The Wizard: Starting with Infinite Part-Time Jobs

Chapter 145 Setting a Trap

"Could it be that this secret realm has the effect of granting wishes?" Aiden's brain seemed to have gone blank as he asked.

He stood there stunned for several seconds, his mind a jumbled mess.

However, Xiaodie's next words extinguished his hope.

"Dad, this crystal Ganoderma seems to be fake." Xiaodie picked up the Ganoderma and held it in front of Aiden, saying earnestly.

"Fake? But it feels pretty real to me, I'm tempted to take a bite." Aiden said, frowning as he played with the Ganoderma lucidum.

He examined the Ganoderma lucidum from every angle several times; its surface was smooth and delicate, and it certainly looked like the real thing.

Aiden even brought it closer to his nose and smelled it; it had a faint, pleasant fragrance, just like the real crystal Ganoderma lucidum.

"But since you say it's fake, then I'll believe you." Aiden thought for a moment, put the crystal Ganoderma away, and said.

"It seems this illusionary maze is much more complex than I imagined," Aiden said, frowning. "However, this wooden sign is quite magical, and it's very well hidden, giving it a kind of wish-granting effect."

"I can use this crystal Ganoderma lucidum to fool people, since they won't know it's fake," Aiden continued.

He curled his lips into a sly smile, revealing a mischievous expression, already having an idea in mind.

If you take this out, who can tell if it's real or fake?

Then find someone who doesn't know its value —

"Then let's continue." Aiden looked ahead and saw what appeared to be a large lake, where wizard apprentices were vaguely fighting.

The lake is vast, stretching as far as the eye can see, and its water is a deep, dark green.

The distant rumble of magical collisions echoed as bursts of colorful light exploded in mid-air, illuminating the surrounding mist.

The lake surface shimmered, but it wasn't the reflection of light; it was the splashing of various forms of witchcraft thrown into the water.

Aiden thought for a moment, then changed into his swamp boots. He crouched low and slithered over.

The boots made no sound when they stepped on the muddy ground, not even a thud when they went into puddles.

Above the lake, nearly ten wizard apprentices were engaged in a chaotic battle on magical broomsticks.

Magic spells of various colors exploded in mid-air. The explosions came one after another, shaking the water on the lake's surface.

There were male and female witches, mostly from wizarding organizations that Aiden didn't recognize.

They exchanged blows, splashing water everywhere in the lake.

One of the wizard apprentices was hit by his broom and fell from mid-air, sliding a long distance across the lake before regaining his footing.

"However, there seem to be wizard apprentices with Forest Echoes and Green Leaf Storms." Aiden quickly noticed two of the wizard apprentices.

He huddled behind a large, moss-covered rock by the lake, only half his face peeking out.

The two wizard apprentices fought fiercely, making it hard to miss. Especially the wind-elemental witch; every spell she cast had a piercing, whistling sound that could be heard from a great distance.

"Since everyone has something they are looking for, even though there are many people, they don't fight each other except for the conflicting things they are looking for," Aiden muttered to himself, watching the Forest Echoes wizard apprentices and the Green Leaf Storm wizard apprentices who were fighting.

The wizard apprentices who weren't involved in the battle patrolled the lake on broomsticks, as if searching for something. They would occasionally glance in this direction, but quickly fly away.

Although the fighting on the lake was lively, it was actually very orderly. Everyone had their own goals and wouldn't attack others without reason.

"Perhaps this is the tacit understanding between the white wizards," Aiden continued.

"Perfect timing, I can study the witchcraft of these two wizarding organizations," Aiden grinned.

He took a few more steps forward and found a better hiding spot; the bushes could completely cover him.

His eyes narrowed, his pupils reflecting the light of the magic exploding in the distance.

There, the male high wizard apprentice who echoed through the forest was tall and slender, holding a green wand and constantly flicking out green vines.

The vines were as thick as an arm, covered with dense little leaves, and when they touched the lake surface, they created a splash.

The number of vines increased, from one to two, then two to four or five, spreading densely across the opposite side like a sheet of paper.

A large green net.

"This Forest Echoes organization uses wood-elemental magic, which is quite unique," Aiden muttered to himself from the side.

