The day after the quarterly evaluation meeting, Robb headed straight to the school's library.
As the 14th-ranked member of the Wizard Reserve Track, he now had higher clearance and could access knowledge hidden from regular apprentices.
That was exactly his goal, to use his new privileges to explore the forbidden areas blocked off from ordinary students.
"Third-floor hidden room?"
The gray-robed elder guarding the entrance raised an eyebrow, inspecting the glowing blue frequency on Robb's badge, a signal reserved for those in the top fifteen.
"Seems you're one of the beneficiaries of yesterday's Wizard Reserve Track evaluation."
Robb nodded humbly. "Yes. I hope to use this opportunity to expand my learning."
The elder's eyes flickered with meaning. "Knowledge is a double-edged sword, young man. The farther you go, the more careful you must be of the abyss beneath your feet."
"I'll take your advice to heart," Robb replied politely.
The hidden chamber was located deeper inside, sealed behind a translucent energy barrier floating quietly at the end of the staircase.
Robb pressed his badge against the barrier. A faint mental wave swept through his body, verifying his identity and permissions.
Moments later, the barrier rippled like water and parted, revealing a narrow passage.
The space inside was smaller than Robb expected, but the atmosphere was several times more oppressive.
He walked directly to a room labeled "Mental Disorders and Corruption Studies", gently pushing open the door.
A stifling air filled the room, as if it hadn't been ventilated in years.
A faint blue magical lamp provided minimal light. The walls were lined with ancient books and manuscripts, some chained to the shelves, indicating their content was highly sensitive.
Robb stepped up to the central guidance stone and, recalling Oliver's strange condition, placed his palm on it.
"Mental corruption. Black Warlock path."
A flash of red briefly shimmered across the stone's surface, clearly a warning, but then it lit up blue, indicating access granted and guiding him to a specific bookshelf.
At a cabinet sealed with special energy, Robb once again presented his badge.
The cabinet slowly opened, revealing rows of long-dormant tomes.
Encyclopedia of Mental Corruption
Theories of Consciousness Distortion
Corruption Transmutation and Symbiosis
The Path to Awakening: The Black Warlock Doctrine...
Robb's eyes finally landed on the last one, a thick black book with a strange symbol on the cover, where an eye entwined with tendrils.
As he carefully pulled it out, a cold energy seeped from the book, probing at his mental defenses.
Robb quickly activated his mental resistance and isolated the invading force. It seemed to be merely a test of mental strength.
On the inside page, a warning was written in bright red ink: This book is for high-ranking Apprentice Wizards only. Do not attempt to practice any of its rituals or theories. Violators will face the 'Highest Penalty.'
Robb took a deep breath and opened the first chapter.
Mental corruption is an unavoidable fate for all wizards. As one's mental strength advances and contact with abyssal knowledge deepens, corruption will inevitably reach a tipping point. Orthodox wizards choose purification and suppression. Black Warlocks choose acceptance, and transformation…
The content detailed three stages of mental corruption: Mild, Moderate, and Severe.
Mild corruption manifested as mood swings, sleep disturbances, and sensory anomalies, manageable through standard methods.
Moderate corruption, however, led to personality changes.
The afflicted will experience intense emotional instability, especially with amplified negative emotions: Anger turns to rage, worry to fear, jealousy to hatred. Hallucinations become frequent, and the victim begins to hear whispers from the Deep Abyss, and gradually believes them.
Under the symptom list, Robb saw traits that perfectly matched what he had observed in Oliver:
Severe mood swings, extreme stress reactions, strange markings on the skin, and an irrational haze behind the eyes.
"Classic signs of moderate corruption. And he's not even trying to suppress it…" Robb concluded, "Oliver's definitely chosen this path."
Further into the book, he found information on "Awakening":
The path of the Black Warlock is essentially a practice of mutation in harmony with corruption. Where orthodox wizards see corruption as the enemy, Black Warlocks treat it as a source of power. Through rituals and mental training, they transform corrupted energy into strength. This process is known as 'Awakening', a fusion of mind and corruption. Awakening level measures how much control a Black Warlock has over their corruption. Every 10% increase brings a qualitative leap in both power and mutation. Moderate corruption paired with proper rituals can yield a 10% Awakening level. At this stage, beneficial mutations begin, toughened skin, heightened senses, and most notably, enhanced spell potency.
