Jia Xiu arrives in his loyal Larven

Morning.

Thick fog blanketed the sea.

A large ship carrying 120 passengers slowly sailed toward the lighthouse's guiding beam.

"Look! It's the Larven statue!"

A shout shattered the morning silence.

The groggy travelers all raised their heads, searching around for the legendary Larven statue.

The legendary mage Larven, the greatest and most powerful mage in human history, founder of Larven, the City of Ten Thousand Laws.

To commemorate him, a massive statue stood at the city's harbor. Every outsider arriving in Larven would see this magnificent statue first.

Over time, the statue had become the city's symbol, representing a new life and a bright future.

"Over there, look! It's over there!"

"Woohoo!"

"Larven, here I come—"

More and more people spotted the statue.

Larven stood with his arms spread wide, guiding a spell. Emerging through the mist, he looked as though he were welcoming visitors from afar.

The passengers cheered. The hopeful future they imagined was always exciting, and the joy spread to everyone aboard.

Everyone except Jia Xiu.

"Bleurgh—"

Jia Xiu clung to the railing and vomited violently.

There was nothing left to throw up, but the nausea brought on by his dizziness still made him retch endlessly.

"Boss, are you okay?"

Bubu looked at Jia Xiu helplessly, not knowing what to do.

"I-I'm fine. If you throw up enough, you get used to it."

Jia Xiu's face was deathly pale. He shakily sat down on the deck, breathing weakly.

He had never known he got seasick.

He had traveled by ship before, but those had been passenger liners. He had felt slightly uncomfortable then, but it had never been serious enough to affect his movement.

Only now did he realize that a ship displacing tens of thousands of tons swayed nothing like this wooden vessel, which could carry barely more than a hundred people.

The voyage from Folen Territory to Larven took three days.

Jia Xiu felt like he had lost at least five pounds over those three days.

If he had known, he would have spent the money on teleportation. It cost dozens of times more, but at least he would not have had to suffer like this.

"The ship seems to have stopped, Boss. We're here."

"We're here? Good. Let's get off."

Leaning on the wand Emilia had bestowed upon him, Jia Xiu stood with Bubu's help.

This rare-quality wand was now serving entirely as a cane.

And it was worse than a cane. The tip dug into his hand.

Fortunately, he had not brought much luggage. Of his more than three thousand Kroner in savings, he had left two hundred for Aunt Susan. No matter what he said, she refused to accept it, saying, "If you insist on giving Auntie money, Auntie will get mad."

Jia Xiu had no choice but to secretly hide the money beneath her pillow.

The rest had been transferred directly to Larven's association through the association's channels. Although they charged a sixty-Kroner handling fee, it was safer.

Carrying that much money on a ship would have meant putting far too much faith in the public safety of this era.

So, when Jia Xiu boarded the ship, he had brought only some food, which he had all thrown up, Margaret's book, and two sets of clothes, all carried by Bubu.

For once, Bubu was fulfilling its duty as an attendant.

Following the crowd, Jia Xiu stepped off the passenger ship.

Though it was early morning, the harbor was already bustling. Conversations among the crowds, vendors crying their wares, dialects from all over, and babies crying blended into a chaotic din.

The air was filled with the smell of coal, seawater, and people. Workers, guards, officials, visiting families, stowaways, thieves, apprentices, and even people excitedly kissing the ground were all crammed together.

This was somewhat different from the great city Jia Xiu had imagined.

It did not feel particularly advanced. Instead, it was like an enormously enlarged Creekwood Town.

"Boss, where should we go?"

Faced with the unfamiliar city, Bubu was a little nervous. It tugged at Jia Xiu's trouser leg and asked.

"Let's leave the harbor first. My mentor should be waiting for us outside."

Back on solid ground, Jia Xiu felt that the world was wonderfully steady.

"Boss's mentor?"

"Yes, my mentor. A young lecturer at Saint Delro Academy."

"Is she powerful?"

"Uh..." Jia Xiu thought about it. Margaret probably was not level nineteen either. "She's very knowledgeable."

He chose to put it tactfully.

Outside the harbor, carriages lined both sides of the street. Coachmen soliciting customers swarmed every outsider like hunting dogs.

"Going to Saint Dero? Saint Dero? Going?"

"The station! One more passenger, just one more before we leave!"

"Where are you going, friend? Need a carriage, friend?"

It was back. That familiar feeling was back.

Watching the fierce competition for passengers, Jia Xiu guessed there were probably no fare meters yet. These were likely all unlicensed carriages.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Jia Xiu?"

A tall woman with a cold expression appeared before Jia Xiu.

"I'm Jia Xiu. And you are?"

"Miss Margaret sent me to pick you up."

"Then thank you for the trouble."

Following the woman, Jia Xiu came to a carriage that was clearly far more expensive than the others around it. Its materials and carvings practically reeked of money. Most importantly, it was not pulled by horses, but by a griffin horse.

It had enormous wings, an eagle's head and talons, and a horse's hind legs.

Its extraordinary presence made the other carriages automatically keep their distance, lest their horses be startled.

It seemed this mentor was even wealthier than he had previously thought.

Thinking this, Jia Xiu climbed into the carriage.

Mentor Margaret was already inside.

"Welcome to Larven, Jia..."

Margaret froze halfway through her greeting. Looking at Bubu struggling to climb into the carriage, unable to make it up until Jia Xiu gave it a pull, her eyes gradually widened.

"Th-this one is?"

"It's Bubu."

"Greetings, Mentor!" Having finally climbed aboard, Bubu briskly gave a knight's salute.

"No, it, this, how..."

Margaret had clearly noticed that Bubu was different, and she briefly lost her ability to form coherent sentences.

"I'm Boss's attendant!"

"It's your attendant?"

"Bubu is the undead I told you about. Oh, and your book."

Margaret took the book, but her gaze still could not leave Bubu. Her big eyes were full of confusion about the world.

"You never said the undead you planned to control was of this level! What if something happened to you?"

"I didn't know what level Bubu was at back then either."

Jia Xiu answered honestly.

"Don't take such risks so casually again."

Margaret did not want a student she had already invested so much in to get himself killed.

The carriage sped toward their lodging. Bubu curiously pressed against the window, watching the pedestrians and buildings on both sides of the street.

Margaret felt the atmosphere inside the carriage was somewhat awkward. Bubu might be a very powerful undead, but she should not have been so surprised.

She was a mentor, after all. It made her seem too unsteady.

"Ahem." She cleared her throat, preparing to make conversation. Then she noticed Jia Xiu's wand. "Nice wand. Did you buy it?"

"Oh, no. Princess Emilia gave it to me."

"Princess Emilia gave it to you?"

Margaret frowned. What did that mean? I treated you like a close friend, and you want to steal my student?

Jia Xiu keenly caught the subtle sarcasm in Margaret's tone. Though he did not know why, he explained anyway. "It was a reward because of Bubu."

"So that's how it is. To earn Her Highness's favor at such a young age, you truly are gifted."

"Uh, should I switch to another wand?"

"Ahem, well, it's like this. A wand that enhances healing spells like this may very well hinder your continued progress in healing magic. I'll get you another wand tomorrow. It's all for the sake of helping you improve further on the path of magic."

As Margaret spoke, she felt she was truly a genius to come up with such a reasonable excuse.

More than ten minutes later, Jia Xiu and Bubu got out at an inn specially provided for examinees during exam season.

Margaret had already booked a room for him.

Watching the carriage disappear in a cloud of dust, Bubu adjusted its hat.

"Boss, Mentor seemed unhappy after you mentioned where the wand came from."

"Indeed."

"But why?"

"I don't know."

"Humans are strange..."