"Dear Apprentice Ron Ralph, hereby notify you:
Sequence member Oliver West has been confirmed as a defector, and he has now been removed from the Candidate Wizard sequence.
The Law Enforcement Team is tracking his whereabouts, and any relevant clues should be immediately reported to the Law Enforcement Team or the school authorities.
Furthermore, due to potential instability factors recently, this month’s Bloody Gladiatorial Games have been postponed, with the specific date to be announced later.
Please remain vigilant and do not associate with any suspicious individuals.
Rein Koester, Captain of the Black Mist School Law Enforcement Team"
Ron put down the notification letter in his hand, his brows unconsciously furrowed.
Oliver defected.
Although this news was not too surprising, it happened so quickly that it left him somewhat taken aback.
Just at the sequence evaluation meeting a few days ago, the other party had sat there, seemingly calm as he accepted the fact that his ranking had slipped.
"It seems that the moderate spiritual contamination has become severe enough to make him lose his rational judgment."
Ron murmured to himself, pondering the impact of this matter on the school and himself.
The postponement of the Bloody Gladiatorial Games is likely because the school needs to invest more resources to deal with this sudden situation.
This is actually a good thing for Ron, giving him more preparation time, but it also means that the entire school’s alert level will be greatly heightened.
"Teacher, is something wrong?"
Lilia walked in carrying a cup of hot tea, her face full of concern.
Lately, she had become exceptionally sensitive to Ron’s emotional changes.
"It’s nothing major." Ron handed the letter to her:
"Oliver defected, and the school is conducting a full-scale manhunt."
Lilia took the letter and read it, her face turning slightly pale: "Is this... a loss of control due to spiritual contamination? I read about it in books..."
"It’s very likely." Ron nodded, looking at the gradually dimming sky outside the window:
"But it’s not really related to us, let’s continue focusing on our own training."
Lilia hesitated for a moment, then whispered:
"A few days ago, I heard some rumors at the market, saying that many corpses with hollowed-out brains have been found in Edge Forest... Is it his doing?"
Ron’s eyes narrowed, and he nodded:
"It’s very possible. Based on what I’ve learned, Oliver possesses a special talent called ’Living Assimilation,’ which allows him to gain certain abilities by absorbing others’ brains."
Lilia gasped, evidently shocked by this dreadful ability.
"Don’t worry, the school will handle it."
Ron reassured her:
"As apprentices like us, it’s best not to get involved in such high-risk situations. I’ve already arranged for the protection of Ailan’s Workshop, you and Dale will be very safe."
Lilia nodded, her eyes still filled with worry:
"You must also be careful, teacher."
"I will." Ron smiled faintly.
After Lilia left, Ron walked to the window, his gaze cast towards the distant Edge Forest.
In the depths of that gloomy forest, a fugitive escape of a fallen one was unfolding.
......
In Edge Forest, Oliver staggered through the twisted trees, his breath heavy and hurried.
The right side of his face had completely deformed, the once handsome features twisted beyond recognition, with black liquid surging under the skin like a living thing squirming.
One eyeball bulged from its socket, turning into a cloudy pure black, emitting a strange luster.
His left arm extended unnaturally, with fingernails turned into sharp black claw blades, easily slicing through hard wood.
His right leg’s knee joint twisted, now more like some kind of arthropod joint, allowing him to move in a bizarre yet efficient manner.
Behind him, shouts and magic power fluctuations of pursuit grew closer and closer.
"Damn it, time’s running out!"
Oliver cursed, feeling the uncontrollable fluctuations of black energy within him:
"If I’m any later, the awakening will spiral completely out of control..."
Suddenly, a beam of light penetrated through the treetops, hitting his shoulder.
The flesh instantly vaporized, but a large amount of black liquid immediately surged from the wound, quickly filling the gap.
The pain brought a sliver of clarity back to Oliver’s consciousness.
He recalled the decision he made three hours ago.
At that time, he was in his laboratory, looking at the face in the mirror that could no longer maintain a human shape, knowing that if he didn’t act now, he’d never have another chance.
The school’s surveillance over him was getting tighter by the day, the scrutinizing gaze of the master seemed like he was looking at a ripening fruit, ready to harvest at any moment.
"Marcus, only you can help me now."
He spoke softly to his half-mutated brother in the cage.
Marcus had long lost his reason, only instinct and an inexplicable hatred for Ron Ralph remained.
This hatred had almost become his only emotional anchor.
Oliver opened the cage door, deliberately lowering his spiritual control over Marcus.
The effect was immediate.
The frenzied Marcus instantly broke free of his restraints, letting out a piercing scream as he charged out of the tower, heading straight for the center of the school.
This distraction was enough to attract the majority of the Law Enforcement Team’s attention, giving Oliver the chance to escape.
"I’m sorry, brother."
Back then, he left only this light sigh, quickly gathering a few essentials and sneaking toward Edge Forest.
However, he underestimated the response speed of the school’s Law Enforcement Team.
Despite using Marcus to create chaos, as he expected, the official wizards indeed didn’t get involved personally, but the Law Enforcement Team’s response was swifter than he had anticipated.
Almost as soon as he left the tower, a patrolling Law Enforcement Officer spotted him.
At least three or four intermediate apprentices and one advanced apprentice formed a pursuit team, relentlessly chasing him deep into Edge Forest.
"How ridiculous..."
Oliver chuckled bitterly, panting while hiding behind an ancient, thick tree.
From childhood to adulthood, he had always been that obedient, gentle, and perfect student.
