Wizards: Starting as a Potions Master!

Chapter 174 How strong is your mother?

"Because your magic system has made too many sacrifices and changes in order to survive in the receding tide of magic."

"In this situation, even if we use the increased complexity of the spell model as an alternative, it would come at the cost of our advancement potential. But considering that you claim to have a great arcanist deep underground, I suspect that you might have the means to overcome the advancement bottleneck using external methods."

Su Nan looked at Song Zhong, who had a blank expression, and smiled. "You don't mean you haven't thought about how to advance to become a formal wizard, or rather, a grand arcane mage, do you?"

"Since there are legends of great arcanists deep underground, you should strive to find a way to become one."

Songzhong was silent for a moment, then said, "I'm already very satisfied to have become an arcanist. Even my mother, the Rye Matriarch, didn't become a Grand Arcanist. Do I deserve it?"

"Moreover, that's the level of Grand Archmage Matron Lolth! I...I..."

Su Nan frowned and said, "Although arcane mages are said to have originated from wizards, if you don't maintain a spirit of seeking truth, then what's the difference between you and sorcerers?"

A look of incomprehension crossed Song Zhong's eyes.

"Never mind," Su Nan thought. "These arcanists' races are born with inherent problems, so the true grand arcanists deep in the underworld might deliberately use this kind of education to limit their thinking and learning abilities."

"After all, in an era where magic is scarce, having another archmage is definitely not a good thing."

"Therefore, discussing this with this woman is like casting pearls before swine."

"This woman claims to be an arcanist, but she merely follows the rules; she doesn't use her brain, nor does she actively think or explore."

Su Nan unleashed a magical pressure on her.

Immediately, Song Zhong gritted his teeth and said, "This is the feeling I had when I was with my mother. I only ever felt this way when I was with my mother, the Rye Matriarch."

Su Nan raised an eyebrow. He was doing this to test the power of the Rye Mistress.

Because only when mental strength exceeds 80 can magical pressure be generated.

It seems that the Rye Matriarch's mental strength is at least 80 or higher.

Even among the gathering of petrifying witches, the Rye Matriarch was among the most powerful.

Su Nan asked Song Zhong, "It seems that your mother has also undergone a spiritual transformation, manifesting as demonic pressure."

"Which do you sense is stronger: my magical pressure or your mother's?"

After pondering for a moment, Songzhong hesitated before saying, "Do you want the truth, or do you want me to flatter you? I don't know what kind of slave owner you are, but according to the rules of the underworld, I should say something that will make you happy."

Su Nan said, "To be honest."

Song Zhong pursed his lips, and then, as if he had finally found a chance to turn the tables, he said proudly, "Then the truth is, my mother, the Rye Mistress's, magical pressure is stronger than yours."

"Far superior!"

"You are no match for my mother. As my master, if you treat me well, I can tell you some places where you can avoid my mother's influence but still obtain resources."

After thinking for a long time, Songzhong finally admitted that she was a slave the moment she was captured.

They will be slaves for life.

Although she was frustrated, she could only accept it and try her best to live a better life with her new master.

Su Nan glanced at her.

It turned out to be the case.

He is not a Grand Arcane Master, so he is below a formal wizard, but his magical pressure is stronger than his own.

But it's nothing.

First, with this Ether Mine, I can use potions to boost my mental strength in a short time.

Secondly, panel data doesn't tell us much.

If the other party is not a true, formal wizard, then they are still a wizard apprentice, just a more powerful one.

Even if someone's mental strength or magical power is temporarily stronger than yours, what converts magical power into combat power is the quality of their meditation method, the strength of their spell model, the number of spells they have mastered that are close to a first-level spell, and various magical items.

Su Nan was confident that although the Black Rye Matriarch possessed an army of an entire underground city, his own werewolf gang and scarab swarm were no less formidable, and might even be stronger.

Su Nan didn't respond to Song Zhong's words, but instead said coldly to her, "You haven't told me about the ether black hole yet."

"Also, let me mention the types of ether ore."

Song Zhong glanced weakly at Su Nan. She didn't understand why this surface wizard showed no emotional change after hearing her assessment.

Aren't you scared?

That's an arcane master among arcane masters.

Matsunaka said, "The surface people are the masters. The etheric black hole is a harm inflicted on our underworld by those evil wizards."

"Those evil wizards do not have enough magical power to defeat the arcane sorcerers."

"So they did something very dangerous. They conducted secret research, combining large quantities of aetherite with the bloodlines of various races from the underworld."

"They wanted to use this method to summon the magical tide again, or at least a small amount of it. It was a huge failed magical experiment."

Su Nan raised an eyebrow. It turned out that the underground sorcerers who were hiding in the underground camp were not doing a lot of magical modifications to creatures in order to create their own army.

It was to summon a magical tide on its own.

It seems they never intended to do this; they simply wanted to hide in the underground world and barely survive.

However, it is likely that some underground sorcerers, after discovering a large number of aether stones, began to have new ideas.

Matsunaka continued, "As a result, the magical tide did not come; instead, it formed a sphere that was a mixture of biological flesh and highly condensed ether.

"I heard from my mother that you wizards didn't just create one of these balls; you wizards created dozens of them."

"These spheres, being a mixture of etheric stone and flesh-and-blood creatures, are highly condensed traditional etheric magic, and they also possess a certain degree of their own consciousness, capable of actively attacking any living beings that approach them. They have created a magic field called the Etheric Black Hole Field. This black hole continues to expand, becoming more powerful as it devours more magic."

"Etheric black holes absorb magic from the air."

"Only by offering them sacrifices will they quiet down. Each etheric black hole must be suppressed by a main city, and if it is too powerful, several main cities may be needed."

"However, there are also some positive side effects. The magical energy near the ether black hole will increase by several levels due to its absorption effect."

Su Nan looked at her suspiciously. "In that case, it's also possible that the so-called wizards you mentioned, and your arcanist ancestors, initially collaborated to create etheric black holes. The purpose was to increase the concentration of magical energy in certain areas of the underground world."

"But later, their ideologies differed, and war broke out."

"After all, judging from the results, it seems that you have actually benefited greatly from the ether black hole."

"I imagine that without the ether black hole, you would have suffered even more in those years without magical tides."

Songzhong wanted to refute, but then she thought back to a question she had considered before.

If it weren't for the etheric black hole beneath the main city of Rye, how uncomfortable would she, as an arcanist, be?

I'm afraid that even using a single spell would require a lot of calculation.

Even a small amount of magic power consumed requires several months to recover on its own.

It's even possible that one's own magic concentration exceeds the magic concentration of the surrounding environment, resulting in a situation where magic not only fails to recover but also continuously leaks away.

(End of this chapter)