The Wizard's Secret Journey

Chapter 204 Legend (4.2k)

"Could the disguise of the Urzasha Assimilation Insect actually deceive the perception of that unknown entity?"

Lynn slowly emerged from behind a hillside, looking up at the distant beast with a bewildered expression. The beast, which had been chasing him fiercely before, was no longer doing so. He muttered to himself.

At this point, only about half an hour had passed since Durant left him.

However, in that half hour, Lynn encountered a total of 13 ferocious beasts!
Not only are they all of the first rank, but one of them even faintly reaches the advanced level of the first rank!

These ferocious beasts varied in appearance and ability, but they had one thing in common: they all rushed straight at Lynn and attacked him frantically without fear, as if Lynn was wearing some kind of exceptionally powerful aura of mockery!
Fortunately, the wizarding system's combat power at the same level far surpasses that of these ferocious beasts that only rely on instinct to use their power. In addition, although Lynn was only a first-level intermediate wizard, his actual combat power was equivalent to that of a first-level advanced wizard, so he was not injured and was not in any danger.

However, this situation clearly cannot continue indefinitely, otherwise even if Lynn is very strong, he will be worn down and killed.

Moreover, the strength of the attacking beasts is increasing rapidly, and no one knows if there will be any that Lynn cannot deal with, or the mysterious mastermind behind it all... Lynn has not forgotten that these beasts are merely the mastermind's retinue.

So Lynn began to think about how to get rid of these ferocious beasts.

Lynn first tried to conceal himself... This method was indeed effective, but he soon discovered that on the surface of the Mossy World, all the visible green was actually spies of the mastermind. Unless he maintained his concealment, this method could only provide a temporary respite.

Among those ferocious beasts were many with reconnaissance abilities, and Lynn's ordinary concealment magic was simply no match for their eyes.

He was able to temporarily deceive the beasts thanks to the concealment tools left behind by Durant.

However, the magical power required to conceal magical artifacts is enormous, and the world of Moss is not as full of magical energy as the world of Gunn, so maintaining a state of concealment indefinitely is simply a pipe dream.

So Lynn tried many other methods, but none of them worked. It wasn't until he used the Urzasha Assimilation Bug that he finally escaped being hunted down!
After confirming that the attempt had worked, Lynn finally breathed a sigh of relief, but a question immediately arose in his mind:
Why are Urzasha assimilators effective?

As soon as the question popped into his mind, Lynn seemed to have a flash of inspiration; his intuition told him that it was important to figure this out.

Lynn took a breath, calming his body and mind, and began to deduce the process step by step:
'The Urzasha assimilation bugs brought complete disguise... Is that lurking entity tracking me based on my appearance?'

This conjecture was immediately refuted by Lynn:
'No, it can't be my appearance. I changed my appearance more than once just now, some changes were even more drastic than when I became a Spirit Crystal Person, but it had no effect whatsoever.'

Lynn inexplicably thought of a characteristic of the Urzasha assimilator—

If a wizard uses the Urzasa Assimilation Worm in another world, he will no longer need to use the synchronization effect of the World Synchronizer, because the Urzasa Worm's disguise as a common world invader is essentially a higher-level synchronization, and this has been inherited by the Urzasa Assimilation Worm.

'So, the main basis for the person secretly tracking me is their identity? They can see through the disguise of a normal world synchronizer?'

Because the Mossy World being explored this time was only a Level 1 Fragment World, the World Synchronizer that Lynn purchased was only a Level 1 Low-grade one. Its effect was enough to deceive ordinary Level 1 World Wills, but it was insufficient for anything higher.

Although there is not enough objective evidence for such speculation, Lynn has a feeling that this may be the real truth.

'This is a bit troublesome...'

Lynn rubbed her temples and casually found a clean spot on the ground to sit down and rest.

The safe usage time for Urzasha assimilators varies depending on the individual's situation; for Lynn, the safe period is approximately one and a half months.

If he still hasn't removed his disguise even once after a month and a half, the balance within his body will be disrupted. At that time, not only will the disguise have flaws, but he himself may also be left with permanent deformity marks.

However, Urzasha Assimilation Worms still have two uses left, so Lynn doesn't need to worry about this issue for the next four and a half months.

'But I must return to the world of Gunn eventually, and then I'll have to shed my disguise... I hope the pursuit then will be as gentle as it is now.'

