Chapter 256: Returning to the Territory

Inside the lord's study, Niya sat behind the desk, glowing with high spirits. A smile played on the corners of her mouth, and even after Xia Duo came over and sat down, she remained cheerful.

It seemed that reading the 【Nether Scroll】 had truly brought her significant gains, to the point where she was somewhat carried away.

*Ahem—*

"Mentor, I am preparing to return to the Territory."

As he spoke, Xia Duo stepped forward a few paces, took the Mage Robe and headband Niya had previously lent him from his Dimensional Bag, and placed them on her desk. "Also, I am returning this equipment to you now, Mentor."

Niya pulled the Mage Robe toward her side, reached out to stroke it gently, and spoke in a leisurely tone, "No rush. You haven't asked your questions since returning to the Tower of Time yet, have you? I am free all day today."

*Hm? * Xia Duo felt a murmur of doubt in his heart. He did indeed have many questions now, but he was unsure if his progress would startle Niya; he had too many ideas regarding third-circle spells.

After thinking it over and weighing his words, he said, "Mentor, I spent quite a long time in the Projection Plane, and I have already finished studying that *Intermediate Arcane Geometry*."

This was indeed the truth, and he had even delved deeper, only that the end of that *Intermediate Arcane Geometry* was written as "To Be Continued."

Niya had previously said: mastering Intermediate Arcane Geometry before Intermediate Rank, and mastering Advanced Arcane Geometry before Advanced Rank, was almost a necessary path to becoming an Arcanist.

And since Xia Duo was already at the Intermediate Rank, he was not sure if he had truly reached the level of mastery; if not, he would still need to make up for the lessons.

Hearing Xia Duo's answer, Niya was somewhat surprised, but then she revealed a look of sudden realization. With a wave of her hand, a flash of white light appeared, and a book materialized in her hand.

Xia Duo glanced at it; it was inscribed with *Intermediate Arcane Geometry*, and his heart settled.

Sure enough, with a gesture from Niya, the book floated toward him as she said, "It seems you gained quite a lot in the Projection Plane. This is the other part of *Intermediate Arcane Geometry*. I will answer your questions next time you come."

*Uh—*

Regarding the matter of the Projection Plane, Xia Duo found it difficult to answer. He took the book and replied, "Yes!"

"Then, Mentor, I will take my leave first. I am worried about the Territory."

"Mm, go ahead."

Niya waved her hand and was about to put away the Mage Robe and headband when, as if remembering something, she hurriedly called Xia Duo back. "Wait!"

"Mentor, is there any other instruction?" Xia Duo turned back to look at Niya.

"Was your Dimensional Bag bought at the Arcane Union?" Niya asked.

"Yes, Mentor."

"A word of advice: it is best not to keep valuable items in a Dimensional Bag, especially not in one you did not craft yourself."

*Hm? * Xia Duo subconsciously touched the Dimensional Bag in his bosom. *Could it be—*

"Could it be that the creator of the Dimensional Bag can steal the things I put inside?"

"Correct." Niya nodded. "This is not a secret among Intermediate Mages, but normally, even if the creator wants to steal items from a Dimensional Bag, they must pay a certain price. You just need to avoid putting valuables inside."

"……"

Xia Duo suddenly wanted to learn how to craft Dimensional Bags. The bags themselves could be sold for money, and if he happened to run into someone who put treasures inside, it would be a business with ten thousand times the profit.

However, such things could not be done often; if his reputation stank, no one would come to buy them.

No wonder when he was at the Arcane Union, that manager had deliberately emphasized that it was the masterpiece of a certain Master, even though it was just a second-hand item that cost him 2000 Gold Coins.

This must be something like taking out insurance.

But no matter how good the insurance is, it cannot be absolutely safe. Fortunately, Xia Duo only bought the Dimensional Bag to use as a decoration to cover up his Personal Space.

"I understand. Thank you for the reminder, Mentor."

