One Sneeze Destroys A Magical Civilization

Chapter 188 Voters and Voters

The unexpected encounter with Sarevok did not have any impact on Zuo Si's itinerary.

Since he showed up during the first negotiation, he never participated in it again, but began to sweep through the collection of Candlekeep books shelf by shelf, and collected all of them into the [Thinking Library] for storage.

If you encounter a spell that you have never seen before and need to copy and save it, you must pay a high price to the priest of Oghma, the god of knowledge.

Among them, a copy of the precious and rare "Scroll of Mantra" is even as high as tens of thousands of gold coins.

Because in Candlekeep, all outsiders are not allowed to copy any book without authorization, they can only spend money to hire Candlekeep scribes to do the copying.

Non-magical books generally cost about one hundred gold coins to copy.

Usually only a few [Scribes] with zero rings can be easily done.

But magic books and scrolls require a considerable amount of time and effort to transcribe by hand.

Coupled with the added value brought by knowledge itself and monopoly, expensive fees naturally become a matter of course.

After all, when he was on Earth, Zuo Si had seen the ugly face of a plagiarism website.

In comparison, although Candlekeep's fees are expensive, at least you get what you pay for, which is definitely worth the money.

What's more, Oghma's church does not collect money purely for the purpose of making money, but will use the money to collect and preserve various precious books, knowledge, and scrolls.

It is precisely because of years of tireless collection and protection that Candlekeep has become the largest and most comprehensive library on the west coast.

Zuo Si, immersed in the ocean of knowledge, spent almost 300,000 gold coins in just a few days.

His extravagant performance not only shocked the priests who were in charge of copying.

Even Candlekeep's current supreme leader, the "Guardian of the Book", Urlant, was alarmed.

On the one hand, Zuo Si's identity is too sensitive.

No one dares to underestimate the chosen of Talona, ​​the goddess of poison and disease.

On the other hand, he may carry knowledge from another world, and this knowledge is what Candlekeep and Oghma, the god of knowledge, value most.

After having a dinner together, Urlandt formally extended an invitation to Zuo Si to participate in a debate meeting next week.

This is a traditional repertoire of Candlekeep.

At that time, many people with different philosophical views will gather together to express their opinions on some interesting topics.

Among these people, there are those who agree with goodness and order, and those who agree with evil and chaos, while others believe that maintaining neutrality and balance is the correct path.

In short, the sparks of thought that arose through these debates were, without exception, recorded as a gift to the god of knowledge.

In return, those who perform best can enter the most secret rooms of the central castle to read the books and scrolls that record the most powerful magical knowledge.

Obviously, this was an irresistible temptation for Zuo Si, so he agreed without even thinking about it.

Urlant didn't know at all that Zuo Si had almost copied most of the books in Candlekeep in the past few days, and he didn't pay a penny, taking the word "whore for nothing" to the extreme.

Only those magics that cannot be recorded at all have to be paid for to be copied.

By the time he returned to the Candlekeep Inn after talking with the "Guardian of the Tome", it was almost completely dark.

As soon as he opened the door and walked into the hall, Sir Crispian, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately ran over holding a wine glass, and said excitedly: "Sir South, I have some good news for you.

At dusk, the Duke of Silver Shield finally had to back down and signed a peace agreement with us.

From the effective date of the agreement, Baldur's Gate will exempt merchants in Amn from at least 50% of tariffs, and at the same time promise to give up sending ships to Tethyr and Calimshan in the south for trade.

This also means that the entire area around the southern part of the Sword Bay and the Sea of ​​Swords has completely become the world of our Amn Chamber of Commerce.

Everyone will get a windfall from it!

And all of this is thanks to you! "

Zuo Si hurriedly waved his hand, and hinted meaningfully: "No, no, no, this is not due to me, but to you sir. Don't forget, the series of operations to suppress Baldur's Gate are all yours. plans and means.”

"Yes! It's me! Damn it! It's all because the alcohol affects the brain!"

Sir Crispian immediately realized that he had said something wrong, and immediately changed his words as quickly as possible.

Because there was an agreement between the two, Zuo Si was responsible for coming up with ideas, he was responsible for implementing them, and then he took all the "pots" by himself.

In this way, the former gained practical benefits, while the latter gained fame and political capital.

