Black Hearted Mage

Aided by his darkvision, Caesars trudged forward, each step proving exceedingly laborious. The rocky beach, jagged and uneven, resembled an endless maze, easily lost. He could only grope his way forward cautiously, fearing a fall or injury. The southern side of the beach proved even more difficult to navigate, its ground covered in thorns and brambles, leaving no place for him to rest.

Finally, at dawn, Caesars found a hiding place in the rubble. Deep within the rubble, surrounded by boulders, it formed a natural shelter. Caesars took refuge in this sanctuary. After a difficult night's journey, he needed a proper rest.

Meanwhile, a weary old Roman returned to the Duchess's grave. His face was grim, his eyes gleaming with anger. He had been tracking Sandro, but he had finally let him escape.

Sandro jumped into the cold river, using the water to cover his breath, making it impossible for Old Roman to continue tracking him. Since Sandro was a skeleton and did not need to breathe, Old Roman did not dare to rush into the river to chase him, and had no choice but to give up.

When Old Roman returned to the Duchess's grave, he was stunned by the sight. The dozen or so magician corpses that had been scattered across the ground had vanished, as if they had never existed. The water magic gem that had been dropped first had also vanished, as if swallowed by the earth.

However, this wasn't the thing that infuriated Old Roman the most. Even more infuriating was the fact that the off-white Soul Gem had vanished! That was the treasure he'd longed for. Furthermore, all the other magic gems, the monolith, and the magical equipment in front of the statue had vanished.

This feeling of loss was hard for Old Roman to accept. It was understandable if other things disappeared, but the disappearance of more than a dozen magician's bodies must have been secretly taken away.

The news about Sandro's appearance quickly spread throughout the Roland Continent, along with a photo of a running skeleton, which was also circulated among various major magical forces.

Caesars searched through several bodies, finding valuable items before examining their causes of death. The Archnecromancer's killing methods were somewhat bizarre. The bodies were a grayish-black color, as if they had been dead for many days. There were no external injuries, but after using magical probing, it was discovered that the bodies' internal organs were shrunken and withered.

"It's a bit like life drain, but it's definitely not it, it's more like corruption!"

Several corpses were thrown aside by Caesar, as he was unwilling to waste the undead fluid to destroy the corpses.

After dawn, the chilly atmosphere that had permeated the Duchess's cemetery gradually dissipated, and the crowd that had gathered in the distance began to disperse. Meanwhile, the soldiers of the Third Legion had completed their mission and evacuated the scene in an orderly manner.

Meanwhile, in the castle of the Duke of Barton, people were packing their bags and preparing to return to Fire Maple City. The Duchess seemed to have a deeper understanding of all this, but she remained silent, not revealing a single word to anyone.

Half a month later, after a long journey, Caesars finally arrived in Violet City. He went straight to the Thorn Flower Trading Company, where he unexpectedly ran into Phyllis.

"Ms. Phyllis, I successfully bought a lot of magic crystals. Please take them back to the crater." Caesars said happily.

In Fire Maple City, Kaisas successfully raised a considerable amount of gold coins by selling a large number of weapons and equipment, especially those precious items from the elves' warehouses. The elves did not need gold coins, so Kaisas exchanged them for magic crystals.

When boxes of magic crystals appeared before Phyllis, she couldn't help but reveal a look of surprise. You know, purchasing magic crystals is not an easy task, because this important strategic resource is strictly controlled by the major empires and kingdoms.

"Little guy, you can actually buy so many high-level magic crystals!" Phyllis exclaimed.

The magic crystals obtained from the Thorn Flower Trading Company were mostly low-grade, with only a small number of medium- and high-grade ones. These low-grade magic crystals were of limited use to the elves, as they needed to be transformed into elemental crystals through the elemental crystal array before they could be used by the elves.

"I met a man who was illegally mining magic crystals, and I bought all the magic crystals he had hoarded!"

