Outside the Rapid Wood Tower, Lai Te, Adolf, and others respectfully walked out from the tower, rapidly moving two blocks away until they could no longer see the five-story sorcerer tower before they finally heaved a sigh of relief.
“What fortune in misfortune, we thankfully avoided disaster.”
“Fortunately, his lordship didn’t hold grudges.”
The people exchanged glances, each seeing the relief in the others’ eyes.
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This time, they had given up a beast egg, a special small boat, a volume of exploration data, to finally earn his lordship’s forgiveness.
As Adolf had said, it was indeed a fortune amidst misfortune.
As for bitterness, in the Danaila World weakness was the original sin—they surely had no right to hold a grudge against a Level 3 Sorcerer, especially one so exceptionally talented. It was better not to think about it.
“Thinking carefully, the college is fraught with hidden dangers. Maybe—we should move?” After a moment of silence, Adolf spoke again.
“That’s not appropriate, Adolf, have you forgotten our oath? You should know that it is our persistence that made Ancient Tree Spine one of the leading colleges on the Moon Pincer Peninsula,” another Dean immediately countered his suggestion.
“Yes, we can’t back down just because we’ve hit a snag.”
Lai Te stayed quiet while the other two emphatically disagreed. Adolf had no choice but to retract his suggestion.
However, Adolf was determined that if a similar situation occurred again, putting the college in jeopardy once more, he would change locations no matter who opposed him.
Inside the Rapid Wood Tower.
Ivan and Locke were inspecting a special boat. The vessel was not large, barely over two meters in length, and was constructed from materials similar to Pan Iron Root.
“The forging craftsmanship is too rough. In theory, it could cross magma, but in reality, it’s fraught with risks.” After a detailed inspection, Ivan lost interest in researching further.
“Boss, how do you know so much about the underworld?” Locke couldn’t help asking.
“I have information given by the Night Elves.”
“Them? Are they trustworthy?”
“That’s why I will go back to East Capital to prepare.”
Ivan naturally didn’t trust the High Priest of the Night Elves and wouldn’t take all the information given at face value.
He would certainly not dive headfirst into the tunnel leading to the underworld without adequate preparation. He needed to gather more information and create contingency plans; such were the fundamental skills of a sorcerer.
Three days later, Ivan contacted his superior at the Five Leaves Spear—Chairman Hotter.
“You’re requesting a mission to the underground world?” In the luminous shadow floated by the Book of Leaf Sift, Hotter’s clothes were still as colorful, though not garish on him.
“I’ve run into some trouble recently and need to find a way to go to the underground world. Since it’s not easy to enter or exit the underground world, I thought I’d see if the organization has any suitable missions,” Ivan stated truthfully.
He had initially chosen to investigate a problem related to the Spiritual Body, but hadn’t started research yet as plans couldn’t keep up with changes.
Seeking Hotter was partly for a mission, but primarily to seek help in preparing for the underground venture.
“You’re quite honest,” Hotter nodded and then began to inquire, “Are you confident? You weren’t wrong in saying that a horde of lava creatures guards the underground intestines, among them more than one level 4 lord.”
A horde?
More than one?
Hearing this, Ivan felt uneasy.
“These lava creatures are natural guardians of the underground passages, extremely sensitive to presence. Other people might be fine, but a sorcerer at my level, once I enter, I am bound to be discovered. There’s nowhere to hide. Fighting them in the magma is a very vexing matter.”
Before he could respond, Hotter started speaking on his own.
“Dean, I must seek assistance from the organization; do we have any relevant knowledge stored in the Five Leaves Spear?” After he finished speaking, Ivan straightforwardly stated his intention.
“Of course we do, for you guys,” Hotter responded affirmatively, then adding, “However, it’s not very usable. Remember Solomon, the sorcerer living beneath Narnya? You know him, right?”
“Yes, we are friends.”
“That’s good. He used the organization’s ‘Half-bio-construction Technique’ to create a ‘Sun Gold Vessel’ that could traverse the magma. But don’t follow in his footsteps; he managed to obtain the bloodline of the ‘Son of the Sun,’ which is taboo in the underground world and has made him despised and rejected there; he can no longer enter without being attacked.”
Hearing Hotter’s words, Ivan thought to himself, that figures. When he saw Solomon’s Secret Method Body Double transform the gold vessel in the Rainbow Pit, he had considered this issue.
The Half-bio-construction Technique indeed piqued his interest, especially remembering the ‘Flame Demon Scorpion’ eggs he had just obtained.
“Back to the mission, are you aware of our organization’s objective in exploring the underground world?” Hotter asked.
“Please enlighten me, Dean,” Ivan hurriedly asked for advice.
“A way out, a way out for our sorcerer world, to retreat en masse to the underground world if necessary,” Hotter said gravely.
Ivan was stunned for a moment. He had not expected this answer but had to admit that Five Leaves Spear indeed prioritized the sorcerer world.
But had the sorcerer world really reached the point where it needed an escape route?
Guessing what Ivan was thinking, Hotter did not delve deeper into the topic but continued discussing the underground mission.
“Based on this purpose, there are many research tasks targeting the underground world, such as finding a universal method to cross the magma, finding a suitable human habitat, man-made underground sun—”
He was undoubtedly a talkative person, enthusiastically sharing a plethora of ideas about underground habitats, leaving Ivan no room to interject.
Ivan listened quietly, nodding from time to time, appearing thoughtful.
“Alright, enough of the chit-chat. You are a trustworthy person; there’s no need to formally accept the tasks. Feel free to explore any ideas you have; I have your back. The organization will definitely not short-change you afterward. I heard you are good at nurturing insects and beasts; I can provide the Half-bio-construction Technique and a General Arcane Scroll; hope everything goes well for you.”
“Dean, thank you for nurturing me.”
“Haha, if you really want to thank me, find me a bottle of good wine, and give it to me next time we meet. Just wait in the sorcerer tower; I’ll have someone send the items over.”
With that, Hotter deliberately terminated the contact through the Book of Leaf Sift, and the lifelike illusion faded away.
In some aspects, Hotter seemed a bit unreliable, but in action, he was decisively efficient. Within less than ten days, a Wind and Thunder Elemental Being bearing his Token arrived, delivering the two items he promised.
The General Arcane Scroll stored Level 4 attack-type magic.
This item had terrifying consumption and equally terrifying power, incredibly valuable at the right moment to decisively determine the outcome of a situation; though not as valuable as a blood-vein scroll, it was similarly invaluable.
As for the ‘Half-bio-construction Technique.’
It required using the flesh and body of a half-elemental creature as a base, by integrating appropriate materials and guiding it to transform into a special class of magicalized item to achieve the ‘construction’ effect.
This was perfectly suitable for the Flame Demon Scorpion egg.