Wizard: Starting from Escape from the Thorn Garden

Chapter 113 News about Others

[Dimension Two: Resource Integration and Production (Qing Teng Workshop's Transformation)]

1. The workshop's production focus immediately shifted to war supplies:

Prioritize the production of [Undead Protection Potion] and [Mana Restoration Potion]. Optimize the formula and increase output.

Try to develop/improve the [High-Efficiency Undead Protection Potion]. If successful, it will be of great value.

Accept orders for potions and magical plants from individuals or those in positions of power to quickly accumulate magic stones and contribution points, which can then be used to exchange for scarce resources.

2. Resource Exchange:

Inventory existing resources and convert non-essential materials and magic stones into combat supplies as soon as possible.

Key items to exchange: Rare items containing abundant life rules, high-level protective enchantment materials, and space-stabilizing crystals. These ensure that the three rules of the Heart of Reincarnation continue to progress simultaneously in the Undead Plane, maintaining their balance and stability.

[Dimension Three: Practical Warm-up and Intelligence Gathering]

1. Accept missions to clear undead spawn points or small undead invasions around the barrier, conduct practical training, and test the effectiveness of various methods to deal with undead.

2. Closely monitor the latest intelligence updates released by the Barrier regarding the Undead Plane.

After the simulation was completed, an extremely detailed and efficient preparation plan appeared in Kate's mind.

He took action immediately.

First, via communication equipment, the highest priority instruction was given to Terriel: "Immediately change the workshop production plan. Suspend all non-urgent orders. Concentrate all resources to prioritize the production of Undead Protection Potions and Mana Restoration Potions." At the same time, a large-scale acquisition of relevant raw materials began.

"We are attempting to develop a highly effective undead protection potion. You have full access to privileges and resources."

Terrell's reply was swift, tinged with shock but unwavering obedience: "Understood, Lady Kate. Is war approaching? I'll take care of it immediately!"

Next, Kate went directly to the fortress's armory.

It was a huge fortress that was cold, desolate, and exuded the aura of metal and magic crystals.

Upon seeing the conscription order, the guarding wizard officers were filled with respect and provided the most efficient service.

Kate didn't waste a single point of the 5000 contribution points; with the precise calculations of the Seed of Origin, he exchanged them for a large amount of standard supplies:

High-level necromancy potion, soul-protecting amulet, enchanted scroll, negative energy resistance cloak, and a batch of death-resistant metal powder.

Afterwards, he used his accumulated contribution points and magic stones to exchange for several additional life crystals rich in life energy.

Soul crystals and a batch of space-stabilizing crystals.

After returning to the treehouse with a huge amount of supplies, Kate immediately began her seclusion.

Every day, he immersed himself in deep meditation. In his spiritual sea, the Heart of Reincarnation simulated the deathly aura environment he perceived from the jade slip. Life-absorbing runes and death-resistance runes flashed and optimized at an unprecedented frequency, and the spatial network was constantly adjusted and reinforced under the simulated oppressive environment.

He took a small amount of the high-purity life essence he had harvested from Whispering Woods and carefully used it to nourish the fragments of the Immortal Root and the Bloodvine, guiding them to resist, adapt to, and even attempt to devour a trace of simulated death energy.

The Bloodthirsty Vine exhibited unusual excitement and greed, with eerie gray-black patterns gradually emerging on its dark golden vines, significantly increasing its efficiency in devouring death energy.

Kate covered the Golden Thorn Armor with death-resistant metal powder and inscribed negative energy resistance runes with her mental power. The dark gold luster was enhanced by a layer of oppressive gray-white, making it appear even heavier and more solid.

The floating flowers swayed slightly in the simulated death aura, trying to adapt to the harsh environment.

Meanwhile, Kate frantically absorbed the knowledge in the jade slip, deeply imprinting the characteristics and weaknesses of each type of undead into her mind, and began to simulate countermeasures.

Two weeks later, Kate emerged from seclusion. He went to Master Liria's laboratory to ask her about several key problems regarding the formula for an effective undead protection potion, and borrowed some advanced experimental equipment.

Master Liria had obviously also learned of the war. Her laboratory was filled with various medicinal materials. She gave Kate a few brief instructions and some valuable notes before throwing herself back into her intense research.

The war machine of the fortress has been fully activated.

With new inspiration, Kate returned to the workshop laboratory and, combining the analytical capabilities of the Seed of Origin, finally succeeded in improving the "High-Efficiency Undead Protection Potion" after several failures. Although it was expensive, its effect was 10% better than the standard version obtained from the Armory!

He immediately taught the formula and process to Terriel, ordering her to produce it in small, secret batches as his trump card.

