Wizards: Starting as a Potions Master!

Chapter 53 The Wizard's Trail, The Forsaken

In a maple forest between Peter's Territory and Frank's Territory, an old man and a young boy were walking, their right arms wrapped in mummy-like bandages.

Apart from that, their attire was not much different from that of the people of the Storm Kingdom.

The girl asked the old man, "Teacher Guca, is there really something here that can save our spirits? By the way, it seems like some kind of battle has taken place here; different magical powers are intertwined in this land."

"Am I right, teacher?"

"A power... it doesn't quite seem like a wizard's. It gives me a very uncomfortable feeling, like when I was young I saw a poisonous snake pass by me, making me feel like I've seen my natural enemy; and a magical power... it's so evil and profound, and the magic is also very strong. It must be the magic of a wizard."

Gu Ke looked at the girl and said kindly, "Yes. Absolutely right. You really are a wizarding genius. If you had lived more than two thousand years ago, you might even have had the chance to become a first-class wizarding apprentice."

"Even greater achievements."

"What a pity... such a pity. Someone like you deserves better resources. I'm not only looking for the Garden of the Four Seasons for our source of magic. According to the wizarding inheritance I obtained, there is also a wishing well in the Garden of the Four Seasons. If you can soak in it, your wizarding talent will be further enhanced, and your mental strength will also be greatly improved."

"I have a way to find the Garden of Four Seasons. Because my wizarding heritage records the types of invisibility spells and mortal repulsion spells used by that wizard's remains. Given time, I can deduce the location of that wizard's remains."

"Old man Guca said kindly, while slightly raising his head and looking coldly at a maple tree in front of him. "Wei'er, don't worry."

"We, the forgotten, are not willing to simply disappear into the annals of history. We hate humanity, we hate our fellow wizards who abandoned us, and we hate the sorcerer groups of two thousand years ago."

"And you will be one of our hopes."

"The wizard hiding in this territory—though we don't know his identity—since he can't even conceal his magic, he must be a self-taught sorcerer. We Forsaken may be destitute, but we still possess a tangible lineage. We're not like those self-taught individuals. He's not a threat to us. But…"

He suddenly raised his hand, and a scream came from behind the maple tree, followed by the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground.

Behind the maple tree, a cultist lay on the ground, countless vines sprouting from his mouth, ears, eyes, and nose, draining his life force.

Gu Ke laughed and said, "It seems someone wants to get there first."

"That's wishful thinking."

"Those sorcerers of the High Order dare to presume to touch our wizarding possessions? You are not worthy."

The cultist was terrified. A tender sprout grew from his eyeball, and with a sound of the eyeball rupturing, the green sprout quickly blossomed and bore fruit, turning into a rose.

The little girl turned her head away, refusing to look at the horrific scene. "Teacher, you're being so cruel. How could you use the [Secondary Growth Charm] like that?"

Gu Ke glanced at the girl with surprise, then his expression returned to its kind tone. "Hehehe, so you little girl haven't gotten used to fighting yet. But child, that's how fighting is—it's either you die or I live."

The girl shook her head and said, "But that would pollute my magic. You also said that I shouldn't kill anyone before I become a first-class wizard apprentice. The more blood I have on my hands, the more trouble I'll cause later."

Gu Ke glanced at the girl and thought to himself, "That's aimed at geniuses like you. Why should people like us care about such things?"

……

Inside Peter's Castle, Sunan summoned Solon, who worshipped the Lord of Fire.

The Lord of Fire is also a member of the pantheon of order, and his importance is even greater than that of the Lord of Beasts, and his ranking is even slightly higher than that of the God of Storms.

It was only in recent years, with the establishment of the Storm Kingdom, that the God of Storms gained a much more important position in the pantheon of order.

Solon was originally from the Golden Republic of Ambrose on the western Boot Peninsula, but he apparently offended a lord of the Republic of Ambrose and was framed for plagiarizing someone else's artistic ideas, ultimately leaving his homeland in a very dishonorable manner.

