Daily Life

Walking along the small dirt path they had patrolled during the day, they had to be even more cautious at night.

The four members of Dago's group did not speak along the way.

Their attention remained fixed on the dim forest, wary of any unusual movement.

The grueling night patrol soon passed, and only when they returned to the treehouse outpost did everyone finally relax their taut nerves.

A large iron pot had been set up in the outpost clearing, with water boiling inside for everyone to bathe with.

Forest patrols were no easy job. Without bathing, their bodies would become unbearably itchy and uncomfortable.

Dago had built two bathhouses, one for men and one for women. To avoid embarrassment, they stood at opposite corners of the square outpost.

After midnight, everyone took turns standing watch, one hour per person, decided by drawing lots.

Standing watch meant keeping guard from the watchtower in case the Duskblood Council's black-robed wizards launched a nighttime raid.

After drawing their watch lots, everyone dispersed. Some chatted, some slept, and some trained.

Dago naturally chose to train. Not a single minute could be wasted.

So as not to disturb everyone's rest, Dago did not choose spells that involved blasting trees and making a great deal of noise.

Instead, he trained auxiliary spells such as Meditation Technique, Detection Technique, and Resonance Art.

By seven in the morning, everyone got up, washed, and waited for the delicious breakfast prepared by Evan and his wife.

Ever since tasting Evan and his wife's cooking last time, everyone had unanimously decided to leave the outpost's meals to them from then on.

Usually, Vissel arrived at the outpost around nine, and everyone began a new forest patrol according to their original three-group division.

Although he was much more exhausted than before, Dago rather enjoyed it. There was a sense of joy that came from being part of a big family.

The days passed one after another, accompanied by the soft clatter of pots, bowls, and utensils, unhurriedly...

Yet without anyone noticing, subtle changes were etched into the ordinary days.

Ten days later, the forest patrol teams had not suffered any casualties for the time being, but they occasionally discovered wizards who had originally lived in the forest fleeing with large bags and bundles during patrols.

This phenomenon gave everyone the feeling that a storm was about to break.

That afternoon, at Moonlight Lake, Dago slightly parted his lips as deep blue rings of light revolved in his eyes, cold air spilling in all directions.

His hands continuously rubbed together before him as an Ice Crystal Cannon shell, as large as a football and dark blue almost to black, gradually condensed into shape.

The instant it formed, it whistled through the air, its powerful wake skimming across the mirrorlike lake surface.

It dragged a long white spray across the water, shattering the emerald-blue mirror of the lake.

The Ice Crystal Cannon shell struck the Bronze Crocodiles in the lake head-on. With a boom, it exploded and blasted up a spray more than ten meters high.

The Bronze Crocodiles were instantly blown apart, their pale bellies turning upward as they floated to the surface, before being frozen onto the lake.

Over the past ten days, Dago had never stopped improving his spell training. He summoned his system panel.

[Universal Wizard Meditation Method(Metamorphosis 121/10000);Ice Crystal Cannon(Metamorphosis 197/10000);Resonance Art(Beginner 887/1000);Detection Technique(Beginner 535/1000);Potion Brewing(Beginner 18/1000)]

After his skills reached Metamorphosis, he discovered another way to accelerate his progress: actual combat.

However, compared to the requirement of ten thousand progress points, it was still merely a drop in the bucket. But even a mosquito leg was still meat.

"I can only keep improving slowly. At least the Ice Crystal Cannon is much more powerful than before."

Dago comforted himself with that thought, then turned and headed toward the outpost, intending to call his companions over to carry the magical beast meat.

There were seven or eight Bronze Crocodiles in all. He could not handle them alone.

He walked up the dirt slope leading back to the outpost and gazed into the distance...

Under the orange sunset, vast stretches of trees rose and fell, gradually turning withered yellow. Emerald Forest had now fully entered autumn.

Unfortunately, beneath this beautiful scene lay the unrest and chaos brought by war.

Half an hour later, stepping over withered yellow leaves, Dago stood before the outpost's wooden gate and called out to his companions.

"Come out and get to work!" Dago shouted.

