Wizard: Starting from Escape from the Thorn Garden

Chen Lin's painful transformation lasted all night.

When the raging torrent of energy finally found a dangerous balance within him, he collapsed onto the cold metal floor of the reinforced iron cage, as if he had been pulled from a pool of blood.

Sweat, blood, and filth mixed together, emitting a pungent, fishy odor.

On his right arm, the dark red fragment of the Bloodthirsty Vine had completely merged into his flesh and blood. Its surface was covered with dark golden veins similar to those of the Blood Feeding Basin runes, pulsating slightly like a living tattoo, radiating warmth and... a sense of hunger.

The intense pain subsided, replaced by an unprecedented sense of power and sensitivity.

He could clearly "hear" the subtle sounds of the moss slowly growing and corroding on the cave walls, and he could "see" the trails of dust floating in the air. His mental perception range had expanded several times over!

The more fundamental change occurred within the body—the Seed of Origin, as if it had been well-fed, emitted a warm yet powerful dark golden light, with the light at its core, representing [devouring evil thoughts] and [mental suppression], being particularly intense.

[Status Update: Demonic Plant Symbiote (Bloodthirsty Vine - Early Stage)]

[Host Level: Level 3 Apprentice (Early Stage)]

[Core Talent: Blood Regeneration (Activated)]

[Warning: The symbiote is in an unstable period. It needs to be continuously purified with moonlight moss to stabilize its energy and replenished with high-quality life energy. It is recommended to choose flesh and blood rich in vitality or magical plant essence.]

Chen Lin struggled to sit up, feeling the surging power within him, but he couldn't manage a smile. The price was too high.

Each breath was accompanied by a slight tremor from the Bloodthirsty Vine; its latent bloodthirsty instinct clung to him like a persistent affliction, constantly reminding him of the sinister source of this power.

He stared at the grotesque tattoo on his palm, his eyes filled with complex emotions. He had escaped the fate of a lowly apprentice, only to step into an even deeper vortex.

The good news is that the Bloodthirsty Vine is too high-level for Chen Lin. After fusing with it, it will gradually increase his mental strength, which can effectively make up for Chen Lin's innate deficiencies.

In the top-floor laboratory, Dean Vivian stood before a giant crystal ball.

Inside the sphere, everything that happened in Chen Lin's cave was clearly reflected: from Ella delivering the vine fragments, to the contract ritual of the Blood Feeding Basin, to the violent energy fusion and painful transformation, and finally to the symbiotic patterns of dark gold and blood on Chen Lin's arm after he collapsed.

"What amazing adaptability..." Vivian murmured, her emerald eyes gleaming with undisguised greed and anticipation.

"He actually digested the core fragment of the Bloodthirsty Vine. This adorable little apprentice... truly a perfect vessel."

She gracefully walked to the window, her fingertips brushing against a newly sprouted tendril of the Chaos Vine, which had a faint dark gold hue.

The tentacles greedily wrapped around her fingers, their tips opening and closing slightly, making a soft sucking sound.

"Eat, eat... His power, his origin, the cradle from which the 'Soul Tree' sprouts, will all become nourishment for your recovery and breakthrough."

Behind her, a heavy tome inlaid with living vines floated, its pages turning automatically, stopping at the section titled "The Ivy Project":

Experiment Subject No. 78 (Chen Lin): Successfully fused with the core fragment of the Bloodthirsty Vine, completed the life form leap, mental strength: Level 3 Apprentice (early stage).

Assessment: The carrier's potential rating has been upgraded to B- (possessing the foundation to support higher-level otherworldly magical plants).

The next catalytic solution is to stimulate the deep evolution of the symbiote using a high-pressure environment and growth resources, thereby increasing the affinity and compatibility between the symbiote and the seed of the Soul Tree.

A perfect, cold smile appeared on Vivian's face.

He needs to nurture this fledgling little guy properly. This fruit is still a bit green, but it has potential. It's a pity we can't wait for it to mature naturally; we need to accelerate its growth...

Lin Gang barely managed to clean himself of the filth and put on a relatively clean apprentice robe with specially lengthened cuffs to cover the symbiotic patterns on his arms. The rickety wooden door of the cave was then silently pushed open.

