Chapter 42

Leaving Temporarily

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore! These ingredients weren't originally this cheap, but the prices of raw materials have fallen now, so I'll sell them for 200 magic crystals."

Woox set his price.

Leylin nodded and handed over 20 middle-grade magic crystals to Woox.

He then received a huge bundle from Woox, drawing the attention of many onlookers in the vicinity.

Leylin smiled bitterly, carried the bundle on his back, and begin casually chatting with Woox.

"So? Have you obtained any news of magic artifacts?" Leylin wouldn't let any chances of rapidly increasing his strength pass him by.

"Of course not!" Woox shook his head quickly, "The prices of magic artifacts have recently been driven up wildly. After all, who wouldn't want to keep their life-saving items and would go sell them?"

Woox suddenly lowered his voice, "Buying so many ingredients and asking about magic artifacts, you must have received that news too, right?"

Leylin nodded his head, "I am preparing to take on a long-term mission so I can go out and avoid all of this."

Woox nodded his head, "Avoiding it will be good, I will also leave in a few days' time."

"Even Woox, a level 3 acolyte with a magic artifact, has to flee!" The compelling feeling in Leylin's heart only grew stronger, and after exchanging several more lines with Woox, he hurriedly bade farewell and left.

"The mission cannot be put off any longer, I have to leave immediately!"

Although it wasn't necessary to register for a mission in order to leave, there was still the hurdle of the academy guardians. Leylin still wanted to return to obtain relevant information on Magi, so he would naturally follow these regulations.

In spite of his rather average aptitude, his Potioneering talent had been acknowledged by even Kroft, so the academy would not keep him here to die.

Because Harosi had already done a sweep of the school's surroundings, the Mission Area managed to regain some of its former liveliness. However, Leylin realised that there were extremely few level 3 acolytes upon a closer inspection. Naturally, he knew what this was all about.

"They are all a pitiful bunch of people." Seeing these low-leveled acolytes splitting mission rewards and working hard to earn money to exchange for information, a pitying look surfaced in Leylin's eyes.

These were obviously the forsaken ones. Although a lone acolyte would be absolutely helpless against a Magus, they could still cause damage and even kill an official Magus if tens or hundreds of them banded together to execute a formation. That was their role here.

However, being in the vicinity of a Magus fight was extremely dangerous. It was already considered extremely lucky for them to have a 30% survival rate here.

Although Leylin felt pity for them, he still would not mention the news. He had already pushed the limits by hinting to his friends. If he were to publicise the news, even Kroft would not be able to protect him.

Leylin had a look at the missions on the wall; most of them had short durations and were also located very close to the academy. It seemed as though the academy had hidden all the other missions.

When there were few people around, Leylin took the opportunity to quickly head up to the counter.

"What kind of mission did you want?" The reception was a very skinny old man and seemed extremely amiable.

"The missions on the wall don't suit me at all, are there any special ones? My name is Leylin Farlier, apprentice of Professor Kroft." Leylin said in a low voice, tossing a small pouch over.

The old fellow hurriedly caught the pouch. After opening it, he smiled. "Of course, there are!"

He took out a scroll from underneath the counter, "Look at this. The missions are all written there."

The black-coloured scroll seemed to be extremely plain. Leylin opened the scroll and quickly skimmed through the missions written on it.

These missions all had a common characteristic. Their difficulties were not high, but their duration was extremely long. In short, the missions let those Magus potentials avoid the imminent calamity.

With the scan of the A.I. Chip, Leylin quickly decided on a mission.

"Investigate the wilting vegetation in Extreme Night Town. Mission duration: 3 Years."

"I choose this one." Leylin pointed to the investigation mission and relayed to the old man.

"Extreme Night Town is located in the Eastwood Province of Poolfield Kingdom. You will have to travel through almost half the kingdom before you reach it. Do you want to buy a map?" The old man smiled like a crafty merchant.

"Give me a map!" Although Leylin had a map of his own, it was always good to have another for comparison.

