Wizard: Starting from the Skill Tree-Chapter 527: Reunion with Simon

The development of the Void Insect Race in the sea is extremely smooth, at least much faster than that of the Void Insect Race on the mainland, with many extremely excellent species already appearing.

The Stealth Sting Shark and the Heavy Armored Crab are just some of the common species, while the Plasma Jellyfish, Split Fin Hunter, and other difficult races are also present.

For example, the Plasma Jellyfish has a translucent umbrella-shaped body, with its interior flickering with unstable ghostly blue electric light.

Its tentacles are extremely long, resembling a floating forest of seaweed, extending up to several hundred meters.

The Plasma Jellyfish is generally a Level 2 Lifeform, possessing extremely powerful large-scale destructive capability.

It can shoot a high-pressure plasma ball that explodes violently in a designated area, causing widespread seawater electrolysis and creating a brief but deadly arc zone.

The Split Fin Hunter has a humanoid slender torso, but its limbs are sharp bony blades.

Sharp bony plates extend from its back and joints, resembling broken ship sails, capable of high-frequency vibration in water.

Through high-frequency vibrations, they effectively cut through the resistance of seawater, making their attack speed far surpass that of ordinary underwater creatures, and able to saw through solid armor.

...

Duke memorized all this information in his mind, then looked around the simple room. It had all the basic necessities, though it looked somewhat crude.

There’s no room for demanding much when out on a mission. Black Sail received the notification from the Wizard Council temporarily, and only then came to prepare on the island allocated to Black Sail.

Several Wizard forces on the West Coast are in this sea area, each having an island as their operational center.

The operational center primarily handles the receipt and distribution of tasks, intelligence investigation, and analysis; materials distribution and replenishment are also conducted here.

Duke needs to stay here on standby, awaiting the next phase of task allocation.

This mission is not to be undertaken alone, unless one is a formidable Level 2 Wizard or Level 3 Wizard, as ordinary Level 1 Wizards cannot handle a nest alone.

The Void Insect Race nests in the sea generally develop faster than those on land. They are usually Level 2 Nests when encountered; Level 1 Nests are typically more low-key and rarely discovered.

Three days later.

Duke received a message to head to a hall on the island and prepare for this mission.

It’s called a hall, but it’s actually just a larger tent, with the protection of a Witch Array, which offers defensive capabilities not comparable to an ordinary tent.

With the protection of the Witch Array, there’s no immediate need to rely on the building’s own strength for defense enhancement.

High-strength building materials are costly and time-consuming to build.

Whereas Witch Arrays are usually pre-configured and ready-made, allowing for convenient and quick setup.

When Duke arrived, thirteen Black Sail Wizards were already gathered there, all part of the same batch participating in this operation.

The leader was a Level 3 Wizard named Lauren, belonging to the Second Legion of Wizards.

As Duke entered, he caught the eye of many present, but most just glanced and then looked away.

A Level 1 Crystalized Mage wasn’t particularly noteworthy here, as there were five Level 2 Wizards present, with the rest mostly being Level 1 Wizards.

Duke immediately spotted a familiar face, someone he hadn’t seen in a long time—Simon.

During his time as a Wizard Apprentice, Duke interacted frequently with Simon and they had even taken part in the Wizard Apprentice assessments together twice.

Simon had helped Duke quite a bit at that time by providing valuable information.

In return, during the subsequent two Wizard Apprentice assessments, Duke offered a lot of assistance to Simon’s group, and their relationship remained strong.

However, after Duke advanced to Official Wizard status, their interactions became less frequent and opportunities to connect dwindled.

Simon had now also become an Official Wizard, though only a Level 1 Gaseous Wizard. But having crossed the most challenging hurdle, it was still an impressive achievement.

It seemed Simon hadn’t been advanced for long, possibly just in the past few months since becoming an Official Wizard.

In terms of speed, it was naturally not as fast as Duke, who had already reached Level 1 Crystalized Mage status and was on the way to Level 2 Mage status, creating a substantial gap between them.

Yet this was the typical advancement speed for ordinary Wizards, and Simon was considered one of the more outstanding ones among them.

Duke’s advancement speed was indeed exceptional, far exceeding that of most ordinary Wizards.

Even Vivian, despite having a very fast advancement rate, did not have the advantage of a Level 3 Wizard as a tutor, removing any concerns over resource availability.

One merely needed to progress steadily in their practice, and resources would be provided when necessary, eliminating the need to worry about how to acquire them.

Without the Skill Tree, Duke would not have been able to quickly earn enough Magic Stones to support his own practice.

"Duke, long time no see!" Simon was delighted to see Duke and greeted him warmly.

He had recently accepted the task to come here, and it was an unexpected joy to find Duke here.

Simon had heard about Duke’s achievements, knowing he had participated in multiple plane wars and even become a Level 1 Arcanist.

In the former circle of Wizard Apprentices, Duke had undoubtedly been one of the top figures, and many had heard of his exploits.

Duke, however, tended to be reclusive and rarely engaged in social activities, so many people had never met him and didn’t know what he looked like.

Simon, being more active in this regard, often participated in social events and had multiple channels of information.

Some had asked Simon to invite Duke, but as a fellow Wizard Apprentice, Simon didn’t want to disturb Duke and so always declined these requests.

"Simon, long time no see. So you’re also participating in this mission?" Duke was somewhat surprised, as it had indeed been a while since he last saw Simon.

Seeing Simon successfully advance to Official Wizard status, Duke felt genuinely happy for him.

"How are Anli and Abel?" Duke looked around but didn’t see the two of them.

Simon had always been closest to those two, consistently working together on various tasks.

The absence of these two made Duke worry slightly, wondering if they had encountered any accidents.

Simon seemed to understand Duke’s concerns and smiled, "They’re fine. Anli just advanced to Official Wizard status last month and wanted to join me here. But I considered her recent advancement and not yet solidified skills, so I advised her to stay with Black Sail for some focused refinement."

"As for Abel, he’s still striving for advancement. He’s still some way from becoming an Official Wizard and might need a bit more effort."

Simon spoke of these two with a smile, indicating their strong and enduring friendship.