CH141
At night, as usual, Helag entered a meditative state.
Although he had advanced to a formal wizard, meditation was something he could never neglect.
In his mind, wisps of white mist floated—this was his spirit power after vaporization.
At this stage, many sensations were completely different from before.
Now, with just a flick of his finger, Helag could conjure a fireball in his hand, as strong as a Small Fireball spell.
However, since he was being monitored, it wasn't convenient to test the changes in his spell strength.
Before starting his meditation, Helag drank a dose of Starry Sky Potion to test its effects.
Half an hour later…
"As expected, the Starry Sky Potion no longer has any effect."
Helag realized that the potion's boost to his meditation speed had become negligible.
He wasn't surprised. The potion had already lost much of its effectiveness when he was a third-level apprentice.
"I'll need to develop new potions in the future."
Helag planned to continue his experiments and research new potions to accelerate his meditation once he settled down.
For now, under surveillance, it was inconvenient to do much. He hoped to reach the Terchy family's potion garden soon and get settled.
***
The next morning.
Helag wrote a letter to Lilian, briefly explaining his situation.
He then placed the Ocean Heart necklace in a wooden box and arranged for it to be sent to her.
Originally, he had wanted to give it to her in person, but with the unresolved threat of Malcolm, Helag couldn't risk traveling alone to Augustus Academy.
Malcolm, being skilled in divination, could track him down if he wandered around carelessly.
Helag had just advanced and was still in the vaporization stage, while Malcolm was already a crystallized wizard. Helag couldn't match him yet.
Malcolm was a lingering threat, like a ticking time bomb.
Helag had been pondering how to resolve this issue.
With the current gap in strength, a direct confrontation was out of the question.
His only option was to continue cultivating and quickly increase his power.
Larry acted quickly. Just as Helag returned home after sending the letter and necklace, Larry arrived.
"Are you ready?" Larry asked.
Helag glanced around the room. He had cleaned everything thoroughly, returned the furniture to its original places, and left the house as it was when he first arrived.
He nodded. "All set."
Larry patted his shoulder. "Let's go then. The family is here."
Helag took one last look at the house before following Larry outside.
They took a Hellfoot carriage to the eastern Red Maple Station.
This was the easternmost point of Moonlight Forest, near the Terchy family's main area in the Kingdom of Karn.
The Kingdom of Karn was the largest kingdom in the east, under the jurisdiction of Augustus Academy.
The Terchy family members couldn't come too close to the station, so they waited in the Red Maple Forest nearby. Helag would have to walk there.
As Helag got off the carriage, the Hellfoot nudged him gently with its head.
"Goodbye," Helag smiled, patting the Hellfoot's head.
He recognized this Hellfoot as the one he often rode before. It seemed to remember him too.
Helag still had two horses in the Moonlight Forest stables, gifts from Elusa for pulling his carriage.
He transferred ownership to Larry, letting the forest take care of them. They wouldn't cost him anything.
If all went well, the horses would live out their days peacefully in the stables, no longer having to pull carriages.
Larry accompanied Helag out of Red Maple Station and down the mountain into the Red Maple Forest.
After about half an hour of walking, they spotted a carriage in the distance.
Two men stood beside it. From their aura, one was a Grand Knight, and the other was a formal wizard.
As Helag noticed them, they also looked his way.
Larry stepped forward and introduced them. "Uncle Brack, this is Helag."
Brack had a bushy beard, looked to be in his forties, and carried a large sword at his waist. He wore armor, looking more like a knight than the Grand Knight beside him.
"Helag, this is my uncle, Brack Terchy, a first-level crystallized wizard. And this is the family's Grand Knight, Pete, who handles various tasks at the potion garden," Larry introduced.
"Mr. Brack, Mr. Pete," Helag greeted them.
Although Pete was just a Grand Knight, he was part of the Terchy family. Helag knew better than to look down on him just because he was a formal wizard. Basic respect could avoid unnecessary trouble.
Of course, this approach depended on the person. Some people required coldness and ruthlessness.
Pete was surprised that Helag greeted him, showing a bit of astonishment on his face.
He had met many formal wizards, but few ever acknowledged him.
Pete's opinion of Helag improved slightly, and he respectfully said, "I manage the daily operations of the potion garden. If you need any supplies or materials, feel free to ask me."
Pete handled logistics and personnel management at the garden. For Helag, he was someone who could help with day-to-day tasks.
Brack looked at Helag and said, "Thank you for joining us. The Terchy family is very pleased to welcome such a talented wizard. We'll do our best to provide you with a good environment and excellent resources."
"Thank you, Mr. Brack, and thanks to the Terchy family and Teacher Larry for giving me a place to stay. I'll do my best to contribute," Helag replied.
Helag knew the Terchy family wouldn't offer their resources for free. He would have to prove his value.
Larry added, "Uncle Brack, this kid learns fast and has a real talent for potion-making. You can trust him with important tasks, and I'm sure he'll surprise you."
Hearing this, Brack took Helag more seriously.
As Larry said, if Helag had just arrived at the potion garden, Brack wouldn't have assigned him any important tasks.
First, he wasn't familiar with Helag, and second, he didn't know his capabilities.
Even though Helag was Larry's student, that only proved his talent, not his experience.
But with Larry's strong recommendation, Brack reconsidered how to approach Helag's role.
Brack smiled. "It seems you're very confident in your student."
"Of course," Larry said proudly.
