The unexpected encounter with Sharevok did not affect Zuo Si's itinerary in any way.

Ever since he showed up at the first negotiation, he never participated again. Instead, he began to clear Candlekeep's collection of books shelf by shelf, storing them all in the [Library of Thought].

If you encounter a spell you have never seen before that needs to be copied and saved, you must pay a hefty fee to the priest of Oghma, the god of knowledge.

A copy of the precious and rare "Scroll of Truth" can even cost tens of thousands of gold coins.

Because in Candlekeep, all outsiders are not allowed to copy any book without permission. They can only pay to hire Candlekeep's scribes to copy it.

The price of copying a non-magical book is generally about one hundred gold coins.

Usually, it only takes a few zero-ring [Scraping Skills] to accomplish the task easily.

But magic books and scrolls require considerable time and effort to copy manually.

Coupled with the added value brought by knowledge itself and monopoly, the expensive charges naturally become justified.

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

In comparison, although the charges at Candle Castle are expensive, at least you get what you pay for, and it is definitely worth the money.

What's more, the Church of Oghma does not collect money simply to make money, but uses the money to collect and preserve various precious books, knowledge, and scrolls.

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

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

His lavish spending shocked not only the priests who were in charge of the copying work.

Even the current supreme leader of Candlekeep, the "Scroll Keeper" - Ullant, was alarmed.

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

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

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

After having dinner together, Ullant formally invited Zuo Si to participate in a debate to be held next week.

This is a traditional program of Candlekeep.

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

Among these people, there are those who identify with goodness and law, those who identify with evil and chaos, and those who believe that maintaining neutrality and balance is the right path.

In short, the sparks of thought generated by these debates will all be recorded without exception as gifts 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.

Ullant had no idea that Zuo Si had copied almost half of the books in Candle Castle in the past few days, and he hadn't paid a penny, taking the word "freeloading" to the extreme.

Only those magics that are impossible to record have to be paid to be transcribed.

By the time he finished talking with the "Book Keeper" and returned to the Candlekeep Inn, 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 with a glass of wine in his hand and said excitedly: "Sir Soth, I have good news to inform you.

At dusk, the Duke of Silver Shield was finally forced to give in and signed a peace agreement with us.

From the date of the agreement, Baldur's Gate will exempt merchants from at least 50 percent of tariffs on Amn, and promise to stop sending ships to trade with Tethyr and Calimshan in the south.

This means that the entire southern Sword Bay and the Sword Sea area have completely become the world of our Amn Chamber of Commerce.

Everyone will make a fortune from this! And it’s all thanks to you!”

Zuo Si waved his hands quickly and hinted meaningfully: "No, no, no, this is not my credit, but your credit, Sir. Don't forget that the series of operations to suppress Baldur's Gate were all your plans and means."

"Yes! It's me! Damn it! It's all because of the alcohol affecting my brain!"

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

Because there was an agreement between the two of them, Zuo Si was responsible for coming up with ideas and he was responsible for execution, and then he took all the blame.

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

Win-win!

When Sir Crispian thought about returning to Askatra as a "hero" and enjoying the cheers from the people and merchants, it was as if a fire was burning in his heart.

What he needs to consider next is how to transform this fame and political capital into real power and wealth.

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

Zuo Si undoubtedly noticed this, so he chuckled and reminded: "Before returning to Askatla, you still need to do something to build momentum for yourself."

"Building momentum?"

Sir Crispian's eyes sparkled slightly.

After this negotiation, he witnessed the other party's keen political sense and superb skills.

If he didn't look too young and was always accompanied by Bernard's sister Isadora.

This ambitious Amn noble even hoped to marry his daughter to Zuo Si.

By using marriage and interest binding, he completely bound this intelligent and powerful chosen one of the gods to his own family.

There is no problem even if the whole family, young and old, converts to the goddess of poison and disease.

“Yes, build momentum.

The current political form of Amn is that the five richest families, shadow thieves, and masked wizards support each other, forming a stable ruling foundation.

Among them, the Shadow Thieves and the Masked Mages Guild are both peripheral forces. Although they enjoy certain privileges, they are not at the core of the political structure.

So if you want to go further, you must first find a way to win the support of at least half of the members of parliament.

You have to make them understand that you are the one who successfully suppressed Baldur's Gate this time and obtained an agreement that will benefit everyone.

