In the endless darkness, a stout, giant tree burst through the void, soaring to the sky. Countless twisted, withered branches spread in all directions, taking root in the entire world.

An ugly face appeared on the trunk. As if it had gone through countless evolutions, the face had only one closed eye and a gaping, bloody maw filled with sharp fangs.

Countless tiny branches emerged from its mouth, soft as silk threads, probing forward.

Gradually, the face grew clearer and detached itself from the trunk.

With a head possessing only an eye and a mouth, it grew hands formed from countless branches and two abnormally thick, beast-like legs.

The monster’s form grew clearer, outlining a twisted kind of beauty.

Its skin was pale, cracked like a rotting tree trunk. Countless tentacles hung down naturally, and tightly closed eyes were densely scattered all over its body.

And on its chest and abdomen, Wei’en was hanging, wrapped at the waist by a long tongue, sleeping soundly with a peaceful expression.

He only felt a warmth enveloping his body. It was very comfortable, very satisfying...

After an unknown amount of time, the entire dark space slowly faded into nothingness. The bizarre monster merged back into the trunk, and the giant tree shrank into a ball, becoming a single point that merged into Wei’en’s body.

[You have successfully resisted the origin corrosion from an unknown existence. Your origin characteristics have mutated. Special Rewards: Origin +3, Spirit Level +3, Resilience Level +3.]

[Congratulations, your class: Wizard, has been upgraded to Advanced Apprentice! Special Rewards: Survival Points +3, Spirit Level +5.]

Wei’en slowly opened his eyes. Seeing the scene around him, he murmured, "There are four Xiaoxis now..."

Ghost: "Baba."

Driver: "Baba."

Newborn Xiaoxi: "Sijunen."

Newborn Xiaoxi: "Tecsi."

Four heads floated in the air, facing each other in pairs.

Wei’en easily distinguished Ghost and Driver; the Rune Brandings on their foreheads were clearly visible.

The two newborn Xiaoxis, however, only knew to blankly open their mouths and chant the Meditation Spell.

’I didn’t expect that leveling up the Meditation Technique to level 3 would create not three, but four origin children...’

Wei’en shook his dazed head, climbed up from the floor, and glanced at the grandfather clock—8 PM.

’Was I unconscious for two hours?’

Wei’en frowned. ’This was longer than before, wasn’t it?’

Then, he opened his panel and started looking through it.

’I’ve already been promoted to Advanced? That’s good news...’

’I thought I’d only be able to advance after upgrading my Soul-Devouring Magic. I never expected that adding points to the Meditation Technique would yield such a huge reward.’

’Meditation Technique... origin characteristic corrosion...’

The scene from when he fell unconscious appeared in Wei’en’s mind. That dreamlike scene had actually become a memory.

’The withered, towering tree, the twisted monster, and me... tied up by a tongue...’

’Just what kind of unknown existence was that?’

’Before, it just had my face on its abdomen. This time, it actually used a tongue formed from branches to hang me.’

’What about next time?’

’It’s not going to hold my entire body in its mouth, is it...?’

The very thought of that image made Wei’en shudder. He always felt that the Ghost Soul School’s Soul-Devouring Technique was far too abnormal.

Although he didn’t know what the Meditation Techniques of other schools were like, the Ghost Soul School’s was definitely one of the strangest.

’I wonder if the other Wizards in the Ghost Soul School go through the same thing when they upgrade their Meditation Technique?’

With this thought, Wei’en’s gaze shifted to the metal card on the table. ’Clelia mentioned there might be Wizards from the school in the Nightmare Realm, right?’

’If possible, I should find a Wizard from the Ghost Soul School in there and ask them.’

’It would be worth it, no matter how much money it costs!’

...

...

At this moment, somewhere on the Northern Continent, very far from the Caster City State, a fairy-tale-like castle stood atop a snowy peak.

The castle’s outer walls were made entirely of crystal-clear blocks of ice, each one emitting a faint blue glow.

