Chapter 46 Uncle John (Please Recommend, Please Bookmark)

Evil contamination!
This is an infectious, corrupting force of evil, far more sinister than the effects of mere negative energy. To put it simply, it's the fantasy version of radiation!
When ordinary people are contaminated, they develop ailments like cataracts, joint pain, or pulmonary perforations. In more severe cases, their internal organs may fail or rot away.
Even professionals, whose bodies have been tempered and strengthened with greater immunity, cannot escape unscathed. Prolonged exposure to evil radiation, or direct contact, will erode their very souls, causing changes in personality—transforming them into murderers or driving them insane.
Such radiation is common, pervading the entire world within the aura of magic. Most radiation is harmless, some even beneficial.
For example, spellcasters conducting magical experiments often gather high concentrations of magical elements, producing potent elemental radiation.
Of course, this is just another form of magical taint. Spellcasters who use the same type of magic for extended periods are increasingly corrupted by these magical elements. This is why, as spellcasters grow more adept with their favored spells, they can eventually cast them silently or even instantaneously!
Thus arose the eight great arcane schools in the later Nether era: Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy, and Transmutation—each with its own sub-disciplines.
Dungeons & Dragons, as the earliest forerunner of fantasy, established this framework, which has been followed by countless works of fantasy fiction and film.
The most classic examples are the elemental schools—fire, water, ice, lightning, and so on. In reality, these are simply applications of magical elements in spellcasting, all falling under Evocation!
Necromantic magic, however, is the most infamous. In Netheril, necromancers and death priests are even legal professions.
Many of Yeg's clergy—priests, monks, and other religious officials—are masters of necromancy.
With the emergence of such evil, negative energy pollution, Bourn immediately suspected Yeg was behind it, but quickly dismissed the thought.
Though Yeg often sows discord and slaughter, he has always supported Netheril. It was largely thanks to him that Netheril grew from a few small fishing villages to its current prominence in just two or three centuries.
Moreover, he operates openly, desiring his reputation to spread so that people will worship him and offer their faith, to the point that he was once the state religion of Netheril.
(Nowadays, the god most worshipped is Amanata, also known as the Shining Lord, Lord of Eternal Radiance, and Guardian of Law!)
To secretly spread evil contamination that corrupts even souls would do him no good; Yeg is the 'God of Death,' and souls are his domain. Large-scale soul corruption and annihilation would only diminish his wealth.
If this were a novel, Bourn would now investigate thoroughly, uncover the source of the contamination, battle the mastermind behind the scenes through hundreds of rounds, and finally, in a desperate reversal, slay the villain to eliminate the radiation pollution and become a hero.
But Bourn had no such intention. He gathered the staff of the Trading Company only to confirm a few suspicions.
With contamination on such a scale, Bourn refused to believe the high authorities of Netheril were unaware. Although the legendary Dean Bourn Concenio is hailed as the strongest in Netheril, any noble house with a bit of history knows this is merely propaganda.
The temples of Yeg, Amanata, and Ganas—all powerful divine churches—stand in Seven-ton.
The grandest and oldest is the Temple of Yeg, whose high priest is a formidable ancient mummy. Only Yeg’s priests have seen it; no one else has.
Bourn knows this mummy is a demigod.
Every temple’s highest priest is a Chosen of the Gods; only the ignorant masses believe they are merely high-ranking clergy.
Bourn immediately ordered all shops closed. The store managers of the Lehman Trading Company were all veteran employees trained by him personally, and knew he was the true owner. Although some voiced objections, they were soon persuaded by the old hands.
Bourn looked on with satisfaction. Clearly, his early training had paid off—what he needed was precisely this kind of initiative in following leadership during critical moments, ensuring the efficiency he demanded in daily operations!
With a snap of his fingers, arcane light swept across everyone present.
“So this is another way to use Detection magic?”
Lehman watched with curiosity but did not resist as the detection field swept over him.
Data soon projected itself onto Bourn’s retina, revealing the basic status of all present: minor problems like tinnitus, swollen gums, bone hardening, joint pain.
