Dolorin
Leylin quickly looked at the faces of these Magi.
He remembered each and every Magi that he’d seen at the Four Seasons Garden’s headquarters before, but he did not recognize any of the people he saw here. There could only be one reason why these faces were unfamiliar!
They must have been the hidden forces of the Four Seasons Garden, and usually did not show their faces.
From the looks of it, the Four Seasons Garden had taken out all of their trump cards to keep control of the entrance to the secret plane.
Caesar, the three-eyed Magus who was the leader of the hunting team, wasn’t here either. If he wasn’t hidden somewhere, he must have been on some special mission.
Leylin felt his heart sink, as he was on an undercover mission as a spy for the Thousand Meddling Hands!
It seemed that it was going to be difficult to complete his mission.
Leylin recorded this scene with the A.I. Chip, and followed the signs along the road to find his accommodations.
“Master!”
Leylin approached the wooden house that was in district D9. As they could sense Leylin, the Grand Knights, Number 2 and Number 3, immediately rushed out of the house and knelt on one knee to greet him.
Behind the wooden house, within a fence, the Venom Wyvern, Hawke, had drowsily lifted its head and made a noise of excitement.
“Hm!” Leylin looked over his subordinates that he had remodelled and suddenly regretted having asked them to leave first.
If he hadn’t, with the abilities of these two Branded Swordsmen, he wouldn’t have to be reduced to that miserable state and be so seriously injured.
“It’s important that I find an opportunity and test out the battle abilities and power of the Branded Swordsmen!”
Leylin glanced at Number 2 and Number 3, who were kneeling respectfully, and rubbed his chin.
…...
The Four Seasons Garden worked very quickly, and during the evening, a worker in something similar to a suit knocked on the door of Leylin’s house.
“Lord Leylin! In the name of the Four Seasons Garden, the elders request that you head for the secret plane tomorrow. You will be taking over zone 13.”
This person was also an official Magus. He spoke very slowly, with clear pronunciation. After reading, he passed a piece of parchment that had been stamped to Leylin.
Leylin raised his arms and took it.
The transfer order was on a stack of rather thick, dull yellow pieces of paper that gave a very firm feeling.
The contents of the order were just as the man had said, and on the bottom of the stack of parchments, there was a stamp that belonged to the Four Seasons Garden, along with a few signatures.
Leylin’s fingers brushed over the stamp.
*Sssii!* Four rays of light emerged from the stamp and danced atop the parchment, gradually forming a four-coloured ring that was unceasingly turning. After a few moments, the light died down.
This proved that the signatures and stamp were all real!
Leylin became quiet. “Aren’t Potion Masters being called here to take over the roles of healers? Nobody told me I’d be on the frontlines.”
Even if one didn’t have a brain, it would be obvious to them that this was Caesar’s work. Leylin still showed his annoyance and anger.
“I am a potion master, not a fighter! You can’t put me on the same level as those Magi with blood staining their hands. I protest!”
“I’m sorry, but this was a decision from the higher-ups in the Four Seasons Garden! If you have any problems, you can report to the elders within 24 hours. However, as long as the elders do not issue new orders to make your current orders void, you will still need to rush to zone 13 by tomorrow. If not, you will be labelled as a traitor and punished accordingly!”
This man said everything matter of factly, not caring in the least about Leylin’s opinions. He then gave an elegant bow. “If there’s nothing else, I shall take my leave now, Mister Leylin!”
*Pak!*
After the main door closed, the furious expression Leylin had on instantly disappeared. Instead, Leylin looked as if he was deep in thought.
Ever since he had arrived here, he had been prepared for people to make trouble for him and treat him badly. All of that talk was just a front.
The reason was that if a potion master were to be sent to the frontlines and took the news calmly, it would seem too suspicious.
“But if time is so tight, I need to start with all my preparation now.”
Leylin lowered his head in thought, his eyes sparkling with a faint darkness...
The huge platinum metal gate was, as always, standing tall. Only until Leylin actually stood in front of it did he feel that all that he had seen in the past amounted to nothing in front of this majestic gate.
Now that he was so close to it, Leylin was in awe.
From the gate to the secret plane, he could feel a trace of some ancient aura. What shocked him, even more, was that spiritual force was faintly emanating from the entire gate.
This spiritual force did not belong to any Magus but instead originated from the gate.
