Black Hearted Mage

Arcane energy trickled down like a stream, nourishing Caesar's body bit by bit. This mysterious and powerful force, as if it had life, flowed along his meridians, gradually permeating every corner of his body.

As the arcane energy continued to nourish him, the arcane elf bloodline in Kaisas was fully awakened. The unfamiliarity and awkwardness he once felt with arcane energy vanished at that moment, replaced by an innate affinity.

His Demon Sea expanded naturally, painlessly, like a lake in a spring breeze. This expansion was easier and smoother than ever before, and the Demon Sea's capacity increased by approximately 20%.

It is worth noting that these arcane energies did not enter the Demon Sea through the infusion array as usual, but passed through the golden scales on Caesar's body and slowly poured into it like a gurgling stream.

Time slipped by unnoticed. A few days later, when the arcane energy finally accumulated to a critical point, Caesar's body spontaneously transformed. His magic erupted like a volcano, instantly gushing out and enveloping him in a dazzling purple light.

However, unlike the sudden enlightenment and realization that other magicians experienced upon their advancement, Caesar's advancement process was remarkably calm, as if it were all a natural progression. He didn't even feel any resistance or difficulty; advancement was as easy for him as eating and drinking.

As the light gradually faded, Kaesas found that he had successfully been promoted to a mage. His magic sea became wider and deeper, and the arcane energy contained in it was more powerful than before.

At this point, only a little over a hundred arcane crystals had accumulated at the edge of the arcane energy pool, and the arcane energy within the pool was a bit shallower than before. Caesars casually collected these arcane crystals and walked out of the stone chamber containing the magic pool to the small reception room on the third floor of the magic tower.

The three old elves had been waiting anxiously outside. When they saw Kaesus come out, they immediately gathered around him. Kaesus asked with concern, "Kaesus, have you been promoted? Why didn't the Arcane Tide appear?"

Old Ethan stared at Caesar with suspicion, thinking to himself, "This kid's magical fluctuations have clearly reached the level of a mage, but why is his promotion process so smooth?"

Facing Old Ethan's questioning, Caesars seemed a little uneasy. He hurriedly explained, "Three elders, I really don't know! Just now, I suddenly felt a powerful magical power surging out of the Magic Sea, and then I naturally promoted. As you know, the Arcane Infusion Array has stopped working, so I think it must be these scales that absorbed the arcane energy, which led to my sudden promotion."

As he spoke, Caesars quickly rolled up the sleeves of his magic robe, revealing the golden scales on his arms. These scales shimmered faintly, though not as brightly as they had a few days ago. Caesars felt an unbearable itch all over his body, as if countless tiny insects were crawling on him. He knew the scales were about to fall off.

Seeing this, Old Ethan frowned slightly. He said thoughtfully, "Kaesus, now that you have been promoted to a mage, you must pay more attention to controlling your own magic power. Also, you must be more restrained in the use of arcane crystals. After all, our resources are limited. From now on, I will give you fifty arcane crystals every month. You must use them sparingly!"

Kaisas nodded repeatedly, feeling relieved and said, "Okay, Elder, I understand. I will definitely use the arcane crystals wisely and will not waste them."

Kaisas was eager to leave this place as soon as possible. After all, being examined by the old elves with all kinds of strange instruments was not a pleasant experience. He hurried out of the magic tower, fearing that the three old elves would change their minds.

Since the Thorn Flower Trading Company currently had no idle carriages available, and the carriages in the ring mountain were being repaired, Caesars had no choice but to walk back to Violet City.

Fortunately, there was a short-distance teleportation array used by the elven guards, which allowed him to quickly reach the top of the crater.

While this crater isn't particularly majestic, and pales in comparison to the towering Yellowstone Mountains, it has its own unique features. The crater is only about 500 meters high, yet it rises from the plain like a massive wall, perpendicular to the ground.

Not only that, all the growing trees within a few miles around the crater were cleared away, so that the elven archers could have an unobstructed view of anyone who tried to peek.

Standing on the top of the mountain, feeling the not-so-strong west wind, Caesars first cast a magical shield on himself to ward off any possible attacks. He then cast the magic armor spell to further enhance his protective abilities.

After completing these preparations, Caesars cast the Levitation and Feather Fall spells, then leaped down the cliff without hesitation. Then, his pitch-black elemental wings unfolded, carrying him swiftly into the sky, like a nighthawk soaring through the sky.

After using the Levitation and Feather Fall spells, Kaisas felt as if he had become incredibly light, floating in the air like a feather. His body weight had been significantly reduced, which significantly reduced the magic power consumption of the Elemental Wings, even reducing it by more than half.

After more than ten minutes of high-speed flight, Caesars finally spotted Violet City in the distance. The city, like a dazzling pearl, nestled in the vast landscape, radiated a captivating brilliance. A surge of excitement welled up in Caesars' heart, and he couldn't wait to return to this familiar city.

However, he didn't rush directly to Violet City. Instead, he retracted his elemental wings. This allowed him to continue gliding forward using levitation, while also further conserving his mana. He roughly estimated that at his current speed and mana consumption, reaching Violet City would only take about a third of the usual time.

A few minutes later, Caesars was nearing the edge of Violet City. He deftly controlled his levitation and glided toward a mansion in the city. This mansion was his home. Though small, it was filled with warmth and tranquility.

Finally, Caesars landed smoothly in his backyard. He landed gently, feeling the familiar ground beneath his feet, and the joy in his heart was beyond words.