News of the Undead Plane War has now spread, and lower-tier Undead Protection Potions are selling for over 6% more on the market. Kate instructed Terrell to sell a limited quantity of ordinary Undead Protection Potions, which resulted in substantial profits.

After that, Kate accepted a mission to clear a newly discovered mine outside the barrier that had been contaminated by undead creatures.

Inside the mine, a chilling wind howled, and dozens of rotting zombies and skeleton warriors roamed about, along with a vengeful spirit.

Kate did not use powerful sorcery, but deliberately used the Heart of Reincarnation Domain, Life Drain, Death Resistance, and the enhanced Bloodthirsty Vines and Golden Thorns in the battle.

The results were excellent in real-world testing!

As the Heart of Reincarnation's domain unfolds, low-level undead become sluggish and their bodies emit smoke as they approach, as if they are being eroded by an invisible force field.

Life draws upon the decaying life force that easily drains the zombie, while death resists, greatly reducing the spiritual impact of the vengeful spirit.

The Blood-Devouring Vine is like the Grim Reaper's whip, shattering skulls and devouring death energy, becoming even more ferocious.

The Golden Thorn Iron Armor withstood the bites of zombies and the bone knives of skeletons without sustaining any damage; its surface coating of anti-death materialized, causing the undead to reflect damage when attacked.

The battle ended quickly and decisively. Kate gained a clear understanding and confidence in her combat capabilities on the battlefield of the undead.

Kate's figure blended into the shadows at the edge of the town, like a drop of water flowing into a deep pool, and he silently returned to his makeshift treehouse.

As soon as I stepped into the meditation room, preparing to reflect on the gains from this trip to Whispering Woods, the communicator on my wrist began to vibrate rapidly, transmitting several familiar communication requests, each carrying a clear sense of anxiety and weakness.

It consists of six people: Evan, Sophia, Elena, Rod, Kyle, and Serena.

Kate's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately answered the call.

Images of everyone appeared on the screen, but the atmosphere was completely different.

Aiven stood at the front, his face pale and his breath somewhat unsteady, but his eyes were sharper than ever before. A subtle, indescribable aura, as if he were one with the wind element of heaven and earth, flowed around him—the aura of power and discipline possessed only by a formal wizard! He had successfully broken through!

Standing close to him was Elena, her silver eyes gleaming with starlight, deeper than ever before, seemingly able to pierce through illusion. Yet her complexion was equally poor, revealing a hint of weariness, and she emanated a faint but exceptionally stable spiritual pressure. She had succeeded too!

However, the situation was extremely bad for Sophia, Rhodes, Kyle, and Serena, who were behind them.

Sophia's rock-like face was covered with fine cracks, as if it would shatter at any moment. Her aura was extremely weak, and the once heavy and steady rock armor core fluctuations became extremely chaotic and unstable. Clearly, she had suffered a huge backlash during the condensation process and failed to break through.

Rhodes's situation was similar. The fire energy that should have been full of vitality and heat appeared pale, and the flame aura around him was scattered and even dissipated.

Kyle and Serena fared even worse. They were almost completely absorbed into the shadow behind them, but the shadow was no longer pure. Instead, it twisted and dissipated. Their auras were as weak as candles in the wind, and their soul fluctuations were extremely chaotic. Clearly, they encountered a terrible conflict with the rules and even a backlash when they tried to break through the heart of the shadow, resulting in an even more complete failure.

"Kate—" Evan's voice was hoarse and heavy as he spoke first, "We—are trying to become full-fledged wizards."

Kate's heart sank; she already understood the outcome: "It seems—the result is not ideal."

Elena spoke softly, her voice ethereal yet unable to conceal her weariness: "News of the Undead War has arrived, and the mobilization order for the Stronghold has been issued."

We knew that entering the Land of the Dead as apprentices was a perilous journey, with a slim chance of survival. We had no choice but to take the risk and attempt to break through the bottleneck ahead of schedule.

Evan gave a bitter smile: "Elena and I succeeded by sheer luck, but we were also weakened and need time to stabilize our strength. Sophia, Kyle, Serena, and the others—"

He paused, his voice even lower: "They failed. Sophia's Rock Armor Heart backfired, damaging her foundation, as did Rhode's; it will take at least six months for them to recover. Kyle and Serena—their shadows collapsed, their souls suffered even more severe damage, and they will be unable to attempt a breakthrough again for a year, and may even be permanently stuck here."

Sophia struggled to lift her head, her rocky lips moving as she uttered a muffled sound: "Sorry—I dragged you down." Her eyes were filled with resentment and dejection.

