Spellcasting Gods

Even going to the toilet and cleaning up personal hygiene were squeezed out of their schedules, as they spent all their time in the sturdy basement of the house, conducting theoretical research and practice.

He was like a thirsty sponge, frantically absorbing all kinds of knowledge from the notes. Even though he was almost beaten by the irritable earth elemental several times, he did not back down at all. Instead, he gained a lot of experience from it, and each time he summoned, he made significant progress compared to the last time.

In just two days, he was able to control the summoned elements for more than a minute.

The only problem is that as the control period lengthens, the element's resistance increases exponentially with each command issued, and the stronger the element, the faster it tends to break free.

According to the notes, the best solution is to lure an element out of its world and imprison it in a Soul Diamond.

In this way, when the mage summons again, it will be the same element.

Moreover, since the connection with the elemental world has been severed, the elements can no longer draw power from it and therefore cannot break free from control. However, the downside is that the mage, as the summoner, must use his own magic to provide energy to the elements.

After weighing the pros and cons, Zhang Cheng decisively chose to accept the advice given in the notes and prepared to capture one of each of the four elements: fire, water, earth, and wind.

After all, he'll leave this world sooner or later, and who knows if there will be elemental life forms there when he goes back, so it's better to have some insurance in advance.

Let's do it!

Enticing elements is not an easy task.

First, you must obtain something they cannot refuse, such as the essence of water, the essence of air, the essence of earth, and the essence of fire that can enhance the element's own power.

Secondly, to prevent the elements from escaping, a binding array is also essential.

Third, and most importantly, the mage must know the name of the summoned element; otherwise, the imprisonment ritual cannot be completed.

Because he needed so many things, Zhang Cheng directly purchased the entire set of materials from the Kirin Tor Council's supply manager at a high price, spending a total of fifty gold coins. He then hired three advanced apprentices to help him complete the confinement array in the basement. Finally, he consulted the ancient books in the library and copied down the names of four elements whose strength was comparable to his own.

It was a week later when all the preparations were completed.

During this period, he also extracted air conditioning to produce a large batch of primary treatment potions, at least a thousand bottles.

As one of the most basic magical potions in alchemy, the ingredients for a basic healing potion are actually very few, requiring only silverleaf and tranquilizer. The process is also very simple: maintain the temperature of the solution, slowly add the chopped herbs, and once the potion turns red, cast a spell to activate it.

In games, potions may have to be prepared one bottle at a time, but in reality, you can easily increase the size of the container and the amount of herbs according to the proportions, prepare a large potful at once, and then put it into bottles.

Of course, this method is not suitable for everyone, especially the control of herb concentration and solution temperature; even a slight mistake can lead to disastrous consequences.

Zhang Cheng dared to do this largely thanks to the knowledge and experience he had been instilled in his mind.

He doesn't even need to think or calculate; he can tell the temperature of the solution with the naked eye whether there is too much silver leaf or too much calming flower.

The merchant, who had just rushed back to Dalaran from outside, happened to see the mountain of potion bottles piled up inside the house. He was overjoyed and shouted excitedly, "Holy Light! My Holy Light! It's unbelievable! I've only been gone for a week, and you...you've already concocted so many healing potions?"

"Don't get excited, dear old George. These are just the most basic healing potions. They can't heal wounds in just a few seconds like advanced healing potions. At most, they can pull a seriously injured person back from the brink of death." Zhang Cheng rubbed his dry eyes, his face showing an exhausted expression.

As soon as he made the first bottle of basic healing potion, he couldn't wait to buy a few rabbits to test its effects and found that its greatest use was actually stopping bleeding.

No matter how severe the internal or external injury, once a bottle is taken, the bleeding will stop immediately. As for when it will heal and recover, that depends on the patient's physical condition.

"No! No! No! You don't understand! What the army needs is this kind of cheap, basic healing potion that can save lives in critical moments. Generally speaking, every organized army is usually equipped with a chaplain or doctor who is responsible for treating the wounded. As long as the soldiers are alive after the battle, they can be healed quickly."

As old George explained, he pulled out the dagger from his belt and made a light cut on his wrist. Crimson blood instantly gushed from the split skin, dripping down his fingers onto the ground.

Without any hesitation, he quickly pulled out the cork and tilted his head back to gulp down one of the bottles of medicine.

In less than three to five seconds, the wound stopped bleeding and began to heal at a visible speed, eventually leaving only a shallow scar.

"Fantastic! The potion is perfectly effective! May I ask how you managed to do this? As far as I know, most alchemists consider it a remarkable achievement to concoct fifty potions a day. Compared to you, they are like snails crawling along." Old George's eyes gleamed with greed as he cautiously probed.

As a businessman who pursues profit, he now looks at Zhang Cheng as if he were looking at an inexhaustible gold mine.

