Even with Leylin’s entry, the group members felt that their safety was not guaranteed.
After having waited for an additional half a month, it was only the previous day that another official Magus had joined them, and the group had decided to set off.
During that half a month, Leylin had been dwelling within the pub while keeping a low profile. It could have been that the Yale family and the Lilytell family had ran out of leads, so they had not decided to search here, enabling Leylin to avoid a huge battle.
Thinking about this, Leylin took a look at the members of his group.
Due to fact that the group was only a temporary one, in addition to the wariness of the magicians, more than half of the group members’ faces had been concealed. Only an old, white-haired geezer and a voluptuous female magician did not conceal their countenances.
Other magicians were the same as Leylin, with half of their faces wrapped, and appearing cold and detached.
All of these magicians emitted the energy waves of a rank 1 Magus. The Great Canyon Margaret was too dangerous for any acolytes, so apart from any special circumstances, acolytes seldom chose this route.
The roasting sun shone with a comfortable warmth onto his body, causing Leylin to crave a good sleep.
As the surroundings turned dark green, the short shrubs bowed down to the Seated Lupin Wolf as they passed. This caused Leylin to think that he had arrived at the grasslands of Chernobyl Islands.
The Great Canyon Margaret was extremely vast, spanning across several kingdoms.
Moreover, rumours had it that originally, there was no great canyon and that in fact, it had been formed by two unknown, high ranked Magi fighting.
Looking down from the sky, the Great Canyon Margaret seemed like a wound created on the body of the south coast.
However, Leylin still expressed his skepticism towards such a myth. Breaking apart half a continent should have required at least a rank 7 or 8 Magus. In the recorded history of the south coast, there had been no mentions of Magi of such ranking having ever appeared.
Even if they had come from another continent, why would they have specifically chosen this place for their battle?
137 - Seated Lupin Wolf
No matter what the legend said, due to the double influences of topography and magic radiation, the Grand Canyon Margaret suffered from strange geographical conditions and an ever-changing natural climate.
In the Great Canyon Margaret, various terrains such as grasslands, mountains, forests, marshes, and deserts could be seen.
Moreover, one moment, there might be rain, and in the next moment, a terrifying thunderstorm.
As for the enormous intermittent sandstorms, they were a calamity that even official Magi had to escape from.
Fortunately, the large scale sandstorms had their specific timings, so this passage was not completely out of the question.
Advancing through such an environment was a severe test for a Magus’ physical body and spiritual force.
As for the Seated Lupin Wolf, it was a unique species that grew up within the Grand Canyon Margaret.
As if undergoing evolution and modification through radiation, the original species of mountain wolves, in the span of a long time, had evolved into an organism that was completely capable of adapting to the terrain and climate of the Great Canyon Margaret.
As for the magicians on both sides of the Great Canyon Margaret, they captured, tamed, and transformed these wolves into a necessary tool for traveling through the Great Canyon Margaret.
According to Leylin’s guesses, behind the Broken Axe Pub, there were definitely one or more large Magus families that had joined hands. If not, they wouldn’t be able to reap in such sizable benefits from this huge territory.
*Pu*
The sturdily built Seated Lupin Wolves continuously dashed across the grassland, bounding forward from time to time to avoid the obstacles ahead.
Their sharp canine teeth and claws were enough to deal with most of the wild creatures, saving the magicians from having to cast spells, and letting them rest.
*Rumble*
In a split second, the initially bright sky was covered by clouds, and snake-like lightning rolled across the sky, sounding out rumbling thunder.
The most mysterious thing was that on Leylin’s side, the weather was still fine. One side of the sky was clear, while the other was ominous, filling it with a type of indescribable aesthetic beauty.
“It’s a thunderstorm! Pay attention and avoid getting wet!”
The leader, an old geezer, spoke from the forefront.
A vote had passed in the party, finally choosing the two who would show their faces as the temporary leaders.
“Damn!” Leylin’s ears twitched as he heard a female traveller from the front complain.
However he did not bother with her, only drawing out a large tarpaulin from the sack on the Seated Lupin Wolf and draping it over his body.
*Hu Hu Hu*
The speed of the wolves was extremely quick, so after a dozen minutes, they entered the region of thunderstorms.