He stared intently at the vines, analyzing the characteristics of this magic in his mind.

She had never seen such a persistent attack from vines before.

"Wood-attribute magic is characterized by its difficulty to deal with; it's not very powerful, but it's extremely durable and even has a slight healing effect," Aiden continued.

He had just witnessed a vine being severed by a wind blade, and new shoots slowly sprouted from the cut, growing into a small section of new vine in just a few seconds.

This ability to recover is indeed troublesome; if it can't be broken, it will accumulate and eventually entangle a person to death.

"This witch who fights the Green Leaf Storm seems quite violent—she follows the wind attribute path." Aiden frowned as he looked at the witch he was fighting.

The witch's wand was the color of a hurricane, and countless wind blades surged forth, slicing through the oncoming green vines.

Those wind blades were as thin as paper, with bluish edges, and their speed was astonishing.

Severed vine fragments flew everywhere, falling into the lake. The wind blades emitted a sharp whistling sound as they passed, sending chills down one's spine.

"Adeline, give up. Although your sorcery is more powerful than mine, you still can't beat me," Arthas, the sorcerer whose voice echoed through the forest, said with a cold smile.

His posture was relaxed, not at all like he was fighting a close battle, but more like he was toying with his prey.

The broom hovered steadily beneath his feet, and he even shifted to a more comfortable stance.

"Arthas, don't get cocky," Adeline of Green Leaf Storm said through gritted teeth.

Her face was taut, the veins in her temples were bulging, and her hand holding the wand was trembling uncontrollably.

Her breathing was rapid, and her chest was heaving violently.

"Zero-ring trick, Azure Leaf Wind Blade."

After she finished speaking, an even larger wind blade condensed in front of her from the tip of her wand and hurled it toward Arthas, who was echoing through the forest.

The wind blade was over two meters long, its edges flashing with a blinding bluish-white light, and its shape resembled a crescent moon.

It made a sharp, explosive sound as it cut through the air, and the wind pressure even tore a hole in the lake surface, sending water splashing several meters to both sides.

"Are you angry because you're embarrassed?" Arthas said with a smile.

He leaned back, and the broom under his feet suddenly spun around.

"Zero Ring Trick, Wooden Vine Thick Shield," Arthas chanted.

A shield suddenly appeared from the tip of his wand.

The wooden and rattan shield was half a meter thick, with crisscrossing patterns on its surface, making it look incredibly sturdy.

The moment the wind blade struck, countless cuts were made into the shield's surface, and wood chips flew everywhere.

But the shield didn't break; it just became pitted and uneven. The cuts were slowly healing, and new vines sprouted from the cracks, patching the shield up completely.

The fight between the two attracted the attention of the nearby high-ranking wizard apprentices, who all moved away to continue fighting their own opponents.

Two or three wizard apprentices flew by on broomsticks, glancing back at us. One of them whistled before speeding away.

During this time, occasionally, wizard apprentices like Aiden would pass by, and upon seeing that there was no opposing organization, they would ride away on their magic brooms.

"This battle between high-level wizard apprentices is much more intense than that between mid-level wizard apprentices. A single spell can easily break the ground and a large tree," Aiden muttered to himself as he watched their fight.

A tree as thick as a bowl by the lake had been cut in half by the wind blades, its upper half crashing to the ground with a loud thud, sending dirt flying everywhere. "However, it's still not enough for me."

Aiden stood with his arms crossed, his expression calm. There was even a slight smile on his lips, showing he didn't take the fight seriously at all.

Arthas and Adeline were now locked in a fierce battle, one launching a relentless attack while the other focused solely on defense, as they rode their magical brooms toward a small hillside on the side of the lake.

Their magic clashed repeatedly in the air, exploding into clouds of dust. A layer of grass on the hillside was torn up.

Aiden immediately pulled out his prepared magic-piercing arrows and his green bow, then, wearing swamp boots, tiptoed after them.

He stepped on the softest mud with each step, his swamp boots completely swallowing the sound of his footsteps.

The bushes on the hillside provided him with excellent cover; his figure was barely visible in the mist, and he was impossible to spot without careful observation.

