Ian left the resting place of the Pharaoh as dusk fell. He stood at the desert's edge, gazing at the millennia-old relics, feeling a tinge of reluctance. But more than that, he felt satisfied. He carefully classified and stored the collected materials into the magic potion material bag, then softly recited a transformation spell.
"Animagus, Raven Form."
A flicker of light sparkled.
His figure swiftly diminished, skin turning to feathers, limbs transforming into claws and wings. A deep caw broke the silence, and Ian had transformed into an entirely black raven.
He flapped his wings to the sky, disappearing into the twilight.
The desert, scorched by the fierce sun, seemed like an endless golden ocean, with the wind sweeping the dunes, rising and falling like waves. The raven Ian transformed into soared over the blazing desert, his black wings slicing through the dry air, his crimson eyes scanning the vast golden desert sea below. He had just left the Pharaoh's pyramid, with a fruitful harvest, yet the Master of Magic Potions wouldn't easily be satisfied.
"There are always some rare treasures in the desert."
He descended in altitude.
His sharp gaze locked onto a group of desert spirit foxes running between the dunes — the descendants of this species are already extinct; their blood is a prime ingredient for creating a "Phantom Potion."
The raven swooped down, transforming back to human form before landing. Ian lightly stepped onto the scorching sand, extracting a crystal bottle and a silver knife from his money bag.
"Don't move, little ones, just need a drop of blood."
The spirit foxes alertly pricked their ears, but before they could escape, Ian snapped his fingers —
"Petrificus!" (All Petrify)
The leading spirit fox froze instantly, while the others fled in panic. Ian unhurriedly walked over, gripping the immobilized fox's scruff, and gently nicked its forepaw with the silver knife, letting its bright red blood drip into the crystal bottle.
"Perfect."
He released his grip, undoing the spell. The spirit foxes darted away swiftly into the distance, while Ian contentedly shook the bottle, watching the blood shimmer with a faint golden glow under the sunlight.
"Just a few more, and I can do some magic cloning upon returning." Despite Ian having slain many powerful fantastic beasts, it was always due to them provoking first. Actually, Ian wasn't fond of killing, thus he thought breeding extinct fantastic beasts for a blood bank suited him best.
After collecting some blood, Ian continued in raven form to circle high above, his view expansive, aiming to seek rare desert fantastic beasts — those mysterious creatures only mentioned in magic scriptures. Ancient beasts were common, and soon, at the edge of an oasis, he discovered a group of "Sand Shadow Beasts" drinking.
They were slender in build, covered in semi-transparent scales, able to refract rainbow colors under the sun. They moved swiftly, nearly blending into the dust, nearly imperceptible without Ian's expert eye as a fantastic beast specialist.
Once again he gently landed, switching back to human form, drawing out a magic camera staff from his waist pocket, targeting the Sand Shadow Beasts to film. Simultaneously, using a strand-thin silver needle, he gently collected a drop of blood from the foot of a Sand Shadow Beast drinking nearby. The magic camera staff automatically recorded and saved both images and sample information.
This is the first step in his magic cloning research. In the dunes, he also spotted a "Sand Spirit Scorpion" — entirely crimson, its tail flickering with eerie blue light, rumored its venom can be used to craft a "Soul Revival Potion." Ian excitedly recorded its behavior and discreetly obtained a droplet of venom.
The harvest was abundant, overwhelmingly satisfying.
Just as Ian prepared to continue his search.
The desert winds suddenly shifted.
The sky darkened abruptly, the winds intensified dramatically, grains of sand began swirling in the air, forming whirlwinds. The previously tranquil desert sea stirred, the distant sky veiled in ochre, fierce gales lifting sand to form a colossal tornado connecting earth to sky, barreling towards his direction.
Like the breath of a primordial giant god, swallowing up the heavens and earth.
"Tsk, even the natural weather is disrupting?"
Ian frowned, drawing a magic wand from within his black robe, ready to cast a spell to disperse the storm. However, just as he raised his hand — he suddenly heard whispers in his ear.
"Wizard... Wizard..."
The voice was soft yet eerie, seemingly emanating from deep underground, or surfacing from the depths of his soul. This raspy whisper appeared directly in Ian's ear.
It was as if someone was murmuring close to his ear.
"What the heck?"
Ian's action halted.
"A glorious future... I can give you..."
The voice seemed to come from all directions, yet also directly penetrated his mind. Ian paused his actions, his brow furrowed. This wasn't ordinary wind sounds nor an illusion.
"Just need... a small favor... save me... save me... I will grant you immense power... all I need is you... to open the seal for me."
The voice continued emerging.
"Anomalous event?"
Ian, being a legendary wizard, was highly sensitive to magic fluctuations. This whisper contained a certain ancient and powerful will, even carrying a trace of divine echo. He stowed away his magic wand, instead taking out a compass-like magic detector from the money bag. The needle whirled madly, ultimately pointing to a northeastern dune.
There appeared nothing unusual there, yet the detector indicated strong magic power fluctuations.
"Interesting."
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