"Why haven't I met such a bold person? Kaisas, I'm going back to the Crater first. You can come to the Thorn Flower Trading Company again tomorrow. There are still many things in the Crater warehouse!"

"Ma'am, could you give me a space ring in advance? I have several storage rings now, and it's too troublesome to transfer things back and forth. Plus, I have 80,000 kilograms of soufflés and large cheese cakes to buy this year!"

"It's just a small matter. I'll prepare another twenty elemental crystals for you. No, fifty, please. Just come over tomorrow!"

Phyllis was anxious to return to the crater, but Caesars had to hide his true identity. If he went back directly to the crater, he would likely be discovered by others. He decided to disguise himself as an ordinary customer of the Thorn Flower Shop, which would avoid being detected by many people.

After leaving the Thorn Flower Merchants, Caesars called a carriage and prepared to head outside Violet City to look for Rad. They hadn't seen each other for six or seven years.

"Go to Bano Manor outside the city!"

Rad's last name was Bano. As a nobleman without inheritance rights, he only had the right to reside and use the manor outside the city. As for whether the Bano family in Violet City was a baron or a viscount, Caesars could no longer remember.

After leaving Violet City, the carriage sped along the wide, flat road towards the city's outskirts. The road outside Violet City was straight and smooth, the land was neatly planned, and along the way, one could see many small, exquisite manors.

In the southwest of the Violet Alliance lies a vast forest, inhabited by a group of greedy and terrifying white-skinned ogres. To protect themselves and their families, the people here have built manors and surrounded them with towering walls. The gates of these manors are uniformly constructed of sturdy magic steel or iron to ward off potential threats.

The carriage slowly moved along the smooth road, and after more than a dozen miles, it finally stopped in front of a manor. This manor was not much different from other manors. The four large characters "Bano Manor" written on the gate clearly indicated its identity. Without the coachman's guidance, Caesars would have had difficulty finding this place.

Surrounding and behind the estate are vast farmlands, all of which belong to the Bano family.

Caesars got off the carriage and walked towards the closed door with a firm step. He raised his hand and gently struck the rusty bronze bell hanging by the door.

"Sir, who are you looking for?" The main door did not open, but the observation hole on the magic steel door was quietly opened, and an old man who looked to be in his sixties or seventies asked softly from behind the door.

"I'm looking for Rad!"

"Who are you please?"

"My name is Kaisas, and I'm Rad's friend in the Northland Tower!"

"Sir, please wait a moment, I will report immediately!"

As the peephole on the gate closed, the sound of hurried footsteps gradually faded away.

A few minutes later, the poorly lubricated magic steel door slowly opened with an unpleasant and harsh friction sound. Rad was wearing a gorgeous noble robe, his hair was combed sleekly, and his face was filled with a happy smile.

"Kaisas, you're finally here. Come on, let's drink and chat!"

Rad looked up and down at Caesars, who had grown a lot taller, his eyes full of joy.

"Lad, I not only brought good wine, but also delicious snacks!"

"What kind of wine is it?" Rad asked curiously.

"A bottle of golden rum that has been cellared for a hundred years!"

"This is a fine wine enjoyed exclusively by the nobles. It's not available anywhere else. I must savor it carefully!"

Rad looked like a noble lord, no longer a low-level magician, enjoying a peaceful and comfortable life. As the old man tasted the wine, he closed his eyes and looked intoxicated.

"Rad, are you no longer meditating and practicing?" Kaisas asked curiously.

"Of course I have to meditate and practice magic. I don't want to die too early. I want to live a few more years!" Rad said as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Oh? Caesars, have you been promoted to a magician?" Rad suddenly realized something and looked at the other party in surprise.

Kaisas smiled and nodded: "Yes, I successfully promoted to a low-level magician two years ago."

"Oh my God! I worked hard for nearly fifty years before I was finally promoted to a magician. And you did it in just seven or eight years!" Rad said in disbelief, his eyes wide open.

