Black Hearted Mage

Chapter 290 Challenge 2

Emily, Caesar's younger sister, was a low-level fire mage, and her spell training had always been guided by Caesar himself. After years of hard work, she had mastered many spellcasting techniques, including brute force casting, rapid casting, multiple casting, and even spell extension.

"I'm participating in the Magician Challenge?"

Emily's amber eyes widened in surprise. She had also read the notice at the entrance of the town hall. The list of rewards written in magical ink was simply dizzying: the champion would not only receive a thousand top-grade magic crystals, but also gain access to the restricted section of the Royal Library, not to mention a precious magic robe.

Caesars held his sister's shoulder and said, "Amelie, you have a magic protection bracelet that can withstand any attack from a magician below that of a Grand Magician. At most, you will fail the challenge, but you will definitely not be hurt!"

Caesars leaned closer and whispered, "I still have a dragon bloodwood staff. This staff was specially reserved for you. I'll give it to you later. Take it and go into battle!"

Kaisas's words surprised Emily even more. She had heard Rad describe the types of staffs, and among the many materials, dragon bloodwood was undoubtedly the most superior. The enchanted black thorn staff from the Thorn Flower Merchants was also one of the top-tier staffs. As for staffs made of other materials, they were only second- or third-rate by comparison.

"Brother, where did you get your dragon blood wood staff? Rad said that the dragon blood tree is almost extinct, and you are the only one who still has such a staff!" Emily asked curiously.

"Let's talk about this later. Time is running out. Let's go in and sign up first. We can't waste the Grand Mage's privilege of skipping the queue!"

Entering the lobby of City Hall, magnificent marble columns loomed before her. Emily, still in shock, let Caesars lead her to the registration desk. Under the sign on the left, several uniformed receptionists were handling registrations. Two young girls among them were fiddling with quills idly until Caesars' staff struck the flame maple counter with a resonant click.

“We’re signing up for the challenge.”

The two receptionists' gazes froze the moment they met the dragon's bloodwood staff. One of them nearly knocked over his inkwell, while the other hurriedly stood up, the brass nameplate on his chest swaying as he moved.

"Of course, Your Excellency the Mage!" Her voice trembled slightly with excitement. "Please allow me... I mean, could you please show me the Mage's Badge?"

Kaesus pointed to the mithril emblem on his chest. The crown-emblazoned emblem looked quite unique. However, when the magic activated the emblem, its light was exceptionally dazzling, and the entire hall seemed to fall silent for a moment. Emily noticed that even the merchants arguing in the distance suddenly fell silent, casting awe-inspired glances their way.

"This is…"

The receptionist had never seen such a magic badge and didn't know how to record it.

"The badge of the great magician!"

Hearing the word "grand magician," the five or six young receptionists froze in shock. All the high-ranking magicians they had been meeting were white-haired.

"I say, hurry up and record it, we have other things to do!"

"Okay, Master Magician!"

In accordance with the registration requirements, Caesars asked the receptionist to record his identity information, and soon it was Emily's turn to record her information.

The receptionist quickly wrote down the information, her quill scratching across the parchment. Emily looked at her brother's resolute profile and suddenly understood something.

The stained glass windows of the hall filtered the sunlight into colorful specks, shining on the two of them. Emily suddenly realized that the significance of this challenge might be far more profound than she had imagined...

"Excuse me, is there any place to stay in Red Stone City?"

Thinking of the "Full House" sign hanging in the inn, Caesars asked the receptionist tentatively.

"The City Hall has arranged accommodation for the participating magicians, but there are only a few magicians staying there. If you need me, I can take you there right now!"

"Take us there!"

The young receptionist exchanged a few words with his companions before leading Caesars to the side entrance of the town hall. They then headed to a small courtyard behind the town hall, a privilege reserved for great magicians. High-ranking magicians had to share a small courtyard, so five or six people were required to share a room.

After Caesars got the key to the courtyard, the young receptionist left and said she would come to pick him up before the challenge began.

"Emily, take it!"

After Caesars closed the gate, he took out the fire-type dragon blood wood staff. When Emily saw it, her eyes lit up.

