, "It's been almost half a year."

"Will you reconsider?" Keli clenched her fists, her face contorted with rage.

Then she suddenly puffed out her chest and said seriously, "Next time we meet... I will catch up with you."

Her gaze was intense, and she didn't think she was exaggerating at all.

Thor, on the other side, also stopped smiling and nodded solemnly, "I believe you."

Both of them were absolutely certain that Keli could advance to level three, but Byron, standing to the side, felt as if he had been stabbed in the back.

He thought about his own age and the ages of the young man and woman in front of him, and for a moment his expression became dejected.

……

Before long, Saul and Byron boarded the same carriage they had come in.

These two carriages were much larger than the ones Saul rode in alone, and it was unclear who had paid for them.

Thor only turned around from the car window when the Black Castle behind him was completely hidden by the trees.

It wasn't the lingering emotions of parting that made him keep turning back; rather, it was because Thor had secretly left something at Blackburg before he left.

After Thor turned around, Little Algae quietly slipped out of the car window and, mimicking its master, examined the clones it had left behind in Black Castle.

Although Claire wasn't as likely to attract "fire" as Thor, and she even had magical artifacts prepared by her mentor for self-defense, Thor knew that the relationship between North City and Black Fortress wasn't as solid as it seemed, so he was naturally worried about leaving Claire alone here.

So he ordered Little Algae to leave a clone here, allowing it to steal nutrients from the Devil Vine at crucial moments to protect Clément.

Little Algae is a Soul-Eating Swamp creature, originally on the same level of demonic energy as the Devil Vine. However, since following Thor, its power has been influenced by the diary and has been steadily increasing.

Therefore, when Xiaozhao encountered the Devil Vine, she was able to easily suppress it and almost took over its lair.

Presumably, the Devil Vine will soon discover the small algae clones in the Black Fortress Forest.

Hopefully it won't cry too loudly when the time comes.

"I really envy you guys." Byron, who was sitting opposite Thor, sighed softly when Thor finally sat up straight.

"Huh?" Thor was still thinking about Blackburg and Northern Desert City, and didn't react for a moment.

"For you and Keli, advancing to the third-level apprentice level is only a matter of time. Unlike me, if I hadn't obtained your Plastic Bone Formula, I might have already left the Wizard Tower and be hopelessly searching for a way to advance on my own."

Thor smiled and said, "Actually, it was the senior who had an epiphany through his own wisdom. My formula wasn't the real solution."

"But I know all too well how rare an opportunity for sudden enlightenment is."

Having seemingly resolved the issue of the evil spirit within him, Byron, who hadn't spoken for a long time, suddenly started talking.

"Even in a powerful wizarding tower, it is extremely difficult to train a third-level apprentice. Even Kong Sha, who was exceptionally talented back then, is still struggling outside to find a way to advance."

At this point, Byron suddenly remembered something, and his expression turned slightly somber.

"Oh, right, Niko is dead."

Thor was taken aback. "Senior Nick..."

He noticed something was wrong with Nick the last time he saw him. Remembering that Nick had helped him in Handle Valley, Thor asked him about his condition.

Unfortunately, Nick was unwilling to say anything to Thor, nor did he ever take the initiative to approach Thor.

Moreover, Nick specializes in light magic, so even if Thor knew about the trouble Nick was facing, he probably wouldn't be able to help.

"How did he die? Was it an accident or murder?" Thinking of Nick's deep connection with the Grinding Fruit, Thor quickly asked Byron about Nick's cause of death.

"Neither. The advancement failed, and the body became contaminated."

"Failed to advance..." Thor murmured, "It really means death."

Saul recalls the last time he saw Nick.

Nick majored in the light element, but the witchcraft he studied was all related to emotions. Thor never asked why emotions belonged to the light element.

Thor always felt that focusing on the dark element was rather dangerous, given that it frequently dealt with death and evil spirits. That knowledge also seemed incredibly bizarre, filled with chaos and malevolence.

But now it seems that the light attribute may just sound nice.

Byron told Saul that Nick majored in emotions, but he also needed to suppress his own emotions. Every time he was injured or his mental state fluctuated, the fear, sadness, and even joy that he had suppressed would come back like a tsunami.

If he cannot withstand the backlash of the emotional tsunami, his spirit will collapse.

Therefore, Nick often needs the Grinding Fruit to help him get through the most difficult periods of his emotional tsunami.

"These descriptions do match Nick's final state." Hearing the news of an acquaintance's death, Thor's emotions were inevitably stirred. "However, his tense appearance at the end didn't seem like he was merely corrupted."

Thor remembers Nick was tense at the time, but his rationality was not affected, and he even gave him the last of the Grinding Fruit.

Thor frowned.

The apprentice who applied for a large quantity of Sound Grinding Fruits at the registration office is dead, and the entire town of Sailport has been wiped out. Now, even Nick, who is most familiar with the effects of Sound Grinding Fruits, is dead.

The atmosphere inside the carriage gradually grew heavy.

Now, almost everyone connected to the Grinding Fruit is dead!

(End of this chapter)