Clarence had put on his black round-rimmed glasses. As always, he wore the same red robe that had stuck with him for many years. The light brown curly hair on his head looked fluffy and messy.
He squinted his eyes, frowning and staring at the young wizard in front of him.
The young wizard had brown curly hair draped to his shoulders. His smile was confident and bright. At the same time, he was equipped with a dark green, raincoat-like cloak. The outfit was simple and casual for the wizard’s standard.
His skin was engraved with black tattoo runes and transmutation circles. The patterns criss-cross, leaving arcs and marks on his body. As such, he appeared like a stitched-up puppet bear.
If an experienced alteration wizard were here, he would have noticed that if the [skin] of the young wizard was peeled off and unfolded, it could be directly transformed into seven magic circles that fit together like gears.
“So, you have succeeded in the end.” Clarence asked slowly, “[Purest Spiritual Medium] Bernardino?”
“You recognize me.” The corners of Bernardino’s mouth rose. He spoke in a melodious voice that was a little artificial, “Then, it seems that I am not successful either.
“How does my young and healthy body today resemble my decayed ‘shell’ in the past?”
“I can see it in your heart.” Clarence replied forthrightly, “I’ve only seen such a cold, vicious, and dark heart in one person.
“Your body may change, but your heart won’t change. It’s just that the suffocating lifelessness has turned into complacent and arrogant.”
He flicked his freshly polished nails under a crisp low sound.
After the flick, the white jade nails drew a pure white shimmer in the air.
In Clarence’s eyes, there were many tiny black cracks like electric sparks in the empty air where his fingernails swept over.
It was a severed fragment of fate.
When the two faced each other, a new destiny was born between them.
—Clarence will die here.
This was the future that Clarence saw.
—Bernardino has murderous intentions.
This was the mind that Clarence read.
Being approached by a high-ranked Soul Snatch Wizard at this distance put him completely defenseless.
Even if Bernardino did not take the path of soul snatching, it did not mean he would lose the resistance to the same type of spell.
But he did not panic in the slightest and calmly watched the master who controlled souls.
In Clarence’s vision, countless souls had surrounded him.
“Looks like you’re pretty happy with your chosen path.”
Bernardino leaned against the table. He reached out his hand to lightly grab his new hair, lowered his head, and sniffed the hair at his fingertips. Then, he said warmly, “Are you ready for advancement? Or, have you got your hands on someone’s legacy?
“The advancement from Silver Rank to Gold Rank can’t be accomplished just by staying in the wizard tower and entering a dream. Talent without creativity and innovation needs the legacy left by a Gold Ranker.”
“You don’t need to worry about that.”
Clarence paced to his cupboard, rummaging through the reagent shelf, and responded indifferently without looking back, “The tower master has promised me to trade [Dream Stealer] or [Mask Master] advancement ritual.”
“I remember that the legacy profession of Swamp’s Black Tower should be [Fire Stealer]?”
“That’s left for the Son of the Tower. I’m still a Soul Snatch Wizard, after all.” Clarence replied calmly, “But I have a high probability of advancing to the Gold Rank. The tower master is willing to trade with other wizard towers by exchanging advancement rituals and material.”
Advancement rituals for gold rank had fallen into the category of occult knowledge. They were not knowledge that could be copied at will, so they could be traded for other advancement rituals.
Although each wizard tower had its heritage, there were students from other wizardry schools.
Even if the probability was not high, developing a new Gold Rank transcender from a different school was possible.
The wizard in red rummaged and found a bottle of reagent that looked like an ink bottle. It was green and transparent; it consistently sent out light-colored bubbles even though it was well sealed.
Clarence opened it, and a strong mint aroma poured out of the bottle.
He raised his head and swallowed the cold liquid into his belly in three mouthfuls.
The sweet and refreshing taste melted on the tongue, sliding down from the base of the tongue to the bottom of the heart. Immediately afterward, a strong icy feeling rose from the abdomen and shot straight to the top of the head.
Clarence frowned in agitation as if he had ingested a mouthful of mustard.
After a while, he slowly recovered.
“Soul purification medicine?” Bernardino tilted his head and raised the corner of his mouth slightly, “It’s bad for your stomach if you drink too much.”
“If your stomach hurts, you can make it up with other medicines,” replied Clarence flatly.
He turned his head and stared at Bernardino, “But you’ve been clinging on here. If I’m facing you unprepared, isn’t it disrespectful to you?”
After drinking the medicine, a faint white halo flickered in Clarence’s eyes, which was evidence that his perception and will attributes were temporarily boosted by the reagent, and he couldn’t control it.
Hearing this, Bernardino chuckled, “I’m sorry, Clarence. I don’t want to be too rude. But if you want to challenge me, it’s best to drink the ‘Heart Snatching Flask’ and ‘Swift Elixir’ next to you.”
Clarence did not answer, just sullen and silent.
He drank the two bottles of potion mentioned by Bernardino and hesitantly took out a bottle of dark red translucent reagent like a perfume sample. After thinking about it repeatedly, he still drank it as he gritted his teeth.
It was as if he had been punched hard in the abdomen by something invisible, and his whole body shuddered. He slowly bent down with trembling, almost spitting it out.
“Are you ready, Your Excellency, the Savior of Swamp’s Black Tower?” Watching this scene, Bernardino said warmly.
Clarence spoke in a husky voice, “So, you finally admitted it? You came here for troubles?!”
“That’s unfortunate. It is fate.” Bernardino sighed, “If you said at the time that you are going to advance into a Spiritual Monk, I might change my mind.”
“Might?” Clarence sneered.
He slowly raised his head, and the whites of his eyes had utterly turned bloody.
Bernardino smiled, “Well, I might. But sure enough, I still want to expand my collection.”
“What the hell are you here for?”
“I’m here to find the soul of Hugo Blacktower.” The rune on Bernardino’s skin instantly lit up as soon as he finished his sentence.
It was the inheritance from the Jade Tower—a treasure tailored for him by the great alchemist of the past, Isaac Flamel’s soul.
— A moving Sage’s Stone transmutation circle.
The next moment, the world around Clarence turned into an [Alien Land].
A dark, greasy liquid quickly spread out from under Bernardino’s feet.
In the blink of an eye, it had spread across the room and passed through the walls. The vein-like runic lines were clinging to the wall and slowly growing upward.
Seeing this, Clarence showed no anger.
That was because of the last reagent he took, the “Blood of Dry Rage”.
His anger would be constantly converted into chaos power. If his rage were not enough, the reagent would burn his blood instead.
“How are my students?” Clarence jumped, dodging the black mud that was charging at him.
He jumped to the shelf behind him and asked in a low voice.
The moment he asked, he already got the answer from Bernardino’s mind.
—This black mud was the manifestation of Bernardino’s elemental power.
Wizards dragged into the mud would be directly refined into Sage’s Stone.
And his next move is…
Clarence read Bernardino’s mind.
Without hesitation, he clapped his hands.
Under the crisp clapping sound, an invisible halo centered on Clarence suddenly spread.
The books, documents, and newspapers in his office seemed to have gained life and run rampant after getting into contact with the halo.
At the same time, Clarence inserted his sharp fingernails directly into his temples.
At this time, Bernardino’s jewel eyes just lit up.
Clarence was instantly happy.
I’m just in time!
The ward, enough to capture Clarence’s soul instantly, was interrupted by the intense pain in Bernardino’s brain just before it was activated. The opponent was half a step late.
In the next moment, countless words turned into a stream of light. Fine chains of light swept in from all directions, tying up Bernardino instantly!
Idol Spell, Pain Synchronization!
Edict Spell, Page Lock!