Wizard Inheritance

Strange patterns were carved into the pitch-black iron door, intertwining with one another and faintly exuding an arcane air.

Kei and the others were utterly baffled, but Sunan recognized the patterns at a glance.

Enchantment Runes!

The rune structure was not complicated. It appeared to be nothing more than a simple magical trap.

The moment someone touched the iron door, it would sound an alarm and attack the intruder.

However, the runes had all dimmed and lost their luster. They had clearly failed long ago, likely worn down by the passage of countless years.

No matter how exquisite Enchantment Runes were, they could not withstand the erosion of time.

"Is the place behind that iron door where the Iron-Eating Beasts were made?"

Kei looked at Sunan. The latter nodded, then added a warning.

"Be careful. Those Iron-Eating Beasts won't just stand by and watch us go in."

As if responding to Sunan's words, the instant his voice fell, Iron-Eating Beasts suddenly burst from the rock walls on both sides of the iron door and lunged at the group on a gust of foul wind.

The group had long been prepared. With a low shout, they charged forward without fear.

Only Brad retreated several steps, holding his heavy shield before Sunan.

Having witnessed Sunan's methods, everyone understood that he was the main force against the Iron-Eating Beasts. Naturally, they would not neglect his safety.

Strange syllables slipped from Sunan's lips. This time, he did not use Acid Splash, instead switching to Mage Hand.

More than ten meters away, an Iron-Eating Beast that had been leaping toward Kei suddenly halted. Its body hung in midair as though defying gravity, its limbs flailing wildly, yet it could not fall.

Kei's eyes lit up. He dashed forward, taking the opportunity to strike the Iron-Eating Beast's neck several times in the same spot, sending its head flying.

The headless Iron-Eating Beast quickly fell to the ground, motionless and silent.

Compared to Acid Splash, which could only attack once, Mage Hand had weaker offensive power but lasted longer. It was perfectly suited for working with Kei to kill Iron-Eating Beasts.

Fortunately, low-level constructs aren't very intelligent. They don't understand the importance of killing the squishy caster first. Otherwise, if they swarmed us, Brad alone probably couldn't hold them back.

Sunan silently pondered.

Of course, if the Iron-Eating Beasts had not been constructs, he would not have been limited to using Acid Splash and Mage Hand against them.

One Flash Spell would have instantly blinded these creatures, which had lived in the dark underground for years and were extremely sensitive to light, leaving them at everyone's mercy.

With the group's seamless cooperation, Iron-Eating Beasts fell one after another.

Just as Sunan had guessed, the Iron-Eating Beasts' task was to guard the iron door.

Therefore, even though they suffered grievous losses, they showed no sign of fleeing.

More than ten minutes later, with a crisp crack, the final Iron-Eating Beast was severed at the waist and fell to the ground in two pieces.

At that point, more than twenty Iron-Eating Beasts had been completely wiped out.

Looking at the Blackstone Iron fragments scattered across the ground, Kei could not suppress the excitement and delight on his face.

Before coming here, he had never imagined that the greatest threat in the Blackstone Mining Area would be resolved so easily!

And all of it was thanks to Sunan.

Looking at Sunan's back, Kei could not help but feel deeply moved.

Back when Sunan had said he wanted to become a wizard, Kei had thought he was fooling around, that he had read too many books and become obsessed enough to believe their words.

Yet Sunan had not only succeeded, but become so formidable as well. One strange and powerful method after another emerged without end, leaving people in awe.

Kei was even starting to feel tempted.

When I return to the inner keep, should I try to see whether I can follow the path of a wizard too?

Sunan did not notice Kei's private thoughts. He quickly approached the iron door and examined it carefully.

As expected, the magical trap on the door had indeed failed.

Sunan then called over two knights, and together they pushed open the heavy iron door.

Rumble!

The iron door slowly opened, shaking loose streams of stone dust from overhead and filling the air with dust.

Once the dust settled, the scene behind the iron door gradually appeared before them.

Inside was an incomparably spacious hall, roughly four to five hundred square meters in size.

The entire hall was paved with square blue-gray stone bricks. A thick layer of dust covered the floor, and many places still bore messy footprints, along with marks that appeared to have been left by beasts lying down.

It was clear that this hall was where the Iron-Eating Beasts normally moved about.

At the far end of the hall stood three open stone doors, their interiors shrouded in darkness.

Several knights entered the three doorways separately with torches. After checking and confirming there was no danger, Sunan and Kei entered.

Behind the first stone door was a room that seemed to be a warehouse. It was enormous, packed with dense stacks of Blackstone Iron.

Not freshly mined Blackstone Iron Ore, but already refined Blackstone Iron Ingots.

The sight of countless neat, square Blackstone Iron Ingots left everyone stunned.

"We're rich."

Jordan stared fixedly at the Blackstone Iron Ingots before him and swallowed audibly.

No one mocked his loss of composure. Everyone wore roughly the same expression.

Even Kei stared wide-eyed, shock, wild joy, and disbelief blending together on his face until it seemed almost twisted.

Blackstone Iron was no less hard than Fine Iron, yet it was much lighter. As a result, it cost slightly more than an equal weight of Fine Iron.

The Blackstone Iron before them might not be worth ten thousand Gold Coins, but it was definitely worth six or seven thousand.

That was almost equivalent to Blackstone City's tax revenue for ten years!

How could such a windfall not drive people wild with joy?

Only Sunan was not particularly attached to Gold Coins. Though he was also surprised, he quickly recovered and headed for the next room.

The second room was slightly smaller, but it was filled with all kinds of tools. There was even a forge, molds, and bellows for smithing.

Yet the most eye-catching object was the enormous stone table in the middle of the room, over three meters long and nearly two meters wide.

Its surface was covered in chaotic cutting marks.

Sunan glanced at the Blackstone Iron piled in the corner of the room and immediately understood.

This was likely the laboratory where that Wizard Apprentice had refined constructs.

He had already ruled out the possibility that this place's owner had been a full-fledged wizard.

Whether it was the strength of the Iron-Eating Beasts or the sophistication of the magical trap on the iron door, everything indicated that this place's owner had been, at most, a Wizard Apprentice, still far from the level of a wizard.

Had the owner truly been a full-fledged wizard, their group would never have been able to break through the guards outside and enter this place.

Though thoughts churned through his mind, Sunan did not slow down. He quickly searched the entire room.

To his disappointment, aside from the tools and iron ingots, he found nothing else of value.

Sunan shook his head, turned, and left the room, entering the third.

Compared with the first two rooms, the third was smaller, but its furnishings were more refined and comfortable. Aside from a small bed and a desk, it also had a bookshelf. It was clearly a study.

Sunan's gaze fell on the bookshelf full of books, and his eyes brightened slightly.