The Old Spider

The two agreed to meet at the Order's south gate at noon the next day to head to Lizard Alley.

After Andrey left, Robb returned to the study in his workshop, his mind churning with thoughts.

After a long contemplation, he decided to make full preparations to ensure the trip would go smoothly.

He pulled out a piece of paper and began listing the items he would need to bring:

Several healing potions, two defensive potions, one speed enhancer, and a few alchemical flash bombs. Although his transformation into a Bloodline Knight had greatly enhanced his physique, given the potential danger in Lizard Alley, a bit of extra preparation wouldn't hurt.

…

Oliver stood in his private quarters at the top of a high tower, gazing out over the Black Mist Forest through the window.

Night had fallen, and countless mana crystal lamps lit up across the Order like stars scattered in the dark forest.

In the distance, strange lights flickered in the experimentation zone, accompanied by low rumbles, signs of a wizard conducting a transcendent experiment.

The sight should have been calming, but Oliver's face was dark and tense.

On his desk lay the latest ranking of the reserve wizard candidates. One name was circled in red, Robb Reyne.

"Twenty-fourth… moved up six places," Oliver murmured, tapping the table with his fingers. "This kid's rising far too fast."

The Reserve Wizard Track had thirty members in total, all the most promising Intermediate and High Apprentices in the Order.

A higher rank meant more resources and opportunities, and more attention from the Order's upper echelon.

"Potion Resonance…" Oliver said softly. This was Robb's publicly known special talent and one of the main reasons behind his rapid rise.

"A rare talent indeed. No wonder Lady Corinna took an interest in him."

At the mention of Corinna, Oliver's expression became even more complicated.

As one of the Order's formal and influential wizards, Corinna's every move was closely watched.

Her recent interest in Robb had already sparked considerable speculation.

Oliver took a sip from a glass of red liquid.

It was a special potion meant to soothe mental fatigue. It had a light strawberry aroma, but its aftertaste was bitter, much like Oliver's current mood.

"Darude…" Oliver sighed, recalling the incident from a few months ago.

It had started as a minor trick targeting Hugo.

He had secretly implanted a suggestion in Darude's mind, already mentally unstable, to further distort his thinking, hoping he'd cause trouble for Holt during patrols.

But things spiraled out of control. Darude completely lost it and let a batch of valuable research notes fall into Robb's hands.

"A clever trick that backfired..." Oliver muttered bitterly, setting down his glass.

He had thought those notes would be useless to Robb, especially Darude's soundwave spell research.

Everyone in the Order who had reviewed that work believed it was fundamentally flawed and unviable.

Even the complete memory fragment Oliver had extracted from Darude's mind confirmed this.

The theoretical framework for the soundwave spell was unstable and couldn't support a workable model.

"Strange…" Oliver murmured.

"I clearly extracted everything from Darude's memory, every bit of his research, and yet, the notes Robb has clearly contain something more. Did Darude hide something elsewhere?"

This question had haunted Oliver, especially after rumors spread that Robb had mastered a stronger version of a sound-based spell.

He walked to a bookshelf and pressed a hidden mechanism.

The shelf slowly shifted, revealing a secret door.

Passing through a narrow passage, he entered a hidden room.

In the center of the room sat a massive cage made of a special alloy. Inside was a twisted figure.

The creature was vaguely human, but its limbs were grotesquely elongated, and its skin was covered with inky black veins that moved like liquid.

The only human feature left was a distorted yet still recognizable face, his brother, Marcus.

Earlier, Oliver had learned through the Enforcement Team's covert channels about Karl's death.

The Elementary Apprentice who often took commissions near the edge of the forest was found dead on the outskirts of the northern district, his body showing signs of mutation and corruption.

Oliver knew the true cause.

The abomination that killed Karl had been a failed experiment, a fusion test subject used to test the effects of the Sin-Domain Black Crystal.

And that experiment… had once been Marcus, his own brother.

"Good evening, Marcus," Oliver said softly, his voice weary.

The creature in the cage snapped its head up, letting out a sound between a howl and a sob.

Its eyes, once similar to Oliver's, were now filled with black fluid, leaving only a faint red gleam in the center.

"I brought you something new…" Oliver paused, then pulled out a piece of black crystal. "This should ease your pain."

But Marcus didn't react to the crystal.

His monstrous face turned toward the wall, where the latest reserve wizard ranking was posted.

Black fluid seeped from his eyes, sizzling on the floor and eating through it in small pits.

Following his gaze, Oliver saw Robb's photo on the chart.

At some point, Marcus's claws had carved deep grooves into the floor, almost tearing through the metal.

"You noticed him too?" Oliver gave a bitter smile. "Yeah, that kid's rising far too fast."

Marcus let out a low growl in response.

Oliver put down the crystal and prepared to leave the chamber.

His current situation felt increasingly suffocating.

Cynthia had stopped meeting with him. She had apparently found a stable source of Sin-Domain Black Crystal on her own.

"Those bastards…" Oliver clenched his fists. "They must've gone behind my back to deal with her directly."

What worried him even more was the recent change in his mentor's behavior, the way he looked at him had become strange.

That scrutinizing gaze made Oliver feel naked, as if all his secrets had been laid bare.

"I'm cornered, aren't I?" Oliver whispered to himself.

He knew his options were dwindling.

Continuing to rely on Sin-Domain Black Crystal for power meant escalating risks, he could be discovered by the Order at any time.

But if he stopped, his ranking would inevitably drop, and for an ambitious High Apprentice, that would be a slow death.

Perhaps his last option was to fully awaken using the black crystal and defect from the Order.

A path full of danger, but one that still held a glimmer of hope.

Oliver closed his eyes in pain. His temples throbbed.