Under the light of the red moon, the ice blocks shimmered like rubies, casting a faint red glow that illuminated the surrounding snow and ice.

The castle’s majestic tower rose from its center, overlooking the magnificent scenery of the entire Glacier Mountain Range—a wonderland of snow-capped, overlapping peaks.

"Red Moon Contamination Experiment #113,759,431. The contamination characteristic penetrates the body directly. After being resisted by the soul for an extremely brief period, it descends upon the origin..."

"Conclusion: Flesh and blood have no way of resisting the Red Moon contamination. The soul’s self-preservation can partially weaken the contamination characteristic. Only Origin Power can resist it..."

At the top of the tower, in a laboratory filled with precision instruments, two Wizards in black robes were looking at the contents of a piece of parchment.

From their exposed skeletal arms and heads, it was clear that they had both abandoned their bodies to permanently become Undead Creatures.

"Origin Power... so we still have to vigorously promote Soul-Devouring Magic?"

"It seems to be the only way for now."

"Then... shall we revise the school’s teaching policies based on this conclusion, Boras?"

"We can. However..."

Boras raised his translucent, crystalline skull and pointed a bony finger at a spot on the parchment. "Anenep, have you noticed this?"

"Hm?"

Anenep glanced over, flecks of red light glinting in his pitch-black eye sockets. "The intercepted Red Moon contamination has increased by one percentage point?"

Boras said slowly, "Yes. I don’t think this is because the Red Moon has turned its attention to the Northern Continent, but rather..."

"But that its power has increased? Is that what you’re trying to say?"

"Yes."

Anenep had also considered this possibility. "It seems the research direction the school established long ago was correct. The Red Moon’s danger level is higher than the Dawn’s. What do you plan to do?"

"Next, we’ll change our research direction..."

DONG, DONG DONG...

"Hm? What’s going on? Who is ringing the death knell?" Boras’s voice was ice-cold, seemingly annoyed that someone had interrupted his thoughts.

Anenep tilted his head to listen for a moment. "Forget it. Let’s stop here for today. We’ll wait until tomorrow, gather them to announce the research findings, and then decide."

"I suppose that’s all we can do..."

But while the two Skeleton Mages were worrying over their Red Moon contamination research, a certain place at the base of the Ice and Snow Castle had descended into chaos.

"Anomaly Number 337, Wizard Number 10038234, Wei’en Loft."

"Identity: Intelligence Officer of Caster City State, Shetland Kingdom, Eastern Continent..."

"Anomaly description: Advanced from primary apprentice to Advanced Apprentice within one week, number of origin children greater than two, Meditation Technique level greater than 1, suspected Secret Art Spell System..."

Administrator Kedir Khan Harrison of the Ghost Soul School’s Apprentice Management Office reported, drenched in sweat, "Sheldon the Great Wizard, that is the reason the death knell was rung."

"Advanced to Advanced Apprentice in one week... you say?"

Sheldon had a handsome face, making it hard to tell he was already 163 years old. He wore a faded robe. "Interesting."

Kedir Khan cursed inwardly. ’Of course it’s interesting.’

’Ever since the Fifth Era began, no one has ever seen an apprentice advance to Advanced in under half a year...’

"My lord, what should we do now?"

Sheldon glanced at him. "First, send someone to confirm his status. I remember Olivia is in Shetland, isn’t she?"

"Yes. Because of the last experimental accident... she has been exiled to Klande for a full two years."

"Has it been two years already?"

Sheldon chuckled lightly. "Then have her go to Caster to confirm the status of our anomaly. Also, tell her that upon completing the mission, she will be permitted to return to the snow plains."

"Understood."

Kedir Khan hesitated for a moment before asking, "Um, according to the school’s regulations, an Intelligence Officer who advances to Advanced Apprentice is supposed to receive a reward..."

"Issue it as normal. We’ll decide on the rest after Olivia confirms he hasn’t been contaminated by other powers."

Sheldon looked out the window. "For a genius like this to appear in the Fifth Era of the Divine Prohibition Era... I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. I can only hope that he..."