Leilin had read about the underground world in an ancient text before.
In the legends, the wizard world of ancient times held that the surface was only a small fraction of the whole. Before the ancient wizards turned their gaze to other worlds, their target had always been the underground!
The ancient wizards wielded such immense power that even the sun and moon paled before them. Vast numbers of underground natives were conquered, and the wizards developed layer after layer of the underground world, obtaining boundless resources and wealth!
The underground worlds recorded as having been developed by the ancient wizards totaled seven layers!
It was said that the deeper the layer, the stronger the underground races that appeared, until at the very bottom there stood a terrifying existence like the Earth Mother!
But none of these could halt the ancient wizards' advance. In the end, the entire underground submitted to their feet, becoming part of the ancient wizards' glory!
After that, still unsatisfied, the ancient wizards turned their gaze to other worlds. One plane after another, world after world, submitted before them—until they encountered that extraordinarily powerful other world!
After the great battle known as the Final War, although it was rumored the other world gained nothing either, the wizard world declined. Even the passages connecting to the underground were all destroyed in the cataclysm, and from then on the underground world became legend.
At least, across the entire South Coast, Leilin had never encountered any underground races or heard of similar passages.
"Based on the information I gathered earlier and what I've seen, this should be the underground world—I just don't know which layer. But judging by the danger level of the creatures, it shouldn't be below the third layer. Otherwise, I'd have run into plenty of dangerous high-energy creatures by now. The first or second layer is most likely…"
Leilin turned the thought over in his mind.
Though somewhat worried this might be a death wasteland, he pressed on regardless. The gray-skinned pig that had appeared earlier gave him considerable confidence.
Along the way, Leilin also kept records of the surrounding environment.
The ancient magical formation—what Leilin had named the Boulder Hills—had the weakest life signs. Besides moss and a few insects, there was almost nothing to be seen.
As Leilin kept traveling, the life signs gradually increased. Bat-like birds began to appear.
By this point, gray-skinned pigs could be spotted from time to time, and the further outward he went, the more frequent they became.
Therefore, Leilin was quite certain he had left the lifeless forbidden zone and entered the outside world.
"Beep! Energy fluctuation detected! Estimated as residual from a Zero-level Spell cast! Direction: east, fifteen degrees; distance: three thousand two hundred and thirteen meters!"
At that moment, the Chip suddenly issued an alert.
"Oh?" Leilin's spirits lifted. "Finally—signs of energy-based creatures!"
He packed up quickly and headed toward the source of the fluctuation.
Although his body still bore serious injuries and his sea of consciousness could only wield power on the level of a First-level
What appeared in Leilin's view was a standoff: three men and two women facing off against a high-energy creature.
The five underground humans displayed a textbook squad configuration. Two young men in leather armor charged at the front as living shields, wielding massive iron swords with at least Great Knight-level strength.
The other three wore gray robes—somewhat reminiscent of Wizard Apprentice uniforms on the South Coast, though the style was far older, carrying an ancient aesthetic.
"Humans! And Wizard Apprentices!" Leilin was elated.
Opposing them was a massive creature resembling a gray-skinned pig, but a full dozen times larger. Three pairs of crescent-shaped tusks jutted from beneath its snout. Its body was covered in stiff bristles, caked with pine resin and dirt that had hardened into thick, armor-like slabs—like a war chariot sheathed in iron. The Zero-level Spells the apprentices had cast left nothing more than scorched marks on its hide, failing to breach even the outermost layer of its defenses.
"Huff huff…" Twin plumes of thick white steam billowed from the boar's nostrils. It pawed the ground with its hind legs, then launched forward in a sudden charge, its entire body hurtling toward the two Great Knights like a derailed locomotive.
"Aagh!"
The ground shook. One of the Great Knights slipped, and the giant boar slammed into him with devastating force, its tusks ripping a gaping wound in his side. Blood gushed out like a spring.
The other Great Knight, witnessing this, let out a sharp cry and immediately retreated at full speed—all three Wizard Apprentices left exposed.
Freed from the Great Knights' interference, the giant boar swiveled its razor-sharp tusks toward the three apprentices, bloodlust burning in its eyes.
The two female apprentices stumbled backward in terror. Thud! Thud! Their feet caught on something, and both tumbled to the ground, their faces contorted with despair.