After a brief conversation, it was time to depart. Helag boarded the carriage, sitting across from Brack, while Pete took the reins at the front.
CH142
Larry turned back to Moonlight Forest to handle some potion orders.
Moonlight Forest fully utilized his expertise as a potion master; given the high cost of hiring him, they needed to recoup their investment.
Larry didn't worry about Helag's safety on the road, as Brack, a crystallized wizard, was with him. Even if something happened, Larry, being a liquefied wizard, wouldn't be much help in combat.
Besides, Larry wasn't a fighter; most of his time was spent on potion research.
The carriage traveled through the Red Maple Forest and reached a crossroads.
This was where Helag had parted ways with the merchant caravan on his return journey.
The carriage continued eastward, following the same path the caravan had taken.
***
Three days later.
The carriage entered a flat plain, with the horizon visible in the distance.
A shadow of a city appeared far away—this was Williams City, the westernmost border city of the Kingdom of Karn.
Entering the city required strict identity checks, but Pete only needed to show a metal badge, and the border guards respectfully let them through.
The badge bore the Terchy family crest, depicting a plant.
Even if the soldiers didn't recognize the crest, they knew better than to cause trouble.
The driver was a Grand Knight, so whoever was inside the carriage must be someone important.
They weren't foolish; they could tell at a glance who they could and couldn't afford to offend.
Helag and his companions stayed in Williams City for a day, mainly to bathe, eat, rest, and replenish their water and food supplies.
There was no rush to travel, so they rested when needed.
After a day of rest, they continued their journey, passing through two small towns over five days before arriving at a valley.
This was Kent Valley, owned by the Terchy family, primarily used for growing various potion ingredients and common herbs.
The soil in Kent Valley was unique—pure black and ideal for growing potion materials.
The carriage stopped at the valley entrance, where a small castle stood.
Three guards, all knights, were stationed on the castle walls, along with a third-level wizard apprentice responsible for guarding the valley entrance.
Seeing Brack and the others get off the carriage, the guards opened the castle gates.
Brack introduced the place. "This is Kent Valley. A defensive wizard array protects the entire valley. We bought this array from a wizard organization in the Land of Dawn. Even a third-level wizard can't break through it quickly."
"So, you can rest assured about the safety here. It's no less secure than Moonlight Forest."
Helag observed the terrain while having Deep Blue record the surrounding data.
He asked, "What's the Land of Dawn?"
"Didn't Larry tell you?" Brack was surprised, then realized, "You just advanced recently, so he probably didn't have time to explain."
Brack pulled out a map, a standard map of the Karag Continent.
The map spanned from the Kingdom of Doris in the west to the Kingdom of Karn in the east, with every region clearly marked.
Brack's map also detailed the locations and territories of various wizard organizations.
At the northernmost part of the map, there was a blank area, depicted with countless mountain ranges.
Brack circled a marked area with his finger. "This is the part of the Karag Continent most maps cover."
He then moved his finger to the northern mountain ranges. "And here, to most people in Karag, is an unknown region. This is the Land of Dawn."
Brack continued, "Where we are now is called the Barren Lands by the people of the Land of Dawn."
"Barren? Does that mean a lack of resources?" Helag asked.
"Yes, but it's not just about resources like potion ingredients. There's something even more important—the concentration of energy particles."
"Energy particle concentration?"
Helag suddenly realized that the energy particle concentration on the Karag Continent seemed much higher than on the Colson Continent.
Before coming here, as a first-level apprentice, he hadn't understood much about energy particles, so he hadn't noticed the difference.
Now that Brack mentioned it, Helag recalled that the concentration of energy particles was indeed different between the two places.
Brack nodded. "Exactly, the concentration of energy particles. You've been here all along, so you wouldn't notice, but once you visit the Land of Dawn, you'll feel how much denser the energy particles are there."
"Meditating in that environment is much faster, and there are more people with wizard potential. It's easier for wizards to cultivate and advance there."
"Then why don't people from here go to the Land of Dawn? I've never even heard of it before."
Helag suspected there must be some restrictions, as the secrets of this place were clearly beyond the reach of ordinary wizard apprentices.
Brack explained, "The wizard organizations in the Barren Lands, like Green Cottage, Moonlight Forest, and Aruf Swamp, were once part of the Land of Dawn."
"Then why are they here now?"
"They were exiled. The Land of Dawn once produced countless powerful wizards, and more and more people embarked on the path of wizardry."
"But as time went on, a problem arose—there weren't enough resources."
"When resources are scarce, wars break out. And in wars, there are winners and losers. The wizard organizations here were the losers of that war."
"They lost and were exiled to this place."
"And the people of these wizard organizations are forever forbidden from entering the Land of Dawn, except in special circumstances, like Augustus Academy."
"Augustus Academy is unique. It's a wizard organization from the Land of Dawn, and this is just a branch. People from this organization can enter the Land of Dawn, but if anyone from other organizations tries to enter without permission, they'll be killed."
"Augustus Academy is essentially the overseer of this region, monitoring everything that happens here. Occasionally, they intervene in local matters."
Brack tapped the northern mountain ranges on the map. "These mountains weren't always here. After the wizard organizations were exiled, the wizards of the Land of Dawn created these endless mountains to block the people of the Barren Lands from crossing over."
"Ordinary people can't cross them, and while wizards have their ways, as I said, if you're caught, you'll be wiped out."
As he said this, it seemed like Brack was also warning Helag not to act impulsively and try to cross over.