Wizard: I Have a Cultivation System-Chapter 50: Source of Negative Energy

「Four days ago.」

In the courtyard of the Black Wood Forest Outpost, a bonfire crackled in the night.

Lawson raised his wine cup to the surrounding soldiers and said, "The news may have taken a few days to reach us, but to celebrate Kelvin being blessed with a daughter, there’s more than enough wine to go around tonight!"

The soldiers erupted in cheers, the clinking of their cups echoing in the night sky.

The belated celebration continued until the moon was high in the sky.

Only after the last few drunken soldiers had staggered off, helping each other away, did Lawson return to his room.

He had just closed the wooden door when Roger’s figure emerged from the shadows in the corner like a phantom.

"It seems the Duval Clan has been quite lively lately." Roger leaned casually against the simple wooden table, his black robes shimmering faintly in the dim, yellow light of the oil lamp.

Lawson immediately dropped to one knee. "Master. Kelvin’s daughter was born five days ago. It’s said she was given the name ’Healer of Heaven.’"

At this, Lawson sneered. "How ironic. Back then, it was Kelvin who attacked Sylvan in secret while he was weakened by the curse. And now he gives his own daughter a name like that. If you ask me, he’s probably just itching for the Baron to die sooner so he can rightfully inherit the title."

Roger’s previously nonchalant expression suddenly sharpened with focus.

He had come to gather intelligence himself because he didn’t trust anyone else. Hearing the word "curse," he immediately pressed, "A curse? What are the specific symptoms?"

"The symptoms are very strange. It causes a person to grow weaker by the day, and they also get a feeling of suffocation..." Lawson said, trying hard to recall. "It’s said that even Bishop Alberto was helpless against it."

Roger said, "Suffocation? What does it feel like, exactly?"

Lawson replied, "Like... like an invisible rope is tightening around your neck."

"An invisible rope..." Roger repeated in a low voice, a sharp glint in his eyes. "Are you certain those are the symptoms?"

Lawson said, "Absolutely certain, Master. They say that when Sylvan’s curse acts up, he unconsciously claws at his own neck, saying something is choking him."

Roger shot to his feet and began pacing back and forth in the cramped room. The candlelight cast his shadow on the wall, making it flicker erratically. "Keep talking! Tell me everything you know about this curse!"

As he learned more details, Roger’s heart began to race.

’These symptoms! This presentation!’

’It’s clearly the Noose of the Undead, as recorded in the Book of Undying!’

He had paid a great price to obtain that ancient tome, which was filled with forbidden knowledge.

He clearly remembered that this Magic, while called a curse, was actually a sophisticated curse-transferring art. Furthermore, casting it required a treasure known as the Source of Negative Energy as a medium.

If the information he’d gathered earlier was true, the Mechanical Witch had hastily fled this area while being pursued by the Church Court back then.

This world was far too vast, and information traveled as slowly as a stream in winter.

There were no widespread newspapers, no convenient means of communication. Every region was like an isolated island.

Unless one deliberately dug deep for information, it was impossible to know the specific details of what happened in any given locale.

Roger continued his in-depth conversation with Lawson, and a bold conjecture began to form in his mind.

’To evade the Church Court’s pursuit, the Mechanical Witch likely left the precious Source of Negative Energy behind right here!’

...

Four days later, Baron Duval’s Castle was silent, shrouded in the night.

Roger snuck in as silently as a shadow.

He had initially come just to try his luck, but when he cast his Detection Magic in the stables, an incredulous light burst forth from his eyes.

’He could actually sense the fluctuations of the Source of Negative Energy!’

This was simply a godsend.

Originally, even if his injuries had fully healed, his chances of breaking through to become a Third-Class Wizard Apprentice were less than fifty percent.

But now, with the Source of Negative Energy, his success rate would increase to one hundred percent.

Thus, Roger eagerly began extracting the Energy, following the special technique recorded in the Book of Undying.

Streams of black light slowly rose from the stable’s water trough, drawn by an invisible force to converge in his palm.

Watching this scene, Roger immediately understood the Mechanical Witch’s arrangement from all those years ago.

