leonardwarren Chapter 5 Betrayal
Chapter 5 Betrayal
"Master Klin, please calm down!"
Hick forced down the trembling in his voice, took a deep breath, and tried to make his eyes look like they were looking away out of awe rather than fear.
A chilling killing intent bound him like tangible chains. He knew that any clumsy lie was like a paper window in front of a proper wizard, easily pierced.
In a flash, the harrowing scene from the lab that morning flashed through Hick's mind.
The experimental subject's berserk transformation, its uncontrolled power and utterly annihilated rationality—instantly formed an extremely risky but potentially only way out.
"Since Instructor Klin wants to know," Hick's voice held a strained tone, as if forced to reveal a secret, "this disciple dares not conceal it. Instructor's experiment... has indeed made progress; the strength of the fusion far exceeds expectations..."
He paused deliberately, as if weighing whether he should continue, while intently watching every shift in Krillin's eyes. "But... the problem of the remaining will... remains unresolved!"
He emphasized the words "not resolved," and then quickly dropped the most crucial and truthful "result":
"The test subjects will undergo complete bestial transformation! Their power will be ferocious, and they will be devoid of any rationality! This is the current... progress status."
After saying that, Hick held his breath, his heart pounding, nervously awaiting Klin's reaction.
Strictly speaking, not a single word of his statement was a lie, but when put together, it cleverly led Klin to a conclusion completely opposite to the truth (successful but requiring follow-up to address side effects)—the experiment failed at a crucial stage!
The wizard Klin narrowed his snake-like eyes slightly, his sharp gaze sweeping over Hick's face as if trying to probe whether there was any deception hidden deep within his soul.
Time passed in a suffocating silence, each second feeling like a dull knife cutting into Hick's nerves. Cold sweat trickled down his spine, soaking his inner shirt.
Finally, a slight smile appeared on Klin's thin lips.
He slowly withdrew his suffocating killing intent, and the surrounding air seemed to loosen up a bit.
"Is that so..." Krillin's voice remained calm, but it lacked the urgency of imminent danger, and instead carried a hint of understanding and... relaxation.
"Alright then." He seemed to have lost interest in asking any further questions, and casually waved his hand. "When you get back, please give my regards to your mentor..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Krillin's figure vanished silently, as if he had never been there, disappearing into the shadows.
"Huff..." Hick's tense body instantly relaxed, and he almost lost his balance. His back was cold and wet, and a gust of wind made him shiver from the biting cold.
He was panting heavily, feeling as if he had truly walked through the gates of hell in those brief moments!
His heart was still pounding wildly in his chest, a reminder of the danger he had just faced.
You made the right bet!
A sense of relief washed over Hick, a feeling of having escaped death. Klin clearly believed him—or rather, he believed the part of the "failure" that Hick had been forced to reveal, the part that met his "expectations."
Hick cleverly interpreted the confidence his mentor displayed as confidence in "strength" rather than overall success.
However, the fatal flaws of "bestiality" and "irrationality" are enough for Klin to believe that Pelosi is still far from true success.
He glanced at Lor, who had already slipped away in the chaos and disappeared without a trace, without caring at all. Just a scared little fish, not worth mentioning at all.
The real crisis is far from over!
Hick's eyes instantly became incredibly sharp and urgent.
Klin personally intervened and pressed for answers, which went beyond the bounds of normal competition!
The other party's malice in preventing the mentor's promotion has reached the point where they are willing to break off relations and even take more extreme measures!
The hidden mole within the mentor's inner circle is like a bomb that could explode at any moment, threatening the mentor's life and the entire experiment's outcome at the crucial moment when the mentor is about to advance to the second level!
"We must tell our advisor immediately!"
Hick didn't hesitate at all, and didn't even bother to reprimand the injured apprentices or comfort Kurt.
He turned around abruptly and ran as fast as he could toward the core area of the Wizard Tower, where Mentor Perot's laboratory and residence were located!
The wind whistled in his ears, but Hick's heart was more urgent than his steps.
Judging from Coach Klin's undisguised killing intent and his personal involvement today, the other party definitely doesn't just want to compete, but wants to completely crush them!
The path to advancement for mentors is already fraught with deadly thorns and traps, and that mole is the most insidious dagger in Klin's hand!
He had to tell his mentor everything—Krillin's sinister intentions, the existence of the mole, and how he had narrowly escaped—before Krillin could react and before the mole could pass on information again!
If we had been even a moment later, the consequences would have been unimaginable!
The cold stone walls of the wizard tower flashed past, and Hick's figure shot towards his mentor's location like a gray arrow.
Upon arriving at his mentor's lounge, Hick, without even bothering to tidy himself up, quickly knocked on the door.
"Knock knock knock!"
Hick was banging very fast; he was extremely anxious.
If Wizard Klin succeeds, then he, who has just gained a backer and become a disciple of his mentor, will be in luck.
Certain death!
"Who?"
A calm, unhurried voice came from the room, seemingly oblivious to Hick's urgency when he knocked.
"Mentor, it's me!"
Hick suppressed his emotions and replied.
"Come in!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the door opened slowly and automatically.
Hick hurriedly went into the room, wanting to tell his mentor what had just happened.
The mentors you might expect, who are either busy preparing for a promotion or exhausted from a critical period of experimentation, do not exist.
Pero Griffin was lounging leisurely on a luxurious chaise lounge covered in the skin of some kind of dark purple, enchanted creature covered in fine scales.
He held a steaming cup of beverage with a strange aroma in his hand, his expression more relaxed and at ease than ever before, with even a faint smile on his lips.
Next to the recliner lay someone whom Hick rarely saw, but whom he recognized.
One of the mentor's disciples, a level three wizard apprentice!
Carlo Bailey!
Carlo lay on the ground with an unnatural bluish-gray complexion. His body was twisted in a bizarre posture, his eyes wide open with unfocused pupils, filled with frozen, extreme fear and pain.
And the key point is!
His mouth disappeared!
Seeing this, Hick was a little confused. His mentor knew? Then why...?
"Hick, you've come at the perfect time."
The mentor's voice, like warm jade, flowed slowly through the deathly silent room.
"Both of you were assistants who participated in my core experiments. You, Hick, were my most capable dissection and observation personnel during human experiments; your talent amazed me."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over Carlo's corpse on the ground, his tone completely unwavering.
"Carlo was an indispensable assistant in my development of the fusion agent formula. His understanding of the medicinal properties of enchanted plants helped me a lot."
At this point, the mentor slowly took a sip of coffee and continued:
"I know one of you has betrayed me, but I'm not sure who it is, and I don't care who it is, as long as that person helps me pass on messages. And now it seems..."
At this point, the mentor's originally gentle tone turned chilling.