Wizard: Starting With Synthesized Gems-Chapter 137: Cooperation with the Shapeshifter

231 Diagon Alley.
Locke rode his Engel Swift Snail into the small alley, his magical pressure as obvious as a lighthouse in the darkness. The powerful magical pressure was like a small stone thrown into a river, creating ripples in the small lake that was Diagon Alley.
Many second-class wizard apprentices looked at Locke with surprise and respect, actively greeting him.
Diagon Alley was a small lake that couldn't accommodate big fish.
It was basically populated only by second-class wizard apprentices, so these second-class wizard apprentices were all speculating about what matter had brought a first-class wizard apprentice into Diagon Alley with such imposing momentum.
Locke nodded slightly to them, then found Gabby Montoya at number 231, who had been attracted by his magical pressure.
Every wizard's magical pressure had a specific natural frequency, making them relatively easy to identify.
When first-class wizard apprentices wanted to hide, they needed to restrain their magical pressure; when searching for people or wanting others to find them, they needed to release their magical pressure as much as possible.
Locke said to Gabby, "Gabby, come on. I'm paying 70 magic stones to hire you again. I need to find a third-class wizard apprentice named Pierre."
He handed Gabby a leaf from his Omen Mandrake Vines. "Can you help me find him through this leaf's scent? He has an identical vine leaf on him."
Locke briefly explained, "He's currently in extreme danger. I need maximum speed."
Hearing this, Gabby immediately carefully took the Omen Mandrake Vine leaf, then transformed her face to show black cat characteristics, a partial application of Spirit Cat Transformation.
She sniffed deeply, then transformed into a black cat and ran on the ground for a moment. Then Gabby breathed a sigh of relief and turned to tell Locke, "Senior Locke, I can smell his faint scent in the air."
"I can find him. Senior, should we leave immediately?"
Locke showed a slight smile. "Good. Let's go immediately. Jump on this snail and come with me, you direct the way."
The Engel Swift Snail was created by academy beast-taming wizards using different magical creatures for bloodline hybridization and bloodline modulation. It not only naturally possessed 0.3-circle Drift magic but also had amazing endurance. Its natural spells were passive with extremely low consumption, operating on different principles from wizards casting spells.
Therefore, even if wizards used magic to temporarily increase their speed beyond the Engel Swift Snail's, for long-distance travel they still couldn't match the Engel Swift Snail, which could use Drift magic throughout the entire journey.
The black cat that Gabby had transformed into jumped onto the snail's back, and the snail began racing quickly in the direction Gabby indicated.
Sitting on the snail's back, Gabby continuously sniffed the special scents in the air. Spirit cats were magical creatures with amazing agility, scent, and tracking abilities.
Low-level shapeshifters usually had limited combat power, so their learning direction generally expanded toward exploration, tracking, and reconnaissance.
The medium-level magical creatures that shapeshifters chose to transform into basically possessed all the abilities of those magical creatures, and might even be somewhat superior.
This was because the transformation was based on the species' average capabilities.
Using bloodline modification to integrate spirit cat bloodlines into one's body could only obtain partial spirit cat abilities, and generally no wizard would choose to undergo spirit cat bloodline physical modification anyway.
Five minutes later.
The black cat Gabby had transformed into stood on the snail's head, her eyes brightening. "Getting close, they're in the mountain range ahead, but I also smell blood, and also undead scent..."
"There should be another third-class wizard apprentice beside that third-class wizard apprentice. They should both be injured."
"Senior, you'd better hurry, otherwise they'll both die."
Locke frowned and glanced at the three invisible Omen Mandrake Vines wrapped around his right hand. The Omen Mandrake Vines had turned very red, becoming a dark red color.
This indicated that enemies were indeed nearby but this color wasn't right.
After thinking for a moment, Locke's eyes flashed with cold intensity. Whoever dared touch his experimental data would die.
He said to Gabby, "Gabby, transform into an owl and fly up to observe the area."
"You should have learned the Transmutation School's Secret Language technique, right? Listen for my instructions at all times."
Gabby answered proudly, "Senior, Secret Language technique is our shapeshifters' core ability during the apprentice stage, of course I've learned it."
"At least I know single-target transformation Secret Language technique."
The so-called Secret Language technique involved applying certain transformations to magical power, turning it into a low-voice information transmission channel that could establish communication between two wizards. During combat, both parties could transmit commands and information at any time.