She had indeed cast the Noose of the Undead here, hiding the Source of Negative Energy in the stables. She used the water to infect the warhorses, and then through the horses, transferred the Magic to the Grooms, followers, and Knights who came into contact with them.

Gazing at the dark Energy slowly swirling in his palm, Roger’s eyes glinted with irrepressible excitement.

However, at this critical moment, the unexpected happened.

Due to his unfamiliarity with the Magic and his still-unhealed old injuries, the negative energy in Roger’s hand suddenly fluctuated violently, and about half of the Energy leaked out uncontrollably.

He hastily cast other Magic to remedy the situation, but it was too late.

Roger sensed that a small portion of the leaked Energy had affected a nearby Groom.

When an ordinary person faced such an impact, it would amplify their innermost fears, creating the most terrifying illusions.

If their Spiritual Power wasn’t strong enough to distinguish illusion from reality, believing they had died in the illusion would cause them to die in reality as well.

Outwardly, it would appear as a sudden death.

’What an unlucky fellow,’ Roger thought coldly. ’These ignorant mortals will probably just chalk it up to a Demon’s mischief again.’

He had no intention of personally cleaning up the mess; doing so would only increase the risk of exposure.

In any case, half of the Source of Negative Energy was enough for his breakthrough.

Roger took one last look in the direction the Energy had leaked before turning to leave without hesitation.

His dark robes fluttered in the night as his entire body slowly turned transparent, melting into the darkness.

’If I don’t attract the Church Court’s attention in the future, perhaps I can come back to collect the other half.’

He calculated in his mind, having already decided to leave the Duval Baron’s Domain. He wouldn’t even linger at the borders of the Rosenia Kingdom, but would choose a new, safe place to perform the ritual and absorb this precious negative energy.

...

NEIGH!

Faced with the Shadow Horse’s heavy, powerful strike, Murphy couldn’t block it at all.

An ordinary warhorse weighed at least fifteen times as much as a man, and the towering Shadow Horse before him was at least twenty times Murphy’s weight.

He was able to contend with the Shadow Horse by relying on human agility, but in terms of strength, he was no match for it whatsoever.

BANG!

Even though his Knight’s Sword had deflected part of the blow’s force, the remaining impact landed squarely on his chest.

Murphy felt his organs roil and heard the sickening sound of his ribs cracking—CRACK, CRACK.

He was thrown heavily against the wall behind him, and blood spewed from his mouth.

’Am I going to die here?’

The thought had barely crossed his mind when a powerful surge of anger washed over him.

’Five years of forbearance, five years of waiting... I was on the verge of completing the task for "option two," only to fail at the very last moment?’

Murphy proactively followed the principles of the Breathing Guide, forcing the Qi in his body to circulate to his kidneys.

The adrenaline that was already pumping through him was now secreted even more frantically, the excess hormones making his body temporarily forget the pain.

But the price for this was immense. Even if he could kill the Shadow Horse, the excessive adrenaline would overload his heart, eventually leading to death by cardiac arrest.

However, Murphy no longer cared.

In this era of primitive medical care, such severe injuries were nearly impossible to treat anyway.

Besides, if he couldn’t kill the enemy before him, he wouldn’t survive the night.

"ARGH—!"

Murphy let out a roar and suddenly leaped up from the ground, as if completely unaffected by his grievous injuries, and swung his Knight’s Sword wildly at the Shadow Horse.

The blade even made a harsh, tearing sound as it sliced through the shadow.

The Shadow Horse seemed to have been weakened by its special attack from earlier. It was unable to launch another assault like before and could only let Murphy relentlessly hack away at it.

As time passed, the shadows composing its body gradually faded, and its silhouette began to blur.

However, human strength has its limits, and the adrenaline-fueled surge would eventually run out.

Just as the Shadow Horse was about to fade away completely, Murphy was the first to give out, collapsing heavily to the ground.

In response, the Shadow Horse let out a low neigh. It didn’t take the opportunity to attack Murphy, but instead slowly retreated into the shadows of the night.

Before leaving, it raised its head arrogantly, as if mocking Murphy for overestimating his own strength.