Comprehensive network wizard, magic emperor.

Chapter 361 The Grand Master's Disciple
As evening fell, the witch, basket in hand, left the headland and headed towards the empty area beyond the dungeon's borders. She always went to town to teach her young disciples and apprentices.

The basket I always carry with me is like a treasure chest, from which I can take out all sorts of textbooks and fun books, annoying and terrible exercise papers, a variety of delicious and colorful homemade snacks, reward stickers for good children, toys and gifts for top students, and medicine and candy for sick children.

She disappeared without a trace, and since the players couldn't catch her outside the dungeon's boundaries, they had no choice but to search for the other two alchemy assistants from back then.

The astrologer had been sitting in the enchanting classroom all day, focused and careful. The ritual array on the workbench was shining brightly, and the power summoned by the magical runes roared like a herd of wild horses, flowing along the ritual pathways.

He gripped the carving knife with his curled, white fingers, his carving movements slow and steady. There was no turning back; a single mistake would ruin everything, and all his hard work would be for nothing.

The classroom was filled with the refreshing scent of marine magic, the aroma of sawdust from processing, and the sour stench of fermented sweat.

Upon seeing this, the sorcerer Tiflin, who had come to seek his favor, suppressed his smile, slowed his movements, subtly cast a soundproof barrier, and sat silently at the classroom entrance, while also taking out his class notes to look through them.

Only the last person in charge had time, so he hosted several otherworldly students in his apprenticeship hut.

The jeweler sat in a comfortable recliner. Even though the conditions were simple and the environment was austere, he still pursued the enjoyment of life. Since drinking alcohol was harmful to his mind, he would drink tea and coffee instead. When brewing mushroom oil, he would add aromatic essential oils extracted from fruits.

His table was always adorned with fresh flowers for all four seasons, and his homemade incense was always lit in the chimney.

Seeing this behavior, the visiting player immediately realized that this person could be bribed.

As they chatted, the faint light from the enchanted lanterns illuminated the entire room, making the expressions on everyone's faces clear.

“Your Archmage Lighthouse Keeper is one of us.” The Dragonvein Warlock pointed to his ears and forehead. “Look, I am not a native of your world. I come from another world, where magic is far more advanced than here, where many gods fight each other, and all sorts of adventures give rise to countless heroic legends.”

“Obviously.” The jeweler nodded. The form he had conjured was that of a wealthy old man with sagging cheeks and deep wrinkles on his brow. This was his original appearance, always burdened by worry and with a serious expression.

"It is a pity that we are leaving tomorrow, and you will never see any of our members again."

"why?"

The Dragon Vein Warlock concealed the truth because the instance was about to cycle again, and these imprinted historical figures would not have a more distant future.

He could only vaguely lie and say that it was due to some kind of rule that players would not step into the same river repeatedly, but would only stop once in a world.

"It sounds like a traveling merchant ship. We call them 'footless birds,' which travel the world doing business with the ocean currents and never stop." The jeweler agreed with this statement. "I know the rules of the footless birds. In each city they arrive in, they use rare goods that cannot be found locally to swindle people out of their most precious possessions, which may be gold and silver, or even pearls lost from the sea."

The Dragon Vein Sorcerer sighed inwardly at the trouble, but smiled without changing his expression and asked, "So you intend to trade with us? Rare treasures from beyond the world. You only have one chance to buy them in your lifetime."

"When I was a businessman, I was always cursed and called a bastard. And they weren't wrong. But the value of all goods is determined by people. If you can transport spring water to the desert, then you should earn that money. Tell me, what do you want?"

The Dragon Vein Sorcerer slowly said, "The elixir of immortality."

“No wonder.” The jeweler sighed with his eyes closed. “I suspect it was one of my fellow disciples who leaked the information. They’re all getting old, but the Grand Mage might not be able to concoct the elixir of immortality again anytime soon, so they’re eyeing me and Galini.”

He pulled a glass tube containing a luminescent liquid from the inside pocket of his coat. Its brilliance surpassed that of lamplight, illuminating the pupils of several auditors.

"This is it." The Dragon Vein Sorcerer silently assessed the item's quality. It was a dark gold-grade artifact, enough to extend one's lifespan by at least a hundred years, without any side effects. "What do you and that lady want?"

