Wizard:Start as a Potion Master

Sunan quickly made a new discovery near the blood-stained mushroom, finding a human-sized stone tablet. The stone tablet resembled a tombstone, covered in dried vines, appearing both as a signpost and a tombstone—perhaps both.

The tombstone bore a bloody handprint, seemingly from a child's hand.

Sunan compared his hand to the print from a distance and confirmed it belonged to the young girl with the coca wizard. She was the only child to enter the wizard relic, and the blood retained magical energy.

But what did the intentional bloody handprint on the tombstone signify?

Sunan was about to remove the vines when the old butler Warwick stopped him. "Young master, let me handle it."

"This subspace is full of unknowns. You shouldn't risk yourself. It's our role as servants to clear the path for you."

Sunan nodded.

Warwick partially transformed, using his wolf claws to tear away the vines on the tombstone.

The text on the tombstone was exposed.

Sunan immediately recognized the ancient script, "This is the script of the Galatia Kingdom from over two thousand years ago."

"It says here lies all that was of a great forerunner, now weary from an endless pursuit of truth, finally choosing to rest."

"The deceased has passed; let those who follow not disturb his eternal slumber."

"Now I know the fate of the oak wizard," Sunan pondered. "It seems this formal wizard died, and after his death, his laboratory became his burial ground, with his descendants burying him here. I suspect there are more such tombstones."

"They're likely scattered throughout the laboratory."

"Let's keep moving and see if we can exit this maze. Brom is exploring another area, so no need to regroup yet. Splitting up might be more efficient."

The troops continued forward, but after about half an hour, Sunan suddenly halted, prompting a puzzled look from Vasilian.

Vasilian asked, "Lord Sunan, why aren't we proceeding?"

Sunan shook his head. "There's no need to go further. This maze is a trap; if we keep going like this, we'll never get out."

"Mr. Warwick, you must have noticed."

The old butler Warwick explained to the confused Vasilian, "Yes, Mr. Vasilian, the magical plants in this maze have been subtly moving."

"Wherever we go, they generate a corresponding maze. It's an endless maze."

After listening, Vasilian summoned his black blade and chopped down a large plant, declaring, "Then let's cut through them! Chop our way out!"

But he suddenly leapt back as the severed branch of a house-sized rose bush quickly took root and regrew into a complete rose bush in no time.

As large as a house.

Simultaneously, a tombstone hidden behind the rose bush was revealed. Sunan read the inscription aloud, "Intruders, you defile the great wizard, disturbing his eternal rest."

"You all must pay the price."

"Tremble, for the graves of our great mentor cannot be desecrated. Our fury will not fade with your screams and terror."

"You all must pay the price, now and forever."

"Unless you find the three keys to the Ancient Tree of Life."

Sunan raised an eyebrow, unfazed by the tombstone's warning. Whether this was a school site, laboratory, or graveyard, as long as he entered, he'd strip it bare, especially since it was within his territory, making everything here rightfully his.

Vasilian remarked, "Master, these plants seem to grow quickly. Brute force won't break this maze."

Sunan replied, "This is likely a defense maze set by a formal wizard, naturally formidable. But you misunderstood; the plant didn't grow quickly—it only appeared so."

"This could easily deceive those with insufficient magical knowledge. But I noticed something."

Vasilian looked at Sunan in confusion. "Master?"

Sunan pointed to the newly grown rose bush, "The plant's growth wasn't accelerated; instead, this local area's time was sped up."

"The maze's time..."

"Has been altered by magic."

"I suspect whenever a plant is cut down here, the local area's time speeds up, allowing the plant to regrow swiftly."

"If that's possible, different areas of the garden maze likely have varying time flows."

Sunan noticed Vasilian and the old butler Warwick hadn't grasped it, so he explained, "I mean, the maze's time is disordered."

"For example, we and the church, wizards, and Forgotten Ones might have entered an hour apart, but for them, much more time might have passed."

Sunan warned, "Be cautious. This Four Seasons Garden is more challenging than expected. It seems the oak wizard didn't want anyone easily obtaining his relics."

Vasilian sheathed his black blade, "I see. Lord Sunan, whatever happens, I will protect you."

Warwick asked, "Young master, what are the three keys mentioned on the tombstone?"

Sunan considered. "They seem to be a way out of the maze, a kind of hint. Though I don't know why there's a hint given."

"If the intention was to keep the laboratory and grave undisturbed, even if someone accidentally entered, they could be trapped in the maze without a hint."

Warwick speculated, "Is it to help their apprentices enter the grave and laboratory? But that doesn't make sense; their apprentices shouldn't need to enter the maze."

"But let's set that aside for now, master. Where do we find the keys?"

"Hmm? Your two super werewolf messengers seem to have caught a scent."

Sunan turned to Wolf Alpha and Wolf Beta. Not just them, the eight werewolf stewards also used their keen sense of smell to detect something beyond the garden's floral interference.

The werewolves howled and ran forward, with Sunan and the others following.

They passed through an area of tall wild grasses, arriving at a mushroom-covered ground, where they found the bodies of church soldiers.

These bodies were overgrown with mushrooms.

Sunan surveyed the scene, "It seems after the Achaea Diocese Bishop led his troops into the garden, his soldiers were wiped out. The fate of the knights is uncertain."

"The killer... is the spores in the air."

"These airborne spores enter our bodies, causing fatal effects at some point."

Sunan wasn't overly concerned; his werewolf army had multiple undead layers, immune to being killed by spores, at most hindered in movement.

Death knights were already not living.

Golems were completely immune to the fungal spores' magical damage.

He pondered why only the giant mushrooms here released deadly spores on these soldiers.

Since this was a massive ecological bottle, there would be interlocking ecological niches.

This was key to a complete ecological chain.

Sunan noticed there were no house-sized roses around, commonly seen elsewhere in the garden.

"It's those roses. Their fragrance neutralizes the parasitic spores from these mushrooms."

Sunan commanded a werewolf steward to return and pick a giant rose petal, then use their superior sense of smell to find their way back.

With a thought, Sunan set up a cauldron and used the rose petal to brew rose essential oil.

"Better safe than sorry."

"To prevent any issues with this rose fragrance, I'll use alchemical knowledge to brew it first, eliminating potential risks."

...

On the other side of the Four Seasons Garden, the Achaea Diocese Bishop of the Storm Church gritted his teeth, surveying the enormous plants and insects surrounding him.

They'd been trapped here for half a year!

The soldiers and knight squires with him had all perished in other areas of this cursed place. Only three desperate knights remained by his side.

He also kept one of his illegitimate children with him.

During this time, they'd survived by eating the garden's plants, but they'd reached their limit.

They'd just killed a mantis as large as an elephant. The bishop, now disheveled and weary, called his illegitimate son over and handed him a necklace.

Borgia, worried, whispered, "Bishop... father, what are you doing?"

The bishop coughed, "This is our family token."

"If I can't escape this damned place, our family's future rests on you. Borgia, make friends, not enemies. That Sunan Peter outside might be a good friend to have."

"This place is unlike any we've encountered related to wizards, more dangerous."

"This accursed wizard's sinful land, Storm God, why don't you strike it with lightning and destroy this evil place..."

"This place is too sinful, entirely unlike the life we know."

Borgia, worried, comforted the bishop, "Father, we'll find a way out."

"We will."

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