Coincidentally, the southern Jiangsu region needs a good craftsman.

Therefore, when Father Louis learned of this, he recommended the man to Sunan, who in turn tentatively extended an invitation to Solon.

When Solon saw Sunan descend from the castle, he immediately performed an exaggerated Ambrose greeting for Sunan. In fact, his clothes were also extravagant, with bright and eye-catching colors, making him look like a peacock.

However, there's no way around it; the Boot Peninsula region as a whole is wealthier than the peninsula region where the Storm Kingdom is located, and its people often lead the trends, so people from other regions may find it difficult to accept their overly open aesthetic style.

The Boot Peninsula's dedication to fashion can be traced back to their worship of the Lord of Fire.

The Lord of Fire is also the only deity who, in church doctrine, requires believers to love knowledge and wisdom.

This led to the existence of numerous republics on the Boot Peninsula, forming city alliances to counter feudal lords and various kings.

Among these republics, there are lifelong governor-general commercial republics, dictatorial republics, oligarchy republics, and republics of the whole people, etc. In essence, they are just large city-states, or small republics formed by larger cities as vassals of smaller cities.

Solon said to Sunan, "Lord Sunan, thank you for your trust in me, for giving me a job when I was in such a lowly position."

"As you know, plagiarism is the greatest indictment against artistic creators."

"By the God of Fire, I would rather be consumed by flames than, as those fools say, plagiarize others' mediocre ideas. Behold, these are the ten hollow gargoyle statues I have crafted for you; with them adorning your ceiling, it will surely shine brightly."

"Furthermore, I made some minor modifications to their appearance without permission, deliberately making them resemble the angels of the Storm God."

Solon smiled confidently, full of confidence in his artistic creations. However, he still did not expect that Sunan wanted his works not for decoration, nor for religious purposes or to flaunt his wealth.

Rather, it was for the purpose of magically transforming the stone sculpture.

If Solon had known this, he might have refused this seemingly wonderful job that had fallen from the sky during the most difficult time of his life.

Su Nan inspected the gargoyles and found them to be exquisite and lifelike. Most importantly, the proportions of the wings and bodies of these gargoyles were sculpted strictly according to his requirements.

In this way, these gargoyles—hollow plaster statues—with wings more than twice the length of their bodies, could fly in the air.

This means that Solon was someone who could perfectly fulfill his own requirements, only using his talents slightly in insignificant places.

This is enough.

Su Nan glanced at Solon with satisfaction. In this era, artists were basically all-rounders. Those who could paint rarely did not sculpt, and those who could sculpt rarely did not design houses, water conservancy projects, and so on.

Therefore, supporting such a person is indeed a necessity for me.

Especially the Sacrifice Stone series of potions, which require a large number of statues.

Su Nan pondered for a moment and said, "Storm Kingdom is not as wealthy as Boot Peninsula, so I will pay you slightly less in the early stages."

"Five gold coins a month, is that alright?"

Solon did a quick calculation and realized that this would amount to 60 gold coins a year, which was a bit low, but he also had to consider the reality of his situation.

Moreover, this is the Storm Kingdom, not the Golden Peninsula where the wealthy republics of birth and the Papacy of the Order pantheon reside.

Moreover, Solon had absolute confidence in his abilities, and he believed that he would eventually win over Su Nan's aesthetic sense and get him to pay him a higher price.

Solon smiled with satisfaction and bowed to Sunan once more. "Thank you, Baron."

"I want to start my second artwork as soon as possible."

Su Nan raised an eyebrow. "There's one more thing. I recently acquired two obsidian statues of Bulgars, and I need you to design two statues according to my requirements. Ideally, they should be used in battle."

Solon blinked, thinking he had misheard. "For battle?"

Artworks used in combat?

It seems... not entirely impossible, it's quite avant-garde!

Solon thought for a moment and said, "Then let's get started as soon as possible. Obsidian carving is indeed more difficult, as it is much harder than ordinary stone. But that won't be a problem for me."

(End of this chapter)