The lone male apprentice showed relative courage and chivalry, throwing himself in front of the two women with a resolute expression. He was still shouting something when he raised his hand and launched a small fireball that struck the giant boar's snout dead-on.
"Pfft pfft!!!" The boar's nose charred black, but it did not slow its charge in the slightest. Quite the opposite—seemingly enraged by the male apprentice's attack, the giant boar accelerated even further.
The male apprentice managed a helpless, bitter smile. He then turned and murmured something to the two female apprentices behind him, wearing the expression of someone prepared to die.
Whoosh, whoosh! As the giant boar closed in, the three apprentices could make out even the bloodshot veins in its eyes and the coarse pores beneath its fur.
Most unforgettable of all, however, was the cold gleam dancing along its three pairs of curved, snow-white tusks!
"Shadow Bind!"
Right at that moment, Leilin struck. Several shadow tentacles surged out from beneath the giant boar's body, coalescing into massive spectral hands that seized its front legs and wrenched them apart!
BOOM!!! As if a magnitude-nine earthquake had erupted on the spot, the giant boar—still mid-charge—crashed into the ground with an earsplitting roar. The faint sound of cracking bone resonated from within its body.
Then the three apprentices saw a young man in leather armor step out from behind the fallen boar.
Black shadow ropes bound the giant boar in a tight web, without a single gap or seam.
"Are you all right?" A gentle smile appeared on Leilin's face.
The three apprentices stared at him, visibly stunned. Then one of them spoke: "gnkmfsk…"
Leilin's smile froze, and he sighed. "As I expected—not the common continental tongue."
He had been speaking the common Wizard language used across the entire South Coast, but what came out of these three apprentices' mouths belonged to no language Leilin recognized.
"It sounds vaguely similar to the ending syllables of the Media language, but the vowel shifts in the middle carry traits of the Highland tongue…"
Leilin was entirely unsurprised by the linguistic difference. After all, the underground world had been severed from the surface since ancient times. It would have been strange indeed if they shared the same language.
"Hello! I'm a wanderer. Could you tell me where this place is?"
Leilin switched to another language—Ancient Byron Language.
The Ancient Byron Language carried a wondrous power, embodying the might of natural law. It could stir the energy particles suspended in the air, forming the foundation of magic itself.
Therefore, the Ancient Byron Language was a required subject for all Wizards!
And whether on the surface or underground, the Ancient Byron Language had been passed down directly from the ancient wizards, without the slightest variation.
Sure enough, upon hearing Leilin's question in Ancient Byron Language, the three apprentices immediately responded. In the end, it was the male apprentice who spoke first: "Respected sir! Greetings! This is the Wuti Wasteland in the Dark Extreme Eastern Region…"
He bowed respectfully. Although Leilin's appearance was somewhat suspicious and the language he had initially spoken was vastly different from their own, the fact that Leilin had so effortlessly subdued this Six-Tusked Giant Boar that had nearly wiped out their entire group meant his strength was far beyond theirs.
This was a lawless wilderness where the strong devoured the weak! If Leilin took a dislike to them, killing them here would draw no attention whatsoever. Therefore, the male apprentice's attitude was exceedingly deferential.
"Dark Extreme Eastern Region?" Leilin frowned. The Chip instantly searched through its stored database but found nothing related to the term.
"You might need this!" Leilin pointed at the Great Knight who had been sent flying earlier and tossed him a vial of blood-staunching potion.
"Thank you!" The two fallen female apprentices had gotten back to their feet. One immediately took the potion and applied it to the wounded Great Knight, while the other hesitated for a moment before giving Leilin a slight bow.
"Hiss hiss!"
At that moment, a massive serpent composed entirely of black mist slithered over. From its gaping maw it spat out a Great Knight in full armor, unconscious.
"This one is also your companion, I take it? I pulled him back as well."
Leilin gestured casually at the Great Knight. The three apprentices stumbled back several steps at the sudden appearance of the giant black snake.
"What a coward," Leilin heard the earlier female apprentice mutter under her breath. He simply smiled faintly.
Then he asked: "By the way—do you know where the nearest town and Wizard market are?"
The three Wizard Apprentices exchanged glances. Once again it was the male apprentice who, seeing that Leilin seemed approachable enough, mustered his courage and stepped forward: "Th-the nearest town to us is Bert Town to the west, about a day and a half's journey from here. As for a Wizard market… a gathering point for formal wizards could only be found in the capital of the Dark Extreme Eastern Region…"