Chapter 100 |
An abandoned gathering place lay a hundred miles outside Demon City.
In the Continent of Vanquished Gods, various races dwelled; some indigenous to this world, while others were new species brought by wizards from other worlds and released onto this continent. Though to the powerful wizards, these beings were mere pets kept in their backyard, to wizard apprentices and ordinary wizards, some of these formidable monsters still posed threats and challenges.
Peaceful and gentle soils seldom nurtured distinctive blooms.
Thus, the safest havens in the Continent of Vanquished Gods were the wizard dominions and the cities formed around large wizard factions, serving as absolute sanctuaries. Beyond these cities lay desolate wilderness and scattered gathering places.
Some of these gathering places were constructed by intelligent beings friendly to humans, while others were established by wandering wizards or groups of beings of extraordinary professions banding together. In the wilderness, these gathering places were like seeds scattered across the land, roaming stubbornly, seeking survival.
Each year, various gathering places were abandoned for reasons ranging from the departure of their original inhabitants to monster tides or attacks by powerful monsters.
One such gathering place stood amidst the mountains and forests, once adorned with numerous wooden cabins, now mostly shattered and overrun with weeds and even trees.
At the outskirts of the gathering place, in a secluded cabin, sat a somewhat corpulent yet finely featured swordsman with crimson eyes. His ears twitched as he withdrew a magic staff from his robes, chanting incantations. Soon, the soil outside the cabin stirred, and a mushroom-like eye emerged from the earth.
This clandestine eye nestled in the corner stealthily scanned its surroundings, observing nearby entities.
However, he wasn’t at a loss; this time, he had acquired two significant source materials—one to keep and the other to sell or trade for source materials he lacked. Coupled with his previous accumulations, he was now one step closer to becoming an official wizard.
Jim approached the mirror in the room, examining his completely altered appearance. He couldn’t resist touching the human skin mask on his face; even those who knew him wouldn’t recognize him now. This was a pricey acquisition—a mask made from a whole piece of human skin.
Of course, besides the mask, there was also meticulously prepared magic disguise powder to alter his scent.
From his storage space, the crimson-eyed swordsman retrieved more items. As he heard the continuous ringing of the communication conch, a tinge of regret flickered across his lips.
He had intended to sell the source material he held to the caller, only to find the person devoid of even the money for a single source material purchase.
Observing where the person lived, he had assumed he was a well-off apprentice, but it turned out he was just a pauper.
Without hesitation, the crimson-eyed swordsman crushed the communication conch underfoot. It had lost its purpose, and he had no intention of contacting the people on it anymore.
When he moved to a new place, he would assume a new identity and continue living. For him, this was normal.
In fact, before coming to Demon City, he had already changed identities once, but he hadn’t informed anyone.
Setting magic traps at the room’s entrance and windows, Jim closed his eyes to rest.
Outside the room, a small segment of soil revealed an eyeball, watching a figure approaching not far away. Suddenly, the eyeball turned red.
In the dead of night, Jim jolted awake.
The Eye of Surveillance warned him of a stranger approaching outside.
Connecting with the Eye of Surveillance, Jim gained its vision. This time, he saw Lynn standing outside, a hint of excitement in his eyes.
You really thought I wouldn’t know you might have left a backdoor in your alchemical creations to trace you back? It’s a common practice among wizards. No one could resist the allure of source materials. You’re here for the source materials too, aren’t you, Lynn?
A hint of ruthlessness flashed in Jim’s eyes.
As an old wizard apprentice, he understood this basic experience well.
Just as he had never truly trusted those around him, that Liszt appeared to have a close relationship with him on the surface, but in reality, he was merely a decoy used to disguise himself.
That naive fellow actually believed he considered him a friend. Yes, if he didn’t have someone as naive as him by his side, how could others trust him better?
Shortly after, Jim’s expression darkened as he saw Lynn produce a magic staff and conjure a fireball. A ball of flame materialized out of thin air, growing larger and larger, gradually forming a spherical shape.
Finally, it arched through the air toward the wooden cabin.
Boom!!!
The windows of the cabin shattered with a deafening crash, shards of glass flying in all directions, and the exploding flames scattering in every direction.
But the next moment, a much stronger magical fluctuation surged from the window, like a drop of water falling into a hot oil pan.
A powerful cold wave swept from the window, spreading icy breath in all directions.
Countless ice shards splintered and flew in all directions.
The magic trap set at the window was activated by the ‘Minor Fireball’ spell, resulting in a violent explosion.
Several shattered ice shards flew towards Lynn, but a grid-shaped starlight shield appeared around him, deflecting the ice shards.
“Coming to kill me right off the bat, Lynn. I didn’t expect you to covet my source materials as well,” came Jim’s cold voice from inside the cabin.
