[Purification of nightmare as designated identity, evaluation increased]
[Killed Amos, evaluation increased]
[As Elle, wounded Amos’s left eye, evaluation increased]
[Comprehensive Evaluation—B]
[Received 152 points of public experience, Perception +1]
[Current purification rate is 39/350, can re-enter the instance after 71:59 minutes]
[Received instance clearance reward: Profession (self-selected) increased by 1 level]
"Can I refrain from using it for now?"
Annan asked in his mind with his eyes closed.
Because of the erroneous information from Priest Louis, Annan entered the wrong difficulty level of the instance. His instance clearance reward could have allowed a silver-tier profession to advance one level... but sadly, he had not even reached the bronze tier himself.
However, sadly, he must apply this professional level before he wakes up.
"Then, I choose Wizard Apprentice."
Annan recited in his mind.
As long as Annan’s Wizard profession advanced by another level, he would be able to match Tan Juan’s level in the identity of a Transcendent. This would greatly reduce the possibility of his identity being revealed...
After all, both were black-haired and blue-eyed, with a similar build and height. Both were Transcendents of the same tier, both Wizards of the Disabling School.
Such a coincidence would be very unlikely to replicate.
According to what Salvatore said, it would be nearly impossible to find a second such case throughout the entire Kingdom of Noah.
Nobody would have thought that the young heir of the Winter Duke would appear in the Kingdom of Noah at this time.
Indeed, not even Annan had anticipated it.
And after Annan chose this reward, his professional profile had already become :
Wizard (Disabling School) LV11: [Instant Spells LV3 (Cold Touch, Lazy Eye, none yet)], [Guided Spells LV2 (Wall of Stagnation, Frost Nova)], [Chanting Spells LV1 (Wheel of Frost)]
Annan’s Wizard Apprentice had finally fully advanced to a Wizard.
He also acquired a new associated spell, Wheel of Frost—Annan suspected this spell might be standard for the Disabling School.
It probably was the spell that Tan Juan had demonstrated in front of Annan, the one that summoned a wheel made of illusionary frost that rolled precisely over Claus without damaging the deck—
[Wheel of Frost (Chanting Spell): Requires Element of Frost/Element of Extreme Cold/Freezing Element as the core. Forms a wheel-shaped band of light with murky mana bound by curses, pursuing and rolling over the designated target with increasing speed. The wheel lasts up to 11 seconds (depending on the Wizard profession level) and dissipates naturally after completing its pursuit]
[When cast with Element of Frost: The initial movement speed of the wheel is tripled]
[When cast with Element of Extreme Cold: Leaves a lasting, difficult-to-remove frost poison on the enemy]
[When cast with Freezing Element: The wheel’s attack instantly freezes the enemy]
[Currently mastered: Element of Frost]
[Chanting words: "Frost forms the wheel,— forms the path"]
[Opening an unmastered element temporarily costs ten points of Power of Order; each chant consumes one point of Power of Distortion and at least one point of Power of Order. The power (size of the wheel) depends on the amount of Power of Order invested]
This was the first time Annan had seen such a lengthy description for just one spell.
But this undoubtedly indicated that Annan had truly mastered the transcendental abilities of a Wizard.
It was no longer those life-saving instant spells, nor the guided spells that required teammates’ cooperation.
It was the true combat ability of a mage, a true long-range combat ability—
At the very least, this spell was maxed out in special effects!
Furthermore, due to his inherent template, Annan had an abundance of mana and had already mastered the Element of Frost.
This meant he could easily summon a very large, astonishingly fast-moving Wheel of Frost. Or he could repeatedly summon smaller wheels, continuously pursuing distant enemies.
After Annan reviewed the newly acquired spell, the instance’s decryption reward also popped up:
[Hidden element deciphered: 60%]
[First stage reward available (earned at 33% completion)]
To his surprise, although Annan had fought in the low-end version of the third stage only once, he had nearly unlocked more than half of the content.
You should know that this copy has a total of six stages...
This indicates that Annan’s speculation about the plot was indeed not far off. At least he seems to have guessed the framework correctly...
"Claim it, claim it."
Annan claimed the reward without hesitation.
He eagerly anticipated what other rewards the copy could offer him.
The simple difficulty copy had already restored Annan to full status and elevated an unranked profession level. This was a Twisted-tier copy... and the "copy within a copy" that Annan faced was of silver difficulty!
It should provide something even better...
[Received copy decryption reward: 200 points of public experience, the cursed object "Bloodstained Cleaver"]
[Bloodstained Cleaver]
[Type: Weapon/Tool/Miscellaneous (Blue)]
[Description: A cleaver that cannot ever be wiped clean of blood, continuously dripping fresh blood]
[Effect: The holder will suffer the Curse Binding of "Portrait Ruiner," "Remarkable Throw"]
[Portrait Ruiner: If the holder sees a portrait of a middle-aged woman while holding the "Bloodstained Cleaver," they must throw the cleaver within three seconds, otherwise the holder themselves will be injured by the cleaver]
[Remarkable Throw: When this item is thrown, it will automatically seek enemies within a small range, as if the Decree School spell of the same name, "Remarkable Throw," has been cast on it]
Annan’s eyes lit up as he weighed the cleaver in his hand and couldn’t help but exclaim.
"Don’t be so quick to praise the cleaver..."
At that moment, a voice, weary beyond measure, came from beside Annan: "First, determine your curse container—ring? Or necklace? Bracelet? Or something else? It needs to be close to your Curse Binding."
When he opened his eyes, he saw Salvatore not far from him, looking at him with an exhausted expression.
On the table in front of him was an assortment of bronze jewelry.
"Give me a bracelet... this one."
After a moment’s thought, Annan stretched out his right hand towards a bronze bracelet inlaid with sapphires.
"You sure can pick..."
Salvatore muttered, "That just happens to be the most expensive one."
Yes, I also thought it was the most expensive, that’s why I chose it.
Annan added in his mind.
But seeing that the ritual was not yet complete, he refrained from voicing this thought, fearing that it might irritate Salvatore and cause his senior to drop the task in frustration.
Moreover, considering Salvatore’s exhaustion, he must have been without sleep. Or had not slept well, waiting for Annan to return from the copy...
Though Annan didn’t say anything, he felt a warmth in his heart.
The bronze bracelet, slightly too big for Annan’s delicate wrist, shrunk as the black mud from his right forearm seemed to be attracted to it, slowly moving toward the bracelet and seeping into it, bit by bit.
As the black mud infiltrated, the bracelet started to shrink gradually. Its weight also began to decrease in a curious manner... until Annan felt its thickness and weight weren’t obstructive, at which point the adjustment was complete.
"You see, it’s that simple. Not troublesome at all."
Salvatore lay sprawled across the table, eyes half-closed, complaining as if he were a salted fish, "I think what’s bothersome is that it would have been nice if you’d woken up half a day earlier...
"It’s not even noon yet. Ah... I have to endure another day before I can sleep..."
Hearing this, Annan felt a stir in his heart.
He asked Salvatore, "Senior, how long was it after I entered the Nightmare?"
"Two days. To be more precise, in half an hour, it will be exactly fifty hours."
Salvatore sighed and closed his eyes to rest.
But the corners of his mouth curl up slightly, his voice deep and lazy:
"To be honest, you... your talent is really not bad. And it’s quite reassuring.
"With this, I can leave with peace of mind."