In this way, even if your family is not rich enough, you can still gather strength by joining forces with other families.

Then use this force to seize the power to divide 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 under the six-member council.

When one of the six council members dies, you can take his place and become a member of the highest decision-making body in Amn."

Zuo Si expressed his ideas and plans directly.

Although he had only settled in Askatla for a short time, he already had a deep understanding of how this business empire operated.

Simply put, Amn is like the Republic of the Seven Provinces of the Netherlands (the predecessor of the Netherlands) shortly after the beginning of the Age of Exploration on Earth. The entire society is filled with greed and desire for wealth.

They are particularly keen on seizing and controlling trade routes in order to make huge profits.

Even the acts of opening up overseas colonies, establishing ports, and ultimately forming a monopoly on certain rare commodities can be said to be exactly the same.

Yes!

Amn is a nation with strong colonial tendencies.

Several settlements were even established on the Moonshadow Islands northwest of the Sea of ​​Swords.

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

If nothing unexpected happens, they should discover the Maztec continent across the sea in the next two years, thus setting off a wave of colonization and gold rush.

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

Became 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 Bernard family's Chamber of Commerce to form a community of interests spanning the fields of politics, business and magic.

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

But as time goes by, it will soon slowly develop and grow.

Combined with the Arcane Order's plan to secretly control and develop the Nelanther Islands, it won't be long before they can firmly establish a foothold in Amn.

Just as Sir Crispian had a thoughtful expression on his face and opened his mouth to say something, the innkeeper Winthrop suddenly came over from a distance and handed a note to Zuo Si: "Sir, a gentleman asked me to pass this to you."

"Who is it?"

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

"That's the wizard standing in the corner, wearing a black robe and a goatee." Winthrop pointed to the corner of the wall to the right of the entrance.

Following the direction of his finger, Zuo Si soon saw a middle-aged man who gave off a polite feeling. The latter even raised his glass with a smile.

Out of curiosity, he opened the note and took a look, and found that there was only one person's name written on it: "Clarice".

moment!

Zuo Si realized that the other party was a member of the Zhentarim, and should be a member of the "inner circle" with a relatively high status. He might be a messenger sent by the legendary wizard Manshoon.

Thinking of this, he immediately said to the Amn noble in front of him: "Sorry, sir. I need to deal with more important things now. I'm afraid I have to leave you for a while."

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

Sir Crispian seemed to have discovered that it was not safe to discuss private matters in such a crowded place.

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

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

"My name is Xi Manmeng. Nice to meet you, honorable voter." The man gave his name with a smile.

"Ximanmeng? Are you the Lord of the Dark Castle who is known as Mansong's right-hand man?" Zuo Si's face showed an expression of great surprise.

Although the man in front of him is not as famous in the Zhentarim as his teacher Manshoon, or Fuzor Chamberlain, the chosen one of the God of Tyranny Bane, he should not be underestimated.

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

Ximanmeng nodded slightly: "Yes, it's me. But you'd better not take those rumors too seriously. Because there are a lot of misleading false news, which were spread by me personally to confuse the enemy."

"Then why did you cross most of the West Heartland area to come to Candle Castle? Don't tell me you just came to say hello." Zuo Si asked tentatively with interest.

"I have two main purposes for coming here. One is to express my gratitude, thank you for not killing Clarice but letting her go. The other is to hope to reach some cooperation intentions with you." Ximanmeng stated his purpose with a smile.

Polite, elegant, and with a gentle and magnetic voice...

It is probably difficult for people who are not in the know to imagine that such a person would be a high-ranking member of the Zhentarim and the mastermind of countless conspiracies.

"Cooperation? You haven't settled the score for the ambush you tried to make on me in Lucky Valley last time, and now you're still dreaming of discussing cooperation with me?" Zuo Si sneered with feigned disdain.

Be it the Zhentarim or the Harper Alliance, neither of them were good people in his opinion.

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

Ximanmeng had obviously anticipated this scene, and immediately took out a 30 cm high, 20 cm wide, 2 cm thick, beautifully made book from his backpack and handed it directly to Zuo Si.

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

"Oh—really?"

Zuo Si deliberately dragged out the word and reached out to touch the secret lock on the iron-clad silver cover.

The next second...

This book, which seemed to have nothing special in it, was easily opened.