There were no footsteps, only an unsettling pressure mixed with the fragrance of plants spreading out.

Ella stood in the doorway, but her gaze was slightly lowered as she stepped aside to make way.

Dean Vivian herself has come!

She entered the narrow, filthy cave with the grace of a queen inspecting a garden.

Her gaze swept over the optimized moonlight moss on the windowsill, which radiated a pure silver glow, lingered for a moment on the reinforced iron cage and the blood-feeding basin that still retained a dark gold blood light, and finally settled on Chen Lin.

That gaze was gentle and approving, yet it made Chen Lin feel as if he were being coiled by a cold, venomous snake, sending chills down his spine.

"Apprentice Chen Lin," Vivian's voice was like a gentle spring breeze.

"Your performance is a pleasant surprise. In such a challenging environment with scarce resources, you not only successfully advanced to the third level of apprenticeship, but also demonstrated extraordinary control over dangerous magical plants. The Thorn Garden needs resilient and promising seeds like you."

She gently raised her hand, and a vibrant green badge, entwined with ivy leaves, appeared out of thin air and floated in front of Chen Lin.

"Effective today, you are officially included in the Ivy League program. This is your identification."

At the same time, a heavy leather pouch landed at Chen Lin's feet. The pouch was open, revealing magic stones emitting a soft glow, several bottles of obviously high-quality potions (these are... high-grade potions that can quickly replenish mental energy and repair the body?), a small bag of seeds radiating a rich life force, and a voucher... for a significant increase in the academy's internal resource exchange limit!

"This is your deserved resource allocation," Vivian smiled. "Make good use of this month to solidify your realm and familiarize yourself with your new power. The academy will provide you with the necessary support. I look forward to your performance in the 'Ivy League Project'."

Cultivation! Naked cultivation!

But Chen Lin's heart sank. The Seed of Origin issued a frantic warning: [Target Entity: Vivian (High-Level Plant-Based Wizard)! Threat Level: Lethal! Strong mental lock and energy marker detected!]

He clearly sensed a subtle yet powerful spiritual force scanning his body without any attempt at concealment, coinciding with the arrival of the badge and resources. This was both a blessing and a higher level of surveillance and shackles!

"Thank you for your guidance, Dean!" Chen Lin lowered his head, concealing the coldness in his eyes, his voice carrying just the right amount of excitement and weakness.

Vivian nodded in satisfaction, her gaze sweeping over Ella almost imperceptibly.

"Assistant Ella will help you familiarize yourself with the authority and responsibilities of a Level 3 Apprentice. Remember, in a month, you will be given an important task that will be a crucial step in proving your worth."

After speaking, she turned gracefully, her figure disappearing as if blending into the shadows.

Only when the suffocating pressure completely dissipated did Chen Lin take a deep breath, his back already soaked with cold sweat.

He looked at the resources on the ground and the emerald badge, feeling no joy, only a strong sense of crisis. Vivian's support was clearly ill-intentioned.

Ella did not leave immediately.

She walked to the windowsill, her mechanical eye gazing at the moonlight moss that shimmered with a pure, silvery light, and a cold voice rang out:

"The Nightmare Lily of the Bone-Rotting Swamp is a rare ingredient for crafting high-level psychoactive poisons and necromancy catalysts. It grows deep within the swamp, in the area with the highest concentration of necromantic energy. Harvesting it is a near-certain death sentence. This is the 'opportunity to prove yourself' that the Dean is giving you."

She handed Chen Lin a black iron ring: "Go to the Bone Rot Swamp in a month to collect Nightmare Lilies. This is a protective ring against the miasma, a gift from the Dean."

Chen Lin suddenly looked at Ella.

Ella slowly raised her left arm and untied a small section of the suture. The mycelium, which had been temporarily suppressed by the life essence provided by Chen Lin and appeared docile and silvery-gray, was now becoming active again!

They wriggled wildly between the gears, their color becoming deeper and closer to the cold silver of metal, emitting a more dangerous, devouring aura, and even subtly eroding the originally intact mechanical structure around them!

[Ayra's Status Update: The activity of the iron-corroding fungus (Abyss variant) has been restored and enhanced!]

