"Excuse me, you mentioned the Fire God Cult just now. What do you know about this token?" Vivian seized on the key point in Damir's words and hurriedly steered the conversation back on track.
To be honest, after what happened with Yoseph, the girl had started to doubt whether the wooden token in her hand was really the Fire God Token.
Fortunately—
"I recognize it! This is the Fire God Token that only someone of Bishop rank can possess. Hiss... No, wait. Why is it in your hands?" After the Fire God Token was mentioned again, Damir finally came to his senses.
Only then did he remember to look at the city guards lying all over the ground, as well as the miserable state of the Fire God Cult deacon named Yoseph.
The girl before him was clearly no pushover.
No, wait.
Perhaps these city guards and Yoseph had been bullying her through their positions, taking advantage of a country girl?
Then Vivian had bravely fought back and accidentally injured them.
Yes! That had to be it!
Well done! They deserved it! The Fire God Cult and the Knight Order had long needed a thorough cleanup!
On the other side, unaware of the little schemes running through Damir's mind, Vivian was delighted to have finally met someone who acknowledged that the Fire God Token in her hands was genuine.
"I came to Huodian City for this very reason. A major disaster occurred deep within Claw Forest. The person who gave me this token told me to bring the information back to Huodian City. She said that the evil power there absolutely shouldn't exist in this world, and that the God of Fire had to be informed!"
Claw Forest. Evil power.
When those words came out of Vivian's mouth, Damir became completely alert.
"It's actually true. My premonition was right. Something really has happened in Claw Forest." He muttered to himself.
"But... but why didn't the Fire God Statue react?"
The young Genius Mage furrowed his brows tightly.
However, Damir was still only a fledgling youngster who had just stepped out into the world. He was still far from becoming the future savior of the Flame Domain, and he hadn't thought things through that deeply.
In fact, he even felt a surge of excitement throughout his entire body.
Back at the Fire God Tower, Harvey had been right. Damir, who had been bored out of his mind because his mentor Maggie had entered seclusion, had indeed read quite a few idle books and novels.
The novels naturally contained stories about heroes. He had watched their protagonists turn the tide in the face of enormous crises, protect everyone, and vanquish evil.
Damir was young and reckless, and, by coincidence, he really did possess such powerful strength. Although he hadn't shown it openly, deep down, he had always yearned for that kind of life.
So, sometimes, one really shouldn't underestimate the influence of novels. Damir's becoming the savior of the Flame Domain in the near future might well have been influenced by those novels.
After all, when someone had read too many novels and suddenly got the chance to become the protagonist of one in real life, who wouldn't want to play the part?
"In that case, I'll first use magic to send a message to Uncle Harvey and leave word about what happened. With the Fire God Token, he'll definitely believe us this time and send the Knight Order out."
"As for us..."
Damir played a little trick here. In the past, he had scorned the saccharine romance scenes that seemed indispensable to the protagonists of novels and always skipped over them.
But now, he felt that those novels had gotten it absolutely right!
If they were going on an adventure and fighting evil, how could he go alone? He needed companions!
Damir's face flushed, and his heart pounded as he stammered:
"As for us, I... we won't wait for Uncle Harvey and the others. Let's set out right now!"
"Even if the Knight Order decides to leave the city, they'll need quite a bit of time to prepare. We're racing against time now, so the sooner we reach the scene, the better!"
"Okay." Vivian nodded, agreeing with Damir's suggestion.
The girl's original plan had been to report everything and then hurry back alone.
However—
"Wouldn't that be too dangerous?"
Vivian asked worriedly. She had personally fought those Corrupted Monsters and knew how formidable those evil creatures were. Of course, she wasn't worried about herself. She was worried about Damir.
A third-tier Professional. Bishop Eugenia in the cavern lair had been one, so the girl felt... that it seemed to be nothing special?
But Damir completely misunderstood her concern.
"Don't worry. With me here, no matter how powerful that evil force is, we'll be able to escape safely!" The young Genius Mage spoke with absolute confidence.
"So don't be afraid. I... I..."
"I'll definitely protect you!"
After finally forcing out that slightly embarrassing line, Damir remembered that the protagonists in novels were always saying it to the heroines. He secretly glanced at the girl beside him to see her reaction.
Unfortunately—
Vivian remained expressionless.
In fact, the girl had wanted to speak several times, but in the end, she merely gave him a polite smile and said:
"Thank you."
"If there's nothing else, shall we set out now?"
"Oh, okay, sure!" Damir felt a little depressed. Why was this different from what happened in the novels?
Still, youth had its advantages. He quickly became spirited again.
Because another wonderful opportunity to show off was about to arrive!
First, he used magic to send Vivian's report, together with the Fire God Token, flying toward the Knight Order's station in Huodian City as a streak of light.
Then Damir casually picked up a stone from the ground and began drawing a complicated, profound pattern on the spot.
Vivian, who couldn't quite understand what he was doing, immediately asked:
"What are you doing?"
"Wait a moment. I'm drawing a teleportation array. Since we need to hurry, we obviously can't ride there. We Spellcasters have our own methods!"
"I've been to Chiyan Town, the town closest to Claw Forest, so I still remember the place. We can teleport there directly."
Damir's voice was filled with pride as he spoke.
After all, teleportation magic was extremely difficult to learn. It was practically a pseudo-fourth-tier spell. Back then, he had begged his mentor for quite some time and spent a full month barely mastering it.
Even so, he still needed to carve an array on the ground beforehand to assist him. A true teleportation spell didn't require that at all.
But, well, no matter how troublesome and clumsy the process was, the result was still more or less the same.
The ability to instantly move dozens of kilometers was astonishing enough to leave the vast majority of people shaken.
Vivian was no exception.
The girl had originally planned to switch to her Second Personality and run back. After hearing Damir's explanation, an astonished expression naturally appeared on her small face.
Damir secretly reveled in his success. He had finally managed to show off for once. After finishing the array, he began chanting the incantation.
Blue light flickered to life across the array on the ground. Damir raised one hand, and countless points of light began gathering upon it. They transformed into threads, weaving themselves into a spiral, circular pattern.
"Quick, get in!" Damir urged anxiously.
At his level, casting a teleportation array that could hold one person was already extremely difficult. At that moment, he had performed beyond his normal ability and expanded the teleportation magic's range to—
A size that could hold one and a half people.
In other words, Vivian had to squeeze in beside him, nearly pressing against him for the teleportation to work.
Don't misunderstand. Damir absolutely had no ulterior motives here. This really was his limit.
Perhaps Vivian noticed Damir's embarrassment and the strain he was under.
With the attitude of simply giving it a try, the girl began repeating the teleportation spell that Damir had just chanted.
Then—
Whoosh!
Centered on the girl, azure magic power surged wildly. A huge circular pattern began flickering across the ground beneath her feet.
The surging magic power blew through the girl's long hair, while the teleportation array's radiance flickered on either side of her.
Looking at Damir's array—which was less than one-tenth the size of hers and was already close to collapsing—the girl asked tentatively:
"Why don't you come into mine?"
Before you continue