When he saw the contents inside, Zuo Si immediately showed a strange expression and kept turning the pages faster.

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

Even the relatively rare seventh-ring magic like [Mage's Mansion], [Spell Turning], [Energy Immunity], [Weather Control], [Limited Wishes], [Body of War], [Elemental Body], and [Spell Matrix] are included.

In addition, although this book looks very thin, it actually has a thousand pages and is obviously created by extremely powerful magical power.

You have to know that an ordinary spell book is only two or three hundred pages at most.

If the blank pages are used up, you have to buy another one, or use magic and craftsmanship to add new blank pages to the original spell book. Each additional page costs about one hundred gold coins in material costs.

Therefore, most mages who are high enough in level and have mastered enough spells will often have more than one spell book.

"A book called 'Boccab's Blessing' which records almost all magic from the first to the seventh ring. I think this is enough to reflect the sincerity of Lord Manshon." Ximamon raised the corner of his mouth and said meaningfully.

Zuo Si nodded with a satisfied smile on his face: "You are right. I have forgotten that trivial misunderstanding before."

As the name suggests, "The Book of Boccob's Blessing" refers to a spell book blessed by Boccob.

Boccob is the god of magic from the neighboring world of Grey Eagle.

The spell book that he blessed is undoubtedly the treasure that all wizards most desire to obtain.

After all, powerful legendary wizards often master hundreds or even thousands of spells, and it would take more than ten or twenty ordinary spell books to record them.

You can replace it with "Boccob's Blessing Book", and I guess three or four books will be enough.

It is very convenient to carry or search.

Zuo Si once asked Aisha, a magic item merchant, and learned that Aurora Magic Shop occasionally sold treasures from another world like this.

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

And once they arrive, they will be sold out in minutes, and you may not be able to get them even if you have money.

Seeing that the gift he carefully prepared successfully bribed the other party, Xi Manmeng's eyes flashed with a barely noticeable smugness, and he continued to talk to himself: "In this case, let's talk about cooperation."

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

There is no doubt that this act of turning against one's host froze the smile on Ximanmeng's face. He stood there stiffly for a long time without being able to utter a single word.

He never dreamed that Zuo Si, the chosen one of the gods, could be so shameless and turn against him right after receiving the gift.

“Hahahaha! I never thought you’d see this day!”

Accompanied by a burst of laughter, an old man with gray hair and beard and a wizard hat on his head who was sitting not far away stood up and slowly walked over.

The moment Ximanmeng saw the old man, his pupils rapidly dilated uncontrollably and his hands subconsciously made casting gestures. His reaction was 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 is a great honor to meet you in Candlekeep, Lord Elminster."

Obviously, the visitor was none other than Elminster, the first chosen one of the famous goddess of magic, the great sage of Shadow Valley, and one of the most famous legendary wizards in Faerun.

"How is your teacher Manshoon doing recently? I heard that since the rise of the Church of Cyric, his control over Zhentil Keep has become increasingly weaker." The old man asked in a kind manner.

Through the intelligence provided by the Harper Alliance, he knew very well that Manshoon was not having a good time now.

So he deliberately used this method to stimulate Ximanmeng, causing him to act irrationally in anger, such as attacking himself.

In this way, one of the most threatening "inner circle" members of the Zhentarim could be eliminated with justification.

Unfortunately, Ximanmeng was not a pushover either. He immediately responded calmly, "Thank you for your concern. The teacher is doing well now. Those stupid and crazy guys from the Xirik Church are no match for him."

Elminster unceremoniously expelled the Zhentarim high-ranking official who made him feel uncomfortable.

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

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

He didn't dare to gamble whether the first chosen one of the magic goddess would really not take action.

You have to know that Elminster is one of the spellcasters in the entire Faerun who has participated in the most spell duels. He has experience and means that others can hardly imagine. The number of high-level spellcasters who have died at his hands is simply countless.

Even if Mansong himself came, he could not guarantee that he would be able to escape unscathed from facing this old man who had lived for more than a thousand years.

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

Many times in battles between mages, spellcasting level doesn't mean everything.

As Xi Manmeng left, Zuo Si quickly focused all his attention on the old man in front of him.

He could feel that the other person also contained amazing divine power like himself.

If nothing unexpected happens, it is the silver fire bestowed upon the chosen people by the Goddess of Magic.

