Chapter 253: The Wasteland

“The Abyssal Plane has many powerful beings. When they invaded the Wizard Plane, they left behind a lot of pollution, even though they eventually retreated.”

“This pollution is terrifying. It can turn entire mountain ranges or kingdoms into dead zones. Not only that, but the polluted areas spawn all sorts of strange, powerful entities. Even a third-level wizard who enters these areas would face certain death.”

“The Wasteland is the most widespread form of this pollution. Compared to other types, it’s not as immediately dangerous, but it covers a vast area.”

“As of now, aside from the Land of Dawn and the Barrens, all other regions have been consumed by the Wasteland. Fortunately, the Wasteland doesn’t extend into the ocean, so it hasn’t affected other continents.”

Helag asked, “What happens to places that are polluted by the Wasteland?”

“Life can’t survive in areas polluted by the Wasteland. All living things die, underground rivers dry up, and the land becomes barren for miles. Worse, if a living being dies in the Wasteland, over time, it will transform into one of those strange entities.”

“The stronger the creature was in life, the more powerful the entity it becomes in the Wasteland.”

“So, if wizards from the Barrens recklessly cross the Ten Thousand Mountains and die in the polluted areas, they’ll become a significant problem.”

“The Ten Thousand Mountains were created to stop the Wasteland from spreading further. The great wizard Monsa nearly exhausted his life force to create this mountain range, which blocks the Wasteland’s advance.”

“His death gave us the last piece of pure land in the Barrens. If the Land of Dawn ever falls, our only option will be to retreat to the Barrens.”

Pruis spoke in a somber tone.

At this point, Helag fully understood the significance of the Ten Thousand Mountains.

The Barrens and the Land of Dawn were the only unpolluted regions left on the Karag Continent.

As for why they didn’t move to other continents, the reason was simple: the other continents had very few resources for wizard cultivation.

Helag, having come from the Carlson Continent, knew this well. The resources there were extremely scarce, almost nonexistent.

Helag hadn’t been to the other continents, but he assumed they were similar, which was why the wizards were forced to remain in the Land of Dawn and the Barrens.

Helag asked, “The Barrens are protected from the Wasteland by the Ten Thousand Mountains, but how have the cities in the Land of Dawn survived?”

He was puzzled. The Land of Dawn was too large to be surrounded by mountains, so there had to be another method.

“The Wizard Towers,” Pruis replied.

Helag was familiar with Wizard Towers.

Wizard Towers served not only as residences but also as laboratories, libraries, treasuries, defensive fortresses, dungeons, and even planar portals.

They were more than just living quarters; they were essential production facilities.

However, Helag hadn’t known that Wizard Towers could also block the spread of the Wasteland’s pollution.

Seeing Helag’s confusion, Pruis explained, “I’m not talking about the personal Wizard Towers owned by individual wizards. I’m referring to the defensive structures in every city of the Land of Dawn. These towers can block the Wasteland’s pollution and reduce the radiation’s impact on ordinary people, allowing them to live in wizard settlements.”

“Ordinary people can live in wizard settlements?” Helag was genuinely surprised.

In his experience, it was nearly impossible for ordinary people to live alongside wizards.

The stronger a wizard became, the more radiation they emitted, which had a severe impact on ordinary people.

That was why wizard organizations in the Barrens were located far from human settlements—to avoid harming ordinary people.

This created many inconveniences. The wizard population was too small, and only a tiny fraction of people had the potential to become wizards.

But wizards needed a lot of people to handle various tasks in their daily lives. Wizards alone weren’t enough.

This meant that some ordinary people had to be involved, but those who did rarely lasted long. They either had to be replaced regularly or died early, which was highly inconvenient.

However, in the Land of Dawn, ordinary people could live in wizard settlements, which was a significant development.

These ordinary people formed a large population base. If they grew up in an environment steeped in wizard culture, the chances of producing talented wizard candidates would naturally increase.

If a talented individual emerged, they would almost certainly be discovered in such an environment.

In this setting, talent would shine, and no one would go unnoticed.

Unlike in the Carlson Continent, where Helag had come from, even if someone had the potential to become a wizard, neither they nor the people around them would know.

Even if someone had perfect aptitude, it wouldn’t matter because they would have little chance of encountering a wizard.

Even with the wizard’s Law of Attraction, only a very few would ever embark on the path of wizardry. Most would live and die as ordinary people.

But in the Land of Dawn, as long as you had potential, you would be discovered.

If your talent was good enough, someone would invest resources to nurture you.

This was likely why the Land of Dawn had grown so powerful, while the Barrens lagged far behind in terms of talent cultivation and discovery.

Pruis continued, “That’s right. In the Land of Dawn, most people are still ordinary. Wizards make up a small percentage of the population. But within the range of the Wizard Towers, ordinary people aren’t affected by radiation and can participate in the city’s various activities.”

The airship flew slowly over the Ten Thousand Mountains, the massive rumbling echoing through the mountain range.

The group continued their conversation for several hours, and by the end, Helag and his companions had a basic understanding of the Land of Dawn and Seranthiel.

Outside the window, darkness had fallen. Night had descended.

Looking out the window, Helag saw nothing but pitch-black darkness.

He remembered that when he had flown on airplanes in his previous life, he could at least see the lights of cities at night.

But here, there wasn’t a single light—just an inky black void and silence.

Pruis smiled. “I didn’t realize we’d been talking for so long. Let me show you to your rooms. You can choose any room you like. The airship is large, but there are only about sixty people on board right now, so there are plenty of rooms available.”

“Only sixty people?” Helag had been so engrossed in the conversation that he hadn’t had a chance to explore the airship.

To him, an airship this size, like a floating city, should require at least a few hundred people to operate.

Including passengers, it could easily hold over a thousand people, so he was surprised to hear there were only sixty on board.

Pruis explained, “Most of the people got off at Augustus Academy. They’re reinforcements from various wizard organizations, heading to participate in the conquest wars. Now that we’re on the return trip, there aren’t many people left—just the three of you.”