I, the wizard, the foolish Buddha

The Heraka Wizards of the Eastern Territory are extremely rare, so the original Path of Heraka was definitely inferior to even the Path of the Black Abyss!

But the Blood-Depleted Wizards are different. Second-tier Blood-Depleted Wizards are as common as cattle!

Roland suspected that the [Effect 1: +2.5% chance to advance to a second-tier wizard] was a benefit from the Path of Heraka.

And that [Effect 2: +7.5% chance to advance to a second-tier wizard] was a benefit from the Path of Blood Depletion.

He himself is only just scratching the surface, at tier 0. Advancing to a second-tier wizard would increase his chances by 10%!

If he cultivated to tier 2, then when advancing to a second-tier wizard, he would have a 30% chance of success!

Roland thought to himself, 'If I can get some powerful magic potions by then, I'll have a 50% chance of becoming a second-tier wizard!'

Could a 50% chance be enough?

If the first breakthrough failed, the success rate for another breakthrough would be very slim.

Roland couldn't help but have a thought—find something for the delicate and easily bullied Shepherdess to eat.

There are many gods in the South! They are all gods descended!

But can the gods of that kingdom be eaten casually?

That place is not like Blood Depletion Fortress. It would be fine to wipe them out. If Baron Blood Depletion died, no one would bother him.

But there are churches in the South!

If he killed a god within the church, not to mention the church would have to kill him, wouldn't the other descended gods all come to kill him once they found out about it?

It would be like stirring up a hornet's nest!

Roland thought to himself, 'Heraka, oh Heraka, you must be doing this on purpose! You're seducing me again, you're such a devil!'

Sighing, Roland had only just advanced to the mid-stage of tier 1, and it was indeed time to prepare for a second-tier wizard. But there was still plenty of time.

With his ability to attract trouble like a magnet, it was hard to say if he could even survive to tier 2!

Roland couldn't help but think of the three-headed snake he had seen at the harbor. He always felt there would be trouble.

He couldn't help but look at another benefit the Saint Blood Shepherdess had brought him.

Roland thought to himself, 'Although the Path of the Black Abyss is terrible for cultivation, it is very powerful in researching magic, using magic, and resisting mysterious pollution and erosion of enemies.'

The Path of the Black Abyss should increase 4 traits, while the Path of the Shepherdess increased 6. Or rather, it increased 3 plus 3.

Roland couldn't help but reveal an extremely strange expression.

The Path of the Black Abyss came from Alexandra, that is, Senior Sister. And because it could not be completely replicated, it was weakened and adapted by his little uncle, Lord Iggy.

Therefore, Senior Sister's path might have 5 or even 6 traits.

And the Path of the Shepherdess, strictly speaking, only increased 3 traits. So this means that the Path of the Black Abyss is far more powerful than the Path of the Shepherdess!

However, this Shepherdess eats 'people'. The more she eats, the more benefits she gives him!

She had just eaten Baron Blood Depletion a few days ago, so the Path of the Shepherdess had 3 more traits! The traits went from 3 to 3+3!

Roland looked at his emblem and found that he had an extra Holy Emblem, and the power of the Shadow Emblem had become stronger.

[Holy Emblem: Purification +2, Soul Soothing +2, All-System Magic Resistance +2]

[Shadow Emblem: Dark Magic Effect +2, Shadow Magic Resistance +3, Activation +4, Deterioration +4, Mutation +4]

Roland couldn't help but get excited.

He was already very clear about how much the previous Shadow Emblem had improved him in Shadow Magic.

In his excitement, Roland couldn't help but look at his Shadow and Holy magic.

At this look, his face was full of bewilderment.

He had an extra spell, this spell was both Shadow and Holy!

Its name was very impressive, called 'Squeak Squeak I'.

[Forbidden Art: Squeak Squeak I]

"What is this thing? What kind of magic is Squeak Squeak?!"

After looking at it carefully, Roland was shocked, and then revealed an extremely strange expression.

Strictly speaking, this forbidden magic was somewhat related to Heraka's anthem, 'Mind Blast' and 'Forbidden Transformation Technique'.

Just now, when Roland was comprehending the Path of Truth, he had many inspirations. And Roland's magic book was in sync with him, like a loyal secretary, helping Roland summarize and categorize these ideas, giving birth to this magic.

It was magic, but it was a ballad!

The incantation was the rhythm and lyrics, and the content was very long. If you were to sing it, you could sing it repeatedly for a day!

It does not consume magic power, it consumes SAN value.

The longer the singer sings, the more SAN they lose.

And then, it doesn't have any attack power!

Just like the gentle Heraka Shepherdess, it doesn't hurt people's lives—but those who listen to it will frantically lose SAN.

In essence, this song can pull people into the lower world.

The longer the listeners listen, the more they are doomed. When their SAN is all gone, who knows what will happen. Maybe they will think they are spiders and start crawling around, who knows.

Repeatedly looking at the content of 'Squeak Squeak', Roland's face became more and more strange.

