I, the wizard, the foolish Buddha

“Has it been eight years already?”

Roland remained in a daze for a long time.

Calculating it, he should have advanced to a formal wizard in his second or third year, a twenty-year-old formal wizard.

Then, while dueling with himself in Straw Town, he also focused on meditation and research. It felt like time flew by, yet five or six years had passed.

It seems that in these past five or six years, his daily 'meditation' wasn't just a few hours. Each meditation session lasted several days.

Roland's eyes gradually focused, landing on Old John.

Mortals are different from wizards.

Formal wizards generally have a lifespan of over two hundred years. Roland's body is exceptionally strong, and his vitality is unusually vigorous. His lifespan will be even higher. He probably won't change much before he's fifty, remaining like he's twenty.

These eight years have brought almost no change to Roland. But Old John is already graying at the temples.

When he first met him, Old John seemed to be in his forties. People in this era age quickly, and in his fifties, he already looks like he's in his sixties or seventies.

Over these eight years, Old John has come, rain or shine. Even with all the strange happenings in Straw Town, he still makes several trips each month to deliver things.

He brings any new and interesting gadgets he finds. Sometimes he even brings a few milk-producing sheep, or honey and spices.

Old John is a freeman, but he's no different from Roland's house slave. He even does better than a house slave.

Roland sighed inwardly. He asked, “Old John, what's the price of land now?”

Old John saw through his master's thoughts. He waved his hand and said, “Master, I don't want your money. Over the years, just the travel expenses alone, you've given me a gold dragon every month! And every time I bring something new, you reward me with some silver.

In these eight years, I've saved enough money to buy a small vineyard! I now run a small farm with a dozen helpers!~”

Hearing this, Roland couldn't help but smile. Old John has now become a landowner. He's a master himself now.

Roland nodded and looked at the little girl next to Old John, who was curiously sizing him up.

Old John was quite handsome when he was young, resembling Wallace a bit in his younger days.

He was also somewhat famous, brave, and had many friends. The woman he married and the daughter-in-law he arranged for his son were both beautiful.

So, the little girl is very pretty, just looks a bit bold and mischievous.

Roland said, “Straw Town is completely peaceful now. I plan to leave the territory and travel around for a while. I don't know when I'll be back. Do you have any wishes? You can tell me, and I'll see if I can arrange them.”

Old John was a little excited. He said, “Master, you truly have great magical powers! When I came here these past two years, I felt that the sky here was getting clearer and clearer, unlike before when it was always cloudy and dark.

I didn't expect you to really cure this cursed land of Straw Town!”

He couldn't help but recall those things that happened when he first came with his master.

After chatting for a few more sentences, Old John rubbed his hands, a little embarrassed, and said, “Master, to be honest, I'm indeed here this time to ask you for an opportunity.”

He pulled his little granddaughter closer and said, “Although my son follows me in some ways, he follows my woman more. He's quiet, and can stay in the house for weeks with just a book. If he has a new idea, he can tinker with it in the house for months.

But this granddaughter of mine has taken after both her father and her grandfather's personalities!

She's too curious and too brave.

I saw it when she was little. I can't let her get her hands on my strange witch doctor books. But this girl is clever and always finds where I hide things.

Master, you know, my ancestors did this kind of work. My books record many folk tales and legends. These things have opened a door to a new world for her.”

Speaking of this, Old John's eyes were filled with longing: “Master, you know how interesting that world is. Once you look into it, you can never forget it.

I'm worried that she'll end up like me in the future, always delving into dangerous places like Straw Town, but without any real skills.

Master, I know you like peace and quiet. You won't take disciples. But I want to ask you for a connection.”

Roland had already guessed when he saw Old John bring his little granddaughter.

He sized up the little girl.

Old John's ancestors had a lineage, although it had become a folk witch doctor in his generation. But Old John is not an ordinary person.

He has latent wizarding talent. And he has experienced many strange things in his life, even frequently venturing into places like Straw Town.

It is likely that a wizard will appear in his descendants.

His son is very suitable to be a scholar, but unfortunately, he no longer has that opportunity. He can only be a folk scholar.

As for this little girl, she seems smarter and more curious than Old John.

The little girl looks fourteen or fifteen years old, almost as tall as Old John. But people in this world mature early, so her actual age is probably only twelve.

As for talent… Roland can sense from her face that the little girl is not the kind of child who can stay in the secular world.

Roland held out his hand and said, “Give me your hand.”

The little girl had been curiously looking at the handsome older brother's profile. Hearing this, her face turned slightly red, and she generously placed her hand in Roland's palm.

Upon touching her, Roland, a formal wizard, sensed some of her past and future.

After sensing it, Roland was slightly surprised.

From the lifeline, it seems that if he doesn't interfere, this little girl may have some entanglement with the White Fang Society in the future. There will also be some entanglement with his future destiny.

He checked the little girl's qualifications, and as expected, her talent was not bad.

He also checked her bones… Roland was very surprised. She was only ten years old!

A ten-year-old girl, growing like a fourteen or fifteen-year-old.

