Black Hearted Mage

Half a day later, the sun gradually set, stretching Caesar's figure outward. He finally dragged his weary steps back to the familiar crater. However, the moment he stepped through the gate, the scene before him left him dumbfounded. The once spacious and bustling courtyard was now empty. The tables, chairs, and benches that once filled the courtyard had completely vanished, as if they had never existed.

Caesars couldn't help but frown, secretly feeling annoyed. How could he have so easily given the storage ring to his grandfather and father? Those two old guys must have stuffed everything into it, which led to the current situation.

At this moment, old Ludwig's hearty voice came from inside the house: "Caesar, come quickly, the freshly roasted magic rabbit is waiting for you!" Hearing his grandfather's call, Caesar temporarily put aside his worries and walked quickly into the house.

Inside, Old Ludwig and Little Ludwig sat around the table, devouring a delicious roasted magic rabbit. Beside each of them sat a bottle of rich, fragrant dark rum. Besides the food before them, there was also a whole, enticingly colorful and fragrant roasted magic rabbit specially prepared for Caesars.

Seeing this, Caesars hurried forward and sat down, then said, "Grandfather, Father, I have something I want to ask you!"

At this moment, old Ludwig raised his head, a smile breaking out on his old face, which had become red from drinking. He replied generously, "Just say it straight if you have something to say. We are family, there's no need to be so hesitant!"

Little Ludwig beside him also nodded in agreement.

After receiving the encouragement, Caesars took a deep breath and said slowly: "I remember... I think I have an uncle, right?"

Upon hearing this, Old Ludwig put down his wine glass, nodded, and replied, "Indeed, your uncle's name is Jack. He used to be a mercenary. However, his family lives quite far from Blackrock City. He was injured in the leg in Blackrock Mountain and happened to meet your father and me. We were the ones who carried him out!"

Old Ludwig recounted the events of the past, and it could be summed up in one word: miserable. Old Ludwig's family was miserable. The Black Demon Snake failed to bring him wealth, but took away the lives of his family.

Jack's fate was tragic. A leg injury had completely disabled his ability to walk, and this harsh reality led to his ruthless abandonment by his mercenary team. The other mercenaries in the team couldn't be blamed for this. After all, each of them shouldered the burden of supporting their families, and the time they had to venture into Blackrock Mountain to search for herbs and minerals was extremely limited. Therefore, faced with the pressure of survival, they decisively abandoned Jack, who was seriously injured and unable to keep up with the team, in order to race against time to search for those precious resources.

"Is Jack no longer alive? Come to think of it, I never seem to have seen him in person!" Caesars muttered to himself, filled with doubt. Deep in his still tender memories, it seemed as if he could not find any trace of his uncle's figure, voice, or smile.

However, Old Ludwig, standing by, quickly retorted, "Don't talk nonsense, you idiot! Jack stopped being a mercenary and became a guard for a minor noble. While he earns less gold than before, it's a relatively stable income. Not only that, he even married and has children. I heard his wife was a maid in that minor noble's house."

As old Ludwig narrated in vivid detail, Caesars gradually learned that Jack was originally an ordinary civilian outside the Fire Maple City. Unfortunately, he lost his own land and had no choice but to become a mercenary who traveled around for adventure.

It was because of this life-saving grace that Caesar's mother chose to marry little Ludwig. However, fate did not seem to favor this kind woman. Her married life was not as happy as she had hoped, but was instead filled with suffering and hardship.

On a stormy night, misfortune struck - when she was feeding the black snakes, one of them escaped from the severely rusted iron cage, and its sharp and poisonous fangs pierced her arm, taking her young life.

"Why didn't you tell me about this earlier? I've been to Fire Maple City twice! Which nobleman is Jack working for now? When I go there next time, I might as well bring him some gold coins and precious alchemical potions!" Caesars' face was full of complaints, staring straight at the two people in front of him.

Old Ludwig looked embarrassed and quickly explained, "Son, I'm so sorry! The letter Jack sent was accidentally lost. But don't worry, we know he's in the northernmost part of Fire Maple City. There's a small noble there whose fiefdom happens to be on the edge of the Frostwind Mountains. Due to this unique location, Jack can usually pick many rare herbs."