He wrote out this spell, and then handed it to Catherine, saying these words: "Do you think this spell and the pattern on my magic carpet are very similar?"

After Catherine looked at it, she gave Roland a look—do you want to hear what you are saying? Take your ghost stuff away, I don't want to see it!

Roland rubbed his face.

It's a bit of a mental illness for someone to insist that a spell and a picture are exactly the same.

But what if this person is an 'engineer' and the spell he wrote is code?

It's like an engineer, he wrote a string of code, and then entered it into the computer. The computer helped him run it, and a small software appeared.

The engineer clicks on this small software and can immediately find the logic in it, and find that this software and the 'scribbles (code)' he wrote are the same thing.

But others can't see it.

This small software is 'Squeak Squeak'.

The magic book is Roland's computer.

When Roland was weaving the magic carpet, he understood 'code', and the magic book sorted it out and ran this software (magic).

Roland saw through the surface, saw the essence of the magic carpet and this spell, and saw that the magic came from the core of the magic carpet pattern, so Roland said they were very similar.

Catherine can also be considered an engineer, but she is still too weak compared to Roland, this 'low-level engineer'.

She is still at the level of operating with a graphical interface, and knows a little C++ and other assembly languages. But what Roland wrote is not even assembly language, it is 0101. It would be strange if a normal engineer (wizard) could understand it.

Catherine said that the thing Roland showed her was a ghost thing, but she secretly used the magic book to copy the spell and the pattern of the magic carpet and secretly studied it.

After looking at it twice, she rubbed her forehead.

That was a song, there was no spell on it.

Catherine asked: "Isn't this the 'Shepherdess Anthem' of the Heraka Church?"

Catherine sang it for a while, the singing was ethereal and beautiful, but it was a bit weird.

After singing for a while, Catherine rubbed her forehead: "The rhythm of your song is a bit wrong. This is not an anthem, it is forbidden magic, and it is a very evil forbidden magic."

After a pause, Catherine looked at Roland with a strange expression and said: "Is this the song you heard from the Goddess Heraka? With lyrics?"

Although Catherine didn't have time to snoop at the time, she later learned a lot from Little Jimmy.

She knew what Heraka was singing at the time. In addition, she had heard some sounds on the other side of the castle, so she was very sure that it was the noise of Squeak Squeak.

Roland didn't know that Catherine had planted a little spy next to him, and thought she had heard it from a distance.

Roland nodded and said: "The lyrics are the same, but I changed some of the rhythm slightly."

Catherine was dumbfounded.

The sound that normal people hear is Squeak Squeak. What this guy heard was singing!

Not only that, this guy is talking to me about 'rhythm'!

Rhythm, my big head! That Squeak Squeak is noise, and you're telling me there's rhythm?!

Roland tried to sing it, but was surprised to find that he didn't sing as well as Catherine!

Clearly, he was the adapter, the secondary creator of this song, but she didn't sing as well as him.

After discussing it with Catherine, Roland suddenly understood.

He was indeed adapting it, but he was indeed not good at singing.

And Catherine is a singer! She sings better than this adapter.

To put it bluntly, this magic is about rhythm!

As a bard, even if Roland has reached the master level in the art of barding, he is still a wild talent who can't be put on the stage.

He can be regarded as a bard master in the tavern, but he can't be put on the noble's opera house.

No matter how talented a bard is, he is still a wild talent.

No matter how well a doggerel is written, it is not a great writer!

He has to systematically study music.

Currently, Roland can't even distinguish between the five tones, relying entirely on feeling. And for musical instruments, he only understands 'accordion'.

Squeak Squeak is a serious anthem. When it is officially performed, there are many musical instruments, at least a piano!

Of course, it can also be sung a cappella, but if you don't understand these things and don't understand music enough, then the effect after singing it will be at this level.

Roland was a little depressed that he made something, but he didn't sing as well as Catherine.

However, he then relieved himself—I'm a songwriter, and naturally different from the musicians who sing.

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Catherine is a proper noble. From birth, her family cultivated her in various ways. Moreover, she has lived two lives. In her past life, when she was idle, she often studied art, music, and such.

I am just a little rascal who grew up in a country lord's house, hanging out with mercenaries all day. In terms of cultural literacy, I definitely can't compare with her.

Even if she didn't become a wizard, she could become a great musician, a big star.

As for Roland, if he didn't become a wizard and became a mercenary... well, it's hard to say he'd be worse off than he is now.

Maybe he'd even establish a 'Second Son Mercenary Group' and become the lover of the Dragon Queen.

Catherine, being knowledgeable, explained the original Shepherdess's Song to Roland.

Catherine understood this very well. She told Roland that the original Shepherdess's Song was a proper sacred song.

The general content of the song described a beautiful and kind shepherdess and her sheep, very 'silly, white, and sweet'.

Believers used the shepherdess as a metaphor for the goddess, and her sheep were the lost souls.

This song could soothe souls and exorcise evil. Evil spirits would quiet down after listening to it, and might even be directly delivered to the afterlife.

