The Wizard's Secret Journey

Chapter 211 The Deal (4k)

"Long time no see, Your Excellency Timothy," Felicity greeted with a smile.

"Long time no see, Felicity. You haven't attended a seminar in at least two months."

Timothy, a fiery red-haired wizard, leaned back on the brown main sofa in the salon area, holding a cup of black tea.

Upon seeing Felicity approach, he responded in a friendly manner, while simultaneously scrutinizing Lynn with interest.

“I’ve been busy exploring other worlds lately,” Felicity laughed, then introduced Lynn, “This is Lynn Kent, the wizard I recommended this time.”

"Lynn, this is Timothy Zoe, a first-tier high-level wizard and a master of fire-based energy manipulation."

"I dare not accept the title of master," Timothy said modestly.

Felicity laughed and teased, "Has anyone ever told you that excessive modesty is actually arrogance?"

Timothy wasn't annoyed. His gentle nature was like the incredibly docile fire magic in his hands; he simply smiled.
Felicity then added, "Lynn, if you ever have the chance to witness Lord Timothy's fireball, you will be amazed."

"Do you know how many variations a simple fireball spell can have in the hands of Lord Timothy?"
"There are over a thousand of them! And they're not just flashy; at their strongest, they're no less powerful than any top-tier 1st-level high-level sorcery!"

Timothy, perhaps unaccustomed to Feliciti's flattery, smiled and changed the subject, asking:

"May I ask what Mr. Lynn is good at?"

Felicity was taken aback; he had forgotten about this.

In Felicity's eyes, Lynn was just a newcomer who had just been promoted to a first-tier wizard. He had no hope that Lynn would be able to successfully join the seminar. Bringing him here was just out of a sense of compensation.

After all, the seminar members were all first-tier wizards from Silver Ring City, and they could be called masters in their respective fields.

If one could get up close and personal with them and hear the knowledge they share, it would undoubtedly be of great help to a wizard who has just advanced to the first rank.

Therefore, Felicity thought that it would be a few more years before he would formally introduce Lynn to the seminar. He had not prepared an introduction and was momentarily stumped by Timothy's question.

After thinking for a moment, Felicity said vaguely, "Lynn has an amazing talent for witchcraft, and he is currently very good at lightning magic."

"I see." Timothy nodded, not asking any further questions, and instead inquired, "How was your world exploration, Lord Felicity's, this time?"

Despite Felicity's ability to joke with him, their relationship isn't actually that deep.

In fact, the participants in the seminar were generally in this state, focusing on discussing only knowledge without mixing in any unnecessary emotions.

“Don’t even mention it, I almost lost my life on this world exploration…” Felicity replied, then chatted briefly with Lynn and Timothy before heading to another wizard nearby.

The wizard, with brown hair and blue eyes, a slender build, and a pair of thin silver glasses perched on his nose, sat on the sofa next door, playing with a crystal in his hand.

“Long time no see, Felicity.” The brown-haired wizard greeted Felicity as she approached, then turned to Lynn and introduced, “Zaran Chambers. Good morning, Lynn.”

Zaran was not sitting close to Timothy, but for a first-tier wizard, it was enough to hear Felicity and the others' undisguised conversation.

"Good morning, Your Excellency Zhalan," Lynn quickly replied.

The brown-haired wizard smiled in response, and Felicity added, "Lord Zhalan is a master of magic spells."

Zhalan shook his head and said with a smile, "I'm not being modest, it's just that the way of witchcraft is vast and boundless, and I'm just a student who has achieved some success."

'Witchcraft array...' Zhalan's words stirred up Lynn's memories. Once upon a time, when he was still an apprentice, he was also praised for his mastery of witchcraft arrays.

However, Lynn gradually shifted his focus to witchcraft or meditation that could directly enhance combat power, completely neglecting the witch array.

Now that he has advanced to the first-tier wizard level, his meager magic array skills have become insignificant.

'Witchcraft is the most difficult and strongest of all wizarding arts... Perhaps I should pick it up again?' Lynn thought to himself.

After talking with Zhalan, Felicity then took Lynn to meet the remaining wizards one by one.

