Locke and Lorne exchanged a glance.

Locke asked, “Respected Witch Barbara Vayne, what magic does the Bone Cult specialize in?”

“What benefits do we get by joining?”

Barbara Vayne replied, “The Bone Cult excels in necromancy, particularly the bone branch, the strongest in the southeast quadrant.”

“We also specialize in the curse and head-dropping branches of necromancy.”

“Join us, and you can do whatever you want: kill, burn, anything. The cult only requires a monthly blood sacrifice to our leader. Beyond that, we have no rules. Hahaha, tempted to join?”

Locke was speechless. He wanted to become a wizard to study magic and seek truth, not join a cult.

Killing and burning? He wasn’t a psychopath. Why would he need that kind of freedom?

Locke declined politely, “Lady Barbara, my primary affinity is wood element. I don’t align with the Bone Cult’s magic, so I’ll pass.”

Lorne quickly added, “My primary affinity is light element particles, with wood as my secondary. I don’t meet your requirements either.”

Barbara’s face darkened. “You two are refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit.”

“I’m a first-class wizard apprentice, while you’re mere third-class apprentices. You’re barely stronger than frail infants before me.”

“Since you won’t come willingly, I’ll take you by force.”

Barbara pointed at Lorne’s magical item. With a flick, the silver glow on his silver cross sword faded rapidly.

It was swallowed by darkness.

Lorne exclaimed, “Why? How? My magical item lost its effect?”

Barbara laughed. “You’ve barely begun your magical journey. Some things are beyond your understanding. Your greatest asset is gone.”

She turned to the Mandrake Vine on Locke’s right hand. “Young man, you’re on the wrong path.”

“Your plant irritates me. I can see the dense death aura around your soul, perfect for necromancy.”

Locke’s heart sank. So he was the target, and Lorne was just caught up in it.

As a black wizard with high negative energy affinity, she could sense his own affinity for negative energy particles.

He was marked.

Many prospects with negative energy affinity on the ship were likely targeted by black wizard organizations.

Barbara raised her hand toward Locke’s Mandrake Vine. “Let me remove that eyesore.”

“Plant magic is nothing before necromancy.”

Locke’s heart raced. Vine Hand took him two years to master. If it was sealed like Lorne’s magical item, those years would be wasted.

But he had no idea how she’d sealed Lorne’s item.

As a first-class wizard apprentice, her methods were beyond his comprehension.

Locke was beginning to understand how deadly it was in the wizarding world to face techniques you couldn’t fathom.

The gap between wizards could be so vast that one couldn’t even grasp the other’s magic.

Having just entered the wizarding world, facing a seasoned black wizard was overwhelming.

As Locke prepared to chant Vine Hand for a desperate stand, a heavy pressure crushed his chest. He and Lorne dropped to one knee.

Even Barbara Vayne, seemingly invincible, knelt, grinding her teeth.

The thirty zombies surrounding them exploded into fragments instantly.

Barbara panicked. “Formal… formal wizard… This ship is led by a formal wizard.”

“A white wizard’s formal wizard is here…”

A greater magical pressure surged from all directions, forcing Barbara to spit blood, nearly immobilizing her.

“No, this radiation intensity, can a living being produce such magical pressure?”

Barbara quickly drank an unknown potion from her clothes.

Not just her, many black wizards in the sky’s black mist were knocked into the sea by the terrifying pressure.

All the plants on the deck swayed, as if welcoming someone’s arrival.

Every zombie sprouted a red flower from its head, draining their vitality before wilting and bearing fruit.

In moments, the zombie rain was dispelled.

The fruits fell to the deck, wilting rapidly. From their seeds, butterflies made of petals fluttered out, forming a cherry blossom sea that surged toward the black mist.

Locke heard Mentor Jarvis exclaim joyfully, “It’s Lord Zeno Smith, a formal wizard from Four Seasons Garden, casting the Cherry Blossom Curse.”

A wizard appeared between Barbara, Locke, and Lorne, wearing a robe embroidered with lilies and hyacinths, and a hat adorned with at least five types of flowers.

Terrifying magical pressure radiated from him.

Zeno Smith’s gaze was indifferent, looking down at the kneeling Barbara Vayne. “Bone Cult child, you’ve grown fond of bad jokes lately.”

“All talk, no skill.”

“You say my life magic is inferior to your necromancy?”

“For the sake of your mentor’s recent experiment with me, leave now.”

Barbara’s face paled. She hadn’t expected a First Circle wizard from Four Seasons Garden on this ship.

Without a word, she turned into a black mist and fled in disgrace.

Many wizards in the black mist retreated as well.

Mentor Jarvis shouted, “Lord Zeno Smith, they’ve taken at least thirty percent of the apprentices. Should we pursue?”

Zeno Smith was unconcerned. “Thirty percent? Good.”

“That’s ten percent less than I expected.”

“Let the black wizards go. If they get nothing, they’ll start wars elsewhere.”

He glanced at Locke’s Mandrake Vine and vanished from the deck.

Mentor Jarvis hesitated but said nothing.

He addressed the shaken prospects coldly, “Consider this your training.”

“Black and white wizards in the southeast quadrant often clash.”

“You’ve now faced them early, so learn how to fight black wizards in the future.”

After the ordeal, Locke and Lorne sat on the deck to rest, catching their breath, still reeling from the life-or-death crisis.

After a long pause, they exchanged a smile. Lorne gave Locke a bear hug.

This crisis had deepened their bond.

Lorne saw Locke as a reliable comrade.

Holding his now-ineffective enchanted weapon, Lorne said, “That scared me. I thought I’d be forced to become a black wizard.”

Locke looked at the sword. “But your magical item’s useless now. That’s a shame.”

Lorne shrugged. “Can’t help it. Life’s more important. Once we join a wizard organization, we’ll find a way to unseal it.”

Locke nodded. “I need to check on my friends, see if they’re still on the ship.”

He hoped Patty and Kode hadn’t been taken by the black wizards.

Lorne said, “I need to look too. I saw an apprentice from Schleswig get taken by those damn black wizards.”

“I feel bad for my friend.”

“He’s so unlucky.”

Locke glanced at Lorne. He might pity his friend now, but if they met again, one as a black wizard and the other a white wizard, they’d be enemies.

Locke searched the deck and soon found a shaken Patty and Kode.

Lacking negative energy particle affinity, they hadn’t been targeted by the black wizards.

Locke comforted them, then stared at where the Four Seasons Garden formal wizard had vanished, lost in thought. After this crisis, his desire for greater magical power intensified.

The figure who had subdued all the black wizards was etched in his mind.

Was this the power of a formal wizard?

He wanted it too!