Translator: Wuxia Dog Editor: Wuxia Dog
Humans are able to adapt very well. For example, when you first arrive at a dirty toilet, it will smell very bad but after staying there for a while, you won’t smell the stink anymore. This is the magic of adaptability.
It was the same for these young magicians. On the first day they arrived at the Tarasha Mountains, they thought they were scary and would complain about the slightest of problems, but now, they were already used to living here and had mastered lots of abilities which they would never be able to learn at the school.
For example, when facing a Gale Wolf, the first thing was not to launch an attack but to release a magic shield and analyze the situation behind them! Gale wolves would never hunt alone. Their favorite trick was to attract their prey’s attention with one Gale Wolf and the remaining wolf group would launch attacks from behind them.
When facing an offensive eighth-grade or higher holy animal, such as a Bear of Earth or Spiked Tiger, the last thing to do was to panic, especially if they were alone. Panic would only worsen the disaster. The right choice was to run away, not in a messy way, but calmly and slowly while facing the animal. They were different from humans as holy animals would only hunt for food. When they were full, they would not launch initiating attacks unless their own territory was being invaded or they felt threatened.
When a holy animal moved closer or even launched attacks, one should never climb a tree because however tall or tough a tree was, it was easily destroyed by any eighth or higher grade holy animal. Thus, one should release some magic that emits dazzling lights or creates loud sounds. Holy animals are not as clever as humans. As soon as they saw the light or heard the sounds, they would have scruples. If their purpose was to protect their own territory, they wouldn’t continue the fight once the invader started retreating. If their purpose was to hunt, they would also give it another thought before launching any attacks. Anyway, for them, to be injured while hunting their prey was unworthy. To be able to survive in this forest, one must maintain full combat effectiveness. It was very dangerous to be injured!
When you’re facing something peculiar, you must restrain your curiosity. Flowers that are more beautiful than roses and more fragrant than lilies are in fact toxic. As long as one of them gets close, they would eject some kind of grey smog. Any creature, no matter human or holy animal, would start to rot from the inside and turn into a pool of blood as soon as they inhale the smog.
And never sit down randomly. On one occasion, a deacon sat down on a tree stump to rest after a long walk, not noticing that the tree stump was actually disguised by a minor Treefolk. If it wasn’t for Reg reminding the deacon, the deacon would have been strangled by it, no matter whether Yalina could kill the Treefolk in an instant or not.
In conclusion, the Tarasha Mountains were full of dangers. No matter whether the young magicians liked it or not, they had to get used to life here. Otherwise, they would have to stay in this forest forever. Those leisurely days in the school were like dreams to them.
In the evening, the young magicians started getting busy. Due to Yalina’s wound, they had already stayed here for several days. Reg and Moxinke would hunt for food, thus the young magicians spent all their energy in building straw sheds of all sizes as if they were a savage tribe.
When Reg and Moxinke brought food back, some of the young female magicians would be responsible for cooking. Though they seemed to be pretty unfamiliar with cooking, there were quite a variety of dishes. For Reg, as long as the meat was cooked, he would be satisfied. However, the young magicians insisted on cooking the meat in different ways. Perhaps the women were gifted in cooking. They cleaned an iron shield and used it as a big wok by turning it over.
Han Jin looked on from a distance. Moxinke dared not to provoke him anymore, but another started to play gooseberry. In the past couple of days, Yalina got acquainted with Sunier and would always come to her for stories. The wonderful stories told by Sunier were mostly about her own experiences, which were attractive to Yalina since this young magus hardly went outside.
“What are you looking at?” Yalina suddenly asked. She looked at the direction Han Jin was looking at and saw the tall and white dragon skeleton. She smiled. “Are you still thinking about how to take this away with you? It’s impossible. The best plan is to bury it here and come take it away next time. Are you afraid that I will leak this secret out?”
“Of course not.” Han Jin also showed a smile. He knew that Yalina would not do that. It was her who insisted on giving up the whole dragon, including its crystal, scales, horns and so on. Han Jin had planned on sharing them evenly but Yalina had refused. She said that they deserved them instead of them. Han Jin realized that it was her way of expressing gratitude and accepted since she insisted. “I am thinking about something else,” Han Jin replied.