"Hehe, sorry, this is my little secret, and I hope you can keep it a secret, okay?" Zhang Cheng asked with a half-smile.

"Understood! I swear I will keep this secret for you." Old George nodded vigorously without hesitation, and said in a somewhat embarrassed tone, "Also, I have a small request. Since you have prepared such a large quantity of basic healing potions at once, I don't have enough cash on hand at the moment. I wonder if it would be possible to pay on credit, or perhaps with other goods?"

"Sure! Tell me, how much are you planning to buy on credit, and what are you going to use to pay it off?" Zhang Cheng casually found a chair, sat down, and opened the package he had just received.

Inside, besides a large number of herb seeds and a book called "Herbal Cultivation Guide - by the Cenarion Circle," there was also a moss-covered cloth bag and nearly ten kilograms of black soil...

Chapter 0037 Valuable Collateral

The moss-covered bag wasn't large, only about the width of an adult's palm, but it felt very soft to the touch and had a faint scent of grass and wood, making one involuntarily think of a lush, green forest.

Since becoming a mage, Zhang Cheng has been particularly sensitive to energy and immediately sensed a faint natural power surrounding the bag.

Clearly, this is no ordinary bag, but a bag blessed by nature magic. To be precise, it is an evergreen bag, which many druids like to carry with them to save rare and precious plants.

Its function is to enable plant seeds to germinate and take root quickly under any conditions, and then transplant them to other places once the plants have grown to a certain extent.

As for the black soil, it is naturally the soil from the famous Ungolo Crater.

Because of the constant eruptions of Huoyu Mountain, which bring out a large amount of nutrient-rich volcanic ash, coupled with the radiation from the magical energy crystal mines, the soil in this area has become extremely special. Even a plant that is about to die can be revived in just two or three days after being planted there, which is very, very magical.

All this knowledge and experience was recorded in a book called "Geography of Azeroth". Zhang Cheng borrowed it when he went to the library to return his notes and read a little bit of it.

Just as he was about to ask where he got the evergreen bag he was holding, Old George, who had been standing there silently calculating for a long time, suddenly spoke up: "Sir, after careful consideration, I think I currently only have two items that would interest you. Even if I gave you the rest, you wouldn't want them."

"Oh? Which two?" Zhang Cheng raised his head with interest.

"The first type is gemstones, including malachite, tiger's eye, shadow stone, green agate, moonstone, jade, citrine, and ruby, totaling about 130 or 140 pieces, worth approximately 60 gold coins. If you're willing to accept them as collateral, I can give you a discount, making it 50 gold coins. The second type is more troublesome to handle; it consists of some small, smelted gold ingots, worth 100 gold coins. I originally planned to sell them to the goblins who frequently appear in Southshore Town, but for some reason, that damned little green-skinned fellow hasn't shown up for two months. Similarly, I'll give you a discount, making it 70 gold coins."

Old George calmly recounted all the most valuable goods he had, which had also been sitting unsold for a long time.

Perhaps in the eyes of earthlings, whether it is gemstones or gold, they are all valuable goods that are not hard to sell.

But in Azeroth, gold and gems, though valuable, are not easy to sell.

Especially in the Eastern Continent where the Alliance is located, only a very few highly skilled dwarven artisans and elven jewel masters in Silvermoon City are capable of handling gems rich in magical energy.

Unfortunately, dwarves are skilled at digging and mining, and rarely purchase from outside sources. Silvermoon City also has a tense relationship with the Alliance, and recently all trade has been cut off, resulting in a large backlog of gems and a sharp drop in prices.

Needless to say, gold has always been firmly controlled by the ruling class since the establishment of the major kingdoms of mankind.

Currently, within the Alliance, only gold coins minted in Stormwind Kingdom, Dalaran, the now-defunct Kingdom of Lordaeron, Kul Tiras, Stromgarde, and Ironforge are legal and can be used for circulation. All others are illegal coins, and if discovered, the entire family will be hanged.

So once gold was mined, it was either sold to the mint at a low price, used as a material for coins and decorations, or, if one was bold enough, smuggled out and sold to greedy goblins.

Although they pushed the price down, it was still a little higher than the mint's purchase price.

After buying them, the goblins would mint their own currency, take it to the Horde's territory to purchase all sorts of goods, and then, taking advantage of the so-called "neutrality," sell the goods to the Alliance, making a steady stream of profits.

It is estimated that the orcs, tauren, and trolls, who are completely unaware of the complexities of finance, have no idea that their economic lifeline has been unknowingly controlled by these green-skinned little guys. With just a little manipulation, they can destabilize their markets and plunge them into an unprecedented price crisis.

However, for Zhang Cheng, these valuable yet small-sized gold and gems were the ideal items to take with him when he left.

