"Oh? Don't tell me you have Lava Soil, Wizard Bayton?"

Merlin's eyes lit up instantly. If Wizard Bayton really had Lava Soil, then things would be much easier.

Yet, Wizard Bayton shook his head and said, "How would I have Lava Soil? Still, you can try the idea I mentioned, Wizard Merlin. The volcanoes on the Violet Flame Island are all extinct. Who knows how many Spell Casters have already visited them, so anything valuable would've already been reaped cleanly.

"If Wizard Merlin wishes to find Lava Soil, I'm afraid searching in extinct volcanoes alone won't land you what you want! Wizard Merlin, you can try entering volcanoes that are not very active. A certain amount of danger is there, but it gives you a better shot at obtaining Lava Soil."

Merlin frowned. Dormant volcanoes may indeed provide higher chances of getting Lava Soil, but at the same time, it meant a certain danger too. Unlike extinct volcanoes where the danger was close to none.

As if noticing Merlin's hesitation, Wizard Bayton chuckled. He said, "You don't have to worry, Wizard Merlin. Although those dormant volcanoes do pose a certain danger, I happen to know a few dormant volcanoes that were rarely ever visited by Spell Casters. In addition, they haven't erupted for several decades. If Wizard Merlin doesn't spend too much time inside of them, there shouldn't be any danger."

After hearing Wizard Bayton's words, a smile slowly etched on Merlin's face. "Wizard Bayton, where are the specific locations of these few dormant volcanoes?"

"Wizard Merlin, those volcanoes are at a comparably secluded area; they're not on the Violet Flame Island. Otherwise, they would have been scavenged by Spell Casters too. If Wizard Merlin really needs to, let me lead you there."

"I shall trouble you then, Wizard Bayton!"

Merlin did not hold back on courtesy either. Lava Soil was extremely important for him so he would not let go of any chances of obtaining it.

"It's better to act swiftly on this matter. Let's go now!"

Soon after, Wizard Bayton exchanged a few words with the plump Wizard. Then, he brought Merlin along and quickly left the Violet Flame Island.

…

The sea was vast. All Merlin could do was sit on a small boat, traveling through the sea waters between the islands. Although Wizard Bayton was a Fourth-level Spell Caster and also had Wind-type Flying spells, he did not waste his Magic Power. Instead, he sat on the small boat with Merlin, rowing it toward an island a distance away.

They were rowing the boat slowly. However, Merlin did not dare to lower his guard. His Mind Power was covering the surroundings all the time, checking for any movements in the nearby waters.

After all, they were now at the outer reaches of the Kurdmansla Islands. There were many sea beasts, which could attack them at any moment so Merlin had to be prepared.

"Wizard Bayton, since you discovered these few volcanoes, why have you not looked inside?"

Merlin enquired Wizard Bayton in a calm voice. Throughout the journey, Merlin had learned that these few volcanoes that Wizard Bayton found were not even recorded in Fort Udon's map, so very few people knew about its location.

Wizard Bayton took a glance at Merlin and did not hide the fact either. Instead, he smiled and said, "Originally, I happened to come across that nameless island by chance, and the discovery of this small island was accidental. This nameless island was not even included in the range of the Kurdmansla Islands, so it can be considered alone out at sea. At that time I had an emergency, so I did not stop for long. In addition, I was worried because those few volcanoes were quite active, and that if I had simply entered them, there would be a danger.

"Thereafter, I returned to Fort Udon and unknowingly, several decades had already passed. When I went back to that nameless island, I still did not find those few volcanoes showing any signs of eruption. Only at that time, I was already a Fourth-level Spell Caster and had already built a reputation in Fort Udon. Whichever type of resources that I needed was provided to me in an endless supply, so why would I risk going into the volcanoes again?"

Merlin nodded. Venturing into the volcanoes was dangerous but the precious herbs or alchemy materials in them was considered an immense wealth for Wizards who were Fourth-level or lower. For Spell Casters above the Fourth-level, the items within the volcano were really nothing and were not worth the risk of entering the volcanoes.

Even Lava Soil was not considered precious, but it was rare. In the eyes of the other Spell Casters, Lava Soil was merely a scarce alchemy material.

However, Lava Soil was of utmost importance to Merlin. It was required for the cultivation of Fuse Earth, so even if there was a danger, he still had to get his hands on it.

After Wizard Bayton finished explaining, he did not utter another word. He also did not enquire Merlin as to why he needed Lava Soil for. This, on the other hand, subtly made Merlin relaxed.

"Hooo…"

A sea breeze blew past, and the small boat sped up immediately. Soon, they floated to a small desolate island.

"We're here. This is the nameless island!"

Wizard Bayton stepped on the shore. He examined the surroundings and could feel a sort of familiarity.

Merlin was checking the surroundings too. This nameless island was already over the outermost borders of the Kurdmansla Islands hence it no longer belonged as a part of the Kurdmansla Islands.

On the vast sea, there were really too many islands that were similar to this particular nameless island. Nevertheless, some nameless islands were often old nests of sea beasts, so extra caution had to be taken.

"Wizard Merlin, you didn't find anything out of the ordinary right?"

Wizard Bayton had extended his Mind Power too, examining the surroundings thoroughly. He did not find any sea beasts hiding there, hence he reaffirmed this with Merlin.

Merlin nodded and said, "Nothing out of the ordinary. It seems that there are no sea beasts on this small island."

"Still, we better be careful."

