The Sorcerer Supreme had always been selfless toward Salomon, and although she treated other apprentices similarly, she didn't mind showing Salomon the darker parts of Kamar-Taj.
Much like the shadow beneath the sun, Kamar-Taj was not a particularly "righteous" organization.
"You see it now, the cost of magic," the Sorcerer Supreme said as she led Salomon into a courtyard where many Ascetics stood, dressed in red robes and covered in white ash. Their bodies bore unimaginable abscesses and deformities, yet this pain and itching did not alter the Ascetics' expressions. They remained serene, muttering incantations.
"They believe in magic, so they are willing to bear the cost of magic for Kamar-Taj, or more accurately, for me… But how will you pay your bill?"
"I think using spell components is a good idea, teacher." Salomon suppressed his nausea as he looked at the abscesses and wounds, trying to slow his breathing to avoid inhaling the stench of decaying flesh. He said, "You know the knowledge the Stigmata gave me is quite unique, but I believe I can still pay my bill, and I won't grow strange things on my body."
"During World War II, there was a Witch named Monar, who is still alive, and you might meet him later. For every young girl he saved from the Nazis, he would drown a rabbit on his way home." The Sorcerer Supreme closed her folding fan and tapped Salomon's head. "The cost of using magic isn't always physical deformity, but other things, like emotions, loved ones, or interests. No one knows what they'll have to pay for their bill; it can't be offset by spell components.
I have already paid my price, and you will pay yours in the future."
According to the Sorcerer Supreme, embarking on this path meant paying life's bill. Without Salomon knowing, he had already paid something to come to Kamar-Taj, perhaps Jezebel's life or something else, the Sorcerer Supreme wasn't sure.
As for the last ring, the Sorcerer Supreme urged Salomon to get it as soon as possible. She also provided a map and… a book?
"Many years later, near a sunken old grave, a new grave was dug. The two graves shared a single tombstone. Carved upon it was this inscription: A pitch-black land, a red A." The young Witch read this passage at the end of the book as he flipped through it.
The author of this book was the United States' greatest romantic novelist of the 19th century, Nathaniel Hawthorne. The "pitch-black" land familiar in this book, *The Scarlet Letter*, referred to Hawthorne's hometown, Salem.
This land was called New England by the Puritans. Passengers of the Arbella disembarked in Salem, initially settling in Salem Town, and only later gradually built the city of Boston. From then on, Salem Town welcomed a continuous stream of Puritans, including Hawthorne's ancestors.
This place also once saw a religious persecution case, the infamous Salem Witch Trials. The Puritans of that era possessed a fanaticism unimaginable to people today, and the chief judge of this trial was Nathaniel Hawthorne's ancestor, John Hawthorne.
But today, the local government of Salem has instead developed "Witch" into a selling point, vigorously promoting tourism, and even having a Witch cemetery. The entire town has a strong atmosphere of the occult; on Halloween, Witches and devils of all shapes and sizes gather.
Salem even has a Witch museum, a small one. Salomon sat in the center of the museum, and the surrounding walls lit up one by one, presenting scenes of the Witch trials of that year.
For ordinary people, the Salem Witch Trials were a somewhat tragic religious joke, but for Salomon, he smelled an indescribable scent, like the stench of anomalous magic… Perhaps there were some questionable points in the Salem Witch Trials back then. This magic lingered on this land, but it had grown increasingly faint with the passage of time.
Perhaps the two young Witches who triggered the trial were not ordinary people, but the innocent people subsequently implicated were enough to make one taste the nauseating fanaticism of those Puritans.
Salomon and young John's clothes did not attract attention.
As mentioned before, the occult atmosphere here is very strong. The descendants of the fanatical Puritans no longer adhere to their faith. Many tourists come here every day to seek Witches, and a few dressed like Witches are a normal sight, not worth making a fuss over.
"So where is the ring the Sorcerer Supreme mentioned?" Young John looked around, staring intently at everyone's rings, trying to find something unusual.
"Oh, it moves?"
"What moves?"
"The map, of course." Salomon pointed to the map he had spread open, on which a small red dot marked the location of the ring. He said, "We're going to say hello to the descendants of those Puritans."
"You mean those stubborn lunatics?" Young John clenched his fists. "Remember the Sorcerer Supreme's teaching, don't let magic be displayed in front of ordinary people… So fists are still more useful."
"John, you can't even use a Raggadorr Rings right now. If it weren't for the Sorcerer Supreme creating so many spells that use one's own magic, you wouldn't even be called a spellcaster." Salomon looked up, trying to match the location on the map with the real-world buildings. "Besides, others have guns, don't forget, this is the United States."
The Raggadorr Rings Salomon mentioned is one of Kamar-Taj's common spells, appearing as a magic shield on each hand, one orange-yellow and one red.
This is a difference in magic output; there isn't much difference in the spell structure. But it is also the first spell with a spell structure that Kamar-Taj Witches learn after acquiring magic.
"OK, OK, so what do we do now?" John's chubby cheeks were full of impatience, the excess flesh on his cheeks trembling occasionally.
"Use magic, my dear John." The young Witch said, "Wait for our target to appear. Do you have money?"
The reason the Sorcerer Supreme had John accompany Salomon was not only because John had not yet signed with the Vishanti, but also because John was one of the few less rigid apprentices in Kamar-Taj.
Other Witches often shouted and screamed when they encountered wild Witches, yet their strength did not match their arrogance. Years of guardianship had bred much arrogance in them, making it difficult for them to look down on ordinary people, and in fact, those tricky targets were almost all handled by the Sorcerer Supreme herself, leaving some low-level minions for the other Witches of Kamar-Taj.
Simply put, the Sorcerer Supreme is a legendary Witch, and apart from a small number of Kamar-Taj's mainstays, other Witches may not have exceeded level ten. Caught off guard, a single bullet could easily end the life of any Witch in Kamar-Taj except the Sorcerer Supreme.
The Sorcerer Supreme also noticed this problem; human development in the last hundred years has been far greater than in the past few millennia.
If Kamar-Taj cannot face the power of ordinary people, it is very likely to suffer a great loss in the future. And John is one of the talents the Sorcerer Supreme is focusing on cultivating; broadening his horizons is precisely what he and Salomon need to do.