The Black Wizard in the Woods

When Leita was eight, an evil black wizard found him in the forest and took him home. He clung to the wizard’s little finger and wept softly in front of a bubbling pot. “I’m not tasty…” The black wizard served him a bowl of sweet, fragrant mushroom soup. By the time Leita was ten, he and the little animals of the forest had become the best of friends in the whole world. He came back to the cabin with a rabbit on his head, a squirrel in his arms, and a little bird on his shoulder. The black wizard had dinner waiting at the table. “Starting today, you can move on to the next stage of your training. You don’t need these weak little undead anymore.” Clutching the black wizard’s robe, Leita cried all night and refused to eat no matter how he was coaxed. The next day, the black wizard gave him a little crow and said it could keep him company for a long time. At fourteen, Leita learned that he and the black wizard were both necromancers who commanded the dead, and that the entire Black Forest Graveyard was a forbidden land sealed to imprison the black wizard. The uncles, aunties, big brothers, and big sisters in the forest who had watched him grow up were all undead commanded by the black wizard, each a major boss with three forms they could advance through. In a fit of pique, he ran away from home. A month later, he missed home and came back. The first thing he did was dig into two huge buckets of food. The black wizard didn’t scold him. He simply ladled out soup in silence, then put the stuffed little boy on his lap and spanked him. When Leita was eighteen, the black wizard drove him out of the forest. The legendary wizard, once renowned across the continent, still looked the same, but his pale face seemed even more lifeless than before. “There’s nothing left for me to teach you. It’s time for you to leave.” With red-rimmed eyes, Leita quietly nodded. That night, he secretly brought his fragrant, naked self to the man’s bed. He thought, I must be very tasty now. . A young black wizard, finally capable of standing on his own, walked out of the Black Forest where he had been raised, with an ominous black crow perched on his shoulder. The genius necromancer gathered (dead) underlings along the way: a prince from a kingdom that fell a thousand years ago, an elf driven out after being corrupted, a hero who slayed a dragon only to be framed and killed… Before long, a powerful, elite team had gathered around the necromancer. Every member had a special skill and a tragic past, though it seemed that everyone except the necromancer was dead. “One day, I’ll go back. When I’ve grown powerful enough, I’ll free Yarses from his seal, then lock him up by my side so he can’t go anywhere…” “But is it just me, or is Crow’s personality becoming more and more like Yarses’s?” “Little Crow”: . | Reader’s Guide | 1. Bottom protagonist. Mentor top × apprentice bottom, with a strong mutual attraction. 2. Older top raising younger bottom. Their age gap is over two hundred years, and the raising-him arc lasts a long time. 3. This will be a long story. A young wizard gradually grows into a legendary great wizard known to all, while uncovering a certain person’s past one step at a time. 4. Please note: This is a one-on-one romance with no designated side couples, but some supporting characters have background same-sex love and hate, as well as various twisted love triangles and other entanglements. 5. Comments that try to break up the main pairing, reverse their roles, self-insert, or feminize the male characters will be deleted. Let’s keep the reading environment harmonious. Sending love. 6. The story is divided into three volumes: 【I: The Black Forest Graveyard】 【II: The Academy on the Dragon’s Back】 【III: The Traveler and the Crow】 Theme: Home is the end of every journey.