Shaking his head, Lynn stopped thinking about those distant things and began to ponder another question:
Why wasn't I targeted in the first place? Or, to put it another way, what did I do to be targeted?

As Lynn carefully recalled his memories after arriving at Mossy Scar, the image in his mind finally froze on the scene from more than half a month ago, when he was preparing to return to Radiant Pulse City to purchase the materials needed to craft the Stone Treasure.

When he emerged from the cave, he saw moss growing wildly at the entrance, and several ferocious beasts gathered there...

Lynn was amazed by the rapid growth of plants in the Mossy World and wondered if there was something special about that place that caused the ferocious beasts to gather there.

Now it seems that the rampant moss and the gathering of ferocious beasts are all because of him!
'And the only thing I did at that time was absorb the dazzling golden crystal and try to understand the principles of the Stone-Following Secret Technique…'

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, a deep chill suddenly enveloped Lynn's heart.

'The essence of dazzling gold is a blessing from the world, and the essence of this blessing is the origin of the world…'

'In other words, that hidden being can sense the reduction of the world's origin?!'
'That entity lurking in the shadows...could it be the will of the Mossy World?!'

Lynn extended his mental energy into the storage ring, feeling the dazzling golden crystals. He was suddenly glad that he hadn't absorbed any more because he disliked the time it took to absorb the golden crystals and thought it would affect his speed of earning the World's Blessing.

'Simply absorbing a World Blessing has triggered such a relentless pursuit.'

'If I absorb more blessings from the world, wouldn't a second-tier creature, or even that hidden being, come and capture me on the spot?!'

'What's even more terrifying is... that entity lurking in the shadows might not even be the will of the Mossy World.'

Lynn didn't know what level of life form was needed to detect the reduction of the world's origin, but he knew that for such a being to eliminate him would be no more difficult than eliminating an insect.

Moreover, his ability to absorb the world's blessings is related to his deepest secret—his talent for understanding the truth.

This made Lynn's unease reach its peak!
"Damn Durant!" Even Lynn, who was usually calm and composed, couldn't help but curse at this moment!
He looked at the concealment artifact that Durant had given him and let out a cold laugh!
No matter what Durant thinks, or what he does to make amends, it cannot cover up the selfishness of his actions.

Ultimately, these are all pointless tricks he uses to comfort himself, just like those bosses in his past life who take the lion's share of the wealth created by their employees, yet still act all high and mighty and give their employees a meager raise!

Lynn stood up, walked up a low slope, and gazed at the huge fern in the distance.

His biggest worry right now is that Durant secretly used the portal beacon.

To prevent reverse intrusion, the portal beacons brought by teams like theirs are limited in number and can only be used once. If Durant were to act unethically and return to Gunn World prematurely...

If Lynn wants to return to the world of Gunn, he will probably have to wait until the world of Moss is completely conquered by the wizarding world.

After all, even if Lynn encounters other exploration teams from the world of Gunn, he won't be able to return to Gunn through the limited number of teleportation beacons... Even if the situation can be relayed back through new exploration teams, Silver Ring Academy will most likely not launch any rescue operation... The wizarding world doesn't have the concept of humanitarianism.

After all, the cost of inter-world teleportation is staggering. Strictly speaking, except for some worlds with exceptionally rare resources, Silver Ring Academy is essentially losing money on early exploration missions like these, which is equivalent to an initial investment.

'However... the school might be willing to send someone to rescue me, but it's best not to end up in that situation.' Lynn's face was gloomy. After much deliberation, he still didn't head directly to the Sky-Piercing Fern. Instead, he turned and flew towards the entrance of Radiant Pulse City.

If the Sky-Piercing Fern and the moss represent the opposing side, then the Spirit Crystal Clan, who were also driven underground by them, are clearly on the same side as Lynn at present.

Whether they can be considered friendly depends on the results of the subsequent investigation.

In any case, we should be able to get more information about the Sky-Piercing Fern from the Spirit Crystal Clan!
……

……

Xunshi Mansion.

"Young Master, you're back!"

Old Nellie opened the door again, and the old man couldn't hide his joy when he saw Lynn.

"Hmm." Lynn wasn't really interested in chatting with the old man and stepped inside.

Old Nili's heart sank, and he quickly followed, cautiously asking:
"Young Master, have you encountered some trouble on the surface? Are you injured?"

“No, I’m just a little confused.” Lynn shook his head, then suddenly asked after a moment’s thought, “Old Nili, do you think we Spirit Crystal People originally lived on the surface of the earth?”

