Black Stone Mountain Range (Please Keep Reading)

By the time Ellie had changed her clothes, half an hour had already passed.

Looking at the youthful, adorable girl before him, Richard could not help but marvel that youth was a woman's finest cosmetic.

When they arrived at the Mission Hall, Richard saw that the fat man named Loken seemed to have already found a team.

It looks like low-level apprentices teaming up is indeed common, but aren't they worried about being robbed and killed by their own companions? Richard thought to himself.

Although the Black Stone Mountain Range lay within the Academy's sphere of influence, there were no Academy Watchers inside it. Apprentices would no longer be bound by the Academy's rules.

Besides, what apprentice who had successfully entered the Academy did not have blood on their hands? Out in the wilds, if they were not companions whose backgrounds he knew inside and out, Richard would not dare sleep peacefully.

They went to the counter to accept the mission. Once it was confirmed that Richard and Ellie were forming a team, the clerk readily assigned the mission to Richard.

"Let's go. We'll head back and pack up. Tonight, we'll take the airship over."

As they walked, Richard felt Ellie stealing glances at him from time to time. Yet whenever he looked at her, she swiftly shifted her gaze away.

"Is there something on my face?" Richard asked.

"Um... no."

"Then why do you keep looking at me?"

"Who's looking at you? Don't flatter yourself. I-I... I was looking at the streetlamps."

Richard shook his head. He truly could not understand what girls were thinking.

Next time, he would just use a Recording Crystal to capture it and see if she could still deny it.

Back at the dormitory, aside from packing clothes, Richard armed himself from head to toe. He slung a Greatsword across his back, put an Arm Guard on his arm, wore the Ice Cone Ring on his finger, tucked a Magic Dagger at his waist, and finally took up the Lesser Fireball Staff. His equipment was now complete.

Once they had finished packing, Richard and Ellie headed to the Airship Field on the Academy's outer grounds.

There were quite a few apprentices in the Airship Field. With his sharp eyes, Richard even spotted the team that the fat Loken had joined among the crowd.

After boarding the Zeppelin-type Mana Airship, Richard presented proof of the mission and had his airship fare waived, making the surrounding apprentices green with envy.

Airship tickets were not cheap. Prices started at one Magic Stone, and for distant destinations, they could cost five or six Magic Stones.

Ellie looked at the ticket prices aboard the airship. "Richard, how did you know that taking Academy missions lets you ride for free?"

If they had paid according to the airship fares, the two of them would have needed a full four Magic Stones to travel to the Black Stone Mountain Range. The ticket cost was even higher than the reward.

And the airship ticket seller had shown no intention whatsoever of telling them about this rule.

"Hehe, secret."

This passenger airship differed from the one used for recruitment. The enormous cabin no longer had private rooms, replaced instead by rows upon rows of wooden seats.

Their seats were by the window. Once they sat down, Ellie, who was used to sleeping, let out a yawn, leaned against Richard, and closed her eyes.

Watching Ellie fall asleep in an instant, Richard helplessly rummaged through his luggage, found a piece of clothing, and draped it over her.

Outside the window, the moonlight was bright and clear. It streamed in through the glass and fell across Ellie's face, as though veiling it in a layer of gauze.

Sleeping is such a waste. In terms of efficiency... it feels inferior to meditation.

The airship was fast. The Black Stone Mountain Range, a thousand miles away, was reached in little more than half a night.

When the morning sunlight shone into the airship, Richard shifted his shoulder and woke Ellie.

"Wake up. We're here."

"Mm? That fast?"

After mumbling groggily for a while, Ellie stretched lazily and followed Richard off the airship, swaying as she walked.

There was a Small Town where the airship had docked, inhabited by many ordinary humans. Loken's team had also disembarked alongside Richard, but they seemed very familiar with the Black Stone Mountain Range. The moment they got off, they headed straight for the mountains.

The instant Richard and Ellie entered the Small Town, several people gathered around them.

