The Journey

Inside the moving carriage, Rhode took several deep breaths, trying to bring himself into the best possible condition.

After a night of rest, Rhode had recovered his mental state.

He intended to take advantage of this opportunity to try deep meditation.

Rhode didn't know how long the merchant group's journey would take. But with a Soul Quest limiting him, he couldn't afford to waste any of the time spent on the road. He had to make the most of every moment to improve his strength.

At present, the only way Rhode could improve his strength was through deep meditation.

Rhode had meditated several times before, but those sessions had all been shallow meditation, which was vastly different from deep meditation.

The main purpose of shallow meditation was to increase one's maximum mana and improve the speed of mana recovery. It could be ended easily at any time, without risk of backlash. To some extent, it could even replace sleep. Deep meditation, however, was completely different.

The first step in deep meditation was to disperse one's mana and use it to establish a connection with the surrounding magical elements. Then, through mental exploration, one steadily deepened that connection.

During deep meditation, one's mind had to remain focused at all times, continually sensing and exploring the magical elements nearby. The connection between a mage and the magical elements was generally maintained by supplying mana without interruption.

Once deep meditation began, the deeper one's connection with the magical elements became, the more one sank into a state that severed all awareness of the outside world. It could not be ended easily unless one ran out of mana.

If this state was forcibly interrupted, the person meditating would suffer backlash based on their remaining mana. The more mana they had left, the worse the backlash to their body. For a Grand Mage, it could even cause their body to collapse outright.

That was why mages generally chose a completely safe environment for deep meditation. This was not only to reduce the outside world's influence on them, but, more importantly, to prevent this backlash from occurring.

Rhode knew about the backlash caused by deep meditation, but he had still chosen to practice it here.

Aside from wanting to use every moment to improve his strength, the main reason he had made this choice was that the experience he had accumulated during his previous life as a mage gave him a unique understanding of deep meditation.

If the Silver Seal Merchant Group chose to attack him while he was in deep meditation, Rhode could use certain special methods to avoid the harm caused by the backlash. He might lose his mana, but that wouldn't affect his close-combat abilities.

Rhode hadn't told anyone else in the merchant group not to disturb him. According to the information provided by the maid, there was a spellcaster of unknown strength among them.

Since deep meditation required establishing a connection with the surrounding magical elements, the resulting fluctuations in mana were extremely easy for any spellcaster to detect, no matter their rank.

Though Rhode hadn't said anything to the merchant group, his actions were still a signal.

He believed that, judging by the merchant group's previous behavior, they wouldn't maliciously interrupt him once they sensed he had begun deep meditation. Instead, they would leave him alone.

The merchant group wanted to deliver the Soul Crystals they carried to Dya in peace, and wouldn't go out of their way to provoke a powerful enemy. Rhode had no intention of seizing their Soul Crystals, either.

The carriage wasn't spacious, so Rhode rested his hands on his thighs. He also changed his equipped achievement to Beginner, then prepared to enter a meditative state.

As Rhode meditated, the Silver Seal Merchant Group was making its way down a main road. Dense woods lined both sides, their trees tall and imposing.

The road had been chosen specifically by the merchant group. Though dead branches and leaves covered the ground, it was wide and free of obstacles, making it suitable for the carriages.

The sky was already bright, but the dense woods blocked out the light, leaving the road dim.

At the center of the merchant group, Yusuf stood beside the largest carriage, directing the group's progress.

Unlike the casual clothes he'd worn yesterday, Yusuf was now dressed in silver-white armor and riding a brown horse. He carried no weapon, but wore a Space Ring on his hand.

Yusuf was listening to one of his scouts report on the surrounding area.

The scout was already quite old. Compared to the other scouts, who relied on their physical abilities, he clearly couldn't match them. But he had extensive experience scouting the area, and knew the road to the City of Wailing better than anyone.

From the way Yusuf kept glancing in one direction, the scout could tell that Yusuf wasn't paying much attention to his report. Since nothing unusual had happened, he quickly finished his report, then returned to the front of the caravan to continue scouting.

Yusuf was still staring in the direction beside the merchant group. In his mind, the group's safety was clearly more important.

The two unknown necromancers were what concerned Yusuf most. The previous day, he'd had no choice but to let them travel as passengers to prevent information from leaking out. Now, he was trying to figure out how to deal with them.

Though he'd ordered his best thieves to keep them under constant watch, Yusuf still couldn't put his mind at ease.

Only after the scout had been gone for a while did Yusuf look away. He was about to give the scout a few orders when he realized that the report had already been completed and the scout had gone ahead to investigate.

Yusuf had no choice but to turn his gaze back to that carriage.

The night before, Rhode had been able to sleep peacefully in the carriage, but for the Silver Seal Merchant Group, preparations had only just begun.

Unlike Rhode, who had entered the Silver Seal's encampment and made that remark, Yusuf had been forced to change his plans. He'd had to pack everything up overnight, heedless of the possibility that others might notice something amiss, and set out early that morning.

Now that the merchant group was on the road, Yusuf was only beginning to realize how much of a headache the two necromancers in the caravan would be.

Yusuf understood that necromancers knew better than anyone the value of the Soul Crystals. If there was any danger on the road, the greatest threat would come from the necromancers within the merchant group.

Although the two necromancers hadn't made any demands and had only asked to travel to Dya, Yusuf simply couldn't believe that necromancers, a group known for their scheming, wouldn't have designs on the Soul Crystals.

Even though they were under his watch and hadn't made a move, Yusuf still couldn't relax. If anything, he suspected they were plotting something.

Since he didn't know how strong they were, Yusuf didn't dare act rashly. The only thing he could do was increase the scrutiny on them.