A Thousand Years of Sleep

There were eighteen Magical Items in total.

Half of them were jewelry, while the rest were relatively larger items such as cloaks, robes, and weapons.

What disappointed Sunan was that more than half of these Magical Items had been completely damaged.

They seemed to have existed for a very long time. The Enchantment Runes on their surfaces had long been worn blurry by the passage of time, and the magical properties they contained had long since dissipated as a result.

Only the Enchantment Runes on two of the Magical Items were relatively lightly worn. They could probably still be used after some repairs.

Judging from the number and complexity of the Enchantment Runes, these two Magical Items had originally been at least Magic Grade—in other words, true wizard artifacts.

But even if they were repaired now, they would at most be Sub-Magical Items.

"What a pity."

Sunan sighed, then grew somewhat puzzled.

"For a wizard artifact to naturally wear down to this extent, it would take at least a thousand years. Could Amy's master have had a hobby of collecting old wizard artifacts?"

Sunan turned to Amy and held up the ring in his hand. "Amy, do you recognize this ring?"

Amy glanced at it and nodded. "I do. Master made this wizard artifact not long ago. Before I went to sleep, I even saw it sitting in the laboratory. Strange, how did it get so filthy?"

Sunan froze. "When you saw the ring before, it was still new?"

"That's right."

"Are you sure you remember correctly?"

Amy thought for a moment, then nodded firmly. "Absolutely!"

Sunan could not help drawing in a sharp breath.

The corrosion marks on the ring had definitely formed naturally.

If what Amy said was true, then this ring had been made a thousand years ago!

And Amy's master, the wizard who had made this ring, was very likely one of the wizards who had left the Starlight Continent a thousand years ago to embark on an expedition into the multiverse!

Wait!

Sunan quickly realized something.

Amy's master had left while she was asleep. Didn't that mean Amy had slept for a full thousand years?

This little fellow was actually over a thousand years old?!

Amy suddenly noticed that Sunan was staring at her in shock.

That look was as though he were looking at some exceedingly rare creature.

"What is it, meow?" the little fellow asked, tilting her head in confusion.

Sunan fell silent for a moment before asking, "Amy, have you ever seen any wizards other than your master?"

"Of course I have."

"Many of Master's friends were wizards, and there were also lots of Wizard Apprentice students. I saw them every day, but now they've all disappeared along with Master."

"Come to think of it, it's so strange, meow. There used to be so many wizards and Wizard Apprentices on the streets, but since I woke up, I haven't seen a single one. You're the first Wizard Apprentice I've met. Are wizards rare in this town?"

Case closed!

This little fellow really was a Magic Pet that had lived for a thousand years!

What Sunan did not understand, however, was why Amy's master had left her alone on the Starlight Continent.

And why had the little fellow slept for a thousand years?

Although he had deduced part of Amy's origins, there were now even more questions he could not understand.

Perhaps sensing something from Sunan's expression, Amy asked in confusion, "What is it, meow?"

After hesitating, Sunan still told Amy about the wizards leaving the Starlight Continent.

When she heard that, the little fellow froze in place, her eyes vacant.

"M-Master left the Starlight Continent, and... and abandoned me? Why?"

"Did Amy do something wrong?"

Sunan comforted her. "Maybe your master didn't want to abandon you, but had no choice but to do so. Look, your master left behind so many things. That means they must have been in quite a hurry when they left."

At those words, Amy's eyes immediately lit up, and she nodded vigorously.

"That's right, meow! I don't normally sleep for so long. Master must have done it. If Master wanted to abandon me, there was no need to do something like this!"

"That's right," Sunan said, following her lead.

Once she was sure her master had not truly abandoned her, Amy regained her vitality. As if encouraging herself, she muttered, "Master will definitely come back. I'll wait for Master here."

Sunan thought that was indeed possible.

When the elements revived after a thousand years, those wizards who had left would return to the Starlight Continent.

Amy's master might very well be among them.

