Wizards begin by accessing the Inspiration panel.

Chapter 136 Disguise Elixir

Just as Richard and three wizarding apprentices from Gurus Academy were having a minor incident at the Black Forest market.

Half a day had already passed, but the person originally assigned to meet Lucius at the Ignis School had yet to receive any feedback from him.

The contact frowned, wondering if something had gone wrong, such as the mission failing. Although Lucius and his two companions should be fine, the lack of feedback so far made him uneasy.

Lucius and his two companions were among the most powerful second-level wizard apprentices. When the three of them joined forces, even a typical third-level wizard apprentice would be no match for them, let alone this time when they were only dealing with a second-level wizard apprentice.

But after waiting for another half hour, the contact person couldn't sit still any longer and immediately called a few people to go with him to check.

Led by a strange little beast, the group quickly followed the route taken by Lucius and his companions, proceeding along the western path.

Finally, before it got completely dark, the three of them arrived at the location where Richard and Lucius were fighting.

The strange little beast circled three times in place, indicating that Lucius's presence had disappeared from there.

The contact and his companions immediately began a thorough search. After searching around, they finally found some clues, indicating that this was clearly the scene of the battle.

However, judging from the deliberately concealed scene, it is clear that one side must have won. Considering that Lucius and his two companions did not send any signals for a long time, the contact person basically concluded that the target had not been killed and that none of Lucius and his two companions survived.

This made him shudder!

It should be noted that Lucius and his two companions were among the best of the second-level wizard apprentices in the North Ring. Lucius, in particular, was highly regarded by his mentor, who believed that Lucius had a greater than 60% chance of becoming a full wizard.

But now, it is here that the losses have been incurred.

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, the contact immediately pulled out a Blood Falcon Corpse Bird from his pocket, entered the information, and then had the Blood Falcon transmit the message to Joachim.

-

Deep within the Norman Secret Realm.

The corpse of a tall lobster-man lay on the spot, its fatal wound being a large hole pierced through its chest, which even its thick shell could not withstand.

The black-robed man standing to the side, reading the message from the Blood Falcon, was none other than Joachim, a third-level wizard apprentice from the Ring of North.

"Useless, Lucius is useless. The three of them couldn't even handle a second-level wizard apprentice. In the end, I had to take action myself." Joachim was a little anxious.

The other two were one thing, but Lucius's mentor was quite formidable even among formal wizards.

Now, things are really messed up. The matter of his junior Jenna hasn't even been settled yet, and Lucius has gotten himself into trouble. If both official wizards come after him demanding an explanation, he'll be in real trouble.

I'll be like that fried egg, both sides will be fried until golden brown.

It seems things can't be delayed any longer. What a waste of such a wonderful Norman Secret Realm!

Damn it! If we just wait a few more days, we can collect enough supplies to exchange for Crimson Shock Potion. But for now, we should hurry up and deal with this matter first!

Although he felt a little regretful, Joachim did not hesitate any longer and immediately turned around and sped towards the exit of the secret realm.

After all, it's the same whether we deal with things first or come back later. It'll just be a few days later, but it won't make a difference.

In Joachim's mind, killing a second-level wizard apprentice like Richard was a trivial matter.

-

It was getting dark.

However, Richard, who had just acquired a new mount, was a little excited. Moreover, given his strength, there didn't seem to be any monsters or dangers in the Black Forest that he needed to pay special attention to.

Therefore, Richard spurred the mutated winter wolf and sped along the forest path toward the Kingdom of Heron.

The saddle gifted by the Modims family's mount shop appears to be made from the tanned hide of a monster called a black-horned sheep. It is very breathable and comfortable, and the wolf's waist is very flexible, unlike that of a horse, resulting in excellent shock absorption.

Richard rode on the mutated winter wolf, and apart from the strong winds blowing in his face when he was moving too fast, which messed up his hair, he had almost no flaws.

This improved Richard's overall travel comfort by more than two levels.

At this rate, the trip, originally planned for five days, is estimated to take only two days.

Just as Richard was comfortably sitting on the back of the mutated winter wolf, enjoying his otherworldly version of a "Mercedes-Maybach," a gray-robed figure was chasing after him, his body surrounded by a wisp of blue energy, and he was running at breakneck speed behind the mutated winter wolf, his legs leaving afterimages.

