Mercenary Wars

Chapter 239 Golden Plains
This library is not large, but the bookshelves are quite large, stretching almost from the floor to the ceiling, densely packed with all kinds of books, covering all the recipes for minor potions and related knowledge, as well as many standard potions.

Of all the compound preparations, the one that Gaogano urgently needs most is the Qidi compound preparation.

Since there is no war in Ferraro now, opportunities to legally kill are hard to find, so taking drugs naturally becomes a shortcut to leveling up.

Gao Jiano carefully selected and read the materials.

The air in the library is filled with the unique scent of ancient parchment and ink, while the dim, magical lights cast dappled shadows between the bookshelves, creating a tranquil atmosphere unique to the Orsini Library, perfectly complementing the precious knowledge accumulated here.

As closing time approached, Gaucano finally got up and left with seven books.

Professor-level borrowing privileges allow him to borrow up to thirty books at a time for a period of up to six months. However, he no longer needs to rack up borrowing numbers, and the content of these seven books is quite difficult, so he naturally won't leave the library with a large stack of books anymore.

In fact, seven books were already a bit too many. After all, he would be entering the Golden Plains in a few days, and he needed to understand as much as possible from the seven books in this short period of time so as to make the most of this hard-won opportunity to enter the Golden Plains.

So in the following days, Gaucano kept everything simple and quick, using all the time he could spare for reading.

His sleep time was also significantly reduced. He didn't get a long sleep until the day before entering the Golden Plains, and then headed to the alchemy workshop with renewed energy.

The Alchemy Workshop is a massive building, roughly divided into four areas, known as the "Mithril Room," the "Magic Metal Forge," the "Magic Workshop," and the "Gateway to the Plains."

The Magic Metal Forge is the place where magical metals are designed, the domain of Professor Francis. Mysterious rumblings and heavy clanging of metal often emanate from there—including when Gaucano passed by this time—and occasionally, blazing flames can be seen shining through the windows.

The Magic Workshop serves the Magic Construction branch of the Academy. In some people's eyes, the Magic Construction branch is arguably the most grueling branch at Ax Magic Academy. According to Gao Jiano, the people in this branch are essentially the civil engineers among mages; their main responsibility after graduation is building walls, fortresses, and strongholds…

In theory, or at least in the expectations of the magical construction school, they were only responsible for the magical facilities of these buildings. However, large magical facilities are inseparable from the material carriers, so in practice, they sometimes even had to work alongside the workers to prepare the mortar.

The Mithril Chamber is where high-grade potions are made. Thanks to strict soundproofing magic, the environment here is extremely quiet, completely different from the noise and bustle of other areas.

It is named as such because most of the tools and facilities are made of mithril, and even the walls are plated with mithril.

Therefore, once inside, everything was shimmering with silver light.

Several rooms are symmetrically distributed within the Mithril Room, and each room contains a large alchemy table.

These alchemy tables are, of course, made of mithril.

The top-quality materials, ingenious design, and exquisite craftsmanship make them the most advanced alchemy facilities on the continent of Farallo. It is said that the cost of each mithril alchemy table is enough to buy a small castle, and their extravagance is breathtaking.

Despite their high cost, they weren't necessarily a money-losing venture. Aside from their value to alchemy, the rental income alone was substantial—these alchemy tables were available for rent, though the number of slots was limited, yet they still brought Laziville a fortune.

Gao Jiano had also made a reservation for the alchemy table, but the waiting time was too long, and he was afraid he wouldn't be able to use it anytime soon. He estimated in his mind that he would have to wait at least two more months before it was his turn to use it.

He passed through the mithril room and headed towards the "Gate of the Plains," located in the very center of the alchemy workshop. Soft footsteps echoed in the corridor, and the quiet environment gave the impression that the rooms on both sides were empty, but in fact, these rooms were probably only unoccupied for half an hour each day.

After a while, the silence faded, and Gao Jiano arrived at a rather lively hall.

The hall was spacious and high, with dozens of people coming and going and talking, and in the very center was a vortex of light.

This vortex of light is what is known as the "Gateway to the Plains," and its shape looks somewhat like a teleportation portal, only its color is completely different.