"Brother, this is too expensive..."

"I left it to you because it's so valuable. But it's best not to use it until you're strong enough. Many people will be eyeing this dragon blood wood staff!"

Caesars placed the staff gently in Emily's hand, and the girl immediately felt a warm magical power flowing through her body from her fingertips.

"Brother, what kind of magic pattern is this?"

"Exploding Fireball. There are five identical magic patterns engraved on the staff. Your magic power can only sustain one cast. I guess it won't be allowed in the challenge, otherwise your opponent will die!"

Emily excitedly touched the dragon's bloodwood staff, a reddish-orange flame dancing from the tip of one finger. She stared intently at the flame, carefully controlling its form. Sometimes the flames took the form of a bird with outstretched wings, sometimes a swirling snake, and finally, in her palm, a blossoming rose.

"My control has improved again!"

Kaisas' voice came from the side. Emily turned in surprise, and the flaming rose in her hand instantly dissipated into thin air. Her face was flushed from the continuous casting of the spell, and a few strands of golden curls were stuck to her forehead with sweat.

"Brother, did you see the flame shaping I just did?"

Emily excitedly lifted her skirt and trotted to Caesars.

Caesars smiled and ruffled his sister's hair, the delicate gold embroidery on the cuffs of his robe gleaming in the sunlight.

“Not only is it more stable, but the shaping speed is also nearly twice as fast as before!”

Emily lowered her head sheepishly, gently kicking the pebbles on the ground with the toe of her boot. "It's all thanks to my brother..."

"It's also your own hard work. The most I can do is give you some pointers. Put your staff away quickly and don't let anyone see it. We'll go out and set up a stall later. I've picked up a lot of good stuff. Since there are so many magicians these days, I can sell it for a high price!"

After a period of adventuring, Caesars finally amassed a collection of magician's equipment. However, most of this equipment was useless to him, and even Emily couldn't use it. However, these items were of considerable value, making this a good opportunity to sell them.

After enjoying a sumptuous barbecue meal, Caesars took Emily to the nearby square. Once there, he quickly spread out a huge piece of animal skin and placed all the items for sale on it.

On the left side of the hide, a plump puppy lazily lay there, its chubby body attracting the attention of many passers-by. On the right side of the hide, a golden-eyed black demon snake, as thick as an arm, was ferocious. Its ferocious appearance and gleaming golden eyes were terrifying.

Because there were too many people in Red Stone City, many of whom were dishonest, in order to ensure the safety of these precious items, Kaisas had no choice but to let these two monsters help guard them. With their presence, those with bad intentions would probably not dare to approach easily.

"Brother, what are these?"

Emily squatted in front of the stall, her slender fingers carefully touching the square plates with a purple-red metallic sheen. Sunlight filtered through the magical mist drifting above the square, reflecting off the copper surface in a strange halo, like a sunset trapped within the metal.

Kaisas was busy arranging a row of magic pattern daggers on the stall. Upon hearing this, he turned around and looked at Emily's fingers.

"This is a magic copper baseplate, used to engrave magic patterns." He picked up a piece, the metal gleaming faintly in his hands. "This thing is ten times the price of gold, but there are not many people who need magic copper!"

"It's so expensive!"

Emily exclaimed softly, her hands unconsciously covering her mouth. The air in the square was filled with the scent of various magical materials, as well as a strange smell she couldn't describe.

Kaisas smiled and ruffled his sister's light golden hair, which was almost transparent in the sunlight. "Magic copper isn't actually rare, but refining it is very troublesome." He lowered his voice, as if sharing a secret. "The final purification can only be accomplished by a magician, and one must be at least an intermediate magician."

Emily's eyes widened, their emerald green pupils reflecting the purple-red sheen of the demonic copper. "So these glittering lines are..."

"There were originally magic patterns on these magic coppers, but I smoothed them out. These patterns are just remnants. I don't want others to know their origins!" Caesars nodded and ran his fingers across the fine lines on the base plate.

Their stall was located in the center of the square, surrounded by a variety of vendors and buyers. From time to time, people stopped to look at Caesar's goods, but were scared by the prices and walked away shaking their heads. Caesar didn't care, he knew that those who really knew the goods would come.