Win-win!

Thinking that he could return to Askatla as a "hero" and enjoy the cheers from the people and businessmen, Sir Crispian felt as if a flame was burning in his heart.

The next thing he needs to consider is how to transform these fame and political capital into real power and wealth.

Especially after the signing of the treaty, how to divide up the "cake" from Baldur's Gate is definitely the top priority.

Zuo Si undoubtedly noticed this, so he reminded with a chuckle: "Before you return to Askatla, you still need to do some things to create momentum for yourself."

"Building momentum?"

Sir Crispian's eyes shone slightly.

After this negotiation, he can be regarded as seeing the other party's keen political sense and superb skills.

If it weren't for the appearance of being too young, and Bernard's sister Isadora was always by his side.

The ambitious nobleman of Amn even hoped to marry his daughter to Zuo Si.

Using marriage and the binding of interests, this intelligent and powerful god's chosen one is completely bound to his family.

Even if the whole family converts to the goddess of poison and disease, there is no problem.

"Yes, build momentum.

The current political form in Amn is based on the mutual support of the five wealthiest families, shadow thieves, and masked mages, forming a stable ruling foundation.

Among them, the Shadow Thieves and the Masked Mage Guild are peripheral forces. Although they enjoy certain privileges, they do not belong to the core of the political structure.

So if you want to go further, you have to find a way to win the support of at least half of the MPs.

Let them understand that you are the hero who successfully suppressed Baldur's Gate this time, and won an agreement that can benefit everyone from it.

In this way, even if your family is not rich enough, you can gather a force by uniting with other families.

Then use this force to get the power to share the cake from the six-member council.

With the power to distribute benefits, you can gradually establish your own prestige and become the real power faction under the council of six.

When someone in the Council of Six dies, you can take his place and become a member of Amn's highest decision-making hierarchy. "

Zuo Si directly expressed his thoughts and plans.

Although he has only settled in Askatla not long ago, he already has a fairly deep understanding of how this business empire works.

To put it simply, Amn is like the Republic of the Seven Provinces of the Netherlands (the predecessor of the Netherlands) shortly after the start of the Age of Discovery on Earth. The whole society is full of greed and desire for wealth.

In particular, they are very keen on robbing and controlling trade routes in order to earn huge profits.

Even the behavior of opening up overseas colonies and establishing ports, and finally forming a monopoly on certain rare commodities, can be called exactly the same.

yes!

Amn is a country with strong colonial tendencies.

Several settlements were even established on the Moon Shadow Islands to the northwest of the Sea of ​​Swords.

One of them has become the advance base for explorers to continue their exploration into the Traceless Sea.

If there is no accident, they should have discovered the Maztec continent across the sea in the last two years, thus setting off a wave of colonization and gold rush.

To gain power in such a country, you must prove that you can provide businessmen with more and easier opportunities to make money.

Become a member of the Council of Six by sponsoring Sir Crispian.

Zuo Si can not only gain a powerful political ally, but also bring in the Chamber of Commerce of the Bernard family to form a community of interests across the fields of politics, business and magic.

Although it seems that this combination is still quite weak, not even enough to make its own voice in Askatra.

But as time goes by, it will quickly develop slowly and continue to grow.

Coupled with the secret plan of the Arcane Society to control and develop the Nelanthir Islands, it won't take long to firmly occupy a place in Amn.

Just when Sir Crispian opened his mouth with a pensive expression and wanted to say something, the innkeeper Winthrop suddenly walked over from a distance and handed a note to Zuo In front of Si: "Your Excellency, a gentleman has asked me to pass this on to you."

"who is it?"

Zuo Si subconsciously took it and glanced at the lobby on the first floor.

"It's the mage with the goatee and the black robe standing in the corner." Winthrop pointed to the corner on the right side of the entrance.

Following the direction of his finger, Zuo Si quickly saw a middle-aged man who gave a polite look, and the latter even smiled and raised his glass as a gesture.

Out of curiosity, he opened the note and glanced at it, only to find that there was only one person's name "Clarice" written on it.

moment!

Zuo Si realized that the other party was a member of the Zhentarim Society, and he should be a member of the "inner circle" with a high status. Maybe it was an envoy sent by the legendary mage Mansong.