Rod remained silent, a stark contrast to his usual fearless demeanor. This setback had taken a heavy toll on him, and he kept his head down, lost in thought.

Kyle and Serena remained silent in the shadows, only the undulating shadows revealing their inner pain and unease.

Elena added, "However—according to the Bulwark Wartime Regulations, those who fail to become official wizards and are seriously injured are granted a one-year rehabilitation period and do not need to immediately enlist to go to the Netherworld. This—is a stroke of luck amidst misfortune."

The room fell into a deathly silence.

Kate looked at her former comrades-in-arms, now all four of them severely injured and weakened, and two of them breaking through with injuries, and a complex emotion welled up in her heart.

There is a sense of urgency regarding the war, an understanding of the comrades' risky gambles, and a sigh for the fate of the losers.

He took a deep breath, his eyes regaining their calm and sharpness: "It's good that you're alive. Even if the foundation is damaged, there's always a way to make up for it."

A year is not necessarily the time to recover, and you might even turn this misfortune into a blessing. The most urgent thing right now is for you to stabilize your injuries.

Kate looked around and continued, "And you have a year to recuperate. During this time, Evan, Elena, and I will become familiar with the intensity and situation of the Undead War, and we can provide you with some protection, making the danger much less."

Rhodes, Sophia, Kyle, and Serena exchanged glances, as if they had already made up their minds, and simply nodded silently without saying anything more.

Kate looked at Evan and Elena: "As for you, now that you've become official wizards, you're an indispensable fighting force for the Barrier. Stabilize your level, familiarize yourself with your powers, and prepare for war."

Evan nodded emphatically, his eyes rekindling with fighting spirit: "I understand. Elena and I have discussed it; now that we've broken through, we must face this war. Kate, you have more experience and are stronger than us; we—want to act alongside you."

Elena also said softly, "The star trails indicate that traveling with you will increase our chances of survival and gaining merit. My prophetic abilities have been enhanced after my advancement, and may be able to provide some warnings and guidance."

Kate looked at them but didn't answer immediately. With Evan's advancement in Wind Control, his crowd control and mobility were undoubtedly stronger; Elena's Star Prophecy was invaluable in the perilous Undead Plane.

Teaming up with them can indeed greatly improve survival rate and efficiency.

"Okay," Kate finally nodded. "But our team needs a repositioning. Evan, you'll be in charge of overall risk control, mobile support, and mid-range strikes. Elena, you'll focus on early warning, psychological support, and battlefield information provision. I'll handle frontal assaults, core decapitation strikes, and handling contingencies. The three of us need to complement each other and avoid fighting alone."

"No problem!" Evan agreed without hesitation. "I will familiarize myself with the power of a first-ring wizard as soon as possible and master a few powerful wind-based crowd control spells."

"The stars will guide us away from the most dangerous whirlpools," Elena promised.

"Alright." Kate pondered for a moment. "Then, choosing the undead plane we enter for the first time is crucial. You two have just advanced and need a relatively peaceful battlefield to adapt and consolidate your abilities. Elena, what are your perceptions of the planes 'Bone Wasteland' and 'Eternal Night Canyon'?"

Elena closed her eyes, the starlight in her silver eyes slowly shifting, as if peering into the invisible threads of fate.

A moment later, she opened her eyes, her tone tinged with uncertainty: "The Bone Wasteland—the star trails show a chaotic scene of carnage, an endless sea of ​​bones, and death energy surging into the sky like a storm. That's the main battlefield, with an infinite number of undead, including high-level ones. The danger is immediate, but the scale is too large, making it easy to get surrounded. For those in the adaptation period, the pressure is too great."

"And the Eternal Night Canyon—" she frowned slightly, "the paths there are even more—dark and deep. Danger seems to lurk in the thick fog, and the revelations of the stars are greatly disturbed."

I can sense more shadows, curses, treacherous soul attacks, and complex terrain.

However, the number of undead does not seem to be as overwhelming as in the wasteland; instead, they focus more on quality and bizarre attack methods.

For our team, it seems there's more room to maneuver, and it puts a greater test of our ability to deal with multiple threats, but the initial pressure might be relatively less, provided we can avoid those deadly traps.

Evan continued, "I also got some information from my mentor. As a wind-type wizard, he had explored both planes and understood the specific situation. The Bone Wasteland is actually a plane battlefield more suitable for strong people to fight and grow stronger. While the intensity of direct combat in the Eternal Night Canyon should be lower, the danger of the environment is no less than that of the Bone Wasteland. Without better environmental detection and warning methods, the former is actually safer."

After Evan finished speaking, he stopped and waited for Kate's response.