Wizards: Starting with Fairy Crests

039: The Magic Potions Garden

The distorted gray light curtain stood silently, like an unstable wound leading to an unknown dimension.

Shadow Raven let out a long sigh of relief, his tense shoulders relaxing slightly. He turned to Lynch, a smile returning to his face, this time with genuine gratitude: "Mr. 'Shadow,' thank you very much."

As he spoke, he took out a dark silver metal plate engraved with a coiled snake from his pocket.

He held the thin slice in his hand and whispered a short syllable. A barely perceptible glint of light flashed across the surface of the slice before it returned to its dull state.

This is a 'Snake Scale Communication Piece', made in pairs. Shadow Raven has one piece, and the Stock family, the guarantor, has the other.

Shadow Raven said, "I just activated it. The corresponding communication chip over there will resonate and record a specific frequency. This means that our agreed-upon 'opening the door' mission has been completed. You can go to Tree Town at any time and show us our previous agreement to receive the Phantom Cat Demon bloodline."

He put away the metal plate and continued, "Of course, if you're interested, you can join us in exploring. The pay will be the same as for everyone else."

Upon hearing Shadow Raven's words, everyone's faces clearly showed displeasure.

It would have been fine if the ruins hadn't been found, but now that they have, one more person exploring the site means one more person sharing the spoils, which is something no one wants to see.

However, since their employer, Shadow Raven, had already spoken, they naturally couldn't say anything more.

of course,

There's really no need to say it.

In the wizarding world, strength is always the deciding factor. What skills can an apprentice who specializes in potions possibly possess?

It's one thing if he didn't find anything good inside, but if he managed to get it by sheer luck...

Whether or not they can produce it is up to them!

Lin Qi barely hesitated, his hood shifting slightly as he spoke in a calm voice: "Now that we've arrived at the door, there's no reason not to go in and take a look."

The real treasures are still inside.

Of course he can't leave.

Shadow Raven nodded slightly and smiled, "The right decision."

Immediately, Shadow Raven took out a strangely shaped baby-like rag doll from his spatial pocket and placed it in the nearby haystack.

The old pipe-smoker asked in confusion, "What is this?"

Shadow Raven casually replied, "It's nothing, just a special way our family prays for good luck."

How to pray for blessings?

No one clearly believed it, but no one asked any more questions.

Without further delay, the group stepped forward one by one, carefully entering the constantly fluctuating, hissing gray light curtain.

The moment you step in, it's not the tangible feeling of passing through a curtain of water or air, but rather a strange sense of weightlessness and dislocation.

Sight, hearing, and even a sense of direction were briefly disrupted, and countless bizarre fragments flashed through my consciousness. A moment later, I felt a hard texture beneath my feet, no longer the soft, damp swamp.

The light and shadow before their eyes stabilized, and they found themselves in a completely different world.

The first thing you notice is the air. The sweet, pungent, putrid, suffocating smell of the swamp has vanished, replaced by a mixture of aged dust, the aroma of some dried herbs, and a very faint...stale blood and metallic scent.

They stood at the entrance to an extremely spacious and tall castle-like hall. The floor was paved with huge, neatly cut dark gray stone slabs, engraved with intricate and ornate patterns of vines and strange symbols that had long since faded and become blurred.

The hall is flanked by arched walls that are over ten meters high, also made of dark gray stone, with huge, spirally arranged dark red crystals inlaid on the surface.

But at this moment, most of these crystals were dull and lifeless, with only a few still retaining an extremely faint, flickering dark red glow, like breathing.

There were knight armor and stone statues standing against the walls all around, most of them covered with thick dust, which looked particularly eerie under the dark red light, as if they might come to life at any moment.

"Warning! Warning! Intruder detected!"

"Warning! Warning! Intruder detected!"

Just then, a harsh, cold, and emotionless synthesized voice suddenly rang out in the hall!

"Level One Alert Activated!"

As this announcement was made, the knights' armor and ferocious stone statues that stood solemnly against the walls on both sides of the hall, covered in dust, suddenly "came to life"!

"Crack! Crack! Crack! Creak—!"

The grating noise of metal scraping against stone blended together. Crimson light shone from the hollow eye sockets of the armor, heavy footsteps pounded the dust on the ground, and the rusty but still sharp greatsword and spear were raised in hand.

The surrounding gargoyle and stone golem sculptures, with their surfaces peeling away stone dust and their joints emitting teeth-grinding twisting sounds, their stiff stone faces turned toward the intruders, an invisible sense of oppression washing over them.

At least twenty guards were activated, slowly approaching from all directions to form an encirclement.

"They're Crimson Guard puppets! The energy core should be in their breastplates or backs!" Shadow Raven shouted quickly, briefly explaining the guards' weaknesses: "Now it's up to you all!"

"clear!"

The battle began instantly!

Blackstone let out a low growl, and a heavy runic warhammer appeared in his hand. He suddenly strode forward, the warhammer sweeping across the ground with a whistling sound, charging towards the nearest armored guard.

The gray falcon melted into the shadows, flashing like a ghost, weaving through the gaps in the guards with astonishing speed. Its pair of poisoned short blades, like the spitting tongues of a viper, precisely stabbed at the guards to launch an attack.

The old man with the pipe stood still, muttering incantations, and slammed his unassuming wooden cane heavily on the ground. An invisible ripple, tinged with a dim yellow light, spread out from him. The ripple swept over the guards, whose movements immediately became sluggish and uncoordinated.

Lin Qi also took out his cross sword, first summoning giant lizard scales to cover his entire body, and then casting a lightness spell before joining the battle.

The sounds of metal clashing, stone shattering, spellcasting explosions, and the incessant, chilling warnings mingled together.

Despite having a numerical advantage and being immune to pain, their movements became somewhat rigid. Under the targeted tactics of the five-man squad, they were gradually divided and weakened, falling one by one.

About fifteen minutes later, the last armored guard's head was smashed by Blackstone's hammer. The red light in his eye sockets flickered a few times before finally going out, and his heavy body crashed to the ground.

Silence returned to the hall.

Only the scattered metal fragments and rubble, along with the lingering magical energy fluctuations and faint smells of burning and acid in the air, testified to the fierce battle that had just taken place.

All five were slightly out of breath. Gray Falcon's arm was grazed by the energy ripples, leaving a charred mark; Black Stone's shoulder armor had a noticeable dent; and Old Pipe's breathing was even heavier.

Shadow Raven glanced around warily, and only after confirming there were no further disturbances did he breathe a sigh of relief, a relieved smile appearing on his face: "Well done, everyone."

He paused, then said with a broad smile, "Congratulations to us for successfully entering the Potions Garden."

"Now it's time for the treasure hunt!"

"As agreed, whatever you find inside, except for knowledge, you can take it with you. As for knowledge, I will purchase it at market price."

"Go! A treasure sealed for a thousand years awaits us!"

The crowd cheered.

In an instant, like a gust of wind, they rushed enthusiastically into the dark corridor ahead.

Lynch walked at the very back.

Looking at the eager crowd in front of him, he sneered inwardly: Did they think they had solved everything by taking down a few puppet guards?

Innocent!

Soon, these guys will know what true terror is!

"That guy..."

"They're about to wake up, right? We'll start cleaning in two hours."

Lin Qi knew what was inside, and he knew what the real danger was.

But he won't tell.

He has nothing to do with the life or death of outsiders, and he would never interfere with the fate of others without permission.

He took out a pocket watch and checked the time.

Lynch turned and walked alone into the depths of a dark corridor...