Arcane Hermit Order (I)

"The player base is now expanding outwards."

"Players have been spotted not only in Dragon Valley and North Wind Fortress, but also in southern cities such as Katis City and Kliburg."

"That's really impressive..."

Keosius browsed the Player Forum and Lang Pu's Magic Mirror, sighing to himself.

Yes, besides the Lang Li Bai Tiao, some players have already left Bator City and come to unknown territories.

This is no easy task. First, we must break through the numerous obstacles posed by the monsters on the outskirts of Storm Highlands. In addition to the Ember Nest, there are also scattered rebellious tribes such as Frost Giant, Hill Giant, and Orcs. Although they have been pushed to the edge of the Highlands, they still retain some strength.

Moreover, these players on their long journeys cannot die easily; once they die, all their previous efforts will be wasted, and they will have to return to Bator City.

"Huh? What's that sound?"

Keosius's lively, ruffled dragon ears twitched and rotated as he tracked the sound— Red Dragon have much more acute hearing than humans, possessing the ability to identify what sounds are important and to filter out background noise and focus on what is noteworthy.

"Bite--"

A sound came from somewhere in the corner of the cave.

The "Arcane Hermit Order Badge" was shimmering with magical light, and a Magic Image appeared.

"The Anzeta Chapter cordially invites you to join us!"

"Gathering time: Three days later"

Location: Strasbourg

Teleportation coordinates: 1345.8375.527

The Arcane Hermit Order, a renowned mage organization in later generations, was founded by the famous Legendary Archmage Trafalano.

Members regularly meet to share magical knowledge, exchange research findings, and sometimes seek help to eliminate evil. This meeting appears to be the first gathering of the Arcane Hermit Order - Anzeta Branch.

"Many prominent figures from Anzeta will be attending this chapter."

"I have to go join the fun!"

With this in mind, Keosius summoned the magic mirror.

"Lang Pu, come here right now."

The image showed Lang Pu's ugly face, but at this moment he seemed to be obsessively counting his Gold Coin, indicating that the greed in his Red Dragon bloodline had also had a profound impact on him.

"One hundred and one, one hundred and two, one hundred and three."

Gold Coin were scattered one by one, making a crisp clinking sound.

He only snapped out of his daze when he heard Keosius's impatient second call, and said in a panic, "Oh, I'm sorry, Master, I'll be right there."

A moment later, Lang Pu staggered down from the sky and landed in front of Keosius.

The Ogre Mage muttered, "Master, these ' Starfallers ' you've brought in are too easy to fool. I'm selling Magic Scroll at three or four times the market price, and they still scramble to buy them from me. It's just a pity that these guys are dirt poor and don't have many Gold Coin in their pockets. If everyone were this stupid, I wouldn't need to rob those adventurers."

"Master, do you think I should raise the price again to earn you more Gold Coin?"

Keosius exhaled a puff of white smoke from his nostrils. "Lang Pu, you need to understand the concept of casting a long line to catch a big fish, and not exhausting the resources to catch all the fish."

"The prices of our goods should change as their purchasing power increases. You should have someone regularly check their assets and each time keep prices at a level that leaves them short of cash but not unable to survive. Wouldn't that be sufficient?"

After a moment's thought, Lang Pu clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Master, I admire your wisdom. I'll go and have my men prepare right away."

Keosius nodded in satisfaction.

Lang Pu is getting increasingly adept at exploiting players, which is truly commendable.

"However, I didn't call you here to talk about the Starfallers."

"Come on, take a look at this—"

Lang Pu looked toward the corner of the cave and saw the semi-transparent Magic Image.

The Arcane Hermit Order?

"That's right, want to go and see for yourself?" Keosius laughed.

A hint of nostalgia and relief suddenly appeared on Lang Pu's ugly, ferocious face.

"Of course, Master..."

He was initially ignorant and didn't understand what was happening; he just felt that he had inexplicably become smarter.

Now, as the chief steward of the Ember Nest, Lang Pu has held a high position for many years and has devoted himself to the study of magic. He has his own Mage Tower and has long understood what happened back then. He is even able to further modify the [Ring of Wisdom Research].

Everything seemed to be a deliberate arrangement by the God of Fate.

If this hot-blooded young apprentice hadn't gone out to protest, and if I hadn't knocked him unconscious and eaten him, Lang Pu might still be just a mediocre, incompetent, and muddle-headed Ogre.

—Like all Ogre, he only thinks about eating and sleeping, and he is absolutely not qualified to be part of the Red Dragon's "Great Blueprint".

This experience changed his life, or rather, it turned his life into a nightmare.

"Polymorph!"

The enormous Red Dragon transformed once again into a young nobleman with black hair, golden eyes, and a noble demeanor, but this time it did not display any dragon-like characteristics.

"I'm still a bit reserved."

Feeling the immense power within him being bound by the humanoid form, Keosius flexed his wrists.

He gazed at Lang Pu's massive frame, his brow furrowing slightly. "The Arcane Hermit Order supposed to be a gathering of the good faction, so it's unlikely you could appear in this form..."

"Yes, Master."

Lang Pu quickly waved his staff, communicating with the Weave to construct a spell model, transforming into a human.

"Polymorph!"

The human in front of them was over two meters tall, obese and muscular, covered in flabby flesh, and with a swollen face that was unrecognizable. He looked like a Ogre in human skin—which was indeed the case.

"Master, is this alright?"

Keosius stared at Lang Pu, somewhat speechless:

"Could you please modify this...? This form doesn't look like a normal human at all."

"It would be better to just bring an Ogre along."

But Keosius forgot that Ogre are not "artist" Sorcerer cast spells based on intuition and consciousness, but rather mages who require meticulous construction.

Lang Pu scratched his head sheepishly. "Sorry, Master, the parameters of my spell model aren't adjusted properly. It might take... seven or eight days to gradually perfect it."

"Seven or eight days?"

"The Arcane Hermit Order coming to an end."

"How about this..."

Keosius for a moment.

"You can transform into Iron Golem and still look somewhat normal. It's normal for a noble spellcaster to have constructs protecting him, right?"

"Yes, Master."

Lang Pu cast the Polymorph again, and this time there were no mistakes. He easily transformed into a three-meter-tall, steel-clad giant.

Although it still looks ugly, at least no one would doubt that it is some kind of chaotic evil creature.

"Give me a cloak."

Lang Pu pulled out a long cloak from his collection, imbued with a "Anti-Scrying" spell, and draped it over Keosius.

Keosius fiddled with the Mithril Necklace in his hand, stroking the door-shaped pendant on it.

"Dimensional Door".

As the coordinates were confirmed, space gradually distorted, and a rift unfolded before Keosius.