Thinking of this, he immediately said to the Amn nobleman in front of him: "I'm sorry, sir. I need to deal with more important things now, and I'm afraid I won't be with you for a while."

"It's okay. Go and do your work first, and we'll talk about our affairs in the room later."

Sir Crispian also seemed to have discovered that it was not safe to talk about some private matters in such a crowded place.

Because besides him, the Amn envoy also had members from several other wealthy and powerful families.

Passing through the noisy hotel lobby, Zuo Si quickly came to the man who had invited him, and asked straight to the point with an uncertain tone, "What's your name?"

"My name is Ximanmeng. Nice to meet you, Honorable Elector." The man reported his name with a smile.

"Ximanmeng? You are the lord of the dark castle who is called Mansong's right-hand man?" Zuo Si had an extremely surprised expression on his face.

Although the man in front of him is not as famous in the Zhentarim as his teacher Mansong, or the chosen one of the god of tyranny, Bane, Fuzor Chambery, he should not be underestimated either.

In particular, the several counterattacks against the Harper Alliance were perfect in both planning and execution.

Xi Manmeng nodded lightly: "That's right, it's me. But you'd better not take those rumors too seriously. Because there are many false news that confuse the public, and I personally spread them to confuse the enemy. "

"Then what's the point of you coming to Candlekeep across most of West Hartland? Don't tell me you're just here to say hello." Zuo Si tentatively asked.

"I came here for two main purposes. One is to express my gratitude, thank you for not killing Clarice, but for letting her back. The other is to hope to reach some cooperation intentions with you." Xi Man Meng expressed his intention with a smile on his face.

Politeness, elegance, and a gentle and magnetic voice...

I'm afraid it's hard for those who don't know, to imagine that such a person would be the top official of the Zhentarim Society and the mastermind of countless conspiracies.

"Cooperation? You haven't settled the score for trying to ambush me in Lucky Valley last time, and now you still want to discuss cooperation with me?" Zuo Si sneered with feigned disdain.

Neither the Zhentarim nor the Harper League seemed to him a good thing.

Half of the crises and troubles in Faerun Continent are directly or indirectly related to the two organizations, and they are even created by them.

Xi Manmeng had obviously expected this scene a long time ago, and immediately took out a beautifully crafted book 30 centimeters high, 20 centimeters wide, and 2 centimeters thick from the backpack he was carrying, and handed it directly to Zuo Si.

"This is Your Excellency Mansong's apology for the last incident. I think it should be able to calm your anger and resolve the little misunderstanding between us."

"Oh, is it so?"

Zuo Si made a long sound on purpose, and stretched out his hand to touch the secret magic lock on the tin-covered silver cover.

next second...

This seemingly innocuous book was easily opened.

After seeing the content inside, Zuo Si immediately showed a strange expression, and continued to speed up the browsing speed.

Because this is a spell book, which records many spells from the first ring to the seventh ring, and it is very comprehensive.

Even comparisons like [Mage Mansion], [Spell Reversal], [Energy Immunity], [Weather Control], [Limited Wishes], [Body of War], [Body of Elements], [Spell Matrix] The rare seven-ring magic is included.

In addition, although this book looks very light and thin, it has as many as a thousand pages, and it is obviously made by very powerful magic power.

You must know that ordinary spell books are at best two to three hundred pages.

If the blank pages are used up, you have to buy another one, or add new blank pages to the original spell book through magic and craftsmanship. Each additional page will cost about one hundred gold coins for materials.

Therefore, most mages with a high enough level and enough spells often have more than one spell book.

"A "Book of Boccob's Blessings" that records most of the magic from the first to the seventh rings. I think this is enough to show the sincerity of Your Excellency Mansong." Xi Manmeng said meaningfully with the corners of his lips curled up.

Zuo Si nodded with a satisfied smile on his face: "You're right. I've already forgotten that little misunderstanding before."

As the name suggests, "Boccob Blessing Book" refers to the spellbook blessed by Boccob.

Boccob is the god of magic in the next door world of Greyhawk.

And the spell book blessed by him is undoubtedly the treasure most desired by all mages.

After all, like those powerful legendary mages, they can easily master hundreds or even thousands of spells, and it would take as many as ten or twenty books to record them in ordinary spell books.

It can be replaced with "Boccub Blessing Book", and it is estimated that three to four books will be enough.

