Wizard: Starts with Advanced Meditation

Before long, Hughes arrived at the edge of the market, on a grassy area that had been deliberately cleared out.

At this moment, however, the place was filled with cages of all sizes, and inside the cages were slaves of different races, categorized by race.

He glanced around and found that compared to the outer regions of the continent, the overall quality of the slaves here was significantly better. There were no ordinary people among them; they all emanated a certain degree of magical energy fluctuations.

"Oh dear, it's a new face..."

At that moment, a human wizard suddenly emerged from the nearby tent and slowly walked up to Hughes.

He was wearing a large black garment that had clearly been modified, with bulging pockets sewn all over the top and bottom.

In each pocket, there was at least one sheepskin scroll containing a contract.

Clearly, this was a slave trader in the area.

"Excuse me... bird-beaked wizard, may I call you that?"

Hughes nodded, then looked at the slave trader in front of him.

The other party wasn't wearing a mask, but had covered their face with a layer of dark elements.

"Alright, you can call me 'Black Bear' then."

After receiving a response, the slave trader revealed his pseudonym.

"So, what do you need? I even have vampires here..."

"Black Bear" came closer and said in a low voice.

"Vampires?"

Upon hearing this, Hughes was slightly taken aback.

"You dare to hide vampires? And you even dare to sell them?"

In the first year after suppressing the vampires, the Golden Crown issued a decree throughout the continent:

Anyone who encounters a vampire must not harbor or protect them; violators will be treated as fellow vampires.

"Hmph, for us wizards who want to advance to the second level, there's nothing we wouldn't dare to do."

The black bear chuckled.

"You think... how did we get so many blood witches? It's by transplanting the symbolic blood of these vampires."

Hughes nodded and didn't dwell on the topic any further.

"I need a qualified wizard, preferably a human, a complete and living one."

After he finished speaking, he paused, and then added a sentence.

"An empty pool is fine."

As soon as he finished speaking, the dark elements on the "Black Bear's" face trembled:

"You mean... a formal wizard, not a level one magical beast?"

"No, they are formal wizards, beings just like us."

Hughes nodded.

"..."

"Black Bear" was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice:

"Yes, but I don't accept magic stones. You need to offer something that can convince me, and we need to sign a contract. You cannot reveal the identity of this wizard."

As Gack said, the wizard slaves on the black market usually come from illegitimate sources.

They could be legitimate residents of Maransel, or even—and possibly members of a Golden Ring family.

Therefore, "Black Bear" completely changed his attitude towards this deal.

"A level two sorcery scroll, do you want it?"

Hughes, of course, had already prepared for this.

"However... it's blood magic."

Previously, when he visited the Vault of Valerius with Iluya, he opened several Level 2 Spellbook scrolls from one of the chests.

Unfortunately, many of them contain blood magic.

Without blood energy, he naturally couldn't activate it. Even if he managed to convert it with magic, he would easily be targeted by the Golden Ring.

So, this is a good opportunity to spend them.

Even so, Hughes still felt a pang of heartache, after all, it was a level two sorcery.

—Afterwards, be sure to ask Vaka for reimbursement.

He thought to himself, silently noting down this debt in his mind.

"Level two witchcraft? You really have it?!"

At the same time, upon hearing this, the elements on the "Black Bear's" face trembled instantly, clearly indicating a wavering.

"Then show it to me first. Blood magic is fine; I have my own way of activating it."

Although he is not a blood sorcerer, he, who has concealed his vampire lineage, naturally has other ways to utilize blood energy.

"Can."

After saying that, Hughes reached into his storage bag and pulled out a blood-red scroll.

"Level 2 Blood Spell [Blood Meteor]: Its effect is to condense a giant meteorite made of solidified blood, which can cause extremely powerful destruction."

As he explained, he slowly unrolled the scroll.

In an instant, a rich blood energy rushed towards them.

On the blood-red paper, an even more scarlet string of witchcraft runes was inscribed, gleaming with an eerie blood-red light.

However, these magical runes are not in Esso, but in a magical language created by the vampires.

Upon seeing this, the dark elements on "Black Bear's" face froze instantly, his breathing became rapid, and his chest began to heave violently.

He subconsciously took half a step forward, his fingers slightly curled, as if he wanted to grab the scroll in his hand immediately.

"Your Excellency, 'Black Bear'."

But at that moment, Hughes suddenly put away the scroll and then released his mental energy.

"Buzz—!"

In an instant, a mental pressure as heavy as a mountain descended and pressed down heavily on the black bear.

"You were almost infected."

As soon as he finished speaking, "Black Bear" instantly regained consciousness and felt an invisible, heavy pressure on his body, causing him to break out in a cold sweat.

"You're almost a half-baked wizard! No, you're already at the bottom!"

To further construct the Magic Pool system, a matching mental strength is required, and the mental strength of the person in front of us has already reached the condition for constructing half a pool!

Seeing that the other party had regained consciousness, Hughes withdrew his mental pressure.

The "black bear" was panting heavily, still shaken by what it had just experienced.

"Sir, please follow me."

After a short pause, "Black Bear" raised his head and said, even the way he looked at Hughes changed instantly.

—To have reached the mental strength requirements for advancing to the half-pool level at such a young age, and to possess a level two sorcery scroll, this person's identity is definitely not simple!

He thought of it and then led Hughes into the tent.

The tent had clearly been enchanted with a spell to expand the space; it was not only a large, fully furnished room, but also divided into several smaller cubicles.

"Come with me, Your Excellency."

At this moment, "Black Bear" found a rune container from somewhere, presumably to hold the scrolls later.

"I locked that guy in the cellar. Don't worry, he's already unconscious."

After saying that, he bent down and lifted the trapdoor at his feet.

"Squeak—"

Instantly, a cold, damp air rushed towards me, mixed with the smell of dirt and mold.

Below the door was a staircase made of old oak, which creaked and groaned underfoot, as if it would break if you stepped on it too hard.