Among the five in Leilin's group, setting Leilin himself aside, purely in terms of raw numbers, Bosain was absolutely the strongest.
According to the data detected by the Chip, Bosain's Spiritual Power had reached a full 15 — already meeting the standard for advancement to a full
But for some unknown reason, seemingly the same as Leilin, Bosain had also concealed himself. He used a secret technique to mask the tremendous Spiritual Power fluctuations and the abnormalities in his eyes, letting no one detect a thing.
Moreover, as a Third-rank Apprentice hailing from a great family, the energy fluctuations radiating from the Magical Items Bosain carried were the strongest among all the apprentices — second only to the
Besides, the Lilitel Family was one of the Academy's three great families. If anyone believed that Bosain, a junior member out traveling the world, didn't carry secret techniques passed down through the family along with other trump cards, Leilin would be the first to call nonsense.
As for the remaining three — Jiamen, Shaya, and Ross — they were all Third-rank Apprentices who had only recently advanced. Jiamen and Shaya both carried Magical Items, so they were certainly a cut above Ross. But Ross had carried himself with neither servility nor arrogance the entire way, clearly possessing confidence of his own!
"If we don't resort to trump cards, my odds against Bosain are roughly fifty-fifty. Shaya and Jiamen are slightly below us, and Ross is at the bottom — but he shouldn't be underestimated either!"
Leilin's gaze flickered as he rapidly calculated what responses he could mount, and what consequences they would bring, should a rift emerge within the group.
There was no helping it. Whether in the novels of his previous life or the tales of adventure in this one, it was practically inevitable that various bands of adventurers would turn on each other after discovering treasure. This was simply a fact of life.
And Leilin knew himself well enough — if what Jiamen and the others had found really was the ruins of the Grand Crimson Wizard, he would absolutely refuse to share whatever lay inside with the other four.
When that time came, he might well be the first to strike.
……
Moonstring Town was a small settlement nestled at the foot of one of the peaks in the Moonstring Mountains.
On this day, five dusty, road-worn Knights appeared on the wind-swept, sand-blown highway.
"All right. We'll enter the mountains through a passage near Moonstring Town. Before that, we can rest up at an inn in the town!"
Jiamen reined in his mount. After dismounting, he pulled out a map with tattered edges and studied it.
He looked like a completely different person now, still using the mundane disguise technique — which had impressed Leilin quite a bit.
"We're already within the border zone. It wouldn't be strange to run into people from the Gothic Sage's Cottage here, so we need to be careful…"
"Got it!" Bosain tugged at his collar, an impatient expression on his face.
The five of them led their horses to the front of an inn called "The Weeping Unavenged."
Pushing open the door was like stepping into another world. Shouting, clamor, and the mingled stench of sweat and alcohol washed over them in a wave.
Jiamen furrowed his brow but still approached the front desk and tossed down a gold coin.
"Give us five quiet rooms—"
"Sorry, we've only got three private rooms left!" The innkeeper, who reeked of rum and looked thoroughly lazy, cut Jiamen off before he could finish.
"Fine! Three private rooms then, we'll take them all. And bring us the best food you've got!"
In a small town like this, having an inn at all was a blessing. Jiamen didn't bother pressing the matter.
But as he paid, he grumbled, "Isn't this supposed to be a godforsaken place where almost no one ever comes? How are three rooms all that's left?"
"Hic!" The innkeeper let out a belch. "Who knows? The Moonstring Mountains are full of poisonous gas and swamps. Plenty of strong young men from the town have gone in and never come back. The most I usually get is someone stopping by for a drink. But by the gold above — today I've already seen two groups of generous customers!"
"Two groups?" Leilin stepped forward. "You mean before us, someone else has already arrived?"
"That's right. And they even hired guides from me! By the gold above — who in their right mind would want to go deep into the Moonstring Mountains and get themselves killed?"
Hearing this, Leilin exchanged a glance with Jiamen and the others. A bad feeling settled over all of them.
"All right! I'll have Pinky take you to your rooms!" The innkeeper pulled three grease-stained keys from his belt and bellowed, "Pinky! Pinky! Don't make me wait another second, or I'll skin you alive—"
Bang!!! Before long, a gnome wearing a pointed grey hat came scurrying up to the innkeeper.
"Respected master, Pinky is at your service…"
The gnome called Pinky was only half Leilin's height, dressed in gaudy, multicolored clothes — a rather comical sight.
"Take our distinguished guests up to their rooms. You know which ones!"
The innkeeper casually cuffed the gnome and tossed the keys over.
"Esteemed guests! Please follow Pinky! Watch your step!"
Pinky tipped his cap and led the way.
Leilin and the others followed behind.