“I just want my Iron Serpent No. 1 back, you took it without returning it to me. I came to retrieve it,” Lynn said calmly.
Jim’s laughter echoed from the opposite hillside, evidently not believing Lynn’s words.
He had experienced too much and seen too much.
Among wizards, only interests mattered. He had witnessed too many ruthless means employed in the pursuit of resources.
To him, Lynn’s words were just empty rhetoric.
“But you’ve run too far. Do you know how long I’ve been chasing you? I’ve become increasingly infuriated along the way, so now, it’s not just Iron Serpent No. 1 I want, but your life too,” Lynn said gently.
“Just you? Don’t think being an academy wizard makes you impressive. You’ve only been in the academy for a few years, spending most of your time on research, not properly mastering your spells. Do you think you can be my match?” Jim laughed maniacally from across the way.
As the words fell, a dazzling and eerie lightning bolt instantly illuminated the dim forest, as if the lightning, intertwined like tree roots, surged towards Lynn like a sharp blade.
A one-ring spell—’Interlocking Lightning’!
However, this bolt of lightning struck Lynn like a fierce dragon in an instant, shattering the outermost layer of his starlight shield, and then pulverizing most of the shield before completely dissipating.
“How many magic shields do you have? How many times can you withstand my ‘Interlocking Lightning’?” Jim’s voice in the forest was filled with gloom.
Suddenly, Jim’s cold voice abruptly stopped with a scream.
In the forest, a figure with long pink hair dragged a much larger Jim out of the woods. There was no extra expression on her indifferent face, as if she had done something ordinary.
She casually tossed Jim, whose head was covered with blood, to the ground.
“It’s done. Give me a perfect score,” Fura took out an evaluation form and a pen from her bosom.
Lynn first used his magic staff to physically blow Jim’s head, then took the evaluation form and pen, giving full marks to everything.
“Thank you, Fura,” Lynn said gratefully.
Before setting out, Lynn found Toby.
Following the principle that thick skin leads to a good life, Lynn found Toby and stated his request. Although he didn’t know Toby’s strength, Lynn felt he was definitely much stronger than himself.
If it were just him alone, Lynn definitely wouldn’t have pursued Jim.
Jim had extensive connections and considerable experience. He was capable enough to outsmart and leave Jado, a seasoned apprentice from a long-standing demon wizard academy, at a loss. Lynn couldn’t guarantee that he could definitely defeat Jim.
But he could sway people.
Different from wizards who always follow the principle of trade, Lynn had a deeper understanding of relationships. Only by giving and taking could transactions be made.
Sometimes, asking for help and owing favors was also a way to strengthen relationships.
Toby didn’t refuse, but he mentioned that he couldn’t leave Demon City. Instead, he recommended Fura to Lynn, stating that with Fura’s abilities, solving his problem would surely not be difficult.
Now it seemed Fura’s strength exceeded Lynn’s expectations. A seasoned third-level wizard apprentice unexpectedly managed to be knocked out by her with a single careless attack.
This strength must be at least at the third or fourth level of extraordinary beings.
Just now, Lynn deliberately chatted with Jim. He knew Jim was also stalling for time, and he precisely needed time for Fura to sneak up and attack.
Lynn approached the ground and felt around Jim’s body.
Soon, Lynn gathered all the valuable items from Jim’s body, simultaneously checking the spatial ring. Iron Serpent No. 1 was inside; Jim hadn’t released it during the fight because Lynn had crafted it. If Jim released it and it attacked Lynn, it might turn on him instead.
Apart from that, in the corner of the spatial ring, there were five vacuum crystals specifically used to store items.
These vacuum crystals contained two Clayhearts, a small pile of sand resembling a pyramid, and finally, a bunch of wind trapped inside a vacuum crystal.
The wind danced continuously within the vacuum crystal, sometimes condensing into the shape of a feather, then reforming into a gust of wind. The last vacuum crystal was empty, seemingly containing nothing.
Vacuum crystals were raw materials specially used to preserve items; the state inside them would be maintained without interference from the outside world.
Although Lynn didn’t know what was in the other two vacuum crystals, since they were with the Clayhearts, there was a high probability they were also source materials.
This yielded four source materials, along with many other valuable items, including some disposable magic scrolls, magic traps, and functional alchemical tools.
But Jim didn’t have the chance to use any of these; they all became Lynn’s spoils of war.
It had to be said that killing and looting were the fastest ways for wizards to grow.
That night, Lynn suddenly gained a profound understanding of this saying.
“Someone’s coming,” Fura said to Lynn, turning her head to look behind them.
Lynn knew the sounds of the battle just now were so conspicuous that someone nearby would undoubtedly be drawn over.
Footsteps approached from behind, and in the forest, Jado and two other wizard apprentices emerged from the trees.
Jado was also taken aback when he saw Lynn, seemingly not expecting Lynn to be here.
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