After hearing this, although Kaisas still felt a little dissatisfied, he could only nod helplessly. After all, the incident had already happened, and excessive blame would be useless. He knew that Fire Maple City belonged to the Roland Empire's Cold Wind County, and that the border with the Cold Wind Mountains stretched for nearly 1,300 miles. As long as he was willing to invest some time and effort, finding Jack would not be difficult.

"Also, although rum is good, you must drink it in moderation. You must know that these are fine wines that the Duke's Mansion has carefully collected over decades. Every barrel you drink will be one less barrel!" Caesars warned the two of them earnestly.

"Got it, we've been drinking very sparingly!"

After dinner, Caesars went to the Magic Tower and told the Elf Elder about the changes in the giant red snake. He also handed over two bottles of dark red venom to the Great Elder.

"The giant snake must have awakened its bloodline. It has become bigger and more dangerous. The trial mission left by Riven has failed. Except for the three of us, no elf can hunt it!" Crassus took a bottle of snake venom and handed the other bottle to old Ethan.

"Crassus, the snake's venom is rich in fire and darkness. The giant snake is indeed a mature legendary beast. The venom wasn't this strong before. Let's go hunt it down today. It just ate its fill today, so it'll be easier to deal with. We need the ingredients from its body for the Abyssal Body Tempering Technique!"

Old Ethan mentioned a new word, which made Caesars a little curious.

"Old Ethan, what is the Abyss Body Tempering Method?"

"This is a body tempering method taught by Riven. It's an ultimate method used by humanoid creatures in the Abyssal Plane to strengthen their physiques and activate their bloodlines. The whole process will be extremely painful, but those who persevere will become extremely powerful. Kaisus, you have the bloodline of the Abyss and can withstand the Abyssal Body Tempering Method. We need a month to prepare the materials, so you can relax during this time!"

"I have the blood of the abyss?"

Even though Caesars had shed his skin and grown scales before, he still found it hard to believe.

"Well, how could you recover from being shot by a magic crossbow in just a few days? The Abyssal Body Tempering Technique takes a while. It can double your magic sea, making your physique stronger than a paladin, but the pain you endure will also be prolonged!"

Old Ethan looked at Caesars and said a few words calmly. Everyone wants to gain great power, but it must be paid for. Although the Abyss Body Tempering Technique is powerful, it also requires the ability to endure extreme pain and a large amount of magical materials.

"Old Ethan, I should be able to endure the pain, but I want to know why you need a giant red snake as a material for tempering your body?"

"That's a good question. Your magical talents are darkness and fire, and this giant snake has the same magical talents as you. There are dual-attribute super monsters on the Roland Continent, but apart from this giant snake, it's impossible to find any other that possess both darkness and fire!"

"Why can't I find it?"

Kaisas was a little curious, so he asked the elven elder.

"Kaisas, you've learned basic magical theory and should know that darkness is negative energy, while fire is positive energy. A magical beast possessing both of these elements cannot exist on the Roland Continent. This giant red snake is a mutated magical beast. Over the past ten thousand years, it has been infected by the remaining power of the demon ruins, and it must have awakened its abyssal bloodline!"

"Kaesus, there are books about the Abyss in the Magic Tower. Don't chase Old Ethan to ask. We haven't been to the Abyss either. By the way, Riven is on the 100th floor of the Abyss. It's called the Shadow Abyss, the Abyss of the Bottomless, the Blackwater Abyss, and the most famous name - the Abyss of Destruction!"

Krasus interrupted Riven and continued to ask, the red giant snake even wanted to attack Caesar, so it must be hunted down as soon as possible.

"I can't get up to the third floor of the magic tower!" Caesar looked at the hall of the magic tower and said helplessly.

The Holy Tower of Magic - Frost Crown. Each level requires corresponding strength, and only high-level magicians are qualified to enter the third level.