He felt exhausted, more than ever, like he stood on a cliff's edge, pursued from behind, staring down into a bottomless abyss.

Meanwhile, inside the hidden room, the mutated Marcus continued staring at Robb's picture. Black fluid leaked from every pore, gathering at the bottom of the cage into a writhing black pool.

His claws kept digging into the floor, making a piercing screech against the metal, further aggravating Oliver, who finally pressed the shock button.

"ARRRRGHHHHHHH!!"

…

The next day at noon, Robb and Andrey met as planned at the south gate.

Andrey had dressed lightly for combat today, wearing flexible gear with a sharp longsword at his waist.

Robb wore a plain dark robe and held what looked like an ordinary wooden staff, but was actually his ironwood sword in disguise.

"Ready?" Andrey asked, excitement flickering in his eyes.

Robb nodded. "All set. Let's go."

Leaving the Order grounds, the two took a less-traveled path toward Lizard Alley.

Compared to their last visit, they were more familiar with the route and moved quickly.

Along the way, Robb explained the purpose of this trip:

"I need to find the old woman who sent people to ambush us last time. She may have information I need."

"The old hag? The one with the yellowish skin and sunken eyes?" Andrey recalled. "She didn't look special, but if she really sent people after us, she's not ordinary."

Robb nodded in agreement. "Exactly. But this time, we're prepared, she won't catch us off guard."

They passed through a dim path where the tendrils of the Watcher Mushroom spread like spiderwebs underfoot.

Robb noticed the mushrooms were more active today, faint patterns on their caps flickered like they were relaying information.

At Lizard Alley's entrance, the totem of a multi-headed dragon loomed ominously in the dim light.

Through the archway, they entered the chaotic market they now recognized.

Lizard Alley was even noisier and more crowded than before.

Vendors of many races shouted over each other, the air thick with the scent of spices, herbs, and fluids from unknown creatures.

"This shortcut helped. The Sunset Tavern should be a bit farther in," Robb pointed ahead. "Let's find the gray dwarf Otto first, he should know something about the old woman."

They pushed through the noisy crowd and reached the Sunset Tavern.

Compared to last time, the tavern was busier and louder.

Thanks to their previous dealings, they bypassed the entrance checks and found Otto's booth with ease.

The gray dwarf was seated, examining a few bottles of variously colored potions with a focused look.

When he saw Robb and Andrey, he was briefly surprised, then grinned slyly.

"Well, if it isn't you two!"

Otto greeted them with his gruff voice. "Been a while. What're you after today?"

Robb got straight to the point: "I'm looking for someone."

He pulled out a sheet of paper with a lifelike portrait of the old woman, every wrinkle and spot rendered in perfect detail, thanks to his Well-Read trait and photographic memory.

Otto glanced at it and instantly grew wary.

"This old lady… why are you looking for her?"

"She wasn't too friendly with us last time. I thought I'd return the favor," Robb said coolly, a flicker of cold light in his eyes.

Otto shook his head. "Bad idea, kid. That old hag isn't ordinary. Not many people in Lizard Alley outrank her."

Robb smiled faintly and placed his potion master's badge on the table.

"I'm not ordinary either."

The gray dwarf's eyes widened. "A professional potion master?"

He was shocked. "Last time you were just…"

"People grow," Robb said calmly. "Now, what do you know about the old woman?"

Otto hesitated, then shook his head.

"Even with your status, that info's dangerous."

Robb wasn't in a rush. He slowly extended his hand, and a ring of golden-red light flickered in his palm, a portion of Radiant Ring's energy pattern.

"I think we can strike a mutually beneficial deal."

His tone remained calm, but Otto clearly felt the immense magical energy in Robb's palm.

If unleashed, it could reduce the entire tavern to rubble.

"I'll give you ten magic stone shards," Robb continued, "and one free appraisal service from a certified potion master. Those potions you were just inspecting… seem a little hard to verify, no?"

This kid is insane!

Otto's expression became a mixture of shock, greed, and fear.

Eventually, he took a deep breath and nodded. "Deal."

Tempted by Robb's identification skills and the magic stones, Otto revealed everything:

"Her name is Mora, known as 'The Old Spider.' They say she's a master of all kinds of weird magic. She runs a shop deep in Lizard Alley called The Maze Pawnshop. It's filled with strange items."

Otto lowered his voice.

"She's guarded by lizardman warriors and other thugs. Rumor has it she keeps a pet ogre mage… even High Apprentices don't want to mess with that thing."

"Why did she attack us?" Robb asked directly.

"The Old Spider never does first-time trades," Otto explained. "She always tests her visitors first, to see if they're worthy. You two were lucky to escape last time."

After leaving the tavern, the two headed deeper into Lizard Alley.

Andrey scoffed, "A 'test' is just a fancy word for robbery. If she tries it again, I'll be happy to show her thugs what dragonfire tastes like."

They followed a narrow stone road deeper into the alley. The shops grew sparse, and the air turned damp and oppressive.

As they turned a corner, Robb suddenly felt a mental disturbance.

He stopped abruptly, his mental focus flaring as he scanned their surroundings.

"Ambush," he said quietly, gripping his staff, ready to transform it back into the ironwood sword.

Andrey nodded slightly, his golden vertical pupils narrowing to pinpricks. "I smell… some kind of reptilian creature. Probably lizardmen."

As soon as he spoke, several figures emerged from the shadows ahead, blocking the path.

Eight burly lizardman warriors, fully armed with curved blades and shields.

"Humans," the leader hissed, tongue flicking. "Hand over your magic stones and valuables… or prepare to be our next meal."

Robb and Andrey exchanged a glance, and saw the same resolve in each other's eyes.