Chapter 190: Chapter 146: Awakening "We found some strange experimental records and alchemy tools at her residence, initially judging that she may have tried some kind of dangerous experiment, or... already defected." This news surprised everyone present. Defection is an extremely rare event in the Black Mist School, as all apprentices sign a contract upon joining. Defection means facing the pain of contract backlash, or even death. Oliver’s reaction to this news was particularly noteworthy: His expression didn’t change, but Ron keenly noticed that his fingers suddenly stopped tapping, obviously, the news had some impact on him. "Continue the investigation, report immediately if there are new findings." The deputy dean gave the instruction, then turned to the second topic: "Next, we’ll discuss the preparation work for the opening of the bloodline altar in half a year." Hearing the term "bloodline altar," Ron immediately focused intently. He noticed that not only himself, but almost all sequence members also showed great interest, even Trish, who was usually calm, had a glimmer of anticipation in her eyes. "According to the allocation from the Crystal Tower, our school will have five spots to enter the bloodline altar. These five spots will be selected from the top ten in the candidate wizard sequence, and the specific candidates will be finalized at the next quarterly assessment meeting." The deputy dean’s gaze swept over everyone present: "So, the next three months are a crucial period for you to fight for these spots. I hope to see more young people like Holt, Trish, and Ron who show outstanding potential rising above the rest." Hearing his name mentioned alongside Holt and Trish, Ron felt a slight satisfaction rising in his heart. This meant that his progress had been recognized by the highest level of the school. What followed was a clear goal: he must enter the top ten or even the top five before the next quarterly assessment to secure his eligibility to enter the bloodline altar. The meeting went on to discuss some specific administrative matters and ended with a round of applause. As everyone began to leave one by one, Ron also walked to the stone steps outside the hall. A hand gently reached out, he felt a familiar presence, and did not avoid it. A pat on the shoulder, turning around, it was indeed Trish, her eyes shining with joy and a desire to share. "Congratulations, Ron." Trish said calmly, though the joy in her eyes was undeniable: "In just less than half a year, you’ve jumped directly to the fourteenth position, which is a rare achievement in sequence history." "You’re also remarkable, I remember you entered the sequence less than a year ago." Ron smiled, exchanging mutual compliments: "From over the twentieth position to the tenth, your rise isn’t much slower than mine." Trish nodded, a hint of excitement flashing in her eyes, but she quickly returned to her calm and composed expression: "Corina Master has recently intensified my training, especially in bloodline activation." She cautiously looked around, ensuring no one else was paying attention, then subtly lifted her hair to show Ron behind her ear. The ears there had already shown noticeable Forest Elf characteristics, taking on a pointed conical shape, more pronounced than the last time they met. "Looks like one spot in the bloodline altar is already in your pocket." Ron genuinely felt happy for her. "Your chances of securing a spot are also very high." Trish pressed her lips, her voice lowering, with a rare hint of closeness: "With your current upward momentum, entering the top ten next quarter shouldn’t be a problem, then we can enter the bloodline altar together." Just as the two were talking, Holt walked over with a polite smile on his face: "Congratulations to both of you, especially you, Ron, your rate of progress is extraordinary." Ron knew that as the first in the sequence, it was natural for Holt to maintain good relations with all members: "Thank you, Senior Holt, you’ve always been a role model for everyone to learn from." Holt nodded slightly, his gaze carrying a hint of sincere praise: "I heard that you’ve recently made considerable achievements in alchemy and elemental control, looking forward to having a chance to exchange ideas next time." "It would be my honor." Ron responded politely, not easily making promises. By the way, he used his "Extraordinary Recognition" ability to scan around, finding that none had special talents. The sequence members each might have their own strengths, but none had reached the level of "special talent." Holt’s steady position at the top was not only because of his sufficiently high aptitude in the upper ranks of the fourth-class star but also due to his proficiency in many areas, with almost no obvious weaknesses making him an all-round achiever. Having stayed at the school long enough, this made his position practically unshakeable. As for risking a peek at an Official Wizard, he didn’t dare to bet. Currently, he was only at the skilled level of "Extraordinary Recognition," and when targeting them, he wasn’t sure if their extremely sensitive spiritual force fields would detect it. His intuition told him not to try rashly... Then, several other leading members of the sequence also came up to greet Ron. Obviously, his outstanding performance had caught the attention of the entire sequence, everyone wanted to establish a connection with this potential rising star. As Ron was about to leave, he noticed Oliver standing in a corner of the hall, looking at him with a complicated expression. Oliver noticed