"You two deliberately distanced yourselves from the crowd, saving me the trouble of revealing my strength," Aiden grinned.

Half an hour later.

The hillside has been blasted beyond recognition, with bits of wood scattered everywhere.

The surrounding shrubs were all destroyed, leaving only bare tree trunks.

As predicted, Adeline, the witch of the Green Leaf Storm, began to lose her magic, and the power of her spells started to decline.

The wind blades she flung out grew smaller and smaller, and their color changed from bluish-white to pale blue. They began to sway and dissipate halfway through their flight.

The light on the wand flickered, and his aura rapidly weakened.

The experienced sorcerer Arthas, echoing through the forest, constantly used defensive magic to deplete her mana.

His wooden vine shield was layered upon layered, and each time it was broken, he would add another layer, always protecting himself completely.

Arthas remained calm throughout, even having the leisure to observe Adeline's condition, appearing to have everything under control.

You can't tell at all that he was tired after playing for half an hour.

"Give up. Our strengths are evenly matched, and defensive magic naturally has the advantage. You are no match for me," Arthas said cruelly.

He looked down at Adeline, his sneer deepening, new vines still sprouting from the tip of his wand.

The vines wove a net in front of him, ready to meet the next wave of attack at any moment.

"After I take care of you, I can use your identification to collect organization points. Although it's not a direct acquisition of the Crystal Ganoderma, reducing an opponent is still a significant contribution," Arthas continued.

He even yawned, completely disregarding his opponent.

"Don't even think about it," the witch Adeline said through gritted teeth.

She unleashed another wind-attribute spell, but her mana was almost depleted, and her face turned deathly pale.

Adeline's legs were trembling, and she could barely stand on the broom.

The wind blade was only a third the size of its original size. It flew out crookedly, and began to fall apart halfway through its flight. It crashed into Arthas's wooden vine shield without leaving a mark.

The wooden vine shield remained completely still, without even a slight tremor.

"Stubbornness won't help. And don't even think about escaping. This place is far from everyone else; you can't get away," Arthas said with a smile.

"It's almost time."

Below, Aiden muttered to himself.

He huddled behind a huge, gray-black rock, with only half his head showing, his gaze fixed on the lawn in front of him.

As he spoke, he took out his own crystal Ganoderma lucidum, the fake one.

The Ganoderma lucidum was completely translucent and looked almost exactly like the real thing.

He rubbed the surface of the Ganoderma lucidum with his thumb.

"Hehe, now I can use this to trick people."

Aiden's lips curled up, his smile impossible to hide.

"Xiaodie, move this Ganoderma lucidum to the bushes over there, then let the wind blow it out so they can see it."

He turned to the side, gestured towards the distance with his lip, and spoke with a hint of mockery.

"Look, those two fighting on magic broomsticks," Aiden said earnestly, pointing to Adeline and Arthas beside him.

In the distance, two figures were locked in combat, their magical light flashing and exploding into bursts of light and mist.

"No problem, Dad."

The virtual butterfly nodded and put the crystal Ganoderma into its spatial pocket.

Then, he appeared in the bushes that Aiden had specified.

Its body flashed through the air like ripples on water, and the next second it was standing in the grass.

Xiaodie squatted down and carefully placed the Ganoderma lucidum among the grass leaves.

A gust of wind happened to blow by, pressing down the grass blades, and the crystal Ganoderma appeared out of thin air in the middle of the grass, radiating light.

The light was particularly striking against the dim sky, illuminating the surrounding grass and leaves.

In the air, Adeline and Arthas glanced at each other during their fight and both stopped casting spells with their wands.

The wand in Adeline's hand was still emitting blue smoke, and the whirlwind at the tip of the wand had not completely dissipated.

The situation in Alsace also came to an abrupt end.

The two turned their heads to look at the ground at the same time, their movements almost identical.

"What is this?"

"Crystal Ganoderma?!" Arthas exclaimed, both surprised and delighted.

His voice changed, his eyes widened, and his breathing became noticeably rapid.

The two were stunned for a moment, and within seconds, they both mounted their magic brooms and rushed towards the crystal Ganoderma at top speed.

The two figures flew straight towards the patch of grass, neither wanting to let the other get there first.