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

Especially that trace of power from Baal, the god of murder, almost made him think he had met the Son of God.

不过很快，他就意识到这是那颗心脏里残留的神力，作用是来制约剧毒与疾病女神的。

只要这股神力在，塔洛娜就别想轻易引爆身体熔炉内可怕的病毒、细菌和毒素。

两人就这样注视着彼此足有一分钟，最后还是伊尔明斯特率先开口打破沉默，掏出自己心爱的烟斗笑着问：“不介意我抽一袋烟吧？”

“请便。”

左思无所谓的耸了耸肩膀。

如果实在地球上，他绝对会阻止任何一个试图在周围三十米范围内吸烟的家伙，并痛斥对方没有公德心，平白无故增加自己患肺癌的几率。

但是现在嘛……

一切都无所谓了。

因为左思身体里所蕴含的东西，可比烟草燃烧产生的焦油、尼古丁危害大得多。

而且在神力和旅法师火花的加持下，他早就已经脱离了普通人的范畴。

各种原本对身体有害的东西，现在反而是促使病毒、细菌和毒素融合进化的钥匙。

得到许可后，伊尔明斯特立马点燃烟斗深深吸一口气，满脸都是享受的神情。

连续抽了好几口，他这才用略带好奇的语气问：“你刚才为什么要拒绝席曼蒙提出的合作邀请？要知道散塔林会可是整个费伦大陆最厉害的情报网络。如果跟他们合作，无论是对于传播塔洛娜的教义，还是扩大这位女神的影响力，都是一个不错的选择。”

“我想你好像误会了什么。我虽然是剧毒与疾病女神的选民，但却并不是她的信徒，完全不认可那些无聊且可笑至极的教义。如果可以的话，我甚至不想跟塔洛娜在物质世界的教会和信徒有一丁点牵连。”

左思没有任何掩饰的意思，大大方方说出了内心之中最真实的想法。

“一个不信仰神的选民？你果然跟传闻中一样有趣且特别。”伊尔明斯特笑着评价道。

尽管他早就知道了这一点，可听到左思亲口承认，还是依旧感到有些不可思议。

更让人感到难以置信的是，这样一位完全不信仰剧毒与疾病女神的选民，竟然让塔洛娜在物质世界的影响力和信徒数量短时间内几乎翻了好几倍。

按照这个速度继续发展下去，估计用不了多久便会从“弱等神力”晋升为“中等神力”。

千万不要小看这一点。

如果说“弱等神力”在诸神中还属于那种需要找个靠山才能自保，那么“中等神力”即便是单独面对“强大神力”的威胁也无需感到害怕。

“这就是你大老远从阴影谷跑过来的原因？想要确认一下我是不是个新的威胁？”左思不动声色的反问。

对于塔洛娜教会的发展，他一直都看在眼里。

至少在阿斯卡特拉的神殿落成后，每天都会有数不清的人前往朝拜、捐赠，希望这位瘟疫之母不要让她可怕的选民毁灭世界。

虽然其中有多少人是真正的虔诚信徒值得怀疑，但其信仰与影响力在广泛传播是不争的事实。

再加上左思严格约束了安姆教会的行为，导致六人评议会将其视作一种可控的、能够用来威慑其他敌人和竞争对手的武器。

结果非但没有加以限制，反而偷偷给了许多隐性的便利。

一些贵族更是花大价钱雇佣塔洛娜的牧师，为自己家族制作一些毒药、解毒剂和治愈疾病的魔法药剂，以备不时之需。

除此之外，少数不那么邪恶的年轻牧师则开始向穷人宣讲关于如何保持卫生、预防疾病，辨认各种有毒蘑菇和有害物质的常识，成功赢得了许多社会底层民众的好感。

有时候，左思甚至会觉得让自己成为选民，是剧毒与疾病女神塔洛娜在下一盘大棋。

毕竟混乱无需理由，更无目的。

它的存在的本身就是理由，就是目的。

永远不要按照常理去揣测一个混乱阵营神祇的想法，因为他们的行事作风根本没有任何逻辑可言，更无法被预测。

作为一个老烟枪，伊尔明斯特很快抽完了烟斗里的烟丝，意犹未尽舔了舔嘴唇，然后漫不经心的收起烟斗说道：“我承认，在见到你本人之前的确有这样的心思。

不过现在，我已经放弃了原本的想法。

因为你是一名纯粹的法师，无论是精神、思想还是价值观都是。

而一名纯粹的法师，几乎不可能信仰任何神祇。

你在乎的只有知识、力量和一切自己感兴趣的东西。

如果生在耐瑟瑞尔时代，我想你应该有很大概率会成为一名大奥术师。

但我今天来不仅仅是为了确认你是否是一个威胁，同时还肩负着魔法女神赋予的使命，见识一下你那来自异世界的魔法体系。

没错！我指的就是你在战斗中不止一次使用过的有趣卡牌。”