The items displayed on the stalls were truly astonishing: dozens of high-quality magic pattern daggers were neatly arranged, with light blue magic light flowing on the blades; three magic pattern spears were placed on animal skins, and the gems inlaid on the hilts sparkled in the sun; more than a dozen staffs of different materials were placed in different categories, the most eye-catching of which was a dark red dragon blood wood staff with an exquisite dragon carving wrapped around the head - it was a bet from a great magician, and Caesars won it in the gambling game.

"Brother, that person has been looking at the staff." Emily quietly pulled Kaisas' sleeve and pointed at a man in black robe standing not far away.

Caesars glanced at it calmly. "Hmm, he's a connoisseur," he said softly. "Dragonbloodwood staffs are extremely rare, but I'd rather he take a look at these magic copper baseplates. They're worth buying together for over twenty bucks."

Besides weapons and staves, the stall also boasted over a dozen magical robes, each embroidered with intricate protective runes. Several magical notebooks and grimoires sat to one side, while several meditation scrolls emanated faint magical ripples. Most eye-catching were the alchemical potions in the corner—two boxes filled with crystal bottles of varying colors, the liquids within shifting strange hues in the sunlight. This was the collection of a high-ranking alchemist, now in the hands of Caesars.

"A complete set of alchemical equipment..."

Caesars muttered to himself as he reviewed his inventory. He hadn't yet displayed the set of equipment because it was too conspicuous. However, he had already marked it in elegant handwriting on his inventory, so anyone who knew about it would naturally ask about it.

"Master Magician, how much is this dagger?" A bearded man who looked like a mercenary stopped in front of the stall.

"Nine hundred gold coins!" Caesars answered without raising his head.

"Too expensive! Ordinary magic pattern weapons only cost 500 gold coins!"

Only then did Caesars raise his head, pick up a short knife, and toss it gently. The blade traced a perfect arc in the air before landing steadily in his hand. "Ordinary magic pattern weapons can only increase their power by 10%, but mine can increase it by 30%." He flicked his wrist, and a burst of red flame suddenly erupted from the tip of the knife. "And it also has a built-in 'Flame Breath' effect."

The mercenary's eyes widened, and he involuntarily took a step back. "S-Sorry to bother you," he stammered, and hurried away.

Emily covered her mouth and laughed secretly. "Brother, you scared him!"

“Just an honest quote.”

Kaisas shrugged, suddenly noticing the black-robed figure finally approaching the stall. He was tall, his hood shadowed, revealing only a pair of sharp eyes, fixed intently on the dragon-bloodwood staff.

"How much do you want for this staff?" The black-robed man's voice was low and hoarse.

Caesars gave a shrewd smile. "Here comes someone who knows the value of this," he whispered to Emily, then turned to the buyer. "Five hundred thousand gold coins, no bargaining!"

The man in black robe was slightly stunned, then stretched out his gloved hand: "Can I check it?"

Caesars nodded cautiously, motioning for Emily to step back. The moment the black-robed figure lifted the staff, the air around them seemed to freeze for a moment. The dragon head carving atop the staff suddenly glowed faintly red, as if awakened.

“The real thing!”

The black-robed man whispered, his voice filled with barely concealed excitement. He pulled out several metal cards from his storage ring, bearing the magical emblem of the Redstone Kingdom. These were high-value gold coin cards issued by the Redstone Kingdom. These cards were jointly produced by several major magical forces and were extremely difficult to forge.

Kaisas' pupils shrank slightly. He reached out and took a few pieces of metal, sensing the hidden aircraft inside.

The black-robed figure suddenly lowered his voice and pointed at the magic copper baseplate, asking, "Where did these magic copper baseplates come from? The patterns on them... are very unique."

"Unless you buy the magic copper base plate, you have no right to know where it comes from!"

Caesars pointed to the price on the inventory and said to the cloaked magician.

The black-robed figure seemed to have noticed something. He glanced around the square, then quickly hid his staff in his storage ring. He walked quickly into the distance, disappearing from the crowded square in an instant.