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By the time Ian left the pharaoh's eternal resting place, it was already dusk. Standing at the edge of the desert, he gazed at the ruins that had slept for thousands of years and felt a slight reluctance in his heart.
But more than that, he felt satisfied.
He carefully sorted and sealed all the resources he had gathered into his potion ingredient bag. Then, he softly murmured a Transfiguration spell.
"Animagus, Raven form."
A faint glow flickered.
His body rapidly shrank, his skin transforming into feathers and his limbs turning into sharp claws and wings. A deep raven's cry pierced the silence, and Ian had already become a pitch-black raven.
With a flap of his wings, he shot into the sky and vanished into the twilight.
The desert, baked by the sun, resembled an endless golden ocean, its dunes shifting like waves in the wind. The Raven Ian had become circled above the scorching sands, his dark wings cutting through the dry air, his crimson eyes scanning the vast expanse of golden dunes below.
He had just left the Pharaoh's pyramid with a substantial haul, but a Potions Master's greed is never easily satisfied.
"There are always rare goodies in the desert."
He lowered his altitude.
His sharp gaze locked onto a group of desert spirit foxes running between the dunes. This creature's subspecies had long gone extinct, and their blood was a top-tier ingredient for brewing "Phantom Potion."
The raven dove downward, and, just before landing, Ian returned instantly to human form. He stepped lightly onto the burning sand and pulled a crystal vial and a small silver knife from his money pouch.
"Don't move, little one. I'm only taking a drop of blood."
The spirit foxes perked up their ears warily. Before they could flee, Ian snapped his fingers.
"Petrificus!" (Petrificus Totalus).
The leading fox froze instantly, while the others panicked and fled.
Ian calmly walked over, grabbed the immobilized fox by the scruff of its neck, and gently ran the silver blade along its front paw.
A bright red droplet fell into the crystal vial.
"Perfect."
He released the fox and lifted the spell. The fox immediately bolted away and disappeared in a flash.
Meanwhile, Ian shook the vial with satisfaction. In the sunlight, the blood gave off a faint golden glow.
"I'll find a few more. Then I can start making magic clones when I get back." Though Ian had slain numerous powerful magical creatures, it was always because they had attacked him first. In truth, he wasn't a cruel man. He still believed that culturing extinct creatures and using them as a blood bank suited him best.
After collecting some blood, Ian transformed back into a Raven and soared high into the sky.
With his wide-ranging vision, he searched for rare desert magical creatures, mysterious beings mentioned only in ancient magic books. Ancient creatures were common, and soon he spotted a group of "Sand Shadow Beasts" drinking at the edge of an oasis.
Their slender bodies were covered in semi-transparent scales that refracted sunlight into a rainbow of colors. They moved with such swiftness that they nearly blended into the sand and dust. Without Ian's keen observation skills and his second identity as a magical creature expert, he would never have detected their presence.
Once again, he slowly descended and returned to human form.
He pulled out a magical recording camera from his belt pouch and aimed it at the Sandshadow Beasts, filming them.
At the same time, using a silver needle as fine as a hair, he gently collected a drop of blood from the foot of a beast drinking water.
The magical camera automatically recorded and stored the footage and sample information.
This was the first step in his magical cloning research.
He also discovered a "Sand Spirit Scorpion" among the dunes, with its crimson body and the eerie blue glow emanating from its tail.
Legend had it that its venom could be used to create 'Soul Resurrection Potions.' Ian excitedly documented its behavior patterns and, when it wasn't paying attention, collected a drop of its venom.
The harvest was enormous.
He was very satisfied.
Just as Ian was about to continue his search, the wind direction in the desert suddenly shifted.
The sky darkened abruptly, and the wind intensified, whipping sand into swirling vortexes. The once-calm sea of sand began to churn, and a distant horizon was shrouded in a hazy yellow. The raging wind lifted the sand into a colossal tornado that stretched from heaven to earth, now moving directly towards him.
It moved like the breath of an ancient giant god devouring the world.
"Tch. Even natural weather is joining the fun?"
Ian frowned, drawing his wand from beneath his black robe, ready to cast a spell to dispel the storm. But the moment he raised his hand, he suddenly heard a whisper in his ear.
"Wizard... wizard..."
The voice was soft and eerie, as if rising from the depths of the earth or emerging from the core of his soul. The husky whisper seemed to ring directly in Ian's ear, and it felt as if someone were murmuring right next to his ear.
"What the hell?"
Ian froze in place.
"A glorious future... I can give it to you..."
The voice seemed to come from all directions at once, yet it also drilled directly into his mind. Ian stopped, his brow furrowed. This wasn't ordinary wind or an illusion.