Because anyone could sing it, anyone who could sing this song well could drive away evil spirits! Therefore, it was included in the Southern Church's 'Hymns' and was known as one of the Three Great Sacred Songs.

Therefore, Herlaqa is a very respected benevolent god in the South.

Not only that, she was once a wizard.

"A wizard?" Roland couldn't help but reveal a strange expression when he heard Catherine say that Herlaqa was a wizard before.

Catherine revealed an admiring gaze. She said, "That's right. In her early years, she had extremely high attainments in necromancy and medicine. She was one of the original Three Sages of this world."

"A wizard who becomes a god is far more powerful than those high-dimensional beings who purely rely on external forces like faith to become gods. The tricks they know are also more bizarre. Their strength cannot be judged by godhood and divine position. Even without godhood and divine position, they can still beat many gods senseless."

"She was a pioneer who once spread many, many magical knowledge."

"However, like my father, in order to go further, she ultimately stepped onto the path of faith."

"She believed that we couldn't win and knelt to the gods for godhood and divine position. As a result, she once stood on the side of the gods during the War of the Walls."

"Therefore, wizards have mixed opinions of her."

"Some people believe that this great sage is a traitor, but some people believe that she is a great pioneer who brought truth (magic) to this world."

"When you get to the South, you can study the history of theology well. Wizards cannot not study gods. But these precious materials are very rare in the Eastern Border."

After listening, Roland revealed an extremely strange expression.

Which Herlaqa is this Herlaqa?

Is it the original shepherdess, or is it that crazy woman?

Intuition told Roland that the shepherdess Catherine was talking about was Herlaqa.

Because the original shepherdess had been replaced, the history and people's memories about her would also undergo great changes.

Moreover, her sacred song is essentially forbidden magic! Forbidden magic like the one Grandpa Augus researched!

A god who becomes a god through faith could not possibly research forbidden magic.

Therefore, the witch Catherine was talking about was very likely Herlaqa.

So... that madwoman was a wizard before?

The trick she used to deal with the Bloodless Baron was also a forbidden magic?

No wonder it was so sanity-draining and so bizarre!

No wonder that guy is a bit of a psychopath... Wizards who study this kind of bizarre magic all have some mental problems!

So, it's not the Goddess Herlaqa, it's the Ancestor Herlaqa!

Then what rank wizard is she?

The Bloodless Baron couldn't last a few moves in her hands. I wonder who is more powerful, Herlaqa or the Yellow Fern Lord.

Perhaps all of this needs to be understood in the South.

Catherine got up and stroked her head with both hands, and the horns disappeared.

She said, "Let's go, I'll go with you to see the piano."

Originally, the senior sister planned to send Roland here.

But she wanted to spend more time with her sweetheart.

Roland happily said, "Okay."

Catherine secretly looked at the picture of 'The Shepherdess and the Demon' on the road, and the more she looked at it, the more she felt something was wrong.

This, this seems to be a cultivation secret technique!

This guy, in just three days, has researched the path to the first gate of truth?!

Catherine planned to integrate some of the Black Abyss's concepts with this path... Catherine wasn't sure to what extent she could integrate it, but formal wizards would definitely have a better chance of touching the second gate of truth in the future.

Catherine didn't understand many parts of this picture. So she pretended and talked about things, using the appearance of a mentor examining a student, and secretly asked about the things she didn't understand.

Roland naturally said everything he knew, so he 'discussed the Dao' with her.

He thought that his senior sister knew more than him, and after hearing his senior sister say that she planned to integrate the Black Abyss's concepts into the Herlaqa path and planned to teach it to him, Roland couldn't help but be overjoyed.

He secretly bowed to his senior sister again.

Little did he know that this pretentious mentor, Catherine, was about to become Roland's first disciple.

As she continued to discuss with Roland, Catherine's heart surged with monstrous waves.

This is not the path to truth left by Herlaqa, it is the path to truth that Roland has comprehended!

Or rather, this is a path to truth that Roland has comprehended Herlaqa's veil, and then interpreted it with the concepts of Aleya!

It has no side effects. Or rather, it has a hidden side effect.

This hidden effect comes from the fact that Roland's picture of 'The Shepherdess and the Demon' contains some unspeakable things.

Looking at it too much will make you go crazy.

However, if you look at it often, it will greatly increase your resistance to unspeakable things.

Wizards who cultivate this secret method will be able to more easily accept those indescribable mysterious things.

In other words, it can exercise one's SAN value and cognitive ability.

This is a path comprehended by a wizard! An independent path!

It has the same roots as Herlaqa, but after cultivation, it will not be affected by the gods.

Catherine didn't know which was better, Roland's revised version or the original version that the Great Sage Herlaqa created. But 'The Shepherdess and the Demon' can be considered a secret method of an ancient great sage!

This thing will definitely be directly used for the Black Abyss apprentices. Thinking about it this way, many, many Black Abyss wizards in the future will become Roland's disciples!

This is different from the nature of being a mentor!

A mentor takes apprentices and teaches the tower master's concepts.

But Roland is teaching his own concepts!

With just this thing, Roland can erect a high tower in the Black Abyss!