tln : a lil bit busy, and can’t upload anything, also the server down yesterday. letsgooo

Chapter 142: Land of Dawn

Larry turned back to Moonlight Forest to handle some potion orders.

Moonlight Forest made full use of his expertise as a potion master, given the high cost of hiring him, they needed to recoup their investment.

Larry didn’t worry about Helag’s safety on the road, as Brack, a crystallized wizard, was with him. Even if something happened, Larry, being a liquefied wizard, wouldn’t be much help in combat.

Besides, Larry wasn’t a fighter; most of his time was spent on potion research.

The carriage traveled through the Red Maple Forest and reached a crossroads.

This was where Helag had parted ways with the merchant caravan on his return journey.

The carriage continued eastward, following the same path the caravan had taken.

***

Three days later.

The carriage entered a flat plain, with the horizon visible in the distance.

A shadow of a city appeared far away—this was Williams City, the westernmost border city of the Kingdom of Karn.

Entering the city required strict identity checks, but Pete only needed to show a metal badge, and the border guards respectfully let them through.

The badge bore the Terchy family crest, depicting a plant.

Even if the soldiers didn’t recognize the crest, they knew better than to cause trouble.

The driver was a Grand Knight, so whoever was inside the carriage must be someone important.

They weren’t foolish; they could tell at a glance who they could and couldn’t afford to offend.

Helag and his companions stayed in Williams City for a day, mainly to bathe, eat, rest, and replenish their water and food supplies.

There was no rush to travel, so they rested when needed.

After a day of rest, they continued their journey, passing through two small towns over five days before arriving at a valley.

This was Blackrock Valley, owned by the Terchy family, primarily used for growing various potion ingredients and common herbs.

The soil in Blackrock Valley was unique—pure black and ideal for growing potion materials.

The carriage stopped at the valley entrance, where a small castle stood.

Three guards, all knights, were stationed on the castle walls, along with a third-level wizard apprentice responsible for guarding the valley entrance.

Seeing Brack and the others get off the carriage, the guards opened the castle gates.

Brack introduced the place. “This is Blackrock Valley. The entire valley is protected by a defensive wizard array. We bought this array from a wizard organization in the Land of Dawn. Even a third-level wizard can’t break through it quickly.”

“So, you can rest assured about the safety here. It’s no less secure than Moonlight Forest.”

Helag observed the terrain while having Deep Blue record the surrounding data.

He asked, “What’s the Land of Dawn?”

“Didn’t Larry tell you?” Brack was surprised, then realized, “You just advanced recently, so he probably didn’t have time to explain.”

Brack pulled out a map, a standard map of the Karag Continent.

The map spanned from the Kingdom of Doris in the west to the Kingdom of Karn in the east, with every region clearly marked.

Brack’s map also detailed the locations and territories of various wizard organizations.

At the northernmost part of the map, there was a blank area, depicted with countless mountain ranges.

Brack circled a marked area with his finger. “This is the part of the Karag Continent most maps cover.”

He then moved his finger to the northern mountain ranges. “And here, to most people in Karag, is an unknown region. This is the Land of Dawn.”

Brack continued, “Where we are now is called the Barren Lands by the people of the Land of Dawn.”

“Barren? Does that mean a lack of resources?” Helag asked.

“Yes, but it’s not just about resources like potion ingredients. There’s something even more important—the concentration of energy particles.”

“Energy particle concentration?”

Helag suddenly realized that the energy particle concentration on the Karag Continent seemed much higher than on the Colson Continent.

Before coming here, as a first-level apprentice, he hadn’t understood much about energy particles, so he hadn’t noticed the difference.

Now that Brack mentioned it, Helag recalled that the concentration of energy particles was indeed different between the two places.

Brack nodded. “Exactly, the concentration of energy particles. You’ve been here all along, so you wouldn’t notice, but once you visit the Land of Dawn, you’ll feel how much denser the energy particles are there.”

“Meditating in that environment is much faster, and there are more people with wizard potential. It’s easier for wizards to cultivate and advance there.”

“Then why don’t people from here go to the Land of Dawn? I’ve never even heard of it before.”

Helag suspected there must be some restrictions, as the secrets of this place were clearly beyond the reach of ordinary wizard apprentices.

Brack explained, “The wizard organizations in the Barren Lands, like Green Cottage, Moonlight Forest, and Aruf Swamp, were once part of the Land of Dawn.”

“Then why are they here now?”

“They were exiled. The Land of Dawn once produced countless powerful wizards, and more and more people embarked on the path of wizardry.”

“But as time went on, a problem arose—there weren’t enough resources.”

“When resources are scarce, wars break out. And in wars, there are winners and losers. The wizard organizations here were the losers of that war.”

“They lost and were exiled to this place.”

“And the people of these wizard organizations are forever forbidden from entering the Land of Dawn, except in special circumstances, like Augustus Academy.”

“Augustus Academy is unique. It’s a wizard organization from the Land of Dawn, and this is just a branch. People from this organization can enter the Land of Dawn, but if anyone from other organizations tries to enter without permission, they’ll be killed.”

“Augustus Academy is essentially the overseer of this region, monitoring everything that happens here. Occasionally, they intervene in local matters.”

Brack tapped the northern mountain ranges on the map. “These mountains weren’t always here. After the wizard organizations were exiled, the wizards of the Land of Dawn created these endless mountains to block the people of the Barren Lands from crossing over.”

“Ordinary people can’t cross them, and while wizards have their ways, as I said, if you’re caught, you’ll be wiped out.”

As he said this, it seemed like Brack was also warning Helag not to act impulsively and try to cross over.