From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 449 News from Rasven
The evil squad that went out on an adventure has returned.

The ingenuity of Gale, the Archmage of Waterdeep, helped them create a Shadow Lantern using Shadowfiend Webs and the corpses of Piklings.

This lantern can utilize the power of the Fallen Netherworld and Shar herself to block the damage of the Shadow Curse.

Therefore, the adventure team stayed in the town of Reisven for a few more days to explore the terrain and scavenge for supplies.

The End of Light Inn has also undergone significant changes in the past few days.

The Ironhanded Dwarves have almost completely integrated into Ivy's research rhythm. With their help, Ivy can modify the adamantite golems more efficiently and has more time to read the "Necromantic Spellbook of Sel," help Halsin modify the portal array, or teach some basic magical knowledge.

Yes, Ivy has returned to her old profession and become a professor again.

Who would have thought that a small group of refugees in Tifflin would produce two young people with exceptional talent in arcane magic?
Although there is no accurate data, Ivy is almost certain that the number of mages in the Forgotten Realms does not account for a very high percentage of the total population; exceeding one ten-thousandth would be considered high.

It's important to know that the entire Hogwarts school has fewer than 500 students and teachers, and the entire British wizarding community has only 3,000 people. Compared to the population of the Muggle world, this is only about 5 out of 100,000, or 1 out of 20,000.

Surprisingly, Faerûn, where most of society is still in the Middle Ages, has a higher proportion of mages.

Of course, wizards and mages are ultimately two different spellcasting modes, but considering that wizards also need to learn to master their abilities, Ivy selectively regards wizards and mages as the same kind, rather than as sorcerers who truly rely on bloodline to master magic.

Even if he himself has a warlock class level, it's the same.

The number of refugees from the End of Light in Tifflin is less than fifty, but there are two promising mages among them. Considering that these two promising mages are quite talented, the actual situation may be even more terrifying than Ivy's calculations.

Besides Roland, who claims to be going to become a great mage, the other mage prospect is just a little girl who hasn't even reached Ivy's waist yet.

Alabel, the Typhoon boy who was threatened with a venomous snake by Kahar for stealing the statue of Sylvanas.

It wasn't Ivy who discovered her spellcasting ability, but Halsin.

Because Alabel was using the nature magic of the druids.

This is how it happened.

There was a large group of little kids running around in the Tifflin refugee group. While their parents were busy with their own affairs, these children had to play house to relieve their boredom.

Some wanted to be businessmen, some wanted to be thieves, and others wanted to help the adults.

Therefore, it is perfectly normal for conflicts to break out among children who do not agree and are also very emotional.

Without faith, without prayer, without incantations or spell models, Arabel simply closed her eyes and made a few gestures that seemed extremely abstract to Ivy, and huge vines burst from the ground, suspending the children who had been arguing with her in the air.

Halsin was utterly stunned. Ivy, who rushed over upon hearing the news, wasn't much better off.

Alabel's magical talent is obvious, even bordering on excessive. Simply by coming into contact with the statue of Sylvanas who was guiding the Thorn Ritual, she passively mastered the natural magic of summoning thorns. Now, in the Shadow Curse Lands, she is also vaguely being actively sought out by the Shadow Demon Network.

Like a child holding an RPG-7 rocket launcher and knowing where the trigger is, Arabella is far too dangerous from any angle.

Therefore, Ivy had to discuss with Halsin and her parents the possibility of using their spare time from research to give her some magical enlightenment and guidance, at least to make her understand that this power is dangerous. Ivy also believed that she should maintain her curiosity about magic and not shrink back just because mastering this power might harm herself or others.

It was out of a little love for talent that Ivy started this simple class.

You mean Roland, who claims he's going to become a great mage?
Whether you're herding one sheep or two, it's all the same; in reality, he's just someone who does it incidentally.

In short, shortly after Minsara set off for the Adamantite Forge with a team of harpists in order to retrieve Whisperflower, Ivy met the returning adventure team at the End of Light.

