On the wide main road, a horse-drawn carriage sped along. In the driver's seat sat two burly men clad in iron armor and carrying long swords—clearly not the sort to be trifled with. The surrounding farmers gave them a wide berth.
Inside the carriage, the air was thick with the mingled scent of wood and paint, not particularly pleasant.
Leilin checked his health status.
……
"Thank goodness I'm a
Leilin mentally commanded: "Chip, display my data!"
"Leilin Farell, Second-rank Apprentice, official Knight. Strength: 2.7. Agility: 2.8. Constitution: 3.0. Spiritual Power: 4.6. Mana: 4.0. Status: Healthy."
"Four or five months have passed. I've been meditating diligently every day, and it's only increased by 0.2…" Leilin's expression darkened. "I must reach a place of safety as soon as possible and concoct the ancient potion. Otherwise, I have no idea when I'll meet the advancement requirements!"
Advancement to Third-rank Apprentice was the threshold all Wizard Apprentices faced. Even for someone like Jiamen, with his fifth-tier aptitude, it often required several years of tempering.
Among the advancement conditions simulated by the Chip, mastering spells and the Vitality Potion were minor matters. The real hurdle was the Spiritual Power threshold of 7. This barrier had stumped countless talented apprentices. Even official Wizards had no particularly swift methods for increasing Spiritual Power; they could only grind it slowly through meditation methods, or resort to external aids like potions. Unfortunately, these were far beyond what an apprentice could afford.
Leilin, too, was currently stuck at this Spiritual Power threshold.
"Chip! What's the analysis progress on the two potions? And the Luoyan Scripture—what's the decryption status?"
*Ding!* "
"The Azure Potion was analyzed long ago, but since all the primary ingredients are extinct, I need constant experimentation to find substitutes. As for Maria's Tears, it's been stuck at 78% for three months. I didn't expect it to still be like this now. Could I have missed some key steps?"
Leilin frowned. The Chip's computational power was formidable, yet the analysis progress for this ancient potion, Maria's Tears, remained stubbornly frozen at 78%, which surprised him.
"The formula Mentor Guofate gave me should be correct. The reason the Chip is taking so long is probably because it involves some difficult problem, a parameter not even in the Chip's database… Maria's Tears! Tears!" Leilin speculated.
"Could it be… that this ancient potion's formula is somehow connected to the soul?"
After all, just hearing the potion's name easily conjured unpleasant associations.
As for the decryption of the Luoyan Scripture, that was progressing rather well. Although the creator had used an extremely intricate code to encrypt the text, that was exactly the kind of complex computational task the Chip was built for.
Through his interpretation of the previously decrypted text, Leilin Farell already had a general idea of the contents of this document.
"Too bad — it's a great find! But I won't be able to access it until I become a Third-rank Apprentice!"
Leilin Farell shook his head, banishing the stray thoughts from his mind.
Suddenly, the moving carriage came to a halt.
Leilin Farell furrowed his brow and asked, "What happened?"
"Fear not, Young Master — just a group of road-blocking bandits! Fuleisa has already gone to deal with them!" Gelin's voice came through the wooden panels.
Clang!!! Bang!!!
Sure enough, after just a moment — it seemed negotiations had failed — the sounds of weapons clashing, along with human curses and screams, rang out continuously. Then, with Fuleisa's quiet "Done," the carriage resumed its journey.
Leilin Farell was quite satisfied with this arrangement.
He had purchased two Knights and a maidservant precisely so he could hand off all the trivial matters of daily life to them, giving himself more time to study Wizardry and conduct experiments.
These road troubles were minor matters. Deep down, Leilin Farell already had a vague plan forming — one that would require many hands to carry out. These three would form his core team.
Leilin Farell issued a silent command: "Chip! Transfer the decoded Azure Potion formula into my memory partition!"
When it came to leisure and study, Leilin Farell always drew a clear line. At critical moments, he would never let idle pursuits distract him from his goals.
Leilin Farell had long since emerged from his meditation.
"Young Master! There's a city not far ahead!" Gelin's voice called from outside.
"Where have we arrived?"
"According to the map markings, we should have entered the East Forest Province. This is Roland City, right on the provincial border!"
The sound of rustling pages — someone rummaging through the map — came first, followed by Fuleisa's voice.
"Roland City, hmm?" Leilin Farell murmured, pulling up the map stored in the Chip.
On the surface of the pale blue map, a red line linked together numerous cities. Roland City lay to the west of Polar Night City, only a few days' journey away.
"After nearly half a year on the road, we're finally about to arrive?" Leilin Farell murmured, a hint of emotion in his voice.
He had chosen this location for two reasons. First, it was far from Black Bone Forest and unlikely to be affected by the war. Second, he wanted to be far from the Academy so he could conduct certain experiments that were not meant for public eyes.
After all, with the Chip on hand, many of his experimental procedures were far too unconventional. If he remained at the Academy, there was always a chance that someone would discover him through residual traces or discarded waste.
But once he had left, Leilin immediately felt a weight lift from his shoulders — like a canary that had been caged for too long finally taking flight into the open sky.
Leilin pushed open the carriage door, and a gust of cold wind rushed in.
"The feeling of freedom!" Leilin gazed at the somewhat desolate city not far ahead and the sparse farmers working nearby, a smile spreading across his lips.
"First, let's find a place to stay. We set out first thing tomorrow morning!"
Leilin issued the command. Out in the wilderness, they naturally slept in the carriage or a tent, but now that they had reached a human settlement, he was not about to subject himself to discomfort.
The black carriage passed through the city gates under the awed gazes of the guards.
To the people of East Forest Province, a carriage, bodyguards, and a beautiful maidservant — all of it pointed to Leilin being some young nobleman out on a leisurely tour.
In truth, Leilin was indeed a noble heir, though his domain was not on this continent.
Whether the title from the Keli Archipelago held any sway here was something Leilin had never bothered to consider, but a noble identity could certainly spare him no small amount of trouble.
After finding an inn and settling in, Leilin called over a waiter.
"Do you know of any place around here where one could hire staff?" Leilin asked, idly toying with a gold coin in his hand.
The waiter's gaze flicked to
"My lord! If you are in need of manpower, the mercenary market next to the city lord's manor is your best option. There, you can hire strong warriors, skilled stewards who know their figures, as well as all manner of maidservants and coachmen..."
"Good. Take me there tomorrow morning, and this gold coin is yours," Leilin said with a smile.
He would likely be staying in Polar Night City for quite some time. Since he wanted peace and quiet, needed people at his beck and call, and did not wish to be beholden to anyone, building up a small organization of his own was inevitable.
He already had Anna and the others as a core group. Recruit a few more from Roland City, and that should be enough.
Although he could wait until he reached Polar Night City to recruit people, that would almost certainly result in heavy infiltration. Searching for them in Roland City, while still not entirely avoiding the risk, would at least minimize both the numbers and the impact.
Dinner consisted of white bread and vegetable soup. Although the innkeeper had brought out the best he had to offer, Leilin still found it a bit lacking compared to the academy dining hall.
As Leilin ate, many of the people in the inn kept their distance, dressed in shabby gray or brown clothes, watching him from afar with looks of awe and fear in their eyes.
Seeing the empty space around him, Leilin couldn't help but smile bitterly.