Lynn also learned a great deal; these wizards, just as Zhalan had said, were all masters in their respective fields.

The combat domain accounts for about 40%, mostly combat magic, such as fire manipulation and mental attacks.

The remaining 60% cover a wide variety of fields, including not only common magic spells and potions, but also obscure areas such as prophetic magic and research on astral life.

However, the more Lynn looked at, the more difficult it became for her to make a decision.

Combat is extremely powerful, and it's the area that most wizards prioritize studying.

After all, true strength lies in combat prowess, and attack is the strongest form of defense.

The seminar included some combat masters, some of whom had even defeated ordinary elementary school level two wizards. Although those level two wizards were old and frail and had suffered some injuries, this was enough to prove that cultivating expertise in the field of combat could bring considerable rewards.

However, this doesn't mean that support skills are completely useless.

On the contrary, some auxiliary skills are quite useful at times, far surpassing combat sorcery.

For example, magic arrays are more economical and sometimes more practical than ordinary magic spells, whether used to earn magic stones or for early warning, defense, healing, exploration, etc. during adventures.

Especially when exploring wizarding ruins, a wizard proficient in magic spells is basically a standard requirement for every exploration team.

In addition, there are prophetic witchcrafts, which possess extremely strong life-saving abilities and can bring good fortune and avoid misfortune, making them quite remarkable.

'This is a really tough choice...' Lynn thought to herself, feeling very conflicted.

At this point, it was almost time for the seminar to officially begin.

The seminar is usually divided into two parts: first, a thematic discussion, followed by a free discussion period.

A powerful and authoritative middle-aged man was the host of the seminar. He stood in the center of the salon area and, with a wave of his hand, magically conjured the theme of the seminar—

[Saint-Milian ring pollution.]

Upon seeing this topic, Lynn paused slightly, and Felicity, noticing his reaction, whispered:
"what happened?"

Lynn snapped out of her reverie and shook her head: "It's nothing."

Felicity nodded, then, as if remembering something, asked in confusion, "Could it be that you participated in the last Holy Ring Meeting?"

"Hmm." Lynn nodded. This matter wasn't exactly a secret; it would be easy to find out if investigated. There was no need to, and no way to, hide it.

Felicity seemed to want to say something more, but the middle-aged man hosting continued with his opening remarks.

Whether it was Lynn's imagination or not, he clearly felt that the middle-aged man seemed to have glanced at him.

"Welcome everyone to this seminar. The Saint-Mir Ring contamination is likely familiar to you all; it's an unusual contamination that appeared at the Saint-Mir Ring Society several months ago. Its details are now classified as secret by the Academy, and the Academy has completely sealed off the Silver Ring Prison where the apprentices involved were held, transforming it into a high-standard laboratory."

"All indications show that the college takes the pollution of St. Mir ring very seriously."

"And anything that the academy values ​​should be valued by everyone living in the Silver Ring—I think you all understand this principle."

"The theme of this discussion is precisely this. Everyone is welcome to speak freely and exchange the information they know."

"Finally, I need to emphasize that this is a sensitive issue... I believe that there is likely a wizard among us working in that laboratory who may know a lot about the St. Mi ring contamination, but cannot reveal much information due to confidentiality regulations."

“We understand that, but we also hope that these friends can reveal as much inside information as possible without violating confidentiality regulations.”

After the host finished speaking, he walked to the chair next to him and sat down, waiting for someone to speak.

The seminar followed an ancient tradition, with each wizard having a brass handbell at hand, which they would shake to speak.

However, perhaps because the topic was too sensitive, those who knew the inside story dared not speak, and those who did not know the inside story had nothing to say, so for a time no wizards spoke.

At this point, the host needs to take action.

Jingle Bell--

The middle-aged wizard shook a copper bell, his gaze sweeping around the room before finally settling on Lynn, and he smiled:

"I just heard from Lady Felicity that you attended the last St. Mi's Ring Meeting. Is there anything you would like to share with everyone, Lord Lynn?"

Lynn wasn't intimidated. She rang the bell and said slowly:
"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you all. I'm not a member of the Silver Ring Academy. Last time, I participated in the Holy Ring Meeting as an apprentice, so I have very limited information."

