Moon Witch, embark on the journey!

She gradually moved her face closer, so that the distance between them became so close that she could hear each other's breathing and even count the number of each other's eyelashes.

Just as he was about to get closer, he was gently stopped by a hand.

Luna felt an indescribable sense of loss in her heart, but she still smiled and said:

"I am guilty of this. I'm sorry."

Just as she was about to leave, the hand pulled her back. Under Luna's strange gaze, the black-haired girl's face flushed brightly, and her previous cold aura had disappeared.

Her voice was a little trembling, but it was impossible to miss it at this distance:

"It's not... a rejection. But, it can't be... too extreme."

When Luna wanted to say something, she had already closed her eyes. Only her eyelashes were still trembling slightly, and her cherry-colored lips were pursed nervously.

It would be a bit unromantic to say anything else at this time. Although Luna really wanted to know where her bottom line was.

In a bedroom with dim candlelight flickering, on the soft bed, two beautiful girls, one in black and one in silver, were hugging each other, their faces gradually touching.

Her lips were indeed very soft.

After a long while, the two separated. Both of them had flushed faces and were a little out of breath.

The sound of gentle breathing interweaves in the room at night.

"...I'm sleepy."

After being in a daze for a while with her face flushed, Claire suddenly seemed to wake up. She huddled up in the quilt and turned her face to the side, leaving only her smooth black hair and white back.

Luna's arm slid down to the girl's side, and she never let go. She gently held it with her backhand, and did not resist.

"Good night, then—"

I didn’t do anything extra after that. After all, I couldn’t be too out of the ordinary.

......

The next day, Claire opened her eyes first. She did not wake up Luna as usual, but left the room alone early in the morning, which made Luna, who woke up later, feel a little uncomfortable.

She looked normal the entire morning, except that her eyes kept avoiding Luna's face.

Around noon, the four members of the team, who had rested enough, gathered together to enjoy the luxurious banquet prepared by the hired servants.

Claire's expression was much more lively than yesterday. As the captain of the team, she raised her glass:

"Everyone, cheers to celebrate last night's victory!"

“干杯！”“干杯！”“......”

Luna and William were very cooperative, while Winnie huddled aside and concentrated on the food. She raised the cup beside her perfunctorily, and tore a piece of Warcraft steak in her mouth.

The three of them were all young girls, and the wine glasses were filled with light fruit wine. William said that he was not satisfied, but no one paid any attention to him.

When they were almost halfway through the meal, Claire decided to get down to business:

"Logically speaking, our goal has been achieved. What have you decided to do next?"

Hunting Baron-level vampires was not their original mission at all. Generally speaking, once this mission was successfully completed, the team would disband.

At this time, the petite girl Winnie spoke up:

"I haven't... killed enough. Keep hunting if you can."

Then it was William's turn to express his opinion. He hesitated for a moment and said awkwardly:

"Maybe I was too far away and didn't feel any signs of the spiritual power materializing."

This is actually their biggest goal. Apprentices at the top of the high levels may be able to concentrate their mental power to a high degree during the battle with a strong enemy, and there may be a sign that their mental power is materializing.

This is the key to becoming a proper wizard.

“I feel like I’m still a little short of it.”

Claire was also somewhat helpless. They were too young, had just reached their limit and lacked the experience. If they were over 25, they would basically complete this step smoothly.

As for Luna, she felt nothing at all. She hadn't even reached the peak of the high level.

To be honest, she had to come along just to ensure Claire's safety, although the latter was stronger than she had imagined.

"So, let's continue looking for other targets?"

102. Follow-up

It was not easy to find a suitable target. On the one hand, their activities had to be limited to the Principality of Sale. On the other hand, they had to be a newly promoted Baron-level vampire.

Even if the vampires from the Dark Night Continent showed signs of being new to the title, it was difficult to determine whether they had hidden strength. It was impossible for the vampires who were confirmed to have advanced in the Dusk Continent to be promoted continuously within one or two years.

Their range of choices was very narrow, and it was even more difficult to collect accurate intelligence and the right time to act. For example, the emergency last night was actually a bit hasty, and William's magic formation was not in place in time, which added a bit of difficulty.

For an enemy of this level, it is worthwhile and necessary to spend several months or even half a year on preliminary preparations.

So for now, the team has no other actions.

"Claire~"

Luna walked to Claire's room very naturally, and saw her reading at the desk. She hugged her from behind, with a somewhat resentful tone:

"Why have you been avoiding me these days?"

"You still said that! While I was at that time... You are really bewildered!"

The black-haired girl's cheeks immediately felt hot. She recalled the memory of that time and subconsciously pursed her lips.

"You promised it!"

"...I just lost my mind for a moment!"

After a few words of flirting, the awkward atmosphere between the two of them eased a lot. Claire didn't seem to want to delve into the topic and quickly changed the subject:

"What have you been doing these past two days?"

It was said that Claire was being distant, but in reality it was Luna who was nowhere to be seen for most of the day. She only showed up when eating or sleeping, and was nowhere to be found at other times.

"I have brewed a batch of potions. This is for you."

Luna placed four tubes of dark blue potion on the table in front of Claire and explained:

"Azure Water Potion. It's a potion that increases mental strength. I've tried it and it works pretty well."

Claire then noticed that her mental strength was significantly stronger than before. She exclaimed in surprise:

"You can already make potions of this level? Aren't spiritual potions difficult?"

