Sophia pressed her lips together, her eyes dimming slightly.
She hadn't placed much hope in her earlier guess, so the disappointment wasn't overwhelming.
But the thought of her and her mother meeting a grim fate soon weighed heavily on her heart.
It filling her with a sense of desolation.
However, Luca's next words left her stunned.
"Senior, you don't actually need to worry," Luca said with a smile. "I can't deal with the Nightmare, but I can sever the connection between this worm and the Nightmare."
Sophia looked at Luca in surprise, "Are you serious?"
Luca stretched lazily and said, "Of course, I'm serious. I was just scaring those two earlier. After all, they've been sneering at me for so long; it's only fair to give them a bit of a scare in return."
Matthew had disrupted his plans earlier, and Freeman was his teacher's enemy. Although Luca have not enough power to confront them directly.
But making them lose face was a satisfying way to get back at them.
Sophia, still puzzled, asked, "What exactly is your plan?"
Luca didn't respond immediately but slowly opened his hand.
Sophia's eyes widened in surprise as she saw the worm in Luca's hand, continuously enveloped in a bluish, ghostly light.
Moreover, she noticed something even more astonishing: the worm emitted no aura or energy at all—nothing.
"What's going on?" Sophia wondered, concentrating her perception.
Suddenly, she realized something that made her heart skip a beat.
This tiny worm was under a powerful restraint!
This restriction sealed all of the worm's aura, life force, and even consciousness within the confines of Luca's palm.
Despite being so close, she hadn't sensed any of its presence leaking out.
"This... is a restrictive secret technique?!" Sophia's eyes widened in shock as she looked at Luca.
A "secret technique" is a unique form of power utilization distinct from ordinary skills.
These techniques are not only far more powerful and scarce, but they also share a common characteristic.
They can be learned by any profession.
Restrictive secret techniques are a particular category of these techniques.
In addition, there are offensive, supportive, and defensive secret techniques, all of which are extremely potent and rare.
Now, Sophia finally understood why Luca had remained so calm.
With this restrictive secret technique, the worm had no chance to relay any information to the Nightmare!
Realizing this, Sophia felt a sense of relief.
It meant they still had room to maneuver.
"You just changed your profession less than two days ago. How do you know a secret technique?" This was the only thing she couldn't understand.
Sophia clearly remembered that Luca was just an Apprentice Mage yesterday.
Had he really mastered a secret technique in just one day?!
Luca's expression remained unchanged. "It was Franklin who taught me. I have high aptitude and Perception levels, so I learn things quickly."
This statement was only partially true. While Franklin and Sophia had indeed taught him some low-level secret techniques, Luca had dismissed them after a brief glance and stored them in his Storage Ring.
The restrictive secret technique he was using now was a high-level technique he had acquired in his previous life, called the "Seven-Star Restriction Array."
Sealing the aura was only one of the abilities of this technique. Its true strength lay in its ability to set up a restrictive array that could limit the actions of everyone within its boundaries.
However, Luca was only using a simplified version, as the full version would drain all his energy.
Sophia's expression became complicated.
Secret techniques required a significant amount of talent. Some people might struggle their entire lives to learn just a few, while those with exceptional talent could master one in a matter of days.
If she remembered correctly, it had taken her a full seven days to barely learn her first secret technique.
Even so, she had been praised by her father and teacher as the most talented mage in Emerald State in a century!
Yet, Luca's learning speed was seven times faster than hers!
This wasn't just talent—it was monstrous!
"Is this the difference between innate full potential and my own Perception?" Sophia sighed inwardly.
She had always thought that with her level 9 aptitude and level 9 Perception, she might be slightly weaker than Luca but not by much.
She never expected the gap between them to be this vast!
Usually, others were amazed by her talent. This was the first time she had ever felt such a significant disparity in talent compared to someone else.
Seeing that Sophia seemed disheartened, Luca tried to comfort her, saying, "My talent is quite average, actually. It took me quite a bit of time to learn this secret technique last night."
[Ding! Sophia's favorability towards you has decreased by 10 points.]
Sophia's expression turned cold as she said, "Then you must have spent an extraordinary amount of time, Junior. I remember it took me a whole week to learn my first secret technique. It seems I was far too foolish."
Luca was stunned to see that the already limited favorability had instantly dropped by 10 points.
Even with maxed-out charm, he couldn't maintain her favorability?!
How hard to communicate to this woman!
Just as Luca was silently complaining.
Charles, Cassman, and a group of servants hurried into Lady Lenna's bedroom, carrying boxes of herbs and materials.
"We have brought the items, Mr. Luca. Can you..." Charles began but trailed off, noticing the unusually cold atmosphere in the room. The temperature seemed to have dropped, and the mood felt tense.
"Could it be that Lady Lenna's condition has worsened?"
The thought sent a chill through everyone, fearing the worst.
But before they could express their grief, they saw that Lady Lenna was still lying in bed, peacefully asleep.
"What is going on?" Cassman and Charles exchanged confused glances, not understanding the situation.
"Alright, place the items here. I'll start preparing the potion to lift the curse on Lady Lenna," Luca said, coughing to break the silence and prevent the awkward atmosphere from dragging on.
Sophia's expression softened a bit, but her favorability didn't return.
Luca felt somewhat exasperated.
It was already nearing noon. After calming his emotions, Luca didn't delay and began preparing the potion to lift the nightmare curse.
The "Clear Mind Potion" was designed to remove negative statuses.
While not particularly rare in later times, it was still a high-level potion. Given his current level, Luca couldn't make it perfectly.
Instead, he opted for a simplified version using lower-level materials.
Though its effectiveness was diminished, it would still be sufficient to treat Lady Lenna, who was an ordinary person.
With a focused thought, a powerful aura far exceeding his level surged from Luca!
Witch Doctor's Hand!
In the next moment, a bluish glow emanated from Luca's hand, enveloping each ingredient and material.
In the shocked, confused, and astonished gazes of everyone present, colorful essences began to extract from the materials!
He was extracting all the materials at once!
"Holy crap! This kid!" Cassman's eyes widened as he gasped in surprise.
Not just him; everyone else looked as if they had seen a ghost.
Even Sophia was deeply shocked.
Extracting materials required a profound understanding of their properties and precise control over one's power.
If the extractor lacked this knowledge or control, impurities could be drawn out, ruining the entire batch.
What Luca was doing was unheard of!
This way to extract thing is they have not heard.
But the most shocking part was yet to come.
After extracting the essences from six different ingredients, Luca didn't combine them one by one. Instead, he directly began the process of merging them.
Under everyone's astonished gaze, the bluish energy guided the six globules of essence in his palm, merging them at an astonishing speed!
Cassman was dumbfounded, his face full of disbelief as he muttered, "Is this kid a monster? He's actually trying to concoct the potion by hand?!"