[Estimated remaining time of symbiotic inhibition effect: 25-30 days (due to the host providing high-purity life energy, enhancing fungal adaptability)]

[Warning: Fungal consciousness erosion is intensifying, increasing the thirst for high-purity life energy by 300%!]

The mechanical eye turned to Chen Lin, its red light cold and sharp: "Your antidote won't last long. The Bone Rot Swamp... not only does it harbor Nightmare Lilies, but it may also contain something that can temporarily suppress or even... nourish them. Cooperate, or, before the fungus completely spirals out of control, I'll take care of you first."

The countdown is on, one month away! Chen Lin looked at the restless mycelium on Ella's arm, then looked down at the slightly pulsating blood-devouring vine patterns on his own arm.

Both he and Ella became trapped beasts chased by time. Vivian's nurturing was a guillotine hanging over their heads, while Ella's symbiotic crisis was a poisonous thorn in their backs.

The swamp of decaying bones became the only possible path to survival, but it could also be the entrance to an even more terrifying abyss.

With the resources provided by Vivian, Chen Lin was given a chance to catch his breath. But he couldn't rest for a month; he had to prepare for battle as quickly as possible.

He consumed a large amount of magic stones and potions, meditating day and night to consolidate his surging mental power.

A first-level wizard apprentice has 8-10 points of mental energy and can initially construct 1-3 spell models in their sea of ​​consciousness. These generally require materials and spells to be cast. A second-level wizard apprentice has 20 points of mental energy and can construct 4-6 spell models. They can simplify spells, and some spells can be cast without materials. A third-level wizard apprentice has 30 points of mental energy and can construct 7-9 spell models. Except for a few high-powered spells and special magic, most spells can be used directly without the need for materials or spells.

Upon reaching the higher level of fourth-level wizard apprentice, their mental strength directly reaches 50 points. The number of spell models is no longer greatly limited, because the improvement in mental strength can form a low-level magical pressure. Lower-level wizard apprentices are basically powerless against them. First and second-level apprentices cannot even mobilize the magic power in their bodies, and third-level wizard apprentices will also be affected.

At the same time, fourth-level wizard apprentices have also qualified to strive to become full wizards. Most fourth-level wizard apprentices are accumulating resources and planning their own path to becoming wizards.

Chen Lin attempted to control the ferocious beast within his body, known as the "Bloodthirsty Vine." The process was extremely difficult. The Bloodthirsty Vine's instincts constantly tempted him to devour flesh and blood to nourish itself.

He could only rely on the suppression of the Seed of Origin and the purifying radiance of the Moonshine Moss to resist, but unfortunately, he didn't have many opportunities to obtain malevolent energy in the Thorn Garden.

He transplanted some moonshoe moss onto the inside of a specially made wristband, which he wore close to his body at all times. The silvery light continuously permeated the wristband, purifying the dark energy dissipating from the symbiote and barely maintaining a fragile balance.

At the same time, he was constantly trying to stimulate and control his Blood Qi Regeneration talent, using the flesh and blood of some low-level experimental animals to test and familiarize himself with this recovery ability that could save his life in battle.

He maximized the core abilities of the Seed of Origin. Using his enhanced privileges, he borrowed as much information as possible from the academy about the Bone Swamp, Nightmare Lilies, undead creatures, swamp fog, and miasma.

His ability to analyze the origins of all things allows him to quickly understand and identify key information in data, and even optimize targeted protection and response plans.

He paid particular attention to the information Ella provided about the Nightmare Lily's growing environment and characteristics, as this was crucial for its survival.

He used the materials he obtained through resource exchange, combined with the optimized formula of the Seed of Origin, to frantically refine magical potions:

Awakening Potion: A significantly enhanced version of the original mild awakening potion, incorporating moonshine moss purifying essence and potent mental stabilizers, specifically designed to combat the hallucinogenic pollen of Nightmare Lilies and the deceptive mental pollution of swamps.

Rotten Poison Neutralizing Ointment: Made primarily with snake vine venom, this ointment is formulated after reverse analysis of the properties of swamp rotten poison. It can quickly neutralize the toxicity of most swamp insects and toxic fog. It can be used both externally and internally.

