Old McCarthy shook his head slightly. "I'm not entirely sure about that. After all, I'm just a beginner in archaeology and ancient creature bloodlines. The special bloodline you possess is something I've never encountered before—it must belong to an extremely powerful ancient magical creature with a primary affinity for metal-based elemental particles."
"Ultimately, any bloodline capable of having an affinity with gold element particles can't possibly be ordinary."
"That's not exactly a common talent."
Old McCarthy sensed Locke's mana and was slightly taken aback. "Your mana has improved remarkably over the past six months."
"By the way, what brings you here today? Is there something I can help you with?"
Locke stated his purpose directly. "Here's the thing—I have an affinity for negative energy particles, and it's relatively high, around level 3."
"So I want to study archaeology. As you know, I'm particularly keen on figuring out exactly what kind of ancient creature bloodline I possess, and I'm also very interested in transplanting ancient creature bloodlines."
Locke spoke vaguely.
After all, McCarthy was just a shop owner at the Chimera Market, not even a First Class Wizard Apprentice from Lilith's Cottage, so Locke didn't want to reveal too much personal information to him.
With a level 3 affinity for negative energy particles, most people wouldn't be able to tell whether this was Locke's primary affinity attribute or a sub-affinity attribute.
Some might even assume it was merely his general affinity attribute.
To outsiders unaware of the details, Locke's rapid advancement might suggest he possessed level 6 or even level 7 potential.
In that case, a mere level 3 affinity for dark elemental particles would likely be dismissed as just his general affinity attribute.
McCarthy nodded. He ran an accelerated archaeology course, so he often encountered White Wizard apprentices with some degree of negative energy particle affinity.
This wasn't unusual.
However, White Wizards generally didn't have particularly high affinities for negative energy particles.
McCarthy said, "Well, level 3 potential is sufficient if you don't intend to specialize but just want to gain some basic understanding."
"I even have some apprentices with level 2 or even level 1 affinity for negative energy particles."
"My friend, if you want to understand the bloodline within you or transplant more ancient creature bloodlines to enhance your combat power—or even certain talents—then studying archaeology is absolutely the right path."
McCarthy spoke enthusiastically, as if he had found a kindred spirit. "For researchers of ancient creature bloodlines, archaeology is undoubtedly the most efficient research method."
"Though ultimately, it's just one research method among many."
McCarthy continued, "The field of archaeological magic primarily involves exploring magical knowledge lost to history and hidden from the world."
"From sealed ancient ruins to forgotten magical knowledge, or even ancient magical devices concealed in seemingly ordinary deserts, ancient creature fossils, and ancient plant specimens—all these fall within the scope of our archaeological studies."
McCarthy said enthusiastically, "I once explored the Black Wizard lands—no, I mean, during my travels outside—and even discovered the magical tomb of an ancient First Circle Wizard in a remote, desolate corner of the Southeast Corner Domain."
"It was a legendary tale. We archaeologists must outwit the ancient wisdom, battling wits with the past, and then excavate it from the tombs, breathing new life into this knowledge for our era!"
Locke raised an eyebrow, his expression turning peculiar. Discovering a magical tomb?
Well, well—this archaeologist was essentially a tomb raider in the magical world.
Locke spoke up, "I'll pay you a thousand Magic Stones."
Truth be told, the fee for this archaeologist's crash course was indeed steep.
A single course costing a thousand Magic Stones was equivalent to the total fees for eight Second-Class Wizard Apprentice courses or two First-Class Wizard Apprentice courses.
McCarthy waved his hand dismissively. "Let's not talk about money. That's just how I am—if I take a liking to someone, I won't charge a single coin. If I don't, no amount of money would make me accept it."
"You're an old friend of mine. In White Wizard society, I rarely encounter Wizards researching Ancient Creature Bloodlines, so I won't charge you. If you're interested, you can attend the accelerated learning class I offer."
McCarthy added, "If you insist on repaying me in some way, then share your research findings with me for discussion."
"In White Wizard society, research materials on this subject are scarce, and my progress has stalled. Over time, my expertise might even regress."
"I need a friend of similar caliber to discuss and compete with—though finding such a kindred spirit in White Wizard society is exceedingly rare."
Locke hesitated but eventually nodded.
McCarthy clearly possessed a unique temperament, distinct from both ordinary Black Wizards and White Wizards.
A typical White Wizard would never work for free.
Locke said, "Alright then."
McCarthy grinned. "I'm delighted—another potential colleague has joined the ranks in this Chimera Market."
He handed Locke a Magic Book shaped like a tombstone. "This is the primer for aspiring archaeologists. In Black Wizard society, it's called the Tombstone Grimoire."
"I'm lending it to you. Take it back and study it, but remember to return it in a month. And don't show it to anyone else. The Tombstone Grimoire is imbued with a special Dark Magic—it can only be opened by one person. If a second person besides you tries to open it, they'll be cursed by the hidden hex magic within."
"Similarly, you won't be able to copy any text from the Tombstone Grimoire," McCarthy explained. "The first step in archaeology is mastering the language of negative energy—Moduo Language."
Seeing Locke's puzzled expression, McCarthy raised a finger, gathering Negative Energy Particles around it. "Why are Negative Energy Particles the easiest among all magical particles to retain information? Because they're the most accommodating of all magical particles."
"And the most susceptible to external influences."
"You must be curious about what Negative Energy Particles are, and in White Wizard society, regular courses hardly ever explain this concept clearly."
McCarthy said confidently: "The foundation of Negative Energy Particles lies in Dark Element Particles, one of the seven primal particles. This world has seven fundamental particles - wind, water, fire, earth, along with light and dark, followed by aether. These seven particles combine with each other, or a single particle forms different composite larger particles, giving rise to various other particles."
"Negative Energy Particles don't refer to a single particle, but rather a category of particles. There are numerous types within this category, with 210 being the most common varieties."
"The Tombstone Grimoire contains a periodic table of these 210 Negative Energy Particles. Dark Energy Particles are the most susceptible to external pressures, temperature, and magical energies. Therefore, every type of energy acting upon them causes corresponding changes in Dark Energy Particles."
"So-called archaeology is actually a magical discipline developed around this very characteristic of Dark Element Particles, using it as its core principle."
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