Although they looked exhausted, Ivy knew from the smile on Xie Nian's face that they had definitely completed their mission successfully.

"Welcome, heroes." Ivy put down his pointer and strode forward to greet them. His temporary apprentice also stared curiously at the adventurers returning from the main gate.

"Ivy?" Evil looked suspiciously at the monocle on Ivy's nose and his serious dark wizard robes before confirming that the person in front of him was his teammate.

"Is this your school uniform?" Will asked impatiently. "You look like a pretentious old professor from the Faculty of Arts or Law. I'm not so excited about your magic school anymore."

“Nonsense.” Yingxin circled around Ivy and then reached out to tug at his sleeve, which was hanging down quite a bit. “It suits Ivy very well; he looks like an old pastor preaching.”

Ivy sighed. "This isn't my usual attire for teaching. It's just that the parents of those Tifflin kids seem to think it increases my authority."

This seemingly serious robe is indeed effective at soothing children, but it seems a bit too bookish to adventurers who live on the edge.

As the saying goes, it's the same whether you're herding one sheep or two. When Ivy was teaching Roland and Arabella, the parents of the Tifflin children would ask their kids to stay outside the door for as long as possible to eavesdrop on a word or two.

Ivy could certainly use magic to shield herself from this influence, but things started to spiral out of control after one of the children asked Alabella herself about the progress of the lessons.

Ever since learning that her friends were all outside the door, Arabella found it difficult to focus her attention on Ivy. She was only a child under nine, and Ivy couldn't really expect much from such a young child, so she simply included her friends in her supervision. The classroom was moved from the second floor to the hotel lobby on the first floor, to the side against the wall. Although there were more people to supervise, the subtle competitive spirit that arose among the children made Arabella even more attentive. Therefore, it's hard to say that this was a bad thing for Ivy.

The very next day, which is today, the parents of the Tifferin family brought Ivy this new outfit, letting Ivy know that people's expectations have weight.

"You're teaching these little brats! My God! You're so kind!" Karak's tearful words earned her a bewildered and confused look from Ivy.

The Hell Champion Warrior's emotions came and went quickly. She laughed and playfully punched Will, whose mouth was agape, explaining amidst his grimacing, "Not every settlement can calmly accept a group of Tyflins, even in a big city like Baldur's Gate. After a child turns ten, they're basically just a hoodlum. I have loving parents who taught me to read and write. But the others I know aren't as lucky as I am..."

Although it's a bit impolite, Karak, a warrior whose main class is barbarian, is able to speak, read, and write both Common and Infernal, which doesn't quite fit the stereotype of barbarians.

Emotions are really not Ivy's forte, so he could only make sure he didn't show too much expression and snapped his fingers to make his outfit disappear.

He calmly announced to the curious kids behind him, "get out of class is over."

Amid the cheers of the children, he led his teammates through the back door of the hotel and into his laboratory.

"It's completely transformed!" Gale couldn't help but exclaim in amazement. "I really want to see your mage tower; there must be many things I've never seen before."

"Is this huge thing really the golem we saw that day?" Evil couldn't help but touch the adamantite golem that Ivy had modified.

“It will be a killing machine, and we can rely on it to crush the entire Supreme God Order!” Leezel couldn’t help but comment.

"Alright, tell me what you've discovered." Ivy interrupted the adventurers who were marveling at the adamantine golem and asked what they had been doing these past few days.

“Katheric Som does indeed have something important hidden in the temple of Shar, which we discovered is the Som family’s burial ground,” the evil thought said succinctly. “He has sent his necromancer advisors there some time ago, but unfortunately, they have found nothing yet.”

“Som’s Tomb will be our last stop before attacking the Tower of the Moon. Once the magic that keeps him alive is broken, we will launch a full-scale offensive.” Ivy nodded.

“In addition, we also unearthed a lot of other things.” Gale pulled out a large pile of books and notes from his backpack. “These were collected in Resven or the Tower of the Moon, and there’s a lot of interesting content.”