"In that case, Amy, would you like to come to where I live?"

"Meow, where Sunan lives?"

Amy was tempted, but also somewhat hesitant.

"But if I leave and Master comes back, what if Master can't find me?"

Sunan smiled. "You're your master's Magic Pet, right?"

"Yep."

"Then it's fine. There's a contractual bond between wizards and their Magic Pets. If your master comes back, they won't possibly be unable to find you."

"That seems right." Amy suddenly understood.

Sunan continued coaxing her patiently. "Besides, if you stay here, the Starfire Cult might come to capture you again. You might as well leave with me and go somewhere they can't find you."

In truth, Amy no longer had the God Blood Amber, so the Starfire Cult could no longer track her through the resonance between divine blood.

But Amy, whose intelligence was painfully lacking, did not think of that at all. She only felt that Sunan's words made perfect sense. On top of that, she already liked Sunan for helping her twice, so she no longer hesitated and happily agreed.

A smile flickered in Sunan's eyes at the sight.

Though he had his own selfish motives, he was also doing it for Amy's sake.

This little fellow was far too innocent and knew little about the present-day Starlight Continent. Living alone outside would make it easy for her to be taken advantage of. After all, Malice Perception was not omnipotent.

She might as well follow him. At the very least, she would eat and sleep well. In any case, he would not mistreat her.

After the excitement faded, Amy said somewhat embarrassedly, "But Sunan, won't this be too much trouble for you?"

"Not at all." Sunan smiled faintly, then pointed at the things on the table. "But if you really feel bad about it, how about lending these things to me for now? When your master returns, I'll return them to their owner."

"No problem." Amy agreed without even thinking.

These things were useless sitting with her anyway.

"Oh, right. Tomorrow, let's go to your master's residence and take another look. Maybe we'll find some clues about your master's departure."

Having finally found the residence of a wizard from a thousand years ago, Sunan naturally would not miss the opportunity.

He might find something valuable.

Amy did not suspect a thing and agreed brightly.

There were still four or five hours until dawn. Sunan had no intention of wasting time. He sat cross-legged on the bed, held the God Blood Amber, and began to meditate.

Four hours later, he opened his eyes and immediately opened the panel.

"Meditation proficiency increased by 287 points, roughly three and a half times what it was before."

"Spirit Power increased by 0.04."

"Not bad!"

Sunan nodded in satisfaction.

At this rate, he would be able to construct the fourth star ring in less than a month.

"If I can make a second-tier Activity Potion, the efficiency can improve by a great deal."

"I happened to get more than two thousand Gold Coins from the Starfire Cult. Once I get back, I'll try synthesizing a higher-tier potion."

Sunan had actually considered establishing a Magical Plant Garden himself and growing Silver Moon Flowers on a large scale to make Lesser Activity Potions. That would greatly reduce the cost.

But planting and cultivating magical plants was not like growing ordinary plants. It was not something that could be done with just a plot of land and a few hired hands.

Aside from common environmental factors such as climate, soil, and humidity, growing magical plants also involved energy density.

Given the current energy density of the Starlight Continent, small-scale cultivation of magical plants was barely feasible. But for large-scale cultivation, it would be necessary to set up rune arrays to gather Energy Particles and artificially increase the energy density.

It was precisely because they were so difficult to cultivate that Silver Moon Flowers had remained so expensive.

And that was only because Silver Moon Flowers were not particularly precious magical plants. If they were more valuable magical plants, the people tending them would also need to possess a certain degree of Magical Plant Cultivation knowledge.

In short, establishing a Magical Plant Garden was not something that could be done overnight.

At the very least, Blackstone City currently lacked the manpower and resources for Sunan to establish a Magical Plant Garden.

"I'll consider it after reclaiming the Shining Territory."

My apologies, everyone. I mixed up the Wizard Apprentice ranks earlier and have corrected them. From now on, Wizard Apprentice ranks will go from first level to third level, from lowest to highest. Thank you to the readers who pointed it out.