Black Hearted Mage

The morning sun streamed into the room through the window. Caesars had already opened his eyes and sat up in bed, refreshed. He quickly dressed and went to the kitchen. He expertly opened the oven, placed the dough he had prepared the previous night in it, and then quietly waited for the bread to bake until golden and crispy.

On the other side of the stone house, his father and grandfather were still immersed in a comfortable dream. Since moving into the comfortable stone house, they had become accustomed to the soft beds and the aristocratic lifestyle. Now, they would wait until the sun rose high before lazily getting out of bed every day.

Caesars busied himself in the kitchen, occasionally glancing out the window at the courtyard. That was the territory of the golden-eyed black demon snakes. These mysterious and dangerous creatures did not welcome anyone near. If anyone approached the courtyard wall, they would immediately rear up and hiss in warning. If anyone came any closer, they would even spray deadly venom.

With the exception of Caesars, his grandfather and father were simply unable to feed these venomous snakes.

After finishing the baking of breakfast, Caesars brought out the steaming bread and placed it on the table, ready to enjoy the fruits of his hard work. While eating breakfast, he thought about his next arrangements.

After breakfast, Caesars would meditate for two hours. He would sit by the window, close his eyes, and focus on exploring his inner world. Through meditation, he would strengthen his magical powers and resonate with the elements of his surroundings.

In the afternoons, Caesars would head to the Magic Tower, where he could find a collection of precious books, allowing him to uncover more historical truths. He also read the magical battle photos left behind by his ancestors, which he would review daily, each time becoming mesmerized and captivated.

Over the past three months, Kaisas had made some surprising discoveries. Despite the scorching heat of summer outside, the temperature within the crater remained at a pleasant springtime level, neither freezing nor scorching. This made Kaisas feel incredibly comfortable here, as if time had stood still.

Over time, Caesars gradually became familiar with the Kingdom of the Thornflower. Though small, with only a little over ten thousand elves residing, hundreds of villains perished every year outside the crater. The elves' method of treating these corpses was simple and direct: they dug large pits at the base of the blackthorns and dumped the bodies there, allowing them to become nutrients for the magical plants. This method not only solved the problem of corpse disposal but also provided nutrients for the magical plants, killing two birds with one stone.

When he thought of blackthorn, Caesars recalled its elegant, refreshing fragrance. Blackthorn can also be found in the crater. When it blooms, its thorny vines are covered with small blue flowers. The blue flowers are only the size of walnuts and bloom for a very short time, only about five or six days.

When picking blackthorn flowers, you can see many elves busy at work. They speak a language that Caesars can't understand at all, but they are friendly to newcomers and even give Caesars some thorn flowers.

To the east of the crater is a field where wheat grows abundantly. To the west of the crater is a training ground where the elves practice martial arts and magic.

Most of the elves in the crater are nature elves and arcane elves, and there are not many elemental elves.

"Kaisas, these two bottles of potion can cure your grandfather and father. Their lungs have been damaged for too long. It will take more than half a year for them to recover after drinking the potion!"

Lady Phyllis, clad in black leather armor, arrived, bringing two precious healing potions. Phyllis was very old, appearing to be over five thousand years old, but among elves, she was only a young adult.

"Ma'am, thank you so much!" Caesars quickly put away the potion and expressed his gratitude to Phyllis.

"You're welcome. I'll take you to the Serpent Cave in a few days. It's a relic left behind by a demonic invasion. The demons left some things there, and Lord Raven weakened them to use as a training ground for the elves. The dark elements there are so dense that they're visible to the naked eye. The black demon snakes have used it as their lair!"

"Just looking at the ruins, not going in?"

"Well, the big red snake is too powerful. Even the magicians can't deal with it. The three old guys in the magic tower can't take action, otherwise the trial will lose its meaning!"

"What is a mage?"

This was the first time Caesar heard this word, and it made him feel a little curious.

"One level above Grand Mage, very powerful anyway. Little one, you've seen Lord Raven's battle footage, so you should learn more about his spellcasting techniques. I forgot, you can only learn once you're a low-level mage. Meditate well, I have a delivery to Violet City today!"

Phyllis, clad in jet-black leather armor, hurried along. At this point, she hadn't yet become a Shadow Dancer, but rather a Spellbreaker, a class specialized in countering magicians. A Shadow Dancer, on the other hand, was a Spellbreaker's most powerful form, possessing terrifying strength, capable of easily dispatching twenty high-ranking warriors at once.

An impulse surged in Kaisas' heart, wanting to leave the crater to take a look, but the elves ruthlessly rejected him. Their reason was very direct: he was too weak, and if he left the crater, he would definitely be easily captured by the enemy.

Beyond the far reaches of the crater, other factions had already set up ambushes. Especially to the east, numerous spies lurked. These hidden individuals were precisely the targets Shadow Leopard regularly dispatched to eliminate.

The Shadow Leopards of the Endless Forest are a formidable, high-level magical beast. They possess an innate stealth ability, allowing them to move silently at any time and in any place. Whether day or night, shadows can make them difficult to detect, even in plain sight. This unique gift makes the Shadow Leopard one of the dominant creatures of the forest.

After concluding his meditation, Caesars began feeding the black magic snakes the magic rabbits. The golden-eyed black magic snakes here were even more robust than the ones in the northern tower, nearly a foot in diameter and nearly ten meters long. Their bodies were covered in a layer of tough black scales, and their eyes were golden, gleaming with a mysterious light. They were highly territorial and aggressive, but when faced with Caesars, they behaved remarkably docilely, as if they knew he was their master.

Kaisas dropped each plump magic rabbit into the large magic steel cage and waited quietly for the black magic snake to finish its meal. He needed to clean the cage and keep the environment tidy. As the courtyard gate closed, the door to the stone house also closed tightly.