Wizard Bayton's Mind Power covered the surroundings time after time. There was a wary look on his face.

"Swoosh!"

Suddenly, Darkness Ray projected toward Wizard Bayton, who was walking in front. It also emitted a foul smell.

"Frost!"

Merlin, who had been observing the happenings around them from the beginning cast his Glacial Ice Finger in response, the traces of chill encompassed Darkness Ray and froze it in place without difficulty.

Darkness Ray dropped into the thick bush. After giving it a close look, to Merlin's shock, he found that it was a small insect that looked like a cricket. Its entire body was pitch-black like ink, its wings were tiny but fine, and underneath its mouth were two long fangs.

Though it was small-sized, it looked very menacing.

Bayton did not know what it was either. After all, out in the vast sea, there could be a variety of strange creatures. A never-before-seen insect appearing on this nameless island was not really breaking news.

"Be wary, Wizard Merlin, I think you should use Defensive spells."

Wizard Bayton had already cast Defensive spells earlier.

Merlin only shrugged it off with a smile. He did not cast any Defensive spells. Without enhancement from Pandora Demon Ability Fuse Earth, his Defensive spell, Earth Veil was only a Second-level Defensive spell which was marginally stronger. Perhaps casting the enhanced version could render it closer to a Third-level spell.

Nonetheless, whether it was the black robe from Dark Magic Region or the gold-lined robe from Fort Udon that was on him, both were able to block Third-level spells. The robes' defensive effects were much better than Merlin's Earth Veil.

Therefore, for a person like Merlin who had two robes, he only needed to pay extra attention. Casting spells would not be necessary.

The two walked pass a thick bush. During that period, they were again met with some unique but weird insects. These insects looked small-sized but their exoskeletons were very tough. Any typical First or Second-level spells would not do any damage to these odd insects.

Only Third-level or higher spells could harm these insects. Luckily, Merlin had Pandora Demon Abilities while Wizard Bayton was a Fourth-level Spell Caster himself. Therefore, their journey was nothing short of surprises but was overall, a rather safe one.

"Wizard Merlin, there will be three volcanoes up in front. They are at a distance not far away."

Wizard Bayton pointed at the three volcanoes some distance away. They were almost completely covered by lush greenery. If it were not for Wizard Bayton's confirmation, a typical person would not have noticed that there were three volcanoes there.

Nevertheless, such secluded volcanoes were in fact, good news for Merlin. It was precisely for their secluded locations that not many discovered their existence after so many years. This meant that when Merlin entered the volcanoes, his chances of finding Lava Soil would be greatly increased.

"Wizard Bayton, just wait outside for a moment. Let me go down there and have a look first, to see if there's any Lava Soil."

Merlin's eyes glimmered with expectation.

Wizard Bayton nodded in response and said, "Alright, I'll wait outside. Wizard Merlin, don't you linger too long either. If there's no Lava Soil, leave at once. After all, nobody could tell when these three volcanoes would erupt."

Noting Wizard Bayton's serious expression, Merlin gave a nod. Thereafter, he inhaled deeply, then dashed toward the first volcano.

…

"Hooo…"

Merlin breathed a sigh of relief inside the dark volcano. He slid down to the base of the volcano effortlessly.

The air inside the volcano was inexplicably dry and hot. This made Merlin a little more alarmed. Usually, extreme hotness and dryness in volcanoes indicated that they could very easily erupt. It also indirectly proved that this volcano was not a fully extinct volcano.

Merlin did not spend much time observing what was down there at the base of the volcano either. Instead, he directly used his Mind Power to search at the base of the volcano.

This particular type of volcano, which had erupted previously but had then become dormant for several centuries or even up to thousands of years were the most likely to form Lava Soil.

"It's so hot!"

Merlin gently touched the rock wall at the base of the volcano, feeling the waves of pulsating heat.

"Eh? This isn't right. Why is only this part of the rock wall hot?"

Merlin immediately realized something was amiss. Thus, he turned around and carefully checked that area of the rock wall which was boiling hot. Under his scrutiny, he instantly found the difference of that part of the rock wall.

The rest of the rock walls were very dry and hard, and only this part appeared rather soft. Moreover, when he wiped off the dust on that rock wall, he could vaguely make out a kind of fiery-red hue on it, which looked just like burning flames.

Merlin experienced heartfelt happiness. He immediately recalled some of the characteristics of Lava Soil, and it looked similar to this part of the rock wall.

"Haha, I've finally found it, and looks like there's quite a lot of Lava Soil here!"

Merlin's face beamed with joy. He then unsheathed his sharp dagger in haste, and slowly started slicing the hard rock wall, cutting off Lava Soil from it.

Not long after, the rock wall surrounding Lava Soil was dislodged while Lava Soil was as though imprinted onto the hard rock wall. All that was left was to carve out Lava Soil from within.

When the sharp dagger in Merlin's hand had only just sunk into the rock wall, Merlin felt a gentle vibration. At first, it was not obvious, but soon, the vibration became more and more prominent, even accompanied by sounds which were likened to "growls".

"What's going on?"

Merlin frowned. By that time, even the entire rock wall was trembling slightly. Pieces of gravel started falling from above too.

The entire volcano was wrapped in a hot and unbearable atmosphere. The temperature seemed to have risen significantly in a short period of time.

"Could it be…"

Merlin abruptly looked at the base of the volcano. In the darkness, he could vaguely see flares glimmering. Suddenly, Merlin's face turned pale.