"Perhaps the only thing that can be shared is the specific outward manifestations of some of the apprentices who have been contaminated by the Holy Ring."

Lynn's knowledge of the Saint Mithril contamination certainly went beyond what he'd described, but all that information came from Horsens. While the old wizard hadn't explicitly stated the need for deliberate secrecy, his silence didn't mean secrecy wasn't necessary.

On the contrary, the more Lynn knew, the more he understood the sensitivity of the Holy Ring's contamination, or rather, the demonic contamination. At this point, he certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to say too much.

Lynn then briefly described the specific outward manifestations of an apprentice corrupted by magic.

Most of the wizards present remained calm, clearly already aware of this information; only a very few uninformed wizards listened attentively.

However, Lynn's statement also surprised many wizards.

After all, the Holy Ring Gathering was only recently over, and even those who advanced to first-tier wizards after the Holy Ring Gathering have only been at it for less than a year.

In such a short time, a fact can be derived with just a little deduction.

That means Lynn in front of him must just be a newbie who has just advanced, and could not possibly be a master in the first-tier realm.

In other words, Felicity's recommendation this time was most likely to broaden Lynn's horizons.

The host understood this and didn't call on Lynn to speak again.

Lynn was happy to have some peace and quiet, and listened attentively to the wizards' discussion about the contamination of the Holy Ring.

However, perhaps, as the presiding wizard said at the beginning, this topic is simply too sensitive and lacks crucial information.

The wizards chatted for a long time, but it was like scraping the skin; apart from some outlandish conjectures, they didn't come up with anything practically useful.

From this perspective, this issue was clearly a failure.

On the other hand, such discussions have also given some astute wizards a clearer understanding of the mystery and importance of the Holy Ring contamination, making them pay even more attention to it.

In conclusion, the thematic seminar has now ended, and the next session will be a free discussion and trading session.

Unlike the Black Moon Exploration Association that Lynn had previously joined, the transactions at the seminar were quite free, with no guarantors and no fees required.

However, this does not mean that it is easy to get scammed when trading here; on the contrary, it is quite reliable.

After all, the first-tier wizards who could join the seminar were all prominent figures, and apart from those like Felicity who needed to raise a daughter, most of them did not lack magic stones.

Moreover, these wizards often gather together to discuss knowledge, have a certain degree of trust in each other, value their reputation highly, and generally do not engage in any underhanded tricks.

"I have recently encountered some problems in my training of Crimson Flame Technique. Lord Timothy, do you have time to answer my questions? I am willing to pay 30,000 magic stones as a reward."

"I don't need magic stones. I happen to want to learn more about the Balrog from you. How about we exchange them?"

"no problem!"

Timothy smiled, waved his hand to release an isolation spell, and began exchanging knowledge with the wizard in front of him.

The other wizards did the same, gathering in twos and threes to discuss.

Felicity quickly added in a loud voice:

"Do any of you have any second-tier pure spirit crystals? I urgently need one, and the reward is negotiable."

"Pure spirit crystals... those things are extremely rare..."

“I don’t have any… However, Lady Felicity, I do have some knowledge about doll making that I would like to consult.”

“Okay.” Felicity nodded to the next wizard with some regret and entered the isolation spell with him.

Seeing this, Lynn's heart stirred, and after thinking for a moment, he imitated Felicity's loud voice:
"Does anyone have a Star Pulse White Crystal? I need one. The reward is negotiable."

Currently, Lynn is only missing the Star Pulse White Crystal as the auxiliary medicine needed for the Dragon Marrow Ritual.

This is a very rare material, and finding it here would undoubtedly save a lot of time.

Lynn looked around at the wizards. The more polite wizards would shake their heads apologetically to indicate that they didn't notice his gaze, but most of them ignored him.

'They probably think I can't offer much compensation...'

Just as Lynn thought he was about to return empty-handed, a chestnut-haired young witch slowly approached and hesitated before speaking:

“I do have some Star Pulse White Crystals… but what can you offer in exchange for them?”

"Let me make this clear first, I don't lack magic stones, nor do I want any."

Lynn thought for a moment and then asked, "What does Lady Kira need?"

(End of this chapter)