Lesser Wind Orb

"Hmm... just a little curious. I've been observing and learning her swordsmanship lately," Gagnor said.

Ryan smiled, saying meaningfully, "Vice Captain Cassandra is very charming. The men who admire her could probably fill the entire training ground, but most of them couldn't even lift her weapon."

"I've personally seen her cleave a Level 4 knight in half, horse and all. That sight... tsk, tsk... I can only say, young people need to know their limits, don't pursue things that are beyond their reach." He patted Gagnor on the shoulder.

Gagnor neither admitted nor denied Ryan's implied meaning.

After chatting for a while, he said, "When will the mercenary group be camping near the Tidal Lands? I'd like to take a look."

For some reason, he seemed to have a stronger spirit of adventure.

Ryan said, "Actually, we're already setting up camp. The mercenary group will send another group of people over tomorrow. If you want to go, just follow me when we set off."

"Alright."

A few hours later.

Gagnor returned to his residence from the Hunter's Guild, then took out three large glass bottles filled with magical beast blood from his luggage.

Two of the bottles contained the blood of a water-type and a fire-type magical beast, respectively. He mixed the two to create magic rune ink, and then, while it was settling, began to process the other bottle of magical beast blood.

This bottle of blood belonged to a Level 3 wind-type magical beast.

It was a bit expensive, costing one hundred and twenty copper coins.

Gagnor had also considered buying Level 4 magical beast blood.

But once magical beast materials reached Level 4, the price became very expensive.

The reason was simple: Level 4 magical beasts had Magic Cores in their bodies, while Level 3 and below did not, or only had a few irregular Magic Core fragments. Therefore, although there was only a one-level difference between Level 3 and Level 4, the price difference was enormous, making it impossible for Gagnor to afford.

He bought this bottle of wind-type magical beast blood to try another alchemical recipe recorded in the Blood Magic Notes that didn't have much of an operational threshold.

Lesser Elemental Orb.

Orbs were a relatively common magical item, especially prevalent during the Blood Elf era, with many types and diverse effects.

Lesser Elemental Orbs were the simplest type.

According to the method recorded in the notes, Gagnor mixed the Level 3 wind-type magical beast blood with several herbal powders, creating a spherical semi-solid.

Then, he moved his fingers lightly, and clusters of Swift Breeze successively formed, then merged into the blood orb.

Feeling the Swift Breeze constantly merging, he nodded to himself.

The Blood Magic Notes said that the orb needed to be filled with wind-type spells.

Gagnor only knew Swift Breeze, and he wasn't sure if it counted as a "wind-type spell" in the strict sense, which made him worry about failing.

Fortunately, it proved to be no problem. Swift Breeze could be used to infuse the orb.

After a period of spell infusion, the originally soft blood orb completely solidified, turning into a cyan-gray sphere, and its size also shrank by more than half, becoming about the size of a baby's fist.

Gagnor was a little tempted to try it out, but ultimately gave up.

It wasn't easy to make one.

Moreover, he had infused hundreds of Swift Breeze into this Lesser Wind Orb. It was obvious that the power of this thing was definitely not the same as a "breeze." If he really tried it, the commotion would probably be significant.

Half of the wind-type magical beast blood remained.

Gagnor made another Lesser Wind Orb, exhausting both the magical beast blood and his stamina. He then ate something and went to rest.

Early the next morning.

Gagnor brought his weapons and equipment, found Ryan's team, and set off together.

There were many new recruits in the team of twenty-odd people. Perhaps the mercenary group hoped to take this opportunity to give the newcomers some necessary training.

Gagnor, wearing an apothecary's robe, stood out a bit, but he had no choice.

If he didn't wear this outfit with the Gray Hawk Mercenary Group emblem, he would look like an outsider, and if there was a melee, he would be in trouble.

"Ryan, I heard that the Tidal Lands usually have many treasures. Should its opening spark some conflicts?" Gagnor asked.

Ryan said, "Treasures? That's just a legend. Most Tidal Lands don't have any decent treasures. Of course, there are conflicts, but... it's only a little more dangerous than the daily brawls in Raven Street."

"If the Tidal Lands have no treasures, why is there so much attention on it?" A new recruit in the team spoke. Gagnor was surprised to find that this person was the same guy who had Marcus tattoo a blue Sword Rune on him not long ago.

He didn't quite remember what the sucker looked like, but he had a deep impression of the blue Sword Rune.

Ryan: "Because of Everlasting plants."

"Like Everlasting Moss?"

"Exactly."

"Everlasting plants only grow in the so-called 'Forgotten Lands', and the Tidal Lands are the most common 'Forgotten Lands'."

"After all, even the most frequently opened Tidal Lands usually have several years between openings. As for the least frequent, they may only open once every few thousand years, or even never open since their creation..."

New recruit: "I heard that Everlasting Moss is very valuable. A piece can easily sell for hundreds of silver coins!"

"Hundreds of silver coins? That was the price fifty years ago. Now it's already risen to thousands of silver coins!" said a warrior carrying a sword and shield next to Ryan.

"Captain, can your death gratuity afford a piece of Everlasting Moss?" someone joked.

"Get lost!" the warrior cursed.

Traveling from west to east, the group arrived at the Stoneclaw Mountains after half a day. In the distance, only endless trees and undulating hills remained in sight. The air was filled with the scent of soil, rain, and trees, and occasionally, the low roars of magical beasts could be heard from the depths of the mountains.

The Stoneclaw Mountains are a relatively well-known mountain range within Nordanlun, and for South Sea Town, its importance is no less than that of the ocean and its ports.

The Gray Hawk Mercenary Group crossed two more small hills before finally reaching their destination.

Many people had already set up camp in small groups nearby, with tents scattered sparsely everywhere.

Except for a section on the far east side.

On the surface, this area was no different from the surrounding mountains and forests, with trees and weeds growing densely, hills undulating, and rocks occasionally exposed in the soil.

However, no one had pitched their tent here, making it stand out as distinctly empty compared to the surroundings.

"This is the border of the Tidal Lands," the captain said, pointing to the empty area.

"It doesn't seem to be anything special—"

The recruit's words stopped abruptly.

A small snake was seen crawling towards the area. At first, nothing happened, but then it was as if an invisible blade suddenly descended, instantly turning it into two twitching pieces of a dying corpse.