Wizards begin with Occlumency.

Chapter 117 Side by Side

Knowing the face but not the heart.

Link couldn't trust Iris Clark just because of her sudden change in attitude.

As mentioned earlier, Link considered his relationship with the wizard Celine, and also didn't want a well-equipped but unpredictable person spying on him from the shadows, which is why he chose to join the team.

What tricks can they play while staying right under our noses?

At most, it would just be a leak of their whereabouts.

Even without teaming up, Iris Clark, with her bionic eagle, can still find him.

If the goal is to leak Link's whereabouts and lure people into an attack, it makes no difference whether you team up or not.

Moreover, if Iris Clark had any ill intentions towards Link, she wouldn't have needed to make such a farcical entrance.

There are definitely better ways to carefully design and gain Link's trust.

Now that they've teamed up, Link naturally won't show too much wariness or distance on the surface.

"How about we divide the work?"

Link sought advice from Iris Clark.

"Okay, okay."

Iris Clark gave it her full approval.

Anyway, she didn't care much about the results of the competition between the two districts; she treated it as a trip.

After unexpectedly discovering Link Grand, she recalled some amusing stories that Celine the Wizard had mentioned during her conversation with her sister, as well as the bet between Paro the Wizard and Peter and Lionel the Wizard.

In order to get a seat to watch the game up close, Iris Clark got excited and asked Link Grand to team up with her.

Now that the team has been successfully formed, the next step is to cooperate with each other as much as possible.

So that he could stay with the team until the two sides made their moves clear due to the bet and engaged in fierce combat.

12 players versus 279 players, just thinking about it is exciting.

"Your bionic eagle will handle high-altitude overviews and wide-area reconnaissance, while my four reconnaissance dummy units will handle close-range surveillance. Is that alright?"

Link presented his idea and awaited Iris Clark's response.

"no problem."

Iris Clark agreed without hesitation.

She even went so far as to suggest, "Should I hand over control of the bionic eagle to you?"

"No. Even if one person could control so many devices, they wouldn't be able to control them well, and it would actually affect the efficiency of reconnaissance."

Link did not agree and made up an excuse to decline.

Even so, his reconnaissance system is now comprehensive and complete.

In fact, let alone adding another bionic eagle, even if there were two more, as long as Link fully activates "Brain Occupation" and enters an extremely rational state, he can control them, manage them well, and even handle them with ease.

It's not that they can't, but that they're unwilling.

There's no reason for a team to steal items from their teammates.

"All right."

Iris Clark was rejected, but she didn't mind and quickly accepted.

"If we encounter an unexpected battle, how should we divide the tasks? Who should take command? I'd like to hear your opinion."

Link asked another question.

This is important, extremely important.

When forming a team, cooperation is essential, and precise division of labor is a prerequisite.

Iris Clark thought for a moment and said seriously, "I'm better at high-altitude raids and dive bombing."

As she spoke, she patted the small bag slung at her waist, "I brought a lot of self-destructing mines, remote-controlled mines, and flying detonators."

Link's gaze followed Iris Clark's movements and shifted to the inconspicuous little bag.

He had seen the small bag a long time ago, but he never expected it to be a spatial storage artifact!

Link had long coveted spatial storage artifacts and had previously researched related information.

Link had absolutely no idea about the manufacturing principles, the operating principles, or the principles behind how the device could still function normally after being transported across dimensions, and so on.

All he knew was that spatial storage artifacts were extremely valuable.

Salia, Tina, and Ella, three newly graduated wizards from the advanced academy, were not equipped with any spatial storage artifacts.

Link had only seen it in the wizards Paro, Celine, Cody, and the friendly wizard Loken.

Rich girls are indeed the most extravagant!

With a sigh, Link said, "I'm better at frontal assaults and counter-attacks."

"what?"

Iris Clark couldn't help but feel puzzled.

Frontal assault and defensive counterattack are completely different combat methods.

She was quite curious about how Link Grand combined the two.

However, now was not the time to ask questions, so Iris Clark did not pry. Instead, she said, "Then I'll follow your instructions."

"OK."

Link agreed immediately.

Link would never relinquish command of the team.

After making a preliminary division of labor, the two did not stay in one place but got to work.

Iris Clarke had no specific objective, and she truly followed Link's orders, even before the battle had begun.

Therefore, the two of them continued to move in the direction where Jasmine was.

They stopped frequently to collect samples and prepare specimens.

This was Link's request.

Iris Clark did not object or slack off; she worked very diligently.

What are your thoughts on main quests and side quests?

Another pause in their advance. Link multitasked, taking samples while keeping an eye on the reconnaissance puppet's findings, and asked a question.

"I'm fine with anything, I don't have any particular opinion."

Iris Clark laid out the corpse of a creature resembling a butterfly, used water magic to dry it, and then carefully placed the prepared dried specimen on the table, secured it, and attached a label.

The label reads the specimen name, collection location, and collection time.

What she's doing is just a side quest, isn't it?

As for the main quest, I'll just leave it to fate.

Link noticed Iris Clark's indifferent attitude.

Based on his observations, he initially judged that this was her true attitude, and also initially thought that Iris Clark might be a person who enjoys herself.

These people are driven by their hobbies and interests, and they are willing to put in a lot of effort to have fun.