It is very convenient to carry or search.

Zuo Si once asked Aisha, a magic item merchant, that the Aurora Magic Store occasionally sells this kind of treasure from another world.

However, the price is often as high as tens of thousands of gold coins.

And once it arrives, it will be bought in minutes, and even if you have money, you may not be able to grab it.

Seeing that the gift he had carefully prepared successfully bought the other party, Xi Manmeng's eyes flashed a glimmer of complacency that could not be detected, and he continued, "In that case, let's talk about cooperation." .”

"Cooperation? What cooperation?" Zuo Si asked deliberately pretending to be stupid. "I just said that I forgot the previous misunderstanding, but I didn't say that I would cooperate with your notorious Zhentarim."

Undoubtedly, this turn of face and denial froze the smile on Xi Manmeng's face on the spot, and he froze in place for a long time without being able to utter a word from his mouth.

He never dreamed that Zuo Si, who was chosen by the gods, could be so shameless, turning his face immediately after receiving the gift.

"Pfft ha ha ha ha! I didn't expect you to have today!"

Accompanied by bursts of laughter, an old man with gray hair and beard and a wizard hat sitting not far away stood up and walked over slowly.

The moment Xi Manmeng saw the old man, his pupils dilated uncontrollably, and his hands subconsciously moved to cast spells, as if he had encountered a natural enemy.

But in the end, he still didn't dare to make any threats. Instead, he stood up and bowed respectfully: "It's a great honor to meet you at Candlekeep, Your Excellency Elminster."

Obviously, the visitor was none other than the famous First Chosen of the Goddess of Magic, the Great Sage of Shadow Valley, and one of Faerun's most famous legendary mages—Ilminster.

"Is your teacher Mansong okay recently? I heard that since the rise of the Church of Cyric, his control over Zhentil Castle has become weaker and weaker." The old man asked pretending to be kind.

Through the information provided by the Harper League, he knew very well that Mansong's life is not easy now.

So he intentionally used this method to stimulate Ximanmeng, making him act irrationally when he was angry, such as attacking himself actively.

In this way, one of the Zhentarim's most threatening members of the "inner circle" can be taken out with justification.

It's a pity that Ximanmeng is not a fuel-efficient lamp, and he immediately responded calmly: "Thank you for your concern, the teacher is fine now. Those stupid and crazy guys taught by Cyric, it is impossible to be his opponent."

"Yes, that's a real pity. If there's nothing else, could you please step away? I'm going to have a voter-to-voter talk with this young man now."

Elminster unceremoniously expelled the uncomfortable Zhentarim executive in front of him.

"No problem, I'll be leaving right away."

Without saying a word, Xi Manmeng immediately turned around and left the hotel, disappearing into the vast night.

He didn't dare to gamble whether the first voter of the goddess of magic really couldn't do anything.

You must know that Elminster is one of the existing spellcasters who have participated in the most spell duels in Faerun. He has unimaginable experience and skills, and the number of high-level spellcasters who died at his hands is simply innumerable.

Even if Mansong himself came, he couldn't guarantee that he would get out of the face of this old man who had lived for more than a thousand years.

That's why, although Elminster's spellcasting level is not high among many legendary mages, no one dares to underestimate him.

Many times in mage vs. mage battles, caster level doesn't mean everything.

Following Xi Manmeng's departure, Zuo Si quickly focused all his attention on the old man in front of him.

He could feel that the opponent's body contained astonishing divine power just like his own.

If nothing else, it was the silver fire bestowed on the elect by the goddess of magic.

Similarly, Elminster also clearly "observed" the two divine powers contained in Zuo Si's body, and the wrinkled old face showed undisguised shock.

Especially the divine power of Baal, the god of murder, almost made him think that he had met a son of god.

But soon, he realized that this was the divine power left in that heart, and its function was to restrain the goddess of poison and disease.

As long as this divine power is present, Talona will not be able to easily detonate the terrifying viruses, bacteria and toxins in the melting furnace of her body.

The two stared at each other like this for a full minute, and finally it was Elminster who broke the silence first, took out his beloved pipe and asked with a smile, "Do you mind if I smoke a bag of cigarettes?"

"Please."

Zuo Si shrugged indifferently.

