Followers, a special group within the wizarding society, trace their history back to the ancient era of ignorance.
At that time, the Wizard World was dominated by dragons, and the most primitive wizards established their Wizard Towers in the wilderness, exploring the plains of truth in confusion.
Followers were the most primitive group of wizards, the precursors to Wizard Apprentices. On the foundation of followers, associations and schools emerged within the wizarding society.
But this did not mean that followers disappeared.
Even today, followers still exist, and almost every Great Wizard has their own followers.
These followers often become the vice deans of Wizard Academies, managing affairs on their behalf.
All of this sounds great, but it is based on the premise that the followers are indeed the seedlings of Great Wizards and have successfully lived to see the establishment of the Wizard Academy.
Every Great Wizard must undergo trials of blood and fire, and in this process, too many wizards fall along the way.
Moreover, according to ancient rituals, a wizard who wants to become a follower must surrender all their property to the one they follow, leaving no unapproved personal assets. Followers must also serve as attendants, guards, stewards, and lab assistants, among other roles, for the one they follow.
It can almost be said that followers are legally recognized wizard slaves.
"I refuse," Richard replied bluntly. "I have no interest in acquiring a legally recognized wizard slave."
Joking aside, with so many secrets on his person, how could he possibly feel comfortable having a wizard by his side every day?
Besides, he helped Kayang solely because Kayang had great potential.
After being ravaged by misfortune for so long, Kayang still managed to become a wizard, which speaks volumes about his extraordinary abilities.
If Kayang became a follower, his potential would be wasted.
Kayang looked at Richard in astonishment. For any wizard, a wizard follower was a rare and valuable opportunity.
Moreover, Kayang had offered to follow Richard for life. If Richard had agreed, Kayang would have truly become his follower for the rest of his days.
"Master Richard, how can I repay your kindness?"
Richard replied calmly, "It's simple. I have a guild that is currently growing rapidly. If you want to repay me, go work in the guild.
I believe you will do very well."
Kayang gave Richard a wizard's salute and said solemnly, "Guild Master, rest assured, I will do my utmost to complete any task you assign me."
Richard nodded and then instructed him to go find Jolod.
Richard usually did not interfere with personnel arrangements and was not very familiar with the guild's structure. Therefore, it was up to Jolod to determine Kayang's position.
After parting with Kayang, Richard eagerly entered the Secret Realm and took out the three treasures he had just acquired.
Collectors often roamed various dimensions and worlds, and their bags were filled with countless strange and peculiar items.
While many of these items were mere trash to creatures of the material world, there were also things that even Ulysses found enticing.
For example, the first item Richard pulled out was a crystal eyeball.
Ulysses looked at the crystal eyeball and remarked with a hint of awe, "The Eye of Truth. I never thought a Collector would have something like this. You're really lucky this time."
Richard asked curiously, "What is this thing used for?"
Ulysses explained, "It's of no use to you now, but once you become a Great Wizard, it will be invaluable.
It allows you to see the cracks in space, the gaps between dimensions, and even the workings of the rules. It reveals the true world hidden behind the veil of reality.
This is a relic of the pioneers from the world cluster of our god civilization. In the past, even a Chief God fell in the struggle to obtain it.
I thought all of these had been divided up, but I never expected to see one here."
After hearing this, Richard took out a metal ingot from his pocket, casually fashioned a box, and placed the Eye of Truth inside.
Since it was of no use to him now, he decided not to dwell on it.
Next, Richard took out the second item—a ray of light sealed within a crystal.
"What's this?"
"This isn't as valuable as the Eye of Truth. It's the Light of Equilibrium, a specialty of the Balance Dimension.
It can be used as a counterweight to bring the scales into balance."
This explanation left Richard puzzled. He couldn't help but ask, "Can you explain it more clearly? Maybe give an example. What does it mean to use it as a counterweight to balance the scales?
What do the scales refer to? Surely not an actual scale."
"Hmm… let me think. Take the Crimson Sun World as an example. The Crimson Sun World is an elementally imbalanced world. If the rules of the Crimson Sun World were visualized as weights on a scale, the weight of the fire element would far exceed that of the other elements.
The Light of Equilibrium acts as a counterweight, bringing the scales as close to equilibrium as possible.
If the scales are balanced, the Crimson Sun World would become an elementally balanced world."
Upon hearing this explanation, Richard was stunned.
"Such a divine artifact exists in the world? If I were to make a staff that amplifies fire element spells by one hundred levels and other elemental spells by one level,
and if I were to fuse the Light of Equilibrium into it, would that staff then amplify all attributes by one hundred levels?"