The portal is blue.

The Gate of the Plains is golden, and its surging appearance sometimes evokes images of undulating wheat fields.

Gaucano, holding his student badge, approached a deacon mage: "Gaucano Laziville, the Golden Plains, booked a month ago."

The priest chanted a spell and then waved his wand.

Gao Jiano's student badge immediately glowed with a faint golden light. This light was exactly the same color as the Gate of the Plains, clearly indicating that this was the credential for entry.

The deacon pointed to a male and female student beside him: "You go in with these two. Once inside, remember to come out within twelve hours... Also, don't wander around. The Golden Plains isn't entirely an illusion. If you get lost inside, the illusion of Saint Groste will guide you back, but the price will be that you won't be able to enter the Golden Plains again for the next year!"

Gao Jiano nodded, then sat down to the side and continued reading the book he had borrowed from the library.

Two and a half hours later.

"Hello, it's our turn to go in," the other two students reminded Gao Jiano. The female student looked very excited, while the male student seemed a little impatient.

"Okay." Gao Jiano snapped out of his reading, still pondering some questions about the preparation of the Secondary Enlightenment Concentrate.

He put the books away, took a deep breath, and got up to prepare for this rare experience.

The three of them walked together through the gates of the plains.

Unlike teleportation portals, the Gates of the Plains do not provide a dizzying experience.

Gao Jiano only felt a flash of light and shadow, and then the scene in front of him remained unchanged.

Indeed, nothing had changed. The scene after crossing the Gate of the Plains was exactly the same as the outside: a grand hall with the same dome, the same decorations, and even every detail on the walls was identical. The only difference was that the outer hall had dozens of people, while the inner hall was empty, with only Gaucano and his two companions.

"Wow!" The female student exclaimed in surprise, bending down to touch the ground. "This illusion is so realistic, there's absolutely no flaw in it!"

The male student said with some pride, "See? I told you so, didn't I? This is truly the pinnacle of illusion magic."

Gao Jiano recalled what the deacon had said: "Didn't the deacon just say that the Golden Plains are not entirely an illusion?"

"I was just kidding," the male student said dismissively. "How could a place like this not be an illusion!"

Gaucano didn't say anything.

The male student then added, "Let's go to the Golden Plains!"

The three of them immediately walked out along a passage. The magic lamps on both sides of the passage were still bright, and their footsteps echoed in the quiet space. Before long, they left the illusory alchemy workshop.

The interior of the alchemy workshop was no different from the real world, but the outside was completely different.

As the three pushed open the door, an endless expanse of golden principles immediately came into view.

There was no sun in the sky, yet its gentle light was everywhere, reflecting off the vast plains that swayed in the wind, creating a scene resembling a golden ocean.

The ambient light was neither too bright nor too dim, illuminating the entire world just right. The distant horizon was blurred, seemingly stretching to infinity.

"It's so beautiful!" the female student exclaimed in amazement at the beautiful scenery before her.

Gao Jiano was also somewhat surprised.

The golden fields were so lifelike, without a single flaw in the illusion, yet they revealed a breathtaking beauty that transcended reality and the mundane world. Even though he had heard about it before, he was still somewhat shocked the moment he saw it with his own eyes.

"Those are Forget-Me-Not Mushrooms?!" The female student pointed to the grass a few steps away. "Ah, and there's Forget-Me-Not Grass too!"

“That’s right,” the male student said. “In the Golden Plains, Forget-Me-Not plants are as common as weeds. Of course, they are all illusions, but they are so realistic that they can be used to practice making potions.”

He then bent down to pick them, his movements like pulling weeds, and soon he had picked more than a dozen forget-me-not plants.

"We can't just sit around doing nothing. If we get caught, we won't be able to come back for at least a year," he warned.

The female trainees also began picking.

Gao Jiano had already begun picking these forget-me-not plants, and soon he had picked dozens of forget-me-not moss leaves, filling a whole leather bag.

This made him sigh: If only these Forget-Me-Not mosses were real!
Unfortunately, such a cheap deal is impossible in this world.

These Forget-Me-Nots, like everything else on the Golden Plains, are nothing but illusions.

