Shamman in the courtyard naturally had no idea of Shar’s actions. After watching Shar leave the courtyard, he turned his head toward Has and said, "Has, follow me. Help me continue identifying the substance."
"Yes," Has followed Shamman, carrying the new casting materials that Richard had provided, into the secret chamber.
Once inside the chamber, Has busied himself, preparing all the various equipment with more proficiency than before. Shamman nodded lightly and began to work.
The process was similar to the last time, with Shamman first using a long-handled medicine spoon to take a small amount of the powder, dissolving it in water, and then dividing it into over ten portions for separate treatment.
The first portion, the second portion, the third portion...
But after working for a while, Shamman encountered a problem—the results from processing many of the portions were vastly different from his expectations, leading to conclusions that were both laughable and baffling. According to the results, this would be a kind of rock that combined human urine, breast milk, animal blood, and ink, with volatile properties.
Looking at the black powder crystals in the small iron box, Shamman would never believe that this substance was rock.
What kind of rock reflects light and evaporates?
Very soon, Shamman realized that this might be a kind of casting material that far surpassed his ability to identify.
Which meant that Richard really hadn’t lied; this was indeed a higher quality casting material.
The trouble was, according to Richard’s assessment, this casting material was only of medium quality, far from the best.
What would the best casting materials look like? How remarkable would they be? Who would have left them behind? Who should use them?
"Jialan City, Undead Wizard, casting materials! Maybe it really is just like what I imagined," Shamman mumbled to himself, his expression turning grave.
He now had sufficient reason to report to his superior.
Without hesitation, Shamman left the secret chamber with Has, and before long, they boarded a carriage, leaving the courtyard and heading towards a certain place inside the city.
In the middle of the night.
Within Delan City, in the basement of a luxurious house.
Shamman stood a bit reservedly in a corner, watching a figure nearby busily at work.
This was a middle-aged Male Wizard in his forties, wearing a fitted black robe, stepping swiftly, weaving quickly between many tables.
He took a small amount of powder from the tiny iron box Shamman had brought, dividing it into several portions, each undergoing a different procedure.
Some were dissolved, some were incinerated, and some were mixed with other liquids. It looked more complex and more intricate than what Shamman had done before, but the Black Robed Wizard was extremely skilled, his movements almost without any pause, flowing smoothly, a visual treat for those watching.
"Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle..."
The final processed sample was added to a glass beaker, mixing with purple powder, and ultimately turned into pink liquid. After releasing a series of bubbles, it gradually calmed and became colorless.
The middle-aged Male Wizard paused his actions upon seeing this, thought for a moment, then stepped toward a wall in the basement.
Several tall bookshelves stood in the room, and the middle-aged male wizard took down several hefty books from them, placing them on the table and quickly flipping through.
After flipping through the books, the middle-aged male wizard seemed to confirm something, then turned and looked at Shamman and spoke.
"Shamman, your previous guess wasn’t wrong," said the middle-aged male wizard, "The materials you brought in are indeed beyond your current level of appraisal. According to my tests, if there are no mistakes, this material should be ’Devil’s Horn Powder’."
"’Devil’s Horn Powder’?" Shamman asked cautiously, "Mr. Yosaf, what is that?"
"How should I explain it?" the middle-aged male wizard named Joseph pondered for a moment and organized his language, "The main component of this material is the Devil Mushroom—a plant that only grows under extremely harsh conditions. In addition to the Devil Mushroom, several other materials are needed to produce it, making it extremely precious.
This material doesn’t have much use for ordinary wizards, at most slightly enhancing the power of shape dark energy spells during casting.
However, for wizards who specialize in undead magic, it’s different. If they get their hands on it, they can more than double the magic power of their released spells and carry a special curse effect."
At this point, Joseph paused, then continued, "Shamman, you just told me: you got this material from two wizards, who are from Jialan City.
If I remember correctly, something big happened in Jialan City some days ago, where an undead wizard categorized as a dangerous target fled there.
Many from our organization went to dispose of him, but unexpectedly, all were killed, and the subsequent investigation yielded no results. There is a speculation in the organization that someone may have been helping the undead wizard escape, even aiding him in killing our people. Considering the source of these materials, it’s very likely not a mere coincidence."
Joseph’s expression became serious as he looked at Shamman and said earnestly, "Shamman, now tell me in detail the entire process of how you came to possess these materials."
"Yes," the aged Shamman replied, instinctively straightening his back as he began, "It all started when an assistant in my shop received goods for consignment from them. Because their conditions were quite peculiar, the assistant reported it to me specifically..."
After a while, Shamman finished speaking, Joseph listened thoughtfully and murmured, "If that’s the case, the truth of the matter may be as follows: as suspected, someone in Jialan City did kill our people and helped that undead wizard escape. And the one who acted might be the teacher of the undead wizard, or some other relative of his.
After all, the growth rate of the undead wizard is far beyond our expectations, and it’s very possible that someone has been helping him all along. Perhaps the undead wizard is merely a pawn; whoever is aiding him keeps their identity hidden with a different agenda. In that case, we must be wary.
Luckily, the other side is not foolproof; some information has been grasped by us. That is, he temporarily stayed somewhere in Jialan, leaving behind some casting materials, which were found by two passing wizards and brought to us. If we can thoroughly research all the casting materials, we might get a clear understanding of his power."
"That is indeed the case, and it is because of this that I have come to disturb you at this late hour, Mr. Yosaf," Shamman said, "But now there is a problem: we have only two types of casting materials, and they are the inferior ones—those two Jialan wizards have many more and much better casting materials. To really understand the situation, we’ll have to make further contact with them."
"So, do I need to meet with them?"
"That’s fine; I’m quite curious about these two Jialan wizards and want to see who they are," Joseph decided.
"Then let me arrange it for you," Shamman said.
"Hmm," Joseph nodded.
"So, when would be a good time?" Shamman asked.
"The sooner, the better."