CHAPTER 41: CHAPTER 41 WIZARD

The sky had not yet brightened, and Aiven, who barely slept last night, had already gotten up early. He casually washed his face and greeted Gary, who had returned unknown during the night, before rushing out.

He was no longer concerned about the book, which might have been registered as stolen goods by the supply ship.

Jingle jingle...

"Good morning, Mr. Kredov!"

He walked into one of the top three private pharmacy shops in Gabred and greeted the shopkeeper, who was already busy behind the counter.

"Good morning, Mr. Aiven! Ah, you’re already a Captain, it’s truly an honor for our small shop. What a wonderful way to start the day with such good news!"

The elegant shopkeeper with curly hair immediately noticed the change in Aiven’s epaulettes and congratulated him with a slightly operatic exaggeration.

The rise in his customer’s status undoubtedly meant an increase in purchasing power, and Kredov’s congratulations were genuinely sincere.

"Mr. Aiven, you came at just the right time. The last herb you asked me to buy has arrived, wait a moment while I get it for you."

Suddenly, as if something occurred to him.

Kredov searched for a moment, then retrieved a box from behind the counter and handed it to Aiven, introducing it:

"Look, at least thirty-year-old iron reef moss with roots turned purple-black! This stuff is really hard to find. If it weren’t for my ample supply channels, no one would even know about this niche herb."

Opening the wooden box and seeing its contents, a look of delight flashed in Aiven’s eyes. What started as a simple intention to gather ingredients for the "Developing Potion" unexpectedly resulted in acquiring the last supplementary ingredient needed for the "Black Sea Potion."

Moreover, the quality of the iron reef moss in the wooden box was excellent, surpassing the most basic requirements of the Black Sea Potion, leaving Aiven very satisfied.

"Not bad, exactly what I wanted. Manager Kredov’s work is indeed reliable."

After securing the wooden box, Aiven handed Kredov another list of ingredients: "I’ll have to trouble you with these too, Manager."

"These are all common herbs, and we have them in the store now." Kredov took the list with a smile, scanned it, and quickly assembled Aiven’s requests, handing them over to him.

A few moments later, Aiven settled the balance with the manager and walked out of the pharmacy shop with a cloth bag.

"Truly, poverty for literature, wealth for martial arts. The ancients did not deceive me!"

Weighing the bag in his hand, the not-so-valuable "Developing Potion" ingredients, along with all the supplementary ingredients for the "Black Sea Potion," had cost Aiven a hundred Gold Lions, almost equivalent to a decade’s income for a regular sailor!

Although Aiven had saved up quite a few gold coins, he still felt a pang of heartache.

This was just for ordinary materials not involving extraordinary ones, and thinking about the value of extraordinary materials, Aiven couldn’t help but pity his soon-to-be-shrinking wallet.

He planned to ask Gel about the source channels for the "Black Sea Potion" primary materials once he returned, and then proceed with procurement.

Wealth exists to serve his extraordinary path, and he hadn’t forgotten his main purpose for joining the Navy. When it came time to spend money, he would not hesitate in the slightest.

Back at his small courtyard, Gary was still training by the sea, but Aiven didn’t join in. He had more important work to do now.

Securing the iron reef moss, he eagerly headed to the independent loft on the top floor, took out the set of pharmacy tools he had long prepared, and began concocting the "Developing Potion."

Thanks to the absence of extraordinary materials and Aiven’s solid foundation in pharmacy, the process went smoothly.

Half an hour later.

Staring intently at the notebook immersed in a basin filled with the Developing Potion, Aiven held his breath in anticipation.

In the rustling sound like tiny insects, the transformation began.

First, the multicolored dyes began to peel away and dissolve into the water, then the original text on the pages gradually disappeared, slowly replaced by new illustrations and text.

As expected, the newly appearing text was all in "Jatata Language," imbued with extraordinary power!

Two minutes later, with the final change complete, all the text in the book had been replaced by "Jatata Language," written in dark green ink. Moreover, the text was now dense, at least twice as much as the original content.

Taking it out to dry, the special paper was completely unharmed by the immersion, and it appeared as if refinished by a master craftsman, transforming into an entirely new book.

"Phew—"

He took a deep breath.

Subliminally, he wished that no one would discover his secret, and estimating that Gary wouldn’t be back soon, Aiven closed the door before gently flipping open the pages.

The new text instantly drew Aiven in, making him forget about everything else.

Shaa—

Shaa—

He was absorbed for the better part of the day, and even though Gary knocked on the door several times, Aiven brushed him off. It wasn’t until the sun began to set that Aiven exhaled slowly and closed the book.

Cradling his chin with his hands, he gazed out at the setting sun and the shimmering sea in the distance, lost in thought for a long time.

"It indeed holds a great secret, although I don’t know if it’s good or bad for me."

This was the diary of a pharmacist named Leon from about a hundred years ago, containing both his daily life and research results. But what left Aiven most dazed was Leon’s identity... a true wizard!

Unlike the evil, grotesque aboriginal Witch Doctor like Gagong on the "One-Eyed Becky" ship, Leon was a rational—no, a wise medical scientist, a pharmacist, an unceasing Truth Seeker.

Honestly, thanks to past memories, Aiven held no prejudice against wizards per se.

But it was still his first time coming so close to a genuine wizard, or rather, the traces of his existence.

After all, the mainstream path to the Extraordinary in civilized nations on the continent is the Knight Path, shared by his father Ferman, Grandpa Leo, Viscount Andrea, his post-enlistment instructor Major Eugene, and Uncle Gel—all of whom traveled the Knight Path to the Official Tier as extraordinary knights.

Even Aiven, who has been training since he was a child, now stands at the threshold of becoming an Official Knight.

Yet regarding the mysterious wizards, Aiven could only grasp bits and pieces from legends and stories. Combining these with the settings of various fantasy works from his past life, he formed a very vague image in his mind.

Regrettably, this image wasn’t very favorable.

Those childhood horror stories meant to stop children from crying, the Church Court’s "Witch Hunt Order," the non-knight path’s out-of-control risks mentioned by Grandpa Leo and Uncle Gel, and the Aboriginal Witch Doctors he saw with his own eyes.

All these left a negative imprint on Aiven’s perception of wizards.

So, until today, despite his curiosity about the magical profession of wizards due to past life reasons, Aiven dared not delve too deeply.

In the extraordinary world, excessive curiosity is not advisable, especially without a guide. Recklessly exploring the profound and mysterious is a risk Aiven cannot afford!

But now, pharmacist Leon’s diary unveiled a corner of the mysterious veil of the Wizard World for Aiven. Though difficult to grasp in full, it gave Aiven an understanding of what a genuine wizard ought to be.

"Investigating the secrets of the human body like a surgeon, researching the uses of every herb like a botanist, summarizing with a statistician’s mind, and seeing the essence through phenomena!"

Aiven gently clenched his fist, as if grasping the entire world.

This, isn’t it essentially the scientist of another world?

Only the tools of research exchange from various modern instruments to convenient and magical witchcraft. Although some of their concepts might conflict with this still somewhat backward era, to Aiven with past-life experiences, they resonate significantly.

Humans distinguish themselves from animals by possessing wisdom, continuously learning, passing on, and applying knowledge from the natural world, leveraging knowledge to wield power, rather than battling wild beasts with claws and fists.

And it’s this path of balancing strength and wisdom that deeply captivated Aiven!