Tap, tap, tap...
The steady rain pelted the deck, bursting into crisp, muted patters. Inside the cabin, Lynn woke from his unending nightmares.
Once he saw his surroundings clearly, Lynn could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. The Goddess's phantom that had suddenly appeared last night had put him under considerable psychological pressure. Fortunately, she had shown no intention of pursuing them.
They should be safe by now.
Lynn sat up, climbed down from the hard wooden bunk, casually grabbed a cloak hanging by the door, then opened the cabin door and stepped onto the deck.
The gentle sea breeze carried droplets of seawater against his face, salty and damp, dispersing the stale air from the cabin.
Lynn looked into the distance. Thick fog blanketed the sea, swallowing the entire sailboat. He could barely see three to five meters beyond the vessel.
This mist seemed to possess some mysterious power. Even with the first-circle spell [Tik's Far Sight], he could not see through the white fog to any greater distance.
Sailing under such conditions was obviously dangerous. Not only was it difficult to tell direction, but they could also crash straight into a reef.
"Wizard, you're awake? Did you rest well last night?"
A familiar voice sounded behind him. Lynn turned around and saw that it was Lame Laud.
Compared with last night, however, Laud looked listless. He had clearly been frightened badly as well.
Lynn did not answer Laud's question and instead got straight to the point. "Is this the Sea of Mists? How did you usually determine your direction, and how long will it take to reach the Land of Wizards?"
"Normally, it takes more than half a month to sail there from Harbor Town. As for how we determine direction..." Laud carefully took out a compass.
Lynn leaned closer curiously. The compass was round and made of wood, its surface covered in intricate runes and patterns. Most eye-catching of all was the needle at its center, which remained perfectly still as it pointed in the direction the ship was sailing.
A compass?
Lynn silently guessed, then heard Laud explain.
"This compass is an Alchemical Creation made by Great Wizard Herlam. No matter where it is, it will always point toward the Land of Wizards."
This was what allowed them to cross the Sea of Mists. No matter where they set out from, as long as they followed the direction indicated by the compass, they would always find the Land of Wizards.
Truly remarkable... Lynn picked up the compass and examined it carefully. He had developed some interest in the Great Wizard named Herlam. This was already the second time he had heard that name.
It seemed Antioch had gone to such lengths to set a trap for several Wizard Apprentices precisely in order to lure out Laud and obtain this compass.
As long as he handed this thing over to the Church, it would surely count as a great merit!
Since he could not understand the runes on the compass, Lynn merely memorized them in secret before handing it back.
Laud reached out and accepted it. Then his expression became somewhat conflicted. After a long while, he finally asked cautiously, "Are you a Great Wizard?"
"Of course not." Lynn shook his head. He did not dare claim such a thing.
He was only a Wizard Apprentice who had been exposed to magic for a short time. It had been one thing for people to mistake him for an Official Wizard before; with the aid of the intellectual brain, he really could accomplish many things that only Official Wizards could do. But he was still far too distant from the level of a Great Wizard.
Without the help of the thousand-odd members of the Ship Gang, he could never have set up a trap capable of destroying the entire Harbor Town dock.
What had wiped out Antioch and the others was less magic than the power of science.
Seeing Lynn deny it with a shake of his head, Laud looked half-convinced and half-doubtful. He had personally witnessed that terrifying explosion last night. It was definitely power only high-level magic could possess!
But recalling how Lynn had once asked him to collect large amounts of raw materials, Laud secretly guessed that this wizardry called "fireworks" probably required some special ritual prepared in advance before such an exceptionally powerful spell could be cast.
"If that is the case, then when we reach the Land of Wizards, I'm afraid you will face some censure." Laud sighed repeatedly.
Lynn's expression changed at once. A trace of danger appeared in his gaze as he looked at Laud. He faintly caught the scent of a scapegoat.
Under someone's "kind" gaze, Laud hurriedly began explaining.
Although he had been operating this sea route from Harbor Town to the Land of Wizards, the person who had created the route was Great Wizard Herlam.
Put plainly, the entire Ship Gang was nothing more than a tool in Herlam's hands. Whether they wanted to or not, every year they had to transport certain scarce supplies to the Land of Wizards.
Because they had always acted in great secrecy, there had not been any major mistakes in more than a decade. Yet now, because of Joanne and the others, this transport route had been destroyed outright.
If Lynn were also a Great Wizard, there would naturally be no need to worry too much. If he was not, then he needed to prepare himself to be held accountable. That was why Laud had specifically asked to confirm it.
With Laud's explanation, Lynn quickly understood the situation as well, though it left him somewhat troubled. He could naturally understand the importance of this route.
This blame should have been shouldered by his mentor, Coru. If Coru had not been so audacious as to attempt to abduct the Duke's second daughter, only to be caught red-handed, how could the Church have followed the trail all the way to Harbor Town...
"Is this the only sea route from the Land of Wizards to the Secas Empire?" Lynn asked.
"Probably not... The Sea of Mists is also connected to another important port—Victnil, the capital of the Secas Empire." Laud spoke hesitantly. Though he could not be completely certain, he guessed that someone in Victnil was most likely doing the same thing he did.
"I understand." Lynn nodded. It seemed things had not yet reached the worst possible point. Still, he had no intention of taking the blame. He needed to find a way to shake it off...
As he pondered, Lynn casually asked Laud about all manner of information concerning the Land of Wizards. He was far too unfamiliar with the place, and without sufficient intelligence, it would be easy to suffer losses.
After several rounds of questioning, Lynn finally learned that the Land of Wizards was different from what he had previously imagined. It was not a refuge established by wizards persecuted by the Church, but a vast island that had already existed centuries ago, with cities, ports, and a population of six hundred thousand—almost a small kingdom in itself...
There was simply no king or nobility there. In their place stood wizards and various schools, while the highest authority was the Wizard Council, jointly formed by several Legendary Wizards...
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