Return (Please Follow)

"The wizard died? What did that mean?"

Looking at the Notebook Owner's final words, Richard sank into deep thought.

Taken literally, it meant that the wizard of this Wizard's laboratory had died. But to think further, Richard had to consider the meaning hidden behind those words.

The wizard had died—but how?

An accident during an experiment, or had he died peacefully of old age?

If it had been an experimental accident, then this laboratory was a dangerous treasure trove. But if he had died peacefully of old age, then this laboratory had become the wizard's tomb.

Since ancient times, tomb raiding had been a perilous trade.

If the wizard had died of old age, Richard had to weigh whether he should explore this laboratory at all.

"Richard, are you done reading yet?"

Ellie's voice pulled Richard from his thoughts. He closed the notebook and smiled at her.

"This notebook records some ideas for modifying a spell. When we return to the Academy, I'll copy it for you."

"Woohoo! Richard, you're the best!"

Ellie threw herself at Richard and gave him a huge hug.

The spell models available for exchange at the Academy were all the most primitive versions. Modern wizards had long developed countless variations of these spells through all kinds of research. This was also the Academy's hidden test for Wizard Apprentices.

If someone only used the Academy's basic spell models, that kind of Wizard Apprentice was destined to suffer a huge disadvantage in apprentice battles.

Old John found quite a few things on Loken. Aside from the pair of magic boots on his feet, Loken had also contributed three Magic Stones to Richard.

Richard gave the Magic Stone with only a trace of magic power left to Old John as payment. This old man's usefulness in the Black Stone Mountain Range was terrifying—from guiding them to tracking targets, there seemed to be nothing he could not do.

"Old John, this is for you."

Old John happily accepted the Magic Stone, then patted his chest at Richard.

"Wizard sir, just give the word. I, Old John, will certainly do everything in my power."

Richard nodded, then turned to Ellie.

"Ellie, you take these two Magic Stones."

"Huh? For me? I can't take them!" Ellie shook her head repeatedly. "You killed him, so the Magic Stones should be yours. I can't take this money."

"Then consider it a loan. I'm lending you these two Magic Stones." Richard stuffed the stones into Ellie's hands. "I need a long-term teammate I can trust. These Magic Stones are my investment in your future."

Richard liked Ellie's attitude toward Loken. A good person who clearly distinguished love from hate was undoubtedly the best kind of teammate.

Wizards could be lone wolves because they had enough time to fall back on. But Wizard Apprentices had, at most, thirty years. It sounded like a long time, but once time spent earning Magic Stones, meditating, traveling, resting, and handling other miscellaneous matters was deducted, very little actually remained.

That also meant no Wizard Apprentice could possibly be proficient in everything.

And a trustworthy teammate was undoubtedly the best patch for one's own shortcomings.

Besides, Ellie had demonstrated talent as a Curse Wizard. That alone made her worth befriending deeply.

"This... then I'll take them!"

Ellie gritted her teeth and accepted the Magic Stones, silently resolving to improve her strength as quickly as possible.

After dividing the Magic Stones, Richard examined Loken's boots.

The boots were called Gale Boots. A Gale Spell had been inscribed into their soles, and once activated, they could use wind elements to increase the wearer's walking speed.

For Richard, this was quite a substantial improvement.

If he had possessed these boots earlier, Loken would never have been able to evade his first sword strike.

After resting in the valley for the night, Richard followed Old John to the White Crystal Deer's habitat early the next morning.

The White Crystal Deer was a magical creature. The layer of scale-like white crystals covering its body was one of the raw materials for many Crystal Balls.

After confirming that the White Crystal Deer population had not declined, Richard had wanted to go in and gather some Bai Jing for alchemical materials. But in the next instant, he understood why the Academy required Low-level apprentices to form teams.

Beams of white light shot from the White Crystal Deer's antlers. Though each beam was not especially powerful on its own, there were over a hundred White Crystal Deer in front of Richard.

"Hiss... that really hurt."

Richard, smoking all over, leaned against a tree. If not for Black Scale's protection and the Arm Guard's Life Spell, he would have nearly become a roast suckling pig.

