Five Months Later, a Wizard Arrives

By the time Lohr returned to town with three cartloads of fish, it was already evening.

Fortunately, they had not encountered any powerful beasts along the way, much less extraordinary beasts.

That was the normal situation, really. Otherwise, if extraordinary beasts could be encountered so casually, merchant caravans would not be able to operate at all.

As usual, he first unloaded the fish in his own yard, then returned the carts to the carriage rental.

By the time he returned to the yard, night had fully fallen.

"Lohr, are we still going to salt all these fish overnight?" Clysis asked energetically.

"Mm."

Lohr nodded with a smile. "I'll have to trouble you again."

"It's what friends are for!" Clysis waved it off without a care.

With their experience from last time, the two of them finished salting the three thousand jin of fish in just five hours.

As usual, Lohr made a meal to reward Clysis.

After returning to his room, Lohr's eyes filled with anticipation.

"Panel."

[Name: Rox Lor

Age: 12

Physique: 2.7+

Spirit: 1.5+

Spiritual Energy: 0+

Spells: None

Meditation Talent: Level 1+.

Charge Points: 3, 11.2%]

He focused on the plus sign after Meditation Talent and tapped it.

[Meditation Talent Level 1 → Level 2]

[Charge Points 3 → 2]

Lohr felt a cool current rise in his Sea of Consciousness, continuously washing over his brain. It was incredibly comfortable.

A minute later, the cool current vanished. He shook his head and felt his mind had become much clearer.

Other than that, there were no other changes.

"Again!"

[Meditation Talent Level 2 → Level 3]

[Charge Points 2 → 0]

"Mm, that feels good!" Lohr lay flat on his bed, savoring the coolness rising in his head. He felt that all his efforts over the past few days had finally paid off.

"A third-level Meditation Talent would already qualify me to enter a Wizard Academy and obtain a Meditation Method for free in the era when the game begins."

Lohr pondered. "As for now, I'm not too sure what the treatment is like."

After all, he had only seen a little of the background material for this era. He understood the major trends, but knew little about the finer details.

"Still, fifth-level talent is no longer far away. From here on, I just need to proceed step by step. Not only will my talent reach level five, I'll also save up a considerable number of Charge Points."

Lohr let out a soft breath and drifted into a deep sleep.

Summer gradually faded, and autumn grew late.

Before he knew it, Lohr had been in this world for five months.

"Most of those powerful wizards should have finished absorbing the remnants left behind by the gods, recovered from their injuries, and begun formally taking over the Twelve Continents by now, right?"

Lohr stood alone in the courtyard, staring at the empty fish-drying racks that filled the yard, his heart unsettled.

"I wonder how much longer it will be before a wizard comes to this insignificant little town to take over the temple. I just hope it isn't a Faith Wizard."

Faith Wizards were something created by certain lunatics among the Bloodline Wizards who had implanted divine bloodlines into themselves.

They did have their advantages. For example, they advanced quickly in rank and avoided the flaw of gods being influenced by the wills of their believers.

As long as they had enough power of faith, reaching the level of a Third-Circle Archwizard was effortless. It was practically a one-step ascent to heaven, drawing countless Bloodline Wizards to implant divine bloodlines.

But the disadvantages were actually even greater. First, once a divine bloodline was implanted, it could never be changed.

This flaw had been discovered from the start, but no one cared. After all, the breakthrough within reach was far more tempting.

The second flaw was that choosing this system effectively locked one's upper limit. At most, one could only grow to the level of the god whose bloodline had been implanted.

Third, they became completely bound to the world. If the world was destroyed, they would die as well.

Ten years later, some of the wizards who had changed their bloodlines reached their limits and discovered the second flaw. The Wizard Plane instantly descended into chaos, and an entire continent was even destroyed.

Only after the third flaw was discovered did things finally settle down.

"Mm, I hope the continent I'm on isn't the Murphy Continent. Otherwise, I'll have to find a way to run."

