Chapter One Hundred and Sixty: Secret Realm of Four Seasons "Why is this crystal so expensive?"
Leilin couldn't help but ask aloud. "And there's a purchase quantity limit as well?"
He had been staying at the
But when all of it was added together, it still wasn't enough to buy much.
"The elemental energy crystal may have severe side effects, but there's no denying that it can rapidly boost a
The female witch seemed to have heard this question many times before and answered without any hesitation.
"I'll take fifty grams of energy crystals, plus these two advanced subject knowledge packages!"
He also realized he had made a mistake — the Four Seasons Garden's monthly resource allotment didn't stack; it was a fixed amount each month.
In other words, Leilin could only exchange for fifty grams of elemental crystals per month here. He could not accumulate and claim the allotments from previous months.
Besides, even if he had known, he wouldn't have been able to save up anyway, because as a newcomer, he simply didn't have that many contribution points on him.
"Total: eighty contribution points!"
The female witch swiped Leilin's nameplate against a black machine behind her, and a flash of red light passed over it.
Then she handed Leilin the items he had selected from behind the counter.
"Thank you!"
Feeling somewhat disgruntled, Leilin tucked the items into his robes and walked out of the plaza.
"Leilin! Leilin!"
A short wizard, less than a meter tall, with a head that looked remarkably like a goblin's, came scurrying up to Leilin.
"Perfect timing. Come with me — Martin's looking for you!"
Leilin recognized this short wizard. They were both temporarily assigned to Martin's group, and the two had teamed up to complete quite a few potion-brewing tasks together. Their relationship was fairly cordial.
"What's going on?"
Leilin was a little curious.
As the leader of their little crew, Martin's role was mainly to organize and lead tasks — beyond that, he didn't really stand out in any particular way.
"It's about this month's missions!" The short wizard's face broke into a pleased grin.
"Ever since you joined us, Leilin, our third group's mission completion rate has shot straight up. Martin really saved face in front of Master Tiget! And because our group's been performing so well recently, Tiget has started handing us some missions with really good rewards — great value-for-effort missions…"
"This time, it seems to be about exactly that…"
"Other missions?" Leilin was curious.
Ever since he'd joined Martin's third group, the tasks they'd been assigned were always potion-brewing jobs — things like crafting Frost Potions.
Thanks to the Chip, Leilin had begun showing a distinct advantage in this kind of complex, tedious work. His completion rate was nothing short of astonishing.
As a result, even though Leilin had deliberately held back his progress here and there and intentionally made a few mistakes, his contributions to the group were obvious to everyone. He'd earned the respect of many teammates.
Leilin followed the short wizard along, threading through several narrow branching corridors before arriving at the third group's gathering place.
Bang! The iron gate swung open.
"Leilin!"
Martin was hunched over a long table, writing something with a red pen. When he spotted Leilin, he paused his work. A warm, friendly smile spread across his face.
To him, Leilin was a godsend.
With Leilin on board, Martin had not only finished his own tasks ahead of schedule — finally securing his resource quota for the year — but had also managed to score several excellent missions for his group.
He was starting to believe that Leilin was his lucky star.
Inside the spacious room, several other members of the third group were also present. Upon seeing Leilin, they all greeted him with warm smiles.
"Good, everyone's here! Now let me tell you about this month's missions!"
Martin proudly pulled a scroll bound with golden ribbon from inside his robe and slowly unfurled it before Leilin and the others.
"Our mission this month is to maintain a designated area inside a secret realm. Reward: fifty contribution points per person!"
A wave of exclamations swept through the room.
Even though they had expected a decent assignment, the Wizards below still erupted in an uproar.
"An actual trip into a secret realm! This is incredible..." The short Wizard's face was flushed with excitement.
Leilin, standing off to the side, also looked somewhat surprised. "That's a generous reward. And a secret realm, no less?"
A secret realm was shorthand for the isolated zones that ancient Wizards had established around their resource sites or laboratories using barrier magic. It seemed that even a major power like the Four Seasons Garden had something like this hidden behind the scenes.
"I almost forgot — Leilin, since you only recently joined, you probably don't know much about secret realms!"
Martin rolled the scroll back up and walked over to Leilin with a smile.
"Leilin, in your opinion, what matters most to a formal Wizard?"
"Talent! And resources!" Leilin answered without hesitation. It was the consensus among all Wizards on the South Coast.
"Correct. But a Wizard's talent is innate and cannot be altered. The only thing that can be made up for later is resources!"
