"Your Excellency, Archbishop Anthruk, we have arrived!" exclaimed the scavenger, his raiment tattered and sullied, as he regarded the clergymen warily.

"I spied the wizard and the hunter making their way here, engaged in combat... a quarter of an hour ago."

With a heavy heart, the Archbishop remained silent, his gaze fixed upon the scorched earth. The fervid ichor that had once pulsed through the veins of his fallen comrades now congealed into a dark, crimson hue, having been subjected to the intense heat of the conflagration. The torn earth and fragments of torn flesh bore testament to the violence of the encounter.

It was highly probable that the devastating destruction had been wrought by the second-tier magic spell, [Inferno Blast]. "Where are the bodies?" Anthruk inquired, puzzled by the absence of any corpses, particularly that of Brenny.

The scavenger hesitated, swallowing hard before answering. "After the hunter fell, the wizard... cast his body into the river..."

"Blasphemy against the Gods!" the middle-aged priest behind the Archbishop erupted in righteous fury. In recent years, thanks to the "enlightened" decrees of Duke Nordland, the lower reaches of the river had become a festering, putrid realm. It was important to remember that Brenny was not merely a simple hunter, but a member of the Church's vengeful detachment, having imbibed the [Grace Potion] and become a divine emissary on earth.

The only motive for his continued participation in the hunt for wizards was to augment his curriculum vitae. However, the wizard, whose soul had been contaminated by malevolence, had brutally slain his adversary and cast the corpse into the noisome river, a blatant affront to the majesty of the Church.

The scavenger's frame shook uncontrollably as he cowered in trepidation. Archbishop Anthruk clenched his staff more tightly, his anger intensifying. He turned to the quivering scavenger and inquired once more, "Did you discern the aspect of the wizard who slew Brenny with clarity? Was any other person involved in the altercation?"

"I observed the altercation from a distance, Your Excellency," the scavenger replied in a quavering voice. "There did not appear to be a second wizard... The individual seemed to have just attained the age of majority, with tresses of auburn, approximately the same height as yourself."

"Karl..." Archbishop Anthruk intoned quietly to himself, delving into his contemplation of the intelligence concerning his opponent. Prior to this moment, he had not given much thought to this little-known apprentice wizard. After all, according to the information obtained, the other party had only been dabbling in the arcane arts for about half a year and had not been deemed worthy of notice by Wizard Kelu.

Among all targets, he posed the least threat... However, it seems that this assessment was in error. Releasing a second-tier spell of conflagration, [Inferno Blast], and brutally slaying two hunters before and after, this is certainly not something that a fledgling apprentice could accomplish.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

Unless the other party was in possession of a formidable alchemical implement, or... was a formal wizard like Kelu!

....

Several days later, in a hotel located in Uer Town on the Nordland frontier. Lynn, roused from a nightmare, sprang up from the unyielding wooden bed and hastened to the window, scrutinizing the vista outside.

Seeing that everything was normal and no one was coming to encircle him, Lynn finally relaxed. Since five days ago, after dispatching the two hunters in the slum, he had been worried about the pursuit of the tribunal and deliberately took a circuitous route to Uer Town, even leaving some misleading tracks.

Probably because his rudimentary anti-reconnaissance skills really worked, or because the local church was too occupied to deal with him, a mere apprentice wizard, he had not encountered any pursuers so far. But even so, the journey can only be described as arduous. Accustomed to the amenities of modern life, he suddenly found himself in this medieval-like place, and the contrast almost made Lynn collapse.

After all, there are no phones, computers, familiar family, or friends here, and in the morning, he can't eat a hot breakfast, he can only chew on a tough black bread with water...

The sole blessing was that he possessed the complete set of memories from his original body, Karl, and was versed in the language and writing of this world. His physical prowess was not weak either, allowing him to intimidate some short-sighted thieves, thus avoiding an untimely demise.

After enduring several days of torment, Lynn begrudgingly accepted the fact of his transposition, and it was already the second day of his arrival in Uer Town!

Exercising caution, Lynn did not hastily seek out the whereabouts of other apprentice wizards. After discovering their mark, he covertly returned and spent a day familiarizing himself with the lay of the land, procuring a dozen new flints and a bag of black bread.

Several days of travel had left Lynn somewhat jittery, yet upon initially comprehending Uer Town, he promptly understood Jonny's choice of meeting place here.

As a small trading town on the border of Nordland, the influx of people was diverse, with merchants frequently coming and going. An additional couple of unfamiliar faces would not attract too much attention.

Lynn pondered as he reached out and took the stone mortar nearby, placing the flint into blocks within it, then grinding it into fine powder with a small wooden stick.

During his stay in Uer Town, Lynn devoted the remainder of his time to the production of phosphorous, save for his efforts in tracking down marks and acclimating himself to the terrain.

Phosphorous, a monatomic form of the element with the chemical formula P4, presents itself as a white or pale yellow translucent solid.

There are two common methods of synthesis.

The first involves combining calcium phosphate, quartz sand, and carbon powder into a mixture, heating it to a range of 1400 to 1600 degrees Celsius. The phosphorous vapor produced is then cooled in water, solidifying into the final product.

The second method entails isolating the air and heating red phosphorous to 416 degrees Celsius, vaporizing and cooling it.

However, in this world bereft of an industrial system akin to that of ancient Europe, procuring these raw materials in a short period of time is no simple feat.

To Lynn's delight, he soon discovered that the flints he had used were imbued with traces of red phosphorous on their surface.

It was not surprising, given that red phosphorous was utilized in the production of matches as a highly effective flame retardant in the past century, improving their safety.

It appears that the indigenous people of this world have already stumbled upon the element of phosphorous, though their utilization of it remains somewhat rudimentary.

Under the constant grinding of a wooden stick, the flint shards were gradually disintegrated, purging impurities and yielding a mass of vivid red powder...

He did not possess professional instruments, but magic proved far more utilitarian than scientific devices.

[Mage's Hand]

At the command of Lynn's thoughts, the delicate red phosphorous seemed to be called forth by some sort of beckoning, rising up of its own accord. Under the influence of [Elementary Matter Deconstruction], it was broken down into its elemental molecular state...