This wizard only wishes to be a teacher

Gentle suction emerged from the Gate of Cloud and Mist, but the moment Lucien followed Carly through it, he was struck by a sudden, intense sensation of weightlessness.

He felt as though the earth and sky were whirling around him, and even his spiritual power’s perception became twisted and blurred at that moment.

By the time Lucien’s spiritual power returned to normal, they had already arrived inside a vast garden.

"This... these are all Kra grass! By the truth above! Just a slight fermentation and they can be made into an excellent fertilizer, suitable for cultivating a variety of precious magical plants!"

As everyone’s dizziness subsided slightly, a second-level Wizard Apprentice suddenly exclaimed, his hands trembling as he plucked a few strands of "turf" beneath his feet and even chewed on a leaf of Kra grass unbelievingly, his expression turning exceedingly strange.

"Kra grass?" Lucien, looking at the large patch of lawn beneath his feet, was also slightly stunned.

Although Kra grass wasn’t considered a precious magical plant—100 strands were worth only one Magic Stone—the sheer quantity was staggering. The lawn spread out under their feet, entirely composed of Kra grass, was at least twenty square meters. Roughly estimated, the high-quality Kra grass within could exceed one hundred thousand strands. That was already more than the entire fortune of many second-level Wizard Apprentices!

Reminded thus, numerous apprentices also began searching around.

"Hmph, humans will be humans, a bunch of mud monkeys who’ve seen nothing of the world," the half-Fairy Clan, still relatively calm at this moment, sneered softly at the few second-level Wizard Apprentices who had started gathering Kra grass.

But soon, they discovered that all the plants within the garden were magical plants!

The values ranged from lowly ones like the Kra grass to the most expensive, each potentially worth nearly five hundred Magic Stones!

This stirred the interest of many from the Fairy Clan. Though they could cultivate magical plants, the more precious the species, the greater the cost to themselves. Obtaining many of the magical plants within the garden was difficult for them, so the sight of these Magic Stones within reach tempted many from the Fairy Clan.

However, common magical plants like Kra grass were unprotected, whereas some of the more precious plants were safeguarded by various wizard formations. To harvest these, one would have to first solve the protective Proto-Witchcraft Arrays.

Wizard Apprentices and members of the Fairy Clan then began to work in pairs and groups to break these formations, even showing signs of contention over certain magical plants.

It was only a few third-level Wizard Apprentices who remained relatively calm. After all, their goal this time wasn’t the magical plants. Moreover, having advanced to this level, they knew well that opportunities in ruins like these usually came with risks. Thus, they remained collected and didn’t let the "Magic Stone feast" before their eyes cloud their judgment.

Only Lilia, controlling the doll Adeline, solved one of the barrier-type witchcraft and harvested an Ice Snow Flower she needed for a certain witchcraft experiment.

Lucien, seizing the opportunity, observed the surroundings. He circumvented the lawn and planting areas that were currently being frenziedly harvested by others, paying close attention to the layout within the garden.

If the verses engraved on the giant gate corresponded with the trials inside the secret realm, then they should now be at the entrance to the labyrinth. To find their way through the upcoming maze, likely some clues were hidden within this very garden.

"Moon Wolf Nair Tuso, Judgment of Good and Evil..." Lucien, bowing his head, observed all the patterns around that might convey some information while pondering any legend or record related to the Moon Wolf.

Eventually, Lucien stopped in front of a stone sculpture and quietly observed the monstrous toad-like figure it depicted.

"It’s truly exquisite and glamorous, every muscle texture meticulously carved to appear incredibly natural. The Fairy Clan, indeed worthy of being known as the race that adores art the most," Bennett also came over, seemingly astonished by the fairy artisan skill that went into creating this sculpture.

Lucien narrowed his eyes but slightly distanced himself from Bennett.

By now, he had recognized the prototype of the carved monster.

Coots, it was said to be one of the retainers under Moon Wolf Tuso, known alongside the other six retainer wolves as the Seven Punishment Beast, possessing a stomach that could digest everything and the ability to swallow food several times its own size.

However, the stomach of the gargantuan toad Coots was actually a type of punitive tool, ensuring the victims’ consciousness and emotions were intact as it slowly digested them, a process that could last for weeks or even months. The victims inside Coots couldn’t escape, and the experience was excruciating.

Whenever the giant wolf Tuso captured greedy souls, he would use Coots’s stomach to punish those driven by avarice, making them watch themselves being slowly dissolved by Coots’s digestive fluids in the most lucid state...

Thinking of this, Lucien seemed to realize something, and he couldn’t help but turn to look at the Wizard Apprentices still greedily collecting plants on the lawn, and he let out a fierce roar, "Throw away all these magic plants, throw them away now!"

Startled by Lucien’s roar, Carly quickly threw back onto the grass the handful of Claira grass and several seeds she had just collected as samples, then she also discarded the three red fruits she and another Wizard Apprentice had just harvested.

Some Wizard Apprentices, wary of Lucien’s status as a Third-level Wizard Apprentice, reluctantly tossed their collected magic plants onto the ground, although some of the more cunning ones quietly hid some, while the bolder ones quickly bent down and began to scramble for the magic plants others had just discarded.

"Throw it away!" the Fairy leader also seemed to realize something, quickly muttering a command.

"Throw it away, throw it away!" Bennett, looking at the stone sculpture, seemed to have realized something as well, echoing the Fairy leader’s words and began yelling.

Lilia glanced at Lucien and then at the Fairy leader, huffing lightly, she then took out the Ice Snow Flower she had just collected, but instead of throwing it on the ground, she forcibly stuffed it into the hands of a student she had brought with her.

The other half-Fairy and Wizard Apprentices looked at each other, feeling somewhat unwilling, but they all began to toss their collected materials away. Whether they kept anything to themselves, only they knew.

It was just at this moment that the stone sculpture beside Lucien suddenly swelled, the sculpture rapidly changing from its stone gray color to a bronze hue, even the rocky texture on its surface vanished, replaced by a slightly moist, sticky skin.

Whoosh—Heave—

Close by, Lucien could even hear the prolonged breath and clear heartbeat sounds as the statue came back to life.

The giant toad Coots had resurrected.