Robb paused, digesting the implications.
Even 10% Awakening could bring major power boosts. No wonder some would risk it.
He read further:
Black Warlocks derive power from two main sources: Extreme emotions from living beings, especially fear, despair, and pain, which generate unique energy fluctuations. Soulforce, rarer and more potent, extracted from the dying or recently dead through special rituals. Many Black Warlocks perform cruel live experiments not just for research, but to harvest these energies.
The book detailed how Black Warlocks merged these energies with mental corruption, forming a symbiotic loop.
This transformed corruption from chaotic decay into a controlled power source.
Black Warlock spells carry a special 'Corrosion Trait' that bypasses defenses and accelerates mental corruption in targets. This gives Black Warlocks an edge, even against higher-ranked orthodox wizards.
This part fascinated Robb: corrosion could attack the enemy's very mind, ignoring conventional barriers.
However, the book didn't shy away from the horrifying price of this power:
As Awakening deepens, a Black Warlock's personality collapses. Negative emotions amplify manyfold. Rational thought gives way to primal instinct. At 30%, most Black Warlocks lose normal social function, becoming violent and anti-social. At 50%, they are barely human. Their thinking diverges completely from humanity. At 70%+, rare cases remain. Those who don't lose control gain powers that transcend flesh and mind, capable of touching forces beyond reality. 100% Awakening, exists only in myth. A fully Awakened Black Warlock becomes an 'Apostle', a being that rivals Grand Overlords.
Robb put the book down, a chill running through him.
Apostles, on par with Grand Overlords?
He recalled the book on talent tiers, the one that mentioned the Time Monarch, Erica, a Grand Overlord with a first-tier talent.
Even she had only barely exiled a dozen Apostles at the cost of great sacrifice.
Clearly, the power of Black Warlocks was tempting, but the price was total self-destruction.
Not physical death, but the loss of personality and soul.
Robb pulled out another book, Corruption Transmutation and Symbiosis, hoping to find more on the Awakening ritual itself.
This one was highly technical, filled with dense ritual instructions and theoretical analysis.
The core of the Awakening Ritual is to fuse accumulated mental corruption with collected emotional/soul energy to form a unique symbiotic circuit. The process is extremely dangerous, errors lead to madness and irreversible mutations. The ritual must take place in specific environments, typically highly corrupted zones or weak dimensional nodes. A medium is required, an object or organism steeped in intense emotion, and a vessel to contain the fused energy.
The book outlined portions of the ritual, runes, chants, and mental techniques, but key parts were deliberately redacted.
Understandable. No doubt to prevent anyone from attempting it. After all, power is endlessly seductive.
Robb noticed repeated references to a material called Sin Domain Black Crystal.
Sin Domain Black Crystal is a rare substance, said to have originated from ancient Black Warlocks' inspiration deep within the Abyss. It possesses immense energy-attracting and converting properties, ideal for Awakening rituals. However, prolonged contact rapidly accelerates mental corruption, creating a vicious cycle.
This reminded Robb of the report on Cynthia's disappearance, how they found "strange experimental notes and alchemical tools" in her room.
"So Cynthia and Oliver might both be experimenting with Awakening. Cynthia may have succeeded, and fled. Oliver seems to be preparing."
He refocused on the book, reading the post-Awakening power breakdown:
10% Awakening: Spells gain 30% power boost and light corrosion effect, causing minor mental corruption in targets. 30% Awakening: Comparable to formal wizards. Corrosion now causes hallucinations or short-term psychosis in enemies. 50% Awakening: Reaches the level of a Radiant Moon Magus. Spells ignore reality's rules, capable of affecting soul and mind directly.
The book also listed famous Black Warlocks and their powers.
Robb noted one in particular: The Void Singer.
He reportedly reached 35% Awakening and created a spell called Mind-Devouring Curse, a terrifying technique that amplified a victim's deepest fears until their psyche broke.
After hours of reading, Robb finally closed the last book, rubbing his strained eyes.
He had gained a massive amount of information about Black Warlocks and the path of Awakening, but also had more questions than ever.
One thought wouldn't leave his mind:
Would the profession system recognize the Black Warlock path as a viable class? If so, could it be integrated to make the corrosive power safe and controllable?