Roland couldn't help but recall Helena. Compared to normal girls, this junior sister, who was already over 1.7 meters tall at fourteen and looked like she was sixteen or seventeen, was actually considered late-maturing.

Junior sister should be twenty-two or twenty-three this year, right? I wonder what she looks like now.

Putting down the little girl's hand, Roland pondered for a moment and said, “John, I am from the Demon Sect. To put it simply, I come from a school that specializes in black magic. In the eyes of the world, we are black wizards. However, besides my school, I also have two other paths. You need to think carefully about which one to choose.”

Roland gave Old John three choices.

The first is to enter the Black Abyss. Roland will help Old John's granddaughter find a suitable mentor. The Black Abyss is a major school and can obtain the best resources and go far. But it is a concentration camp for black wizards, full of thorns. A slight carelessness will lead to eternal doom.

Most importantly, there is a war going on now.

The second is the Raven Society of Amir. King Alfonso is now the agent of the senior sister, and many people from the White Chess School have been sent into the Raven Society. So it is now a small White Chess School.

This path is the most righteous. If you do well, you can become a court wizard. But the disadvantage is that the resources are relatively small, the isolation from the wizarding world is greater, it is difficult to go far, and it is very far away. After going, the little girl may never be able to go home.

The third is the White Fang Society. That is, Kaila's side.

This path is both righteous and evil, and the resources and future opportunities are not bad.

With Roland's name, Kaila will not train the little girl as a social butterfly or an assassin, but as her student.

But in this school, you need a certain amount of brains and be smart enough. There will be a lot of infighting and some dangers.

It is a moderate choice in all aspects. The most important thing is that it is next door, close to home. Of course, Old John may not know. Because the wizard's place has a barrier, ordinary people can't walk in.

After listening, the little girl became interested in the Black Abyss. Old John slapped her butt hard.

How could he be willing to send his granddaughter to the Demon Sect? And there is a war going on now, and he doesn't know when it will end. If she is conscripted in a few years, what should he do?

The Raven Society of Amir is actually a very good choice, but it is too far away. After going, he will never see her in this life.

Old John made the decision for his granddaughter to go to the White Fang Society.

However, Old John had a little hesitation. He asked, “Master, although I don't know that there is a territory next door, I have heard of the name of Lord Kaila… She is the greatest enemy of the church. It is said that she is a terrible demon, a terrible vampire countess, who enslaves many, many werewolves… Is this true?”

Roland shook his head after listening. It was a shame for Kaila to be listed as a mortal enemy by those churches. She probably doesn't even know about it.

He asked, “Do you think I am more powerful than such a big shot?”

Old John nodded hard.

Roland was speechless. He changed his statement: “Do you think a friend of a vampire countess can live in such a small place and be a baron?”

Old John smiled bitterly and said, “Master, I think you are the stars in the sky, a sage living in seclusion here. Please don't play riddles with me. What kind of place is this 'White Fang Society'?”

Roland patiently explained it to Old John. After listening, Old John understood the situation of Lord Kaila.

This is a wizard lord who has tamed many werewolves and mortals… Isn't that a powerful vampire countess? Her power alone can destroy the kingdom's church!

Of course, she didn't suck blood, nor was she that evil. And her world was also bizarre and strange. Even though Old John had passed through her territory for so many years, he didn't know there was a town full of all kinds of wizards and bizarre creatures there.

Old John was relieved, and the little girl's eyes were also full of longing.

Roland nodded secretly as he looked at the little girl. He could tell that this little girl was suitable for struggling in a place like the White Fang Society. Perhaps in the future, she would be another Kayla. Or perhaps they would meet again in another way many years later.

Old John regarded himself as Roland's old servant, and also regarded his granddaughter as half of Roland's little servant.

As for Roland, he did not disappoint Old John's loyalty. He gave the little girl a small gift.

That was two thousand silver coins, two hundred magic stones, a 'talisman', and a bottle of high-quality magic potion for advancing to a low-level apprentice, prepared for the little girl. Plus a storage bag without any markings.

That talisman seemed ordinary, just like an ordinary small magical ornament hanging around the neck and hidden in the clothes, but in reality, it was a middle-grade oddity with many wonderful uses.

It could be seen that he already regarded Old John, who had served him for eight years, as half of his family.

For Roland, he was rich and powerful, a proper wizard lord. This little gift was nothing at all.

But Old John was extremely moved, and took his little granddaughter to kowtow to Roland several times on the spot.

Afterwards, Roland wrote a letter of recommendation.

The latest novels are first published on Liu Jiu Shu Ba!

But after writing it, he had a bit of a headache again.

It had been eight years, and he had been next door, but he had never gone to see Kayla even once. He felt guilty that she missed him so much.

As a result, the first time he contacted her in eight years, he was asking her for a favor?

Thinking about it, Roland found a very exquisite gemstone necklace.

Seeing this gemstone necklace, Old John's eyes widened. This gemstone necklace was even better than the one worn by the Countess in the kingdom, and it could probably buy a manor.

