Chapter 154: Circumstances and State of Mind

In other words, this is a place where one cannot fight at full strength, at least those who stay here for long do not dare to, Luge thought.

He turned his head and glanced at Green, who had just landed; evidently the other party had also heard the old man's words just now, and was currently wearing a pensive expression. Upon seeing Luge look over, he even smiled at him.

But as for how much value this intelligence holds, that is not necessarily so; they are both meticulous people, they should discover it soon enough.

Luge noticed that when the old Blood Race member couldn't resist wanting to taste the wine, the blood-red small stone he had eaten earlier was still held in his mouth, and had not been swallowed.

"Telling you this isn't to let you swagger before the people who were here before you, but a warning, to make you stir up less trouble and cause fewer incidents here," the old man with externally manifested modification features said, suddenly whipping his head around, "You old geezer actually dare to sneak a drink... drink a few mouthfuls less."

The old Blood Race member drank two mouthfuls of wine, wearing a look of great satisfaction, yet spoke to the old man beside him: "If this cheap wine were in the past, even if you respectfully invited me to sample it, I would still have to drain your blood dry, to punish you for slighting me."

The old man with externally manifested features snatched the wine bottle away in annoyance.

"However, there is one thing this scale-shedding fellow said that is very correct: don't make a move lightly. Casting spells here is luxurious; even more so, don't think yourself very powerful. Many powerful people have died here," the old Blood Race member said, "Right now there is actually still a One-ring Wizard here! Although I don't know specifically how many there are, after all some people are in slumber, waiting for an illusory opportunity, but I can at least confirm one One-ring Wizard who has never slumbered."

"So, young people, while you still can, properly enjoy your last moments of being strong and healthy. Some arrogant young people, in no more than a few years, won't even have the strength to speak."

"Some fellows more formidable than me, in the end their transformed bloodlines were not suited to the situation here, and I outlived them long ago..."

The two old men spoke back and forth, and after finishing, they started fighting over the wine bottle in their hands again.

What kind of bloodline is this place suited for? Longevity? Hunger resistance?

However, they are merely at the Wizard Apprentice stage; even if one is a Blood Race member and one is a Bloodline Modifier who can adapt to this place, going a long time without eating would still starve them to death, logically speaking.

Luge couldn't help but think of that blood-red small stone the old Blood Race member held in his mouth.

"Young people, a final piece of advice for you: calculate carefully, according to your own conditions, the spells you can expend each day, and save them for meaningful things — for example, using Freezing Ray to conjure some ice shards to relieve thirst. There is very little moisture here, so the ice shards condensed by casting Freezing Ray will also be fewer than outside."

Taking advantage of the old Blood Race member speaking, the old man with shedding scales sneaked another drink.

Watching their scrambling, Luge felt a sudden pang of sorrow; the people of Fanxing City would absolutely never imagine that this bottle of the most ordinary Worm Wine, purchasable at the most ordinary tavern on the street side of Fanxing City in the Lower Realm, would be fought over to the point of nearly breaking heads by two steady, elderly Fifth-Rank Wizard Apprentices from the Upper Realm.

The two old men already had the intention to leave.

"You two," Green suddenly spoke, "I wonder where that One-ring Wizard who has never slumbered, spoken of by you, is located?"

Luge looked at him in surprise.

Green moved his hand, and a book appeared out of thin air; he began flipping through it with a rustling sound, turning to the middle section. He reached his hand in and also extracted a bottle of wine from within — moreover, a whole large bottle with a round body.

"You, you have a hidden Storage Space?" the old Blood Race member said.

Green only smiled, looking at the two old men; his silent attitude and the fine wine held steadily in his hand were the best, most straightforward answer.

He was waiting for that answer.

Luge only found it interesting, and silently shifted a step to stand beside Green.

"Not bad, and there's even the rare case of good friends falling down together; here you can directly have a person you can trust," the old Blood Race member said.

The old man fell silent for a moment after speaking.

Green's smile remained unchanged.

"I can take you there, but one bottle of wine isn't enough. There might be danger there," the scale-shedding old man said, "That One-ring Wizard is a bit special; I can't tell what kind of transformation he underwent. He looks just like an ordinary human, so he probably isn't a Madman either, but he still occasionally has some fits of madness..."

The wine bottle drew a beautiful arc and landed steadily in the scale-shedding old man's hand.

Green made a gesture of invitation; obviously the remaining payment would be given after guiding them there.

The two old men who had been bickering non-stop just now were now leading the way together up front.

One a Blood Race Wizard, one a Bloodline Wizard of Burning Blood City with externally manifested modification features.

"Lord Luge, would you like to go witness it together?" Green said, "Oh right, there are also some things to give you; please be sure to accept them."

As Green spoke, he took out a Spellbook.

"I only have this one on hand right now. Although it won't help much in making you a uniquely powerful Wizard in the world, I still hope you'll like it," Green said, handing it over.

Luge accepted it with a smile.

Secondary Sharpness Technique, Zero-Circle Spell.

Luge merely gave the title a cursory glance, then put the thing away.

"Was that really done by you?" Luge said calmly, "Just to come here and see that One-ring Wizard?"

Green nodded.

"I understand a bit now what you said before. Seekers are not righteous, nor are they evil; they merely pursue spells scattered across the world," Luge said, "I am somewhat curious, though: what did you do in the Lord's Castle?"

Green smiled and said: "To ensure I would be thrown in here, I went to feign an assassination attempt on the Lord; as long as they caught me it would be fine. But after acting, I discovered that might get me killed halfway through, so I had to switch to outside the Blood Fortress Princess's room. I summoned a Familiar with Evil Eye Bloodline to go watch that beautiful Lady bathe. Of course I only took a look through the Evil Eye, left behind some Demon Breath, and left. That wasn't something I like doing, unless that Princess's fair back had written on it a Spell I'd never seen before."

Luge nodded, expressing deep understanding; he too had been misunderstood before. For people like them who single-mindedly pursue the Wizard Path, there is no inclination to peep at others bathing — at least not for now.

The two old men had already walked far away; as they walked, each hugged a bottle of wine in a toasting posture, but after clinking bottles, they only dared to lightly sip a tiny mouthful at their lips.

Under different circumstances, the decisions people make will change, even if the person himself has not changed.

Luge felt much more at ease in his heart. Although he had guessed as much before, Green admitting it now meant all this was orchestrated by this fellow, which also showed this fellow should have a way to escape. After all, Seekers aren't Madmen either.

Coming to a strange place to broaden one's horizons isn't a bad thing either, Luge thought.

"Oh right, Lord Luge, the situation was urgent at the time so I could only go with the flow," Green said, "So I only prepared food and such. The steps to leave this place, I haven't fully planned yet. We may have to stay here for some more days; hope you don't mind."

(Chapter End)