“It’s a living being and has its own spiritual waves. Perhaps, after a period of time, it can cultivate an intelligence of its own and become a genuine living creature!”
Leylin sighed in admiration and looked around the area.
Though it was early in the morning, many Magi and acolytes were queuing in front of the gate with tickets in their hands.
As there were tens of powerful Magi all around, it was rather orderly.
As an internal member of the Four Seasons Garden, he naturally didn’t need to queue up, and instead stood together with a few Magi at the optimal location right in front of the gate.
Number 2 and Number 3 were carrying large bags and quietly following behind Leylin.
“It’s 8 am! Open!”
Leylin looked at the hour hand of his pocket watch, which was now pointing to the number 8.
The consumption of energy needed in opening the entrance to such a large scale secret plane was immense. Even the Four Seasons Garden would feel pain at this cost.
Hence, the Eternal River Plains’ secret plane’s entrance would only be opened once a day at this time.
With the loud order, a dozen Magi who had achieved 50% elemental essence conversion placed their palms against the frame of the gate.
*Weng Weng!*
A violent distortion of space rapidly formed in the middle of the gate and expanded.
*Creak!*
The gate opened a little, and all of a sudden—light! Numerous rays of white light leaked out, swallowing all Magi and acolytes in front of it!
All Leylin could see was the blinding brightness in front of him, and his head spun from giddiness. After he regained his composure, he was already on top of a large white square in the Eternal River Plains’ secret plane.
“Hah!”
Leylin breathed in deeply.
The first impression he had of the secret plane was that there was an extraordinarily dense amount of elemental particles in the air.
[Calculated density of energy in surroundings, found to be 371% of that in external world!]
The A.I. Chip projected its findings to Leylin.
“There is such a concentrated amount of energy, and on top of that, there’s so much land! For Magi, this is basically heaven!”
Leylin was astonished as he spoke.
“Listen up! I’ll only say this once!”
After the Magi and acolytes present familiarized themselves with their surroundings, a bald, brawny man who seemed to be in charge came onstage. He was donning the attire that the Four Seasons Garden’s Magi wore.
His voice was loud and resonant, echoing within the plaza.
“Attention to all Magi and acolytes who are not affiliated with the Four Seasons Garden! From now on, you are free to move about in the secret plane. As long as they have no markings of the light Magi alliance, all obtained items will belong to yourselves! Also, when you wish to leave the plane, please return to this place. Remember, do not attempt to conceal your earnings! The moment you are found out to have been doing this, you will regret having been born!”
The brawny man was very direct, but the discontent of the masses quickly died down with the appearance of a row of official Magi behind him acting like guards.
After the bald, brawny man announced that they were free to go, the Magi and acolytes cheered and rushed in all directions like wild horses let out of cages. In a few moments, they were gone.
“Alright! You are Magi from the Four Seasons Garden, yes? Come with me.”
The brawny man turned his attention to Leylin’s side, and his tone and facial expression became much friendlier. “My name is Dolorin, and I am the vice team leader of the Four Seasons Garden’s defense team! If you have any questions, feel free to approach me...”
It was evident that this man treated those in the same organisation as himself a lot better.
“I would like to know, is allowing these external magicians so much freedom actually a good thing? What I’m trying to say is, aren’t you afraid that they’ll stay longer in the secret plane or sneak out through other entrances?”
A petite female Magus enquired.
“Hehe! The Eternal River Plains’ secret plane is very large, and there is danger everywhere! No Magus can stay here alone for too long unless he or she wishes to die in strange and mysterious ways, or become the excrement of high-energy creatures!”
The brawny man obviously disapproved, a look of fear flashing across his face.
“As for your question about leaving, within one million mu, there is only one entrance, which belongs to us. If they wish to travel to other entrances, they would need to go through exceedingly dangerous areas. Some of them are regions that basically require miracles for even official Magi to pass through due to the minuscule chance of survival!”
“Also, our light Magi alliance have all standardised the fees and set up stringent probing methods. This will not give them the chance to smuggle away their gains!”
“To go through such a difficult path and take such a big risk has no meaning basically unless they wish to defect to the dark Magii… However, I imagine the dark Magi are keener on robbing them of all their gains, and then flaying their skin and breaking their bones to use them as ingredients.”
Dolorin shrugged his shoulders a couple times, emphasizing his words with his facial expression.