Sixth-class Star’s spiritual talent, in an ordinary family, it could be considered a gift worth celebrating.
But in that talent-filled environment, he was merely an object of pity.
The masters encouraged him with words like "Diligence Can Make Up for Incompetence," but secretly, they had long given up on him.
Until he discovered the "Brain Extraction Technique" in that ancient book and saw the word—"Living Assimilation."
At that moment, he thought he had found a turning point in his fate.
When he began to experiment with this secret technique and successfully extracted memory and ability fragments from the first test subject, the ecstasy was indescribable.
He stepped onto this path step by step.
It started with small animals, then abandoned alien slaves...
And now, out of desperation, choosing to awaken for more power, the school’s reaction only confirmed the truth he despised:
They never cared about him; not a single Official Wizard was willing to take the risk to capture him.
To those wizards high above, he, Oliver West, was nothing more than a dispensable test subject, a dog to be discarded at any time.
"Is this how you see me? Not even worth capturing personally?"
Oliver’s voice twisted with anger, and he touched the Sin Domain Black Crystal on his chest, the key medium for his awakening ritual.
This black crystal was also his final trump card.
"They’re coming..."
He suddenly looked up, sensing several energy fluctuations approaching from different directions.
Clearly, the Law Enforcement Team had pinpointed his location and was preparing to enclose him.
Oliver decided not to hide anymore.
He stood up, his deformed body casting a twisted shadow in the moonlight.
The once flawless mask had long shattered, revealing the ugly and true nature beneath.
"Finally caught you, Oliver. Bringing you back to the school promises advanced magic potions and unique magic model rewards!"
An Intermediate Apprentice leaped out of the thicket, the magic wand in his hand emitting a dazzling light.
His eyes were full of disdain and disgust:
"Look at what you’ve become, West! I thought you were something grand..."
Oliver did not answer, simply staring at him as if looking at an ant.
"Surrender, you’re surrounded."
Norris raised his magic wand:
"In the name of the Law Enforcement Team, I order you to immediately cease all attack states and return to the school for judgment!"
Oliver’s lips curved into an eerie arc, revealing irregularly arranged sharp teeth:
"Why should I obey the orders of an ant?"
His voice had completely changed, as harsh as metal scraping, with an indescribable echo effect, as if multiple voices were speaking simultaneously.
Norris stepped back, evidently shocked by this mutation, but quickly steadied himself:
"This is your last chance, Oliver!"
"No, this is your last chance." A flash of red light appeared in Oliver’s black eyeballs:
"Move, or die."
In the next moment, his body liquefied, advancing forward at an irrational speed.
The hastily cast Light Bomb Magic by Norris struck Oliver’s chest, leaving a massive scorched hole.
But Oliver continued moving forward as if he couldn’t feel the pain.
"Impossible!" Norris screamed in terror, releasing three more powerful light bombs.
Oliver’s body was hit, with several vital organs pierced, but black liquid surged out and healed the wounds.
As he closed in on Norris, his deformed left arm suddenly extended, sharp claw blades piercing directly into the other’s chest.
"Urgh..." Norris’s eyes widened, staring dumbfounded at the bizarre arm that impaled his body.
"Rest in peace, ant."
Oliver said coldly, and then his eyeball suddenly bulged, transforming into a tentacle that directly inserted into Norris’s eye socket.
Norris let out a shrill scream, then suddenly fell silent, his body stiffening like a puppet.
Oliver’s tentacle absorbed something, and Norris’s face quickly shriveled, his skin wrinkling and eyes sinking, as if all moisture was instantly drained away.
When the monster retracted the tentacle, Norris had become a mummy, nothing but skin wrapped around bones.
"Thank you for your contribution." Oliver said softly, the red light in his eyes growing brighter.
He felt a rush of new information and ability pouring into his mind.
Norris’s memory fragments and his weak affinity for the Light Element had all become Oliver’s nourishment.
Oliver carefully examined Norris’s shriveled corpse, suddenly feeling a sense of familiarity.
Had he seen this Intermediate Apprentice somewhere before... Was it at the apprentice market? Or during a Law Enforcement Team’s gathering?
He searched through the freshly acquired memory fragments for an answer, but found them too chaotic to sort out immediately.
Never mind, it’s not important. Just an ant, not worth the time to remember.
"There he is!"
A shout came from a distance, clearly from other Law Enforcement Officers noticing the commotion here.
Without hesitation, Oliver sprinted away.
His movement no longer resembled that of a human, but rather some kind of twisted insect, sometimes racing on the ground, sometimes climbing tree trunks in a vertical sprint.
The newly obtained memories guided him to a secret passageway, a hidden path used by the Law Enforcement Team for patrols, leading deeper into the forest.
"Looks like you still have some use."
Oliver mused internally, showing no pity for the sacrificial victim he just absorbed.
By the time the pursuers reached Norris’s corpse, Oliver had already disappeared deep into the dense forest.
After about half an hour of traversal, he finally reached his destination.
A hidden cave entrance buried beneath a pile of boulders.
This was a secret outpost of the "Eye of the Abyss" in the Black Mist Jungle, a location Oliver learned from Cynthia.
Entering the cave required a specific signal—a unique pattern of spiritual wave mimicking the "Abyssal Ravings" rhythm.
Oliver released a distinctive spiritual power wave according to his memory.
A moment later, the air before the boulders twisted, revealing a concealed entrance.
Without hesitation, Oliver swiftly slipped inside.