Black Hearted Mage

The Endless Forest was vast and boundless, stretching as far as the eye could see, like a vast green ocean. However, due to its remote location and complex and dangerous environment, the elves rarely patrolled the northern part of the forest, typically only once every one to two months.

This mysterious and dangerous forest is home to a variety of ferocious beasts. These include the agile and powerful Magic Leopard and Shadow Leopard; the swift Magic Lizard, clad in hard armor; and the creepy Dark Spider, lurking in the gloom. Each of these beasts possesses unique abilities and habits, making this forest exceptionally dangerous.

Caesars cautiously wandered around the edge of the forest, intently searching for precious herbs. Although he had a certain degree of confidence in his own abilities, he knew he couldn't venture too deep into the forest. There lurked powerful monsters he couldn't contend with. Even if he ascended to the rank of Grand Mage, he would still have to remain vigilant. This was especially true of the enormous Dark Spiders, which had a very low chance of evolving into superb monsters.

Once a Dark Spider successfully advances to a Super Beast, it gains a terrifying ability—the ability to command all Dark Spiders, as well as an unimaginable number of Servants. According to the notes left by Caesar's ancestors, when this occurs, the entire Dark Spider colony will be so vast that it can only be described as a "sea of ​​insects."

Just then, a familiar hissing sound came from not far away. Caesar's heart tightened. It was the little black snake's warning signal. He quickened his pace and ran in the direction of the sound. In a short while, he reached the edge of a bush.

"Saint Paul, you gave me a fright!"

Caesars discovered it was a false alarm. It was a half-foot-long green mantis. The mantis spread its wings, which trembled slightly, as if ready to take flight at any moment. It also kept waving its two sharp, serrated legs, appearing menacing and fierce, as it engaged in a tense standoff with the small black snake.

"It's just a mantis, it's not dangerous!" Caesar said after calming himself down. He then used the Mage's Hand. With a surge of magical energy, an illusory hand appeared out of thin air, gently grasping the green mantis. Caesar controlled the Mage's Hand and tossed the mantis into the distance.

The green mantis that regained its freedom seemed to be frightened. It flapped its wings at an extremely fast speed and flew into the grass in the distance like a green arrow. It disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye.

After dealing with the green mantis incident, Caesars continued on his journey, searching for the precious herbs he needed. This endless forest was filled with a staggering variety of herbs. The common, common herbs he saw everywhere held no sway for Caesars; he was determined to find the truly rare species.

At that moment, a strange plant growing near the grass not far ahead caught Caesar's attention. Upon closer inspection, the plant's leaves appeared unusually thick and smooth. The delicate veins on its surface shone a captivating golden yellow, as if cast from gold.

With years of experience and knowledge, Kaisas recognized it immediately. This was a golden ginseng that had been growing for over a hundred years! As for its exact age, judging by the bright color of the leaf veins, this golden ginseng was definitely no less than five hundred years old.

Putting away his Death Staff and taking out his magic steel medicine hoe, Kaisus crouched down. Digging for golden ginseng is a delicate and demanding task. The older the ginseng, the larger it grows and the deeper it grows. Golden ginseng has fewer, shorter, and thicker roots, so it's best not to break them while digging. The medicinal properties of the ginseng will quickly escape through any damage.

More than half an hour later, a thick golden ginseng was dug out. Not counting the ginseng roots, it was almost two feet long. A conservative estimate suggests this golden ginseng plant is about eight hundred years old.

"I got a million gold coins easily!"

Kaisas said happily, and after collecting the golden ginseng, he filled the dug soil back into the pit and stepped on it a few times.

At noon, Kaisas stopped to rest. It was best not to cook in the Endless Forest; the aroma of food wafting on the breeze could easily attract monsters. He took out some buttermilk, dried meat, and some water.

Just as Caesars was about to enjoy some food to replenish his depleted strength, a sudden, intense sense of danger washed over him. Before he could react, a dark figure flashed behind him, as swift as lightning. Then, a powerful impact struck him, and he instinctively raised his arms to block it.

Instantly, the protective bracelet on his wrist automatically sensed the attack and activated with a flash of light. Even so, the attack from the shadow was still incredibly powerful. A magic shield, typical of a Grand Mage, instantly shattered, dissipating into tiny specks of light in the air. Simultaneously, another protective shield trembled violently, as if poised to collapse at any moment.

Kaisas was startled, and before he could think, he quickly leaped to his feet. He gripped the Death Staff tightly in his right hand, his gaze blazing as he gazed forward. Over ten meters away, a sturdy, full-grown black demonic beast appeared in his sight.

The demonic leopard was covered in a layer of black, shiny fur, like a ghost in the night, without a trace of other colors. Its blue-green eyes flashed with an icy cold light, fixed firmly on Kaisas, revealing endless murderous intent.

The Demon Leopard is a high-ranking leopard-type magical beast. While it lacks the stealth capabilities of the Shadow Leopard, its attack power and speed are no less impressive. This type of Demon Leopard is particularly adept at ambushing its prey, possessing exceptional patience. Once it sees the right moment, it will unhesitatingly deliver a fatal blow. At this moment, Caesars had become the Demon Leopard's prey.

Facing such a formidable foe, Caesars dared not neglect his attack. He took a deep breath and rapidly began to cast various buffing spells. Brilliant rays of light swirled around his body, continuously enhancing his strength and defensive capabilities.

At this moment, the not-so-large demon leopard seemed to sense that Caesar was strengthening himself. Not giving its opponent much time to prepare, it exerted force with all four limbs and pounced at Caesar again like an arrow from a bow.