"There's nothing I can do. It's because my magic sea is smaller. You know that." Caesar shrugged helplessly, indicating that he was also innocent.

Rad nodded. Since Caesar's magic sea was small, it was easier to refill it during meditation, and cultivation was also faster. However, this was a double-edged sword. A small magic sea also meant less magic could be stored, and there would be insufficient magic power during combat.

"By the way, where did you get this gold rum? It tastes really good." Rad picked up the glass, shook it gently, took a sip and asked.

"This is from Duke Solomon. The old man's wine cellar is incredibly large, at least five or six times the size of your living room!" Caesars said with some pride.

"You dare to ask the Duke for wine?"

"The nobles of Fire Maple City rarely drink strong liquor. The Solomon family is the largest wine merchant in the Roland Empire. They brew strong liquor, but don't drink it themselves. They even keep the best quality rum in the cellar. I'll take a few barrels for my grandfather and father to drink. They have the sequelae of the black demon snake venom and need to drink strong liquor!"

Rad put down the crystal wine glass, sighed deeply and said, "This is really ironic. He doesn't drink it himself, but he wants to keep the fine wine in the wine cellar!"

Rad had a lot of emotions in his heart, but the old guy couldn't drink much. He lay on the ground after drinking less than half a bottle of rum.

The next morning, Caesars got up early to meditate. Practicing magic is like rowing against the current, if you don't move forward, you will fall behind.

"Master Caesars, Master Rad asked you to teach magic to a few students on his behalf. He has a headache and is so dizzy that he can't open his eyes!"

Just as Caesar finished his meditation, Rad's loyal butler came. He knew that he couldn't disturb Caesar's meditation, so he waited outside.

"Rad is accepting students? How many students?"

Caesars was not surprised that Rad accepted students. This was his way of making a living and a way to earn gold coins.

"There are five students in total, and they have all arrived at the manor!"

"Lead the way!"

Caesars wondered what kind of students Rad had accepted, wondering if his old friend had a discerning eye. After all, if Rad only valued his students' wealth and ignored their talent, his livelihood would be difficult to sustain for long.

Inside the study at Barnes Manor, five students of varying ages had been waiting for a while. The study was furnished in a formal manner, complete with a desk, bookshelves, sofa, coffee table, and carpet, creating a solemn yet comfortable study atmosphere.

Among Rad's five students, there were three boys and two girls. The oldest looked older than Caesars, around seventeen or eighteen, while the youngest was only about ten. Judging by their attire, it was clear they were all from wealthy families.

After careful observation, Caesars realized that Rad had some foresight. These five students all displayed some magical talent. As long as they worked hard, becoming advanced magic apprentices wouldn't be difficult.

Kaisas smiled and introduced himself. "Hello everyone, I'm Kaisas, Rad's friend in the Northland Tower. Do you have a notebook? I'd like to know where to start the lecture."

Caesars sat on the sofa, and several of Rad's students were shocked. They initially thought that Caesars was a new student.

"Yesterday we talked about the magic theory of the magic ball, and today we're going to demonstrate the magic ball!"

A little girl about ten years old, she answered Caesar's question directly without looking through her magic notes.

"It's time to demonstrate the magic ball! How long have you been studying magic?"

“Two years”

"I'm three years old!"

"I only have a year and a half!"

After hearing the answers from several people, Caesars roughly guessed Rad's dilemma. He did not accept students at the same time, but had to teach them together.

"Magic theory isn't important; what's important is how to use the spells. Magic Ball and Fireball are universal spells. Once you've learned Magic Ball, learning Fireball will be much easier!"

According to the theory of magic balls, Kaisas taught step by step the transmission of magic power and the specific steps of spell formation. He explained it in great detail, focusing on the formation of spells.

When Caesars first learned magic, he knew the theory in detail, but he had to figure out the steps to form the spell himself. So he knew the difficulty of learning magic was in the stage of spell formation.