"Lord Wizard, do you need a guide? I know the Black Stone Mountain Range like the back of my hand."

"Lord Wizard, I know the Black Stone Mountain Range best. For only a quarter Magic Stone, I guarantee you'll complete your mission quickly and smoothly."

"Lord Wizard, don't listen to them. I know..."

Looking at the guides crowded into a tight knot, Richard gave a cough.

"Quiet down, all of you. We're here to inspect the living conditions of the White Crystal Deer and hunt a Magic Beast called the Black Striped Water Python. Which of you knows these two well?"

Richard's words silenced all the guides.

The White Crystal Deer was one thing, but few of them had actually seen a Black Striped Water Python.

"Lord Wizard, I know the White Crystal Deer well, but as for the Black Striped Water Python, I've only seen it once in the past half year. I don't know whether it's still in that area."

An old guide with a head full of white hair but a vigorous spirit stepped out from among the guides. Not a single one of the others dared snatch the business from him.

There was no helping it. Wizard work came with high rewards and high risks. If a wizard felt they had been fooled, not even the city lord could protect them.

"Good. You, then. How many Magic Stones?"

"Half a Magic Stone will do, Lord Wizard."

"What's your name?"

"Lord Wizard can call me Old John."

Once the deal was complete, Old John wasted no time and immediately led the two of them toward the Black Stone Mountain Range.

The Black Stone Mountain Range was shrouded in mist in the morning. From afar, it looked as if a black monster lay lurking within the white fog.

Old John led the two of them along mountain paths, heading deeper into the Black Stone Mountain Range. Along the way, all manner of strange plants and insects left Richard and Ellie dazzled.

"Lord Wizard, this is your first time in the Black Stone Mountain Range, isn't it?"

Richard put away the plant he had just picked and turned to Old John.

"That's right."

"Haha, I could tell from the way you two look that this is your first visit."

Old John laughed heartily, then casually reached into the brush beside him and pulled out a mushroom.

"Lord Wizard, don't look at those little things. Take a look at Old John's mushroom."

Richard took the mushroom. When he probed it with his spiritual force, he discovered that it actually contained mana.

"What is this?" Richard asked in surprise.

Old John shook his head. "I don't know what it is either. I've just seen other wizard lords who come into the mountains pick this thing often."

Richard caught the hidden meaning in his words. He put away the mushroom, then took a Magic Stone with one-fifth of its mana remaining from the pouch at his waist.

"Later, show us the other things that wizards often pick."

Old John accepted the Magic Stone with a beaming smile. "Sure thing. Old John guarantees he'll satisfy you, my lord."

The Black Stone Mountain Range was vast. The mountain range stretched for thousands of kilometers, even extending beyond the Academy's territory.

When the moon climbed to the treetops, Richard's group, having walked through the mountains for an entire day, lit a campfire in the forest. Richard and Ellie sat before it, quietly watching Old John display his cooking skills.

Having worked as a guide for several decades, Old John was thoroughly at ease in this line of work. During the day, he had seen that Richard and Ellie were visiting the Black Stone Mountain Range for the first time and had not prepared very thoroughly. Along the way, he had begun gathering wild game for their evening meal.

As Old John brushed a layer of secret seasoning over the golden-brown skin of a mountain chicken, a rich aroma of meat burst forth from its sizzling, oil-seeping surface.

"It smells so good." Ellie twitched her nose and stared eagerly at the roasted mountain chicken.

Richard was feeling hungry as well. Although he had prepared dry rations, with fragrant roasted meat available, who would want to eat dry rations?

Just as the two of them were craving it, several sounds suddenly came from the forest.

Old John, whose ears were sharp, vigilantly glanced toward the woods, then suddenly stuck the roast into the ground.

"My lords, someone's coming. There'll probably be a fight. Old John won't hold you two back."

With that, Old John's figure instantly slipped into the forest and vanished.

Only a few seconds after he disappeared, a rustling sound came from the woods ahead of Richard.

A blood-covered figure emerged from the forest.