Chapter 266: Fire Dragon Whiskey

Helag followed Israel into the Silvermoon Tavern and into a small private room.

The room wasn’t large, designed to seat no more than four people.

“Order whatever you like,” Israel said as he sat down.

“I’m fine with anything, no preference,” Helag replied.

Israel chuckled. “Alright, I’ll order for you. Fire Dragon Whiskey—you’ve got to try it. You won’t be disappointed.”

He gave a few instructions to the waiting server, who quickly returned with a tray holding two glasses of fiery red liquid.

The drinks looked quite unique, with a small flame burning brightly within the liquid.

The server placed the glasses in front of them, bowed respectfully, and left.

When Helag touched the glass, he found it ice-cold, a stark contrast to the flames dancing inside.

Israel eagerly picked up his glass and took a large gulp, letting out a satisfied sigh.

“Go ahead, try it. This is the specialty here. You won’t find it anywhere else in the Land of Dawn except the Silvermoon Tavern,” Israel enthusiastically recommended.

Helag lifted his glass and took a sip.

At first, it was smooth and mellow, with a surprisingly pleasant taste.

But as the liquid settled in his stomach, it felt as though a fire had ignited inside him, spreading a warm sensation throughout his body.

The warmth was incredibly soothing.

Helag found it quite enjoyable and took another sip.

No wonder Israel was so insistent on recommending this drink. Aside from the taste, it offered a completely different experience compared to other alcohols.

It was a drink that made your whole body feel comfortable.

Seeing that Helag liked it, Israel was even more pleased and took a few more big gulps.

After a while, Israel asked, “You’re certainly deserving of being an official member of Seranthiel. You’ve got real talent. How long have you been studying wizard arrays?”

Helag thought for a moment. “About three months, I think.”

*Pfft! Cough! Cough!*

Israel was in the middle of drinking when he heard Helag’s response and immediately spat out his drink, spraying it all over the floor.

“How long?” Israel asked, unsure if he had heard correctly.

Helag, a bit embarrassed, repeated, “Three months. Why?”

Israel rubbed his head, making sure he hadn’t had too much to drink.

After confirming that Helag had indeed said three months and not three years, Israel asked incredulously, “Really? Just three months?”

Helag nodded. “That’s right. I’m from the Barren Lands. I’ve only been in the Land of Dawn for a short time and only recently started learning about wizard arrays.”

Israel was even more surprised but then seemed to understand. “No wonder I haven’t seen you before. If you were a local, I would’ve noticed someone with your talent long ago. So, you came from the Barren Lands? I remember hearing something about that. The organization did mention recruiting people through the frontier wars.”

Israel, being a member of Seranthiel himself, had heard about the recruitment of individuals from the Barren Lands through the frontier wars, but he hadn’t paid much attention to it at the time since it didn’t concern him.

Now that Helag had brought it up, Israel recalled the situation.

Looking at Helag more seriously, Israel shook his head in admiration. “I can’t believe you’ve only been studying wizard arrays for three months. You’re a genius, truly a genius!”

Helag scratched the back of his head, pretending to be modest. “Actually, I had a bit of an advantage in this evaluation.”

“Oh? What do you mean?” Israel asked, curious about what Helag meant by “advantage.”

“Well, a few days ago, I saw a task on the magic stone that was identical to the evaluation task. So, I had already been thinking about the design for a couple of days. I just didn’t expect it to show up in the evaluation,” Helag explained, a bit embarrassed.

Helag decided to come clean, thinking that Israel might find out about this later anyway.

Since Israel had set the evaluation task, he was likely acquainted with Barren, the person who had posted the task.

If Helag and Israel became closer in the future, there was a good chance they would run into Barren again.

At that point, if the topic came up or they added each other as magic stone friends, Barren would realize that Helag was the same “newbie” from before.

Rather than waiting for that awkward moment, Helag decided to be upfront about it now.

Israel nodded in understanding. “That explains it. But still, it’s no small feat. You only had a few days to think about it. The wizard array you designed—many people wouldn’t be able to come up with something like that even if they had a year. Some things just come down to talent; hard work alone can’t always get you there.”

In Israel’s eyes, the few days Helag had spent thinking about the task didn’t really matter.

The wizard array design Helag had created was so elegant and simple that most people wouldn’t be able to replicate it, no matter how much time they had.

It wasn’t something that could be achieved through sheer effort alone. Without a certain level of talent and ability, it would be impossible.

“Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Israel. I’m still new to this and have a lot to learn,” Helag said humbly.

Israel thought for a moment and asked, “What books have you read so far?”

“I’ve read all the books on wizard arrays available on the first three floors of the Silvermoon City Library,” Helag replied.

“All of them? Impressive, very impressive,” Israel said, clearly satisfied. It showed that Helag had a strong drive to learn.

“Send me your address through the magic stone. I’ll send you some books on wizard arrays that I think you’ll find helpful,” Israel offered.

“Thank you!” Helag said gratefully, raising his glass. Israel laughed heartily, and the two clinked their glasses and continued drinking.

“No need to thank me. With talent like yours, if I don’t help you grow, even Lord Mick would blame me. There’s a gathering in a few days, mostly wizard array masters. If you’re free, you should come. I’ll introduce you to some people.”

It was clear that Israel intended to help Helag make a name for himself.

Since they were both members of Seranthiel, there wasn’t much to worry about in terms of loyalty.

Israel’s message was clear: he wanted to help Helag enter Silvermoon City’s circle of wizard array masters, make some connections, and expand his network.

“Mr. Israel, I won’t say too much, but from now on, drinks are on me whenever you want,” Helag said with a smile.

“Better watch your wallet then, haha! But don’t worry, wizard array masters don’t have to worry about money. You’ll be rich soon enough,” Israel laughed.

Wizard array masters were even more profitable than potion masters. A single first-level or second-level wizard array could fetch a high price.

Back in the Barren Lands, the Turchi family had spent a whopping 80,000 magic stones to purchase a second-level wizard array.

The price was so high mainly because wizard arrays were scarce in the Barren Lands, and there were very few ways to acquire them.

In the Land of Dawn, they wouldn’t sell for as much, but they still weren’t cheap, usually ranging from a few thousand to tens of thousands of magic stones.

The price varied greatly depending on the type of wizard array.