Entering Silverpine Forest

After making up his mind, he went to the Library. Now that he had successfully advanced to Full Mage, he should have access to the floor above. He approached the counter, and when the staff member saw his mage robes, he greeted him warmly. "Sir, is there anything I can help you with?"

"I just came to have a look. Does my access extend to the third floor?" Allen asked him. The staff member answered with a smile, "For the people of Dalaran, all Full Mages can access the third floor. Like the second floor, the third is divided into several sections. First-tier mages can enter the first section, second-tier mages can enter the second, and so on, for five sections in total."

Allen understood what he meant and asked no further questions, instead having him lead the way. Compared with the first and second floors, the third was smaller and more refined. The books here were not piled up in stacks like those downstairs. Each shelf held only a few books, and it looked as though their total number was less than a tenth of what was below. Moreover, the fees on the third floor were more than ten times those on the second. The first section was still manageable, but from the third section onward, fees could no longer be calculated by time. Everything depended on the value of the book.

Although he understood the importance of knowledge, he believed it ought to be made widely available, especially basic knowledge. Allen had already spent hundreds of gold coins at the Library, yet he could only read elementary books. It was easy to imagine how tightly those at the top hoarded knowledge.

He swiped his reading card to take out a book on wind magic theory and began reading it carefully. He found little of meaningful value in it; the author's understanding of wind spells was not even as good as his own. He swiped his card for several more books, but gained little from them either. He felt the money had not been worth spending.

An hour later, he left the Library. The profound magical knowledge he had imagined finding was nowhere to be found here. Although it was somewhat better than the second floor, there were not many worthwhile books. No wonder Dalaran's mages were willing to put these books in the Library rather than their own studies. It truly bore out a saying that circulated in Dalaran: "Those who thirst for knowledge are bound to be those who hoard it." He had now truly found himself in the awkward position of being unable to obtain knowledge.

Unless he joined a mage tower and gained an Archmage as his mentor, no one would share their knowledge with an outsider. But in his circumstances, extensive contact with others was truly unsuitable. He was not a mage in the true sense, merely an anomaly hiding among them. If those Archmages saw through him, he would have no way to explain himself.

The only remaining option was to exchange his own knowledge with others, which was Dalaran's most traditional method. As long as the value was equal, those mages were still willing to trade for magical knowledge. Or he could simply spend money to buy knowledge; that method worked too. Profound magical knowledge, however, could not be obtained with gold coins. After all, there were still many things in this world that money could not buy.

At the same time, he currently had nothing to offer in exchange. The only thing he had mastered was the Wind Blade Runes he had discovered recently, but he did not want to reveal those yet. With no other choice, he could only take things one step at a time.

After that, his life returned to its original pattern, except that he spent far less time at the Library. He used the rest of his time to attend mage gatherings and auctions. His current status was more than sufficient for such occasions.

A month passed quickly, and the end of the year was almost upon them. This was a festival for all humanity. No matter what had happened in the previous year, on this day people would prepare the most sumptuous meal they could to reward themselves for the past year's hard work and look forward to good fortune in the coming year. Most importantly, the whole family could gather to share that meal.

Watching the people bustling about in preparation for this grand festival, Allen could not help thinking of his parents, far away in Lordaeron. Every year, they would bustle about just like the people before him until the festival arrived, then happily eat that sumptuous meal together. Only on that day could he eat fine meat and white bread.

Ah. It had already been more than half a year since he had left home for Dalaran, and he had no idea how they were doing. The scene before him always made him miss his family, not only those of this life, but those of his previous life as well. He soon turned and left. Dalaran did not have many festivals, but he had never taken part in any of them, and the approaching New Year would be no exception.

That was because he was about to leave Dalaran and enter Silverpine Forest to search for an alchemical ingredient called the Winter Mushroom. It sounded ordinary, but these mushrooms were very difficult to find. Not only did they emerge solely in Silverpine Forest during winter, they also released a hallucinatory scent that was almost impossible to guard against. Even a fifth-tier mage would not notice such ingredients nearby without deliberately searching for them.

Allen had accepted this task because his mental power was far greater than an ordinary first-tier mage's, almost reaching the level of a third-tier mage. He was confident that he could detect the hallucinations caused by this ingredient. Most importantly, the other party had offered terms he could not refuse: if he found any, once they were refined, he would receive one finished product for every 3 g.

