Clinging to the Witcher world to become a god of martial arts

Chapter 199 Faceless

When the outside world underwent drastic changes, Lorne had already arrived in the trading area via a teleportation array. His immediate priority was to find a wizarding artifact that could conceal his face.

Before the Battle of the Prodigies, one should not show one's face in the Wizard Tower unless absolutely necessary.

The shopping area remained bustling, with many wizards walking back and forth on the spiraling stairs.

Shops lined both sides of the stairs, and the sounds of hawking, bargaining, and various other noises mingled together, creating a somewhat chaotic scene.

Lorne actually hoped that the current situation would be as chaotic as possible, so that he could easily enter the store to buy a mask.

Public opinion will erupt very quickly, and it will likely not only be centered on the Star River Hall, but will spread to all the halls as nodes, reaching the entire Black Sun Tower.

He could sense that an unusual atmosphere was beginning to permeate the air.

Even in the bustling trading area, snippets of conversation occasionally drifted into my ears, vaguely carrying words like "apprentice," "newly minted wizard," and "useless."

These disturbances all seemed to Lorne as a potential threat. He pulled his hood down, walked quickly, and tried to avoid eye contact with anyone.

After quickly purchasing the mask, head to the Academic School to find Sadiq.

On the spiral staircase, Lorne quickened his pace, like a leaf blown by the wind, weaving through the bustling crowd.

Those fragmented words, when put together, couldn't be clearer in their direction. The speed at which public opinion spread far exceeded expectations, and there was a growing trend of discussion in the trading area.

We need to go even faster.

After looking around, Lorne's gaze finally settled on a rather old-fashioned shop with a wooden signboard on which the words were barely legible.

However, judging from the interior furnishings, this shop should be selling alchemy tools and wizarding artifacts, as it is filled with a wide variety of items.

There were no servants stopping at the door, so Lorne went straight into the shop.

Generally speaking, these low-level wizard trading venues do not require attendants to guide them, because no important figures come here.

On the contrary, high-ranking wizards occasionally pass through the market in the apprentice area, but the trading area inside the wizard tower requires taking a teleportation array, and no high-ranking wizard knows the destination to get here.

Behind the corroded door frame lies a spacious interior of the store.

The lighting inside was a bit dimmer than outside; you needed to rely on a few table lamps on the wall that emitted a dim yellow light to see the goods on the shelves.

The air was filled with a musty smell, perhaps from some kind of special reagent used to maintain the quality of alchemical artifacts.

Behind the counter stood a hunched figure, draped in a heavy cloak, carefully wiping the eye sockets of a skull with a piece of velvet cloth.

Hearing the door open, he didn't stop what he was doing, but asked in a hoarse voice, "What do you need, guest?"

Lorne was eager to keep the other party's attention away from him, and said in a calm tone, "A mask that has a concealment effect, blocks detection, and preferably blocks the mental perception of high-level wizards."

The shopkeeper paused slightly as he wiped the skull, seemingly showing a hint of interest in Lorne's request to "isolate himself from the mental perception of high-level wizards."

He slowly put down the skull and velvet in his hands, raised his head, revealing unusually bright, cloudy yellow eyes in the shadows, and stared directly at Lorne.

"The perception of a high-level wizard?" The shopkeeper's hoarse voice carried a hint of surprise. "This customer, an item that can block that level of detection wouldn't be found in a low-level shop."

This is a trading place for low-level wizards, and it is indeed quite difficult to find a magical artifact that can withstand the mental perception of high-level wizards.

Lorne felt he had acted too hastily and had attracted the other party's attention.

But he remained expressionless, only lowering his voice: "It can withstand the mental perception of a second-tier wizard."

Although the formal wizards who might participate in the Battle of the Prodigies are likely to be first-tier marginal talents, they are considered weaklings among formal wizards.

However, it's best to raise your level by one tier first and choose to defend against second-tier wizards, in case of unforeseen circumstances.

"Hehe..." The shopkeeper chuckled twice, his voice hoarse like sandpaper rubbing, "It seems you've gotten yourself into quite a bit of trouble. Coincidentally, I happen to have such a magical artifact on hand."

He didn't ask any further questions, but instead bent down and took out a black metal box from under the counter.

The box's surface was covered with twisted runes, faintly emitting energy fluctuations that prevented detection from both inside and outside.

"Faceless." The shopkeeper opened the box, which was lined with dark black velvet, and in the center was a pure white mask, decorated with black ripples.

"The forging blueprints for this mask have been made public among mid-level wizards; otherwise, it wouldn't have appeared in the trading area for low-level wizards."

"The main materials are the energy core of the Phantom Spirit and the powder of the Silent Stone."

"Wearing the Faceless Mask can isolate external mental perception and even simulate false mental energy fluctuations."

"Most importantly, it has a miniature mental stasis field embedded in it. As long as the mental strength does not exceed the upper limit of a second-tier wizard, when mental power passes through it, it will stagnate inside it."

Lorne's gaze was immediately drawn to the faceless figure.

It meets his needs in every aspect, not only isolating him from mental perception but also disguising his mental energy fluctuations, which undoubtedly greatly enhances his stealth.

"How much?" Lorne immediately asked about the price of the mask.

"One hundred merit points, or rare materials of equivalent value," the shopkeeper quoted a staggering figure.

Lorne's eye twitched almost imperceptibly. He only had 300 merit points left, which meant he had to spend a third of them to buy a mask.

The price of Whisper of the Deep Cold is the same, while Faceless is just a magical artifact that can be mass-produced and forged.

He suspected that the shop owner had sensed his eagerness and, instead of giving him a chance to check the price at the counter, had secretly taken it out from under the table to rip him off.

After some negotiation, the price came down to 50 merit points, but the shopkeeper was adamant about lowering it further.

"This price is indeed a bit expensive, but at least it guarantees safety. You should think it over carefully, sir."

The shopkeeper chuckled, his bright yellow eyes seeming to pierce through Lorne's hood. "If you can't accept this price, then look elsewhere."

"I'm not selling it anymore." The shop owner made a gesture as if he was about to close the black box immediately.

"Fine." Lorne stopped him, then reluctantly took out his wizard token to pay.

Public opinion has spread to the trading area, where countless wizards have already seen Lorne's face, and searching for related magical artifacts in other shops carries a certain degree of risk.

Lorne didn't want to reveal his location on the first day and attract the attention of the wizards inside the Black Tower.