"As long as the resources are sufficient, even a Wizard with average talent might be able to keep pace with those who were blessed with extraordinary gifts..."
A wistful expression crossed Martin's face.
"Therefore, once the ancient Wizards advanced in rank, they would seek out a place rich in elemental concentration, establish a secret realm, and cultivate resources... and that is the origin of many ancient Wizard ruins today!"
"But modern Wizards are nowhere near as powerful as the ancients. We can't set up isolation barriers on our own, nor can we construct spatial compression formations... and essential materials for establishing a secret realm, like spatial stones, aren't something any single Wizard can find these days!"
"So, in the current South Coast, Wizards from major organizations banding together to jointly develop and cultivate a secret realm has become the norm..."
"Though there are those rare lucky few — so fortunate it's enough to make anyone jealous — who directly inherited an ancient ruin and seized control of a secret realm. Now that truly is ascending to the heavens in a single step..."
A flicker of envy appeared on Martin's face.
Leilin certainly knew what a secret realm represented. His last visit to the Dylan Garden was still vividly etched in his mind.
As long as you possessed a secret realm, it meant an endless supply of resources!
For Wizards who were especially in need of resources, this was an absolutely irresistible temptation.
However, with Wizards being relatively weak in strength at present, no single force could establish a new secret realm on their own. They could only jointly develop one through alliances.
Leilin guessed that Black Bone Forest Academy must surely have something similar. It was a pity that his standing had been too low back then, and after becoming a Wizard, he had left the Academy almost immediately, so he had never been able to confirm this.
"Leilin, you've only been here a few months and you've already been granted access to the secret realm. The higher-ups must trust you quite a lot!"
Martin clapped Leilin on the shoulder, his expression very amiable.
"Not at all! Not at all!" Leilin put on a bashful look, appearing somewhat youthful and naive.
"Haha… Let's go!"
Martin laughed heartily and took the lead as they walked out, with Leilin and the others following close behind.
The entrance to the Secret Realm of the Four Seasons Garden was located right near headquarters, making it easy to mobilize forces for guarding at any time.
Leilin and his group followed Martin through five or six checkpoints before finally reaching the entrance to the secret realm.
Along the way, Leilin had detected at least five or six waves of probing energy sweeping over his group through the Chip.
And the Wizards guarding the passage were all at the semi-elemental transformation stage or above.
This level of heavy security was somewhat beyond what Leilin had expected.
After a cold-faced Wizard ahead finished inspecting the scroll in Martin's hand once more, Martin finally had time to turn around and call out to Leilin and the others: "Get ready! The entrance is about to open!"
The entrance to the secret realm was a massive stone gate, with all manner of mysterious and intricate patterns carved along its frame.
On a raised platform to one side of the gate sat a Wizard whose features were indistinct, radiating extraordinarily powerful spiritual fluctuations.
"That's the Academy's Guardian Lord! Bow quickly!" Martin was the first to bend at the waist and bow to the Wizard on the platform.
"That's… at least a second-level Wizard's energy fluctuation. It seems the importance of this secret realm far exceeds even my guesses!" A glint flashed through Leilin's eyes as he followed the other Wizards in bowing.
"Since verification has been passed, then enter!"
The Wizard on the high platform waved his hand and muttered a few syllables under his breath.
Hummm! The stone gate trembled, and a burst of white light seeped through the cracks, carrying a faint sense of spatial undulation.
Having been through several secret realm explorations, Leilin was very familiar with this sensation — it was the fluctuation of a secret realm entrance opening.
At the same time, a milky-white glow emerged from the scroll in Martin's hand, enveloping Leilin and the others together.
The two streams of white light merged, unleashing a blinding brilliance.
When the glare subsided, every Wizard in Martin's party had vanished without a trace.
"Ugh!"
Leilin rubbed his stinging eyes. "That really is an unpleasant sensation!"
He found himself standing on a different platform, with a few other Wizards milling about nearby.
In the distance stretched a vast expanse of green — nothing like the subterranean landscape from before.
The sky above was a pure, clear blue, and the surrounding air was remarkably fresh.
"So this is the inside of the secret realm? It seems quite vast!"
Leilin stroked his chin. "Chip, scan the surrounding environment!"
"Beep! Scanning! Compared to the outside air, the energy particle concentration inside the secret realm has increased by 34.7%!"
The Chip projected a comparative chart in front of Leilin and quickly delivered its feedback.