Pffft—


    The Blood of the Cursed Dragon cascaded down like a waterfall, not only corroding the stone bs but also slowly flowing toward Dean·Bruce and Nichs·William.


    Feeling the intense corrosive aura, Dean·Bruce instinctively took a few steps back.


    He nced at the ajar door, his expression grave; he never anticipated that this mechanism was designed to force them into the inner city!


    This realization only strengthened his belief that there was something wrong in the inner city!


    The dangers inside were undoubtedly far more terrifying than the Blood of the Cursed Dragon!


    With this thought, Dean·Bruce halted, silently watching the Blood of the Cursed Dragon flow toward them.


    The passage wasn''t very long; if he used the Angel''s Light item, he could definitely escape the area affected by the Blood of the Cursed Dragon within the item''s effective time.


    But the Angel''s Light could only protect one person—what about Nichs·William?


    Thinking of this, Dean·Bruce turned to look at Nichs·William.


    Feeling the gaze, Nichs·William turned back, a bitter smile on his face. "Teacher, do you have a way to take me with you?"


    Dean·Bruce replied calmly, "The Blood of the Cursed Dragon is ineffective against me, but I can''t guarantee your safety; you''re too weak."


    As soon as he spoke, fear washed over Nichs·William''s face.


    [Hmm? Wait! The Blood of the Cursed Dragon... Since it is blood, it''s rted to liquid. If I use ice magic to freeze it, stopping its flow, or use fire magic to evaporate itpletely, that should work!]Dean·Bruce''s mind suddenly sparked with a solution. He felt less tense and, after a moment''s thought, came up with an idea.


    He said softly, "There''s only one way you can survive!"]


    "What way?" Nichs·William''s eyes brightened at the words.


    No one could remain calm when facing a life-and-death crisis.


    Dean·Bruce replied steadily, "Unless you canprehend the magic I taught you earlier; perhaps then, there''s a glimmer of hope."


    After saying this, Dean·Bruce crossed his arms and added, "Do your best. The Blood of the Cursed Dragon can''t harm me, but for you, it''s deadly!"


    "..."


    Nichs·William swallowed hard. Seeing the boiling Blood of the Cursed Dragon advancing, corroding the stones, he had no time to hesitate. He quickly sat down, closed his eyes, and focused intensely, repeatedly attempting to cast magic.


    Meanwhile, Dean·Bruce prepared to unleash the Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain magic.


    Pffft—


    The Blood of the Cursed Dragon continued to spread, the white mist even drifting close to Dean·Bruce and Nichs·William, carrying a foul odor.


    Time passed slowly as the Blood of the Cursed Dragon encroached.


    As the white mistpletely engulfed Nichs·William and the red liquid approached his feet, Dean·Bruce sighed and shook his head.


    After all, he couldn''t just watch his disciple die.


    Earlier, he had merely wanted to use the pressure of a life-and-death crisis to see if it could help him grasp new magic.


    "Ding!"


    "Boom!"


    Just as Dean Bruce was about to make his move, a scorching heat suddenly surged outward, sweeping in all directions.


    The crisp sound of a system notification chimed in his mind.


    "System Notification: Congrattions, host, for sessfully teaching Nichs·William toprehend the spell Wailing me Grave! You have earned 500 Supreme Mage points! You have also gained tenfold understanding and power of Wailing me Grave!"


    "System Notification: Due to Wailing me Gravebeing ssified as an Ultra-High-Level spell, the host receives an additional reward: Book of Spirits x1!"


    "!!!"


    Seeing the rewards, a smile broke across Dean·Bruce''s face.


    His Supreme Mage points were increasing, and with just a bit more, he could unlock new functions.


    Moreover, without Dean·Bruce needing to lift a finger, the scorching heat transformed into a sea of mes, instantly dispersing the white mist.


    Pffft!


    The Blood of the Cursed Dragon was scorched and began to evaporate, unable to spread any further.


    In the air, earth elements gathered together, forming graves that absorbed the Blood of the Cursed Dragon.


    Then, each grave erupted into mes.


    In just a brief moment, all the Blood of the Cursed Dragon in the passage was absorbed into the graves, revealing a terrain that had been corroded and left in disarray.


    "Cough, cough!"


    A violent coughing sound echoed through the air. Nichs William''s face was ashen, his legs trembling uncontrobly. ρ-о%??#я-е?-!Ъ+γ-%


    His level was still too low. Even though he had managed to cast a high-level spell in the face of a life-and-death crisis, it was still hard for him to unleash its full power.


