Chapter 1462

The original Schiller was a magician, even the head of the department that contacted the magical world for the Soviet KGB. However, Schiller didn't find any fragments related to magic in his memory, otherwise, he would have been able to guess something at the beginning.

Schiller didn't inherit any of the original Schiller's connections in the magical world and didn't know which magicians he knew. However, a slight deduction could lead to the conclusion that the original Schiller should have adhered to the same set of social principles in both ordinary society and the magical world—famous, but with few close friends.

From the fact that Constantine didn't know Schiller, it could also be seen that they might have heard of a certain part of the original Schiller's reputation, but they hadn't actually met him, nor did they know his specific whereabouts.

It wasn't until Schiller returned that he used his familiarity with knowledge in comics to find the entrance to the Oblivion Bar, got to know the Master of the Dark Night, and heard him complain that there were always some black magicians making trouble here, but he couldn't afford a bodyguard, so he thought of bringing the fighting cabbage made by Pamela to him as a gift.

For a long time, Schiller didn't accept any invitations or invitation emails, but after resuming social interactions, some connections belonging to the original Schiller also surfaced.

For example, Master Andrew, who invited him to attend the birthday banquet this time, was a very famous archmage in the academic school of the magical world, possessing an independent mage tower and countless students.

And Schiller, whose prestige in ordinary society had almost reached the full level, had a new goal. He wanted to regain a firm foothold in the magical world after a few years of blank period. Besides inheriting the connections from the original Schiller, he also had to expand his social circle and contribute to the construction of the magical world.

Schiller actually didn't intend to bring Bruce over at first, because as everyone knew, Batman didn't know magic. If he knew magic, it would definitely trigger all kinds of dangerous big events, so Schiller couldn't be sure if letting him enter the magical world was a good thing.

However, thinking that the Batman of this world had already had so many changes, perhaps a certain criterion wasn't completely unbreakable, so Schiller brought Bruce here.

And Schiller's welcome speech made Bruce freeze in place.

Logically speaking, whether it was a child or an adult, when discovering that the magnificent magical world had opened its door to him, he should feel incomparable surprise and excitement.

But what Bruce thought was:

What could be more terrible than his mentor being a psychology master famous among ordinary people?

That was discovering that after finally graduating excellently through four years of mutual torture with him, he was also a famous magic master among extraordinary people.

Having to start all over again??!

Bruce knew Schiller had some special abilities and also knew he might know some magicians like Constantine, but he didn't expect Schiller to have a great reputation in the magical world—judging from some of the actions and expressions of this Master of the Dark Night, Jim, or so it seemed.

Therefore, Bruce didn't feel happy or excited at all, and even the slight thought about resurrection he had when he first learned of magic's existence disappeared. He felt tired of learning on the spot.

So, he nodded perfunctorily, but the Master of the Dark Night, Jim, stared at his face for a while and then said with some surprise, "Are you Bruce Wei En?"

Bruce nodded again, and Jim leaned back and gave Schiller a thumbs up.

"I plan to take Bruce to buy some things. Can you open a door for us?" Schiller said, looking at the paintings behind Jim.

"Of course, no problem, Doctor. Where do you plan to go? London's Great Bazaar, Maia's Mirror Tower, or a certain collector's private exhibition hall?"

"It's like this. I'm going to Master Andrew's birthday banquet. I'm an old acquaintance of his, so a bottle of red wine from Bordeaux is a good gift, but Bruce is visiting for the first time, so he might need a set of clothes that are formal enough and a more solemn gift."

"Then it seems you plan to go to both places."

"Exactly."

The Master of the Dark Night nodded. He gently stroked the long sword at his waist, and the paintings hanging on the wall floated silently. Among them, an oval picture frame depicted a scene of a lively medieval bazaar. Jim reached out and tapped lightly behind the frame, and a portal unfolded before the two.

Schiller led the way with his cane. Bruce followed behind him. As soon as he stepped in, he saw the scene of the bazaar just like in the painting. All kinds of magicians were coming and going here, and the whole street was extremely lively.

The weather in this mysterious space had the same effect as London's. The gray sky pressed very low, the damp air made people feel sticky, and the surface of the stone road was covered with water vapor left by the morning mist.

Walking among the various people on the street, there were traditional mages wearing robes and hoods, voodoo practitioners covered in metal jewelry and tattoos, gypsy women wearing bright clothes, and even many jumping little animals.

"Can you tell me about the magical world?" Bruce looked at the situation here while finding a topic.

"I think you should want to know more about magic itself." Schiller also turned his head to look for the target shop. He thought slightly and then said, "The classification of magic in this world is not complicated. From the perspective of the source of power, it can be divided into black magic and white magic; from the perspective of the form of use, it can be divided into positive language magic and reverse language magic; from the perspective of the nature of magic, it can be divided into order magic and chaos magic."

"And the magical world doesn't just have magicians. Magicians usually refer to people who use some form of magic to change the world, but there are gods in this world. Some people gained power because of the gods' curses or favor. You can understand them as god-gifted ones."

"God-gifted ones gain power passively, but there are also some people who actively pray to the gods and become agents of gods and demons. But agents almost have no room for free action; they must complete the will of the contracted gods or demons."