Secondary Life Essence Concentrate: It is made by rapidly growing the life-giving magical plant seeds obtained through exchange, extracting their life essence, highly concentrating it, and most importantly, adding a small amount of Chen Lin's blood.

It serves as a replenishment to boost one's vitality in critical moments, and also... as a bargaining chip to appease the Blood-Eating Vine or to make a deal with Ayla when necessary.

Moonshine Moss Purifying Amulet: The core essence of optimized moonshine moss is extracted and incorporated into specially made bone or wood chips to create a simple amulet.

When worn close to the body, it provides a continuous, low-intensity purifying force field, offering some protection against necromantic energy and dark corruption.

He changed out of his tattered apprentice robes and used his resources to exchange for a relatively sturdy, dark green explorer's cloak with weak physical protection and corrosion resistance.

The boots were replaced with non-slip, puncture-resistant swamp boots. The scalpel was sharpened and coated with snake vine venom.

I prepared a small but sturdy airtight container to store the Nightmare Lilies.

The communication between Chen Lin and Ella remained cold and wary, but a fragile alliance based on shared crisis and interests was forming.

Using her privileges, Ella provided Chen Lin with a detailed map of parts of the Bone Swamp, marking known danger points and safe routes, as well as a scroll detailing the weaknesses and countermeasures for common undead creatures in the Bone Swamp, such as the Howling Wraith.

In return, Chen Lin regularly provides Ayla with a small bottle of diluted "Secondary Life Essence Concentrate" to temporarily alleviate the agitation of the iron-corroding fungus.

The activity of the mycelium on Ella's arm was thus barely controlled, but every time they exchanged hands, the red light flashing in her mechanical eyes, almost greedily for the essence, set off alarm bells in Chen Lin's mind.

A month flew by under immense pressure.

Chen Lin's cultivation level has been initially stabilized, and the restlessness of the Bloodthirsty Vine has been suppressed to a controllable range under the continuous purification of the Moonlight Moss, at least on the surface.

He prepared dozens of bottles of various potions, and his equipment was completely refurbished. The Seed of Origin contained a large amount of analytical data about the Corpse Swamp.

When the final day arrived, Ella reappeared at the cave entrance, holding a black scroll that exuded a chilling aura—a mission order personally signed by Vivian.

"At dawn tomorrow, at the swamp docks, a boat will take you to the edge of the Corpse Swamp." Ella's voice was flat. "Mission objective: three intact Nightmare Lilies, still in bud. Deadline: seven days. Failure... you know the consequences."

She paused, her mechanical eye sweeping over Chen Lin's neatly packed belongings before finally settling on his right arm, hidden by his cloak: "Death in the Bone Swamp often stems from inner greed. Chen Lin, you know what I want, but restrain your desires. If you die, my antidote will be gone."

After saying that, she tossed the mission scroll to Chen Lin and turned to leave.

Chen Lin gripped the cold scroll, feeling the dean's will contained within it. He took a deep breath; the cave was filled with the scents of herbs, metal, and a faint smell of blood.

He walked to the windowsill and gave the optimized moonlight moss, which served as the core of the purification process, one last check. Their silvery glow seemed even purer and more concentrated than it had been a month ago.

"Greed?" Chen Lin muttered to himself, a cold smile curving his lips. "No, it's survival."

He picked up the emerald green ivy badge on the table and ran his fingertips over the vine-like patterns on it.

The Seed of Origin clearly sensed that deep within the badge, a hidden, root-like energy was greedily drawing upon the life and evolutionary aura emanating from him, belonging to the Bloodthirsty Vine and the Seed of Origin.

Cultivation? Harvesting?

He put away his badge and pulled down the hood of his cloak, obscuring most of his face. His eyes no longer held the fear of an apprentice, but rather the sharpness and resolve born from a near-death experience.

The mists of the Bone-Rotting Swamp were already spreading ahead, and the eerie light of the Nightmare Lily flickered in the darkness. There lay deadly danger, but also the life he desperately needed, and... the first glimmer of hope to escape this thorny prison.

Dawn is approaching, the journey to the rotting bones is about to begin.