This ingredient was the main component of Illusion Incense, and Illusion Incense was an excellent substance that could increase mental power. To him, the temptation was simply irresistible. He had been worrying all along that the formula increased his mental power far too slowly. Although his mental power had only recently undergone a qualitative change and still had considerable room to grow, reaching its limit through that method would require decades of effort at the very least. He could not accept that.

The finished preparation the other party refined was the only method he had learned of over these years for increasing mental power. He would not give it up no matter what, so he broke with his usual habits and accepted the task.

He soon reached the city gates. Seeing his mage robes, the soldiers there let him leave without even questioning him. Afterward, he headed west. He did not know where these mushrooms grew and could only try his luck. The forests were most abundant to the west, so his chances of finding them there were greatest. He moved cautiously the whole way. Although it was winter and many wild beasts had entered dormancy, there were always some monsters unwilling to hibernate.

Sure enough, he soon spotted several Winter Wolves. They had white fur and looked quite cute, if one ignored their cruel gazes and sharp-fanged maws, which had already begun dripping saliva. He had long since noticed that the Winter Wolves had picked up his scent and were running swiftly toward him.

He already had plenty of experience dealing with these wild wolves. As they charged out, a huge Wind Blade flew straight at them, instantly killing the Winter Wolf in front. The two wolves behind it paused in shock. He immediately cast an Ice Shield, then quickly released another Wind Blade, killing one of the two remaining wolves. The last one howled, turned, and fled. But how could he possibly let it escape? He immediately unleashed the Wind Blade prepared in his Soul Space, instantly killing the Winter Wolf as it tried to flee.

After killing the Winter Wolves, he could not be bothered to collect materials from them. They were not magical beasts anyway, so they were not worth much. He immediately left the area, afraid the smell of blood would draw more wild beasts. Afterward, he found a clearing and began building a fire, planning to spend the night there first.

He lit the campfire and sat beside it, chewing dry rations while keeping a vigilant eye on his surroundings. Nothing happened during the night, and the next day soon arrived. After recovering his mental power, he immediately packed up and began searching the forest.

Since Winter Mushrooms grew only in winter, they should be plants that preferred cold and feared heat. Yet these plants were found only in Silverpine Forest, not in other, colder places. Furthermore, this plant released a scent that produced hallucinations to mislead people. Finally, the other party had described it as white with gray spots, looking like a poisonous mushroom.

But isn't that far too contradictory? Wouldn't releasing a scent make it easier to find? Could the hallucinations make people unable to sense the scent's presence? After thinking it over, he felt the other party had provided too little information, leaving him with little understanding of this plant. All he could do was try his luck. No wonder so few people had completed this task since it had been posted.

He walked beside the treetops, and the cold wind blowing in from the sea made him pull his clothes tighter around himself. Although it was not snowing, the excessively damp air gave the cold a clammy chill. Apart from the trees, there was almost no sign of other living creatures nearby. He had already walked through all the surrounding areas without finding any Winter Mushrooms. Even weeds were scarce.

In the end, he had no choice but to venture deeper into the forest once more. The forest ahead was largely unexplored, and he had no map of its interior. Worried about getting lost, he began marking his route with magic to make absolutely sure. The interior of Silverpine Forest was completely different from its outskirts. Most of the creatures here were magical beasts rather than ordinary wild animals, so many of them did not follow the rule of hibernation. Some hungry magical beasts would even rush out of Silverpine Forest and attack humans when they could not find food.

Indeed, just after entering the depths of Silverpine Forest, he saw two members of the Ice Frostwolf Clan fighting some Gnolls. He did not dare disturb them and instead slipped quietly past. After leaving them behind, he reached a damp swamp. A faint green poisonous mist hovered over the black swamp, obstructing his vision. He immediately cast a shield to keep out the poisonous mist. Even though he could not see clearly ahead, he could still use his mental power to continue probing for living things nearby. Unfortunately, he found nothing, as though there were no creatures in the area.

He looked into the swamp. Some unknown monsters must have been lurking beneath it, waiting for prey to walk into their trap. At the same time, his mental power could not penetrate the swamp either, as though something beneath it was protected by magic. Unwilling to take the risk, he finally left the eerie swamp.