    The already spreading Blood of the Cursed Dragonwas indeed absorbed by the tombstone and evaporated in the zing mes.


    Yet, down the passage, the Blood of the Cursed Dragoncontinued to flow endlessly.


    Seeing this scene, Nichs William''s face filled with shock and panic as he stammered, "Teacher, I… I''m out of mana. What should we do?"


    At these words, Dean·Bruceposed himself, no longer concerned about rewards, and calmly replied, "It''s alright. I only wanted to push you a bit. After all, you''re my disciple. How could I just stand by and watch you die?"


    With the tenfold power and understanding of Wailing me Grave, Dean·Bruce felt confident. He stepped forward, needing no incantation or casting time; the magic activated instantly.


    Boom!


    In an instant, graves appeared that were ten timesrger than those conjured by Nichs·William. The force they unleashed was astonishing, directly interrupting the falling Blood of the Cursed Dragon and drawing it from the air into the graves.


    The mes zed fiercely, engulfing not only the graves but transforming the entire passage into a sea of fire.


    Feeling that incredible power, Nichs·William stood frozen in ce, awestruck.


    "Stop daydreaming and hurry up!"


    Dean·Bruce called out as he exited the passage, feeling an immense sense of satisfaction.


    This was his first Ultra-High-Level spell!


    Its power was impressive, featuring both crowd control effects and group damage capabilities!


    As he stepped out of the passage, the intense feeling within him faded, and his heartbeat returned to normal.


    Clearly, there were dangers both in the passage and the inner city.


    Nichs·William soon followed, still in a state of shock. Fortunately, the outer city was clear of the flying insects, corpses, and bronze puppets, allowing him to safely trail behind Dean·Bruce until they reached the entrance.


    The stone door remained open, prompting a sigh of relief from Dean·Bruce.


    This ce was far too eerie!


    With his current strength, the outer city was manageable, but he absolutely couldn''t enter the inner city!


    At the very least, he needed to increase his power a bit more and bring along ire·Raymond for safety.


    Lost in thought, Dean·Bruce and Nichs·William crossed the passage and stepped through the stone door.


    Buzz—


    Boom!


    The ground trembled, jolting both Dean·Bruce and Nichs·William back to reality. Turning to look, they saw the stone door slowly descending, quickly sealing off the entrance.


    Nichs·William finally snapped out of it and sighed, "I thought we could get some treasures from in there, but I didn''t expect it to be so dangerous!"


    Dean·Bruce remained silent. There was danger, but that was in the inner city. Their journey through the outer city had not been perilous at all. In fact, they had even obtained twenty bronze puppets of Magus level—an enormous gain for him!


    This time, it was worth the trip!


    Not to mention that Nichs·William hadprehended magic in a life-or-death situation, which also earned Dean·Bruce system rewards.


    Thinking of this, Dean·Bruce couldn''t help but smile.


    Nichs·William, unsure of what Dean·Bruce was smiling about, looked up and noticed the bright moon hanging high in the sky. He spoke up, "Teacher, since we can''t explore this ce any further for now, should we head back to the city and go to The Kingdom of Hibiscus?"


    "Yes, let''s set off."


    Dean·Bruce replied, nodding. Without pausing for rest, the two made their way to the stone steps, heading toward the cliff in the moonlight.


    With good news boosting his spirits, Dean·Bruce felt no fatigue.


    As for Nichs·William?


    He was driven by the urgency to save his fiancée!


    Reaching the cliff via the stone steps, Firebolt and Nichs·William''s mount were still tied up, looking lively as ever.


    The grass nearby showed little change.


    Noticing this, Dean·Bruce concluded that the flow of time inside the pce matched that of the outside world—it hadn''t been long at all.


    Riding their steeds, the two raced back to Saint Laurent, while Dean·Bruce focused his thoughts on checking the rewards granted by the system, eager to fully absorb the tenfold understanding.


    [Book of Spirits (Special Item): When the host wears this item, they be immune to mind-control type magic. After activation, it will have a recharge time of 24 hours.


    If the host falls into a mind-control magic barrier, they can activate the item to break the barrier. Note: It does not affect Ultra-High-Level spells of mind control.]


    [!!!]


    Dean·Bruce''s smile grew even brighter; it was truly a valuable item! Without hesitation, he equipped it and immersed himself in the profound understanding of magic, eagerly absorbing the tenfold increase inprehension offered by the system.