The Wizard's Secret Journey

Chapter 250 The Team (4k)

"Lynn Kent and Samuel Barnes, upon receiving the notification, immediately proceed to Camp 16 to participate in the Greywood Ruins cleanup mission."

"Specific mission details are subject to the actual arrangements made by the camp."

Inside the watchtower, Lynn and Samuel looked at each other in bewilderment.

This order from Silver Ring Fortress specifically named the two of them, ordering them to participate.

This was the first time Lynn and Samuel had received such an order since they arrived here.

Horsens specifically placed them here, not only to protect the Golden Thorn apprentices, but also to make things easier for them.

Although they were both first-tier wizards, they stayed in the watchtower where apprentices were stationed, and the responsibilities they had to bear were also those of apprentices, which basically meant they didn't have to do anything.

"This notice was probably not specifically targeted at the two of us," Lynn deduced after a moment's thought.

They were merely two first-tier wizards; they didn't have the influence to warrant Silver Ring Fortress issuing such an order.

However, Samuel seemed somewhat worried: "Perhaps so, but we'll have to go to the camp to find out."

“But I’m a little worried about the Golden Thorn apprentices. If we both leave the watchtower, they’ll have to rely on themselves.”

"The Gray Forest Ruins are no longer dangerous, so there's no need to worry."

“Besides, they’ll all have to go through this day eventually,” Lynn comforted them.

Samuel nodded, then edited another message and sent it to Horsens, who was far away in Silver Ring City.

The message wouldn't actually reach Horsens for another two days, so Samuel couldn't get a reply yet.

"Let's go. We can't easily disobey the academy's orders. Let's tell the apprentices we should head over," Lynn urged.

Samuel nodded, and the two went together to the outside of the watchtower to gather the Golden Thorn apprentices.

After a brief explanation, the two headed to Camp 16 amidst the apprentices' reluctant gazes.

Since the specifics of the cleanup mission were still unknown, Lynn boarded the Black Falcon just in case.

After all, if they are unable to pilot the Black Falcon during a mission, they can dock at the camp.

But if he were to be able to pilot the Black Falcon then, Lynn might not have the time to come back and retrieve it.

The Black Falcon was fast, but unfortunately, it required identity verification at every watchtower it passed. After all this trouble, by the time Lynn and his companion arrived at Camp 16, an hour had passed since they received the notification.

The Black Falcon landed slowly in an open space. Lynn noticed that there were quite a few wizards gathered in the camp, and they all seemed to be formal wizards.

This put his mind at ease.

'As expected, this mission isn't just for Samuel and me; it's open to a wider range of formal wizards.'

Moreover, Lynn had a feeling that this order should be directed at all the official wizards stationed at the Graywood Ruins.

Otherwise, there's no reason why wizards like them, who should be the lowest priority, would be selected.

Lynn and his companion didn't know anyone here, nor did they see Seifert, who had greeted them when they first arrived. They eventually learned from a few wizards that they needed to wait in line to be assigned tasks.

'It seems that this time, Silver Ring Academy's order is not only wide-ranging but also extremely urgent; otherwise, there wouldn't be such chaos now, with not even a wizard in charge of guiding and maintaining order.'

The two joined the queue and waited for about half an hour before finally entering the office.

In the office, the second-tier wizard from Silver Ring Academy, who was stationed at the camp, sat in the main seat, with two first-tier wizards sitting on either side of him.

The first-tier wizard on the left is a familiar face to Lynn and his companion—Siefors.

Siphus saw them, but his gaze quickly averted, his eyes fixed on his nose and his mind.

Samuel was slightly taken aback, but Lynn felt a chill run down his spine, realizing that this mission was not to be underestimated.

The second-tier Silver Ring Academy wizard in the main seat had a cold expression and said indifferently, "The specific areas and tasks for this cleanup mission will be determined by drawing lots, so you don't need to ask any more questions. The details will be explained when you receive your mission crystals later."

Since even second-tier wizards said so, Lynn and Samuel had no other choice but to step forward and prepare to draw the quest crystal.

At this moment, the second-tier wizard reminded them again: "If you want to be assigned the same task, you only need to send one person forward to draw the answer."

In order to maximize the wizards' combat power, although the mission content was determined by drawing lots, wizards who knew each other could draw lots together. In this way, most of the cleaning teams that carried out the mission knew each other and could cooperate better.

Lynn and Samuel exchanged a glance, then stepped forward.

In front of the main seat was a huge wooden box filled with a large number of crystals, each corresponding to a task.

Lynn randomly picked an ordinary crystal.

The second-tier wizard nodded and waved his hand gently.

Lynn obediently stayed where he was and waited.

However, after a moment, nothing happened. Just as Lynn looked up in confusion, he heard the second-tier wizard say:

"It seems your luck wasn't very good. There wasn't another crystal for the same task in the crystal pool, and you drew the last crystal for that task."

Lynn understood what the second-tier wizard meant. This operation might involve several crystals for each different task, which the wizard would randomly draw.

He had just drawn the last one; if it hadn't been the last one, the second-tier wizard would have given Samuel another crystal.

But now, Lynn is forced to separate from Samuel.

"Alright, leave after you've finished drawing. Don't delay the wizards coming in later," the second-tier wizard urged.

Lynn nodded, glanced at Samuel, and could only turn and leave.

