Wizard: Surviving in the Steam Age with Points for Demon Hunter

Chapter 3 One head, two heads...

Wayne looked at the items in his hand.

The letter was a reply from the administration office. The front of the envelope was addressed to "To Wayne Loft," and the back was sealed with the Ghost School's stamp—a pair of scarlet eyes in black flames.

The other three parchment scrolls looked rather old, each tied with a linen rope, suggesting that the meditation method he had been longing for might be among them.

Wayne put the parchment aside and opened the letter to read it.

"To His Excellency Wayne Loft, Intelligence Officer of the City of Caster, we have received your application and approved it, and hereby issue you the 'Basic Meditation Method'."

"At the same time, in accordance with the Ghost's regulations for managing apprentices, 'General Wizarding Knowledge' and 'Gonzare Language (Introduction)' will be distributed simultaneously."

"Please record the contents of the parchment and return it within two days to avoid unnecessary trouble caused by the loss of the scroll."

"On the path of seeking knowledge, death is not the end—Ghost School Item Management Office!"

The letter was brief, but Wayne was already very happy.

Besides meditation, the two free rolls of parchment will allow him to gain a better understanding of the world.

After he put the letter away, he then opened the three rolls of parchment.

There was no difference in appearance, so he randomly opened one.

"Gonzares... Gonzares..."

When the parchment was unfolded, the smooth paper wrinkled into a deformed face, with dense, strange characters forming facial features, roaring in a low voice.

grass,

Wayne hurriedly tied it up with a rope.

The sound stopped abruptly, and the parchment reluctantly returned to its flat state.

"That's really scary!"

This must be the book "Gonzare (Introduction)".

He had previously learned from his predecessor's memories that the books that recorded extraordinary writing were very strange, but he never expected them to be this strange.

So here's the question: how do you study this scroll?

We can't exactly beat it up, can we?

Wayne expressed his doubts.

Then, he carefully opened the second roll of parchment.

"Thank goodness, it's familiar text. No wonder this scroll looks so new."

The second parchment is written in the common language of the continent—the Ordnance language—and bears the inscription "The Wizard's General Knowledge".

The contents of the record delighted him even more.

This is a book introducing common knowledge about the wizarding world, much of which is information he is eager to learn.

According to the above records, wizards are the most complete supernatural profession in terms of lineage. Unlike the clergy of the church, the supernatural bloodlines among the nobility, and the inheritors of supernatural races, they place greater emphasis on creativity.

Over time, there are now five active schools of wizardry.

Besides the Ghost School to which he belonged, there was the Mystic School, which was proficient in elements and divination; the Blood School, which explored the potential of the body and fused with extraordinary flesh and blood; the Mechanical School, which was obsessed with puppetry and mechanical modification; and the Shadow School, which was enthusiastic about ancient secret arts.

The Ghost School, on the other hand, focuses on exploring the mysteries of life and death, just like the maxim recorded in the letter—death is not the end of the path to knowledge.

Furthermore, the scroll also records some things that wizards need to pay attention to.

"Knowledge is power! But remember, when you pursue knowledge, knowledge also pursues you!" (Left by the wizard Lister, founder of the Ghost School, in 138 AD of the Third Age.)

"Dissecting summoned creatures is forbidden, especially those from the abyss. (Written by the forbidden wizard Grin Stanford in the fourth era, 363 AD.)"

"All acts of courtship or reproduction with mutants are forbidden! (568th year of the Fourth Age, by the mutant wizard Rayleigh Doliul.)"

"The Blood Spirit School reclaims the remains of clergymen of the Church of Dawn (long-term validity). (Remained by Gaman McCarris, legendary wizard of the Blood Spirit School, in the fourth era, 2434.)"

"..."

"Do not pursue any knowledge from before the Fourth Age, remember this! (238 AD, by Maicon Zangeliu, a high priest of the Mystic School.)"

"Do not rely too much on forbidden items, for it will bring misfortune. (165 AD, Ancient Fastelli of the Shadow School)"

There are a total of ninety-nine points to note.

Each one was left by a different wizard, and the time spans from the Third Age to the present day.

Wayne was not a historian specializing in historical research, and he did not know the exact number of years, but it was enough to prove that the wizarding profession had a long history.

Furthermore, judging from the content, the wizards from different schools of thought frequently exchanged ideas, and... they were all quite prone to courting death.

Dissecting summoned creatures and breeding them with mutants is out of the question.

That one that can recycle corpses in the long term is truly bizarre. Are you kidding me?

However, he also had many doubts.

For example, why we cannot pursue knowledge from before the Quaternary period, what are forbidden items, etc.

These issues will be left for later... and forgotten!

He would never actively seek out a mysterious and bizarre world just to satisfy his curiosity. Isn't it better to just live?

Thinking this, Wayne looked at the last roll of parchment.

After hesitating for a moment, he gently picked it up and then gripped it tightly. The González scroll was already so strange; this meditation scroll, which looked even more ancient, was probably…

hiss!

After the sound of the hemp rope rubbing subsided, the reel was unrolled.

The bizarre scene he had imagined did not appear, and Wei En breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the contents of the scroll.

The parchment was a foot square, with irregular edges and corners.

Upon closer inspection, there is a shiny layer of paste on top, which looks like oil stains distributed in every corner.

The text recorded... he didn't recognize it. It was somewhat similar to the text he had just seen on the González scroll. He needed to confirm it.

Other content... Is this a painting?

The scroll, which occupied eighty percent of the parchment, was painted with...

No, it's not a drawing!

To be precise, it was made by branding unknown bone fragments onto parchment and arranging them into a strange six-pointed star pattern.

Beneath this strangely constructed six-pointed star, there is a peculiar painting faintly visible.

It can be confirmed that the subject of the drawing is a humanoid creature, but its limbs, head, and tails are all obscured by the six-pointed star skeleton and cannot be clearly seen.

Only the body parts are clear—the lines and patterns depict a human face.

Black hair, dark skin, angular face, thick black eyebrows, bright red eyes...

Wayne moved closer and examined the face closely, feeling as if he had seen it somewhere before.

Where is it?

Yes... this is what he looks like now!

Before he could react, the face that was attached to his torso and looked exactly like him gave a wicked smile and uttered a few strange tones: "Apu, Runo, Reese..."

If Wayne understood González, he would have known the meaning behind those tones: "chaos, despair, death..."

As the sound rang out, he felt his vision begin to blur, and everything around him seemed to be receding into the distance, bringing with it an extremely unreal sense of emptiness.

Pfft!

Wei En lay on his back, staring blankly into the void, his mouth opening and closing unconsciously.

"One head, two heads, three heads..."

Whispers filled the room.

(End of this chapter)