The Wizard's Pursuit of Truth

[Notification: Extraordinary Dissection experiment complete.]

[Completion Time: 32 minutes.]

That was nearly twice as fast as he had expected, a terrifying figure.

A smile surfaced on Wang Ya’s face. This meant his Extraordinary Dissection skills were now more than capable of handling ordinary Wizard Surgery.

At least, performing Wizard Surgery on Low-tier Extraordinary Creatures would pose no major problem.

On the operating table, the Mountain Bear’s tissues and organs had all been perfectly separated. The heart was even still beating powerfully.

But all of that was secondary. The most important thing was the small glass tube in Wang Ya’s hand, which held some pale yellow liquid tissue.

Extracted from deep within the Mountain Bear’s spinal cord, it was highly active, seemingly due to its connection with the Extraordinary Properties in the creature’s body.

Furthermore, it contained a vast amount of nutrients. Since it was related to the Extraordinary, any other creature that consumed it would receive immense benefits.

The benefits it conferred were even greater than those from consuming all the Mountain Bear’s flesh and blood.

In the laboratory’s decontamination chamber, after washing off the bloodstains and undergoing several rounds of disinfection, Wang Ya changed into his black Wizard Robe and walked out through the parting mechanical doors.

Harak appeared as if from nowhere, landing on his shoulder.

The next step in his plan was to perform the Wizard Surgery to implant the Shadow Crow Bloodline.

Performing it on Harak was bound to be drastically different than on a human, more akin to a process of half-implantation, half-devouring.

Wang Ya was well aware of the difficulties: whether Harak could adapt to the Power brought by the bloodline and overcome the subsequent rejection.

...

In the morning, Wang Ya left the Ancient Castle and headed for the Commercial Street in the Business District, a place where he could buy all sorts of Extraordinary Items.

To keep his prior investment from going to waste, to save Harak’s life, and to increase the success rate of the bloodline adaptation, some supplementary items were indispensable.

The streets branched out in all directions, bustling with figures in black Wizard Robes. An unfamiliar person might easily get lost.

However, Wang Ya had already used his Eye of Truth to construct a complete map of the Lower House. It might not have been perfectly detailed, but he had no problem finding the locations he needed to visit.

Hades’ Store

The shop was a three-story building with a considerable footprint, its walls made of carved white oak. As he passed through the entrance, a wind chime tinkled sweetly.

Wang Ya had already done his research before arriving. On the Lower House’s Commercial Street, this shop was known to have formidable backing; it even sold items that were typically only used by High-tier Wizards.

When it came to the variety of Extraordinary Items—be it Extraordinary Resources, Witchcraft Artifacts, or Potions—they turned no business away and always had enough stock to sell.

To increase the success rate of the Shadow Crow Bloodline adaptation, he needed an obscure item called ’Nightmare Powder.’ It was rumored to be an Extraordinary Material created by grinding the Soul Bodies of those who died in terror into a fine dust.

The Wizard Waiter who greeted him made Wang Ya pause for a moment—it was a familiar face.

”Wang Ya... ah...” Mona froze as well, staring blankly at him.

Wang Ya was the first to break the awkward silence. ”I’m here to purchase some Extraordinary Items,” he said, his expression calm. ”Could you show me around?”

A scarlet blush spread across Mona’s face. She nodded dazedly and said, ”Of course. Please, follow me.”

The first floor was spacious. Glass cabinets displayed various Wizard Potions, while on raised platforms, individual Alchemy Witchcraft Artifacts were sealed away, each with a written description below.

Once Mona learned what Wang Ya was looking for, she led him toward the Extraordinary Materials section deeper inside the store.

During their conversation, Wang Ya learned a great deal about the changes that had occurred among the Wizard Freshmen over the past month.

The Wizard Freshmen from Ancient Forest Mountain had ultimately fallen far behind those from the other camps. Some had despaired and broken down, some had gone astray, while others, like her, were trying to find ways to obtain Magic Stones and Extraordinary Resources and diligently study Witchcraft Knowledge.

As for accepting tasks from the Library, it wasn’t that no one had tried, but most of them had failed the tasks. Some never even returned.

On a related note, that guy Gray had accepted a Wizard Task together with his Kebik and Tazmi Mass Ke. The outcome was still unknown.

Mona smiled and said, ”Everyone makes their own choices and lives their own life. The most important thing on the Wizard Path is perseverance. I think this is good. Compared to some people, this is truly so much better.”

Wang Ya knew Mona was talking about those freshmen who had gone astray and signed certain Wizard Contracts.

These Wizard Contracts almost always came from older students with malicious intent, who wanted to squeeze every last drop of value from the freshmen. The contracts looked good at first, but in the end, those who signed were often devoured until not even their bones remained.

It was a very common occurrence, and there were precedents for it happening even to those who had already grasped some Witchcraft.

For example, when a powerful Wizard issued a Wizard Contract seeking test subjects, it was considered a relatively good outcome for a freshman to sign one.

At the very least, their lives were guaranteed, the benefits were generous, and the rules of the contract were powerfully binding.

Of course, turning into some kind of monster, losing a limb, or becoming covered in festering pustules was also quite normal.

”On the other hand, I haven’t heard any news about you at all, Wang Ya. Gray even said we should all get together after he completes his task.” Mona stood on tiptoe, taking a small glass bottle down from the counter.

”Same as you all, just struggling and striving on the Wizard Path,” Wang Ya said with a sigh. He added, ”If I have the time, I’ll be there.”

In addition to the Nightmare Powder, he also purchased Haha Grass, Windmill Fire Chrysanthemum, Dark Night Dandelion, and Sweet Flower.

All told, it cost Wang Ya forty Magic Stones, with the Nightmare Powder being the most expensive item of the lot.

He also purchased some raw materials for Extraordinary Potions he might have use for, mostly ingredients for Clear Heart Potions, Healing Potions, and Azure Potions.

Although he hadn’t taken a single class in Alchemy yet, it was better to be prepared than to be caught without.

A liquid with Extraordinary Properties like the one from the Mountain Bear was called ’Extraordinary Essence’ in Hades’ Store. The version Wang Ya possessed was considered sub-grade. Essence extracted from Low-tier Extraordinary Creatures, for instance, was classified as Low-tier.

Wang Ya purchased a batch of this sub-grade essence. With the aid of other Extraordinary Items, Harak’s chances of success were still high, and these nutrients would help stabilize Harak’s condition.

This shopping trip cost Wang Ya one hundred Magic Stones, leaving him with four hundred remaining.

’I need to find a new source of income, and soon.’

After bidding Mona a temporary farewell, Wang Ya walked out of Hades’ Store, only to be met by two approaching figures exuding strong auras. His Eye of Truth subconsciously observed them, gauging them to be at the Level 1 Wizard Apprentice tier.

’They must be older students from the Wizard Academy.’

”Brother, are we really going to borrow Magic Stones and Dark Points? And even take out a loan for a Middle-tier Witchcraft Artifact? Isn’t that overkill? He’s just a Wizard Freshman. At most, he’s probably only mastered a single type of Witchcraft.”

Eugene Bailin grumbled, his voice a little too loud.

Naturally, Wang Ya heard every word.

At that exact moment, Baton Bailin also saw Wang Ya stepping out of the store.

...