Chapter 53 - Wizard’s Divine Artifact

“Um, well…” Lansite hesitated for a moment before slowly speaking, “Prince, you may not know this. There are indeed many wild animals in the forest. However, the Black Forest here is different from other forests. Every month, a Beast Tide erupts, and the animals become extremely ferocious.Yesterday, I prevented your highness from entering the forest for this reason, because yesterday was the day the Beast Tide occurred, when the animals become more irritable than usual, especially at night.

Today, just after the Beast Tide passed, the animals have calmed down, so I brought you and the others in, ensuring safety. Nevertheless, because of this, after the Beast Tide, the animals probably suffered heavy losses, so there are fewer appearances than usual.”

“So, you’re saying we might not catch anything today?” Prince Gro frowned deeply and took a jewel-encrusted water container from his saddle, gulping down the water and said displeasedly, “That’s disappointing!”

“Please calm your anger, Prince Gro,” Lansite spoke, “It’s not that we can’t catch anything, it’s just more difficult. Actually, if we do encounter them, they are likely to be wounded predators which are easier to handle than usual. We might even catch a leopard, a tiger, or a wild boar.”

“Is that so.” After hearing this, Prince Gro’s eyes flickered, “Alright then.” He carelessly stuffed the drinking pouch back onto the saddle. Since it wasn’t properly sealed, water continuously seeped from the pouch, falling drop by drop to the ground, but Gro didn’t seem to mind.

A moment later, having thought of something, Gro suddenly took off a leather glove from one hand and handed it to Lansite.

Lansite was startled, “Prince, what is this…”

“It’s for you,” Gro said quietly, “Um, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think you’re really too poor to afford gloves, but I overheard your argument with the members of the Caesar family just now. I think… you did a great job. Actually, I don’t like the Caesar family either.”

“Um…”

“Besides,” Gro sighed softly, “who knows when the day will come when I get assassinated, these gloves are a waste on my hands, better to give them to you.”

“Your Highness is overthinking it. The eldest prince has already become the king, and you are soon to become a Duke or a Prince. Who in the entire kingdom would dare harm you?”

“Hah, exactly because of that,” Gro said, “now that my brother has become the king, I might just become a thorn in his side. He is nearly twenty years older than me, and my existence could threaten his son’s inheritance of the throne. Nothing has happened yet, but perhaps one day, he’ll make his move. Actually, he has been king for three months now, and the titles and lands that our father promised me and my two younger brothers are yet to be honored, which just goes to show that he indeed plans to do it.”

“But… the Little Prince has already been made a Duke and had his lands allocated,” Lansite said softly, “Maybe… it’s just because it’s too soon, and the new king hasn’t had the time yet.”

“Not necessarily!” Gro shook his head, “My youngest brother is only three years old, he poses no threat and thus his land allocation is just a formality, naturally, it can be more generous. But for me and my two other brothers, it’s different, I fear…”

Toward the end, Gro shook his head in irritation, “Never mind, let’s not talk about it any longer, let’s just hunt to clear our minds.” After saying that, Gro took off the other glove from his hand and stuffed it into Lansite’s hands.

Lansite held the pair of gloves, a glint in his eyes.

Obviously, they were fine gloves, made of high-quality deer leather, set with several decorative gemstones. Not to mention anything else, just taking and selling the gemstones would equate to nearly half a season’s yield from his lands. For such a windfall, he wouldn’t refuse. Of course, there was no need for excessive gratitude or to show off, since everyone who came along with Prince Gro, apart from himself, was wealthier than Lansite.

However…

Just as Lansite was about to stuff the gloves into his chest, he suddenly thought of something, turned around with a smile that was not quite a smile, and looked toward the members of the Caesar family in the squad behind.

The noble from the Caesar family who had argued with him earlier paled at the sight of Lansite. Since Lansite had been very close to the Prince when they spoke and had spoken softly, he hadn’t heard clearly what was being said. Now seeing Lansite’s expression, he thought Lansite was purposely borrowing a pair of gloves from Prince Gro to throw them in his face as a challenge, scaring him into standing still, not daring to come forward.

Lansite sneered and turned his horse to lead the others forward, with the nobles of the Caesar family cautiously following behind.

A group of nearly a hundred had left the area when a thirsty wild boar, desperate for water, suddenly rushed forward. Its eyes widened with realization.

There’s water!

With galloping strides, the boar ran to a patch of yellowed grass. It stuck out its pink tongue, greedily lapping up the moist leaves, feeling its soul quiver with delight.

It was water! Real water! And it was sweet, mixed with honey!

“Slurp, slurp…”

Eagerly cleaning the water off the leaves, the boar looked toward the trail of water leading away into the distance and quickly followed, its tail joyfully wagging behind.

Elsewhere.

Halfway up a large mountain, Richard and Pandora were walking on a steep trail.

Richard could clearly feel a faint spiritual wave emanating from within the mountain, acting upon his brain.

Richard knew that every month, this spiritual wave would suddenly surge to its peak, then it would control the minds of many animals in the forest.

However, prior to the burst, the spiritual wave had a stimulating effect on the brain—it could train one’s mental strength and develop intelligence.

In simple terms, the spiritual wave from the mountain was generally beneficial, except for the monthly peaks, when its overly strong stimulation became harmful.

Seen from this perspective, the crystal skull embedded in the mountain seemed like a wide-range intellect enhancer, constantly elevating the intellect of many forest animals. Additionally, it performed a monthly test to eliminate those that didn’t measure up. This explained why the animals in this forest seemed smarter than those elsewhere.

This made Richard once again think of a legend about the crystal skulls: there were 52 in total, 12 of which were “singing skulls” with movable jawbones that stored knowledge. The other 40 were “talking skulls” with immovable jawbones, enhancing human capacities like physical strength, endurance, and wisdom, turning humans into Skull Guardians to spread the knowledge contained within the “talking skulls.”

Now, it seemed that the crystal skull in the mountain, despite its smaller size, closely resembled the legendary “talking skulls.”

If one could actually obtain the crystal skull and thoroughly study it to focus its effects on one individual instead of a range, it might be possible to significantly accelerate the evolution of an animal’s brain or instantly break through the mental limitations of a species. Or it could greatly enhance a person’s mental strength.

Richard remembered from the “Monroe Chapter” that mental strength and mana storage were two critical standards for a wizard’s advancement. Thus, the crystal skull could indeed be considered a divine artifact for wizards.

Of course, all this was still just speculation. Only by obtaining the crystal skull could one confirm its effects.

The question remained, however, how to extract the crystal skull from the mountain?