"It's OK, but the medicinal materials are a little harder to find."

Claire looked at the four tubes of potion, hesitated for a moment, and said shyly, which was unusual for her:

"I don't have that many magic stones on me. I'll give them to you when the bounty comes in a few days."

"No need! These are from me."

Although Claire probably wouldn't dare to admit it now, Luna felt that their relationship was no longer just that of ordinary friends, so she was quite generous in her actions.

Because it does not have the effect of breaking through bottlenecks, the Azure Water is cheaper than the Dark Spirit Potion, but it will never be less than two or three hundred magic stones. The value of these four potions can easily be said to be thousands.

"Besides, I accepted the magic stone and the first-level scroll you lent me before. It's normal for these to be returned gifts, right?"

Claire was unable to say no. She placed the vials of potion in her white silk-gloved hands and stared at them carefully.

"I still have a lot of it. Don't forget about the ruins... It will take about half a year. I need to reach the limit of a high-level apprentice."

Luna spent a year as an intermediate apprentice. Logically, the time spent as an advanced apprentice would only increase exponentially.

This is the power of magic potion (krypton gold)!

The reason why it takes half a year is that taking the potion multiple times in a short period of time will cause the drug resistance to increase sharply. In addition, the mental strength will become quite unstable, so a period of time must be left each time.

"Before you knew it, you have grown to this point."

Claire now truly felt that if she didn't make progress, she would definitely be caught up by her.

"I will put these potions into the family inventory. I have withdrawn a lot of things over the years and have not made any contribution."

She seemed to be asking for Luna's opinion.

Claire has already reached the peak of the high-level apprentice level. Unless she sells it, she won't be able to use it. Maybe those two brats will use it in the end?

"It doesn't matter, you can do whatever you want with it."

Luna was satisfied as long as the gift was delivered to her, and it was up to her what to do with it.

"Your potion is probably not included in our organization. If you want to sell it, it will be more expensive than the normal price... You know, if you use the same potion too much, you will develop drug resistance, so new potions will be more popular."

Claire talked a lot, as if she was afraid that Luna would suffer in the future.

In fact, as a potion apprentice who had taken basic courses, Luna certainly knew all these, but she still subconsciously regarded Luna as a newcomer who had just come into contact with the wizarding world, knew nothing, and needed care.

Luna listened with a smile, occasionally interjecting a word or two.

......

On the third day, the bounty reward issued by the Dark Ring Headquarters came down.

"This speed is amazing. It's much more efficient than I thought."

Luna was a little surprised. The materials and certificates they collected from the vampire baron had just been sent out not long ago, so they should have been received by the headquarters just now.

The four of them sat in a circle on the sofa in the living room. Luna and Claire sat close to each other, and from time to time he would secretly touch her long hair, which made the latter feel helpless.

"Haha, if it's an ordinary apprentice, of course it's not very efficient. Even if it's from a wizard family, it's the same for those official wizards."

William didn't know where the resentment came from, perhaps it was because he had been bullied before he became an elite apprentice.

"We are accepting the bounty issued to official wizards by bypassing the hierarchy. Once something has to do with official wizards, the efficiency of the organization will be much higher. And now it is wartime."

The evidence they provided, combined with the Dark Ring's intelligence network, had confirmed the death of the newly promoted Blood Clan Baron Soest. Naturally, the reward was quickly distributed.

After all, who would dare to delay a bounty reward for a full-fledged wizard in time of war?

"The bounty has been added to my badge. I will transfer it to you right away. Each of you will get 2,000 magic stones."

Claire held up her badge with the silver rim.

The badges of elite apprentices have many more functions than those of ordinary apprentices. They are basically simplified versions of the official wizard badges, exclusive items for internal members. In essence, they are complex alchemical items with multiple functions.

The magic stone points stored in it can be directly exchanged for equivalent magic stones at the headquarters.

Of course, the headquarters has corresponding records. Even if another alchemist master cracks the badge and changes the data, it will be useless.

"Wait, what about me?"

Luna blinked. She was still an ordinary apprentice, and the medal didn't have such a convenient function.

"Yours is here."

Claire smiled, took out an envelope, and handed her a badge with a silver border.

103. New Goal

"This is?"

Seeing Luna's surprised look, Claire smiled slightly:

"Your strength and age are enough to qualify you as an elite apprentice. The battle record I reported also mentioned your role. But we are still at war, so this is temporary. When you return to the headquarters, the wizards will formally assess you, and only then will you truly become an elite apprentice."

"I see. But even if it's temporary, it's not bad."

Luna put away the silver-rimmed badge. Having been with Claire for a long time, she already knew how to use this kind of thing.

Most of the peripheral forces of the Dark Ring can obtain certain preferential treatment through this, and go to places that ordinary apprentices cannot go. They can get their own mansion within the headquarters, and buy most apprentice-level materials and items at a discount.

But they can't return to headquarters for the time being.

"It also has the function of recording magic stone points, and can be traded with elite apprentices or official wizards of our organization. It also has an alarm function, which can send out a distress signal to official wizards within a certain range, but you need to pay for it yourself..."

Claire gave a detailed introduction.

Then she continued:

"This is the bounty offered by the organization. There are also the materials and items of this blood baron himself. I estimated with the help of my family's channels that the total price is about 4,300 magic stones. If you have other places where you can sell them for a good price, you can tell me."

"......No."