The wooden gate slowly rose, and everyone walked out, looking at him with traces of confusion on their faces.

Dago told them that he had hunted a group of magical beasts at Moonlight Lake.

He could not carry them all himself and needed everyone to help transport them.

Mariko stayed behind to guard the outpost, while Vissel had already returned early. The remaining five eagerly followed Dago to carry the magical beast meat.

The group arrived at Moonlight Lake. By then, the small iceberg on the lake surface had melted considerably, and seven or eight Bronze Crocodiles nearly five meters long were frozen within it.

Everyone looked at Dago with admiration, then each cast spells to haul the small iceberg from the lake onto the shore.

During this, Dago found Selena. She was now a Level 2 apprentice wizard and had learned her first spell.

It was Vine Art, a spell passed down through her family that caused vines to grow from the ground and entangle enemies, then restrain or strangle them.

"Did you know? There used to be a large patch of Moonlight Flowers here. I brewed them into Mental Potion—the bottle you drank."

Dago pointed at the patch of Moonlight Flowers he had once harvested and spoke to Selena.

After ten days of living together, Selena had become much more cheerful, especially around Dago.

"That bottle of Mental Potion from Lord Dago was truly amazing. I really wish I could drink another one."

With a lingering, unsatisfied expression, Selena spoke as she reminisced.

Then she ran ahead to the Moonlight Flower patch, squatted down, and began scraping up soil to collect in a bag.

Dago was quite pleased by her enthusiasm. Once she cultivated Moonlight Flowers in the future, his Potion Brewing skill could improve.

Soon, everyone carried dozens of pounds of meat on their shoulders as they returned to the outpost.

When night fell, they lit a bonfire and began a buffet barbecue feast.

No one drank alcohol. They simply immersed themselves in the wild feast of magical beast meat, since they still had to patrol the forest that night and dared not let their guard down.

At around eight, everyone put on their equipment and carried out the night patrol mission.

When they reached an area that had not yet been patrolled, Dago, who was leading the way, suddenly halted.

Within the range of his Detection Technique, there were faint fluctuations of energy particles behind the bushes ahead.

The three younger ones behind him did not understand why, but they stopped with him, their expressions turning tense as they barely dared to breathe.

Under the bright moonlight, Dago slowly approached the bushes and used his machete to part them.

Several pale, twisted mummified corpses lay on the ground. The undisturbed surroundings showed that there had not been much of a fight.

Dago estimated from the slightly swollen bellies of the mummified corpses that their intestinal flora had fermented and caused bloating. They had probably been dead for two days.

He walked over, and the three younger ones followed, too afraid to fall behind.

The female corpse was completely naked, with nothing on her body. There were no signs of fatal wounds, so she had likely been drained of blood directly.

Her face was twisted with pain and despair, her gray-white eyes wide as bells as though cursing everything before them.

When Selena, Ian, and Gavin saw this, their faces instantly went pale. Covering their mouths, they ran aside and vomited up all the barbecue they had eaten that night.

Dago remained silent as he looked at the faint negative energy particles lingering around the corpse.

She had probably been struck by an evil spell before death and had her blood drained directly.

When Mariko and Evan and his wife arrived and saw the mummified corpse, Evan and his wife changed expression and turned their heads away.

Mariko stepped forward and stared directly at the corpse as spiritual power poured from his eyes...

He began chanting the Restful Soul Spell, his voice gentle yet firm, like a spring breeze capable of piercing the soul.

As he chanted, Mariko's worn robe emitted a gentle silver glow. He pushed both hands forward, and the silver light surged toward the corpse like a raging tide.

At that moment, an illusory soul slowly rose from the mummified corpse, its face twisted and filled with pain and unwillingness.

Mariko quickened his chant, his eyes full of compassion as he watched the soul.

The spell's power enveloped the soul like a warm embrace. Its expression gradually softened before it finally turned into pure light and vanished into the night sky.

A breeze gently brushed past, as if telling of the departed soul's release.

With sorrowful expressions, everyone dug a pit and buried the corpse. Then they silently returned to the outpost...

And dispersed to their respective temporary lodgings.