Chapter 19: Continuation of the Journey
“Sorry, sorry.”
The afternoon research was forced to be interrupted, and Mill’s daydreaming often made Fisher doubt whether she was a complete fool. Even after he explained it to her, her face was still flushed, and she didn’t even dare to make eye contact with Fisher, as if afraid that his gaze would burn her.
At night, Fisher served dinner to the dragonfolk in the carriage, and it was then that Mill, who had blushed for quite some time, couldn’t help but say a simple apology to him. Before this, her brain had been in a state of crash, more dazed than Raphael, who was undergoing the coming-of-age ritual.
“It’s fine.”
Brushing aside his shyness, Fisher handed her a roasted chicken.
Previously, he mentioned that the little dragon’s food would have to be shared with Raphael, but now, since she wasn’t in good condition, he decided against it and ordered an extra portion for dinner, which was an additional expense. Fortunately, there was still plenty of money in his wallet, so his savings wouldn’t run dry.
That night, Raphael stayed in the hotel room upstairs, while Fisher and the little dragons slept in the carriage, recording the research findings on dragonfolk in a supplement manual.
As golden words were inscribed, the biological and social research on dragonfolk progressed to about twenty percent. It was estimated that in a few more days, it would reach twenty-five, when he could claim a reward.
Later into the night, Fisher sat in the study room, picking up his knife and various magic materials, preparing to carve the fire-starting magic item he needed. This magic was not difficult and was roughly at the first ring of magic level.
The level of magic is measured by the number of rings; the so-called number of rings refers to how many rings the magic rune that needs to be carved has. The higher the number of rings, the more exaggerated the magic rune’s ability to resonate. The carved magic rune, regardless of size, can be effective theoretically, but if the rune is only one millimeter, it can still showcase the full power of the magic, though this tests the sculpting skills of the mage carving the magic rune.
Fisher is a mage who enjoys fine detailing because that sorceress liked to do so. While learning magic from her, he inevitably picked up some of her small habits. Another reason is that Fisher doesn’t have many items to carve magic onto; often, he will carve multiple magic runes onto one item.
However, making a campfire doesn’t require so many considerations.
He took the iron campfire, which had lost its magic rune, and while recalling the magic rune for “Rootless Fire,” he first formed a rough shape of the magic rune with his knife. As he applied magic materials to the knife and began to carve, a faint white light slowly emanated from his hand; it was his magic circuit.
The light of the magic rune would match the color of the mage’s magic circuit. Fisher’s magic circuit is light white, just like most humans. Some of the few humans and subhuman races have more unique magic circuits; for example, Raphael’s is red.
Ancient and illusory characters were carved one blade stroke at a time onto the surface of the iron campfire. Fisher quickly breathed out, blowing away the carving residue, revealing an unusually bright circle of magic rune. The ancient characters flickered with strange fluorescence, as if they created an indescribable connection with this world.
With that, the task was complete—a first-ring magic was successfully carved, taking Fisher about ten minutes.
Low-ring magic carvings are quick and consume little magic power. If carving higher-level magic, it would require much more time, and such a large demand for magic power could deplete a person entirely, generally requiring segmented carving to avoid danger.
The Saint Nali police frequently encounter cases where non-professional mages try to carve higher rings of magic and end up turning themselves into dry corpses. The risk of carving magic exists, especially for high-ring magic, where one slip could cause other losses.
After properly placing the carved magic item and checking the purchased supplies, the tasks for the night were completed. Under the moonlight, even the playful child, Ral, next door had fallen into deep sleep, not to mention the other dragonfolk. After reading through the documents again, Fisher also went to rest.
The next morning was the originally scheduled departure date for Fisher from Kekken City. Raphael looked much better than yesterday, although she was still soft and couldn’t even move her tail, feeling quite numb all over.
Mill said it was normal since her scales on her limbs and body were growing, and resting on the bed would suffice.
Fisher helped her onto the carriage, drove to the Lord’s Mansion to say goodbye to Keken, and then headed outside the city.