"Then practice hard. We can't change the rules of the magic tower. Now don't delay us from hunting that giant snake. If it suddenly escapes, the rangers will be in big trouble!"

Caesars nodded. The magic tower was a legacy left by his ancestors, and it held countless secrets. He felt uneasy at the thought of the massive red snake devouring him. He was thrilled to know that the three elven elders were going to hunt it down.

"Abyssal Body Tempering Technique, I wonder how painful it will be?"

After leaving the Magic Tower, Kaisas was filled with all kinds of fantasies about the Abyssal Body Tempering Method. Although he didn't know all the magic ingredients, it contained snake venom and materials from the giant red snake.

It was almost midnight when he returned to the stone courtyard. Caesars didn't sleep or meditate, but instead sorted out his space ring.

There were a lot of clothes, shoes, and socks that he couldn't wear anymore that needed to be disposed of. The clothes, snacks, and cheeses that had been prepared for Ludwig and his son also needed to be taken out. They couldn't be given too much rum, or they wouldn't be able to control their drinking.

Caesars took out the snow-white fur of the dire wolf. This soft fur was a gift from Melissa. Melissa had given him three wolf pelts in total, two of which Caesars gave to Ludwig and his son, helping them survive the harshest winter. When Caesars was in the Northland Tower, he used them as a quilt to keep warm during the winter.

"I wonder what's happening with Melissa? Grayskin ogres also like to drink strong liquor, so we should leave a few barrels for her!"

Kaisas put away the wolf skin, sorted out the space ring, and put a bunch of useless things aside. Then he took out a magic crystal and quietly replenished his magic power.

The Countess was quite generous. Seeing that Caesar's life gem had helped Burns improve, she gave him a large box of high-level magic crystals as compensation. He now had sufficient cultivation resources, enough for him to use for twenty or thirty years.

Undercurrents surged across the Roland Continent, becoming increasingly turbulent. Due to the events surrounding the Duchess's Cemetery, factions large and small were recruiting personnel.

Among these factions, the Saint Laurent Mercenary Group and the Golden Viper Mercenary Group were particularly prominent. They were both aggressively recruiting mercenaries, with numbers in the thousands each. The Roland Mercenary Group, with its background as a prominent noble of the Roland Empire, had also joined the fray. Low-level mercenaries, previously ignored, were now the target of competition among the major factions.

The various major forces also began to compete for cultivation resources, using various means in secret, and the situation began to intensify.

The next morning, outside the magic tower in the crater, many elves were busy, the giant snake was being skinned and its tendons were being pulled out. After half of the snake's skin was peeled off, all the elves stopped.

"Kaisas, go remove the giant snake's venom sac and fangs. We haven't refined a special antidote yet, and you're the only one here who's immune to its venom!"

The Great Elder took out a large crystal jar and a white bone knife, and said something to Kaisas who was watching on the side.

"Great Elder, can you spare me a fang?"

"Stop dreaming. You're not a Shadow Dancer, so it would be a waste to give you the fangs!"

When Caesars made his request, the Great Elder directly rejected it. Many elves had already asked them to obtain snake fangs.

"Forget it, I'll take the poison sac while the three elders give me guidance. I'm not very familiar with dealing with magical beasts!"

"Its venom sac is very tough and cannot be broken by pulling it open normally. You just need to remove it!"

Caesars followed his instructions, carefully cutting at the back of the giant snake's head. He sliced ​​through the flesh, avoiding the tendons, and revealed the dark red venom sac. The sac was ridiculously large, and upon seeing it, the three elven elders retrieved two larger crystal jars.

The venom sac was gradually separated and peeled out, but it had not yet been removed.

"Use a thin line to tie the venom sac to the fang. Make sure it's tied tightly!"

"The venom sac wasn't taken out together with the fang?" Caesars asked with some confusion.

"Take them together. When the venom sac is squeezed, venom will spray out from the fangs!"

"I understand!"

Caesars carefully removed the snake's fang and placed it, along with the venom sac, into a crystal jar. The Great Elder was now fully armed, donning a complete set of alchemist gear, including alchemist robes, gloves, and a mask.