……

Following this, Xia Duo spent two days transcribing this *Intermediate Arcane Geometry*, after which he took the "Lucky Owen," which had been standing by at the port, to head toward Daxia Territory.

This time, the return to the Tower of Time took a bit longer; not counting the year or so in the Projection Plane, nearly ten days had passed in the Main Plane alone.

While riding the "Lucky Owen" back to Daxia Territory, Xia Duo was still worried about the situation in the Territory, fearing that the less than one hundred people there might have been eaten by Trolls.

After the Trolls that attacked last time were wiped out, Xia Duo had not searched very far; it was foreseeable that there were definitely still Trolls near the Territory.

Even if there were no Trolls, there were certainly Goblins, and heaven knows if a few Hobgoblins might have mutated among them—that would be troublesome enough.

Besides that, other wild beasts, snakes, and insects in the forest were threatening the lives of the villagers almost every moment, and he did not know if Priest Laidun could handle it.

From Savile Territory to Daxia Territory, sailing down the Wolfburg River, Xia Duo stood at the bow of the ship looking ahead, his gaze unfocused, various arcane mysteries shifting in his mind.

After a long while, he sighed deeply, "Indeed, empty thinking is useless; one must practice and experiment more!"

Practice produces true knowledge; this applies equally in the world of Magic. On the ship, Xia Duo could only conduct some simple Magic Net observation experiments, memorize spells, ponder theories, and transcribe scrolls.

……

Half a day later, the "Lucky Owen" arrived at the landing point of the Daxia Territory Temporary Camp. From afar, Xia Duo saw the results of the villagers' efforts over these days—

The land between the Lord of Radiance Altar and the Temporary Camp to the north had been thoroughly cleared; the ground was covered in charred marks, connecting with the Temporary Camp to the north.

Although not very aesthetically pleasing, this represented expansion and civilization.

According to Xia Duo's plan, "Linshui Village" would be built with the Altar as the center. Now, only the part north of the Altar had been cleared, about the size of a football field.

However, it was already possible to plan for housing.

As soon as he disembarked, Laidun came to report, "My Lord, you have been away for ten days. Following the plan you left behind, I have cleared all the land from the north of the Altar to the camp."

"Mm, have any villagers been slacking off? What about those Slaves?" Xia Duo asked.

"No, all the villagers are full of energy. As for the Slaves—" Laidun hesitated for a moment before answering, "The other Slaves are well-behaved, but two Slaves conspired to escape and were intercepted by Captain Qiaoqi's men. I have already judged them in front of the Altar."

Xia Duo frowned. It was not because of Laidun's judgment—after all, he had already given authorization—but because there were only 26 Slaves in total, and two had actually run away!

And according to Xia Duo's previous orders, if a Slave group member committed an offense, the group leader would also be punished, and there was only one punishment for Slaves: the death penalty.

Losing three laborers all at once made Xia Duo feel quite pained, but he had no choice but to do it. *Sigh—*

"You did well!" Xia Duo praised him, then walked toward the Altar, with Laidun following closely behind.

It was only one or two hundred meters from the landing point to the Altar. The east-west direction was narrower, only thirty or forty meters, with the west side reaching all the way to the riverbank.

At this moment, the villagers and Slaves were lined up from south to north, clearing toward the east. Due to the different efficiency of each person, this line was crooked, but generally, it could be seen that the villagers' efficiency was higher.

"My Lord, you mentioned last time that the food for the lagging villager groups was not even as good as the Slaves', so everyone is holding their breath and working hard." As they walked, Laidun explained.

Xia Duo compared this to the situation in the Territory and listened carefully. Although in Laidun's eyes he had only been away for 10 days, in Xia Duo's own time line, he had been away for over a year.

Everything in the Territory felt fresh, yet carried a hint of familiarity; as Laidun explained things, he was rapidly recovering his memory of the Territory.

A moment later, the two arrived near the Altar, where three corpses were hanging from a crooked tree on the south side of the Altar, their manner of death gruesome.