Wizards begin with Occlumency.

Chapter 129: Gathering

Jasmine did not act rashly.

Even after viewing the murals on both sides of the secret passage and discovering a tall, mysterious bronze door at the end of the passage, she felt an urge to explore it on her own.

She resolutely suppressed her impulse and decided to continue waiting.

Forcibly stopping her steps as she approached the bronze gate and walked a certain distance, Jasmine exited the secret passage and slammed the iron gate shut with a clang.

After thinking about it, she still felt a little uneasy, so she cast several secondary mudslide spells in succession.

The mud that had not yet been transported out of the tunnel turned into soil, forming earthen walls that completely concealed the iron gate.

Still feeling somewhat uneasy, after noting down the exact location of the iron gate, he filled in the entire section of the tunnel he had painstakingly dug near the gate.

Act within your capabilities and don't overexert yourself.

This was the bottom line that Jasmine set for herself before entering the interdimensional portal.

Jasmine knew that she alone could not explore the unknowns that might exist behind the bronze gate, nor could she deal with the various dangers that might exist.

Even if there is no danger, even if there is no unknown, even if there is only a lot of information.

Jasmine also didn't think she could find the key clues on her own in a short time.

Therefore, Jasmine calmed down in time and did not impulsively open the bronze door in a moment of passion.

Let's wait for Link to arrive before we explore the secrets behind the bronze gate together.

In this respect, that guy is still trustworthy.

snort!

The thought of Link made Jasmine angry again.

But as she remained angry, Jasmine realized something was amiss.

She doesn't seem as angry as before.

After a moment's recollection, Jasmine couldn't help but have a question in her mind.

Why get so angry just because I saw the words "crazy woman"?

Even if I get angry, it shouldn't be that serious.

Jasmine realized that her previous emotions seemed to have been amplified without her noticing, making her thoughts prone to extremes.

Even after seeing the bronze gate, I subconsciously walked towards it, wanting to open it.

Fortunately, she had no intention of exploring alone and stopped herself in time.

That iron gate, that secret passage, those murals, including that bronze gate—there's definitely something wrong with them!

"Why aren't you here yet?"

Jasmine muttered to herself, unable to stop thinking about that annoying guy.

With that guy around, she wouldn't need to worry about anything in this situation.

Link, who was worried about Jasmine, was already traveling through the night.

Battles broke out one after another in the mountain valley.

The scene was impressive, with flames filling the sky and a great commotion; it was not a place to linger.

Unfortunately, there were no spoils of war this time.

We fought a losing battle.

One powerful weapon was not enough to kill the "Pureblood Will" member wearing the "Defender 3202" suit.

The situation changes after the damage from both the standard and enhanced versions of the delayed self-destructing fire grenade is stacked.

If the academy's protective measures hadn't been triggered and responded to in time, relocating the "Pureblood Will" members, they would have died on the spot.

The consequence was that Link was not given time to collect the spoils.

Link could only watch the three unattended circular flying saucers and two bionic eagles still circling above the mountain pass, and after a moment of regret, he missed the opportunity.

Taking advantage of the "moonlight," the three walked for more than two hours.

Along the way, relying on the real-time reconnaissance of the circular flying saucer and the bionic eagle, the three avoided several different groups of people and wild animals.

As long as those with "pure blood will" don't provoke him, Link doesn't plan to cause any more trouble in the short term.

Being too prominent is not a good thing; it can easily make you a target of public criticism.

He decided to keep a low profile for a while and hurry on his journey to meet up with Jasmine.

At most, you can do some side quests or advance the main quest along the way.

Having chosen a suitable spot, Link called out to Dalton and Iris, saying, "Let's rest here for a bit, and continue our mission when it gets light."

"Okay, boss."

Dalton responded and very conscientiously took the initiative to tidy up the area.

Iris yawned lazily, took a recliner out of her small bag, lay down on it, squinted her eyes, and stretched out a big yawn.

Comfortable and pleasant, feeling great.

Dalton glanced at the relaxed Iris, then looked down at the heavy bag he had unloaded, his feelings a complex mix.

He was in the top ten of his grade, so while he wasn't exactly well-informed, his knowledge base was quite substantial.

The famous spatial storage artifact—even if you've never touched the real thing, you've at least seen written descriptions and video demonstrations.

The moment Dalton recognized the small bag around Iris's waist, he truly understood what the gap between the rich and the poor meant.

What is a social class? What is a social stratum?

It took him quite a while to calm down.