Powerful shapeshifters conducted deep research in multiple transformation Secret Language techniques, even achieving one-to-many magical power transformation to establish secret communication channels.
Locke had learned about this in Universal Studies class.
At that time, the dark elf Sasari had carefully explained to him the differences, commonalities, and advantages/disadvantages between the Transmutation School's [Secret Language], the Illusion School's [Voice Transmission], the Divination School's [Language Code], and the Mental School's [Mental Interference], these four spell systems.
One could only say that the field of magic was extremely vast. Except for the early primitive magic period when some wizards could learn many fields and become all-around masters, the current stage of white wizards emphasized mutual cooperation, complementing strengths and weaknesses, and division of labor.
This was more efficient.
...
In the mountain range, Lorne and Pierre were covered in wounds, gasping for breath. The little magical power they had was nearly exhausted.
Around them were undead creatures, and the forest seemed to hide even more rotting corpses behind the trees, filling the air with putrid odors.
Lorne said wearily, "How can there be so many ghouls?"
The two of them had originally obediently followed Locke's advice not to take on academy missions to eliminate undead creatures outside the academy, because Locke had told them that recently there were Blood Curse Court spies outside the academy hunting Lilith's Cottage apprentices.
But they hadn't endured for long before being attracted by the academy's undead elimination missions offering high rewards of up to 15 magic stones per mission.
This wasn't a small reward.
When Gabby had conducted initial investigations of anomalous events, her pay was only 25 magic stones. Although that mission didn't require her to fight, Gabby was a second-class wizard apprentice.
So Pierre had been tempted by Lorne several times, and the two had taken on this academy mission together and left.
Who could have imagined that unlike others, they were immediately surrounded and attacked by large numbers of ghouls upon leaving.
Pierre said regretfully, "Lorne, Locke told us not to go out. I should have listened to him. He's a first-class wizard apprentice, he definitely knows more inside information than we do."
Lorne raised his sword and swung it out, forcing back a ghoul. He wiped the sweat from his face. "It's too late to say anything now."
"Pierre, I'll try using my knight's physical strength to fight our way out with you... maybe there's still a chance..."
Just as Lorne finished speaking, increasingly loud laughter emerged from the dense forest.
"Hahaha... these two little white wizards are really stupid, falling into our trap and still thinking they can fight their way out."
"How laughable."
"Hurry up and kill them both, especially that wizard apprentice named Pierre. He should have an important potion being tested on him. Killing him can slow down those potion sellers' development of new potions."
In Lorne and Pierre's despairing eyes, seven Blood Curse Court second-class wizard apprentices appeared in the forest, either hanging upside down from trees or standing beneath them.
Just as Lorne was about to move, the next instant a vampire apprentice appeared before him, using extreme speed to teleport-like appear at his side, then blood claws directly pierced through both of Lorne's shoulders.
The vampire apprentice said with mockery and cruelty, "Don't move around, or both your arms will be ruined."
"So now I'll ask you a question, do you want both arms ruined now, or both arms ruined later?"
Pierre and Lorne's faces turned deathly pale. They hadn't expected to encounter Blood Curse Court second-class wizard apprentices!
On the other side, another vampire apprentice also grabbed Pierre's head with blood claws, the five fingers like trying to crush stone, pressing against Pierre's head and leaving five finger marks on his skull.
Pierre screamed in terror, but this scream only made the vampire apprentice, who had become psychologically twisted in the Blood Curse Court's long-term oppressive environment, more excited.
"Hehehe... little white wizard, don't you know that pain and fear are the power source of our curse magic?"
This vampire apprentice began chanting the Paralysis Curse incantation beside Pierre's ear.
So-called curse magic required the curser to cast incantations and hit others. The cursed person needed to experience some fear or at least emotional vulnerability, and then there must be contact or physical harm between both parties for direct cursing to occur.
All three conditions were indispensable.
Of course, this applied to same-level opponents. When magical levels differed greatly, these three conditions weren't necessary.
So curses were weak against same-level opponents but were absolute tools for bullying weaker targets.
In his terrified screams, Pierre gradually discovered that his body was increasingly beyond his control. His breathing lost rhythm and became weak.
His limbs felt like they had lost sensation.
Pierre and Lorne were like two little lambs that had fallen into a wolf pack, completely defenseless, only able to be continuously tormented by the mocking wolves.