This time the magic leopard chose a head-on attack because it felt that its prey was too weak to compete with it head-on.

A distance of over ten meters was a simple leap for the demonic leopard. As its pitch-black claws extended, Caesars could already see the cold gleam on them. He leaned slightly sideways, only to hear a powerful gust of wind whistling past his ears. One high-level protective shield shattered, and another faltered.

The demonic leopard's attack power was so high that it seemed to possess the ability to hunt down archmages. Caesar felt that only by creating distance between them would he have a chance of escaping its claws. He quickly unleashed Death Coil, only to be greatly disappointed by the result, as the demonic leopard dodged it with incredible ease.

The magic leopard's reaction speed was too fast, rendering Caesar's spell ineffective. Faced with this result, he was somewhat bewildered. The magic leopard was an extremely patient beast, and it would not leave until it had captured its prey. The distance from the current location to the crater was at least a month's journey. Caesar now faced a difficult problem.

As for the little black snake, it was now hiding in the bushes. The difference in strength between it and the magic leopard was too great, and the magic leopard could easily kill it with one claw.

Kaisas began to release faster shadow arrows, but the magic leopard moved even faster, and it dodged all the lightning-fast shadow arrows.

Faced with this situation, Kaisas, at his wit's end, grew increasingly anxious. The demon leopard could attack him, yet he couldn't inflict the necessary damage. He slowly crouched down, grabbed the small black snake, and stuffed it into his backpack. Suddenly, an idea struck him. He grabbed a bottle of golden-eyed black snake venom and opened the cap.

The pitch-black demonic leopard's nose twitched swiftly. As it sniffed the venom permeating the air, its nimble body trembled, instantly retreating over thirty meters. Despite the distance, its shimmering eyes remained fixed fixed forward, their gaze blazing like a burning flame, as if it would never give up until its prey was within its grasp.

Kaisas knew full well that the ferocious demon leopard was terrified of poison, but he was frustrated by the fact that, despite this, it remained stubbornly stationed, showing no sign of moving. Faced with such a formidable foe, Kaisas gritted his teeth, steeled his resolve, and resolutely took the entire bottle of venom and poured it all over himself without hesitation. Instantly, a pungent odor filled the air.

After completing all this, Caesars took a deep breath and set off at a rapid pace, heading towards the southern part of the jungle. The demon leopard, watching helplessly as the delicious food that had once been within its grasp suddenly turned poisonous, widened its eyes, a look of grievance on its face, as if it had suffered a profound injustice. Seeing the delicious meal that was about to be eaten ruined beyond recognition, it growled in frustration and ultimately chose not to pursue Caesars. Instead, filled with regret, it dove into the dense grass and disappeared.

Time flew by, and over a month had passed in the blink of an eye. After enduring countless hardships, Kaisas finally set foot on familiar territory—the Ringed Mountains. His journey had been fruitful: not only had he collected numerous precious herbs, but he had also gained valuable combat experience through life-or-death battles with magical beasts. However, this adventure had also made Kaisas acutely aware of his own shortcomings. This was particularly true during his encounter with the formidable demonic leopard in the forest. Without his wit and courage, the consequences could have been disastrous. With this in mind, he secretly resolved to diligently cultivate and improve his abilities.

The venom of the Golden-Eyed Black Demonic Snake was almost exhausted. Venom was more effective than alchemical bombs against ferocious monsters.

Walking into the stone courtyard of the crater, the two Ludwigs were actually cleaning the yard. However, they only cleaned half of it, and ignored the other half because there were many cages of golden-eyed black snakes on the other side.

"Grandfather, Father, you've been with these black snakes for years. Logically, they wouldn't be spitting poison at you!"

As soon as Caesars walked into the yard, he began to tease the two of them.

"They don't seem to spray venom at us, but as soon as we get close to the wall, they will hiss continuously to warn us. We are not too scared of one or two snakes, but there are more than a hundred golden-eyed black devil snakes here. When they warn us together, it makes us feel a chill in our bones!" Old Ludwig complained.

"Kaisas, someone gave you a land deed. It was delivered half a year ago!"

As little Ludwig spoke, he took out a thick piece of magic paper from his storage ring and handed it to Caesar who looked puzzled.

"I can't believe someone would actually give me a land deed!" Caesars' eyes widened, his face filled with unconcealed astonishment. He slowly reached out and took the slightly yellowed piece of paper, which looked a little old due to the erosion of time.

A closer look revealed that it was the title deed to a house in Violet City. The house had belonged to the greedy Viscount Bruce, but sadly, he had been killed by the little black snake.

"It's a large mansion in Violet City, and there's a small castle built inside. This gift is truly extraordinary. But I don't need the deed, so you can keep it!"

Caesars spoke calmly as he unhesitatingly handed the deed to little Ludwig beside him. He suddenly noticed his grandfather and father, their eyes fixed on the deed, an indescribable interest on their faces. When they saw Caesars handing the deed over, they both laughed, their smiles seeming particularly lewd.

"Caesar, you don't even want a luxurious mansion?" Old Ludwig looked at his grandson in shock, as if he couldn't understand why he made such a decision.

Facing his grandfather's question, Caesars simply smiled and calmly replied, "Grandfather, to me, a land deed doesn't mean much. In contrast, you and father have always longed to become true nobles and live the aristocratic life you've always dreamed of. It's more appropriate for me to give this deed to you. Besides, I'm now a high-level magician, and those ordinary nobles have to bow respectfully when they see me!"

Caesars held his head high, his face brimming with confidence and pride. This deed was sent by Kaschi, simply to win him over.