After spending two magic crystals, Leylin obtained a brand new map. Not only were the various provinces of the Poolfield Kingdom highlighted on it, there was even a red line to mark his journey.

"According to the map, Extreme Night Town is on the eastmost side of Poolfield Kingdom, where the boundary is, and is very far from the academy. But the good thing is that it was near one of the Magi assembly points mentioned in the information Bicky sent, which would make acquiring information and news convenient."

This was also why Leylin chose this mission.

"This is your exit pass." The old man handed a red metal card to him. "Don't lose it, it's irreplaceable."

"It seems like the academy has been very strict in governing any entries and exits lately."

Leylin thought this inwardly, but he did not say anything aloud as he took the metal card.

After walking out of the Mission Area, Leylin went to bid farewell to Kroft, Bicky, and his other friends.

After all, he did not know how long he would be out for. Some things still had to be settled first. Having received Leylin's hint, Bicky was already preparing to return home. As for Kaliweir and the others, however, their complexions were rather bad. They had come from Chernobyl Islands and with no place to return to, Leylin could only pay them lip service and console them.

Pushing his room's door open and seeing the familiar setup, Leylin suddenly felt a little regretful.

"I wonder when I'll be able to return back here."

The spell books and ingredients that he bought today were all lying neatly in a corner, filling up two big chests.

After brooding for a while, Leylin moved his bed away to reveal some floorboards with very little dust on them.

"Farlier!" Leylin gently tapped a black dot on the floor.

*Ka-cha!* There was a mechanical noise, and the wooden floorboards slowly moved apart to reveal many potions stored in test tubes.

The amount here was at least 10 times more than what he gave to Neela!

If Woox saw this, his eyes might even pop out. Leylin smiled.

This was his private potions collection. With the A.I Chip's help, his success rate has long surpassed what could be expected of others. He had sold a small portion of them, but the bulk of them remained here.

"Let me count! 200 strength potions, 150 antidotes, 180 hemostasis potions, and an assortment of other potions, their total value would be at least 3000 magic crystals!"

Leylin looked at these potions. They were his greatest asset and had always been locked away beneath his bed. The spell used to secure them was a little magic trick that all level 2 acolyte knew. Apart from the owner using their spiritual force to open it, any means of forcing it open would only cause the items locked inside to self-destruct!

"Now, with the chests of spell books and the other ingredients acting as the premise, I can move these potions out with very little inconvenience. I will also have to draw some runes on the outside for concealment."

Leylin opened a small box that was covered in runes. Sponges, silk, and other such materials were placed inside to prevent the potions from rolling and being ruined.

After spending almost half the night, Leylin finally managed to move all the potions into the box. He then covered the box with some ingredients and placed spell books around it.

"It's already past six!"

After hearing his alarm ring, Leylin switched off the clock in his room.

He hurriedly washed up and brought the two big chests to the highest floor of the academy, where he bought 3 fine, sturdy black horses and a carriage. Leylin took a deep breath and rode the carriage to an elevator-looking mechanism.

"Take out your exit pass!" A man's voice sounded. Leylin hurriedly took out the red metal card that he received yesterday.

*Bang!*

The elevator-like mechanism rose slowly and when it finally reached the top, the sound of gears could be heard.

The two stone doors opened, and a beam of resplendent sunlight came shining in.

Leylin squinted his eyes, "The academy indeed has other exits. The original entry must be for people to use as a passage. However, the one here is for large items to go through."

"Hyaa!" Cracking his whip, he urged the horse carriage forward. Only then did Leylin realise that his current position was at the back door, right behind the central graveyard that they had entered from in the beginning.

Afraid of being inconvenienced, he had told Bicky and the others that he was preparing to leave in the next few days but did not specify an exact time. Hence, his departure was a quiet one.

Leylin gave the academy one last glance and then began his journey.

"Alright. Why does my luggage make it seem like I'm escaping from something, not the appearance of someone who is carrying out a mission?"

Leylin could not help but smile bitterly as he looked at the horse carriage he was driving and the heavy chests behind him.