Recalling the backstory he knew from his previous life, Lohr could not help rubbing his brow.

What a headache.

Boom—boom—boom—

Suddenly, several massive explosions rang out from the center of town, making even the ground tremble slightly.

Lohr looked up and saw a mushroom cloud slowly rising above the temple.

Then came a cold, indifferent voice.

"Everyone in town, listen up. Gather at the temple square immediately. Anyone who runs dies!"

"That really is simple and direct."

Lohr took a deep breath, suppressed the unease in his heart, hesitated for a moment, and ultimately made his decision. He left the yard and headed toward the center of town.

As he walked down the street and looked around, he found that everyone who had been on the road was hurriedly fleeing back into their homes and shutting their doors tight.

Other than Lohr, not a single person dared head toward the temple. Of course, no one dared flee out of town either.

"Only natural."

Lohr thought to himself. "If I didn't know who this person was, I'd probably be just like them."

"In the end, that wizard's methods are simply too crude. He scared the townspeople."

"Judging from his methods, he should be a Fire Element Wizard of the Nature School. He acts decisively and values efficiency."

"When I face him later, I should speak as little as possible and mainly act quiet and sensible."

With a plan in mind, Lohr soon arrived before the temple square.

Looking up, he saw that the once-grand temple had been reduced to a scorched black ruin.

Above the ruins floated a male wizard in a red robe and hood, suspended in midair.

Looking around again, Lohr found the area completely empty.

Clearly, aside from him, everyone else had been frightened and did not dare come out.

Whoosh—

The red-robed wizard, who had been floating in the air, suddenly dived down and arrived before Lohr. He produced a crystal ball from nowhere. There was a trace of appreciation in his eyes, though his tone remained cold.

"Very good. You're the first to arrive. Place your hand on the crystal ball."

"Yes, sir."

Lohr answered respectfully, then stretched out his hand and pressed it against the crystal ball.

A speck of fluorescence flashed within the crystal ball. In an instant, it became a ball of white light the size of a soybean.

It pulsed again and grew to the size of a pigeon egg. Then it pulsed twice more, finally stopping only after it had grown to the size of a chicken egg.

"Fifth-Level Meditation Talent. Not bad." The red-robed wizard's tone softened, and even the lines of his face became gentler.

"That will do. Let go."

"Yes, sir." Lohr withdrew his hand as instructed. A trace of confusion flashed through his eyes at the right moment. He looked at the red-robed wizard, seeming to want to speak but stopping himself.

"I know what you want to ask, but I don't want to repeat myself."

The red-robed wizard curled his lips. "Wait here first. I'm going to take care of something."

After saying that, the red-robed wizard rose into the air again and flew toward the most conspicuous castle-like building on the eastern side of town, not giving Lohr any chance to speak.

Lohr looked over and discovered that the wizard's target was the residence of Baron Radev, the town's only noble.

"I hope Clysis will be all right." Watching the red-robed wizard fly into the castle, Lohr could not help worrying about his overly honest friend.

Boom—

The moment the red-robed wizard entered the castle, a loud explosion came from within.

The castle did not collapse, but a burst of shouting and commotion erupted from inside.

Boom—

Another loud explosion rang out, and all the shouting and commotion vanished.

"Wizards in this era are truly hot-tempered. If they disagree... no, before they even start talking, they'll throw out a few explosive Fireballs first. If you're still alive afterward, then they can discuss things."

Lohr grumbled inwardly. "Even the Nature School has this kind of damn temperament. Then it's hardly surprising that Faith Wizards would go mad and overturn an entire continent."

Not long after, activity came from the baron's castle again.

This time, it was no longer explosions. Instead, a group of militiamen emerged from the baron's residence and began knocking on doors one household at a time.

Those who opened their doors were told to go to the temple square. Those who refused to open up had their doors kicked in, then were "persuaded" to go to the temple square.