Black Hearted Mage

After enduring a long and boring day, night finally arrived.

Kaisas emerged from his hiding place, quietly waiting for the light curtain to appear. Those damned magicians hadn't left, preventing him from leaving this place. He eagerly hoped to return to the Roland Alliance as soon as possible and deliver the magic crystal belonging to the crater to the Thorn Flower Trading Company.

In the darkness of the night, the light curtain appeared as usual. However, the third condition displayed by the light curtain shocked and surprised Caesars.

The third condition: Kill a close friend or relative.

The people who remained around the cemetery looked at each other warily, their eyes filled with suspicion and uneasiness. The conditions this time made them feel an unprecedented danger.

"Let's go, we have to get out of here now!"

Kandel, the Grand Alchemist of the Northern Tower, felt a surge of unease upon seeing the third condition. This condition filled him with immense shock and fear, like a bolt from the blue, completely shattering his once resolute resolve. He knew full well that this was a life-or-death decision, and the timeline was breathtakingly tight.

He walked back without hesitation, his steps heavy and rapid, each one brimming with determination. His eyes were fixed on the front, not daring to pause for a moment, fearing he would be consumed by the endless terror. His heart pounded like a drum, his breathing was rapid, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead. He knew that if he didn't leave now, he might never have the chance to leave again.

"Leave here immediately! The treasures here are hard to come by. If we're not careful, the Northland Tower will disappear today!"

Tower Master Ethan glanced at the monolith. The myriad magical gems upon it were indeed enticing, gleaming with a mysterious light, as if proclaiming their preciousness and power. However, Ethan knew full well that obtaining these treasures would be no easy task, and might even come at a terrible price. Because, according to the third condition, anyone within the North Tower who wished to take the precious treasures would first have to kill each other.

"Let's go, come back and have a look in a few days!"

Joanna also vaguely felt that the third condition was extremely dangerous. If internecine violence broke out, it could easily destroy even a single faction. A hint of worry flashed in his eyes, his brow furrowed, as if he were pondering something important. He knew that now was not the time to be greedy, but rather to remain calm and rational.

"You three go first and take the Northern Guards with you. I'll stay and see what happens!" Old Roman said in a deep voice.

He was the oldest and had an immense desire for the Life Stone, having already made up his mind. No matter who got the Life Stone, he would grab it without hesitation.

Upon hearing this, the three great magicians in the Northland Tower immediately turned and left without hesitation. They were worried that Old Roman would lose control of his desires and might attack them at any time.

During this time, a steady stream of magicians left, and everyone could see the danger of the third condition. The remaining magicians were eventually met with fierce fighting, and the number of magicians who met the conditions in the light curtain was rapidly decreasing.

Caesars stood high above, telescope in hand, quietly observing the fight between the magicians. He also noticed the solitary old Roman. By this time, most of the magicians had already left, leaving only a hundred or so mages and a few scattered mercenaries in the distance.

"The magician actually launched a sneak attack like an assassin!"

Caesar looked at everything happening in front of him in some surprise, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

The fight between the magicians was not interesting at all. It was basically over in just a moment, and only a dozen spots were left on the light curtain.

However, at this moment, the vast curtain of light suddenly underwent an unexpected change. It began to fade, and soon vanished completely. At the same time, a magical gem embedded in the monolith fell away without warning, gently falling to the ground and rolling all the way out of the cemetery's boundaries.

This sudden change surprised and confused everyone.

"Why is there only one magic gem? And it's a water gem!" A magician couldn't help but complain loudly.

He had originally thought there would be many more magic gems for them to choose from, but now there was only this one left. What's worse, it was a water gem. Although this water magic gem might be of good quality, its value among magical materials was far inferior to that of other magic gems, so it would be difficult to sell it for a high price.

Just as everyone was whispering, someone suddenly noticed some new words appearing beneath the giant stone tablet. It turned out there was an extra line of text: "Only the final winner is entitled to choose any gem!"

This sentence instantly attracted everyone's attention, and they realized that the game was not over yet and the real challenge had just begun.

There is no need to explain too much about the so-called final winner. He is the one who kills other people who have met the conditions.

When a magician stepped forward to pick up the magic gem, someone suddenly attacked him from behind. This attacker also became the target of others.

The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. In the dead of night, this fight, even more thrilling than the previous one, unfolded.

Caesars watched from the side, his heart trembling, because the light curtain suddenly disappeared, he didn't know why. He noticed a detail - old Roman was standing far away. This old man was not the kind of person who gave up easily, so Caesars guessed that he would definitely take action.

Among the dozen or so mages, one cloaked wizard caught Caesar's attention. His attacks were incredibly ruthless, and his display of strength was truly astonishing. It turned out this wizard had previously concealed his true strength, only now revealing it. For others, he only needed to cast one or two spells to easily resolve the battle.

Within a few minutes, the last person who met the requirements was finally chosen. However, this person's strength was incredibly formidable. Not only was he ruthless towards the other competitors, but he also acted with extreme caution. After his success, he didn't rush to select a magic gem or magical equipment. Instead, he turned and looked at Old Roman, who was waiting in the distance for an opportunity.

"Hey, old Roman, do you want to fight with me too?" he asked with a provocative smile.

"Sandro, I didn't expect it to be you. I won't fight you now. Wait until you get the gem!"

The mysterious magician was wearing a cloak, but old Roman still guessed his identity.

"Hey, I won't choose the Life Gem. It's of no use to me!"

