Treasure Hunt

Zhang Yuan quickly decided which scrolls he needed. Having already learned seven 1st-level spells, he only had to choose from the few remaining options.

"Shadow Magic Scroll, Sleep, Summon Monster I, Charm." Taking advantage of old Banterley's half-price offer, he picked four 1st-level scrolls in one go. As for why he didn't buy 2nd-level or even higher-level spells?

Don't ask. The answer was simply that he couldn't afford them.

Zhang Yuan had his reasons for choosing these spells. Sleep and Charm made up to a great extent for his embarrassing lack of control spells, Shadow Magic Scroll could produce an unexpected bewildering effect, and the summoning spell was meant to deal with the occasional need when he was alone.

Even with the fifty-percent discount granted for Skar's sake, the full ten gold coins still made the already cash-strapped Zhang Yuan ache. Don't be fooled by the four light-as-air pieces of parchment in his hands—the price was two-thirds of his entire fortune.

Knowledge was power? Knowledge was practically glistening gold coins!

As Zhang Yuan lamented the weight of knowledge, he somehow thought of Candlekeep. The value contained in a holy land of knowledge like that was immeasurable. No wonder the price of entering Candlekeep was so exorbitant: one valuable book not already in Candlekeep's collection, or 500 gold coins.

What did 500 gold coins mean? A Flaming Fist soldier earned only 20 gold coins a month from wages and allowances, excluding bonuses. Meanwhile, one rookie with no fixed salary, relying on mission bonuses and a wizard's subsidies, earned only 11 gold coins a month.

And several years of wages for someone in the middle-income bracket could only buy a single ticket—and its validity lasted a mere ten days!

Zhang Yuan clicked his tongue in amazement. After a bout of envy and jealousy, a bizarre idea slowly emerged in his mind. Since Candlekeep wanted books it had never seen, then... could he become a plagiarist? No, he should call himself a transporter of knowledge.

Perfect idea! He almost applauded his own brilliance. Even if books with obvious foreign or historical characteristics couldn't be transported over, and popular novels—such as some worthless book about a wizard from Faerûn—weren't worth transporting, surely he could selectively transport books about human nature, philosophy, and objective scientific laws?

While happily entertaining these mischievous ideas, he caught his foot on a chair leg and nearly went sprawling. At that moment, a transparent hand radiating a faint white light caught Zhang Yuan and steadied him.

Old Banterley had just cast Mage Hand. He blinked teasingly and said, "Gaining new knowledge is a joyous occasion for any wizard. It represents another step forward in our understanding of the mysteries of the unknown."

Then the old wizard smiled. "But when you look up at the stars, don't forget the road beneath your feet."

Somewhat embarrassed, Zhang Yuan thanked him for his help and followed Skar to enjoy the dinner the inn had prepared with his teammates.

After a dinner filled with stuffing their faces, chatting and bragging, and throwing bones at one another finally ended, he went straight to find Skar.

"I don't know how to thank you for this. In any case, thank you."

Being bad at expressing emotions didn't mean he was ungrateful. While Zhang Yuan had focused on training his melee abilities and deliberately neglected the progress of his wizard profession, team leader Skar had remembered it and taken things into consideration to this extent. Putting himself in Skar's place, Zhang Yuan knew he couldn't have done the same, much less become the kind of person Skar was. He sincerely admired and acknowledged this good man of a team leader.

"I only happened to mention it. Old Banterley was happy to have a customer come to his door, and besides, you're a member of our team. This is good for all of us." Skar brushed the matter aside with a few light words.

Zhang Yuan didn't say anything else and merely nodded, but his mind had already turned to the tragic fate awaiting the team leader before him in the future. The sense of urgency weighing on his heart grew heavier.

After parting with his teammates, Zhang Yuan didn't return to his room. Instead, while no one was paying attention, he slipped out of the inn alone.

He walked down the steps, turned right, passed the stable reeking of horse manure, showed the guards surrounding the gate the emblem of the Seven Suns Merchant Alliance, and left the grounds of the Friendly Arm.

Naturally, he wasn't sneaking out alone for no reason. Today, Archmage Zhang was going to do something everyone loved to hear about: hunt for treasure.

No adventurer was unfamiliar with the words "treasure hunt." Whether it was a secret letter or treasure map revealing a treasure's clues; the dangers and countless obstacles encountered while searching for it; the greedy hyenas and cunning enemies drawn by the rumors; or, of course, the immense delight of discovering the treasure and suddenly becoming rich overnight—all of these had become the main material for the thrilling stories passed down by bards, beloved by all who heard them.

Unfortunately, treasure hunting in the real Faerûn was nowhere near as romantic. When a bunch of rookie adventurers or noble youths looking for excitement accidentally found a treasure map, they would often discover an awkward fact after their initial excitement: they couldn't understand it at all.

Perhaps the handwriting was sloppy. Perhaps it was written in code. Perhaps they had never even seen the landmarks marked on the map. Or perhaps the whole thing had simply been made up by someone.

Even if they deciphered the treasure map and confirmed that its destination truly existed, the place where it was buried might still make their scalps crawl.

The damn treasure might be in the frigid High Moor, on some remote island, or among the mysterious, treacherous ruins of an ancient wizard.

If the adventuring party had eaten their fill of dog shit and gotten incredibly lucky, discovering that the treasure's location wasn't completely unreasonable and might actually be worth attempting, they would brave the elements, hack through the wilderness, and overcome countless difficulties to reach their destination.

At that point, they would often be delighted to discover that the place already had an owner. Hospitable monsters, wizards, elemental creatures, and even creatures from the Lower Planes would immediately come out to warmly welcome them, using their claws, fangs, blades, swords, and spells to keep their honored guests from afar around for a pleasant stay.

No, no, no. Don't be so pessimistic. Perhaps we could make a more positive assumption: suppose these seemingly reckless explorers were actually a group of hidden master warriors, high-level spellcasters, and divinely favored priests.

They cut down all their hospitable hosts with ease, occupied the others' lair for themselves, and turned the place upside down.

Then they would be shocked to discover that the treasure was a trap deliberately designed to lead them into a monster's lair; or that all the valuables had long since been dug up, leaving not even a scrap behind; or that although the treasure existed and had not been taken, it had long ago been damaged or spoiled by the passage of time and the interference of people.

Among the countless explorers, only the small handful of lucky ones kissed by Tyche could successfully excavate a treasure and obtain wealth substantial enough to make the trip worthwhile.

And they were the protagonists sung about by the bards. As for the vast majority of the others? Who knew?