“For example, this.” Gale waved the logbook in his hand. “We found it in the basement of the Stonemasons’ Guild. We used our evil intentions to find the tower-shaped key under the counter.”

“Morfred is a stonemason in Rasven and also the builder of the Tower of the Moonrise. He also has a brother named Havery, who is the owner of the Inn of the End of Light,” Gale explained, recounting his observations. “Moreover, both brothers are devout followers of Serene, which is why we found Serene altars in the basements of the inn and the Stonemasons’ Guild.”

“The Light of the End served as the base for the Harpists’ attack on the Tower of the Moon a hundred years ago, and it’s no exception now. History really does come full circle, doesn’t it?” Gale couldn’t help but sigh.

“Let’s skip this part, Gale. Tell me about your other discovery.” Asdalon, standing behind Gale, was a little impatient. Ivy had seen him with this expression before. When it concerned Asdalon himself, he would become nervous and uneasy, no different from a novice thief caught red-handed.

“Alright, alright.” Gale pulled out another roll of blueprints from a pile of papers. “The design for the Moonrise Tower was also found at the Stonemasons’ Guild.”

“Very useful.” Ivy nodded. “You can give it to Jasira; she’s going to lead the harpists in the charge herself.”

"It's not this one either, Gale, stop playing dumb!" Asdallen still seemed impatient.

“Alright then.” Gale drew out his words, finishing before Asdalon could explode. “Remember your theory at the Adamantite Forge? A monster from hell broke into Shar’s temple? We’ve found out who brought that monster, or who might have brought it.”

“The stonemason Morfred may have sought help from a devil to destroy the entire Temple of Shar, and…” Gale was interrupted by Asdalon before he could finish speaking.

“And Raphael’s condition for me was to kill a Blood-Armored Demon, right there in the Great Tomb of Som,” Asdalon said. “There must be some unknown connection between these things!”

“So you think…” Ivy continued, following Asdalon’s words.

"This is a trap set by Raphael!" Asdalon shouted angrily. "He's a complete fraud! He cheated the stonemason a hundred years ago, and now he's trying to cheat us! Now I know the meaning of the tattoo on my back, but I can't undo it!"

“I warned you long ago that making a deal with the devil is no good,” Will said, pointing to the horns on his head. “You have a living example right in front of you.”

“I have good news about that ritual,” Ivy said, pulling out the amethyst-encrusted Necromantic Tome of Sel. “The Red Mage’s relics contain records of that ritual, called the Black Mass. It’s an evil ritual that sacrifices souls. The version on your back was specially modified in Purgatory, with many additions related to the Demon Lord Mephisto, but overall it’s still the same thing. I’ve pretty much figured out what the Black Mass is all about. I can say that I have the ability to help you reverse your fate as a sacrifice in the ritual.”

"Really? That's amazing! I knew you were the greatest and kindest wizard!" Asdallen looked like he wanted to rush over and kiss Ivy, but Shadowheart and Evil Thoughts had already subtly blocked his way.

“Of course, there’s also bad news.” Ivy calmly told Asdalon not to be too happy yet, “For you, becoming an ascended vampire doesn’t mean freedom, but rather turning from a sacrifice to Kazardor into a lackey of Mephisto, making it indistinguishable from a real one.”

Asdell's face froze. He tried to force a smile, but couldn't. To the vampire clones, the vampires who created them were true gods; they had no power to resist and had to obey orders in everything they did.

Asdallen thought he had found a way to surpass his father and Qazador. But he discovered that even Qazador, who seemed like a god to him and whose words carried weight, was nothing more than a dog of the devilish Grand Duke Mephistopheles.

This undoubtedly dealt a severe blow to his worldview.

But Ivy didn't stop to wait for him to accept reality: "You didn't reach an agreement with Raphael, so we can continue to see Raphael's true colors and why he keeps bothering you. I'm afraid we'll encounter him again before we enter the Great Tomb of Som. On the one hand, to confirm whether our course of action is as he expects, and on the other hand, to enhance our credibility and add weight to your choice of him as the last means to save yourselves."

(End of this chapter)