The cold wind was whizzing, mimicking knives slashing against everyone’s faces.
*Pitter-patter* Not long later, bean-sized raindrops fell, rapidly turning into a heavy downpour.
Under the rain, the grassland had now turned into a marsh.
The muddy ground hindered the footsteps of the wolves. As for those blind spots, they were littered with the traps of quicksand. Once someone was to step into one, they would very soon be swallowed whole.
*Pu*
The wolf Leylin was riding on sounded a long hiss, and immediately, its four wolf paws gave out white light.
Streaks of light began to form within the white dizzying glow. When the rays of light began to disperse, a thick coat of wolf fur could be seen above their paws.
When the fur was spread out, it resembled a hoof.
*Ta* *Ta* The wolf proceeded on water as if it was flat ground. The speed of the entire team got faster.
“A creature formed from a combination of nature and magic, truly magical!”
Leylin sighed in admiration as he gently caressed the wolf’s hump in front of him,
At this instant, the wolf hair on the hump gathered and became similar to a layer of skin, sticking onto the surface of the wolf. It had a layer of oil, causing it to resemble a raincoat.
Rain continued to roll off the body of the wolf, and not a drop remained on the wolf.
“This is only an ordinary mount. Hearsay indicates that within the Light Magus region, endless other magical mounts exist. Some were natural, and were captured from the wild, and others were manmade, causing them to be bizarre and exotic.” Leylin’s eyes began to display an expression of yearning.
With the speed of the wolf, they were able to make it before dark. Leylin and his party finally managed to rush out of the torrential rain zone and entered a stone forest.
“Tonight, we shall rest here. Pitch your tents and leave the wolves around the perimeter. Don’t forget to feed them!” The female magician yelled.
Upon hearing that, the magicians restrained and fed their mounts. They also began to pitch their tents in the stone forest.
Very soon, a circle of black tents was seen assembled closely together. The Seated Lupin Wolves were circling around the tents, laying low, as if keeping vigil.
In a special tent, Leylin finished his meditation and looked at his status.
[Leylin Farlier. Rank 1 Warlock, Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent. Strength: 7.1, Agility: 6.7, Vitality: 8.5, Spiritual Force: 28.3, Magic Power: 28 (Magic Power is in synchronisation with Spiritual Force). Elemental essence conversion: 1%. Status: Healthy]
The progress for a magician was always a gradual one. After so many days of meditation, Leylin’s spiritual force had only increased by 0.1. However, compared to the Magi who do not use high-grade resources to simulate their spiritual force growth, Leylin only had to persevere in meditation every day in order for his
spiritual force to grow. This pace was considered overpowered!
As for the elemental essence conversion, not only it was one of the requirements to advance to a rank 2 Magus, it was another crucial method to increase the might of rank 1 spells, so it could not be neglected either.
Leylin had already somewhat discovered the Warlock’s flaws.
As a small branch of the ancient magicians, not only did Warlocks have to unearth the power of their bloodline, they also could not neglect on their cultivation as a magician.
This meant that the advancement requirements for Warlocks were the same as those for Magi. Moreover, they had the limitations of their bloodline.
Even when a rank 1 Warlock would have reached the advancement criteria, if the concentration of his bloodline was not high enough, then the advancement would most likely fail, or not have an innate spell after their advancement. According to the A.I. Chip’s simulation, this was very possible!
This was indeed the case if given more thought. If the path of Warlocks was that superior, the whole Magus World would have been predominantly Warlocks and not the currently observed situation.
However, with such severe conditions for advancement, once a Warlock managed to break through, their might would often surpass that of a Magus of the same rank!
For Leylin, his personal advantage made it more suitable for him to walk the path of a Warlock.
After he finished meditating, Leylin got up and left the tent.
“Wu wu!” A Seated Lupin Wolf, which was laying beside Leylin’s tent, whimpered, slightly lifting its tall stature.
“Eat this!” Leylin took a large blue cod from his sack and fed the wolf.
The Seated Lupin Wolf growled with excitement and raised its giant red tongue that had white moss to gnaw on the fish.
As the tongue swept past Leylin’s right hand, he could feel a warm, moist sensation.
Although the wolf could hunt for its own food, only specific kinds of foods could keep up with their daily intake as a beast of burden.