In front of the small stone house where Caesars lived, a short, dark red-haired puppy lay on the lawn, belly up, sound asleep, snoring softly from time to time. A smile played on Caesars's face. He fished a piece of dried meat from his pocket and gently tossed it onto the lawn.

He knew that with the fat dog's keen sense of smell, it would soon be awakened by the aroma of food. Sure enough, not long after, the puppy's nose began to twitch, as if it had smelled something delicious. It suddenly opened its eyes, then rolled over and stood up, staggering towards the jerky.

"You idiot, you stole a lot of golden ginseng in the crater, and Master Caesars has to pay you back!"

Kaisas glared at the greedy puppy with a face full of anger, cursing non-stop. The guy was simply a foodie, with only food in his eyes. Half asleep and half awake, he staggered off to find some dried meat, completely ignoring Kaisas standing beside him.

After finally finding the dried meat, the puppy eagerly began to devour it, making a "crunching" sound. Finally, between bites, its small red eyes caught sight of Caesars. Then, seemingly realizing its owner had returned, it quickly stopped chewing, its stubby tail erect like a flagpole, wagging cheerfully as if to greet Caesars.

Just as Caesar was about to teach the heartless puppy a lesson, a little girl in a flowery dress suddenly came running out of the Bano family's backyard. Caesar took a closer look and immediately recognized her as his sister, Emily. However, to his surprise, Emily had grown considerably taller.

"Emily, you've almost grown up!" Caesars said in surprise, and at the same time, he couldn't help but sigh at how time flies. He touched Emily's head and asked with a smile: "By the way, how long have I been away from here?"

Emily looked up at Caesars, her large eyes gleaming with excitement. She replied crisply, "Brother, you've been gone for almost five years!"

Hearing that he had been away for nearly five years, Kaisas' heart suddenly tightened, as if being tightly grasped by an invisible hand. He could not believe that he had been unconscious for so long in the arcane infusion array.

"Emily, I have a very precious treasure to give you, but you must promise me that you will never let anyone know about this!" Caesar said to Emily with a serious face.

"What treasure?" The little girl's eyes suddenly lit up, her face full of anticipation and joy, and she asked anxiously.

The corners of Caesar's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a mysterious smile. He slowly raised his left hand and took off a magic bracelet from his wrist.

"This is a real treasure!" Caesars gently shook the magic bracelet in his hand and continued, "This is a magic protection bracelet. As long as a high-level magic crystal is filled in the inner wall, when it is attacked, it will automatically activate a powerful magic shield. The protection strength of this magic shield is equivalent to that of a great magician!"

Emily stared at the magic bracelet in Caesar's hand with wide eyes, her face full of disbelief. She carefully took the bracelet and examined it carefully, as if she was holding a rare treasure.

"Then...how many times can a high-level magic crystal be used?" Emily raised her head and asked Kaisas.

"It can probably be used about ten times." Caesars thought for a moment and replied.

After hearing this, Emily quickly handed the magic bracelet back to Caesars and said, "Brother, you should keep this magic bracelet for yourself! I don't go out, so I don't need it at all."

"Emily, take it, I have another one!"

Looking at Emily's reluctant expression, Caesars lifted the sleeve of his right arm, revealing the other protective bracelet.

"I don't have a storage ring yet!" Emily said a little embarrassedly.

"I'll give you a high-level storage ring. You can open it with your magic power. I'll also give you two hundred high-level magic crystals!"

Caesars searched his pockets and pulled out a storage ring. While searching his space ring, he discovered he still had 30,000 or 40,000 Dark Magic Crystals, but only a few hundred attributeless Magic Crystals. He had advanced to Mage in the Arcane Arts, but remained at Grand Mage in the Dark Elemental Arts.

"Emily, has Rodman come to see me?"

Kaisas put two hundred magic crystals into the storage ring and asked Emily.

"Rodman came once and tied a storage ring to the fat dog's neck with a metal wire!"

After hearing Emily's answer, Caesars handed her the storage ring and then his eyes fell on the puppy lying beside him. The puppy looked very fat, with a rope made of woven metal filaments tied around its neck. The rope was obviously worn, as if it had experienced many storms.

Kaisas looked closer with curiosity and found that the string was actually an old bowstring from a magic bow! He carefully removed the metal string and found a small storage ring on it.

He opened the storage ring, expecting it to contain some precious magic crystals. However, to his surprise, it was filled with boxes of gold coins, without even a single magic crystal.

Kaisas frowned, looked at Emily in confusion, and asked, "Emily, you are now a senior magic apprentice, right?"

Emily waved her hands happily and answered excitedly, "Not yet. I'm only an intermediate apprentice now, but I'll be able to become a senior magic apprentice soon!"

Kaisas smiled slightly and comforted him, "Don't worry, you'll be promoted soon with your hard work. Come on, I'll take you to buy magic crystals. With my magic badge, you can buy 500 intermediate magic crystals at a low price at the Mage Alliance."

Emily's eyes lit up, but then she said a little frustratedly: "Brother, I don't have that many gold coins!"

Kaisas smiled and patted her shoulder, comforting her: "It's okay, I will give you a box of gold coins, you can keep it to buy magic crystals in the future."

As he spoke, he took out a whole box of gold coins from his storage ring and handed it to Emily. The little girl's face flushed with excitement. She had received so many gifts today, and they were all very valuable.