"I'm going to clean up the black snake's excrement, don't come out!"

Caesars walked to the window, banged on it, and shouted. Hearing his cry, the father and son, who had been lying in bed, quickly got up and came to the window in their pajamas. They lay by the window, anticipating what would happen next.

Every few days, Kaisas would clean the cage, and this process was one of Ludwig and his son's favorite things to watch. However, every time they saw the huge black snake being released from the cage, their legs would go weak and their whole bodies would tremble.

The cage of the ordinary black snake was cleared first. After the iron cage was opened, a black snake as thick as an arm swam out. When it passed by Caesar, it deliberately swam over his small boots.

"Get out of here! Don't disturb Master Caesars from working. Otherwise, I'll skin you alive and eat your flesh!"

With a slight push of his calf, Caesars kicked the black snake off his boot. He then donned leather gloves, picked up his tools, and entered the large iron cage. The black snake followed Caesars into the cage, but it didn't attack him. Instead, it wrapped itself around his leg. Caesars could only clear the debris while pushing the snake away.

The debris was quickly cleared, and Caesars walked out of the cage and closed the door. He then moved on to the next large cage. The two men in the window watched Caesars's actions, their hearts trembling with shock. They whispered to each other.

"Father, this kid can kick the black snakes without any problem, but they hiss non-stop when we get close to the cage. What's going on?"

Little Ludwig was afraid when he saw the black snake, especially when he saw Caesars kicking the snake, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Don't ask me. If I had known, I wouldn't have been lying by the window. But then again, it's still more exciting to see the golden-eyed black devil snake. There are actually such big devil snakes here. I feel weak all over when I see them. I don't know how those people caught the snakes?" Old Ludwig replied with lingering fear.

The cage of the golden-eyed black magic snake was opened, and a sturdy figure slowly swam out, its pitch-black tongue constantly stretching and retracting, sniffing the scent coming from Caesars' body.

"Damn it! Don't get your saliva on Master Caesar's clothes. These are noble robes!"

A small, gloved hand slapped the triangular snake's head vigorously. The father and son, crouching by the window, shuddered at the sight. A black demon snake this size could easily swallow two adults.

The performance of the golden-eyed black snake was surprising. It seemed to enjoy being beaten.

An hour later, Caesars's cleanup was complete, and he was sweating profusely. He took off his robe, sprawled out on the recliner, and drank a glass of juice with crushed ice. His clothes clung to his skin, making him feel uncomfortable.

"Kaisas, how dare you hit the black snakes? Aren't you afraid they will eat you?"

Ludwig and his son had already changed into robes and came to the yard with bread. They saw clearly that every golden-eyed black snake had been beaten.

"What's the use of being afraid? You can't get close to them. They always lick me with their tongues, making their saliva all over my clothes. My little robe needs to be washed again!"

Caesars looked at his father and grandfather, his eyes filled with concern. Since arriving in the crater, their skin had become noticeably whiter, and they seemed to have gained weight. He pulled two bottles of potion from his pocket and handed them to them.

"This potion can cure your cough, but it will take about a year to fully recover." Caesar said softly.

"Really?" Ludwig and his son asked anxiously with hope in their eyes.

"Of course it's true! But don't fight over it. This potion is very precious. If you accidentally break it, you will never have the chance to drink it again!" Caesar warned seriously.

Upon hearing this, Ludwig and his son immediately put down their bread and eagerly grabbed the potion. They had been suffering from a cough, a side effect of the black snake's venom, for years. Every cold winter brought them terror. A coughing fit would cause them to break out in sweat and become weak. In severe cases, even coughing became impossible, leaving them sleepless. This agony had been so agonizing, and now, with the promise of a cure, how could they not be thrilled?

"At such an old age, you're still fighting over things. There are only two bottles of potion, one for each person!"

Caesars looked at the two men and shook his head, then distributed the potion to them.

"Kaisas, is this potion precious?"

"Even if I sell you two, I still can't afford these two bottles of potion. I'm going to go to the forest to take a hot spring bath and wash my clothes. Take your time eating and drinking!"

Caesars picked up the half-new, half-worn robe and slowly walked toward the courtyard entrance. Not far ahead, in the forest, nestled between several huge, ancient trees, lay two moderately sized hot spring pools. One had a higher temperature, while the other was relatively cooler.

Normally, Kaesus could only bathe in the hot springs during the day, as at night they became the exclusive domain of the female elves. He followed the white pebbled path until he finally reached the hot springs. He encountered no signs of elves along the way. After carefully observing his surroundings, he quickly shed his clothes and plunged into the warm waters.

Meanwhile, in the far east of the Roland Continent lies the capital of the Saint Roland Empire, White Stone City. Recently, a series of shocking assassinations have occurred in this city. These assassinations, using a variety of methods, have all been committed by members of the Holy Church.

In the church's temple, faced with this series of bizarre assassinations, the elderly Pope felt anxious and somewhat at a loss.

"How many people died last night? Fifty thousand paladins defending the faith were rendered useless. They couldn't even find the shadow of the assassin!"

"Your Holiness, over three hundred paladins died yesterday, and there's still no sign of the assassin. The assassin used a highly toxic alchemical bomb, which kills anyone with even a tiny bit of it on the skin. The antidote concocted by the Grand Alchemist is completely useless against this potent poison!"

The Lord of the Knights' Hall replied in a low voice that these assassins were lurking in White Stone City. They were very familiar with the arrangements of the church and would only carry out assassinations late at night.

"Depero, you are well-informed and knowledgeable. Who is the most powerful alchemist on the Roland Continent?"

The low-key Depero wanted to stay away from the conflict, but even hiding in the library tower was unable to achieve his wish. The Holy Church entered a turbulent period, and it realized that it would be drawn into this vortex.