Sandro, wearing a black cloak and a soft leather mask, smiled sinisterly at Old Roman. He walked up to the giant stone and pointed at the gray-white magic gem.

"I choose the Soul Stone!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the cloaked Sandro turned his head to look at the stone tablet. He saw that the off-white Soul Gem had reacted, and a faint light flashed on the surface of the gem. Without any warning, the off-white Soul Gem fell from the stone tablet.

There was a clear and loud "ding" sound, like the sound of metal colliding with each other.

After the Soul Gem fell, it didn't roll far away, nor did it even roll a few times on the ground. It landed under the stone tablet, less than three feet away from the giant stone tablet.

"Damn it, how could this happen?"

Sandro's hoarse voice revealed his restlessness. The gem fell within the death boundary of the cemetery, and he didn't dare to go in to retrieve it.

"Sandro, look, someone is playing a huge joke on you. No, you are the biggest joke!"

Old Roman, clad in a gray wizard's robe and clutching a staff, watched the excitement with a certain gloating glee. Everything was a little different from what he'd expected, but not too far off. Historical records indicate that the Ludwig School of Magic was extremely hostile to necromancers.

Sandro was using a universal spell, the Mage's Hand. When a hand condensed from magic power reached into the cemetery, the Mage's Hand immediately disintegrated, breaking down into free magic power that was absorbed by the monolith.

Sandro was well aware of the dangers in the cemetery, and when his magic didn't work, he thought of another way. Sandro ran off into the distance, searching for something in the abandoned camp.

Old Roman didn't leave, he stood not far away and watched without hesitation. Caesars was watching from a distance with a telescope, he wanted to see what the necromancer looked like.

After a while, Sandro came over with a rope with a hard leather bag tied to one end. He threw the rope towards the stone tablet with force.

The first throw missed, the rope darting four or five feet off the monolith. The necromancer immediately reeled in the rope and tried again. This time, he used too much force, and the rope struck the monolith directly.

A strange scene appeared. The moment the rope hit the stone tablet, it was immediately broken into pieces.

The life gem embedded in the stone tablet suddenly erupted with an intense green light, exuding a rich breath of life. Sandro, the instigator, was horrified. He turned and quickly cast the Flash spell to escape.

However, just as the Necromancer landed and was about to continue running, a green light full of life shot out from the Life Gem and hit Sandro, who was wearing a cloak.

A terrifying scene appeared. Sandro's clothes seemed to be disintegrated and fell off piece by piece. The cloak, mask, and magic robe quickly disappeared from him.

This sudden change caught Sandro off guard, and his previously hidden face was exposed. It was a pale and gloomy face, and his sunken eyes revealed fear and despair.

As his clothes fell off, Sandro's body began to tremble, as if in great pain. He tried to struggle, but he was unable to resist the powerful force.

The green light gradually dissipated, leaving behind a naked Sandro, who became weak and collapsed to the ground. No one had expected that the Life Gem would have such a magical and terrifying power.

Caesars watched carefully through the telescope, and an even more horrifying scene appeared. Sandro's skin began to dry up and crack, like rotten bark, and began to fall off.

Old Roman, who was not far away, was also a little overwhelmed by the situation. It was the first time for him to encounter such a strange thing.

Sandro looked extremely painful. He rolled around on the ground, and more and more things fell off his body, including dry skin, rotten flesh, and even blackened and hardened pieces of internal organs.

In less than half an hour, the great necromancer Sandro was lifeless, leaving only a pale skeleton on the ground. Old Roman, who had been standing still, slowly walked towards the skeleton.

The pitch-black stone tablet emitted a slight high-frequency vibration, and the ground around the cemetery began to roll in waves, pushing all the debris away.

Old Roman looked at the giant stone tablet with some confusion. It seemed as if this thing had life and could sense the surrounding environment.

At this moment, the skeleton on the ground suddenly stood up and fled into the distance. The loss of flesh and blood greatly increased its agility, and the skeleton escaped at an extremely fast speed.

Old Roman heard the noise and turned quickly. Sandro, reduced to a skeleton, was already over thirty yards away. He immediately gave chase. His goal was clear: Sandro's life or death was of little concern; he wanted the other man's storage ring.

A running skeleton scared the people watching from a distance and made them run around wildly.

As the cemetery became less and less crowded, Caesars decided to leave. Hiding in the cracks between the boulders, lying or sprawled all day, he found this life oppressive and boring. He decided to leave and seek new adventures and excitement.

Caesars donned an elven transmogrifier mask, which made him look like a middle-aged magician. He then donned the Frost Crown Badge, a barrier to passing through the Duchess's cemetery. Finally, he picked up his staff and hurried off the rocky beach.

The only exit from the Duchess's tomb was to the south, and the other three sides were surrounded by sandstone boulders dozens of meters high. Caesars quickly ran to the side of the monolith and glanced south. He saw a shiny object not far away.

That was the storage ring that Sandro dropped. When his flesh and blood fell off, the storage ring also fell off.

The monolith slowly descended, and the emerald green Life Gem fell. Caesars picked up the Soul Gem and Life Gem and ran back to the storage ring. He knew time was running out. Old Roman would be back soon, and the old man would die just to see the Life Gem.

After obtaining Sandro's storage ring, he also collected the bodies of more than a dozen magicians. He did not have extra time to search for things and had to escape quickly in the dark.

After leaving the Duchess's cemetery, Caesars headed east along the Frostwind Mountains, as the other two directions were unsafe. To the west lay the Roland Empire's Third Legion, while to the south lay not only the Third Legion but also the remaining magicians and old Roman, who would soon return.