"A.I. Chip! Bring out the map!"

At Leylin's command, a map came into view. It was more detailed than the one he had gotten from the old man yesterday and had a route carefully marked out.

"Based on the map that I obtained yesterday, compute the most optimal way to travel! Requirements: Convenient and safe! Also, it has to approach as many Magi assembly points as possible!"

Heeding Leylin's voice, a red line showing the route surfaced on the map. It was a little different than the one he got from the old man. There were several more bends and they were all in the vicinity of Magi gathering places.

"Let's go!" Leylin followed the route that was given to him by the A.I. Chip and drove the horse carriage forward.

"A.I. Chip! Increase the detection area to the fullest!" Because it was an individual trip, Leylin did not dare to lower his guard at the slightest.

[Mission establishing, beginning detection!]

The A.I. Chip loyally carried out its duties, and a 3D image of the vicinity was constantly projected in front of Leylin.

"The danger is the smallest when it is very close to the academy or very far away. The middle section is the most dangerous part of the journey!" Recently, the Magi protecting the academy had been cleaning up the area, but they were too lazy to pursue the enemies so it was likely that only the middle section would be littered with danger.

However, Leylin could only take a gamble. Harosi had also given them a lesson earlier, so he hoped that his journey would have more smooth sailing. After all, he might not be able to leave even if he wanted to, given enough time.

The horse carriage rapidly dashed on the road and the bird cries on either side of the road decreased from before.

As they got further from the academy, Leylin became more and tenser.

[Beep! Warning! Warning! A high-energy living organism has been detected ahead!]

The A.I. Chip's voice sounded, and a red object was projected onto the screen. There were huge branches constantly spread across the area, with many red spots of lights also floating above it.

"This image? It's a tree?" Leylin placed his hand into his waist pouch and reduced the speed of the carriage.

Chapter 43

Giant Tree Demon

With the horse carriage drawing nearer, the approaching scene entered Leylin's sight.

In the middle of the road, there stood a huge ancient tree.

Its green branches seemed to extend endlessly in all directions, forming a very large canopy with numerous vines hanging down.

On the enormous trunk, there were a pair of eyes and a mouth, and it looked like a human face. However, it had green eyes.

Surrounding the tree were a few winged creatures that were continuously flying around. Their skin was green and they were shaped like a human. They were also stark naked.

"giant tree demon!" Leylin exclaimed. He laughed bitterly, "Didn't the academy clean up the area around the school already? Why is there still such a big fellow here?"

"An acolyte of Abyssal Bone Forest Academy?" The huge tree spoke, and the winged creatures growing on its back also turned their eyes to him.

"I am merely a lowly acolyte who is preparing to leave. May I ask if you might give way for passage? I can pay a price for it!"

Leylin made a last attempt.

"Only death awaits any living organisms who try to make any futile attempts to leave!"

The giant tree let off a reverberating noise that even made Leylin's ear hurt. At the same time, a green vine was slowly lowered, and hanging from it was a human corpse. Its whole body was withered, and it was wearing the grey robes of an Abyssal Bone Forest Academy acolyte.

"Big Brother! Stay behind and play with us!"

At this moment, a little sprite that had been flitting around the giant tree demon flew over. To Leylin, it sounded like the very pleasant voice of a girl's, the sound of her voice intoxicating him. It was as if this voice belonged to his most important person in this world. Gradually, Leylin began to feel that staying here might not be such a bad idea.

[Warning! Warning! The Host is affected by a demonic charm!] The A.I. Chip's voice prompted him, bringing Leylin out of his hallucination.

"They actually charmed me!" Anger coloured Leylin's face.

"A.I. Chip! What were the scan results?"

[Shuger giant tree demon. Strength: 5, Agility: 0.5, Vitality: 9.8, Spiritual force: 3.5. Skills: Leech, Vines]

[Green tree sprite. Strength: 0.9, Agility: 2.5, Vitality: 1.5, Spiritual force: 3.1 Skills: Charming on living creatures]

[Rumours have it that the green tree sprite and the giant tree demon have a mutual relationship. Normally, the green tree sprite will seduce the target into the attack area of the giant tree demon and then the giant tree demon will commence its hunt!]