"Who told you not to listen? Old John told you not to get close, but you insisted on doing it anyway." Ellie covered her mouth and snickered beside him.

"Alright, alright. At least I got something out of it, didn't I?" Richard shook the bag of Bai Jing in his hand.

After leaving the White Crystal Deer's habitat, Richard followed Old John to several herb-gathering spots frequented by wizards.

Because it was the wrong season and the wrong time, many of the herbs there had not fully grown.

But with a might-as-well-since-we're-here mindset, Richard still collected several immature herbs, intending to take them back and see whether he could raise them.

After all, Magic Potions were also part of alchemy.

After gathering the herbs, Richard followed Old John through the mountains for another two days in search of the Black Striped Water Python's trail.

At last, in a swamp, Richard found a juvenile Black Striped Water Python about five meters long.

As a low-level Magic Beast, the Black Striped Water Python possessed the ability to control water elements. Combined with its powerful muscles, it could easily constrict a Senior Knight to death in a swamp.

For this, Old John had even used himself as bait to lure the Magic Beast into the dense forest outside the swamp.

"Sir, your Magic Stones weren't wasted, right?" Old John boasted to Richard as he hid in a tree, panting heavily.

Once it left the swamp, the Black Striped Water Python's advantage was greatly weakened.

Green light flashed around Richard's feet as he hid nearby, and his speed instantly surged. Taking advantage of the ambush, he cleaved the Black Striped Water Python into two with a single Wind Raven Slash.

But Magic Beasts had always possessed tenacious Life Force. Even severed into two sections, the Black Striped Water Python continued to struggle without pause.

Foul-smelling blood flowed wildly through the forest. Under the Black Striped Water Python's control, the blood transformed into pillars that constantly battered the surrounding woods.

But Richard's group had already retreated far away. No matter how it struggled, it was all in vain.

More than ten minutes later, the Black Striped Water Python finally stopped moving. Richard approached its body, severed its head with one stroke, and used a waterskin to collect a bag of the python's blood.

He planned to refine it after returning and see whether he could sell it.

"Ellie, try your spell on this thing." Richard called to Ellie.

Ellie cautiously approached the corpse. Black mist flowed from her fingertips once more and drilled into the rear half of the body.

Crack, crack, crack...

Under the spell's effects, the Black Striped Water Python's corpse continually withered, eventually turning into nothing but skin stretched over bones.

Soon, a large lump rose from the tail end of the Black Striped Water Python's corpse. A white worm covered in faint black stripes crawled out of it.

"This one's a little different."

As she placed the worm into her pocket, Ellie explained to Richard, "A Black Striped Worm is a more advanced form of the Pure White Worm. This one only has a single black stripe, but its effect is equivalent to five Pure White Worms. Its price is five times higher too."

Richard grew excited at once. "That's great. There's still another half here. Try again."

Curse Worms were so valuable—they could become another source of income in the future.

But Ellie shook her head at his words.

"No. I can't take any more Curse Worms. According to the records in the book, a Low-level apprentice cannot possess more than two Curse Worms. If they exceed that number, it will bring unforeseeable misfortune."

"You can't take any more... but I can." Richard smiled.

As he spoke, Richard dragged the other half of the corpse over to Ellie.

"Don't waste it. These are all Magic Stones."

Having obtained the Black Striped Water Python's head, Richard had achieved the purpose of this trip.

On their way out of the mountains, Richard casually asked Old John whether there had been any mudslides in the Black Stone Mountain Range in recent years.

The answer he received was that a major mudslide had occurred twenty years ago. There were also rumors that monsters appeared around the site of the mudslide, so whenever they guided apprentices through the mountains, they avoided that area.

With that answer, Richard finally had a clearer picture.

If Old John was right, then this Wizard's laboratory had probably not yet been discovered.

That meant he still had a chance.

After leaving Black Stone City, Richard and Ellie boarded the Magic Airship once again and returned to the Academy.

After turning in their mission, Richard plunged straight into his dormitory and began crafting Magic Armor.