It's at least not true.

However, their color and texture are indeed flawless.

Even with magic or a data panel, let alone with the naked eye, Gao Jiano couldn't discern any discrepancies. This realism instilled in him a deep respect, as well as... doubt, for the mage who created this space; after all, it was somewhat unbelievable.

He brought dozens of pieces of Eternal Forgetfulness Moss to the Illusion Mithril Room and laid out seven books on the table beside him for reference at any time.

Then he started practicing.

Everything you can do in the real world, you can do here, and the experience is exactly the same.

Cleaning, cutting, grinding, weighing, pre-making, magical fusion... every step brings real feedback to Gaugano.

Most of the remedies only require one type of forget-me-not plant.

However, the Enlightenment Elixir requires the presence of four types of immortal plants, and water, fire, earth, and wind are all indispensable. Naturally, the difficulty is significantly increased, far exceeding that of other elixirs. Not to mention anything else, the balance of the four elements alone is extremely delicate, and the slightest mistake can lead to a major alchemical failure.

Gao Jiano tried dozens of times, using up all the Eternal Forget-Me-Not moss he had on hand, but he still couldn't succeed even once.

Of course, this was mainly due to insufficient preparation beforehand. He had only learned the recipe in a few days before putting it into practice, so the success rate was naturally negligible. He never had any expectations of success; from the beginning, his goal was simply to quickly try and fail.

Nevertheless, he felt he gained a great deal from the intensive practice and accumulated a lot of valuable experience.

There is still some time.

Gaucano then went to the Golden Plains to collect several more herbs, preparing to continue his practice.

As he turned back, reviewing his trial and error experience, a burst of laughter suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

He turned his head and saw the male and female students who had entered with him, now lying in the grass, kissing each other and making indescribable noises... The two were completely immersed in their own world, seemingly forgetting the proper purpose of the Golden Plains.

Gaucano quickly looked away, ignoring the scene.

Although there was no indication of it.

But he was actually a little unhappy.

After all, the reason why the waiting list for Golden Plains is often a month long is largely because this kind of thing is so difficult to stop. Many students treat this place like a tourist attraction, insisting on doing romantic things here.

Gaucano continued practicing the preparation of the Secondary Enlightenment Elixir.

In his final attempts, he finally succeeded in producing a bottle of secondary Enlightenment Solution.

Perhaps it's mostly due to chance.

But regardless, this is a welcome step forward.

Gao Jiano estimated that if he returned to the Golden Plains twice more and supplemented his studies with the necessary training, he should be able to produce the Secondary Enlightenment Concoction at a cost that wouldn't result in a loss.

During this time, you can also squeeze in a visit to one or two tidal areas.

The twelve hours were almost up.

The male and female trainees still had a sense of time. A few minutes before the end of the allotted time, they returned to the Gate of the Plains and then went back to the real world with Gaucano.

Gaucano immediately made the next appointment and then left the alchemy workshop.

He went to the library again.

In the process of hands-on trial and error, some new questions and considerations inevitably arise. Details that were overlooked in theoretical learning become crucial in practical operation, requiring deeper research and understanding.

To deal with these problems, he needs to borrow some more books.

It's quite a coincidence.

When Gao Jiano finished borrowing the books, he happened to run into a chaired professor who was also borrowing books.

This made him stop and observe for a moment.

As expected, the chair professor did not search for books in the usual reading room or library, but went straight to the deepest part of the library, an area shrouded in a faint blue light, the so-called "restricted area".

Immediately, the professor took out a badge, and the blue light screen disappeared.

But he had only taken a few steps when a humanoid guard, composed entirely of blue-purple crystals, suddenly appeared and blocked his path once more. The guard was tall and imposing, with a unique appearance, and exuded a powerful magical aura. Even the professor couldn't help but show a cautious and serious expression.

The professor picked up the badge again and said something. The crystal guard stared at him for a while before slowly making way, allowing the professor to step into the mysterious shadows and eventually disappear around the corner next to the bookshelf.

Watching the chair professor enter the restricted area of ​​the library, Gao Jiano couldn't help but have some guesses.

The deepest part of the library...

What will happen?

(End of this chapter)