Chapter 13: Chapter 13: A Wizard Pursues Truth, Not Immortality If one were to say what is the most valuable thing in a wizard’s inheritance, knowledge is undoubtedly one of the answers. Sunan pressed down the joy in his heart and quickly walked to the bookshelf, his eyes swiftly scanning the books above. "Composition Theory," "Material Science," "Life Energy Structure," "Basic Enchantment Runes," "Puppet Mechanics Principles," "Puppet Basic Structure," "Puppets and Golems"... More than eighty percent of the books are related to puppet creation. It is clear that the owner here loves this craft deeply, even obsessively. No wonder he manufactured a puppet creation like the Iron Swallowing Beast. Just wondering where did that wizard apprentice go later? Sunan was faintly curious, pondered for a moment, and turned to the desk. The surface of the solid wood desk was covered with a thick layer of dust, and it was empty of any objects. Sunan opened the drawer below, the first few drawers were empty, only the last drawer held two diaries, a ring, and two boxes. Sunan took out the diary on top and opened the cover. The slightly yellowed first page contained only a single line. [Anger MacLaine, recorded in Starlight Calendar 1124.] Starlight Calendar 1124, which is about 125 years ago. "The appearance of the Iron Swallowing Beast in the Black Stone Mine seemingly was just over a hundred years ago." Sunan was thoughtful and continued to flip through the pages. The material of the diary’s paper was unknown, having remained intact despite so many years. [Starlight Calendar 1124, April 12] [Today I completed the exploration of the Black Stone Iron vein. As I guessed, the reserves of this vein are quite abundant. Now my puppet experiment has ample materials to utilize, which is good news. I’ve decided to build a laboratory deep in the mine as my future retreat.] [Starlight Calendar 1126, February 8] [The experiment with the Black Rock Leopard finally achieved a critical breakthrough! It won’t be long before I can successfully refine my own puppet creation!] "So that puppet is called the Black Rock Leopard." Sunan raised a brow. [Starlight Calendar 1127, March 15] [Hahaha, I did it, I finally succeeded in refining the first Black Rock Leopard. It’s my own unique puppet creation; I am indeed a genius!] [However, the combat power of the Black Rock Leopard is still lacking; it’s quite inferior to a formal knight, with many improvements needed — I’ll have to gather more combat data.] [Coincidentally, there are plenty of knights outside, so they can serve as opponents for the Black Rock Leopard. They are a fortunate bunch indeed.] [Starlight Calendar 1128, June 10] [Improvement experiments went smoothly. The Black Rock Leopard now has a combat strength comparable to a Junior Knight. Unfortunately, the cowardly lord abandoned this mine. I must find new targets to provide combat data; perhaps the Black-scaled Lizardmen to the north may be suitable.] Each page of the diary contained little content, with only a few sentences. Moreover, the time intervals were large, the shortest being over half a year. The later content was mostly about the Black Rock Leopard’s improvement experiments. Occasionally, interspersed with matters of Meditation, magic learning, and material collection outings. Between the lines, it wasn’t hard to see that this Anger wizard apprentice was somewhat arrogant and reclusive, disliking external contact. It’s worth mentioning that he is also a Level 3 Wizard Apprentice. In the Elemental Desert, and the resource-poor Starlight Continent, advancing to Level 3 Wizard Apprentice before a hundred years old is indeed noteworthy. Anger truly was a genius with reason for pride. However, with the increase in age, Anger gradually shifted his focus from puppet research to cultivation, the tone in the diary visibly growing agitated and bewildered. [Starlight Calendar 1162, September 20] [The enhancement of spiritual power seems to have reached a bottleneck, with no noticeable growth for over half a year; perhaps I should utilize external force.] [Starlight Calendar 1163, January 4] [Luck was on my side; I found a formula for the Evil Illusion Potion. If I can create the Evil Illusion Potion, surely it will address the issue of stagnant spiritual power growth!] [Starlight Calendar 1165, May 19] [Damned it! Why can’t I gather the materials listed in the formula? Clearly, I have found the growth sites as recorded in the book, so why can’t I find them? Is the book’s record mistaken?] [Starlight Calendar 1167, February 6] [I see, with the loss of elements and the drastic decrease in energy particles concentration, the continent we inhabit has turned into a barren land. No wonder I’ve encountered no other wizard apprentices over the years. No, I won’t just give up like this; if I can’t gather the materials, then I’ll attempt other substitutes. With my wisdom, I can’t believe I can’t solve the problem!] [Starlight Calendar 1169, April 4] [Experiment failed.] [Starlight Calendar 1170, February 9] [Experiment failed.] ... (Repeated records of experiment failures) ... [Starlight Calendar 1192, March 16] [No, no matter how the low-level materials are extracted and purified, they fail to reach the level of substituting high-level materials, making the potion’s successful creation impossible!] [Damn it! I refuse to accept it!] On the following ten or more pages, there was an array of resentment and curses at the world, filled with bitterness and despair at the unseen path ahead. It wasn’t until after Starlight Calendar 1200 that Anger seemed to suddenly wake up; his words regained their calm. [Starlight Calendar 1200, December 3] [I can feel life slowly fading away; it seems I don’t have much longer to live.] [Conducting biological transformation might allow for a longer life, but it’s not my expertise. Besides, I don’t want to compromise my humanity just to survive recklessly... No, perhaps it’s merely the fact that such transformation would make me lose all hope of becoming a wizard. If I can’t advance to a wizard, what’s the point of living longer?] [Wizards pursue truth, not immortality.] [Starlight Calendar 1202, May 5] [Death is drawing nearer; I seem to smell the decay of my body.] [The good news is I discovered the legend of the Starry Star Tower in an ancient tome, said to be a legacy left by ancient wizards; perhaps I can find a way there to advance as a wizard, it’s my only hope now.] [I’ve decided to go search for the whereabouts of the Starry Star Tower!] Starry Star Tower! Sunan’s expression shifted. In his few memories from the games of his previous life, the Starry Star Tower seemed to be one of the three wizard inheritances found in Starlight Continent during version 1.0! Not an experimental lab left by wizard apprentices like this one, but a true inheritance from wizards. It was the last bit of goodwill left to this continent by wizards who ventured to the multiverse a thousand years ago. A place like that is surely filled with precious knowledge and materials without a doubt. If one could find the Starry Star Tower, advancing to a wizard would definitely no longer be an issue! Sunan was excited and quickly turned to the next page, but it was nothing but blank. "Nothing more?" Sunan continued to flip, but all the subsequent pages were blank. It’s evident that after Anger MacLaine went out to search for the Starry Star Tower, he never returned. Whether he eventually found the Starry Star Tower remains unknown. Sunan speculated that the answer was most likely negative. Otherwise, in these fifty years, this laboratory wouldn’t seem so untouched. Thinking of this, Sunan couldn’t help but feel regretful. Given Anger MacLaine’s talent and aptitude, had he been born in the wizard era a thousand years ago, he would undoubtedly have become a powerful wizard. Unfortunately, he was born in the wrong era, ultimately only to languish away, dying with reluctance. "A wizard’s desperate land, huh..."