Sigh, they were born into a good family; it's something they were born with.

Let's just follow the big shots and develop steadily.

He sighed and continued working, leveling the ground.

Link did not stand idly by; he also participated in the labor.

After several casts of Wither spell, all the weeds were cleared away.

Then, by setting up two folding chairs, a campsite for short rests was ready.

"sit."

Link unloaded the large bag containing some of the inventory, sat down in a chair, and gestured for Dalton to sit down and rest as well.

It's not like we're camping long-term, so there's no need to make the site that fancy.

"Thank you, boss."

Dalton leaned back in his chair, relaxing his entire body, limp and slouching, and let out a contented sigh.

That day was filled with constant travel, being chased, blocked, and bombed; I barely rested and was exhausted.

Taking a rare break, the three of them didn't immediately start chatting.

After a moment, Link broke the silence.

He turned to look at Iris, who was playing with her fingers in front of the "moonlight," and asked, "Iris, did you know all the people you met today?"

"certainly."

Iris continued playing with her fingers, making various shapes, and replied casually, "I've dealt with them quite a bit, especially that bitch Trish Lucia."

As she spoke, Iris exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, right, I didn't even realize it until you mentioned it. Those guys who came today are all members of the 'Pureblood Will' who are biased towards the Rukia family."

"Bias?"

Link seized on a key word.

"yes."

Iris nodded and said matter-of-factly, "Several pure-blood families are supporting the 'Pure-Blood Will' behind the scenes. Of course, each has its own interests and its own voice."

Thinking about it carefully, it seems that Trish, that bitch, brought out all the more outstanding first-year members who favored the Rukia family to gang up on you.

"Tsk! What on earth did you do to provoke the Rukia family so badly?"

After expressing her feelings, Iris looked at Link with curiosity in her eyes.

She wanted to see for herself what kind of person could have provoked the Rukia family to the point of wanting to kill them.

After looking closely, apart from being handsome, there's nothing special about him.

One nose and two eyes, pretty ordinary.

I don't understand!

Link let Iris stare at him, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "So, most of the remaining 'Pureblood Will' members won't be as fixated on me as Trish Lucia is?"

Iris thought about it carefully and then shared her opinion: "The inter-district competition is very important. Unless someone has a grudge against you or is in direct competition with you, generally speaking, no one would disregard their own performance and target you specifically."

"Um."

Link nodded, seemingly lost in thought.

After a moment's thought, Link asked again, "You mentioned the conflict between half-bloods and pure-bloods earlier. During the competition between the two regions, what do the half-bloods usually do?"

This is a question Link has always wanted to ask.

No matter how much a half-blood is opposed to a pure-blood, they are still a local apprentice from the North District.

The competition between the two districts considers both individual performance and achievements, as well as collective merits and honors.

Half-Blood claims to be a natural ally of Stormsea New Blood, but that doesn't mean they will help the South District take first place.

Link guessed that the half-bloods would at most sabotage the pure-bloods when they were targeting the Storm Sea new blood, or help the Storm Sea new blood when they were dealing with the pure-bloods.

When it comes to competing for collective achievements, they will still prioritize their own interests, that is, the interests of the North District.

In short, the relationship between half-blood and new blood can be summarized as both cooperation and conflict.

In short, the relationship between half-bloods and pure-bloods is one of both opposition and cooperation.

Link asked Iris a question, firstly to verify his guess, and secondly to establish the next course of action.

Iris didn't hide anything and replied directly, "Let's do it that way and compete with them for first place."

That simple sentence gave Link a sense of security.

This also helped Link figure out how to get along with Iris in the future.

"Let's rest; we still have to travel after dawn."

Link got the information he wanted and ended the conversation without hesitation.

He has the typical characteristics of a scumbag.

Iris pouted, feeling like she'd been cheated on.

Dalton remained silent throughout, listening in, and felt that the conversation was very informative and insightful.

Silence fell between the three of them.

In silence, the "moon" departs and the "sun" arrives.

In this world, there is no concept of early or late.

When the sun rises, it is noon in the whole world.

Link took out a cup, cast a Lesser Mist Rain spell and a Purify Water spell, and made three cups of purified water.

Each person received a cup, and they each rinsed their mouths first.

Washing your face and hands is easier to handle.

Both consist of a secondary Mist Rain spell and a Purifying Water spell.

This time, however, Link used Lesser Mist Rain spell even more skillfully.

First, three water lines appeared out of thin air, purified by water purification techniques, and then, as if passing through a showerhead, they split into dozens of tiny water lines, spraying water mist.

