The monster stepped out from a giant flower and walked towards her step by step, the thick layer of pollen covering its body falling to the ground with a pattering sound.
After its mutation, its withered, blackened hands reached forward, and a pair of translucent wings unfolded behind it.
Willow finally understood what the giant insect sketch meant...
The young lich grasped the staff beside her, pointing its pale blue tip at the monster before her. Despite the immense teleportation having exhausted almost all of her Psionic Energy, she gritted her teeth and uttered the word:
" Disorder."
She felt the small amount of Psionic Energy draining from her body, which meant the spell had been successfully cast.
Without a second thought, she used the bright moonlight to orient herself and began to flee through the enchanting Sea of Flowers, while the monster behind her, about to attack, began to twitch involuntarily.
In the span of a few breaths, the monster's withered limbs transformed into real plant tissue. It didn't quite understand what was happening and could only flap its wings, creating a whirlwind.
As the wind blew, the pollen covering it trembled and fell off, but that was all. The flapping of its wings failed to interrupt the lich's spell. With a buzzing sound, it transformed into an ugly, twisted, Aberration tree.
The lich's stamina isn't great, but she can cast many useful minor spells to replenish her energy and reduce her consumption.
She ran until dawn and finally saw the end of the sea of Sea of Flowers. Although it was an endless forest, she was still better at dealing with the Aberration plants that couldn't move or move quickly than those insect monsters.
Arriving beside a large tree whose changes were not obvious, she began to try to regulate her breathing and rest in order to recover the Psionic Energy she had consumed.
Holding the deep blue gem in her hand, Willow felt a cool sensation like that of a mountain spring.
The coolness calmed her restless thoughts, and only then did she finally have time to think about her future.
Although she had anticipated this when her teacher was seriously injured last time, Willow still found it hard to accept that he was dead.
He passed the test and became a true lich sorcerer, but no one was happy for him anymore.
Suppressing her grief, Willow had to consider the most important thing right now: where to go.
She opened the map on the notebook's cover page again.
Her teacher had once mentioned the Eternal Domain and the Graycast Corridor to her, and she spoke highly of these two forces, believing that all the remaining intelligent beings on this continent should be grateful to them for guarding the Demon Realm.
However, another problem is that the two factions' hatred for the demons is written all over their faces. Even though the ancestors of the liches are said to be a group of humans who pursued eternity, they still cannot gain the goodwill of these two factions.
If I turn back now, not to mention having to cross the boundless Sea of Flowers again, the hostility between those two forces alone would be enough to cause me serious trouble.
Thinking of the disgusting, Aberration monster she had " Disorder," Willow decided to continue westward, searching for a reliable settlement of intelligent beings, whether human, elf, or some other race, as long as they could accept her and allow her to continue her teacher's unfinished research.
After making up her mind, Willow pulled out the charcoal pencil from the back of her notebook, recalled the distance she had run, and filled in the area on the title page where the ugly worm was drawn, adding a flower next to the worm.
Next, head west!
In the real world, somewhere.
"Knock knock knock."
"Come in."
Yu Yun (ID [ Shit Appraisal Master ]) poked his head in through the office door and saw his father's stern and serious face.
He chuckled and opened the door, walking awkwardly into his father's office and sitting down in the chair opposite him.
The serious-looking man in front of me frowned, put down his teacup, and asked directly:
"Have you run out of money?"
"No..."
Yu Yun stared wide-eyed, her face filled with disbelief:
"You are my father, and I am your son. It's only natural for a son to look after his father."
How much do you want?
"Why don't you understand? It's really not about the money. You're looking at me with such prejudice. Haven't you considered my Fragility heart?"
"Then there won't be a single cent."
"That won't do either."
Yu Yun's tone softened immediately, while the middle-aged man in front of her revealed a smug expression that said, "See? I told you so."
The young man suppressed his feelings of being looked down upon, sat down in the chair, and calmly said:
"I did come here for money, but... I want to do something, not squander it."
"You mean, you want to raise funds?"
Yu Yun nodded.
Equity or debt?
What does that mean?
The middle-aged man took a deep breath and patiently explained to his good-for-nothing son:
Dividends or interest?
"Um, is it okay if I get it for free?"
"Get out."
To be honest, Yu Yun really wanted to stand up and slam his fist on the table and retort with something like "Fine, get out then" or "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river," but the man in front of him was indeed his number one sponsor for over twenty years, a genuine sugar daddy, and he couldn't speak with any authority in front of him.
After thinking for a while, Yu Yun stammered:
"Um, a claim, a claim, right?"
His thinking was simple: can a debt between father and son even be called a debt? It's no different from his father giving him an IOU or taking advantage of him for free.
But profit sharing is different. He really wants to keep his first pot of gold in his own hands, and he wouldn't be happy to share it with anyone else.
Seeing that he had responded, the man across the desk nodded and asked further:
How much do you want to borrow?
"Well, actually I haven't decided yet. I came here today to discuss it with you."
"Oh, let's discuss it."
The middle-aged man's tone was somewhat strange:
"In what capacity? Son or investor?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Yun asked:
What's the difference?
"The difference is huge."
The man took a sip of tea and said:
"If it's the first one, I support you taking a risk. It's not a big deal. After all, you're still young. Although you're a bit naive, you're not the type to do bad things. It wouldn't hurt to give it a try."
"If it's the second one, then we'll handle it strictly as a business. The business world is like a battlefield; there's no room for familial affection."
Yu Yun clenched her fists and made up her mind:
"The latter."
"Good."
The man glanced at the grandfather clock in the office:
"Ten minutes to explain the profit points in your plan."
"No, Dad, are you serious?"
"Don't call me Dad. I'm your investor now. Nine minutes and fifty seconds left."
"Oh, well, I need to think about this a bit. Who can just come up and say it?"
"Everyone who approached me for funding before could do it, nine minutes and forty seconds."
"Don't rush me, don't rush me, I'm thinking about it..."