"There are also some people who possess the bloodline of gods or demons, generally called demigods or half-demons. In the magical world, those with powerful demigod or half-demon bloodlines are relatively few; most just touch a little bit and aren't necessarily stronger than magicians."

"Then how are magicians classified?" Bruce asked.

"There is no specific title." Schiller shook his head and said, "Roughly, there is only a distinction between strong and weak. Many people think the essence of magic is exchange, and one must pay a price, but that's not necessarily the case."

"In general, the power of magic comes from external objects, not one's own cultivation. Magicians guide magical power into this world, which can let the power descend upon themselves or attach it to other things. Because the nature of the source of power is different, the way of paying the price is also different."

"Most demons don't require the contracted mage to pay the price immediately. Magicians can use magic fluently for a lifetime, only that after death, the soul must belong to the contracted demon, to be disposed of as he pleases."

"There are also some existences that require immediate payment, often bringing great pain to the magicians while they are alive. Some benevolent gods don't collect much price, but they won't give their agents freedom either."

"Then which category do you belong to?"

"Me?" Schiller's hand holding the cane paused slightly. Bruce observed this small action of his, so he asked further, "Which category does the source of the power you contracted belong to?"

Bruce really felt somewhat curious. He found it hard to imagine Schiller praying to gods for power. He saw Schiller stop in front of a clothing store, paused his steps, and while walking in, said.

"Although I really don't want to be put together with this name, I have to say—I belong to Constantine's category."

Bruce froze for a moment, then showed a smile, because he thought of a sentence Constantine once said to him—the essence of magic is debt? The essence of magic is debt and not paying it back!

It had to be said that if Schiller hadn't interrupted Constantine's debt cycle, his mode would have been almost successful, but even so, he still made himself look neither human nor ghost.

Then why had he never suffered any backlash in the years he had known Schiller? Bruce started to think about this question.

At this time, he had followed Schiller into the clothing store. This was an old-fashioned clothing store. Cabinets, tables, counters, and boxes in the corners were all piled with all kinds of fabrics. Mannequin models had soft rulers wrapped around their necks, and sample clothes were hanging on the high walls.

Schiller tapped the counter with his cane. A burly man with a big beard walked out from the door. He greeted in English with a French flavor and then looked at the two guests with eagle-like eyes.

"Hello, I need a set of attire to attend an archmage's banquet."

Schiller gave up his position and let the bearded tailor walk in front of Bruce. The bearded man looked at Bruce's figure carefully and nodded, saying, "His figure is not out of the ordinary, making clothes is not difficult. Are there any special requirements for attributes?"

"No need for charm bonuses or mental influence functions." Schiller obviously had learned knowledge in this area, and then he added, "Try to be more original, retain his own temperament, but use more expensive fabrics. If there are rare silk threads, that would be better."

The bearded tailor raised an eyebrow, turned his head to look at Schiller again. He seemed to recall for a moment and then said, "Are you the Dr. Rodriguez who recently returned to the magical world? I heard your news from Zarf."

"Yes, I am. This is my student Bruce. He just graduated recently. I plan to let him appear at Master Andrew's birthday banquet. You should know what kind of clothes I want, right?"

The bearded tailor squeezed a smile from his serious expression. He waved his hand while saying, "Young people appearing at an archmage's banquet for the first time—it's best not to be too flashy, but to leave a deep impression. His appearance conditions are very good, indeed no need for charm-enhancing magic..."

Accompanied by his speaking, fabric shimmering with magical luster flew in from outside the door and instantly wrapped around Bruce. Bruce didn't feel anything, and a set of dark silver suits was worn on his body.

"I think the suit is not bad, but if you want to be more classical, mage robes are also possible. You can go to Old Bloom at the end of the street to buy a blue magic ball, which just happens to match his blue eyes."

Schiller stepped back a few steps and looked at Bruce's current image, seeming to feel a bit dissatisfied.

Honestly speaking, the stereotype Bruce Wei En left on people was too deep, and plus he was very young now. If he didn't wear dark, more old-fashioned suits with more conservative cuts, but wore light-colored fabrics with a slight sense of luster, it would always give people a feeling of a frivolous playboy. This was not a good image for appearing at a banquet.

So Schiller nodded to the bearded tailor and said, "Change to a mage robe and try."

The bearded tailor seemed very satisfied with Schiller's choice. He snapped his fingers instantly, the shape of the fabric on Bruce changed, and a traditional dark silver mage robe appeared on him.

The upper body was a traditional European open-collar shirt and hand wraps, and the lower body was a robe with an outer skirt. The fabric texture was quite good, looking introverted and luxurious. Even without holding a magic staff, one could tell at a glance that he was a young mage who had learned well.

Schiller wanted this effect, so he took out a bottle of energy fragments to pay and took Bruce out of the clothing store.

"Let's go, I'll take you to buy a magic ball."

"But I don't even know magic."

"You will." Schiller turned his head to look at him and said, "What will you do when you have no money?"

"Go borrow money."

"Will you pay it back?"

"No."

"Then you know magic. That's how I learned it."