"Just... a little help... Save me... save me... I will grant you immense power... if you just... for me... break the seal."
The voice continued.
"A supernatural event?"
As a Legendary wizard, Ian was highly sensitive to magic fluctuations. This whisper contained an ancient, powerful will, even carrying a faint echo of divinity.
He put away his wand and pulled out a compass-like magic detector from his pouch. The needle spun wildly, finally pointing toward a dune in the northeast.
There was nothing unusual there to the naked eye, but the detector displayed intense magical fluctuations.
"Interesting."
He strode toward the sand dune, the ground beneath his feet growing increasingly soft with each step, sinking several inches with every stride. As he reached the center, the sand suddenly began to collapse beneath him!
Quicksand!
But Ian remained calm. With a wave of his wand, he cast a spell.
"Firmamento!" (Earth Solidification).
He swiftly cast a "Sand Solidification" spell, solidifying the treacherous quicksand into a hard, rocky surface. The loose sand instantly hardened like stone.
Then, he waved his wand and chanted, "Sand Displacement Technique," slowly clearing away the top layer of sand. As dust swirled, a massive stone structure gradually emerged. It was exquisitely carved, its lintel inlaid with dark gold runes. Though weathered by time, it still exuded an aura of majesty and mystery.
"This isn't just an ordinary ruin..." Ian murmured to himself.
He stood steadily, looking down at the anomaly gradually revealing itself beneath his feet. Beneath the sand, a massive stone slab was faintly visible, covered in ancient hieroglyphs and sealing runes.
"As expected, there's something here."
Ian crouched down and lightly touched the slab.
Silver-gray magical power flowed from his fingers like water, seeping into the cracks.
One rune after another lit up, then quickly went dark again until finally...
BOOM!
The entire quicksand layer collapsed, revealing a huge underground entrance.
Stone steps descended into the darkness, leading to an ancient palace buried beneath the desert for countless years.
The whisper grew clearer, urging him onward.
"Come in… wizard… your reward is waiting…"
Ian chuckled and stepped down the stairs.
"Alright, let's see what kind of 'Glorious Future' you can offer me." As he approached, he pushed open the heavy stone door, and an ancient, oppressive aura washed over him.
The interior of the palace was far more magnificent than it appeared from the outside.
It was vast, empty, and dim.
The vast, dimly lit hall was supported by towering stone pillars that held up the domed ceiling. The walls were covered in ancient hieroglyphs and magic runes, telling the story of the rise and fall of a certain ancient god.
Ian's eyes scanned the hieroglyphs. He was well-versed in ancient magic languages and quickly deciphered the key information.
"This place is the tomb of the god Set. Because of his rebellion and ambition, the other gods sealed him here. Anyone who enters this place and hears his whispers must not respond, lest their will be corroded by his consciousness."
Ian gradually pieced together a shocking truth. The whispering in his ears intensified, becoming more urgent and frenzied: "Wizard! Save me! I will grant you endless power! I will make you the ruler of the world!"
Ian didn't respond. He simply continued deeper into the palace.
As he walked, he used his magic camera to record the inscriptions and patterns on the walls while also collecting samples from altars and pillars. He detected a peculiar divine energy permeating the air, as if residual Divine Power had not been fully sealed.
"Hold on. Let me loot a bit first and see if you actually have any goods."
Ian moved through the palace like a professional archaeologist, or rather, a greedy Potions Master.
He found several well-preserved alchemy tools: the Eye of Set, said to absorb Moonlight and convert it into alchemical energy, and the Heart of the Desert, a crystal imbued with the divine power of the desert, an extremely rare material at the core of creating the Desert Summoning Potion.
He also discovered an ancient alchemy manuscript, its cover etched with the symbol of Set. Flipping through a few pages, he found records of long-lost alchemical techniques and methods for converting divine power.
"If I take this back and study it, I might be able to develop some new recipes."
Satisfied, he stored the manuscript in his magical bag.
Set's whispers at his ear grew more and more restless.
"Save me! Save me! I will grant you everything! You will become my new blessed follower!"
Set pleaded desperately, but Ian completely ignored him, concentrating on plundering the palace's treasures.
The Cauldron of Chaos... a pitch-black alchemy cauldron containing a never-drying deposit of Divine Blood, the core ingredient for crafting the Immortality Potion.
The Eye of the Storm... a sapphire embedded in the top of a scepter, containing a portion of Set's divine power and capable of controlling the weather.
The Godslayer Dagger... a pair to the one found in the Pharaoh's tomb, its blade etched with the curse: "The Godslayer shall be slain by the gods."
