Witcher: I Can Extract Everything

Chapter 40: Magic Snake

Aalto said, “You know, little guy, war is coming!”

Heath was stunned. “War?”

Aalto explained, “Someone in the Underdark Treesea broke the rules and refused to pay the taxes. They even turned the Apprentices who went to collect the taxes into toads and fed them to the reptiles.”

“The Wizards are very angry about this. They decided to follow the tradition and use their strength to defend their authority.”

“Only magic can deal with magic.”

Heath asked, “Which Wizard organization is that?”

Aalto said, “The Red Devil’s Blood. Their human kingdom is next to the Kingdom of Helan. This is a rare opportunity. Make preparations as soon as possible.”

“Wizards all like Apprentices who are good at fighting. If you perform well in the war, you will be more confident when you compete for the official Apprentice position in the future.”

At this point, Aalto lifted the feather on his neck and there was a pocket watch hanging under it.

He lifted the cover of the watch and looked at the time, then said, “Thank you for your hospitality, but I think I have to go. There are still a few places I need to contact. We will meet again.”

Heath nodded. “Goodbye.”

Aalto flapped his wings and quickly left.

Heath returned to his chair and sat down. He leaned against the back of the chair. His left hand clenched into a fist to support his temple, and his right hand placed on the table and gently tapped it.

He frowned and fell into deep thought.

Should he participate in this war?

This was a matter that required careful consideration…

…

The information that Aalto revealed made Heath greatly advance his purchase plan. After all, once the war started, the situation would become unstable. At that time, the market would definitely be affected, and it might even be directly closed down.

Therefore, on the second day after the meeting with Aalto, Heath left Reiden City and went to the nearby Wizard market alone.

A few days later, west of the Xiran Kingdom, the Fog Forest.

The Fog Forest was a forest in the west of the Xiran Kingdom. Because it was covered in a thick layer of fog all day long, it had this name.

Creak! Creak!

The sound of boots stepping on the soft road echoed.

A figure slowly walked over from the forest.

He was wearing a gray-black cloak, a mask on his face, and a crossguard sword at his waist. His entire body exuded a mysterious aura.

This mysterious person was naturally Heath.

He did not plan to leave any possibility for outsiders to know about the matter of concealing his strength, so he deliberately disguised himself for this trip.

He put on a mask and a cloak, and even his hair color was deliberately dyed gold with medicine.

Walking on the sheep farm path made of fallen leaves and debris, he turned his head and looked around as he walked.

This looked like a very common forest, surrounded by fir trees, Qiao trees, and other common tree species.

But in the middle of the forest, there was a thick layer of fog.

Other than that, there were no birds, cicadas, or small animals in the forest.

The entire forest was quiet, so quiet that it was even a little creepy.

Heath raised his eyebrows, and his eyes under the mask revealed a hint of doubt. “Is the market really in such a place? Why can’t I see anyone?”

There was a specific map in the tower that recorded the Wizard market and updated it regularly. When Heath left the tower, he prepared a copy.

According to the map, the only Wizard market in the Kingdom of Helan was in the Fog Forest.

However, he did not expect to see such a desolate scene after coming here.

“Is there something wrong with this map?”

Heath picked up the map and checked it again, but the result was still the same.

He was about to release the Ghost Scout to increase the search area, but at this time, a strange sound came from the distance.

Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!

The sudden sound from the dead silent forest immediately alerted Heath.

He pressed down on the cross-blade and quickly stared in the direction of the sound.

He saw a long figure slithering over from the fog. It was a snake.

It was a common forest python. It was about five to six meters long, about the thickness of a thigh, and its entire body was covered with fine scales.

As it crawled forward, it spat out its scarlet tongue. The hissing sound just now came from this place.

“Forest python?” Heath was puzzled.

This was the first time he had seen anything alive other than himself since he entered the forest. Before this, there wasn’t even a fly here.

Heath pulled out his cross sword and prepared to defend against the enemy.

But at this moment, the forest python suddenly opened its mouth and actually spoke in human language. “Don’t be nervous, unfamiliar Apprentice.”

Heath was stunned.

The python stopped about ten steps away from him and coiled around its body, raising its head high.

It spat out its tongue and introduced itself to Heath. “I am Doro from the Mist Market. I work for the Wizards in the Mist Market. This is my emblem.”

The scales on the python’s abdomen suddenly lit up, forming a complicated pattern.

Heath took a look and quickly recognized the origin of this pattern. It was the emblem of the Mist Market.

At this time, he also noticed that there were eye-like patterns on the dense scales of the python. Through this unique pattern, he also recognized the identity of this snake.

This was a Magic Snake. Like the raven, it was also a kind of sentient magic creature.

He put away his cross sword and bowed. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

The Magic Snake shook its big head and said, “I’ve been watching you for a long time. You’re wandering around aimlessly in the forest. I guess you’re looking for the market. Is that so?”

Heath nodded. “It’s not that easy to find here.”

The Magic Snake said, “Yes, it’s easy to get lost here.”

After a pause, it said, “So every new Wizard will choose to hire a guide. I think you need one too. Believe me, this will save you a lot of effort.”

Heath asked, “What price do I have to pay?”

The Magic Snake said, “Two Magic Stones. You can hire Doro until you leave the market. How about that?”

“I can swear to the omnipotent Ba-Serpent that you won’t find a cheaper and better guide than Doro in the market.”

Heath took out two Magic Stones and threw them over. He had had enough of this aimless search.

The Magic Snake opened its mouth and swallowed the two Magic Stones. “Wise decision.”

Heath said, “Lead the way.”

The Magic Snake said, “Of course.”

The Magic Snake did not intend to lead the way. Instead, it suddenly said, “In that case, please knock on the tree first. Any tree nearby will do. Knock five times in total, three times fast and two times slow. You don’t need to use much strength. Just knock gently.”

Heath did not understand, but he still followed the Magic Snake’s instructions.

He walked to a nearby tree and raised his hand to knock gently on the tree trunk.

The Magic Snake said, “I really envy animals like you who have hands. Every time I want to knock on them, it will take a lot of brain damage.”

Then, it climbed to the front of the tree and shouted with its mouth open, “In the name of Magnus, open the door!”

Magnus was a very famous Wizard family in the old land, and the Mist Market was run by them.

The treetops shook.

A tree hole suddenly appeared on the trunk, about the size of a fist.

The Magic Snake said, “Okay, let’s go in.”

Heath was stunned. “Go in? Don’t tell me you mean from this tree hole?”

Did they have to bring their own shrinking potion to go to the bazaar? Only rats could enter such a big tree hole, right?

Unexpectedly, the Magic Snake said matter-of-factly, “Or what?”

“Put your hand on it. Leave everything to magic.”

Heath hesitated for a moment and first spread out his spiritual tentacle to scan the tree hole.

There was an energy reaction on it, but it was not aggressive at all.

After confirming that it was safe, Heath put his hand on the tree trunk.

The moment his hand touched the tree trunk, Heath suddenly felt a huge suction force coming from the tree hole.

Under the pull of this huge suction force, his body began to twist uncontrollably, turning into an irregular shape and being sucked into the tree hole.

Immediately, Heath felt as if he had fallen into a slide. It seemed somewhat similar to the previous time in Cross Forest, but it was completely different.

This time, there was an extremely strong suction force on the slide. He was completely pulled down uncontrollably.

This slide continued for a few seconds. Heath’s vision blurred and he rolled out from a tree hole.

At this moment, he also came to a very magical and strange place.

Heath could not help but widen his eyes.

Because he actually saw…