“Hello, Lancey!”
The tent beside Leylin’s opened and a provocative and revealing figure walked out. Leylin rubbed his nose as he made his greeting.
During the allocation, he was assigned to be a pair with this woman.
“You’re here to feed the wolves too?” Lancey nodded her head, as she took out some cod to feed the wolf beside her.
Each and every move of this woman had a sense of loneliness behind it. Leylin felt that this was a woman with a story to tell.
Of course, every magician who wanted to travel through the Great Canyon Margaret had a story behind them.
Although Leylin did not know why this female Magus wanted to escape to the Light Magi domain, he was sensible enough to not ask.
“Listen! I hear the slight hymn of the wind! Look! The white clouds which are freely floating in the skies~”
At this moment, a rock beside the two of them trembled. A sprite, which was fully brown in colour and was wearing a Scottish costume, suddenly emerged and played its harp while singing.
Looking at the rock sized sprite, Lancey covered her mouth as she gasped.
“It’s the Brownstone Singer! I heard that they were extinct! I never thought that I’d see one here…”
Before Leylin could speak, the old geezer leader came out from the tent, while exclaiming in admiration when he saw the sprite strumming on top of a rock.
“Brownstone Singer?” Leylin recalled the data regarding these creatures. “It seems to be one of the rumoured creatures that possess mysterious abilities, but don’t have much attack strength!”
“What adorable creatures!” Stars seem to shine in Lancey’s eyes, and she could not resist the temptation to try and touch them.
“The energy waves that they emit are so weak— I wonder how they survived till now?”
“Let me capture them and slowly conduct my research!” A large bloke who heard the banter walked out with a disdainful expression.
*Hu* Following his demand, a layer of stone skin appeared on his hands as he tried to grab the sprite.
“You, stop!” Lancey frowned, but his words obviously did not carry much effect.
The large bloke did not even stop and immediately grabbed the Brownstone Singer. The sprite stared blankly, before crying out and turning into mud yellow light dots, which disappeared in the hands of the large bloke.
“This… what just happened?”
“The Brownstone Singer is a creature that is naturally formed from nature. They are able to harmonise with the earth energy particles within the air. Magi who do not have an elemental essence conversion of 80% or above would not even be able to touch them!”
The old geezer leader said.
“Moreover, they are really timid! After getting scared off by you, they might never come back!” Leylin added on.
Upon hearing what Leylin said, the old man was astounded as he looked at Leylin. “I cannot believe that you actually know such information, which has been neglected by many!”
“I just happened to come across it while reading an ancient compendium…” Leylin replied modestly.
At this moment, the discussion had aroused the curiosity of the others Magi from the camp and brought them here.
“There’s still a little bit more!” Leylin looked at the huge bloke with a pitiful gaze.
“Legends have it that those who have been touched by a Brownstone Singer, regardless of their gender, would get pregnant!”
138 - Limestone Wasteland
“Are you kidding… Argh…”
The huge bloke had a sinister smile, but soon after he gave a miserable shriek.
The surrounding Magi also cried out in surprise, as if they’d seen something unbelievable.
Right in front of them, the huge bloke’s belly began to slowly swell, taking the shape of a bulge.
Thinking back to what Leylin said earlier, Lancey was fearful yet relieved that she did not touch the Brownstone Singer like she wanted to.
Looking at the big bloke freaking out and hurrying back into his tent, drinking and consuming all sorts of items with medicinal properties, smiles were seen hanging on the faces of all the people at the site…
After appreciating the spectacle, they rested for the night and carried on their journey the next day.
The huge bloke had also recovered, but his complexion did not look very good.
Where magicians were concerned, to induce an abortion or to do a caesarean section, it was a small and simple operation that even one man could handle.
The effects of the Brownstone Singer might be frightening to a normal person. But for magicians, it was more of a practical joke than something to be feared.
“Due to the Grand Canyon Margaret’s topography, it became a paradise for many exotic creatures. Legends have it that you can still find trails of those that were said to be endangered or extinct here….”
Leylin secretly thought, as he saddled the Seated Lupin Wolf, and watched the surroundings slowly changed into an ash-gray rocky forest.
Warlock of the Magus World 1-596 Page 107