If it were real on Earth, he would definitely stop any guy who tried to smoke within a 30-meter range, and denounced the other party for having no public morality and increasing his chances of suffering from lung cancer for no reason.

But now...

It doesn't matter anymore.

Because the things contained in Zuo Si's body are much more harmful than the tar and nicotine produced by burning tobacco.

And with the blessing of divine power and the spark of the planeswalker, he has long been out of the category of ordinary people.

All kinds of things that were originally harmful to the body are now the keys to promote the fusion and evolution of viruses, bacteria and toxins.

After getting permission, Elminster immediately lit his pipe and took a deep breath, his face full of enjoyment.

After taking several puffs in a row, he asked in a slightly curious tone: "Why did you reject Simamon's invitation to cooperate just now? You must know that the Zhentarim Society is the most powerful intelligence network in the entire Faerun Continent. If you talk to them Cooperation, whether it is to spread Talon's teachings or expand the influence of this goddess, is a good choice."

"I think you seem to have misunderstood something. Although I am a voter of the goddess of poison and disease, I am not her follower. I don't agree with those boring and ridiculous teachings. If possible, I don't even want to talk to Talona Churches and believers in the physical world are a little bit involved."

Zuo Si didn't have any intention of hiding, and expressed the truest thoughts in his heart openly.

"A chosen one who doesn't believe in God? You are as interesting and special as the rumors say." Elminster commented with a smile.

Although he knew this a long time ago, he still felt a little unbelievable when he heard Zuo Si admit it himself.

What is even more unbelievable is that such a voter who does not believe in the goddess of poison and disease at all has almost doubled Talona's influence in the material world and the number of believers in a short period of time.

If it continues to develop at this speed, it is estimated that it will not be long before it will be promoted from "weak divine power" to "medium divine power".

Never underestimate this.

If it is said that "weak divine power" still belongs to the kind of gods who need to find a backer to protect themselves, then "medium divine power" does not need to be afraid even if it faces the threat of "strong divine power" alone.

"That's why you came all the way from Shadow Valley? Want to confirm if I'm a new threat?" Zuo Si asked calmly.

He has always been watching the development of Talona Church.

At least after the completion of Askatra's temple, countless people will go to worship and donate every day, hoping that the mother of plague will not let her terrible chosen ones destroy the world.

Although it is doubtful how many of them are truly devout believers, it is an indisputable fact that their beliefs and influence are widely spread.

This, combined with the Zuo Si's strict constraints on the behavior of the Church of Amn, led the Council of Six to view it as a controllable weapon that could be used to deter other enemies and rivals.

As a result, instead of restricting it, it secretly gave many hidden conveniences.

Some nobles even paid a lot of money to hire Talona's priests to make some poisons, antidotes, and magic potions for curing diseases for their families, in case of emergency.

In addition, a small number of not-so-evil young pastors began to preach to the poor about how to maintain hygiene, prevent diseases, and identify various poisonous mushrooms and harmful substances, successfully winning the favor of many people at the bottom of society.

Sometimes, Zuo Si even felt that making herself a voter was a game played by Talona, ​​the goddess of poison and disease.

After all, there is no reason for chaos, let alone purpose.

Its existence itself is the reason and purpose.

Never speculate on the thoughts of a chaotic deity according to common sense, because their behavior has no logic at all, let alone predictable.

As an old smoker, Elminster quickly finished smoking the tobacco in his pipe, licked his lips, then casually put away his pipe and said, "I admit that I did have such thoughts before I saw you.

But now, I have given up the original idea.

Because you are a pure mage, whether it is spirit, thought or values.

And a pure mage, it is almost impossible to believe in any gods.

All you care about is knowledge, power and everything you are interested in.

If you were born in the Netheril era, I think you should have a high probability of becoming a great arcanist.

But I am here today not only to confirm whether you are a threat, but also to shoulder the mission entrusted by the goddess of magic to see your magic system from another world.

That's right! I'm referring to interesting cards that you've used more than once in battle. "

"The new goddess of magic?"

Zuo Si frowned subconsciously.

He never expected that he would even attract the attention of the third-generation goddess of magic, Midnight.

To be precise, this female mage, like Cyric, made a lot of noise during the turbulent years, and even killed the second-generation Death God Melkor with her own hands. She really doesn't have a strong sense of existence.

