Black Wizard Land

Chapter 16: Black Wizard Land

The moment Old Wells spoke, Ronan was stunned.

He instinctively looked toward the tiny figure in the center of the clearing, crying at the flames.

Then he shook his head.

"Don't joke around... I'm still a child myself."

Old Wells explained, "She doesn't really need much care. You only need to keep her by your side. If you're willing, you'll receive half of Potter's inheritance..."

Ronan thought for a moment, then still shook his head.

"Forget it."

Old Wells seemed to have expected this outcome and wasn't surprised. He merely sighed softly and prepared to move on to the next person.

Ronan's eyes flickered as he called Old Wells back.

"How did Potter die?"

Ronan was very curious about that.

Potter's body had no obvious external wounds. Judging from his miserable death, it seemed as though he had suddenly succumbed to some acute illness—but what kind of illness could take the life of an apprentice wizard so quickly?

"It looked like a Curse-Type Spell. Potter must have provoked someone he shouldn't have."

Old Wells paused and spoke in a low voice. "I suspect... a wizard from Black Wizard Land may have wandered over here. In any case, you'd better be more careful these days."

Ronan's heart jolted. Just as he was about to grab Old Wells and ask more questions, the other man had already walked away.

"Curse-Type Spell... Black Wizard Land..."

Ronan silently repeated the two terms Old Wells had mentioned, his expression gradually turning grave.

Though he was a complete novice in the Wizard World, he had still heard legends of Black Wizard Land.

Black Wizard Land did not refer to any specific place, but rather a general term for areas where Black Robe Wizards gathered.

Like most things in the world, wizards were divided into good and evil.

Black Robe Wizards were the evil faction among wizards. They specialized in Darkness-Type, Undead Arts, and Curse-Type Spells, and were far more cruel and eccentric than ordinary wizards.

Opposite the black robes were the white robes, while Hoddam was a gathering place for gray-robed wizards that lay between the two, its alignment leaning toward neutrality.

"Are Curse-Type Spells from Black Wizard Land really that terrifying?"

Ronan stared at the blazing fire in the clearing before him. Recalling Potter's savage, twisted death, he found it hard to imagine what kind of torment and pain Potter had endured before dying.

If such a curse fell upon him... Ronan suddenly felt a chill rise from his back and dared not think any further.

At that moment, a figure stepped out from the crowd and walked toward Sheryl, the little girl beside the bonfire.

To Ronan's surprise, it was the young witch who lived by the Tree Spring Side.

The girl was still dressed as usual, wrapped from head to toe in a loose black robe. Her thick bangs covered most of her face, making it impossible to tell whether she was fat or thin, beautiful or ugly. She walked up to Sheryl, gently placed a hand on her head, and chanted quietly. Rings of faint white light emerged from her palm.

It was probably some small spell that soothed the mind. Under the white light, Sheryl's sobs gradually calmed, and in the end, she simply curled up at the girl's feet and fell into a deep sleep.

"I didn't expect this girl to be such a nice person."

Ronan watched as the young witch crouched down and gently wrapped her arms around the sleeping Sheryl.

As he was sighing to himself, he suddenly noticed two people talking with Old Wells.

One tall, one short.

The tall one had a burly build and thick limbs. He wore black leather armor, with a huge wooden bow and a quiver slung across his back.

The shorter one wore a light green robe and held a staff made from a banyan branch. She was slender, with delicate and beautiful features.

Both of them had ears much longer and sharper than those of ordinary people.

"Are those the Half-Elf siblings who just moved here?!"

Ronan immediately realized who they were. Unable to suppress his curiosity, he quietly stared at the beautiful woman among them.

She seemed to sense his gaze and turned to give him a gentle smile.

Before Ronan could respond, he saw the burly man beside her glare fiercely at him, even reaching for the bow on his back.

Ronan's heart tightened. He immediately dared not look any longer and hurried away.

The death of Potter, the middle-aged wizard, did not cause much of a stir in this forest region.

The topic of a "suspected Black Wizard Land wizard" was hotly discussed in the Treehouse Area for several days. But with no solid evidence and only speculation, it eventually faded away.

Ronan later heard that Potter's daughter, Sheryl, had ultimately been jointly adopted by the young witch living by the Tree Spring Side and Old Wells. That came as quite a surprise to him.

Town.

At the entrance of Dwarf Market.

Having just paid the entrance fee, Ronan stood before a middle-aged wizard in a sky-blue robe, listening to the man's repeated instructions.

"With this token, you may enter and leave the market freely for one day. After one day, the token will automatically become invalid. Be sure to keep track of the time yourself."

"Thank you."

Accepting the brass ring that emitted a faint white glow, Ronan carefully put it on. He thanked the man repeatedly as he stepped into the market.

The moment he entered, his heart began to ache over the Low-Level Magic Stone he had just spent.

After deducting costs, Ronan would need to inscribe two Cleaning runes to earn that money back.

There was actually a way to enter without paying. As long as one met either of the two requirements—being a Level Six Wizard Apprentice or a Hoddam Wizard Academy Formal Student—they could enter and leave Dwarf Market freely at no cost.

Unfortunately, either condition was far too distant for the current Ronan.

Shaking his head and throwing aside his random thoughts, Ronan began to examine his surroundings.

The street was paved with white stone bricks, broad and level. Short blue and purple flowers grew along both sides, along with neat rows of tall, straight Champs Elysees Trees. Compared with Wizard Market, Dwarf Market was like a wealthy district.

Now and then, wizards in exquisite robes passed by, but there was no sign of the legendary dwarves.

"Ah, business first!"

Ronan had no time to dwell on that question. He hurried down the street before finally stopping in front of a shop called Welling Workshop.

Through the shop's transparent glass display window, Ronan immediately spotted the neatly arranged Rune Stones on the counter.

Ronan glanced at the clean, gleaming entrance. Subconsciously, he rubbed the mud off his boots against the stone bricks outside, then took a light breath and strode inside. More than an hour later.

"We look forward to your next visit!"

Accompanied by a sweet, pleasant voice, the doors of Welling Workshop opened, and Ronan stepped out again with a strange expression on his face.

The bundle full of Rune Stones was gone from his hands. In its place was a bulging money pouch.

Inside were exactly eighteen Low-Level Magic Stones!

A whole one more than Ronan had originally expected.

Before entering the shop, Ronan had imagined whether the clerks would look down on him, whether they would doubt or reject him when he tried to sell his runes. Yet everything had gone incredibly smoothly.

The moment Ronan showed even a slight intention to sell runes, Welling Workshop immediately arranged for a professional Rune Master to assist him.

After appraising all the Cleaning runes Ronan had brought, the workshop bought them all at eighty Magic Stone Grains apiece. They also voluntarily stated that if Ronan needed to purchase rune materials from the workshop, they would supply them to him at prices close to cost.

Blank Rune Stones were three Magic Stone Grains each. Buying fifty Blank Rune Stones at once came with a bag of Universal Powder for free. "How many Magic Stones did that guy at Wizard Market make off me on both ends?!"

Ronan now felt that his idea of bypassing the middleman had been absolutely correct. Though he had spent an extra Magic Stone on the entrance fee, he could fully make it back through buying and selling—and even come out ahead.