Afterwards, Roland said to Old John, "It's too late today, I'll take her there tomorrow."

Old John bid farewell to Roland that day, and Roland led the little girl into the tower.

The next day.

Kayla Town, inside a beautiful castle.

This castle was not very big, but it had some of the flavor of Green Lake Manor. It was full of the feeling of 'the king of this little kingdom can't afford to live here'.

Within the entire kingdom, besides the 'church full of desires' in Straw Town, this place was the most remarkable.

The semi-study was full of people. In addition to many apprentices, there were also three official wizards.

Although the two official wizards standing behind the sofa seemed to be wild wizards who had risen through Kayla's crooked paths, and could never go any further in their lives, each of them was worth two skins of Haywood.

If the beautiful and aloof witch sitting on the sofa could go one step further and become a mid-stage wizard of the first rank, her power would not be much worse than that of Lord Dahl eight years ago.

In front of this aloof witch, stood a timid old man and a very unafraid, pretty little girl.

Many apprentices looked at the little girl with envy and extreme jealousy.

It seemed that she was recommended by that mysterious Baron next door, and that Lady Kayla planned to add a 'writing desk' in the tower's library—that is, to make her her disciple.

A disciple, not an apprentice.

Only a disciple was qualified to have their own writing desk in the library.

All of this was because the old man had just brought a letter.

The letter only had four words—take her as a disciple.

But Ms. Kayla had been reading it over and over for more than five minutes.

"That damn stinky man."

Ms. Kayla was very angry, and the room, which had just been whispering, suddenly fell silent.

Although angry, she carefully put away the letter.

Afterwards, she looked at the gemstone necklace on the table.

"How vulgar."

Kayla was speechless as she picked up the gemstone necklace. This gemstone necklace was not an oddity, but an antique.

She was knowledgeable and could tell at a glance that this antique contained many stories... Okay, it wasn't vulgar at all.

Scholar Roland still had good taste. At least she liked it very much.

She didn't know where he had snatched it from.

Kayla picked up the necklace and held it up to her chest, then looked at the old man, seemingly subconsciously wanting him to see if it looked good.

But as soon as she made this move, she secretly shook her head and put the necklace down.

She waved her hand and told everyone to leave.

After a pause, she called out to the old man again: "Wait, you stay."

Lady Kayla kept the old man and asked, "Did the Baron have anything else to tell me?"

The old man said, "Your Excellency Kayla, the master didn't have anything else to say. Oh, right, he said he was very sorry. As your old neighbor, he should have come to say hello in person when he took over the territory.

But the matter of Straw Town was a bit strange, so he forgot about you.

He originally seemed to want to come and apologize in person before leaving, but recently he seems to have a mission and is in a hurry to go back, so he asked me to come. He asked me to wish you a prosperous business."

Kayla sighed.

That dead ghost.

Living next door for eight years, you say, even if you're a stranger, you should come over and say hello to your neighbor, right?

As a result, he just forgot about me. It's okay, I also forgot about him for these eight years.

Kayla couldn't help but pick up the necklace again, held it up to her chest, and asked, "What do you think of the gift he chose?"

The old man's answer was very appropriate: "Your Excellency, you thought of him as soon as you took over the territory. Lord Roland is very grateful. This little gift is not enough to express his apology... But he seems to have sent the right thing, or perhaps a beauty like you looks beautiful no matter what you wear."

Kayla's cold lips couldn't help but curve into a slight arc.

This bumpkin knows how to talk.

Suddenly, Kayla realized, what old man was in front of her?

He was tall, young, and handsome!

No, no, that's not right, his body was clearly very bloated and loose, like, like he was wearing many, many layers of skin!

Kayla recalled a very terrible memory.

"Hay, Haywood?! You, why are you here?!"

Although Kayla had advanced to an official wizard for many years, the fear that Haywood had once brought her was still deeply buried in her heart.

She was sure that even the current her might not be Haywood's opponent.

That was a true Twilight Wizard!

Kayla's whole body tensed up, and she immediately wanted to run for her life. Just then, she blinked suddenly.

The person standing in front of her, what Haywood was he?

He was a middle-aged nobleman, a necromancer who had left a shadow on her during her apprentice years!

That terrible, special 'fear spell' was still fresh in her memory.

What made her even more terrified was that she had clearly advanced to an official wizard, but she still couldn't see his realm!

This nobleman's magic power was restrained to the extreme, just like an ordinary person without magic power.

Kayla did not dare to be negligent, she hurriedly made a wizard salute: "Greetings to you, Grand Scholar Leonard. Kayla of the White Fang Society is willing to serve you."

This nobleman named Leonard was actually Roland.

Besides him, who else would use this name?

Seeing Kayla's reaction, Roland was secretly delighted.

He thought to himself: "The 'Straw Mirror' is very interesting. Whoever's name I give myself, others will think I am that person."

The first time he met Kayla, he used the name 'Leonard' when playing the role of a middle-aged nobleman. Now that he has added Leonard's name to his head, Kayla naturally thinks he is a middle-aged nobleman.