Wizard: I Have a Cultivation System

Chapter 574: Chapter 26: Third-Level Wizard

Rodrick was the only one left in the study.

He leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed. The brandy had eased the tightness in his chest, but it hadn’t truly dispelled it.

He had already pushed that nobody named Murphy to the back of his mind.

Was a Wild Wizard who crawled out of the sewers even worthy of being personally received by him?

After a moment, Rodrick opened his eyes and glanced at the clock on the wall.

The hour hand was already pointing to ten.

He stood up, walked out of the study, and went down the corridor back to his bedroom on the third floor.

The bedroom was large, with a wide four-poster bed in the center, dark curtains hanging down its sides.

A chaise lounge sat near the floor-to-ceiling window, which overlooked the meticulously kept garden, cast in faint, dark shadows under the moonlight.

Rodrick took off his jacket, tossed it carelessly onto the lounge chair, and collapsed onto the bed.

The soft mattress enveloped him, and the exhaustion of the entire day seemed to wash over him all at once.

He closed his eyes and quickly drifted off to sleep.

...

In his dream, he was standing in the middle of a magnificent hall.

The walls were made of white marble, and golden sunlight streamed through the tall, floor-to-ceiling windows.

The dome above was painted with an exquisite mural depicting the magnificent sight of Wizards wielding truth and conquering other planes.

This was the assembly hall of Zlesko City.

Rodrick looked down at himself.

He was wearing a deep blue Magic Robe, its collar embroidered with two overlapping rings.

That was the mark of a Second-Level Wizard.

He had been promoted.

He had finally advanced from a First-Level Wizard to a Second-Level Wizard and had begun his Elementalization.

Members of the House of Representatives nodded at him in greeting. The same faces that had once ignored him were now wreathed in smiles.

"Lord Rodrick, congratulations!"

"Councilman Rodrick, we will certainly give your proposal serious consideration."

"Master Rodrick, are you free this evening? I’m hosting a banquet at my estate and would be honored by your presence."

Rodrick smiled and responded to each of them in turn.

’But it’s not enough,’ he thought. ’What good is being a Second-Level Wizard? I want to be Level 3. I want a Legendary Seed. I want to enter the Senate.’

Time in the dream flowed like water, rushing forward.

Rodrick saw himself in a secret chamber, a faintly glowing parchment laid out before him.

It was the contract for promotion to a Third-Level Wizard.

A loan contract.

Signing it would grant him the resources needed to complete the condensation of his Legendary Seed.

He signed it.

He signed it without hesitation.

The contract was too precious; countless Second-Level Wizards craved it but could never obtain it, many never even laying eyes on one.

And then, Rodrick succeeded.

He condensed his Legendary Seed, became a Third-Level Wizard, and entered the Senate.

The very senators who had once given him the cold shoulder now crowded around him, their faces plastered with sycophantic smiles as they uttered the most nauseating compliments.

"Master Rodrick, you truly are a heaven-sent genius!"

"Lord Rodrick, we’ll be in your care from now on!"

"My lord, this is my daughter. She just turned eighteen..."

Rodrick savored it all, feeling utterly exultant.

Then, he obtained the qualification.

The qualification to enter the Nightmare World and develop other planes.

This was a privilege only Third-Level Wizards could enjoy, a source of immeasurable wealth and glory.

He led an army through a shimmering silver rift.

On the other side was a strange new world.

The sky was azure, the land was verdant, and the air was filled with the fragrance of flowers.

Countless native creatures swarmed from all directions, their faces ferocious, roaring as they lunged at his army.

Battle.

Slaughter.

Blood and fire.

Rodrick unleashed his most powerful Magic, the light of the elements flaring around him.

Then, a beam of black light shot out from deep within the earth and pierced through his chest.

Intense pain instantly tore his consciousness apart.

He looked down and saw a massive hole in his chest, its edges charred black.

The power that had condensed his Legendary Seed was now pouring out of that hole uncontrollably.

"No!"

Rodrick roared, trying to grasp the fading power.

But he couldn’t hold on.

He couldn’t hold on at all.

...

Rodrick stood in a cramped room, facing an expressionless official in a gray uniform.

"Mr. Rodrick," the official’s voice was icy, "your loan for promotion to Third-Level Wizard is three months overdue. According to the contract, you are required to repay the principal and interest in full within one month..."

The official stated a number.

The number was so large that Rodrick’s vision went black.

"I... I don’t have that much..." His voice was hoarse, pleading. "My power... I was gravely injured in the Nightmare World. My Legendary Seed has been shattered... Can’t you give me a little more time?"

The official shook his head, his face impassive.

"I’m sorry, Mr. Rodrick. A contract is a contract. If you cannot repay the loan, then according to the agreement, we will have to repossess your elemental organs as partial collateral."

The color instantly drained from Rodrick’s face.

’Repossess his elemental organs.’

That was the most terrifying nightmare for every Third-Level Wizard.

Once those completely Elementalized body parts were forcibly stripped away, not only would their power plummet, but they would also be left with wounds that could never heal, and their very will and consciousness would be damaged.

"No... you can’t do this..."

But no one listened to his pleas.

...

Rodrick stood at the entrance of the assembly hall, dressed in ragged clothes.

Several members of the House of Representatives in magnificent Magic Robes walked past him. Seeing him, they sneered.

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