If viewed from above, although the gray-robed man was trying his best to travel on foot, he was still getting further and further away from the agile white figure several miles ahead.

Although the gray-robed man hadn't seen the white figure ahead, he wasn't discouraged. As he ran, he muttered to himself, "Did this wandering apprentice know I would chase after him? He's too fast. It's been two hours, and it's getting so dark. Doesn't he want to find a place to camp?"

Although there are no particularly powerful monsters in this dark forest, there are still some monsters that second-level wizard apprentices are wary of.

I refuse to believe you can keep running like that without camping!

Having chased for half an hour, Muken was naturally unwilling to give up the prize that was about to be his.

In his view, since this wandering apprentice had the ability to spend a thousand magic stones to buy this mutated winter wolf, it meant that he must have something more valuable on him, or a large number of magic stones.

Regardless of the type, they all represent a fat sheep.

Although he was having a hard time chasing after them, he was certain that they would be looking for a place to rest.

At that time, a wandering apprentice with the strength of a second-level wizard apprentice would be a piece of cake for him.

Half an hour later, Richard, having recovered from the novelty, squeezed his legs together to slow down the mutated winter wolf, and began searching along both sides of the path.

Before long, they found a wolverine's den not far from the path.

After casually chasing away the wolverines, Richard rested there.

Why choose a wolverine's den? That's a rather interesting question. Richard originally lacked knowledge in this area, but after spending half a year in the Grey Fern Wilderness, his experience quickly became much richer.

First of all, monster lairs are generally not the first choice. Most monsters don't care about the hygiene of their own lairs at all, and they have a strong smell!

Even after cleaning, there is still a faint smell of excrement.

Badgers, or badger species, generally keep their dens very clean because they defecate outside the burrow.

Simply put, badgers will build a dry toilet outside the burrow, so that, apart from being a little small, the burrows are very hygienic.

The wolverine is one of the larger badger species, so Richard's movement around wasn't crowded.

Of course, a badger would be best, but they are hard to find nearby. Richard was already very lucky to find a wolverine's den.

Once a campsite is found, the next step is naturally to solve the problem of food and drink.

When it comes to his diet, Richard is never picky and will be quite particular about it when he has the means.

So, before long, a rich aroma of wine and roasted meat wafted from the entrance of the wolverine's den, while the mutated winter wolf next to it was drooling and kept circling around Richard, acting cute and charming.

"Hey! Don't you eat raw food? Why are you eating cooked food now?" Richard glanced at the mutated winter wolf, speechless.

When this guy saw that he was grilling meat, he seemed to realize that grilled meat was much more fragrant than raw meat. He immediately stopped eating his raw meat and turned around to act cute and ask for cooked meat instead.

What a shrewd person!

"However, since you worked so hard hunting the spotted rabbit, I'll roast three rabbit heads for you!" Richard said helplessly, shaking his head.

The three spotted rabbits that the mutated winter wolf just hunted were quite plump, so it deserves credit.

Richard cut off twelve rabbit legs, and threw the rest to the mutated winter wolf to eat. Unexpectedly, this guy was actually a glutton and could tell that roasting them was better.

So when Muken, exhausted and hungry, finally arrived near the wolverine's den after following the mutated winter wolf's tracks, he saw this scene before him.

A man and a wolf were seen around a campfire, tearing into the fragrant roasted meat. The "wandering wizard apprentice" also had a bottle of fine wine with him, the aroma of which filled the air.

Muken swallowed hard, sniffing the air. "Damn! Aivorsa mead, that costs five magic stones a bottle!"

The well-informed Muken immediately recognized the type of drink the other person was drinking from the faint honey aroma.

He immediately recognized the other party as a sure target. He himself was reluctant to drink this kind of wine, and had only drunk it twice so far.

At that moment, Richard, who was gnawing on a roasted rabbit leg and drinking fine wine, had already sensed the uninvited guest before Muken discovered them.

Moreover, through his keen sense of aura, Richard knew that this uninvited guest was the same third-level wizard apprentice from Gurus Academy whom he had met at the mount shop. Now, Richard was just pretending not to know anything.

The mutated winter wolf, this stubborn fellow, was sniffling and crying, yet still couldn't bear to give up the spicy rabbit head in its mouth.