The A.I. Chip's voice sounded.

"The giant tree demon's strength and vitality are too high, and its body is extremely huge too. There is simply no way to go around it!" Leylin's face was calm, "It seems like I can only fight!"

"The first will be you! You actually dared to charm me!"

[Critical point confirmed! Calculating wind power, adjusting trajectory!]

Leylin suddenly raised his hands, and revealed the hidden crossbow as he pulled the trigger.

* Xiu! * A black line streaked across the air and flew directly into the green tree sprite from earlier.

The arrow pierced the right side of the green tree sprite's chest, causing its eyes to tear. Green fluid, what appeared to be juice from the tree, was flowing out of its chest as it fell onto the ground.

"Dyrisse! That human actually killed Sister Dyrisse!" The enraged and shocked voices of the other green tree sprites came from the treetops.

"You actually dared to kill my daughter!" The giant tree demon let out a furious roar, its huge vines racing towards Leylin.

"Hyaa!" Leylin moved the horse carriage backward, avoiding the vines.

"According to the A.I. Chip's calculations, the giant tree demon's vine's greatest attack range is only 20 metres! Its movements are also extremely slow, which is its greatest weakness!"

Leylin drew his cross blade and steadied the carriage before getting off.

"I only asked to leave, but since you refuse to listen when talked to nicely, it seems like a fight is the only means of resolving this!"

"You actually killed my lovely Dyrisse! I'm going to turn you into a shriveled corpse and hang you on my body for a hundred years!"

The giant tree demon's roots emerged from the ground and stood up like a human before chasing Leylin.

"At this speed! Are you kidding?" Leylin laughed loudly and dodged as he clashed with the giant tree demon.

A dark green tree shadow whipped at Leylin, but he dodged by rolling away, easily evading the attack.

* Pa! * The green vine was like a whip, and it smashed a very huge hole into the ground.

Leylin slashed with the cross blade and chopped at the vines. The silvery white blade had made contact with the surface of the vine, but ended up leaving no more than a mark on it.

Leylin felt a huge force coming towards him, and a few black shadows appeared behind him.

[An attack has appeared from behind. The most optimal way is to turn right for 50 degrees and jump right!] The A.I. Chip's voice sounded.

Leylin deflected a vine and turned to his right and jumped immediately, avoiding the sneak attack from the black shadow behind him.

"Great Father! We will help you!"

Roughly 7 to 8 green tree sprites swooped down, and they even carried small bows in their hands that looked like toys. However, when Leylin saw the dark green liquid on the arrow head, his expression changed.

"There's poison!"

He withdrew a purple potion from his waist pouch and viciously flung it at the green tree sprites.

* Ping-Pong! * The test tube broke, and a gust of purple misty smoke rose, turning into the shape of a harpy. The harpy opened its mouth and let out an ear-piercing scream!

"The Howling Witch potion! I spent 20 magic crystals on it!" Leylin covered both of his ears. Although he had made preparations ahead of time, he still felt uneasy. As for the green tree sprites, they had all fallen to the ground long ago.

Using potions to mimic the effects of a magic spell was the normal fighting technique used by a Potions master. With Leylin's current abilities, he could not brew the Howling Witch potion yet, so this potion had been bought from Kroft instead.

Not only were these potions extremely expensive, they only had a one-time use, which made Leylin's heart ache.

Taking advantage of the fact that the giant tree demon and green tree sprites were still under the effects of the Howling Witch potion, Leylin hurriedly stepped forward and lunged at them with the cross blade.

"A few green tree sprites were easily cut into two just like this."

"The eardrums of these green tree sprites are extremely strange and they are more sensitive towards sound waves. However, the Howling Witch potion was obviously their bane!"

Leylin's eyes flashed, and he stomped on a few more of the green tree sprites who were lying on the ground until they were dead.

"Oh! No! Julie, Delia......"