Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 163 Oak Seed, Forest Teleportation

While Jie Di was busy, Zhang Yuan was not idle either.

Considering the possible reaction of the Shadow Druids after discovering the drastic changes here, the mage, who really didn't want to be bothered by a bunch of flies that smelled dung, simply covered the entire toilet—no, the ritual site.

Last night, after inquiring about the ritual process, he found a suitable second-circle arcane spell among his few illusion spells—Shadow Wall.

This illusion can create an obstacle of approximately thirty square meters in area, formed by ominous shadows, the specific shape of which can be freely manipulated by the caster.

Just in case, Zhang Yuan spent three level-two spell slots to memorize the spell, which, when pieced together, formed a shadow wall of 100 square meters, enough to conceal the sound and light effects produced by the ritual.

Of course, it would be even stranger if a dark wall suddenly rose up in a forest. However, the shadow wall, which has the property of absorbing light, is not a rainbow wall. Neon lights can be seen from miles away. It is like a dark corner, and it is difficult to find anything unusual as long as you are out of sight.

Although it is not a perfect solution, it is still the best solution at present.

The female druid stared blankly at the semi-circular shadow wall extending into the depths of the Sharptooth Forest, but quickly recovered. She nodded gratefully to Zhang Yuan and then entered a state of focused spellcasting.

A melodious and clear chanting sounded in the forest; it was a fourth-circle nature spell—a spell to summon forest creatures.

Through this divine spell, the caster can summon a powerful, nature-friendly magical creature as reinforcements, such as a water sprite or a treant guardian.

However, thanks to the aid of the ritual, the target of the summon is not immutable, especially since it is backward compatible with the relatively weak tree spirit, so the difficulty is not too great.

The acorn that Jade obtained served as an anchor point, granting the ritual a precise ability to summon specific individuals. Coupled with the close connection between the tree spirit and her natal oak tree, it summoned both the spirit and the tree together in one fell swoop. The ritual set up on the oak tree earlier was also to increase the success rate of this move.

As the notes that had been floating in the air came to an end, the divine ritual also came to a close.

A soft, clear, and non-glaring emerald light emanated from the magic array on the ground. Two tendrils of natural power, like vines, emerged from the edges on both sides, gradually winding and spiraling towards the sky. When they reached a height of about five meters, they made a ninety-degree turn and converged at the center.

The two intertwined and formed a gate, five meters high and seven meters wide, resembling a woven vine.

The summoning gate, made of pure energy, shone with its final brilliance the instant it took shape, blooming briefly like a fleeting ephemera before vanishing into nothingness.

Instead of the gate, who else could it be but Arale, the little tree spirit, and her snail-shell-like oak tree?
As expected, the mission was a great success!
But the tree spirit was one thing; the giant oak tree was quite something else.

Even though a portion of the soil in this location and the original position of the oak tree was replaced by a magic array, the soil brought by the extremely developed and dense root system was far from sufficient for the pre-set pit. A small part of the entire root system was even higher than the ground.

The scene was like stuffing a radish into a yam pit, with half of its buttocks sticking out.

However, they managed to migrate successfully, and the main body remained intact. As for taking root, it wasn't a big problem. With the help of a druid like Jade, a little stimulation of the oak tree's root activity would be enough to solve the problem.

But that's a story for another time; right now, Jady and Alaire are busy having fun.

Alaire was happy that she finally had a backer and a safe haven after living in constant fear, as for Jady...

On one hand, she was happy to have helped a tree spirit and an oak tree; on the other hand, after the summoning ritual succeeded and the oak tree took root, subtle positive feedback emanated from the woods. As a druid, she knew very well that the woods were welcoming the arrival of an oak spirit, and the natural will of this region was also thanking Jade, who was in charge. As Alaire merged into the forest, this gift would be revealed in a clearer way.

By then, Jady, who has recently reached level seven, will likely be celebrating another level increase.

But that's a story for another time.

Having received such benefits, Jady naturally wouldn't forget the mage who had acted as a go-between.

But after thinking it over, Jady, who had nothing of value, couldn't offer anything of value as a thank-you gift. She couldn't very well give away the treasured possessions her teacher had given her, could she?
The somewhat embarrassed female druid confessed her awkward situation to Zhang Yuan, but unexpectedly, he waved his hand dismissively and said in a bold manner:

"Then there's no need for a thank-you gift. Just consider yourself a present."

What?
Like a toad startled by thunder, Jady stood frozen in place, almost thinking she was hallucinating.

Good heavens, they don't want the food, but they're going to take the whole bunch of people? How "generous" of them!

"You, you, you, what are you kidding me? You think I don't know about you and Xi Xi'er's affair?" Jady stammered.

"I mean, my adventure team is missing a divine spellcaster, and I'd like to invite you to join. What does this have to do with Guan Xier?"

Zhang Da Guanren feigned seriousness and incomprehension, but Jie Di clearly saw the teasing in his eyes.

Rolling her eyes in annoyance, the female druid thought about it seriously and politely declined the invitation.

“I’m sorry, as a druid, I have my own woodlands to look after, and besides, Alaire also needs my help now. But once those sirens have grown up, I can join your party and go out to see the sights.”

Without giving a direct answer, Zhang Yuan continued, "Since you're going to train them, could you also involve them in the care of Oak Tree and Alaire, without affecting your own career?"

This was his true intention. These sea monsters were his true loyal followers who had signed a contract, and he wanted them to benefit from this incident.

He certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to designate Sil and the others to join the ceremony from the start. Not to mention their limited abilities and inability to help, the mere fact that they were forced to come and share the benefits would easily give Jady some ideas.

But things are different now. The ceremony is over, and as for the feedback that follows, we shouldn't be too concerned about it, considering our relationship and the teacher-student bond.

This small gift was nothing to Jady, who had already eaten the lion's share, but it was incredibly precious to the three novice sirens.

Besides, just by looking at the two treasures in her hands, one can tell that Alair, this little tree spirit, has a complicated background. It's a win-win situation to let one's own people build a better relationship with her.

"No problem, they do need an opportunity to grow and develop."

Jadi was even more generous than Zhang Yuan had expected, and readily agreed to his request.

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(End of this chapter)