The Book of Set... containing Ancient Egypt's most forbidden dark magic, including methods for stealing the authority of other gods.
Ian browsed like he was at a supermarket, stuffing these items one by one into his pouch, completely disregarding the increasingly hysterical whispers in his ears. By this point, Set was not just desperate but also on the verge of breaking down.
"Wizards! You are desecrating the domain of the gods! Help me break the seal! Otherwise, you will suffer an eternal curse!" He even began threatening Ian, his mind clearly addled, unaware that such threats would have no effect on him.
"Help you?" Ian finally stopped, turning to face the sealed door at the heart of the palace. He scoffed. "Do I look like some fool who would be deceived by your 'Glorious Future'?"
The moment he finished speaking, the entire palace suddenly trembled. The ancient runes on the walls lit up one by one, and crimson light flowed through the cracks like blood.
The whisper instantly turned into a deafening roar.
"Blasphemer! You will pay the price!"
Set had truly been enraged.
The next second, the walls rippled like water, and metal guardians tore free from within the stone one after another.
Their bodies were made of black iron and bronze, and their joints were embedded with glowing scarab gemstones. Eerie green flames danced inside their hollow eye sockets.
Ka-cha, ka-cha...
The screeching sound of metal grinding echoed through the palace. Dozens of guardians holding spears and curved blades marched in perfect formation toward Ian.
"Oh? Alchemy Golems?" Ian raised an eyebrow. With a flick of his wand, he unleashed the Path of the Fire God, followed by his signature magic: the Blazing Sun's Crusade.
A searing wave of flames surged forward, but the moment they struck the metal guards, they dispersed as if hitting an invisible barrier, leaving not even a scorch mark.
"Magic immunity?" Ian narrowed his eyes. "Interesting."
He was surprised.
But the guardians continued advancing, their spears aimed straight at his throat.
"Fine. Then I'll use another method." Ian sneered, tucking his wand into his sleeve and pulling a six-barreled Gatling gun from his magic pouch.
Greek runes were carved across the body of the gun.
Every bullet in the ammunition belt was plated in mithril, and the tips had been soaked in Godslayer's blood.
"The times have changed, Lord Set."
...DA-DA-DA-DA-DA!
The barrels spun wildly, and muzzle flashes erupted as bullets poured out like a storm of rain. The guardians' magic immunity was meaningless against physical impact.
The first row of guardians was instantly blasted into fragments, with bronze shards and black iron wreckage spraying everywhere.
"Is that all?" Ian advanced, sweeping the area with his gun. "I thought a god's creation would last a few more seconds!"
"You damned wizard! When I break free, I'll torture you for ten thousand years!" Set's furious roar echoed through the palace.
Soon, the scattered metal wreckage began to wriggle like living creatures and melt back into the walls. Then, brand-new guardians crawled out once again, seemingly endless.
"Interesting! Looks like I almost missed another treasure!"
As he destroyed the metal guardians, Ian frantically analyzed the magical inscriptions throughout the palace.
Finally, he found the core text that controlled the production and recycling of the guardians.
It was located in a section of the ceiling.
There was a stone slab there.
It was the operating core of the guardians.
"The core control rune!"
Ian leapt upward and pried the entire slab down from the dome. The metal guardians, having lost their energy and governing rules, collapsed into dust in the next instant.
"Thanks, Lord Set."
Ian stuffed the slab into his pouch and turned to sprint toward the exit.
"I'm very satisfied with this souvenir!"
Ian had to run. The instant the stone slab fell into his hands, the entire palace began to collapse. Only Set's seal remained unshaken, his piercing shriek nearly piercing Ian's eardrums.
"You will regret this, wizard! I will find you! I will tear your soul apart!"
Amid the continuous roaring, Ian had already returned to the surface.
"You didn't save me, and you destroyed my temple. You will die by my hand! I'm coming back soon!"
.
The palace shook violently behind him, the echo of Set's rage reverberating across the entire desert.
The tornado outside had already dispersed.
The desert returned to silence. Ian weighed the bulging money pouch in his hand and hummed cheerfully.
"This Egypt trip... unexpectedly feels like a vacation."
He transformed into a raven and flew up into the sky. Behind him remained only Set's tomb, once more buried beneath the yellow sands, and an ancient Egyptian god driven nearly insane with rage.
Beneath the sea of sand...
That unwilling howl could still be heard.
"Wizard! I will tear your soul apart! I will burn you beneath the eternal sun!"
The sound of clashing chains echoed through the buried ruins.
Set's divine power slammed against his prison.
Yet he still could not break free.
(End of Chapter)