Planar Ruins
Inside the library, the air held the distinctive scent of old paper mingled with magical ink.
Chen Chuan stood before a bookshelf, his fingertips gliding over the leather covers of one weighty tome after another. By the time he had walked around the shelf, he had three thick magic books in his hands.
The three books were Selected Magic Combat, Analysis of Summoning Enhancement, and Advanced Application of Spiritual Power. The gilded runes on their spines glimmered faintly in the dim light.
Chen Chuan went to a corner of the library, opened the three books one after another, brought up his attribute panel, and activated All-Things Analysis.
He checked the analysis times. The three books required different amounts of time, roughly four to six hours each.
Meanwhile, Chen Chuan's gaze swept over a weighty tome on the top shelf: Customs of the Wizard World Continent.
He walked over to the bookshelf, pushing it, and lightly touched the spine with his fingertips. Its verdigris sheen conveyed a sense of accumulated history.
The book contained geographical knowledge of the Wizard World continent, the distribution of races and factions, and the production of its distinctive materials. It was over a thousand pages thick, but its many categories lacked detail. Most of the time, apprentices merely used it as a directory.
"After all, the Wizard World plane has existed for more than seven hundred thousand years. Its history is long. Aside from the wizard towers, the major factions, duchies, and kingdoms in the Wizard World have come and gone like passing clouds, too numerous to count. Many have already vanished into the long river of history."
Chen Chuan murmured to himself, his fingers brushing lightly over the words on the pages.
He recalled Alex once saying that some factions which had enjoyed an era of glory might receive only a brief mention in this book. With a touch of reflection, Chen Chuan added the book to the analysis queue as well.
After completing the exchange, Chen Chuan carried the books and hurried up to the third floor.
The wooden stairs creaked softly beneath his feet, each step like a tread upon the marks of time.
Upon entering Alex's project group room, the first thing Chen Chuan noticed was Arwen standing by the window, copying something down.
Outside the window, the last rays of the setting sun shone through the stained glass, casting a dappled play of light and shadow on the parchment.
Arwen's pen scratched across the parchment like a silkworm eating leaves. Hearing footsteps, he looked up, and a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes when he saw Chen Chuan.
"Chen Chuan?" Arwen put down his quill, its ink-stained tip leaving a small blot on the paper. "You passed the Second-Class Apprentice assessment so quickly?"
"Yes, I just came from the academic affairs center."
Chen Chuan nodded and noticed that the ancient book fragments spread across Arwen's desk were from Moon Phases and Changes in Herbal Properties. The fragments dated from different periods; some had yellowed, while others were relatively new.
"You're studying this?" Chen Chuan stepped closer and looked over the parchment scattered across the desk, noticing clear differences in the handwriting and ink on every page.
"Lord Alex instructed me to organize these fragments and look for the missing parts." Arwen shook his head with a wry smile. "It's much harder than I imagined. These fragments seem to come from copies made in different periods. The handwriting and ink differ, and some are even written in different languages."
"Is there anything I can help with?" Chen Chuan asked softly, looking at the fragments and trying to find any possible clues.
A flash of pleasant surprise appeared in Arwen's eyes, only to give way to resignation. "Lord Alex only told me to organize them. He didn't say I should find someone to help."
"You don't need to help him. I have something for you to do." An authoritative voice came from outside the door.
Alex wore a dark green robe embroidered with intricate life runes that glimmered faintly in the sunlight.
He walked in carrying a leather-bound book, each step steady and firm.
"Lord Alex." Chen Chuan and Arwen rose together and bowed to Alex.
"Mm, good. I didn't expect you to advance to a Second-Class Wizard Apprentice so quickly. It seems your talent is even greater than I thought." Alex looked at Chen Chuan in his blue robe and nodded, a flicker of satisfaction in his eyes.
The patterns on the blue robe gleamed faintly in the sunlight, marking his status as a Second-Class Apprentice.
"It was thanks to your help, Lord Alex, that I was able to advance without trouble. May I ask what you wanted me to do?" Chen Chuan's expression was serious, and his words were full of sincerity.
He had just invoked Alex as his backer with Aketi. Now that it was time to do some work, he naturally had to take it seriously.
That was the kind of man Chen Chuan was, someone who knew how to be grateful.
Alex placed the leather-bound book on the table and tapped its cover lightly, producing a soft knock.
The cover was made from the hide of some unknown creature, its texture unusual and pleasantly smooth.
"The academy recently discovered the planar ruins of an herb plantation. It's said that some rare varieties of herbs have been preserved there. Someone saw a flower resembling a sunflower, giving off a faint trace of sacred elemental energy. I suspect it might be sunflower of holy light, a rare holy light elemental herb. It may provide some inspiration for our Heart of Light Potion." There was a hint of excitement in Alex's voice.
"However, the planar passage is broken, and it currently only allows those below first rank to enter. I fought to secure a spot. When the time comes, you'll enter as an herbal consultant for our Life Academy. You may take part in combat, but I mainly need you to collect samples there and record the herbs' growing environments and properties."
Chen Chuan's eyes lit up. This was exactly the practical combat experience he needed, and he would also have access to rare herbs, which would be a great benefit on his path as a potion master.
"Where exactly is it? When do we leave?" Chen Chuan asked eagerly.
"It's on the Osteka Plain, about 1,900 kilometers from our academy. The time is six tomorrow, at the flight platform outside the academy's west gate. You'll take an airship there with the academy team. The mission is expected to take only about three days."
Alex smiled slightly, took a bottle of blood-red potion from his storage space, and handed it to Chen Chuan.
"This is an Advanced Life Potion. At your current level of strength, if you suffer a fatal injury, one bottle should essentially be enough to keep you alive. If the injury isn't fatal, a mouthful should restore most of your health."
Arwen interjected, "Planar ruins are fragments of small planes, with self-contained spaces inside. Occasionally, they're captured by the Wizard World, forming a temporary passage. Time is limited, so you must come out within the allotted time, or you might never make it back. It's still quite dangerous. Lord Alex, why don't I go instead? I think that would be safer."
Alex waved a hand. "Every mission carries risks. As it happens, this one can count toward a Second-Class Apprentice's mandatory mission, and you've already completed yours for the year. As I understand it, the wizards leading the team this time are all elite wizards of the academy. As a junior potion master, Chen Chuan won't have many opportunities to fight, so he should be able to handle it."