Death of the Fire Mage

Moonlight Potion?

Li Wen frowned. She had heard of this item. Even among magic potions, Moonlight Potion was considered extremely rare, something that couldn't be bought even with a fortune on the Black Market. Most importantly, it was a drug officially banned by Arthur.

The reason for the ban was also ridiculous. It wasn't due to its addictive nature or powerful side effects, but because Moonlight Potion was a magic potion from the Umbral Lineage, and only those in the Moon Worshippers sect knew its production method.

"It seems you know about it too..." the Fire Mage continued. "Yes, it's a very powerful and fascinating magic potion. So, when I used Mind Reading to learn about it from those mercenaries... ha, those mercenaries didn't understand the value of that small bottle of dark green liquid, so I took it into my safekeeping."

Slaughtering an entire merchant caravan escorting a magic potion out of greed for a rare item... that sounded much more plausible.

"But why is a Mage from the Mystic Academy here in the Black Dragon Territory?"

Li Wen asked again.

"...That has nothing to do with you," the Fire Mage said after a moment of silence.

"But it has a lot to do with you."

Someone with pointed ears, a Mage from the Mystic Academy, appearing in the kingdom's furthest reaches was hardly a casual visit. As far as Li Wen understood, these long-lived Mages were either researching magic, delving into Alchemy, or pursuing even more obscure studies.

Their long lifespans meant they had few avenues for enjoyment, leaving tedious academic research as their only option.

"It's hard to explain... In short, I'm a Sub-Elf."

Li Wen's expression shifted.

Sub-Elves, naturally, were distinct from pure-blooded Elves. In a hierarchical sense, all Elves originated from the World Tree. However, Sub-Elves were different; they were the offspring of some Elves—specifically, Silver Elves—coupling with other beings.

Consequently, most Sub-Elves had impure bloodlines, often resulting in offspring with unusual talents. Sub-Elves were usually indistinguishable from others based on appearance, depending on the non-Elf parent of their Silver Elf ancestor. But due to the Silver Elves' particularly open attitudes towards sex, it often led to some Sub-Elves having appearances that weren't exactly... pleasing.

One point was a consensus among all Elves: Sub-Elves were never to be mentioned in the same breath as them. At least in Arthur, ruled by High Elves, the living conditions for Sub-Elves were far from ideal.

Discrimination wasn't always evident in actions and words, especially in places with a strong academic atmosphere like the Sunday Secret College. Even Sub-Elves were eligible to join the Mystic Academy to study magic, under the guise of equal treatment.

"But they would never allow Sub-Elves to surpass them in the field of magical academics. It's not that they think Sub-Elves aren't capable... though I suppose that's also true. They just wouldn't believe such achievements could come from a Sub-Elf. They'd assume I was cheating or using some illicit dark art... Ha! What would those pointy-eared bookworms know? Mixing basic elemental spells is as easy as breathing for someone like me with an affinity for fire!"

An affinity for fire? No wonder his fire magic was cast so quickly. Could one of his ancestors have been an elemental being?

"So you fled here?"

"No, that was just the beginning. Later, they falsely accused me of stealing their secret treasure and even intended to use Brain Invasion Technique on me. I stumbled into a Teleportation Array while fleeing, and that's how I ended up here... Before I met those mercenaries, I didn't even know this was the Black Dragon Territory. By Radiance, this is so far from the capital..."

Logically, this explanation made sense. The Mystic Academy's Teleportation Arrays indeed had the capability to traverse half the kingdom.

However, one point was strange: Brain Invasion Technique was a magic that the Magic Committee had long banned from dissemination and use. Compared to the similar Mind Reading, Brain Invasion Technique was more efficient, but also more brutal and inhumane, with a high risk of causing irreversible brain damage.

Yet, among higher-level magic, there were numerous spells that could achieve the same or even better results than Brain Invasion Technique. Even if they had certain level requirements, the Mystic Academy wasn't short of high-level Mages.

This meant he was lying, or at least omitting certain details.

If the Fire Mage had indeed stolen a secret treasure from the Mystic Academy, how had he managed to escape pursuit by the Academy's Mages?

Li Wen pondered rumors of Mystic Academy secret treasures from her past life, but none matched. She had little knowledge of early-game plot points unless they were specifically documented by strategy guides.

Whatever, what does it have to do with me.

Li Wen directly drew the Bone-Corroding Poison Sword, preparing to take the Fire Mage's life.

The Fire Mage turned pale with shock. He didn't understand why Li Wen wouldn't let him go after he had revealed so much.

"No! You can't kill me! I still have value to be exploited! I can tell you a lot... No! I'm sorry, I lied. I did steal something from the Mystic Academy... but it rightfully belonged to me! I can give you that item if you spare my life."

"You should have said that earlier."

Li Wen shook her head. Honestly, she found it hard to trust this man who was full of lies. It would be safer to just turn him into Experience Points.

However, before she could make any move, the Fire Mage's eyes widened, his face filled with terror and panic.

"No! Don't kill me! Please don't!"

The Fire Mage screamed hysterically while reaching for his chest. Fearing he might do something suicidal in his madness, Li Wen quickly retreated a few steps.

But after waiting for a while without any reaction, she approached and discovered the Fire Mage was already dead.

He remained in his final pose, his eyes wide as if about to pop out, his expression conveying only terror.

Li Wen knew he couldn't have died from a curse. The duration of the Dark Word Curse depended on the caster's level. With her current abilities, she could at most maintain the curse for about twenty seconds, and that short period had long passed.

But then why? Could it be the poison on the Take Crossbow? But Li Wen had paid for that poison herself, and she knew its effects and onset time perfectly. Unless the underground merchant had sold her a fake.

It was truly baffling. Li Wen noticed she had gained 200 Experience Points, clearly from the deceased Fire Mage.

According to the experience distribution mechanism in "World Tree: Origins," at least his death was somewhat related to her. She just didn't know if it was because of the Dark Word Curse or some other reason.

It was a shame Take wasn't here. She was the only one among the few players who had dealt effective damage, and she should have received some experience. But Amber City was too far from the surface, so she probably wouldn't get any experience.