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 sign 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 Gray 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.
But soon, he realized that this was the divine power remaining in the heart, and its function was to restrain the goddess of poison and disease.
As long as this divine power exists, Talona will not be able to easily detonate the terrible viruses, bacteria and toxins in the furnace of her body.
The two of them stared at each other for a full minute. Finally, it was Elminster who broke the silence first. He took out his beloved pipe and asked with a smile, "Do you mind if I smoke a pack of cigarettes?"
"Please."
Zuo Si shrugged indifferently.
If he were on Earth, he would definitely stop anyone who tried to smoke within a thirty-meter radius, and denounce the other person for having no sense of public morality and increasing his chances of lung cancer for no reason.
But now...
It doesn't matter anymore.
Because what is contained in Zuo Si's body is much more harmful than the tar and nicotine produced by burning tobacco.
Moreover, with the blessing of divine power and the spark of the planeswalker, he has long since transcended the category of ordinary people.
Various things that were originally harmful to the body are now the key to promoting the fusion and evolution of viruses, bacteria and toxins.
After getting permission, Elminster immediately lit his pipe and took a deep breath, his face full of enjoyment.
After taking several puffs, he asked with a slightly curious tone: "Why did you reject Ximanmon's invitation to cooperate? You know, the Zhentarim is the most powerful intelligence network in the entire Faerun continent. If you cooperate with them, it will be a good choice for spreading Talona's teachings and expanding the influence of this goddess."
"I think you seem to have misunderstood something. Although I am the chosen one of the goddess of poison and disease, I am not her believer. I do not agree with those boring and ridiculous doctrines at all. If possible, I don't even want to have anything to do with Talona's church and believers in the material world."
Zuo Si had no intention of concealing anything and spoke frankly out his true thoughts.
"A chosen one who doesn't believe in God? You are indeed as interesting and special as the rumors say." Elminster commented with a smile.
Even though he had known this for a long time, he still found it a little unbelievable to hear Zuo Si admit it himself.
What is even more incredible is that such a chosen person who does not believe in the goddess of poison and disease at all has almost doubled Talona's influence and the number of believers in the material world in a short period of time.
If he continued to develop at this speed, it would not take long before he would be promoted from "weak divine power" to "medium divine power".
Don't underestimate this.
If "weak divine power" among the gods is still the kind that needs to find a backer to protect itself, then "medium divine power" does not need to be afraid even if it faces the threat of "strong divine power" alone.
"Is this the reason why you came all the way from Shadow Valley? Do you want to confirm whether I am a new threat?" Zuo Si asked calmly.
He has always been keeping an eye on the development of the Talona Church.
At least after the completion of the temple of Askatra, countless people would go there to worship and make donations every day, hoping that the Mother of Plague would not let her terrible chosen ones destroy the world.
Although it is questionable how many of them are truly devout believers, it is an indisputable fact that their beliefs and influence are widely spread.
In addition, Zuo Si strictly restricted the behavior of the Church of Amn, causing the Council of Six to view it as a controllable weapon that could be used to deter other enemies and competitors.
The result is that instead of imposing any restrictions, many hidden conveniences are secretly provided.
Some nobles even spent a large sum of money to hire Talona's priests to make poisons, antidotes and magical potions to cure diseases for their families, just in case of emergency.
In addition, a few less evil young priests began to preach to the poor about how to maintain hygiene, prevent diseases, and identify various poisonous mushrooms and harmful substances, and successfully won the favor of many people at the bottom of society.
Sometimes, Zuo Si even felt that making him the chosen one was a big move by the goddess of poison and disease, Talona.
After all, chaos needs no reason and no purpose.
Its existence itself is the reason and the purpose.
Never try to guess the thoughts of a chaotic deity based on common sense, because their actions are completely illogical and unpredictable.
As an old smoker, Elminster quickly finished the tobacco in his pipe, licked his lips with satisfaction, then put away his pipe and said nonchalantly, "I admit that I did have such thoughts before I met you in person.
But now, I have given up my original idea.
Because you are a pure mage, whether in spirit, thoughts or values.
