"A wizard, through some twist of fate, arrived in the Dream World. He was captivated by its strange environment and even took a native as his apprentice..."
Leilin privately speculated about the events of the past.
"To adapt to the environment here, he even developed specialized spiritual meditation methods and spells tailored to the power of the Dream World and the apprentice's constitution..."
"And then, under the influence of some irresistible external force, this wizard's castle was reduced to ashes overnight, and the apprentice subsequently vanished..."
That should have been what happened back then. For Leilin, there was little interest in investigating further—as long as he got his hands on the materials, this expedition to the Dream World would be considered a resounding success.
"That wizard who washed up here must have been at least a Radiance-level existence, or perhaps something even higher..."
The more he studied the materials in his hands, the greater Leilin's admiration for that wizard grew.
Leilin had only been able to analyze the power of the Dream World with relative ease thanks to the Chip's assistance. That wizard had no such convenient tool and could only slowly experiment, groping his way toward an energy system suited to the Dream World, then refining and perfecting it with his own experience.
For Leilin, obtaining this power system was more important than anything else! The utilization of Dream World power could soon be put into practice.
"Thank you—these materials are extremely important to me!"
Leilin carefully tucked away the animal hide with a solemn expression, cutting off the middle-aged man's hesitant words. "I have urgent matters to attend to, and I'm often surrounded by great danger. I'm afraid I can't accept your request. In return, these two documents contain methods for obtaining power. I hope you'll accept them!"
A flash of light passed over Leilin's hand, and two scrolls materialized before him.
These were cultivation methods for both the path of wizards and the path of knights. Though they only contained the most basic portions, they were more than sufficient for these natives.
Moreover, precisely because they were fundamental, they were universally applicable. Leilin had even written them in their own writing system to ensure they could be read.
"This... this is truly..." The middle-aged man's face flushed with embarrassment, but he accepted the two gifts nonetheless.
After all, for his people, what Leilin had given was simply too invaluable.
This also made Leilin wonder why the Mo Lin from back then hadn't passed down the methods for obtaining power. After some thought, it was probably because of that great wizard's strict orders. In any case, the wizard had disappeared, and it would likely remain an unsolvable mystery.
"Also, I carry a great deal of food and supplies with me. I'd like to make a trade with you... I wonder if you'd be interested?"
Once he saw that the man had accepted his gifts, a glint flashed in Leilin's eyes, and he smiled as he spoke.
"A trade? What kind of trade?" The middle-aged man was somewhat puzzled. Could a wizard lord from a resource-rich otherworld really need anything?
"Specimens—plants, animals, anything. I'll take them all. Also, if you have any objects of unknown purpose, you can sell them to me as well. I'll pay in food!"
Leilin said this without batting an eye. After all, he had plenty of storage-type Magical Items on him, and he made it a habit to bring along large quantities of dried rations whenever he ventured out, so his supplies were exceedingly abundant. And even if it still wasn't enough in the end, he could simply make another trip back.
With the rich resources of the Wizard World, would he ever truly run short of food?
"Specimens? It seems the previous lord did the same thing. Rest assured! I will absolutely fulfill this request for you!" The middle-aged man thumped his chest in guarantee.
"Then I'll wait here for good news!" Leilin said with a faint smile.
How much time and energy did he have on his own? Being able to delegate the collection of common specimens to these natives was ideal.
Moreover, the animal hide the man had provided had given him a great deal of inspiration. Perhaps among these people, there were still strange and wondrous things to be found.
And the food resources that were commonplace in the Wizard World were incredibly scarce here, which only gave Leilin greater leverage. For the sake of profit, he didn't mind playing the role of a shrewd merchant one bit. Compared to what he stood to gain, what he was giving up was nothing more than trivial trifles.
Once this news was announced, the entire temporary camp erupted with excitement.
Large quantities of earth and stone, plants, and even biological tissues were brought to Leilin, and he accepted everything without refusal. As long as it was a specimen he hadn't seen before, its owner could exchange it for a portion of food. Since he was short-handed, Gillian and her father were even hired by Leilin specifically to handle this work. To these natives, Leilin—exchanging precious food for these things—must have looked like an utter fool.
But for Leilin, this kind of opportunity to acquire things on a large scale was exceedingly rare. And all that food combined was probably worth less than a few Magic Stones, making it an incredibly profitable venture with virtually no cost.
For the moment, both sides were thoroughly satisfied.
...