“Praise the Magician!”
“Praise the Magician!”
“Praise the Magician!”
After a brief moment of silence, the Vanguard Knights erupted in thunderous cheers.
Wasn’t this great young Mage simply too powerful?
Everyone had been preparing for a bloody battle, ready to risk their lives to pioneer new lands.
But as soon as the white mist dispersed—wait, was the battle already over?
All anyone saw was the Magician enveloping everyone in white mist, shielding them from the Demon Wolf’s lightning beams.
Then, flashes of white light flickered beyond the fog, and no one really knew what had happened.
All thirty Demon Wolves were dead, not a single one left.
Xiadam stood atop a boulder, expressionless and silent, maintaining the absolute, invincible demeanor of a master.
So, even though the Vanguard Knights were overjoyed, none of them dared disturb the Magician. They could only circle around her at a respectful distance, celebrating quietly.
Xiadam’s face was serious, but this time it wasn’t just an act.
Once again, she realized just how weak she really was, and finally understood what that subtle expression on Sheffield’s face meant before she left.
I really overestimated myself.
“Thank you, Sheffield.”
Fortunately, Xiadam had a thick enough skin and quickly let it go.
Even though she was a rookie, she had an all-knowing, all-powerful, invincible teammate.
“Magician, how’s your Mana? Do you need to rest?”
In the end, it was the Priestess who timidly approached Xiadam, asking with concern.
After all, they were about the same age, both girls, so only she dared to break the ice.
Besides, both Priests and Magicians were high-level professions that required Mana Condensation, only the way they used Mana was different.
A Magician’s Mana was used for Destruction, while a Priest’s Mana was used for healing.
For some reason, there were few among the Human Race who awakened Destructive Power, but many with the gift of healing.
Almost every team could find a Priest, but finding a Magician as a teammate was extremely difficult.
Rarity makes things precious, so Priests had much lower social status than Magicians.
Of course, there were exceptions—like that Supreme Sage who cursed Xiadam to become a girl.
Supreme Sage: that was originally a Priest’s rank.
But the Supreme Sage was also the strongest Magician of the era, the master of the Tower of Magic.
Because he was a Chosen One who possessed both Destructive Power and Genesis Power.
But that’s getting off topic…
“I’m fine. No one’s hurt, right?” Xiadam said calmly.
“Thanks to you, Magician, everyone’s safe.” The Priestess replied.
“That’s good.” Xiadam nodded.
“Magician, thank you for your help.” The middle-aged Knight Captain saw that the Priestess and the Magician had started chatting, and finally came over, bowing repeatedly in thanks.
“Knight Captain, have everyone pack up the camp and their belongings. Let’s set out early and get everyone settled.” Xiadam said.
“Yes. Please, Magician, take a rest. If you need anything, just let the little Priestess know.” The middle-aged Knight Captain quickly went back to arrange things.
Xiadam didn’t have any requests and slowly sat down on the boulder.
The Priestess stayed by her side, guarding her diligently.
“You don’t need to worry about me.” Xiadam said.
“I’m fine. Magician, do you need healing?” The Priestess shook her head.
“Then sit down too. Don’t keep standing.” Xiadam said.
“Oh…” Though she said that, the Priestess still stood beside her, looking rather stiff.
Xiadam didn’t bother with her and just quietly watched everyone pack up the camp.
She saw everyone quickly stowing tents and daily necessities in the back of the wagons.
Before long, the women and children of the camp were sitting together in the back, squeezed in with the luggage.
The old knights sat at the front, flicked the reins, and drove the wagons forward.
The young knights and the middle-aged Knight Captain walked alongside, keeping watch.
“Magician, please sit here.”
The middle-aged Knight Captain had even left a spacious spot behind the lead wagon just for Xiadam.
“I get motion sickness. I’ll just walk.” Xiadam declined politely.
She was just a fraud—she didn’t deserve to rest.
“I’m sorry, Knight Captain, for causing you all such panic.” Xiadam apologized.
“Ah? Ah? How could this be your fault, my lady? You saved us.” The Knight Captain was completely bewildered.
“…”
Xiadam didn’t respond.
Some things couldn’t be said.
She couldn’t very well tell them it was Sheffield deep in the forest who wiped out the wolf pack with a long-range White Dragon Breath, could she?
Even she wouldn’t believe that—people would just think she’d practiced Magic until her brain was mush.
The Demon Wolf Pack was the strongest Monster in the outer Southern Forest—in fact, it was the Monster Lord of this area.
Because the outer Southern Forest spanned the southern border of the Human Kingdom, this was just a tiny part of it.
Now that both the Demon Wolf Pack and the Wolf King had been taken care of by Sheffield, there wasn’t much threat left in this part of the forest.
So, the caravan soon arrived at the Recluse Magician’s Manor.
“Magician, you’re back?”
Sheffield came out to greet them, her face calm and smiling, acting as if she knew nothing.
“You…”
Xiadam looked at her, annoyed, but couldn’t find a reason to scold her.
The five wagons parked outside the Manor’s fence.
Everyone unloaded the tents and furniture from the wagons and began setting up tents beside the wooden house inside the Manor.
“It’s too small.”
Xiadam watched as more than twenty people flooded into her Manor, making it instantly cramped.
Her Manor had just one small wooden house for living, a large storage shed, a smoking rack, a stone stove, and a half-built house.
Fortunately, the Pioneers had brought their own tents and blankets, or else they’d be sleeping on the ground tonight.
Even the children were experienced campers, so there was nothing to worry about.
“Knight Captain, let me show you around so you can get familiar with the place.” Xiadam said.
She led the Vanguard Knights to the nearby creek.
“There’s clean water and plenty of fish here, so everyone’s food needs can be met.”
“The only downside is that you might get tired of eating fish every day.”
“The Monster Lord in this area was a Monster Lord Bear, but we’ve already taken care of it. For now, you don’t need to worry about strong Monster attacks. But I still suggest you reinforce the fence.”
Xiadam explained as she led the way.
The Vanguard Knights followed her politely, not daring to say much.
“We still have a lot of lumber stored here. You can use it to build houses. The wooden huts we built are pretty simple, so see if they’re usable.”
Xiadam led everyone back to the Manor, where a pile of sawn building lumber was stacked.
“It’s all yours.”