The only impressive thing is that some time ago, he tried to use his absolute control over the magic net to directly prohibit the followers of Cyric Church, or some other evil organization spellcasters from using the power of magic.

The goddess of magic personally ended up "cutting off the Internet", so I asked you if you were afraid?

As a result, no surprise, it immediately attracted a strong backlash.

Both the gods of the good alignment and the gods of the evil alignment unite to resist this abuse of priesthood.

In desperation, Midnight could only choose to give up.

Through this incident, she understood her responsibilities as a goddess of magic and the cruel reality that magic must be 100% neutral.

To put it simply, this third-generation goddess of magic has not yet adapted to her new identity, and still retains many memories and personalities of her mortal life.

This can be seen from her constant trouble with Cyric.

But this situation won't last long, and the mortal nature will be assimilated under the influence of the priesthood.

So being a god doesn't always mean a good thing.

At least it is completely different from what many people think that they can do whatever they want with great power, and may even completely lose their original self-awareness.

But for Zuo Si, being noticed by the goddess of magic is not a bad thing.

Because the latter's priesthood determines that she will encourage and protect all research and innovation related to magic.

Elminster stroked the gray beard on his chin and explained: "The Goddess is very interested in your spellcasting method, which can directly draw power from raw energy to shape without going through the magic net. Of course, I am also quite curious about how you How did it happen."

"Can I gain anything from it?" Zuo Si asked bluntly.

"Benefits? Isn't it enough to be favored by the Mother of Magic?" Elminster asked with a half-smile.

Zuo Si rolled her eyes angrily: "Not enough, of course not enough. What I need are tangible benefits that can be seen and touched, not boring things like God's favor. The latter is not in my eyes. any meaning or value."

Hearing such blasphemous words, Elminster was not angry, but let out a hearty laugh: "Hahahaha! Your appearance reminds me of many young and conceited mages. They used to treat you just like you The gods are dismissive, and some extreme even want to kill the gods and replace them."

"No, I'm not like them. I know very well what God is, and I know what the source of my strength is."

While speaking, a Planeswalker card suddenly appeared in Zuo Si's hand out of thin air.

Elminster was keenly aware of the power contained in this little card, and immediately put away his previous cynical attitude, and asked with a serious face: "What is this? A card similar to [Vientiane Impermanence Card] magic props?"

"I won't tell you the answer, but you can experience it yourself."

The voice has not yet fallen!

Zuo Si activates the card added between the index finger and middle finger.

Immediately afterwards, the card turned into a beam of light and disappeared without a trace, and at the same time, an inconspicuous pebble fell on the table.

Before Elminster realized what had happened, he found that all the sounds around him had disappeared, and when he wanted to speak, he could only move in vain but couldn't make a sound.

Although with the magical power he possesses, it is completely possible to fight against it with the powerful immunity of "Silver Fire" and the legendary mage.

But this kind does not require any spells, actions, and does not use super magic skills to cast instant spells. Just a thought can create a blessed [Silence Technique] stone out of thin air, completely subverting his understanding of magic.

Afterwards, Zuo Si picked up the small stone to activate the planeswalker's ability, turning the stone into a card held at the fingertips again.

There is no doubt that this is a typical treasure card, which can be freely switched between cards and items after paying very little mana.

The function is also very simple, that is to directly stick the stone to a specific position through Zero Ring's [Throwing Object] and [Adhesion] during the battle, so that the spellcasters in this area cannot sing spells normally.

In addition, it can also be used to create a completely silent environment during an ambush.

"how did you do it?"

Elminster stared at the inconspicuous card in Zuo Si's hand, showing caution for the first time.

As a "mage killer" who has hunted down many high-level spellcasters, he knows better than other spellcasters how dangerous such a power of unknown origin and completely different from the known spellcasting system is in a spell duel .

In many cases, the outcome of a mage duel does not depend on those astonishingly powerful Nine Rings or even legendary magic.

Because these spells require a long time to chant spells, and at the same time cause violent fluctuations in magic power, 100% will make the opponent more vigilant.

But those low-level spells and inconspicuous gadgets are very easy to be ignored.

Elminster himself once saw a high-level elf mage killed by Zero Ring [Hand of Mage].

