Two Realms: The Dark Wizard Evolves Madly in the Wasteland

"No...no! This ore costs three magic stones!"

"Not a single piece can be missing!"

"This is a scam! The iron ore isn't pure enough!"

The black-robed apprentice was clearly short of money, yet he dared to dream of bargaining with the goblin merchant. That was simply wishful thinking. Even if it meant death, the greedy goblin would not give up a single grain of sand he had obtained.

"Bargaining? You actually think you can bargain with the great Baruch?"

"Fresh snake gall..."

"A failed human experiment subject was bought back at half price!"

……

Raven's goal was clear.

Located on the west side of the city's central square is the Nolan Goblin Bank, which is entirely built of obsidian.

For him right now, this is the only place where he can quickly get "start-up capital".

The bank's interior is extremely spacious, with a high dome.

Behind the counter sat goblin employees with thick glasses and noses that almost touched the table.

Their distinctive long ears twitched slightly, and the quills in their hands scribbled rapidly across the ledgers.

"Apprentice loans, wizard loans, potion loans..."

These greedy goblins have close ties with the official wizards at the wizarding academy.

Here, the quota for a first-level apprentice is usually three hundred magic stones.

There were slightly more level two apprentices, reaching a level of five hundred magic stones.

A third-level apprentice receives 1,000 magic stones, while a formal wizard receives a much higher amount, a full 5,000 magic stones.

Under the warm hospitality of the goblin servant, Raven signed his name on the soul contract.

If the interest isn't paid within three months, then you won't be able to control your own body anymore.

At that time, you will suffer endless torment, including "potion experiments, human modification, underground arenas, living constructs, and thread-filled babies." After you die, your corpse will be sold to necromancers to be made into undead puppets.

Borrow two hundred magic stones, with an interest of five stones per month.

All told, that's about sixty magic stones a year.

Raven's current monthly income is two magic stones. Obviously, if he borrows this money, he will most likely never be able to pay it back in his lifetime.

In any case, Raven had never seen a case of a low-level wizard rising to prominence in his memory.

Relying on hard work and sweat in a wizarding academy is a joke; at best, you'll become a weed by the roadside...

However, it was only about an hour after Raven disappeared from the goblin bank.

Balu turned and walked into the goblin bank.

With two crisp "clinks," the goblin servant's cloudy eyes instantly lit up.

His long, droopy ears suddenly perked up, and a professional, fawning smile spread across his face.

"Oh my, isn't this Lord Balu? What brings you here today? Are you here to borrow magic stones or...?"

"Enough with the nonsense." Balu gave a cold smile on his round face.

"Give me a list of all the junior apprentices who have taken out loans here in the past month."

"Especially those low-level apprentices who are mediocre and have no family connections..."

The goblin servant's smile froze for a moment, then a knowing glint of cunning flashed in his shrewd little eyes.

He looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to them.

He immediately pulled out a thick parchment ledger from under the counter.

He flipped through the pages quickly, the quill pen twirling between his fingers before finally stopping on a name.

"Here, this is it. They just left not long ago."

The goblin tapped the ledger heavily with his withered, twig-like fingers.

"Raven Heingus, an apprentice under Instructor Colton, is a second-class talent and dirt poor. He just borrowed two hundred magic stones, stating that he wanted to conduct construct research... Ha, constructs? I think he's tired of living."

"And this one, Karl Heikaka, an apprentice under Lord Sandrui, with first-class aptitude... he also borrowed two hundred magic stones..."

"Raven!"

Balu murmured the name, a slight smile playing on his lips.

He originally intended to let Raven, an honest man, go, but this wanderer without a mentor turned out to be dishonest.

Want to improve yourself? You even dared to borrow magic stones behind my back?

"grown ups?"

The goblin stretched out its twisted, deformed green chicken claws.

"Don't worry, you'll definitely get your share of the benefits."

Baru casually flicked out another magic stone, which landed precisely in the goblin servant's hand.

into the night.

Balu knocked on Raven's door again, his round face still beaming with enthusiasm.

"Raven... I have a part-time job here that I think would suit you perfectly! Two magic stones a day, great pay!"

"You have a calm and collected personality; if you go, you'll definitely succeed!"

Raven frowned imperceptibly.

"So, what price will I have to pay?"

Balu chuckled and said, "You don't have to do anything. This part-time job is very easy. It's just pruning weeds in the magic plant garden, and it will be of great help to your future studies in potion-making... How about it? Considering we've known each other for so many years, how about I only take half a magic stone as a commission every day?"

"Only half a bar? That's really not much!"

Raven nodded, seemingly somewhat interested.

"Where is this Magic Plant Garden?"

Seeing that the other party had taken the bait, Balu lowered his voice and said, "It's over in the Dark Forest... not far from the academy, and there's always the academy's enforcement team around, so it's very safe..."

Raven nodded.

"That sounds good! But I might not need it that much right now, sorry..."

"Bang!"

After saying that, Raven closed the door.

Balu turned around, a flash of anger in his eyes, and glared fiercely at Raven's room.

"Damn it... you bastard, since you won't listen to soft tactics, don't blame me for using force!"

……

The next day.

Raven, dressed in a black apprentice robe, was carefully controlling the dropper in his hand.

Before him was a bubbling cauldron filled with a dark red, viscous liquid—the very lizard that Raven had soaked in the Dead Soul Grass last time.

What he had to do was simple: melt the lizard and completely integrate it into the medicinal liquid.

Beside him, Colton stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes fixed on the changing colors of the liquid in the crucible.

As a formal wizard, Colton exuded an invisible pressure that was like a volcano, making Raven afraid to even breathe too heavily.

"The temperature has risen by fifteen degrees."

Colton's voice was low and flat.

Raven's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately adjusted the crucible up by one millimeter.

He instantly brought the temperature back to the standard level.

"The response is good."

Colton's withered old skin twitched slightly, and he gave a faint comment, neither praising nor blaming.

"Your mental strength has increased!"

Upon hearing this, Raven's heart skipped a beat, and an uncontrollable chill ran down his spine.

He almost thought he had revealed something, but just one glance from Colton made Raven's hair stand on end.

The oppressive atmosphere persisted until the end of the experiment.