Chapter 158 Mutation

Hearing Lin Wei's words, Christine was instantly choked with anger. The magma flower they had obtained by risking their lives and even sacrificing a companion was just going to be handed over like this?!

She seemed as if she wanted to argue something, but Tivia immediately grabbed her arm.

"Stay calm."

Tivia knew that the level of danger the two of them were facing right now was by no means lower than before.

"Why should I trust you?"

Tivia chose not to launch a direct counterattack at all. Her current rationality told her that a desperate fight to the death was definitely not the best option.

Lin Wei suddenly smiled, without any murderous intent radiating from his body: "I do not wish to fight to the death with a rank-three wizard apprentice who still has a final trump card left."

"Huh?!"

Tivia's pupils shrank abruptly.

She indeed still had a hidden card that she had not yet exposed—a spell that exacted a price in life itself. Once cast, she would instantly age until death.

"A trump card?"

Sheris also looked at Lin Wei with surprise and asked in a low voice, "She still has a trump card?"

Sheris hadn't sensed even the slightest fluctuation of wizardly power coming from Tivia at all.

Lin Wei nodded gently. Naturally, he wouldn't tell Sheris that this conclusion had been detected by the intelligent chip core.

"Change the terms. We can trade through other means."

Tivia had already accepted this reality, and her tense mindset relaxed somewhat. Lin Wei did not look like a brainless wizard; such a person was the easiest to negotiate with regarding interests.

"No." Lin Wei shook his head. "We only need the magma flower."

Tivia frowned deeply. Lin Wei's attitude could be described as exceptionally resolute.

She was someone who cherished her life and did not want to sacrifice her own existence just to strike down an enemy.

"Very well."

After pondering slightly, Tivia replied.

She was a rational wizard apprentice and could naturally tell what was most precious at a critical juncture.

Christine, standing beside Tivia, bit her lip, resentment written across her eyes, but she still remained silent. The choice Tivia made was indeed the best course of action at the moment.

"Since that is the case, then I hope you will honor the agreement."

Tivia stared straight into Lin Wei's eyes. In her words, she used "you" instead of "you all." From the very beginning, the only enemy in her eyes was Lin Wei alone.

For some inexplicable reason, Tivia felt that this alluring and handsome young man was undoubtedly far stronger than the average rank-three wizard apprentice.

"Naturally, I will honor the agreement. I swear by the honor of the Shadow Forest." Lin Wei pointed to the Shadow Forest insignia on his wizard robe.

"Good."

Tivia acted with decisive and swift efficiency without a moment of hesitation. She pulled a square box from her waist and tossed it straight to Lin Wei.

Lin Wei caught it in one motion and had the intelligent chip core scan it. Compared to his own judgment, he trusted the intelligent chip core far more.

"No problem..."

Receiving the feedback from the intelligent chip core, Lin Wei whispered softly.

"You may leave."

Lin Wei waved his hand.

Although Lin Wei did not fear Tivia's ultimate trump card, he could not guarantee that he would be able to protect Sheris after Tivia unleashed it. After all, upon returning to the academy, he still needed to provide an account to Noritz.

Tivia gave Lin Wei one deep look, bowed slightly, and then quickly departed with Christine.

"We finally got it!"

Sheris displayed an inexplicable sense of excitement and hurriedly sidled up to Lin Wei.

"Aren't you afraid they tricked you with a fake?" Sheris muttered. "Open it and take a look quickly."

Ignoring Sheris's chatter, Lin Wei slowly opened the square box.

A fiery red little flower was displayed inside the box. Judging purely by its appearance, it looked more like an unremarkable wild flower found by the roadside.

Lin Wei reached out his palm and picked up the magma flower.

Swish!

A warm current coursed from Lin Wei's palm lines and spread throughout his entire body.

Lin Wei could not help but shudder involuntarily.

"What is happening..."

A look of shock surfaced in Lin Wei's eyes. He felt his body beginning to grow hot, every single inch of flesh and blood within him burning with fire.

"Warning! Warning! Warning! The host's body is undergoing an unknown mutation! According to preliminary calculations, the transplanted Deep Blue flesh and blood is mutating under the strong stimulation of the magma flower, a high-fire-attribute organism!"

"How could this be..."

Lin Wei felt as though every scrap of his muscle was being chewed on by ants.

"Lin Wei... Lin Wei!"

Sheris, standing nearby, suddenly noticed that something was wrong with Lin Wei and called out anxiously.

Yet by this time, Lin Wei could no longer hear Sheris's voice; his mind was filled entirely with the sound of roaring flames.

"Fire..."

The scene before Lin Wei's eyes vanished, replaced entirely by an endless expanse of purplish-black flames. These flames climbed up to the firmament and scorched the entire earth.

At this moment, Lin Wei had no idea that the sesame-sized purplish-black dot between his eyebrows was beginning to slowly mutate.

The purplish-black dot started out narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, resembling the shape of a seed. The strange energy overflowing within Lin Wei's body constantly washed over that purplish-black dot.

Hiss, hiss, hiss...

The purplish-black dot emitted a faint sound.

Sheris also noticed this change. She froze for a moment, then grabbed Lin Wei's arm.

Yet the very next second, she suddenly let go: "It's so hot!"

Panic flickered in Sheris's eyes.

Soon, the purplish-black dot between Lin Wei's eyebrows vanished entirely, replaced by the shape of a pure black flame roughly the size of a watermelon seed.

That pure black flame was unstable, flickering in and out of existence.

"Pain..."

Lin Wei collapsed directly to the ground, his iron-willed resolve gradually crumbling away.

"Chip core, can you simulate a solution to halt the mutation?"

Lin Wei felt his consciousness fading. If this continued, he truly worried he would die.

"Simulating solution... Insufficient data... Simulation failed."

A hint of regret welled up in the depths of Lin Wei's heart: "Am I going to die..."

...

The Lovas Mountains.

At the very center lay the Lovas-Cent Volcano.

The Lovas-Cent Volcano was the most dangerous place in the entire Lovas Mountain range. Due to the extreme temperatures here, no wizard apprentice had ever been able to approach it.

Merely approaching the foothills was enough to reduce a rank-three wizard apprentice to ashes. It was a forbidden zone among forbidden zones in the truest sense.

Inside the Lovas-Cent Volcano.

Boiling, bubbling magma rolled and churned continuously, and the space itself was distorted and shattered by the intense heat.

Swish! Swish!

Suddenly, a series of ripples began to spread across the surface of the magma, followed by a violent surge like storm-driven giant waves in the sea.

Whoosh!

A massive head, measuring several hundred meters wide, abruptly emerged from the bottom of the magma!

Magma cascaded down from the top of the colossal skull, stirring up a mist of molten spray that, at first glance, resembled a magnificent and imposing waterfall!