The latter was wearing a [Mirror Cloak], which can almost make the wearer deflect all magic damage. It is a very powerful magic item.

But what happened?

When the elf mage successfully prepared an astonishingly powerful evocation magic moment, his opponent used [Mage Hand] to pull [Mirror Cloak] to wrap his whole body.

In the end, under the strong rebound of the [Mirror Cloak], the elf mage didn't bless himself with protective magic, so he ate the evocation magic he released from zero distance, and was blown to nothing on the spot.

Since then, Elminster has understood a truth.

There is no distinction between powerful and weak spells, only proper use and inappropriate use.

Appreciating the expression on the face of the first voter of the Goddess of Magic, Zuo Si replied in a slightly playful tone: "Didn't you come here for this? I have already shown it to you. As for whether you can understand it or not, that is Your business has nothing to do with me. Also, don't forget to prepare a favor for me. I believe that the goddess of magic should not be too stingy, right?"

"Damn it! You have really presented me with a problem. If I am willing to offer a powerful magic item in exchange, can you tell me the secret of it?"

While saying these words, Elminster raised his hand and rubbed the space between his brows, obviously feeling very headache about it.

Because he couldn't tell at all what happened when the card turned into a stone and when the stone turned back into a card.

In particular, all the magical energy did not pass through the magic net, nor did it use the original magical energy in the environment, but was released from Zuo Si's body.

This also means that even the goddess of magic cannot directly use the priesthood to copy any new magic that was invented, created or used in Faerun as before.

Only now did Elminster understand the reasons and reasons why the Goddess asked him to make a trip in person.

"I'm sorry. No matter what you give in exchange, I will not reveal my hole cards to anyone. But if you are willing to take out the research notes on Silver Fire, I can give you this card in my hand. You can use it for magic research, or you can give it to the goddess of magic."

Zuo Si took the opportunity to propose a quid pro quo.

As we all know, Elminster is the person who has the deepest understanding of divine power among all mortals in Faerun, and has even developed many ways to use the energy of "Silver Fire".

And these research notes on divine power happen to be what Zuo Si urgently needs right now.

While the powers of the Goddess of Magic and the Goddess of Poison and Disease are certainly vastly different, there are certainly some things in common.

If you can gain a deeper understanding of divine power, maybe you can speed up the transformation efficiency, and strive to use the power of sparks to transform it into your own things as soon as possible.

As for whether a card will reveal the planeswalker's identity, Zuo Si is not worried at all.

Because the core power of the planeswalker is always the "spark", just like the divine spark of the gods, it is something that cannot be described in words and cannot be understood through normal methods.

As long as it is not actively exposed, others will hardly notice its existence.

"You want to know about divine power?"

Elminster raised his eyebrows, keenly aware of the other party's intentions.

Zuo Si nodded sharply: "Yes. It's different from someone like you who is willing to dedicate everything to God. I am very vigilant about the power in my body that does not belong to me, even if this power gives me amazing electoral capacity."

"Unbelievable! You are actually doubting the goddess of poison and plague who gave you the status of a voter? Do you think she has malicious intentions?"

Elminster leaned forward slightly, his eyes sparkled strangely, as if he had discovered something interesting.

After all, disbelief is one thing, doubt and mistrust are quite another.

"Why should I trust her?

This voter status is not what I want, but it was forced by Talona.

At that time, I didn't even have the qualifications to refuse.

Well, I think that's all for today's talk.

Our values ​​are different, and the underlying thinking logic is also different, so there is no common language.

Remember, before I leave Candlekeep, you can take Silverfire's research notes with you to trade at any time.

Once I leave Candlekeep, you will lose your chance to get this card forever. "

After all, Zuo Si ignored Elminster's reaction, stood up and walked towards the guest room on the second floor.

From the almost indifferent attitude, it is not difficult to see that he is not only not at all happy about the visit of the first elector of the goddess of magic, but rather impatient.

Don't even want to communicate too much with it.

As an old monster who had lived for more than a thousand years, Elminster was very aware of this, and his eyes showed strong doubts and incomprehension.

He couldn't understand why Zuo Si would show unreasonable vigilance and vigilance whenever God was mentioned, and he couldn't understand why Talona, ​​the goddess of poison and disease, chose such a young man to be his only one. voter.

(end of this chapter)