X776

In the blink of an eye, two years passed, bringing the year to X776.

Over those two years, Riyao had been single-mindedly saving money to buy land, traveling far and wide to take on commissions.

Word of his first-rate healing magic had spread throughout Fiore before he knew it.

Healing wizards were scarce to begin with, and his abilities were particularly outstanding. His fame soon spread across the continent, and even the royal family sent people discreetly to recruit him.

The first year was fine. He took every commission that came his way—slaying monsters, escorting people, scouting—and earned his bounties through honest work.

But in the second year, once his reputation spread, commissions requesting him by name came flooding in. Almost all of them were house calls to treat illnesses and injuries, and there was no end to them.

Riyao still fought on occasion, but only when bandits blocked his path or monsters caused trouble while he was on his way to see patients. He dealt with them on the spot.

Looking down at the medical commissions piled across his desk, Riyao reflected silently that he hadn't taken a proper combat commission to hunt anything down in a long time.

Riyao swiftly sorted all the paperwork, stuffed the stack of commissions into his backpack, and walked out of the tent where he was temporarily stationed.

This was the last job on his hands: a virulent plague had suddenly broken out in the town of Gelesa, and the situation was urgent.

The commission had been issued jointly by the Magic Council and the kingdom. The moment he finished his previous job, someone from the Council had stopped him and thrust it into his hands.

After a brief rest, he took out a handful of ordinary plant seeds. Gentle magic and pure life force flowed through his palm, and with a wave of his hand, he scattered all the seeds across the town.

These seeds were special seedlings Riyao had personally cultivated in his spare time over the past two years. He had originally prepared them for his own fields in the future. They could not only gather pure vitality but also possessed a measure of purifying power.

Amid swirling points of light, the seeds that had landed stretched their roots deep into the ground, and tender shoots broke through the soil, growing wildly in the wind.

In the blink of an eye, branches spread and trunks rose. One tree after another rapidly grew tall and sturdy, filling the streets and alleys of Gelesa.

The groves of trees glowed with a faint azure light. As their branches and leaves breathed, foul air was purified, and refreshing, abundant vitality enveloped the entire town.

But this only treated the symptoms, not the cause, temporarily stabilizing the plague situation.

Riyao brushed his fingertips over the trunk of a nearby tree. Azure light flowed along his palm as he sensed the last trace of plague lingering in the town being completely dispelled.

He turned toward the Magic Council medical personnel conducting follow-up examinations on the residents nearby and walked over.

"Sorry to trouble you, but may I ask," Riyao said calmly, "this plague came about strangely. It doesn't seem like a natural outbreak, does it?"

The medical worker in white gloves pushed up his glasses, his expression growing more serious.

"You're perceptive indeed, Mr. Riyao. We examined the patients and found faint traces of magic in their bodies. Unless something unexpected turns up, this plague was created by a dark guild. It specifically targets ordinary people and is highly contagious."

"A dark guild?" Riyao raised an eyebrow. "Do you have any specific leads?"

"We're still not sure which group is responsible."

The medical worker shook his head and pulled a report from his briefcase.

"But over the past six months, similar plagues have broken out in three towns along Fiore's border, one after another. The methods were identical, as though the same group was responsible. The Magic Council suspects a newly established dark guild is testing some kind of ritual, or trying to create chaos through the plagues."

Riyao took the report and quickly scanned it, running his fingertips over the locations of the affected areas marked on the paper. He had an idea of what was going on.

The towns formed a straight line, as though they had been deliberately arranged.

"Thank you for telling me." He handed the report back, his gaze settling on the tallest purification tree in the center of town.

A flicker of delight appeared in the medical worker's eyes.

"That couldn't be better! With a top healing wizard like you here, along with your purification trees, we'll have more time to deal with it."

Riyao tapped the purification tree's trunk with his fingertips, and the azure light flickered gently between his fingers.

"Since a dark guild is behind this, we can't just let them keep harming other towns."

He turned to the medical worker, his tone still relaxed.

"Keep an eye on the situation in town. I'll take a look around the area. These affected areas form a straight line, so I might be able to find traces of them."

Before the other person could respond, Riyao had picked up his backpack and headed out of town.

It had been a long time since he'd had a scouting mission. It was much more interesting than facing stacks of medical commissions, and a good chance to stretch his legs. He couldn't be a "mobile medical kit" every day.

In the wild woods outside town, the purification trees' roots were still spreading silently. Azure light seeped through the soil, providing just the help he needed to track the lingering traces of magic.

Riyao followed the faint fluctuations of curse magic. Before he had gone far, he caught a faint whiff of decay mixed with twisted magic.

He pushed aside a dense thicket and saw a crude magic circle in the clearing ahead, with blackened herbs and broken magic devices scattered on the ground.

Riyao crouched and touched the ground with his fingertips. Pure life force slowly seeped in, instantly detecting the dark magic left in the circle.

"Pretty crude work, but highly targeted. It's specifically designed to catalyze the plague virus."

He smacked his lips, got up, and headed deeper into the woods. The magic hadn't dissipated long ago, so they probably hadn't gone far.

Sure enough, after he passed through a grove of dead trees, he heard faint voices ahead.

Riyao quietly concealed himself. Several wizards in black cloaks were gathered together, holding clipboards and discussing something in low voices.

"The plague in Gelesa was suppressed? That healing wizard called Riyao really is a nuisance."

"What are you afraid of? The experiment has already gathered enough data. We just need to proceed with the next target as planned."

"Our lord said that as long as we sacrifice the lives in these towns to Lord Zeref, the black wizard, through the plague, the ritual will succeed."

Riyao stepped out of the shadows and said with a smile, "Mind if I join the group chat? Heh heh heh."

Without giving them a chance to react, he rushed forward and punched the nearest black-robed wizard in the stomach. The magic the wizard had just begun to build up instantly fell apart.

The wizard's body doubled over, his black robe shaking violently as he staggered helplessly backward and crashed into an accomplice. He immediately vomited a mouthful of blood, and both men completely lost the ability to resist.

Riyao seized the last one, pinned him to the ground, and began a Riyao-style interrogation, healing him while beating him and questioning him between blows.

"Name? Gender?"

"Where do you live? What organization are you with?"

"How old are you? Do you have a partner?"

A barrage of random questions accompanied the rain of punches. The beating hurt the lackey badly, but there was also the relief of being healed. His head buzzing, he broke down and said, "I was wrong! Stop hitting me! Stop healing me! I'll talk, I'll tell you everything!"

Riyao soon learned from him that they came from the "Black Light Society." It was another obscure little guild, probably another scheme by the Magic Development Bureau, the predecessor of Oración Seis.

Riyao tied them all up and sent a signal for the Magic Council to come and take them into custody. Then he headed toward their hidden base.