Wizard: I brought the wrong system.

Chapter 458 Consumption
The gentle dawn light softly pushed open the dark night curtain, and the twinkling stars gradually dimmed, like shy gems, slowly losing the brilliance of last night, and peacefully merging into the azure sky.

The earth awakens from its slumber.

Amidst the cheerful chirping of the phoenix, Yaro extinguished the campfire and gently smeared charcoal ash on his cheeks and forehead, making slight adjustments that made his face appear thinner and his appearance more mature.

Then, some fine lines were applied to the eyebrows to accentuate the contours of the eyes, making the gaze sharper, stronger, and more aggressive, causing people to subconsciously want to turn their heads away and naturally ignore the other parts of the face.

These are just small applications of Morton's knowledge of "upward".

It can be said that Morton's most valuable possessions are his notebooks, followed by his spatial bracelet, then the "Human Control Techniques," various secret treasures, and finally, the more than 200 magic stones.

Even the lowest value magic stone still amounts to a considerable sum.

I also gained 3 new skill points, so I won't have to worry about skill points for a while.

Yaro was already stuffed.

Now, in every respect, he needs a period of calm time to process this.

"Judging by the days, seven days have passed, haven't they? I might as well go and see how the cleaning of my underground laboratory is going."

"Before that, we need to go to the Mannheim market to prepare materials for the base."

……

Yaro crossed the Dark Plains with exceptional ease and successfully arrived at the Mannheim market at noon.

The Mannheim market seemed strangely deserted at this time.

The streets were much less crowded. Some stalls that should have been displaying various witchcraft items and magical materials were now empty and looked somewhat messy, as if they had been hastily packed up. Passersby hurried along, appearing more wary than before, but there were far fewer conflicts. Even if someone accidentally bumped into another person, they would only glance at each other before going their separate ways.

Yaro was somewhat puzzled: "Aside from the Star River Surge I lost yesterday, nothing major seems to have happened recently, right?"

The sound of the explosion could be heard for tens of kilometers. It was not surprising that the people of Mannheim Market heard it and even found out the specific reason, given that Yaro's ambush of Morton was located on the edge of the Dark Plains.

"But I left quickly after losing the Star River Surge, so why do these passersby still look so preoccupied?"

With this question in mind, Yaro went to the enchanting shop first, intending to sell some low-level monster materials that he had picked up along the way.

The cat-eared woman remained reclining on her side on the snow-white fur seat, as if taking a nap, her graceful figure undulating slightly with an alluring rhythm.

Yaro had dealt with her many times and knew that this female shop owner had an inexplicable wicked sense of humor, so he was too lazy to play along. He tapped the table and reminded her, "Stop pretending and get up to receive the goods."

The cat-eared woman had already recognized Yaro's identity from his aura. She lazily opened her alluring emerald green vertical pupils, glanced casually at the materials on the ground, and parted her pink lips slightly: "60 gold coins."

The voice seemed to carry a hint of mischief and provocation, making one's heart race and desire boil.

Yaro remained unmoved, frowning as he said, "Based on the prices from a few days ago, these materials should at least yield one magic stone, even if you can't get two."

"Yeah~!"

The cat-eared woman stretched, her stunningly prominent breasts trembling, exuding a captivating charm that stirred the soul and fueled endless fantasies.
"The adults of the Fernando wizard family have already ordered the main roads around here to be blocked! Now caravans can neither go in nor out, and I can only keep the goods in the warehouse. Storage requires a lot of expenses, so I can't offer you a very reasonable price, young man."

"Block the main roads around here?" Yaro asked, puzzled. "You can agree to that? Can anyone else agree to that?"

Yaro's reaction bored her greatly. She closed her eyes again and said languidly:
"The Fernando wizarding family is very shrewd. They mainly restrict caravans and prohibit carriages from passing through. As for individual wizards, they turn a blind eye."

Lone wolf wizard apprentices don't cause trouble, and caravans value peace above all else; they neither can nor dare to cause trouble.

What can we do if we disagree?

