"What is this thing?" Victor was surprised. He had never seen anything like this before.
The black figure, made of dark mist, slowly lifted its head. Its empty face stared coldly at Victor. "This is your own fault!"
Then, in an instant, the calm forest suddenly turned dark, and the wind started to blow strongly.
The Gnawfang Rats looked like they had seen something terrifying. They all trembled and fell to their knees, too scared to speak.
At the same time, Victor felt an invisible pressure on his body. His Illusion Eye kept warning him.
"Five more minutes," Victor checked the cooldown. He had to wait five minutes before he could use Holy Light Dragonbane Slash again.
That meant he had five minutes to hold back the shadow as long as he could.
Because, from what he just felt, he knew he couldn't beat the cloaked wizard without using that skill.
Thinking about it, Victor said, "I don't know what you are, but I hope you stop and we talk."
"Talk? What's there to talk about with a beginner like you? You should call the city lord instead," the cloaked wizard answered quickly, full of contempt.
Victor smiled. "You were locked in this amber, wasn't it to avoid the Federal Enforcers?"
The cloaked wizard laughed as if he had heard the funniest joke. "Do you think I chose to be locked in this amber?"
He paused, then spoke in a bitter tone. "It was forced on me by an old bastard. He wanted to limit my power! I struggled hard to escape from him and ended up here!"
"What?" Victor was shocked. He thought to himself, thank goodness he didn't try to cut the amber with his sword. If he had, he might have let out a demon!
But the wizard's next words quickly made Victor forget his guilt. "You tried to cut me with your sword earlier? That was stupid! Even a low-level Knight like you couldn't break this amber. Not even a high-level Knight could!"
"Even a high-level Knight?" Victor couldn't believe it. In his mind, high-level Knights were the strongest in the Federation.
In the Federation, a high-level Knight could command thousands of low-level Knights.
"Then how strong does the attack have to be to break the amber on you?" Victor asked, partly to buy time, and partly because he was really curious.
The wizard thought for a moment, then said seriously, "At least a seventh-level attack spell!"
"Seventh-level?" Victor suddenly understood. He nodded in agreement.
Eighth-level and ninth-level spells were hard to get even for high-level Awakened. They were usually only used by the top fighters in the Federation.
The cloaked wizard's cold voice came out: "Alright, kid, I've told you so much because I was bored. These Gnawfang Rats are too stupid, so I used you for fun."
Then he laughed cruelly and said, "Now, it's your time to die."
Victor looked at the cloaked wizard and suddenly had an idea.
He had already awakened Holy Light Dragonbane Slash. If they fought, he wouldn't be afraid of the wizard at all.
But a big fight would definitely draw the attention of the Federal Enforcers.
That was something both the wizard and Victor didn't want.
The wizard was afraid of being exposed. Victor was afraid of people finding out about his powerful skill.
He wanted to keep Holy Light Dragonbane Slash a secret until he reached level ten, when he could use it openly.
"Sir, I believe I can free you," Victor said seriously, looking at the cloaked wizard.
"You're really scared of dying. You're already talking nonsense," the wizard clearly didn't believe him.
"Then look at this," Victor said. He knew facts spoke louder than words, so he just used Sky-Splitting Slash.
After the skill finished, the wizard's attitude changed. He was shocked and said, "How is this possible? The skill you just used was a fourth-level skill?"
He paused, then said to himself, "No, a low-level Knight can't have a fourth-level skill."
Victor saw his expression and smiled. "As you can see, I did use a fourth-level skill."
"How is that possible? Unless you trained since you were in your mom's belly!" the wizard shouted in disbelief.
"It's a gift. A talent that lets me upgrade my skills quickly," Victor said simply.
He didn't reveal too much, just described the general type of his talent.
"There are even talents like this? You're really blessed by heaven!" the wizard shook his head, clearly a bit jealous.
But then, he still asked with doubt, "But how can I be sure you're not lying to me?"
"You're really annoying!" Victor frowned. Talking to these old guys was such a pain.
He coughed lightly and said, "Okay, I'll prove it right here."
Then Victor started to upgrade Sky-Splitting Slash.
[Consumed 100,000 skill points. Skill upgraded. Sky-Splitting Slash upgraded to Frostshatter Sky-Cleaving Slash.]
[Skill: Frostshatter Sky-Cleaving Slash (Fifth-level).]
[Type: Active Skill.]
[Feature: According to the system, you can use this skill up to two times in a row. Using it more than that will cost you health.]
[Upgrade Requirement: 1,000,000 skill points, one Ice of Absolute Zero.]
[Effect: Frost accumulates on the blade. After the slash, icy blades rain down around the sword's energy, cutting the enemy!]
"Good!" Victor nodded in satisfaction, smiling at the cloaked wizard. "Then let me show you a move now."
With that, Victor pulled out his sword and activated Frostshatter Sky-Cleaving Slash.
In an instant, the temperature around them dropped quickly. A lot of frost gathered on Victor and his long sword.
The cloaked wizard had seen a lot in his life. He immediately recognized the skill. "Frostshatter Sky-Cleaving Slash? An upgraded version of Sky-Cutting Slash..."
He paused, then muttered in disbelief. "But Frostshatter Sky-Cleaving Slash needs ten thousand skill points. How in the world did you get that much?"
"Played a day of games at home," Victor said to himself as he used the skill.
Victor unleashed Frostshatter Sky-Cleaving Slash. The energy was huge, cutting straight into the ground, with icy blades raining down like raindrops.
In an instant, the ground, which had been full of grass and trees, was blasted into a big hole, covered in many ice crystals.
The Gnawfang Rat Swarm saw this and all ran away in fear, completely forgetting that the cloaked wizard was still nearby.
"Looks like your followers aren't too loyal," Victor said, looking at the fleeing rats with disdain.
"Doesn't matter. You're the most important now!" the cloaked wizard said, staring at Victor with a trembling voice.
He really wanted to get out of this small, dark amber. And Victor's arrival gave him hope.
"Now, can we talk properly?" Victor felt happy. He knew the situation had changed.
It had gone from him thinking about how to escape from the wizard, to the wizard asking for his help to break the amber.
"Talk, definitely talk!" the cloaked wizard nodded quickly. His tone even had a bit of a begging feel.
He hesitated for a moment and asked, "By the way, when can you help me break the amber?"
Victor glanced at him and sighed. "I can't get to a ninth-level skill in a day. It takes time."
"You're right, you're right," the cloaked wizard nodded, sounding a bit disappointed.
"But..." Victor stretched out his words, smiling. "If I get some good items or resources, I might be able to level up faster!"
"Items or resources?" The cloaked wizard was stunned, then suddenly understood. He nodded quickly. "Got it, got it."
Then he waved his hand, and a set of armor appeared next to Victor.
"This is a level 14 armor. How about it?" the cloaked wizard said.
"Not bad, but I don't think a person like you can only offer a level 14 armor," Victor asked.
The cloaked wizard chuckled. "There are better things, but I have to give them slowly."
"Old fox!" Victor thought to himself. He knew exactly what the wizard was up to.