Ash and Sonia sat in the small boat, reading the Spellcaster's Manual with its cowhide cover without blinking.
Like the previous Spellcaster's Manuals, this one contained no information about the spellcaster himself. For now, they would call him the Explorer.
Why call him that? Because his greatest hobby was exploring all kinds of natural scenery, and this manual recorded the various places he had visited in the past.
"Lava Cave"
"After more than a year at the construction site, the third phase of the project was finally finished. Before the Captain takes on another job, I should have time to visit the Lava Cave."
"I arrived at the village closest to the Lava Cave, but the Captain said he'd taken on another major project. Sigh."
"A few months later, I finally made time to explore the Lava Cave again. This time, I was lucky. I spent quite a bit of money to hire a local to take me inside."
"It was incredible. Lava flowed across the ground just like that, and the pollen of blooming flowers could actually be ignited to explode, yet inside the Lava Cave was a cold, refreshing Underground River... what a marvelous wonderland!"
"I'm so happy, and so terrified. I actually encountered an Azure Fire Dragon. She must have escaped from the Void Realm long ago and built a nest in the Lava Cave! Haha, I took photos. The payment from submitting them alone will be enough for another trip to the Lava Cave!"
That was roughly the format. The Explorer often went through many twists and turns before setting out, and sometimes even had to interrupt his travels because of work. One could say he took care of the grind before him without forgetting poetry and distant horizons.
"He was probably a civil architect," Sonia