“新任魔法女神？”

左思下意识皱起眉头。

他完全没想到，自己竟然还引起了这位第三代魔法女神午夜的关注。

确切地说，这位跟希瑞克一样，都是在动荡之年搞出不小的动静，甚至还亲手杀死了二代死神米尔寇的女法师，实在是没有什么太强的存在感。

唯一让人印象深刻的，就是前一段时间试图通过自己对于魔网的绝对掌控，直接禁止希瑞克教会的信徒，亦或是其他一些邪恶组织施法者使用魔法的力量。

魔法女神亲自下场给“断网”，就问你怕不怕？ 结果不出意外，立刻引来了强烈的反弹。

不管是善良阵营的神还是邪恶阵营的神，都联合起来抵制这种滥用神职的行为。

无奈之下，午夜只能选择放弃。

通过这件事情，她算是明白了身为魔法女神的职责，以及魔法必须是百分之百中立的残酷现实。

简单来说，这位第三代魔法女神还没有适应自己的新身份，仍旧保留着许多凡人时的记忆和性格。

这一点从她不停找希瑞克的麻烦就能看得出来。

但这种状况持续不了多久，凡性就会在神职的作用下被同化。

所以成为神，很多时候并不意味着是一件好事。

至少跟许多人认为可以凭借强大力量为所欲为完全不同，甚至有可能会彻底丧失原本的自我意识。

不过对于左思而言，被魔法女神关注并不是什么坏事。

因为后者的神职决定了，她会鼓励和保护所有跟魔法相关的研究、创新。

伊尔明斯特摸着下巴上花白的胡子解释道：“女神对于你那可以不经过魔网，直接从原始能量中汲取力量进行塑造的施法方式非常感兴趣。当然，我也相当好奇你究竟是怎么做到的。”

“我能从中获得什么好处吗？”左思直截了当的问。

“好处？难道获得魔法之母的青睐还不够吗？”伊尔明斯特似笑非笑的反问道。

左思没好气的翻了个白眼：“不够，当然不够。我需要的切实能看得见、摸得着的好处，而不是像什么神明恩宠之类无聊的东西。后者在我眼中没有任何意义跟价值。”

听到如此亵渎神明的话，伊尔明斯特也不生气，反倒是发出了爽朗的笑声：“哈哈哈哈！你现在样子让我回想起了很多年轻自负的法师。他们也曾经跟你一样对神不屑一顾，甚至有些极端的还想要杀死神明取而代之。”

“不，我跟他们不一样。我非常清楚神是什么，也知道自己力量的根源是什么。”

说话的功夫，左思手中突然凭空出现了一张旅法师的卡牌。

伊尔明斯特敏锐的察觉到了这张小小卡牌中所蕴含的力量，立刻收起之前玩世不恭的态度，一脸严肃的试探道：“这是什么？一种类似【万象无常牌】一样的魔法道具？”

“我不会告诉你答案，但你可以自己体会一下。”

话音未落！

左思启动加在食指和中指之间的卡牌。

紧跟着卡牌化作一道光消失的无影无踪，同时一块不起眼的小石子掉落在桌子上。

还没等伊尔明斯特反应过来发生了什么，就发现周围所有的声音都消失了，自己想要开口说话也仅仅是空有动作却发不出一丁点声音。

尽管以他所拥有的魔法力量，完全可以通过“银火”和传奇法师强大的豁免来进行对抗。

但这种不需要任何咒语、动作，更没有使用超魔技巧法术瞬发，仅仅一个念头就能凭空制造出一个加持了【沉默术】石子，完全颠覆了他对于魔法的认知。

随后，左思又捡起那颗小小的石子发动旅法师的能力，再次将石子变成一张夹在指尖的卡牌。

毫无疑问，这是一张典型的宝物牌，可以在支付非常少的法力值后，自由在卡牌和物品之间切换。

作用也很简单，那就是在战斗的时候通过零环的【抛射物品】和【粘连术】，直接把该石子粘到特定位置，让该区域范围的施法者无法正常吟唱咒语。

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

"How did you do that?"