The Fernando wizarding family was, after all, still the nominal lords of this region. If the caravan members didn't listen to advice and killed or maimed the caravan's horses, it would be enough to give the caravan a headache.

"Why would the Fernando wizarding family do something like this? It doesn't do them any good, does it?" Yaro asked, puzzled.

"I heard that several of the Fernando wizard family's resource sites were attacked yesterday..."

The cat-eared woman spoke, picking up a slender pipe inlaid with gold wire beside her, snapping her fingers lightly to light the tobacco, and exhaling wisps of smoke as she said:
"Heh, who knows for sure? But I heard a loud explosion yesterday, so maybe it wasn't a hoax?"

You speak so truthfully, but why am I, the one who caused that explosion, unaware of this news?
Did they lie in ambush nearby, taking advantage of the chaos caused by the explosion to seize the opportunity to rob the place?

"The resource area was attacked. What does that have to do with them blocking the main road caravans? Do they think the materials that were swept away will be transported out through the caravans?" Yaro asked again.

The cat-eared woman gently blew out a puff of smoke, a smile playing on her lips, her eyes gleaming with amusement: "How could I possibly know what they're thinking? Handsome young man, why are you so concerned about this matter?"

Yaro coughed lightly to cover it up, saying, "After all, the price of magic materials directly affects my income, so it's normal for me to pay attention to it."

The cat-eared girl, her eyes hazy, savored the swirling smoke in her mouth.

"That might disappoint the handsome young man. This is the price I can offer right now, and it may even be lower in the future! If you want to ensure your income, you may have no choice but to leave here like those hunting teams and seek new opportunities in other wizarding families' territories."

"Okay, I will think about your suggestion carefully."

Yaro gave a perfunctory reply, secretly pondering, "The resource area was attacked immediately after the explosion. I wonder if I'll be blamed for this again."

—Um, why did you say 'again'?
This feeling of suddenly being blamed for something feels so familiar.

...The Witcher!

After carefully considering the whole process, Yaro put aside his renewed suspicion of the Witchers: "The situation had already been secretly escalated by the Witchers. The explosion I caused only served as the starting gun in a race. In fact, even without me, something else could have ignited all of this."

At this point, the cat-eared woman became impatient: "Alright, I'll only offer 60 gold coins. If you don't want to accept it, you can try sending it to other shops, or you can keep it for yourself and see if the market improves in the future."

"No need, I naturally believe what the beautiful lady says, let's just go with this price."

...After leaving the cat-eared girl's enchanting shop, Yaro was still pondering the possible impact this incident might have on him.

Since I have nothing to lack right now, I can stay in the base in the Tree Demon Forest for a few months and design the remaining two tricks into skills and moves, then inscribe them into my sea of ​​consciousness, thus completing the initial construction of the "Six-Element Starlight Meditation Method".

In addition, these few months can be used to cultivate "Blood Frenzy".

Once both are completed, one can become a 'pseudo' high-level wizard apprentice and a 'pseudo' official knight.

Once the Six-Element Starlight Meditation Method is completed, you will gain the meditation speed of an advanced apprentice, allowing you to accumulate magic power more quickly.

The principles behind completing "Blood Rage" are similar.

Having done all this, the aftereffects of the Siren's Song potion will only last for about two months, after which I can get up and head to the edge of the land to prepare for returning home.

There's absolutely no need to venture into the Dark Plains anymore.

—It doesn't seem to have any impact?
Thinking of this, Yaro smiled nonchalantly, shook his head, and ignored those unimportant matters, turning around and walking into the nearby pharmacy.

"Sir, what do you need?" The old man in the pharmacy asked politely, not recognizing Yaro.

“Mr. Arthas, it is I, Yue.” Yaro did not hide anything and revealed his previous pseudonym.

"moon?"

The old man carefully examined Yaro's appearance and vaguely found a familiar trace in Yaro's face.

"Why don't you dress like Yaro anymore?" The old man smiled, teasing him with a hint of sarcasm.

Yaro frequently visited him for purification potions and low-level swamp antidotes. With these frequent visits, the two of them deliberately overlooked some of the unpleasant incidents from before.