That's right, Richard specially added some ingredients to the three rabbit heads of the mutated winter wolf.

Although the flavor is a bit strong, it's definitely numbing and spicy. The mutated winter wolf is currently undergoing a soul-searching question: "Should I continue eating or give up? It's so spicy, but also so delicious!"

They were completely unaware that someone was approaching.

After thinking for a moment, Muken took out a small, transparent glass bottle from his pocket, which contained a small amount of gray liquid.

"Pop~" Muken pulled out the cork from the bottle, and immediately, a strange stench wafted out.

Pinching his nose, Muken made a face and drank it down in one gulp. Then, he began to slowly massage his face.

After Muken quickly kneaded his chin, a beard surprisingly began to grow on it.

Without stopping, Muken continued to slowly knead from his chin to his earlobe, and his appearance underwent a huge change, transforming from a fair-skinned, beardless man into someone with a full beard.

After that, Muken began to gently rub his nose, and slowly, his nose changed from a high bridge to a red, bulbous nose.

A few minutes later, an old man with a full beard and a red nose appeared. His appearance, hair color, and even his voice had changed dramatically compared to before. This man was Muken, who had drunk the disguise potion.

Disguise potion, a rare potion-making agent, has the special effect of changing one's appearance, but it has a certain time limit.

Muken thought for a moment, then took out a black robe from his pack, deliberately soiled it, and tore a few small holes in it. He then changed out of the gray robe of the Gurus Academy and replaced the short staff in his hand with a piece of withered branch he had picked up nearby.

At this point, Muken had completed his "rags-to-riches" transformation, changing from a handsome young man into a destitute old man.

After carefully examining himself again, and making sure he had no flaws, Muken, still wearing his tattered black robe, stepped out of the bushes and slowly walked towards Richard.

"It smells so good! Lost traveler, I hope to receive some reward." The old man twitched his red, bulbous nose and squinted his eyes, seemingly immersed in the aroma of roasting rabbit meat.

Richard looked up and was momentarily stunned!

Because in his perception of the aura just now, he was certain that the other party was the third-level wizard apprentice from the Gurus Academy whom he had met at the mount shop, so how did it suddenly turn into the bearded old man in front of him?

A traveler who happened to be passing by?

Richard's keen eyesight allowed him to clearly see every pore on the other person's bulbous nose, and sweat was even secreting from those pores. Clearly, the other person's face was as real as could be, definitely not the kind of disguise where someone was wearing a human skin mask.

What's going on? Richard's brain started working at high speed.

There are only two possibilities. The first is that you just misperceived and made a mistake. The second is that the other party used some kind of witchcraft that changes body shape or disguise.

But as far as he knew, Transfiguration was an extremely rare form of witchcraft, difficult even for a fully-fledged wizard to perform, let alone a third-level wizard apprentice.

However, having hunted hundreds and thousands of different monsters in the Gray Fern Wilderness, his precise perception was so sharp that the possibility of error was extremely low. Obviously, the first scenario was unlikely.

Then there's only the second possibility.

Richard's lips curled up. Since the other party wanted to play along, he would naturally cooperate and see what they were really up to.

"Of course, please sit down." Richard gestured for the other person to sit down casually by the campfire and tossed him a roasted rabbit leg that was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

The aroma of the roasted meat immediately made the tired Muken's mouth water, but he still took a careful sniff to make sure there was no strange smell before he began to eat heartily.

The way the old man tore at the rabbit leg made it seem as if he hadn't eaten for three days; his originally chapped lips were now shiny with oil.

In less than a minute, the old man in front of him swallowed a two-pound rabbit leg whole!

If Richard hadn't sensed the other party's presence early on, he would definitely have been fooled by the other party's acting skills, which surpassed even the best actor.

Unfortunately, Richard had already seen through the other party's previous tricks. At this moment, Richard felt like he was watching a stand-up comedian perform live in his previous life, and he couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

However, Richard appeared relaxed on the outside but remained vigilant on the inside. The black jade ring in his hand and the extremely pure mental energy in his mind were already ready to instantly unleash a dark elemental shield and a secondary mental shock.

These two great sorceries, one defensive and one offensive, are arguably Richard's greatest source of confidence in doing so.

(End of this chapter)