Special Passage

"What is it?" Roy looked at her. "Olinda, you've made our lives miserable!"

Olinda said, "I don't understand what you mean."

Renion said angrily, "Are you really stupid, or are you pretending? Back then, at the Great Wind Land Hills, you nearly got us killed!"

Olinda's face paled. She finally realized that these two had come to settle accounts with her.

She hurriedly said, "Who knows whether what you're saying is true?

You say I harmed you, so I harmed you? I could just as well say that you harmed us!"

"Heh, you won't admit it?" Renion laughed in fury.

Olinda said irritably, "Say whatever you want. I've already completely offended Oren, so I don't care if I offend you two as well."

Renion choked, unexpectedly rendered speechless for a moment.

Roy waved his hand, signaling Renion to calm down. "Olinda, we're not here to argue with you. I want to have a chat with you, all right?"

Olinda hesitated before nodding and welcoming Roy into the room.

"Bang!"

The door slammed shut.

Renion was dumbfounded.

"Sit wherever you like."

Inside the Intermediate Apprentice's residence, Olinda sat down at her little desk. Beneath her dark apprentice robes, her curvaceous figure was vividly accentuated.

Roy looked around. As expected, the place was a mess, much like his own quarters.

Wizard Apprentices rarely had anyone tidy their rooms. They were too busy with all kinds of experiments every day, and they did not want anyone disturbing them.

There might also be private or valuable belongings inside, such as the lace camisole and stockings casually hanging to the side at that moment.

Following Roy's gaze, Olinda also noticed the problem.

But she clearly wasn't the obedient type. Not only was she not embarrassed, she instead brushed back her hair and shot him a flirtatious glance.

"Roy, what did you want to talk to me about? Don't tell me you're going to accuse me of harming you two for no reason, just like that other guy did?"

She shifted her chair closer and leaned forward slightly.

"Cut it out. Tell me, why was Oren hunting you?"

Roy withdrew his gaze and looked at her calmly.

"Was it because of the treasures of Chalk Country?"

Olinda's body trembled slightly.

"The matter concerning Chalk Country was making huge waves before. Some people even said that materials used for various Forbidden Experiments might have splashed out of the Small World...

If you don't want to die without knowing why, you'd better explain this matter clearly, even if it's only to muddy the waters."

Roy spoke while observing her reaction and probing her.

"Moreover, strictly speaking, you and I are already on the same side.

That Oren fellow is completely arrogant and treats us like ants he can crush whenever he wants.

If it weren't to deal with him, I wouldn't have waded into this mess to ask you about these things."

Olinda's expression immediately became strange.

There seemed to be shock, surprise, inexplicable delight, and conflict in it.

"So you weren't saying that to extort me? You really were hiding there at the time?"

Roy said, "That's right. I also saw the method you used to evade that fatal situation. That lifelike illusion—was it some kind of substitute puppet?"

Olinda said, "I do know some secrets about Chalk Country. If you swear not to harm me and help me avoid Oren's pursuit, I'll share this secret with you!

You were right just now. Our team has been reduced to me alone, so I can no longer dream of keeping it all to myself."

"You really are hiding a secret?"

Roy was secretly delighted, but he soon calmed down again.

The Seven Towers Alliance was a pirate-like civilization founded on plunder and colonization. Whether for dividing labor and cooperation or ensuring a fair distribution of spoils, it relied on contracts.

The Archmages who wielded Divine Authority had even infused the World Will with powerful oath authority, using it to uphold the Spirit of Contract.

But with such things, the right of interpretation was often held by the strong.

Moreover, contracts were completed voluntarily by both parties, and they had never lacked devilish deception and fraud. One careless step could send someone tumbling into a deep pit.

"I can swear not to harm you, but on the condition that you don't harm us either.

Other than that, I have no way to guarantee your safety. I can only provide help within my capabilities."

Roy spoke while weighing his words.

An agreement like this concealed possible traps such as "unlimited liability" and "ambiguous value."

They all had to be eliminated one by one first.

He didn't want to inexplicably take on a debt and fall into a pit because he rashly signed some Wizard Contract.

When Olinda heard this, she knew Roy was no pushover and could only say, "I demand the same treatment as your teammates.

If we encounter an opponent we can contend with, you must help protect me or fight alongside me."

Roy said, "That's acceptable. But if it's an overwhelmingly powerful enemy we can't defeat, or if other force majeure factors arise, we'll have to go our separate ways.

Moreover, the number of times and the duration of this promise must be limited. They'll be determined mainly according to the value of your information.

More specifically, we'll follow the principle of fairness..."

Olinda said helplessly, "Fine."

After the two parties reached an agreement, Olinda took a simple parchment map from the desk.

Roy took it and looked it over, immediately showing surprise. "This is..."

It was a topographic map of the Great Wind Land Hills. A special location was marked with a large blood-red X, and it was astonishingly the very place where he had slain the Merman Lord!

Olinda said solemnly, "That is where the Void Rift from the rumors is located!"

"We went there too, but didn't find anything."

"That's because you weren't lucky enough. The treasure was caught inside the Spatial Rift, and when we went there, we happened to see it fall out...

Actually, other people had similar fortuitous encounters in other places. They would encounter treasures falling from the sky while walking along the road, and that was how the treasure-hunting craze began."

Roy was speechless after hearing this.

He admitted that he was jealous.

What kind of lucky bastards were they...

They could encounter treasures falling from the sky just by walking along the road. It sounded absurd!

Olinda continued, "But the truly important thing isn't the treasure. It's the treasure mountain!

Do you understand? Only that place contains a Void Rift leading directly to Chalk Country, rather than some tiny hole or an already-sealed boundary wall!"

Roy came back to himself, deep in thought.

"The portal inside the Witch Tower was destroyed long ago, and we're not like the Archmages, who can cross the astral realm...

"So, at the current stage, it's the only possible Special Passage through which Apprentices can enter and leave it!"

As Olinda explained, Roy gradually understood that similar tales of "treasures falling from the sky" had already been circulating among the Apprentices for more than a year.

But those in the know had kept the matter secret, merely running to the Great Wind Land Hills every few days and quietly making a fortune.

As time passed, clues inevitably began to show, attracting Olinda and the others to venture there.