Black Hearted Mage

Chapter 197 Salamander Leather

Time flies by like a white horse, one day after another, and in the blink of an eye, more than two years have passed.

During this period, Kaesas's stock of magic crystals gradually became depleted, leaving only a few hundred elemental crystals. These precious elemental crystals were not used to assist meditation, but were specifically reserved for use in spell battles.

Meanwhile, Rodman, Stella, and Beatrice spent two long years exploring every corner of the Yellowstone Mountains. Through their tireless searching and marking, they finally succeeded in determining the approximate location of the points marked on the ancient map.

Just half a month ago, they set out on a journey to the Yellowstone Mountains again. This time, their goal was to find the exact location marked on the ancient map.

After a brief tidying up, Caesars rushed to the Thorn Flower Trading Company. There, he received his desired cultivation resources. Furthermore, to his ecstasy, he also received a thirty-fold magic concentration array disk. After all, having already ascended to the Grand Mage realm, relying solely on magic crystals for cultivation was clearly no longer practical. Even if there was no shortage of magic crystals for the time being, in the long run, as his cultivation progressed, resources would inevitably become scarce.

After the Grand Mage, there will be a Magister. By then, the amount of magic crystals consumed by the Grand Mage will be a terrifying number. The three elven elders in the crater never use magic crystals for their meditations, but instead draw on the magic tower's mana pool. The mana pool is constructed using a magic gathering array, a hundred times the number of magic gathering array disks, a total of 360 disks, scattered around the crater.

One day later, as the sun shone down on the earth, Caesars rode in a seemingly ordinary carriage. Although the carriage was plain and unadorned, it carried him to the capital of the Roland Empire—Fire Maple City.

Fire Maple City, this bustling and bustling city, not only brought together merchants and travelers from all over the world, but also served as a trading center for countless rare treasures and mysterious items. Here, people could find all sorts of items to buy and sell. However, for Caesars, this trip had another, more crucial purpose: to exchange his gold coins for magic crystals in Fire Maple City's black market.

Somewhere within Fire Maple City lay Philip Barton, who had once escaped from Caesar's clutches. Perhaps, in the heavily guarded and orderly Fire Maple City, taking his life would be difficult, but Caesar knew that no matter what, he would have to pay the price for his wrongdoing—compensation. In this world, no one dared to offend a powerful mage without offering the slightest apology, much less escape unscathed.

After a long journey of over half a month, the journey finally reached its destination. As the carriage slowly entered Fire Maple City, Caesars, wearing an elven mask, transformed. His youthful features vanished, replaced by the wrinkled, weathered image of an aged wizard. He wielded a staff as translucent as red crystal, emitting a frightening surge of magical power. His sinister eyes shone with a cold, menacing light, causing even the city guards responsible for safeguarding the imperial capital to shudder at the sight of him.

News of the old mage, a god of death, reappearing in Fire Maple City spread quickly. His iconic red crystal staff undoubtedly proved his identity. Years ago, Caesars had single-handedly slain hundreds of elite members of the Roland Mercenary Group in a fierce battle. His return undoubtedly cast a tense and oppressive atmosphere over Fire Maple City.

The carriage stopped in the outer city area. The imperial capital magic was in the inner city area. Carriages from outside Huofeng City were strictly prohibited from entering the inner city area.

Caesars had no choice but to dismount his carriage and walk through the heavily guarded city gates, entering the inner city, the heart of the Roland Empire. This was the residential area for the great nobles and the center of power within the empire. The Emperor's palace, the House of Lords that appointed and dismissed nobles, the Court of Justice that administered the law, and the Eagle Eyes, commanded by the head of the secret service, were all located within the inner city.

The Imperial Capital Magic Academy, where Caesars was headed, was also located northeast of the inner city, not too far away, only about five or six miles. Along the wide, peaceful streets, one could see ancient castles with gardens. There were very few pedestrians on the streets, the only ones visible being the guards patrolling outside the castles.

Caesars stopped in front of an ancient, unguarded castle. This was the Imperial Capital Magic Academy, a vast castle.

As Caesars entered the open academy gate, a white-haired gatekeeper peeked out. Meeting his icy gaze, he shuddered. Frightened, the gatekeeper quickly drew his head back, certain that the other person was a great magician.

Walking along the avenue lined with flaming maple trees, I arrived at the main building of the Magic Academy. As I entered the hall, I could see many students of different ages gathered around the taskbar.

The northern part of the hall was a rest area. Besides four or five benches against the wall, there were also several young students setting up stalls. Caesars, leaning on a dragon-bloodwood staff, walked slowly towards that area, observing the students of various professions.

The Imperial Capital Magic Academy didn't just offer magicians and apprentices; it also offered warrior-like classes. However, the tuition was significantly higher than at other academies. The academy's recruitment of warriors was primarily for the children of nobles and merchants.

Training a magician is a very expensive task. Although the Imperial Capital Magic Academy has funding from the Roland Empire, it only gives half of the gold coins. The rest of the gold coins are earned from the tuition fees of the warrior profession.

Caesars walked to a bench, set down his backpack, and pulled out a large piece of leather from his interspatial ring, spreading it on the patterned floor tiles. He then took out three or five items for sale: storage rings, leather armor, weapons, and a miscellaneous collection of alchemical potions. Large magical gemstones, some high-quality herbs, and finally, a piece of very pure magic copper.

