Wizard starting from shoeing donkeys

"I exchanged meritorious deeds for the Vaporizing Agent! As for my innate wizardry, please forgive me for keeping it a secret for now. I just happened to come across a basic meditation technique that led me onto the path of wizardry."

'As for guidance, nobody has really advised me in the way of witchcraft,' Rein shrugged.

After listening to Rein, Olena looked as if she had seen a ghost, stunned for a long while before she exclaimed, "Lord Rein, had we known about your exceptional wizardry talent, you should have informed the Sword Bearers Branch earlier."

"That way, you would have had a mentor when you were promoted to a formal Wizard."

"Besides, if you succeed in advancing, you will be directly entitled to the treatment of a Gold-level Sword Bearer."

"Am I not already?" Rein seemed indifferent to this.

"Uh..." Olena was at a loss for words at Rein's response.

It seemed... indeed he was, and it was very likely that in a short time, this person in front of her could go even further and receive the treatment of a Diamond Star level.

"By the way, Lady Olena, the metal-based witchcraft you just mentioned?"

"Oh, while the Sword Bearers and most of the wizardry schools within the Empire do have agreements, with the schools providing a good number of witchcraft to the organization, this is obviously not everything," she explained.

Rein nodded; he understood this point.

It was impossible for any wizardry school to hand over all their secrets to the Empire; they were bound to keep some to themselves.

This was the basis of the cooperation.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be collaboration; it would be annexation by the Empire.

"If you're looking to learn more metal-based witchcraft, my suggestion is that you could join the Bi-Xiu Construction School. This school specializes in earth and metal-based witchcraft and, most importantly, has a strong relationship with the organization of Sword Bearers," she recommended.

"Basically, with an introduction letter from the Sword Bearers, you can get the opportunity to join. Of course, even if you join, it doesn't change your identity – you're simply holding an additional school affiliation," she added.

Rein nodded again.

He understood Olena's point.

In simple terms, it was dual cultivation, like being accepted by the air force before the national college entrance examination, but then also getting into Tsinghua University—dual enrollment, dual cultivation.

....

-----------------

Deep inside the Elim Mine.

"Clean this area thoroughly, and expand this part a little," Raksul directed his subordinates as they cleared a flat area inside the mine.

The Great Priest Ganon of the Secret Snake Sect continuously took out rare ritual materials from a bag: the venom sac of a crystal spider, the petrified eye of a lizard, the shriveled brain of a mist gorilla, and so on.

Each one was taken from powerful, ferocious beasts and was extremely rare.

Especially the Demon's Eye placed in the center of the cultic array, said to come from the eye of a real demon. Even within the long-standing Secret Snake Sect, only a few intact Demon's Eyes were preserved.

Seeing this, Raksul inwardly marveled at the deep roots of the Secret Snake Sect, while also growing more wary of them.

However, when he recalled the content of the discussion he had with Freeman that day, a slight smile appeared on his lips.

What did it matter how deep their roots were?

This time, the advantage was all theirs.

In fact, this huge Earth Snake didn't have much value to their own church; it was even a nuisance.

Because their real goal was always that place behind the Earth Snake, the true target of this operation.

They learned from a secretive channel that the Secret Snake Sect possessed related secret techniques, and they were searching various places for extraordinary snakes, including the Earth Snake.

Thus, they secretly provided the tip to the Secret Snake Sect.

That is to say, it wasn't that the Secret Snake Sect sought them out, but the Black Flame Cult that needed the Secret Snake Sect.

Yet information asymmetry caused the Secret Snake Sect to willingly pay for the chance to control the Earth Snake.

In reality, the Black Flame Cult was even more anxious than the Secret Snake Sect.

"Great Serpent of Devouring, your humble servant requests..." As the chanting of the Great Priest Ganon of the Secret Snake Sect grew louder,

The whole cultic array began to emit strong energy fluctuations!

The next second, a thick, black mist appeared in the center of the cultic array with a diameter of over five meters, churning up and down like boiling water.

In an instant!

A two-meter-tall, grotesque, vertical pupil suddenly appeared from within the tumultuous black fog.

Its cold and relentless gaze first glanced at Ganon, who was casting the spell, then quickly moved on, focusing now on the huge Earth Snake sealed in amber.

The icy pupil then flashed with a ripple of motion.

"Swoosh!"

The grotesque pupil vanished!

And the voluminous black mist, as if seeing the amber as no obstacle, surged straight into the massive body of the Earth Snake.

For a full four to five seconds, the black mist in the cultic array rushed in completely.

In an instant, the scene fell eerily silent.

One second...

Two seconds...

Three seconds....

The earth trembled!

Members of the nearby Black Flame Cult looked alarmed, and Raksul too wore a look of shock. Facing such a natural behemoth that dwarfed humans on a fundamental level,

To say he was not afraid would be a lie.

As an ancient creature, the Earth Snake, measuring a hundred meters in length, was truly a giant beast.

It was completely different from those ferocious wild beasts exceeding ten meters in length!

Even though those too are commonly known as giant beasts, the nomenclature is not accurate. This is a modern term.

According to ancient texts, combat prowess was not judged based on size.