Given the limited conditions in the wild, everyone just used their hands to catch water and quickly rubbed and washed themselves.

Simple, quick, and convenient.

"I'd like to brag about our victory yesterday, is that alright?"

Iris nestled by the stream that had been given to her, playing like a child for quite a while.

Several rainbows appeared, a beautiful sight to behold.

Having fun and enjoying yourself, a sentence suddenly pops out.

"Can."

Link did not object and gave an affirmative answer.

One should have self-awareness.

Iris repeatedly said she would follow his orders, and she did indeed exercise restraint in her actions, without being overly willful.

But Link can take this for granted and then boss Iris around?

unable.

The watch issued by the academy was in Iris's own possession; she must have other magical artifacts for communication.

I asked beforehand out of respect for Link and to keep my promise.

If you don't want to respect or abide by the rules, you won't even bother asking questions; you'll just do it directly.

At that point, what can Link do besides be unhappy?

Break up?

Then let's break up. It's not a big deal for Iris.

She just thought it was fun.

On the contrary, Link occasionally learns some information about the North District and "Pureblood Will" from Iris.

Okay.

Iris's personality changed again at this moment. She blinked her left eye, and responded sweetly in a playful tone.

After speaking, she typed and edited on her watch for a while, finally posting an announcement:

"You pureblood will-be bastard, just wait to die."

Link stared at the second announcement hanging high on the public channel, its arrogant content and its signature, and remained silent.

Is this what you mean by showing off?

This is clearly a provocation!

Shaking his head, Link couldn't figure out how Iris was thinking, so he decided not to dwell on it, packed up the camp, and set off.

It's the same old routine.

A circular flying saucer and a bionic eagle conduct aerial reconnaissance, while four reconnaissance puppets provide surveillance around the perimeter.

After a day of buffering and adaptation, the more than one thousand wizard apprentices who entered this small world and were not eliminated have basically found their own rhythm of action.

Over the course of more than three hours, Link and his two companions did not clash with a group from the North District even once when they were unable to avoid them.

Both sides discovered each other's whereabouts through the detection of the magical artifacts, and in fact, they both wanted to avoid each other.

It's truly a narrow passage through the canyon, with only one path, and there's no way to avoid it.

Only then, under heavy guard, did they walk side by side through the not-too-long but torturous canyon section.

Iris was eager to try her hand at the game and have a thrilling battle to relieve the fatigue of the tedious journey.

Once they emerged from the canyon, they parted ways and went their separate ways in opposite directions.

Iris collapsed completely.

Lifeless.

Link clearly saw the admiration in the eyes of the other leader.

It's as if it's saying, "Dude, you're really awesome for taking care of this crazy woman!"

Link didn't care about any of that; he was keeping track of the time.

It's time to use the watch's daily location tracking feature again.

There's nothing to hesitate about.

He immediately sent a location request to Jasmine.

Jasmine was obviously waiting too, and agreed immediately.

Two arrow-shaped dots appeared on the watch screen.

It flashes for a few seconds and then disappears.

Link had already noted the location and estimated the distance.

At today's pace, barring any unforeseen circumstances, it will probably take another three hours or so.

"Boss, I see Buck, Ezio, and Lynn."

Dalton, who was temporarily in charge of reconnaissance, suddenly spoke up.

"where are they?"

Link texted Jasmine, carefully choosing his words, while asking her a question.

"The 3 o'clock direction is very close; we can catch up with them in 5 minutes."

Dalton continued his report.

"Okay, let's go find them first."

Link confirmed that Jasmine was at his 3:30 position, which was on his way.

So they didn't bring Buck and the others along.

"There are four more people with Buck and his group, hmm..."

Dalton then added, "Lanny Taylor and Isco Alex are also here."

Link sent a message to Jasmine, then turned his head to look at the projected real-time reconnaissance footage.

The group of seven was divided into two parts: three on the left and four on the right.

The two groups, barely managed to come together, were not only at odds, but also at odds with each other.

"Bring Buck and the other two over."

Link made a decision.

These five guys were good partners that Link had observed for several months and believed had the potential to become his companions. How could he possibly let Lanny Taylor mess with them?

Moreover, Link himself had the idea of ​​assembling a team.

Whether it's completing the main quest or dealing with the "Pureblood Will," having a team is always better.

Many hands make light work.

Thank you to the reader "I'm Sleeping in My Dreams" for the generous donation!

(End of this chapter)