According to the intelligence provided by Keken, Karl Port was temporarily impassable. He didn’t want to spend half a month circling around Shivali, undergoing inspections from various departments before finally returning to Nali. His wallet wouldn’t support such a decision.
So he had to change his route, heading northwest towards Feilon City.
“Which direction is your home?”
“That way.”
Having promised Raphael that he would send the little dragon off, Fisher called him out as he left the city and asked this.
After hesitating for a while, he pointed in a direction.
“Be careful on your way back; don’t get caught again.”
“…”
After walking in that direction for a while, he glimpsed a dense forest. The little dragon nodded at Fisher, jumped out of the carriage at the forest entrance, and quickly ran into the jungle, glancing back at the departing carriage for a long time before sprinting deeper into the forest.
“Thank you…”
The door behind Fisher slightly opened, revealing a pair of verdant green eyes, looking at Fisher, who was holding the reins outside. Raphael still felt uneasy and came over, watching as the little dragon was let go by Fisher before finally breathing a sigh of relief.
“No need to thank me; it’s a fair trade. Both parties get what they need.”
“…”
Fisher didn’t look back, only focusing his gaze on the boundless wilderness. The weather was gloomy today, the clouds above were heavy and frightening, and a gray mist rose in the distance, obscuring the landscape of the wilderness.
The only sound accompanying him was the sound of hoofbeats. After waiting for a long time, Fisher turned back to look behind him, only to see the door still wide open. Inside, Raphael leaned on the edge of the stairs, eyes closed, resting, her tail curling around her.
“If you feel unwell, go back to lie down and rest.”
“…It’s stuffy inside, and Ral is very noisy. I might as well stay here for a while.”
Fisher didn’t respond, just continuing on the road. What he didn’t notice was that after he turned around, Raphael quietly shifted her gaze onto him. The sound of hooves continued; she watched for a long time before somewhat tiredly closing her eyes to rest, her tail swaying, unsure of what she was thinking.
Only in that wilderness, slightly obscured by the overcast clouds, did two shadows quietly fix their eyes on the speeding carriage.
“Did you see clearly, Famasi?”
A cold-sounding female voice emerged, amidst the mist, a graceful female figure gradually became visible. Beside her, another figure was small, hands like binoculars peering toward the carriage in the distance.
“Uh, I see it. Two black horses, a gilded carriage frame, only one driver, a male human. It looks like a private carriage, not a merchant caravan or transport team.”
“Heh, what do you know? It’s exactly because of this that there’s profit to be made. Low risk with the possibility of encountering a big fish. What does the driver wear?”
“What’s that black clothing called again?”
“I don’t remember. Is it dirty?”
“Not dirty.”
“That’s good! Hurry and call Ke Lili over. Move quickly, tell her there’s work to do tonight. The driver is dressed so well; the ones in the carriage are likely to be the richest kinds of humans. If that’s the case, this job will be profitable. Right now, they are heading northwest. I’ll follow them for now, and remember to signal once you get the others here.”
“Hey! Xiya, wait a minute.”
After the woman finished speaking, she suddenly stood up, and her graceful upper body rose sharply, revealing her massive, hideous spider body beneath. Her blade-like legs swiftly moved across the wilderness, and eight pairs of scarlet eyes simultaneously glowed with a terrifying red light.
Before her partner could finish speaking, the spider figure raced off into the distance. Famasi reached out, wanting to hold her back, but the mist was too thick, and the large figure quickly vanished out of sight, leaving her to pout helplessly.
“Damn it, why do I have to run these errands every time? That Xiya is really something.”
She muttered to herself, putting on a pair of glasses with cracks in the lenses, and began digging slowly into the ground. Her movements seemed unhurried, yet the surrounding dust piled up more and more, quickly carving a secret path into the ground before her. She dove in, and soon her figure disappeared, leaving only the mist drifting above the other wilderness.
Thank you for your continued reading and support.
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(End of Chapter)