So, my concealment is the way to return to my true self, while my true self is what 'Yaro' learned?
Yaro, with a hint of helplessness, tried to hide his feelings: "Well... I've matured too, and I need to be myself again."

Old man Arthas nodded understandingly:
"Yes, time flies. Yue, you have begun to mature and return to your true self. In the future, you will not regret or feel ashamed for the memories of this period. Everyone has their own growth trajectory, and releasing oneself is also a valuable experience."

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?
What is chuunibyou (middle school syndrome)?
Haha, interesting young man. Don't make it so serious. Everyone has a youthful phase, especially those of us with certain extraordinary powers, who are more prone to that kind of... 'chuunibyou' (middle school syndrome) you mentioned?

“Perhaps. Well then, Mr. Arthas, let’s talk about something else.” Yaro feigned shame, as if he were looking at the past in a way he didn’t want to recall.

Hearing Yaro's words, the old man couldn't help but laugh: "No matter what, we should accept and cherish our past and memories... Alright, alright, I understand how you feel right now. Let's not talk about that anymore, let's talk about something else..."

By the way, is there anything I can help you with? Do you need to purchase more purification agents?

Oh, please forgive an old man's rambling, but the amount of purification potion you used is truly astonishing.

Of course, I don't want to know what you'll use it for; I just want to offer some old-timer advice: if possible, don't rely too much on potions, um... unless you can make them yourself.

Yaro saw through his intention and waved his hand, saying, "Mr. Arthas, you don't need to say anything more. I will no longer buy materials to refine purification potions."

In the field of potion making, Yaro's talent is quite limited. He has wasted dozens or even hundreds of magic stones, yet he still has not been able to successfully refine a single bottle.

For now, Yaro can only put this issue aside for the time being and make arrangements later when he has enough time and magic stones.

Or, once we get back to my grandfather's house, I can ask him directly.

"Mr. Arthas, I've come today to ask you if you have any potions that can nourish the external soul or spiritual power?"

Upon acquiring so many magic stones at once, Yaro's first thought was whether he could use them to nourish and replenish the spiritual power of his mother on the protective pendant.

In fact, Yaro didn't know if the low-grade potions here would work on his mother's mental strength, but they should have some effect, right?

The old man asked with some surprise, "Young Yue, are you really concerned about this? This isn't the first time you've asked about it."

Indeed, after easing tensions with the old man, Yaro had inquired about it several times, intentionally or unintentionally.

Upon hearing the old man's words, Yaro frowned slightly, as if he were somewhat troubled.

"Oh, don't worry about it, I was just saying it offhand. I have no intention of prying into your secrets..."

“Mr. Arthas, it’s not really a secret, it’s just that it’s very important to me.”

Yarrow continued to explain:
"When I was a child, I was sucked into a strange space along with some good friends. I was lucky enough to escape alive, but my good friends were all turned into wooden balls by that strange space."

When I was studying at the academy, I consulted one of the academy's official wizarding instructors. He told me that the souls of my friends were inside this wooden sphere, which is why I've been searching everywhere for potions that can replenish souls or spiritual energy.

As Yaro spoke, he actually took out a fist-sized black sphere with wood grain patterns.

Yes, it's the spatial core that Teacher Gemma obtained in the eerie space of the wooden figure. After several twists and turns, it finally ended up in Yaro's hands.

There are indeed some souls of wizard apprentices in this, and no matter how you verify it, you can't find any fault with it.

The best way to cover up a lie is to use a true story as a substitute excuse.

"Can I take a look?" the old man asked curiously.

"of course can."

Although he was using the wooden ball as an excuse, Yaro also hoped to find a way to help the soul inside the ball.

Unfortunately, neither his mother, a formal wizard, nor his mentor Bosco could fully understand this strange wooden ball, and naturally, an old man in a remote apothecary couldn't understand it either.

After returning the wooden ball to Yaro, the old man suggested, "According to you, only the Soul Dew potion meets the requirements."

(End of this chapter)