Wizard: I am a goblin

Chapter 44 The Magic Written Down, The Conspiracy Draws a Circle

This magic is so beautiful.

This was the first time Geb had ever seen a magic scroll in person.

Pale golden curves meander, swirl, and flow across the bone-white paper. Magic circles and symbols gracefully reside on this scroll, seemingly possessing their own life upon closer inspection.

Geb quickly flipped through the Book of Sand and searched for the [Magic Scroll]—he didn't want to waste too much time; every minute he stayed in this warehouse increased the risk of being discovered.

But this is a magic scroll! Curiosity tickled Geb's feet like feathers, making him incredibly itchy. He really wanted to know what a magic scroll was all about!

The Book of Sand reveals this through its ever-changing language:

"A magic scroll is a contract between the spellcaster and the aether."

"The power of magic flows freely; it does not want to be imprisoned, nor does it want to linger in one place."

"Therefore, any attempt to 'store' magic in a place or an object will inevitably fail in the end."

"The principle behind magic scrolls is not to 'store' magic within the scroll, but to record the 'casting steps' of the magic in advance, and then release it at the appropriate time. It's like a contract signed with the Ether Bank—'On such and such a date, the caster [name] signs a contract with Ether, and can use this scroll to cast spell [spell name] once.'"

"It's like a fish and bait. The spell is the fish, and the scroll is the bait. You can't take a fish with you on your journey; it will die if it leaves the water. But if you carry bait with you, you can catch fish anywhere—you can manipulate the surrounding ether to cast spells at any time."

"Of course, whether or not you can catch a fish—whether or not the spell can be successfully cast—also depends on the fisherman's skill."

"In theory, even a wizard apprentice can try using scrolls of a higher level than themselves, but the higher the level of the scroll, the lower the success rate of casting spells. And scrolls are disposable; once the magic circle inside is released, the magic scroll becomes a piece of waste paper."

"So when a level 1 wizard tries to use a scroll of magic of the 3rd level or higher, this foolish spendthrift is generally called by professors at the magic academy:"

"The Nest-Building Immortal".

—Excerpt from "Good Magic Should Be Written Down: 101 Steps to Making a Magic Scroll"

Written by Imint.

Geb glanced at the book's author, Imint, and wondered if this guy had also written the book "Basic Meditation Method."

After the ordeal with the halfling Harden and Lady Peacock, the goblin was filled with unease. He realized that when reading, one had to be careful about which author wrote the book, lest one make a mistake and get into trouble.

Looking at the exquisite magic scroll in front of him, Gebu felt a strong urge to buy it.

In theory, even though he had not yet obtained a formal wizard rank and was still a level 0 apprentice, he could still use the magic on this scroll.

What kind of magic is on this scroll?

Geb stared at the exquisite runes for a long time, but couldn't figure them out.

To decipher the information on this scroll, one must first possess the corresponding knowledge... Deciphering magical language is a specialized field of study.

For example, the spell "Ignis" for fire arrows means "fire" in magical language.

Of the words on this magic scroll, Geb only recognized the word "vocare." This word also appears in incantations for summoning the Wizard's Hand and summoning magical creatures.

So, this word means "summon"?

Another word that appears repeatedly is "nebula".

Searching for an entire theory is too time-consuming, but searching for a single term is still possible.

"What does 'nebula' mean in the Book of Sand?"

"nebula: cloud, mist, nebula."

—"Chanting Magic: An Encyclopedia of Arcane Languages"

Written by Imint.

This old man is quite a writer! He's got a mountain of works to his name!

Summoning...clouds and mist?

Geb tilted his head. "This magic scroll can summon clouds?"

It seems... it's not very useful.

Geb quickly counted the other spell scrolls—including the one with the cloud, there were a total of three spell scrolls; he didn't know what spells the other two were.

We can't waste too much time—the main purpose of this trip was to steal alchemy tools, and that goal has already been achieved; everything else is just a bonus.

Take it and go! I'll study it slowly when I get back!

The goblin stuffed three scrolls, a stack of papers, a quill pen, and the bottle of magic ink into his bag—just as he was about to tie up his dimensional bag and run away, an old thing fell out of the stack of papers.

*Thud.* The parchment fell to the ground.

What the heck?

Geb squatted down, picked up the parchment, and glanced at it.

A few lines were hastily written on the paper, and at a glance, they looked like a herbal recipe.

This formula is extremely complicated, containing more than a dozen kinds of medicinal herbs, most of which Gebu had never even heard of—it is not recorded in "An Introduction to Herbal Medicine".

Scorpion stinger, thousand-eyed spider egg case, troll liver hardening, throat-sealing Ganoderma lucidum...

That sounds incredibly toxic!

Geb was a little curious, so he picked up the paper and read it over and over.

This recipe looks like some kind of potent poison. A few lines of writing are on the back of the paper, like notes jotted down by the author.

"Prototype of the Seventh Experiment:"

"Properties: Colorless and odorless, soluble in water and alcohol, insoluble in oils and fats - does not react with silver."

"Divine spell [Detect Toxin], passed, no toxins detected."

"Divine spell [Purify Food], passed. The toxins have not been purified and remain deadly."

"Racial toxin resistance: Ineffective; remains lethal to dark elves and dwarves."

"Divine spell [Restoration], ineffective. Poison damage is irreversible. Death speed: Instant death."

"Deceased symptoms: cardiac arrest, sudden death, no signs of poisoning."

"Autopsy results: No obvious traces of contamination were found in the internal organs, and no toxic residues were found in the fluid food in the abdomen."

"Name: Graceful Liberation (crossed out)"

"Rootless Wine (crossed out)"

"The Kiss of the King Killer"

The name was underlined with three horizontal lines and then circled. Below that, a line of small print was written.

"Gold Mask will like this name."

Gebu was somewhat bewildered. What kind of poison required such a elaborate process?

Was this a secret recipe developed by that old elf woman? Gebu thought about it for a moment and felt a little scared.

That old man is plotting some grand conspiracy... I'd better not get involved, I'm not ready to die yet.

Geb respectfully placed the parchment back on the table: I didn't see it, I didn't see anything...

After looting the place, Gebu slung the dimensional bag over his shoulder; it was time to retreat.

There are two roads leading out of the warehouse.

The first option is to return the way we came. Follow the underground passage the guards used to come from, towards one of the market's exits… Taking this route presents two problems:

First of all, he doesn't know the way! Gebu was in a bag the whole time he arrived, and all he knows is that he wandered around for a long time. This underground tunnel system has so many forks in the road, getting lost would be no fun at all.

Secondly, the passage is very narrow, with nowhere to hide. If you run into a guard, you won't be able to dodge and won't know where to escape to.

The second option is very risky, but also very rewarding—if you're lucky, you can escape in two minutes.

Yes, the second way is to go straight upstairs and then run out through the back door of the medicine shop!

Gebu walked to the stone door and pressed his ear against the wall to listen to the sounds in the corridor.

Apart from the sound of dripping water, the underground passage outside the door was completely silent.

Okay, no one is coming over yet.

Gebu chanted a spell, and a large-eyed toad descended from the sky, landing with a plop on Gebu's head.

Big Eyes, sweetie, go upstairs and check what's going on...

Gebu stroked the toad's greasy head and put it on the ground.

The toad hopped and skipped up the narrow steps and jumped towards the room upstairs at the Seven Seas Pharmacy.

Calculating that the toad had almost reached the top, Gebu sat down on the ground, focused his mind, and projected his senses onto the toad...