After feigning hesitation for a moment, he reluctantly nodded: "Alright, I agree since you helped me get the herb seeds, evergreen bags, and Un'Goro Crater soil. But there's one condition: you must deliver the goods. I'm quite busy lately and need to concentrate on a magical experiment; I don't have time for trivial matters."

“Of course! No problem! Thank you again for your generosity. I will make up the remaining amount within two months. If there is nothing else, I will take my leave now. I will personally deliver the gold ingots and jewels to your home by tomorrow morning at the latest.” Old George bowed deeply, overjoyed.

He simply couldn't believe that something that had been sitting in his hands for over two months had been sold so easily.

There was no cautious probing, no haggling, and no endless negotiations!

A few words and a verbal guarantee, and the deal is done!

Holy Light! If only all trading partners could be this swift and decisive...

"Now that the transaction is complete, let's end our conversation here." With that, Zhang Cheng grabbed the things on the table, got up, and headed towards the basement.

Before he could take more than a few steps, old George shouted at the top of his lungs, "Your Excellency, Mage! Wait! I have something else to say! Jenny is starting her apprenticeship next week, and I'd like her to move in tonight, is that alright?"

“Sure! Apart from the basement and the first room on the right on the second floor, she can choose any room as her bedroom, as long as she doesn’t disturb my research.” Zhang Cheng agreed without turning his head.

"My dear baby! What are you waiting for? Hurry up and bring your luggage in!"

After receiving an affirmative answer, old George turned around and waved his arms to his beloved youngest daughter with a big laugh, his joy overflowing.

"Oh……"

The girl, confused, stared with wide eyes, gave a soft reply, lifted her pretty white ladylike dress, and ran back to the door. A few seconds later, she dragged two heavy wooden crates back to the living room.

This little girl, who has never been exposed to magic, has no idea how many hardships and dangers await her in the future...

Chapter 0038 Taming the Elements (Part 1)

In the dimly lit basement, Zhang Cheng lay alone on the floor, conducting the final checks before the summoning ritual.

After all, summoning an elemental being of equal strength is no easy task. He not only had to use powerful magic to drag the opponent out, but also defeat it and ultimately seal it within the Soul Diamond.

The entire process must be flawless; otherwise, the enraged elemental will kill the summoner and destroy everything in sight.

Without a doubt, Zhang Cheng disliked surprises, absolutely not, and therefore examined the area very carefully.

After repeatedly confirming that there were no mistakes, he quickly got up, placed a small piece of water essence shimmering with a deep blue light in the center of the binding magic circle, then raised the flint staff in his hand and chanted softly: "Melroyas, great water spirit, warrior under Duke Hydraxis, heed my call and appear before me..."

moment!

Suddenly, a large amount of dark blue, slightly fishy-smelling seawater appeared out of nowhere in the center of the basement. As if it were alive, this water quickly gathered together and formed a relatively fixed shape.

It has no legs; its lower body is entirely composed of rolling waves, while its upper body has two thick arms. Even from several meters away, one can clearly hear the rushing sound of the water spinning at high speed. Then it swallows the essence of water elements in one gulp.

Clearly, this is a typical water elemental image, only larger in size than a regular water elemental.

"Mortal! What is your purpose in summoning me?"

A majestic voice echoed in Zhang Cheng's mind.

Without any hesitation, he crushed the arcane rune worth three gold coins from his sleeve.

Before the water elemental named Melroyas could even react, he immediately realized that his connection with the elemental world had been severed, and he could no longer draw power from it.

Feeling deceived, it didn't utter a single word and immediately launched an attack, swinging its fists.

Having anticipated this, Zhang Cheng raised his hand and unleashed a Flame Impact, then turned and used Blink to create distance.

Snapped!

With a loud bang from the impact, a portion of Melroyas's massive body was instantly vaporized, and his movements slowed down.

“Very good…very good…that’s it…keep the rhythm…” Zhang Cheng muttered to himself as he guided the arcane missiles.

He knew very well that frost spells were useless against water elementals; only arcane and fire spells could truly harm them.

However, Melroyas was no pushover. Seeing the arcane missiles flying everywhere, it ignored them completely, and its two arms quickly formed icy ice.

"Damn it! It can also use frost magic! The book mentioned that!"

Gritting his teeth and cursing, Zhang Cheng quickly raised his right hand and unleashed his trump card against the enemy casting the spell—spell counter.

Under the influence of the chaotic magical vortex, Melroyas's ice arrow was immediately interrupted, and he could not expect to cast such a spell again for a while.

Completely enraged, it unleashed a torrent of water around its body in a way incomprehensible to outsiders, creating a terrifying high-pressure water jet that, in the blink of an eye, carved a trench several centimeters deep into the ground it passed through.