Chapter One Hundred Thirty-One: Silver Rose

Many wizards nearby noticed that Hughes’s potion was nearing completion, and some began to harbor ulterior motives. However, seeing both Kairu and Ino present, they dared not act rashly.

Soon, Hughes finished refining the petrification potion.

"Excellent, a perfectly qualified potion. Congratulations!" Ino held the finished potion, looking quite satisfied. Kairu, standing beside him, nodded as well, signaling his approval of Hughes.

"The assessment period is not over yet, you may rest for a while," Ino said, his impression of Hughes being quite favorable, and his tone was rather warm.

Hughes obediently stepped aside to wait for the examination to conclude.

"Bang... bang..." A series of explosions echoed through the hall. Wizards standing before their experimental benches looked on with grim expressions at the potions they had failed to brew. Kairu and Ino said nothing; they seemed accustomed to such outcomes.

"Very well, the assessment is over!" As the last grain of sand fell through the hourglass, Ino announced the conclusion of the test.

"You may leave now!" Ino looked at the wizards in the hall and unceremoniously ushered them out.

"Alright, Hughes, you are the only one who passed this assessment. Follow us to the headquarters of Silver Rose!" With everyone else gone, Ino prepared to take Hughes to report to the headquarters immediately.

Hughes had no objections; he had intended to join Silver Rose from the start, so this suited him perfectly.

Hughes followed the two wizards out through the main hall door. As they stepped out, he saw several orcs waiting outside with cleaning tools in their hands.

"Some of the vessels inside need cleaning. Just be careful with them," Kairu instructed the orcs before leading Hughes further away.

"Sir, where are we going..." Hughes asked, feeling a bit strange after Kairu led them out of the corridor and into a different hall.

"To the Silver Rose headquarters, of course. We are still quite far from the center of the Holy Circle City, so we will use a teleportation array," Ino explained.

"A teleportation array? Is it one that goes exclusively to Silver Rose?" Hughes became interested the moment he heard the term. The advanced knowledge required for teleportation arrays was vast, and even with the help of his chip, Hughes only had a superficial understanding.

"Exactly, it is just a small-scale array. The entire Lost Domain lacks a complete legacy for the large-scale ones," Ino sighed regretfully.

"Alright, this is it!" Kairu suddenly stopped. He took out a silver emblem and placed it against the door, causing it to slowly swing open.

"Let's go!" Hughes stepped onto the array behind the two. As it activated, Hughes felt a slight sense of dizziness, and when he regained his senses, he found they had arrived at a new location.

"Welcome to Silver Rose, Hughes!" Ino stood directly opposite him, smiling.

"Come, let me take you to register your identity and sign the contract." Ino led Hughes into a room.

"Let’s discuss the contract first." Ino handed Hughes a document and gestured for him to read the terms. "After joining Silver Rose, you must not commit any acts that harm the organization's interests. Additionally, you must complete the tasks assigned to you each month. In return, Silver Rose will grant you access to certain advanced knowledge and resources. That is the gist of it; take your time to read it." After briefly outlining the rules, Ino waited quietly for a response.

"Chip, scan for any loopholes," Hughes whispered, feeling uneasy. After all, one should never sign a contract blindly.

"Beep! No hidden loopholes detected!"

The Silver Rose contract was indeed as Jelin had described—relatively lenient and not overly restrictive of his freedom.

"Very well, I will sign." Seeing that the contract was sound, Hughes did not hesitate and dripped a drop of his blood onto it.

"Haha, congratulations on officially joining Silver Rose! I believe you won't regret this!" Ino was pleased to see Hughes sign without hesitation; perhaps this young man would eventually become the student of his old friend.

As the blood touched the contract, it ignited, forming two rose-shaped symbols. One vanished into Hughes's body, while the other flew out the door and disappeared.

"Since the contract is signed, I will take you to register your identity. I had hoped to introduce you to the leader of Silver Rose, but they are currently tied up with an important experiment."

As they walked, Ino spoke. The interior of Silver Rose was vast, layered level by level. Hughes followed, letting his chip record the map.

"Is the leader of Silver Rose a Level 2 wizard?" Hughes asked, curious. He had never seen a Level 2 wizard in action and did not know their true strength.

"What do you think?" Ino chuckled, not answering directly.

"I suppose so," Hughes reasoned. Someone capable of leading a wizard organization must possess formidable strength.

"That's right. Our master is a Level 2 wizard, and all the small teleportation arrays in the Holy Circle City were crafted by them!" Ino greeted passing wizards, clearly well-liked within the organization.

"Alright, go in. Once you finish your registration, I will take you to one more place, and then my task will be complete." Ino gestured for Hughes to enter.

"Name?" As soon as Hughes entered the room, someone asked.

"Hughes Bruch!"

"Hmm! Here you go." A few seconds later, a rose-shaped emblem was tossed into Hughes’s hand.

"Drip your blood on it. This is your proof of identity for entering Silver Rose. You will also need this emblem whenever you exchange for resources here."

"Understood!" Hughes followed the instructions immediately. Once done, he pinned the emblem to his chest and walked out.

"Nice, that looks the part!" Ino remarked as Hughes emerged.

"Drury! I’ve brought someone for you!" Before they even reached their destination, Ino shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Oh, you are so noisy. I don't know how that guy Kairu puts up with you." A wizard wearing glasses and reeking of alcohol walked out.

"Drinking on the job again? Aren't you afraid Fenly will give you trouble?"

"That old man isn't here, is he?" Upon hearing the name Fenly, Drury sobered up significantly; it was clear he feared this person.

"Is this the person you recruited?" After some small talk, Drury finally looked at Hughes.

"Yes, his name is Hughes. He is a great talent. Why not have him join your Potion Division? Don't you guys always complain about being short-handed and unable to finish tasks? This kid’s potion-making skills were verified by Kairu himself. Well? Are you taking him or not?"

"Bullshit! When have I ever failed to complete a task?" Drury exploded at Ino’s words and began arguing loudly.

"Enough, enough! Just tell me if you want him or not!" Ino, clearly exhausted by the banter, cut to the chase.

"Leave the kid and get lost!" Drury grabbed Hughes and pulled him into the room, ignoring Ino entirely.

"Alright, kid, Ino’s task is done. You belong to me now!" Drury said, taking another heavy gulp of alcohol from the table. "Yack! Yack! Go call Brenda here, quickly!"

Hughes took the opportunity to observe the office layout, noticing many doors along the walls that seemed to serve unknown purposes.

"No need to call, I’ve heard you," Brenda said, appearing with messy hair and sitting opposite Drury.

"This little guy is assigned to you. You’re always complaining about having too many tasks and not enough people, right? Here’s one for you today!" Drury looked at Brenda, looking slightly tipsy.

"Hmm, understood," Brenda said, glancing at Hughes before agreeing.

"Also, tell him the rules of our Potion Division and give him his newcomer contribution points," Drury added, struggling to remember everything despite his intoxication.