Bourn breathed a quiet sigh of relief, grateful he had caught it early.
Lehman approached, his expression bitter. A sudden work stoppage would mean huge losses, not to mention hefty penalties for breach of contract—it was enough to make his heart bleed just thinking about it…
“Boss, what do we do next?”
With a casual gesture, Bourn rippled the space before him. A portal opened in the void, and a box dropped out.
“Spatial magic?”
Lehman’s eyes widened in astonishment.
Bourn smiled faintly, “It’s not perfected yet—just a simple application of spatial folding. It can hold something about the size of a box, but no longer than three hours.”
Heh…
Though Lehman secretly scoffed at Bourn’s tendency to show off, his eyes shone. With his uncanny ear for the sound of coins, he knew the moment the box hit the ground that it was filled with gold.
“Forty-five thousand, three hundred seventy-six. No more than ten off!” Lehman declared with certainty.
Bourn was dumbfounded on the spot—a host of mythical beasts roaring through his mind.
The total was forty-five thousand, three hundred seventy-nine gold coins—Lehman was off by only three. If not for Bourn’s own chip record, even he wouldn’t have known the exact number.
This guy…
Bourn was speechless.
“Find a site as close as possible to the Mage Tower at the academy and settle our people there. If they have families, bring them along—food and lodging covered.”
Lehman’s face fell; the thought of covering food and lodging for all nearly brought him to tears.
Bourn patted his shoulder. “Brother, look to the future! Once we’re through this, these people will all be grateful to us.”
“What good is their gratitude? Can I eat it…” Lehman grumbled under his breath.
Bourn didn’t explain further. “Go to the temple and buy a few barrels of holy water. Everyone must drink a bowl of it every day!”
“What? Barrels?”
Lehman nearly exploded. “That stuff is outrageously expensive—a single bowl costs two or three gold coins! Barrels, every day? Why not just fly to the heavens?”
Bourn looked at him with the affectionate patience one reserves for the simple-minded, making Lehman squirm with embarrassment. “Come here, lend me your ear.”
Lehman leaned in, and Bourn whispered a few words. Lehman’s eyes widened, his jaw dropping as he stared at Bourn.
“Understood?” Bourn asked.
Lehman nodded mechanically.

…
The mass gathering of all Lehman Trading Company staff could hardly escape notice; spies crowded outside the company’s headquarters.
Smaller trading companies speculated about what Lehman’s was up to this time.
Last time such a thing happened, several small companies suffered disaster and went bankrupt—many were left traumatized!
Bourn, meanwhile, used Invisibility to avoid unnecessary attention and arrived at his grandfather’s estate.
Invisible, the servants could not see him, and he proceeded unimpeded to the basement storeroom.
“Why do I feel like a thief?”
Bourn shook his head, dismissing the thought.
“How can it be theft when I’m taking my own family’s things?”
He was intimately familiar with all the magical traps and wards along the way. Soon he reached an iron door, pressing his hand to its surface.
A string of arcane syllables flowed from his lips.
With a muted mechanical click, the iron door slid open from the center.
Inside, piles of dazzling gems and gold filled the floor.
Bourn approached a heap of clear, semi-transparent gemstones—water opals, commonly used in crafting magical detection devices.
(The “crystal balls” used by witches in movies are made of these.)
He also took several star-sapphire gems, often used in crafting protective jewelry.
The gems Lehman struggled to acquire were here in heaps, as though they were mere refuse.
As Bourn emerged from the underground vault, the chip in his mind suddenly sounded an alert.
He quickly drew his sword and raised it in defense.
Clang!
“Hmm? …‘Qi’? Young Master Bourn?”
Though Bourn managed to block in time, the force of the blow still drove him back several steps!
“Uncle John, long time no see, but your way of greeting really is something else!”
Bourn said with a wry smile.
…
(P.S.: Thank you all for your support. Now I finally understand why so few people write about D&D—it takes ages just to gather the references, and the timeline has to be precise. Please, if you appreciate the author’s hard work, give a recommendation. Many thanks!)