Wizard:Start as a Potion Master

Su Nan instructed the AI to calculate the feasibility of designing a unique werewolf elixir tailored for Robert.

However, this required obtaining more information about Storm Knights, not only experimental materials but ideally an entire set of their training and traditions.

This task wasn't particularly difficult for Su Nan.

There was already a formal Storm Knight within his territory, and if he refused to cooperate, there were plenty more in nearby territories.

With some effort, Su Nan could acquire the information he needed.

The carriage soon returned to the castle.

Su Nan was in a hurry because he had a meeting arranged at the castle that day.

A wandering minor noble from the small neighboring Epirote Despotate had arrived in his territory the day before.

Upon hearing that Su Nan was exchanging gold and treasures for ancient texts—especially those with historical significance—the noble became interested and contacted maidservant Pella through the castle staff.

Pella had reported this to Su Nan.

The wandering knight confidently claimed to possess a chest of ancient texts excavated from the forested tombs of Epirus.

He even asserted that the books belonged to someone of noble lineage, perhaps dating back a thousand years. He insisted on meeting Su Nan personally before naming a price.

Of course, this was just self-promotion, likely exaggeration.

His demand to meet Su Nan in person before discussing payment was probably just to avoid being undercut.

Su Nan had the steward invite the noble into the castle. He studied the nervous young man, who seemed uneasy despite having been invited into the castle.

Su Nan gestured toward a chair. "Sit. Let's get straight to the point—show me these so-called ancient texts. I'll evaluate their authenticity myself and offer you appropriate compensation."

The minor noble hesitated before sitting down, fidgeting as he did so. "By the Lawful God, you are indeed as rumored—a lord who does not discriminate against those of us who worship the Lawful God."

"You truly have a broad and noble heart."

Su Nan didn't respond, merely fixing him with a sharp gaze.

Flustered, the minor noble instructed his servant to open the chest and handed several ancient texts to Su Nan.

Su Nan took the texts, flipping through them as he considered the state of the Epirote Despotate.

The region of Epirus might genuinely contain many records connected to witchcraft and magic.

It was a land of hills, mountains, and ancient forests, perpetually shrouded in mist. Some of its native tribes still lived as they did in ancient times, and there were whispers of remnants of witchcraft within their practices.

The Epirote Despotate itself was a fragment of the old Eastern Empire, worshipping the Lawful God.

Fifty-seven years ago, the Storm Knights who first arrived in this region had crushed the Empire but lacked the resources to conquer its mountainous remnants fully.

The title "Epirote Despotate" was a relic of the Eastern Empire's culture. In reality, it was merely a backwater barony in a remote forest.

Because the region was so impoverished, the Storm Knights hadn't deemed it worth the cost of conquest.

Similarly, there were three other remnants of the Eastern Empire nearby, all with the pretentious titles of despotates or principalities, though their actual territories were barely the size of a barony or duchy.

The largest remnant, the Kingdom of Nicaea, was a significant threat to the Storm Kingdom. Positioned to the east, it had territory, population, wealth, and armies comparable to the Storm Kingdom and was poised for a potential counterattack.

This left the Storm royal family in a precarious position.

To the north were the Bulgarian nomadic tribes, to the east the vengeful Kingdom of Nicaea, and to the south, a swarm of pirate states.

Domestically, the noble Storm Knights scarcely heeded royal authority.

It was no wonder the royal family kept pressuring Su Nan to repay his debts—they likely hoped he might help bolster their precarious finances.

Su Nan examined the ancient texts, all written on vellum. The language used was archaic and obscure.

Fortunately, his AI had previously analyzed this language.

"This isn't the property of some noble of the Eastern Empire," Su Nan remarked. "It's the burial goods of a tribal chieftain from the region, predating the Empire's conquest and assimilation of Epirus."

His interest piqued as he skimmed through the vellum scrolls.

The texts recounted the life of a legendary chieftain.

Born into a doomed tribe, the young chieftain survived the destruction of his people, spared only because his height fell below a wagon wheel. Enslaved by a more powerful tribe, his fortunes changed after he made offerings to a three-tailed snake-crow deity of the region's native religion.

He gained a power known as Shape-Shifting Magic.

With it, he could animate statues and command stone idols to fight for him. He rebuilt his tribe and annihilated his enemies but was ultimately assassinated, feared for his sorcery.

Su Nan found the account fascinating. While some details might be exaggerated, there could be a kernel of truth.

He flipped through the vellum and ordered Warwick to bring the remaining scrolls from the chest.

After quickly reviewing them, his AI cross-referenced the chieftain's anecdotes and concluded the records were likely authentic.

Though the scrolls didn't directly describe the Shape-Shifting Magic, they contained many of the chieftain's sayings and personal notes.

That was enough.

The AI could extrapolate and reconstruct the technique into a usable potion model from these scattered clues.

Su Nan felt satisfied with the haul, even if he hadn't obtained a complete spell formula.

"Epirus is a land of deep forests and hidden histories," Su Nan thought. "It likely contains countless remnants of unpurged sorcery. Perhaps I should visit one day to uncover more."

"But for now, others can do the work for me. The chieftain described here might have had innate magical talent and inadvertently inherited a sorcerer's legacy."

The minor noble became visibly nervous at Su Nan's appraisal. "Lord Su Nan, does this mean the texts are worthless?"

In his mind, Su Nan's interest in ancient texts seemed like the eccentric hobby of an old aristocrat.

To him, there was a world of difference in value between the burial goods of an Eastern noble and a tribal chieftain.

He sighed internally—earning money as a displaced noble was no easy task, especially with his homeland lost and himself forced to wander.

"Lord Su Nan," he ventured cautiously, "how much would you pay for these books? Even just a little..."

Su Nan, still engrossed in deciphering references to shape-shifting magic, replied bluntly.

"I assume you're involved in grave-robbing. Probably not very successfully—you couldn't find gold or treasures, just these scrolls. Then you heard about my fondness for ancient texts and came rushing to the Peter Barony."

The noble flushed, more out of shame than anger.

As a noble and follower of the Lawful God, profiting from the dead felt like a disgrace to his ancestors and faith.

"But congratulations," Su Nan added. "I do need these books."

"I'll give you 25 gold coins. How does that sound? Also, what's your name? I think we could collaborate further in the future. If you find more, bring them to me."

The noble's jaw dropped.

Twenty-five gold coins?

That was an extraordinary sum for a pile of unreadable books.

Though he quickly composed himself, his gratitude was palpable.

"Lord Su Nan, that is more than fair! My name is John Doukas. I'm not a direct heir of the Doukas dynasty, just a distant relation."

"Doukas," Su Nan mused. That was once the royal house of the Eastern Empire, though its last legitimate scion died decades ago.

This generous deal was Su Nan's way of spreading the word. Soon, others would scour Epirus for similar finds, knowing they could fetch a high price at the Peter Barony.

After all, these texts were useless to most and unlikely to be accepted elsewhere.

This approach was far more efficient than personally searching the Epirote wilderness.

His time was better spent crafting potions and conducting experiments.

By mobilizing others, Su Nan ensured a steady influx of valuable materials for his research, leaving him free to focus on building his knowledge and power.

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