Shaya removed her cloak, revealing a beautiful face and a lovely figure. This immediately drew a chorus of whistles from a crowd of drunkards on the ground floor.
Far from being put off, Shaya actually blew them a flirtatious glance, which set off a fresh wave of commotion.
Watching the restless animals below, Leilin sneered inwardly. Shaya's expression actually meant she had already been pushed to the edge of her patience.
If these drunkards were foolish enough to provoke her further, they would die in ways too horrible to imagine!
"Leilin, you and Ross will take this room. I'll take the middle one with Bosain, and the last one goes to Shaya. Any objections?"
As the organizer of this expedition, Jiamen quickly arranged the accommodations.
Both Leilin and Ross felt a quiet sense of relief that Jiamen had assigned the difficult-to-manage Bosain to himself, so naturally neither objected.
Shaya said nothing either.
"One more thing — come to my room later. I'm concerned about that group the innkeeper mentioned." Jiamen's brow creased.
"We're all staying in the same inn. I'm sure we'll have a chance to meet them," Leilin said mildly, his meaning clear.
According to the gnome Pinky, the group that had arrived before Leilin's party was currently out of the inn, apparently purchasing supplies. They were also apparently spending money to recruit guides.
Dinner was served in the ground-floor hall. The main course was mashed potatoes with some wild herbs for flavor.
But for Leilin and his companions, this fare was barely fit for pigs. None of them had any appetite, but out of curiosity about the earlier arrivals, they stayed in the hall, sipping their drinks and waiting.
Bang!!!
Just as Leilin was sipping his wheat ale and estimating that Shaya's tolerance for the harassment of the numerous drunkards had nearly reached its limit, the inn's front door was suddenly thrown open.
Whoosh!!! A blast of cold wind carrying fresh air surged into the inn, sweeping away some of the sweltering atmosphere.
The moment Leilin saw the newcomers, his body tensed.
Five figures in grey cloaks strode in. Judging by the energy fluctuations radiating from them, every single one was a Second-rank or Third-rank Wizard Apprentice!
As they entered, they clearly spotted Leilin's group as well.
Their gazes met across the open space — sparks seemed to fly, or perhaps nothing happened at all. The five cloaked figures showed no sign of slowing and headed straight for the second floor.
"Well? Are they apprentices from the Gothic Sage's Cottage?" Shaya asked in a low voice, worry etched on her face.
"I don't know, but they're clearly not here as tourists," Jiamen said darkly.
"I was thinking — if we hadn't stayed at this inn in the first place, we could have avoided them, couldn't we?" Ross rubbed the back of his head.
"Avoid them?" A hint of contempt curled the corner of Bosain's mouth. "That's the thinking of the weak. Members of the Lilitel Family never flee!"
Under the pressure of Bosain's gaze, Ross clenched his fists as though he had been insulted, but he still did not strike.
"Besides, Moonstring Town is tiny, and this is the only inn. The moment we stepped into town, we were already exposed. Any hasty move would only make them more wary."
"The real question is — what exactly are they here for?" Leilin posed.
"Could it be that they've also discovered clues to the ruins?"
Jiamen's expression changed. "I found ancient encoded script in a book I purchased, and I spent enormous effort to trace the clues to this point…"
"If that's the case, then it's entirely possible they've discovered something too. They might even have an instructor accompanying them…" Shaya's face grew even more grim. "Otherwise, why don't we just call off this expedition?"
"No!" Jiamen was the first to refuse. He had invested more in this expedition than anyone, so he was naturally the most unwilling to see it abandoned.
"Think about it — who wants to go through all the trouble of exploring, only to have an instructor take the lion's share of the spoils?" Leilin chimed in from the side.
"However, now that they've discovered us, the situation may change."
"We take them out. How about that? I counted — only three Third-rank and two Second-rank." A trace of ruthlessness crossed Jiamen's face.
"It's worth trying, but it has to be inside the Moonstring Mountains, and we need to destroy the evidence as thoroughly as possible. I don't want to give them any excuse to start a fight," Bosain added.
"They might not even be from the Gothic Sage's Cottage. They could be wandering Wizards…"
Ross kept talking, but his voice trailed off as he went on.
Five apprentices, three of whom were Third-rank — that kind of lineup was far beyond what any wandering Wizard had the time or energy to train and produce on their own.
Only the
"All right! No matter where they come from — even if there's only a one percent chance they're here for the ruins — once we enter the Moonstring Mountains, they're our enemies!"
A flash of killing intent crossed Jiamen's face.
As apprentices, they were unwilling to break the unspoken rules of the Wizard world by making a move right in the town. And the other group almost certainly harbored the same thought.