But if she were to truly strive and work hard, she might actually face a decline in performance.

Link's question was somewhat like asking a blind man for directions.

After thinking it over, Link decided to remain self-centered and stop asking for opinions unless it was absolutely necessary.

Asking is pointless.

I estimated the time it took from entering this realm, starting my actions, to the present day.

If we consider the time flow before entering the interdimensional portal, more than four hours should have passed.

You can consider finding a place to eat to replenish the nutrients and energy your body needs.

When hiking in the wild, water and food are two things that must be taken seriously and cannot be avoided.

People will die if they don't eat or drink.

Link had some dry food in his bag, the kind that a single compressed biscuit would fill him up.

As for water, with water purification technology, there is basically no shortage of water.

"Rest for a while, drink some water, and eat something."

Link chose the leeward side of a small mound, untied his large bag, and placed it on the ground.

He took a cup from the side pocket of the large bag, and with a thought, he cast the newly developed Lesser Mist Rain spell.

A line of water appeared out of thin air above the cup, tracing a beautiful arc like a teapot pouring tea, ready to leap into the cup.

Link cast another Purify Water spell.

The water purification system acts like a filter, spread out at the rim of the cup.

Pure water enters the cup, while a few impurities remain outside.

The two spells were cast, and apart from the short casting time, they were otherwise unremarkable and unpretentious.

But when Iris Clark, who was pulling a small stool out of her side bag and preparing to sit down and rest, saw this scene, her jaw almost dropped.

"This...this...this..."

She pointed at Link's cup, somewhat incoherently, stammering for a moment before finally managing to utter a complete sentence, "How did you do that?"

The spellcasting time is short and there's nothing special about it. You just need to practice a particular spell diligently and raise your mastery of it to a perfect level.

The reason why Iris Clark was so excited is simple.

She recognized the waterline; it was formed by a minor mist spell.

She also knows the Lesser Mist Rain spell; she knows all too well the difficulty of forming a separate water line and steadily controlling its flow speed.

Link chuckled and made a joke that only he knew: "Nothing special, just practice makes perfect."

Of course, translated into the language of the wizarding world, "practice makes perfect" means "the more you practice, the more skilled you become."

Iris Clark didn't believe it.

She turned her back, rolled her eyes, and grumbled, "If you don't want to talk, then don't. Why lie?"

Link remained unmoved by this overused tactic of Jasmine's.

The levels of mastery of witchcraft are divided into beginner, proficient, expert, perfect, and innovative, but this is not Link's exclusive standard.

This classification standard has been prevalent in the wizarding world for a long time.

Lesser Mist Rain isn't some special kind of witchcraft; its "innovation" is nothing to be surprised about.

Iris Clark even openly showcased her spatial storage artifact.

Link simply didn't want to talk much about how he found the opportunity to break through the Lesser Mist Rain Technique from perfection to a new level.

Well……

As we all know, there are some scenarios in life where we often see water lines that curve like a parabola.

For example, tap water, or pouring tea.

Another example is urinating.

Is it feasible to have Link lie and say that he was moved by other scenes, and then share his experience with others?

Not feasible!

This kind of feeling is something I want to share, unlike when teaching math, where 1 is 1 and 2 is 2.

How can you share your insights without recreating the scene?

If we're really going to talk about it, does that mean Link has to play with birds in public?

Link shook his head and smiled, banishing the somewhat absurd image from his mind.

Here, have some water.

He then took out a clean, unused glass, filled it halfway with water, and handed it to Iris Clark.

"Thanks."

Iris Clark turned around, took the cup, and without any hesitation, cast a wood-type antidote spell on Link right in front of him.

Seeing that the water in the cup showed no unusual reaction, she slowly began to sip it.

Link didn't take it seriously.

If he were to eat the water or food given to him by Iris Clark, the same thing would happen; he would first test for toxicity.

It's always good to be cautious when you're out and about.

"Someone's coming!"

Halfway through drinking the water, Iris Clark suddenly issued a warning.

She took out a smart device from her small bag, tapped a few times on the screen, and brought up the footage of the bionic eagle taken from high altitude.

A three-person team was seen searching this direction from the 9 o'clock position, and they were moving quite quickly.

Iris Clark zoomed in on the face and examined it closely.

Link arranged the deployment of the four reconnaissance puppets, glanced at the AI ​​screen, and couldn't help but frown slightly.

These three are also local apprentices from the North District.

Iris Clark then looked at Link with a meaningful expression and asked, "I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"

"Good at first, bad later."

Link emptied the water from the two cups, put them away, took out a powerful weapon from his bag for later use, and confirmed that everything hanging on the belt of the "Defender 3202" suit could be easily retrieved.

"The good news is I know them, the bad news is..."

Iris Clark put away her stool, ready for battle, and said in a drawn-out tone, "They are all members of 'Pureblood Will,' and they're probably here for you."

Clearly, Iris Clark knew the members of "Pureblood Will" very well and quickly determined that they had discovered Link's whereabouts, which is why she was coming this way so quickly.

When Link saw Iris Clark's bionic eagle and spatial storage artifact, he was already mentally prepared to be discovered.

Local apprentices in the North District make money too easily, unlike the poor new recruits in the Storm Sea of ​​the South District.

Can't you just buy any witchcraft artifact?

(End of this chapter)