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

As a "mage killer" who had hunted many high-level spellcasters, he knew better than other spellcasters how dangerous this kind of power, which had unknown origins and was completely different from the known spellcasting system, was in a spell duel.

Many times, the outcome of a wizard duel does not depend on the powerful Nine Rings or even legendary magic.

Because these spells require long periods of chanting and will also cause violent fluctuations in magical power, they will definitely make the opponent more alert.

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

Elminster himself had seen a high-level elven wizard killed by the zero-ring [Hand of the Mage].

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

But what is the result?

As the elven wizard successfully prepared a powerful evocation spell, his opponent used the [Mage's Hand] to pull the [Mirror Cloak] to wrap him up completely.

Finally, under the powerful rebound of [Mirror Cloak], the Elf Mage, because he had not cast any protective magic on himself, was hit by the Shaping Magic he had cast at close range and was blown to pieces on the spot.

From then on, Elminster understood one thing.

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

Admiring the expression on the face of the Magic Goddess's first choice, Zuo Si replied in a slightly playful tone: "Didn't you come here for this? I have shown it to you. As for whether you can understand it or not, that is your business and has nothing to do with me. In addition, don't forget to prepare a benefit for me. I believe that the dignified Magic Goddess should not be too stingy, right?"

"Damn! You really gave me a difficult problem. If I am willing to provide a powerful magic item in exchange, can you tell me the secret?"

While saying this, Elminster raised his hand and rubbed his eyebrows, obviously feeling very troubled by this.

Because he simply couldn't tell what happened in the process of the card turning into stone and the stone turning back into a card.

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

This means that even the Goddess of Magic can no longer directly use her priesthood to copy any new magic that has been invented, created, or used in Faerun as she did before.

Only now did Elminster understand why the goddess asked him to make the trip in person.

"I'm sorry. No matter what you offer me in exchange, I won't reveal my cards to anyone. But if you are willing to give me your research notes on Silver Fire, I can give you this card in my hand. You can use it for magic research or give it to the Goddess of Magic."

Zuo Si took the opportunity to propose an exchange.

It is well known that Elminster is the one 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".

These research notes on divine power are exactly what Zuo Si needs most urgently at the moment.

While there are certainly huge differences between the powers of the Goddess of Magic and the Goddess of Poison and Disease, there are certainly some similarities.

If you can understand the divine power more deeply, maybe you can speed up the conversion efficiency and try to use the power of sparks to transform it into your own thing as soon as possible.

As for whether a card would reveal the identity of a planeswalker, Zuo Si was 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 means.

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

"You want to know about divine power?"

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

Zuo Si nodded decisively: "Yes. Unlike people like you who are willing to give everything to God, I am very wary of the power in my body that does not belong to me, even if this power gives me amazing elect abilities."

"Unbelievable! You actually doubt the goddess of poison and plague who gave you the status of the chosen one? Do you think she has bad intentions?"

Elminster leaned forward slightly, his eyes flashing with a strange light, as if he had discovered something interesting.

After all, disbelief is one thing, and suspicion and distrust are another.

"Why should I trust her? I didn't want to be a voter myself. It was forced upon me by Talona.

Under the circumstances at that time, I didn't even have the right to refuse.

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

Our values ​​are different, and our underlying thinking logic is different, so we have nothing in common.

Remember, you can always bring Silverflame's research notes to trade with me before I leave Candlekeep.

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

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

It was not difficult to tell from his almost indifferent attitude that he was not at all happy about the visit of the Magic Goddess's first chosen one, but was rather impatient.

Even unwilling to communicate with him too much.

As an old monster who has lived for more than a thousand years, Elminster noticed this very clearly, and his eyes revealed strong doubts and confusion.

He couldn't understand why Zuo Si showed unreasonable vigilance and caution whenever he mentioned God, and he didn't understand why Talona, ​​the goddess of poison and disease, chose such a young man to be her only elect.

(End of this chapter)