Ron’s gaze, barely mustered a smile, nodded to him, and then quickly left the hall. Ron returned a polite smile, but remained alert at heart. Upon leaving the hall, he took a deep breath, contemplating the plans ahead. He set his goals to become an Advanced Apprentice and complete the "Bloodline Modifier" branch advancement by the next quarterly meeting, and obtain the School’s recognized "Modulator" qualification. "Bloodline Modulation" being a branch of Magic Potion Making, getting certified as a "Modulator" wouldn’t be too conspicuous, as it could be explained that he already had a foundation, learning quickly. But if he were to get certified as an "Alchemist," that would be a bit too far-fetched. He had already checked, and there was no "Medicine and Artifact Dual Expert" type of Special Talent on the list. "Three months is enough." Ron murmured in his heart: "The first goal is the ’Bloody Gladiatorial Games’ in a month, aiming for the championship to increase prestige; then to advance to Advanced Apprentice before the next quarterly assessment meeting, obtaining the Modulator certification, and increase my ranking to at least the top five, to firmly secure a spot for the Bloodline Altar." This is an arduous task, but not impossible to accomplish. Especially after knowing the power of "Grace," growth speed is expected to further enhance. Ron quickly walked back on the path to the workshop, knowing that in the Extraordinary World, stagnation means death. ......... As night fell, Oliver stood alone in front of the window, his gaze piercing through the thick fog, looking towards the distant looming tower of the School. His face appeared especially grim under the candlelight, holding tightly in his hand a slip of paper detailing today’s quarterly assessment meeting results. "Sixth place... I once reached second place before!" He suddenly crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it into the fireplace; the flames instantly devoured it. "I used to be an object of envy too..." He chuckled self-deprecatingly: "It seems everything began to go wrong after encountering those Black Wizards..." Oliver turned towards the corner of the room at a corpse—a young alien shell, with the brain already hollowed out, leaving only an empty skull. This was his latest research material, obtained from secret black market transactions. "Spiritual contamination is accumulating more severely." He gazed at the black streaks spreading across his right hand, a long-term consequence of contact with Sin Domain Black Crystal: "If I can’t find a more effective purification method, or a stronger energy source soon..." He didn’t finish, but the conclusion was clear—he would be unable to stop himself from being completely overwhelmed by Spiritual Contamination, ultimately becoming a mindless walking corpse. Oliver walked over to a mirror, checking his appearance carefully. On the surface, he maintained a flawless facade. But only he knew, every time he looked in the mirror, he had to use Spiritual Power to make subtle adjustments to cover up those quietly emerging signs of distortion. He turned and walked to the other side of the room to the desk, where a manuscript lay open, detailing the steps of the "Brain Extraction Technique." "This Secret Technique... is it really my master’s goodwill?" Oliver sneered as he flipped through the manuscript: "In hindsight, it’s evidently a trap he deliberately set for me." Recalling how his master "accidentally" let him discover this manuscript, and casually disclosed the existence of this Secret Technique, Oliver’s gaze grew colder. "Everything was meticulously designed... He knew I had the ’Living Assimilation’ Special Talent, intentionally leading me down this path." Oliver gently caressed the complex runes and diagrams on the manuscript, bitterly discovering the many cleverly set restrictions among them: This Secret Technique seemed powerful, able to extract knowledge and abilities from another’s brain, but in reality, it had extremely stringent conditions on the target: It can only affect targets with Spiritual Power far lower than the caster, and can only extract those superficial, non-core fragments of abilities. Even with his Special Talent, he could not obtain those truly core abilities through this method. "These restrictions... these intricate loopholes... are clearly designed to keep me from ever surpassing those true geniuses, while people like Trish and Ron are well-protected..." Oliver clenched his fist, nails digging deep into his palm: "I’ve absorbed so much material, perhaps I’ll never reach Holt’s level." He looked at the alien corpse in the corner, brain hollowed out, eyes filled with despair: "I’m merely wasting myself, in exchange for some trivial fragments of ability." And the Spiritual Contamination was exactly the side effect of this forbidden Secret Technique, slowly devouring his reason and future. "Perhaps, Cynthia choosing to escape was the wisest decision..." As for him, he might have been living under the Master’s covert surveillance and deliberate guidance all along, just waiting for the right moment to harvest him directly... The other party, being the one who researched the "Brain Extraction Technique," might have precisely the special outcome of being able to fully devour the target’s beneficial parts without suffering a rebound. "Cynthia chose to escape..." He said softly, recalling that former ally: "But I cannot leave, the bonds of the contract are too strong, unless..." "I also undergo a complete awakening like Cynthia, ha, awakening, what a wonderful word..."