“What is it?” Yalina asked. It seemed that she was not only interested in Sunier’s stories, but also in Han Jin’s.
“We are in the center of the Tarasha Mountains. Now that we have lost our space scroll, it will take us a long time to get away from here by walking.”
“Then walk. We have nothing else to do after going back anyways,” replied Yalina in a low voice.
“You’re the headmaster of a magic academy,” interrupted Sunier.
“An honorary headmaster at most.”
“If so, why would they allow you to take the students out to practice?” Sunier asked. She had been curious about this for a long time but thought it would be impolite to ask this rashly since they were not that familiar previously.
“I couldn’t figure it out at first.” Yalina sighed. “But now I know. Someone wants me dead.”
Han Jin and Sunier cast a glance at each other. If Yalina wanted to tell them more, she would continue; if not, it’s no use even if they asked.
“Forget about it.” Yalina shook her head as if she wanted to get rid of all these unhappy thoughts. She had always been as cold as marble in the past, but now she has become easy-going and behaved naturally and gracefully instead of showing a supercilious attitude like before. “By the way, there is something I am very curious about.”
“What is it?” asked Han Jin.
“How did you eat the dragon meat?” This said, Yalina pointed at the tall dragon skeleton. “You know what, some of my students even suspected that you were a supreme holy animal who disguised as a human. They even secretly released some detection magic on you.”
“Me? A supreme holy animal?” Han Jin pointed at his own nose.
“Yes.” Yalina nodded heavily.
“You can’t blame anyone but your own appetite.” Sunier chuckled.
“Who said this?” Han Jin was a little bit annoyed. People could doubt his abilities or his personality, but not his species! It was unforgivable!
“I can’t tell you.” Yalina also chuckled.
Suddenly, just when Han Jin was about to say something else, the young magicians all stopped and then jumped to their feet. They had set lots of magic sentries around the campsite. As long as any person or holy animal got close, they would know.
Moxinke walked out with his giant sword in hand while Reg launched his Art of Invisibility. The others were all preparing to fight but Han Jin and Yalina kept leisurely sitting there. They were both confident due to their strong personal strength. Though Yalina had been taught a lesson due to her inexperience when she came to this forest, she would not make the same mistakes again. With her strength which she was confident of, no one could pose threat to her.
A moment later, a soldier who was striding towards them showed both astonishment and excitement when he saw Moxinke. “Hi, Moxinke! It’s me! Saxon from the Reapers Mercenary Team. Do you still remember me?”
“Yes, of course.” Moxinke recognized the soldier and asked, “Where are your teammates?”
“They are somewhere else.” The soldier walked a few steps forward and stared at Yalina, not bypassing Moxinke. He shouted, “Excuse me, but are you Yalina, the headmaster of God’s Language Magic Academy?”
Yalina was stunned but nodded slightly after a moment.
Saxon heaved a long breath. “I have finally found you,” this said, he turned his wrist over and a magic scroll flew out. A ray of emerald light soared up into the sky and exploded like fireworks.
Moxinke was startled. The smile on his face quickly froze then he showed a frost-like expression. He stared at the soldier, not saying anything.
Noticing the change of expression on Moxinke’s face, Saxon smiled apologetically. “Sorry, I should have explained first; I was being too impatient. But, we met Lord Scott from God’s Language Magic Academy five days ago when we came back to Isolated Cliff City. He released a task to look for Headmaster Yalina. We happened to have some impressions of her, as her magic wand was the strangest one I have ever seen. Thus, we took up the task.”
“Headmaster Scott?”
“Headmaster Scott came looking for us!” the young magicians all cheered.
Han Jin looked back. Yalina nodded, indicating Han Jin that Scott was a friend, not an enemy.
Moxinke’s expression changed quickly. In the blink of an eye, he grinned cheekily again. “Is the remuneration for this task high?”
“Yes, the highest we have ever got,” replied Saxon. “Please don’t worry. Our leader has inquired about it. Lord Scott was worried about Yalina and that’s why he paid such a high price to look for her. He meant no harm. Otherwise, no matter how high the remuneration was, we wouldn’t take the task.”
Moxinke paused for a while and then nodded. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. It’s our principle.”