Ulysses nodded, "Indeed, but the Light of Equilibrium has its limits. If one side of the scales is too heavy, the Light of Equilibrium cannot balance it.
Take the Crimson Sun World, for example.
Changing the rules of a world would require an immense amount of Light of Equilibrium. Even the Scale Lords of the Balance Dimension would find it difficult to possess such a vast quantity."
Richard nodded thoughtfully and then took out the third item—a fist-sized, multicolored crystal.
This was something he had chosen, an alchemy material known to wizards as the Omni Crystal.
This crystal could amplify nearly all Evocation Spells.
Whether it was Four-Element Spells, Thunder Spells, Force Spells, or Sound Spells—as long as it was an Evocation-type spell, the Omni Crystal could amplify it.
This was an almost perfect alchemy material. Richard's Mithril Staff had a small amount of Omni Crystal embedded in its head, granting it the ability to amplify the four elements.
It was precisely because of this that the Alchemy School had set an ultimate goal—the Philosopher's Stone.
And now, Richard had a fist-sized Omni Crystal.
In the Wizard World, even Great Wizards would covet such a treasure.
"The Light of Equilibrium, the Omni Crystal…"
As Richard looked at the materials in his hands, a bold idea began to take shape in his mind.
He pulled out a booklet given to him by the Black Tower Great Wizard, which contained the Great Wizard's research on the World Master's arm that Richard had taken.
The booklet wasn't thick, only about a dozen pages, and the content was indeed as rudimentary as the Great Wizard had said.
But even from these rudimentary studies, Richard managed to glean the information he needed.
"The Hand of Earth… Earth Element Spells, Force Spells amplified by over ten thousand levels! Such terrifying data—this is the power of a World Master?"
The four-armed orc from back then could use Four-Element Spells with its four arms, and the arm Richard had obtained was the one it used for Earth Element Spells.
But when Richard saw the data of ten thousand levels, he couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.
A Third Circle Wizard, without invoking the rules, could barely cast Evocation Spells of ten thousand levels. Yet this arm, without any enchantments, could amplify spells by ten thousand levels solely through its material properties.
If this arm were enchanted and inscribed with sufficient Rune Arrays, its amplification potential would be unimaginable.
Richard took a deep breath and said to Ulysses, "Ulysses, brace yourself. I'm about to take something out."
Seeing Richard's serious expression, Ulysses asked in confusion, "What is it… holy crap, where did you get that?"
The moment Richard took out the box containing the Hand of Earth, Ulysses' feathers immediately stood on end.
"Enough talk, suppress this box," Richard said, his body trembling.
Ulysses flew onto the box, and a black light instantly enveloped it. The terrifying aura emanating from the box disappeared without a trace.
"I got this from the Black Tower Great Wizard's warehouse. It's the arm of a World Master.
Keep suppressing it; I need to run some tests on this arm."
"Wow, your Great Wizard is quite generous to give you something like this," Ulysses said, still in shock.
Richard ignored him and gently touched the arm after opening the box.
Soon, a piece of information appeared before his eyes.
[Raw Material: Arm of an Unknown World Master]
[Extractable Substance: Bloodline of an Unknown Creature]
[Extraction Cost: 5,000,000 Magic Power]
[Extractable Rule: Earth Element Rule (Incomplete)]
[Extraction Cost: 700 Soul Power]
Seeing this information, Richard removed his hand, confirming his thoughts.
He looked at Ulysses with a hint of madness in his smile.
"Ulysses, do you think this arm could be used as raw material for a staff?"
Ulysses was taken aback and replied uncertainly, "It's possible, but you obviously can't use it. Without my help, you'd have a hard time even holding it."
"That's not a problem," Richard said excitedly. "I can add a seal to the staff to suppress its aura.
Moreover, I can use my Adaptable Body to gradually acclimate to the arm's aura."
Richard's eyes grew brighter as he spoke, and the vague idea in his mind became clearer and clearer.
The Hand of Earth, the Omni Crystal, and the Light of Equilibrium—these three items could perfectly serve as the main materials for a staff.
The Omni Crystal's all-attribute amplification would be one side of the scales, the Hand of Earth's amplification effect would be the other side, and he would use the Light of Equilibrium to balance the scales! The more Richard thought about it, the more excited he became, and he eagerly explained his idea to Ulysses.
After listening, Ulysses was also instantly amazed by Richard's vision.
"A genius idea. If successful, this staff would be considered a masterpiece even among World Masters."
Richard exclaimed excitedly, "Right? That's what I thought too."
"Give this staff a name, Richard. If it's crafted, it would be sung about in all the forging worlds of our realm."
"A name… how about the Staff of Equilibrium?"
"That's a good name."
"Then it shall be called the Staff of Equilibrium!"