It is almost impossible for a pure magician to believe in any god.
All you care about is knowledge, power and everything that interests you.
If you were born in the era of Netheril, I think there is a high probability that you would become a great arcanist.
But I am here today not only to confirm whether you are a threat, but also to shoulder the mission given by the Goddess of Magic to see your magic system from another world.
Yep! I mean those fun cards that you use more than once in combat."
"The new magic goddess?"
Zuo Si frowned subconsciously.
He never expected that he would attract the attention of Midnight, the third-generation magic goddess.
To be precise, this female wizard, who, like Cyric, caused quite a stir during the turbulent years and even killed the second-generation god of death, Melkor, with her own hands, really did not have a strong presence.
The only thing that impressed people was that some time ago, he tried to use his absolute control over the magic network to directly prohibit the believers of the Church of Xirik or the spellcasters of other evil organizations from using magic power.
The magic goddess personally came out to "cut off the Internet", and asked if you were afraid? As expected, it immediately attracted a strong backlash.
Whether they are gods from the good camp or gods from the evil camp, they all unite to resist this abuse of priesthood.
In desperation, Midnight had no choice but to give up.
Through this incident, she finally understood her responsibilities as the goddess of magic and the cruel reality that magic must be 100% neutral.
Simply put, this third-generation magic goddess has not yet adapted to her new identity and still retains many memories and personality traits from her mortal days.
This can be seen from the fact that she keeps causing trouble for Xirik.
But this situation will not last long, and the mortal nature will be assimilated under the influence of the priesthood.
So becoming a god is not always a good thing.
At least it is completely different from what many people believe, that they can do whatever they want with great power, and it is even possible that they will completely lose their original self-awareness.
But for Zuo Si, being noticed by the magic goddess is not a bad thing.
Because of the latter's clerical duties, she will encourage and protect all research and innovation related to magic.
Elminster stroked his gray beard and explained, "The goddess is very interested in your way of casting spells that can directly draw power from the original energy without going through the magic network. Of course, I am also very curious about how you do it."
"What benefits can I get from this?" Zuo Si asked directly.
"Benefits? Isn't it enough to gain the favor of the Mother of Magic?" Elminster asked with a smile.
Zuo Si rolled his eyes in annoyance: "Not enough, of course not enough. What I need is tangible benefits that can be seen and touched, not boring things like God's grace. The latter has no meaning and value in my eyes."
Hearing such blasphemous words, Elminster was not angry. Instead, he laughed heartily: "Hahahaha! Your appearance reminds me of many young and conceited wizards. They also used to disdain God like you, and some extreme ones even wanted to kill God and replace him."
"No, I am different. I know exactly what God is and the source of my power."
As he was speaking, a planeswalker card suddenly appeared out of thin air in Zuo Si's hand.
Elminster was keenly aware of the power contained in this small card. He immediately put away his previous cynical attitude and asked seriously, "What is this? A magic item similar to the [Vanity Card]?"
"I won't tell you the answer, but you can experience it yourself."
Before he finished speaking!
Zuo Si activated the card placed between his index and middle fingers.
Immediately afterwards, the card turned into a beam of light and disappeared without a trace, and at the same time, an inconspicuous pebble fell on the table.
Before Elminster could react to what was happening, he found that all the sounds around him had disappeared. He wanted to speak but his movements were in vain and no sound came out.
Even with the magical power he possessed, he could easily fight back with the "Silver Fire" and the legendary wizard's powerful immunity.
But this method did not require any spells or actions, nor did it use any super-magic techniques to cast spells instantly. Just a thought was enough to create a stone blessed with [Silence] out of thin air, which completely overturned his understanding of magic.
Then, Zuo Si picked up the small stone again and activated the ability of the Planeswalker, turning the stone into a card clamped on his fingertips again.
Without a doubt, this is a typical treasure card, which can freely switch between cards and items after paying very little mana.
The function is also very simple, that is, during the battle, through the zero ring's [projectile item] and [adhesion technique], the stone can be directly stuck to a specific position, making it impossible for spellcasters in the area to chant spells normally.
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 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)
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