The puppy crawled out of the animal skin backpack, biting a piece of soft white fur in its mouth, and came to the animal skin that Caesars had spread out. After it spread the white animal skin, it lay down with its legs spread out.

"You idiot, watch your things carefully! I'll bite anyone who steals them!"

Caesars put away his dragon bloodwood staff and looked at the dark red puppy. Two years had passed, and aside from the growth of four more tiny fangs, nothing else had changed.

The puppy whimpered, then turned over and lay on its fur mat. The puppy was very smart. Although it couldn't speak, it could basically understand what Caesars said.

"The little black snake has shed its skin again and is now bigger than before. You can't grow by just eating!"

The puppy opened its mouth as if its head was about to split open, revealing its eight small fangs. It had grown teeth and was eating faster than before.

At this moment, Caesars thought of the fire lizard leather, and immediately took out a few pieces and placed them on his stall.

Just as Caesars was taking out something, several young men who were setting up stalls next to him hurriedly packed up their stalls and walked quickly towards Caesars.

"How much is a set of leather armor?" asked a young student.

"If you can read, just look at the price tag yourself!"

Kaisas pointed to the wooden sign on the stall. He had written it on the way to Fire Maple City, and everything was clearly written. He took the sign and marked the price of the fire lizard leather on it.

Seeing that the composite leather armor was only 450 gold coins per set, the young men bought several sets of leather armor without hesitation. Kaisas took out five or six more sets of leather armor and placed them on the stall.

Without a second thought, the young men immediately bought several more sets of leather armor. Caesars now understood what Joanna meant. Things at the Imperial Capital Magic Academy didn't sell out quickly. He then took out a dozen sets of leather armor and placed them on the animal hides. Seeing the favorable prices on the leather armor, the young men bought them not for their own use but to stock up.

"Here's Salamander Leather!"

At that moment, someone shouted. Like a thunderclap, the voice instantly shattered the tranquil atmosphere in the hall. The students gathered around the taskbars, all swarming toward Caesars's booth. As they approached, they could see rolls of fiery red leather laid out on the stall.

When hunting fire lizards, Kaisas did not use any piercing spells. The hides of these fire lizards were all intact, and it was difficult to find even the slightest damage.

On a wooden board next to a pile of leather, a staggering price was marked—8,000 gold coins. This was a considerable sum for most ordinary students. Yet, even at such a high price, many still expressed a keen interest in these salamander hides.

At this time, a student wearing leather armor and with a resolute face stepped forward. He first bowed respectfully to Caesars, then asked cautiously, "Respected Master Magician, may I open the fire lizard leather and take a look?"

It must be said that the reason this salamander leather fetches such a high price is naturally due to its exceptional qualities. Firstly, its exceptional defensive power is unparalleled, providing reliable protection for the wearer. More importantly, this leather also possesses extremely high magic resistance, especially against fire spells, with exceptional resistance.

While other magicians were not uncommon across the vast land of Roland Continent, the vast majority were fire magicians, skilled in manipulating the power of flame. Therefore, possessing a piece of armor meticulously crafted from salamander hide would essentially protect the wearer from attacks from even intermediate fire spells.

"Feel free to look at it. If you don't want to buy it, just roll up the leather and put it on the stall!" Caesars said lightly.

With Caesar's permission, the young student pushed the people around him aside. He needed a place to spread out the salamander leather so that he could carefully observe the quality of the leather.

Just as the man was about to spread out a roll of fiery red, very tough salamander leather on the ground, a figure approached the stall, picked up a sheathed short knife from the stall, and without even glancing at the quality of the weapon, he slowly began to back away.

Just as he was about to successfully leave the crowd, the puppy that had been lying quietly on the stall suddenly noticed something unusual. The puppy's black eyes widened, and then it let out a howling sound, and like an arrow from a bow, it suddenly pounced at the retreating man.

"what!"

A shrill scream echoed, and the crowd surrounding the stall dispersed instantly. Everyone stared in shock at the scene before them, unable to believe their eyes—the tiny-looking puppy had firmly grasped a student's sturdy thigh.

The student whose thigh had been bitten grimaced in pain, the sharp teeth biting into flesh. He tried to pry open the puppy's grip, but the puppy shook its head violently. As he prepared to draw his dagger, a magical hand, shimmering with mysterious light, appeared from nowhere and gripped his upper body with a forceful grip. Then, effortlessly, the magical hand lifted him back to the front of the stall.

"Humph, you're quite courageous, actually daring to steal from a great magician!"

Caesars, standing behind the stall, snorted grimly, snatched the dagger from the man's hand, and threw it onto the stall. Then he said, "You idiot, let go now, or I'll throw you out with this thief!"

The puppy released its clenched jaws and quickly slumped back onto its soft fur. The mage exerted force, sending the thief flying across the hall, flying nearly thirty meters before landing on the tiled floor and tumbling another six or seven meters before coming to rest.

"You idiot, next time don't bite his thighs. Bite hard on his crotch. That way he'll be in so much pain that he won't be able to resist!"

Caesars spoke sternly, and the others were startled. The dark red puppy grinned slightly, a smile of excitement and surprise.

The thief's flesh was in a miserable state. Although the flesh on his thigh hadn't been bitten off, it had been ripped apart by the puppy. The Imperial Capital Magic Academy would handle this matter, and there was no need for Caesars to intervene.

After the incident, many students despised the thief. The intact salamander hide was spread out on the floor tiles, its red crystal-like scales intact, not a single piece missing.