Wizard Earl

Southgate was able to become a Grand Alchemist and the number two figure in the Skull and Bones Society, a dark wizarding organization, entirely because he had independently crafted many powerful second-tier enchanted items, as well as the legendary third-tier enchanted item—the Book of Enchanted Items—while in Hoy New World.

The Eye of Alanth, a second-tier enchanted item, might be extremely difficult for other wizards to craft, with a high failure rate. However, for Southgate, it's practically a sure thing; failing to craft it is harder than succeeding.

Therefore, for Bispin, it would be the best thing if Southgate could forge the Eye of Alan for him!

Bispin had considered inviting Southgate to craft the Eye of Alan for him before, but since he and Southgate weren't familiar with each other and didn't have much of a relationship, he felt awkward asking Southgate for it. Now that Southgate was offering to do so and was willing to reduce the fee by one Alan gem, the price was already very generous and met Bispin's expectations.

After hesitating for two seconds, Bispin, who was already tempted, couldn't resist the lure of Southgate's offer. He gritted his teeth and said to Southgate, "I can tell you what I know, but you must promise to keep it a secret, otherwise we'll both face the professor's wrath!"

"Don't worry, I, Southgate, am not new to this world. I know what to say and what not to say..." Southgate assured Bispin with great certainty.

With Southgate's assurance, Bispin's concerns lessened, and he told Southgate, "I don't know how others view Connor Ferguson, but in my opinion, the professor has never considered Connor Ferguson a dispensable pawn!"

"On the contrary, Professor Ferguson held Connor Ferguson in extremely high regard and nurtured him meticulously. He not only imparted the Reyes Alchemy, which he had created with his life's work, to Connor Ferguson, but also taught him the advanced meditation technique he had practiced, the Abyss Secrets. When the professor was in Rune, he specifically instructed a friend to look after Connor!"

Hearing Bispin's words, Southgate was surprised but also seemed to understand. He interrupted Bispin and tentatively asked, "Bispin, are you saying that Reyes really sees Connor Ferguson as his successor?"

"I think so!" Bispin didn't beat around the bush or pretend to be mysterious in response to Southgate's probing; instead, he gave a very straightforward answer!

Southgate nodded thoughtfully, then gestured for Bispin to continue.

"I met Connor Ferguson more than ten years ago in Loen, when he had just become a junior wizarding apprentice. I was quite surprised at the time why Professor Reyes of the Secret Society would take him as a student. I never imagined that more than ten years later, Connor Ferguson would have become a full-fledged wizard!" Bispin said with a touch of melancholy.

Although Bispin's words were unintentional, they resonated with Southgate. His eyes immediately widened in shock as he asked Bispin, "Bispin, are you saying that Connor Ferguson only took a little over ten years to grow from a novice wizard apprentice to a full-fledged wizard like you and me?"

"That's right! Exactly!" Bispin nodded, then added, "While Connor's talent was undoubtedly the most important factor in creating this miracle, you can imagine just how much effort Reyes put into nurturing him!"

"As for old Victor that you mentioned, Southgate, that old guy has failed to break through to become a formal wizard several times. Even in Rune, if Connor Ferguson didn't kill him, he wouldn't live much longer. In my opinion, he was just a test that Reyes left for Connor Ferguson to help him grow!"

Bisping's account completely overturned Southgate's impression of Connor Ferguson. If these words had not been spoken by Bisping, Reyes's closest assistant, Southgate would have scoffed at them.

After a full few minutes of silence, Southgate finally processed the massive amount of information in Bisping's words and calmly asked, "Besides seeing Connor Ferguson as his successor, does Reyes have any other thoughts about Connor Ferguson?"

Bispin didn't answer Southgate's question as directly and quickly as he had the previous one. After hesitating for a few seconds, he shook his head at Southgate and said, "I don't know the answer to that question. Perhaps Professor, you have other plans for Connor Ferguson, but at least for now, I haven't found any clues."

After pondering for a while, Southgate, who had already obtained a considerable amount of information about Connor from Bispin, ended his questioning and said to Bispin, "Give me the materials. I'm just idling here anyway, so I'll refine them for you now!"

Hearing Southgate's words, Bispin didn't hesitate. He immediately took out materials he had been preparing for countless years from his spatial ring and handed them to Southgate, saying solemnly, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Southgate!"

Southgate waved his hand to indicate it was alright, then took the materials and turned back to his room to work. Seeing Southgate return to his room, Bisping's eyes flickered slightly, then he quietly left the apartment building.

The men in plainclothes shown on the crystal ball screen were clearly the Storm Church's arbitrators in Frosinone, their backgrounds and origins quite clear. Bispin had spent half his life dealing with the Storm Church, so he knew exactly how to deal with them. Therefore, relatively speaking, Bispin valued the young blonde woman with formal wizarding skills, whose friend or foe was unknown! To him, that was the uncontrollable factor.

Now, with Southgate's discovery, it's almost certain that the young blonde woman might be connected to Connor Ferguson. Therefore, Bispin feels it's necessary to use his connections to investigate who this mysterious blonde woman is and what her purpose is in appearing in that forest..., just to be safe.