“Of course, young master, the Xunshi family has always been a staunch surface faction!” Old Nili said without hesitation, then hesitated and asked, “Have you discovered something on the surface?”

Lynn initially intended to continue shaking his head and skip the topic, but a thought suddenly struck him, and he nodded, saying:
"Indeed, some discoveries have been made."

Do you know about that enormous plant on the surface of the earth?

"Young Master is referring to... the Mother Pillar of Twilight?" Old Nili suddenly uttered a name that Lynn was unfamiliar with.

Lynn understood that this was probably a blind spot of the memory extraction technique, and said without changing his expression, "It's that plant that's bigger than a mountain range."

"When I was young, I followed Chief Nighogg to see the Twilight Mother Pillar from afar several times... I still vividly remember its immense and awe-inspiring form." Old Nighogg's eyes flashed with reminiscence, and... a faint fear.

“Tell me some information about the Mother Pillar of Twilight,” Lynn asked, narrowing his eyes.

Old Nili nodded, organized his thoughts, and began to speak:

"In the legends of the Surface Faction, the giant plant wasn't always that big, just as the Spirit Crystal Clan didn't always live underground... or rather, the Spirit Crystal Clan gradually came underground because of its appearance."

At this point, old Nili paused for a moment, then spoke in a fearful, almost dreamlike tone:
"Legend has it that the Azure Mother Pillar was a divine punishment sent down by the gods. It was originally an inconspicuous seed, but as time went by, it grew wildly and soon became the tallest plant in the entire world."

"The seeds it scatters are like some kind of toxin, quickly infecting the whole world, and countless green plants of varying shades grow wildly."

"The Lingjing people tried every possible method, but they were completely unable to overcome those tenacious plants."

"Countless plants withered, countless animals died, and those few that survived were all more or less tainted by the mother pillar's aura..."

“Some Spirit Crystal People tried to coexist with the Mother Pillar Seed like the surviving animals, but without exception, they all died… In the end, they had no choice but to retreat underground where the Twilight Mother Pillar could not influence them.”

"There are also legends that say the Azure Mother Pillar is the dwelling place of the gods. Perhaps the great gods were tired of the foolish Spirit Crystal race and decided to take back the surface they had been given to live on, or perhaps they were tired of the scenery of the divine kingdom and temporarily came to live on the surface..."

"In short, that is the dwelling place of the gods. Any spirit crystal person who dares to trespass and disturb the peace of the gods will face the deepest death!"

Lynn nodded calmly, offering no comment.

Old Nili couldn't help but ask, "So... what did you find on the surface, young master?"

Lynn remained silent and continued forward. After a moment, a voice came from behind him:

"It's getting dark soon. I need to get some rest and not let anyone disturb me, Butler Nili."

"Yes."

Old Nili nodded, silently watching Lynn's figure disappear into the distance. Suddenly, he felt that the young master he had watched grow up was now somewhat unfamiliar and mysterious.

……

At night, everything is silent.

Inside the Radiant Crystal Secret Realm, however, the lights were on full display.

Inside the aircraft passage, the four members of the Radiant Crystal family, including Ortiz, were on high alert. The gates, which had just been repaired not long ago, were being lowered one by one, just like on a certain night more than half a month ago.

This time, however, the figure did not choose to flee.

He didn't even try to hide; he simply stood calmly in the center of the four people surrounding him.

"I can't believe you dared to come back, you thief!" Ortiz gritted his teeth.

Lynn calmly swept his gaze over the four crystal masters before him and said indifferently:
"I know you can't communicate with me properly right now, but believe me, it won't be like this soon..."

"We have nothing to talk to you about. All you know is that you feel you can't escape this time!" Ortiz sneered.
"You think you're invincible? Let me show you that the Radiant Crystal family has more than just Grand Crystal Masters like us!"

"Is that so..." Lynn smiled faintly, his gaze almost imperceptibly sweeping to his left front.

His immense mental power allowed him to clearly sense that a being, roughly at the mid-level of the first rank and approaching the advanced level, was heading this way, just as he had predicted.

In fact, Lynn would not have chosen to reveal himself so openly if he had not already thoroughly explored the entire city of Radiant Pulse.

'You'd better provide me with valuable information in a little while, otherwise…'

Lynn stood calmly, silently waiting for the enemy in the shadows to arrive.

(End of this chapter)