"Don't even think about getting the elixir from her," the jeweler warned. "She won't agree. When the Archmage refined the Blood of the World for the second time, he had three extra portions of the elixir. One portion was consumed on the spot, but Galini planned to leave it for someone else."

"Who could it be?" The illusionist felt there might still be room for maneuver. "Galini once wanted to have a child, but she aged too quickly and left quietly before her husband noticed anything amiss. She intended to give the elixir to that person, but he has unfortunately passed away."

"There is still hope as long as she doesn't use the elixir on the grave."

The jeweler smiled. "She really liked her students, perhaps because she never had children of her own. Anyway, she told me she planned to leave the medicine to her most outstanding disciple so that after she died, he could continue to follow the Grand Master in her place."

Upon hearing this, the players pondered for a moment and then abandoned their plan to find the witch.

"And you, sir, what do you desire?" The dragon vein sorcerer perked up, determined not to let go of the last bottle of the elixir of immortality.

The jeweler looked at him strangely. He remained silent for a long time before suddenly asking, "Are you afraid of the Archmage? Don't lie, tell the truth."

The auditors looked at each other in bewilderment.

“I’m not afraid. Brother Mage is a very easy person to talk to. But he can be quite frightening at times. None of you have witnessed his true power, nor do you understand the cold truth of the multiverse, so it’s hard for you to realize how fortunate you are to be able to follow such a powerful figure.” The Illusionist spoke earnestly.

“We apprentices deeply respect and love the Grand Master, but at the same time we also deeply fear him. In fact, I think the Grand Master is very fair. He will bestow spiritual medicine upon us because we have participated in the labor and deserve to be rewarded. But the problem is that there are too few spiritual medicines and too many disciples. The twelve of us voluntarily use illusion magic to conceal our youth, just so that our fellow disciples will not be consumed by jealousy.”

"Very considerate." As a long-lived race, elven sorcerers often encounter inexplicable hatred from those with short lifespans, and they deeply understand this.

"The Grand Master's other form of fairness lies in the fact that he doesn't grant immortality to us just because we are his disciples. To him, we are all the same as other people. He loves all people equally. So what Jialini and I have in our hands may very well be the last elixir of immortality, the last two tickets to the future."

One player offered a friendly reminder: "Essence is precious, but please keep it business as it is. Don't use high-sounding reasons to increase the value of goods. What exactly do you want in exchange?"

The jeweler wasn't angry. He smiled and said, "Anmar chose to drink it on the spot, so he was the smartest. But Garini did something stupid. I had to clean up her mess. I plan to use this bottle of elixir of immortality to whet people's appetites and make the other disciples covet it."

“Doing this will only create an irreparable rift between you, and greed will gradually turn into hatred.” The illusionist shook his head.

“I know. That’s why I will distribute the medicine to them in public. It’s the last resort. I deliberately lied to them that there was only one bottle of the elixir of immortality left, and it was in my possession. As long as the other participants keep their mouths shut, Galini can have her wish fulfilled.”

One player grew impatient. "What exactly do you want? Money, or magical artifacts? Name your price, make a wish, and exchange it for a potion. It's that simple. Why are you making such a fuss?"

The jeweler smiled without saying a word.

The Dragon Vein Sorcerer understood his silence, so he got up to say goodbye and took his other companions with him.

They will stay at their respective campsites tonight. Magical items such as Leomon's Hut and travel tents serve as their personal residences, so they won't have to sleep in the open.

On their way back, they encountered Tiflin, who had returned empty-handed from the second floor of the lighthouse. He had a sour look on his face and told everyone, "The eldest disciple drank the elixir a long time ago. But he said the old fat man has the last bottle of elixir."

“We just came back from him.”

"Got it?" Tiflin's worry turned to joy. "That fat old man is obviously greedy; he'd risk his life for money. How much disaster currency did you spend? We'll deduct it from the accounts when we split the bill."

"No." The elven warlock waved his hand, looking dejected. "The archmage's disciples, though of average strength, are truly legendary in character—stubborn beyond measure. We've all been disappointed. I need to go back and study. Goodnight, everyone."

Tiflin was so angry that he scratched his head and cheeks. After finding out the details of the transaction, he could only look up at the nine billion stars immersed in the night sky and sigh deeply.

(End of this chapter)