Upon arriving outside the office, Lynn looked at the mission crystal in his hand and slowly probed it with his mind.

A detailed message was immediately transmitted.

After a short while, Lynn finally had a detailed understanding of the cleaning task.

As the name suggests, the purpose of this cleaning task is to clean.

As for the targets of the cleanup, they are certainly not things like dust, but rather—mutated creatures, energy turbulence, and so on.

'I never imagined that the gray-white cataclysm would lead to the emergence of a large number of mutated creatures in the Gray Forest Ruins…'

Lynn was somewhat shocked.

According to the instructions in the crystal, these mutated creatures appeared suddenly yesterday without any prior warning. Most of them are ghostly spirits, while a small number are corrupt monsters.

However, neither spirits nor rotten monsters have any fatal weaknesses; they can only be worn down little by little, making them extremely difficult to deal with.

As for why the Silver Ring Academy believes these anomalies are caused by the previous Gray-White Catastrophe, rather than new anomalies appearing in the Graywood Ruins themselves, the quest crystal does not provide an explanation.

After Lynn finished looking at them, Samuel also finished drawing his crystal and came out. He looked at Lynn and gave a wry smile:
“I’ve been assigned to Squad 18, responsible for an area on the southeast side of the Graywood Ruins. What about you, Lynn?”

“Number 6, the area northwest of the Graywood Ruins,” Lynn replied, shaking his head. “Looks like we happen to be the furthest away.”

At this moment, the crystal in Lynn's hand recognized that everyone had arrived and sent a message to gather.

"I should go," Lynn said.

"Alright," Samuel sighed. "Take care."

"You too."

Following the direction indicated by the crystal, Lynn headed to the open space on the east side of the camp to assemble.

When he arrived, a number of formal wizards had already gathered there, and many of them were using magic to create conspicuous team markings.

Lynn searched around but couldn't find number 6.

'Could it be at another camp? But that's impossible; tasks assigned to each camp should be accepted by the wizards within that camp's area.'

Just as Lynn was wondering, in the left corner, a tall male wizard slowly raised his hand, and a dazzling white light shone above it, then stretched into the shape of the number 6.

Lynn paused for a moment, then walked over.

"Are you also in team number 6?" The tall male wizard asked as he approached, his tone neither cold nor enthusiastic.

“That’s right.” Lynn nodded, glancing at the two wizards beside the male wizard, and introduced himself, “Lynn Kent, a first-tier intermediate wizard of the Horsens School.”

Two other wizards, a man and a woman, stood beside the tall male wizard, behaving intimately.

“Weis Lenner, a first-tier high-ranking wizard of the McKinley School.” The tall wizard forced a smile. He had beautiful blond hair, but his skin was very pale, and his smile at this moment was rather eerie.

After introducing himself, the tall male wizard pointed to the two wizards beside him and introduced them: "Vian Troy, a first-tier intermediate wizard, and Chalt Cutter, a first-tier advanced wizard. They, like me, come from the McKinley School."

Lin En nodded to the two men, giving them a friendly greeting, but inwardly he remained vigilant.

'The three of them actually come from the same school... the McKinley School, which seems to be the same school the apprentices from Tower 16-7 belonged to.'

This is not good news for Lynn. The team is now clearly in a 3-to-1 situation, and if danger comes, he will be the first to be abandoned.

“Now that we’re all here, let’s board the airship first,” Weiss said with a smile. Perhaps worried that Lynn might not understand, he explained, “Although the location of this mission isn’t too far away—we can fly there in half a day—there will be layers of checks along the way. To avoid trouble, we will all travel to the mission location together by airship.”

"However, you can go to the mission location yourself if you wish, or even by airship. But you will have to apply for the necessary permits along the way and ensure that you arrive at the mission location within the specified time limit."

“Okay.” Lynn nodded.

'It seems the Black Falcon will have to remain here for now.'

However, that's alright, since their mission this time is to eliminate anomalies, and the Black Falcon isn't of much use. Lynn brought it along mainly because he didn't know the specific mission details at the time, and it was just a precaution.

The group boarded the airship together, with Weiss leading the way and Lynn following at the very back.

The witch Vivian in the middle glanced back at him subtly, a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

However, the witch didn't ask anything, and Lynn pretended not to see it, silently following behind.

The airship used to transport the official wizards this time was not large, with a full load of only 40 people, which could probably fit 10 small teams.

In principle, once the container is full, it will set off, transporting different teams of wizards one by one in order of distance.

When Lynn and his three companions boarded the airship, it was only half full, so it seemed they would have to wait a while.

The airship had four seats per row, with two rows on each side and an aisle in the middle. Lynn and his three companions found a row at the back and sat together.

Lynn sat next to Weiss on the left, near the aisle, while Vivian and Charles sat on her right, leaving Lynn sandwiched in the middle.

Lynn didn't like the position, but since he was the last one to walk, the three wizards from the McKinley School had reserved this position for him.

After he sat down, Weiss cleared his throat and said in a deep voice:
"Next, we will need to carry out a dangerous extermination mission together, so we should have a preliminary understanding of each other before the mission is officially launched to facilitate cooperation."

"What do you think?"

“Senior Weiss is right.” Vivian was the first to answer. This witch could only be described as pretty, but her skin was exceptionally fair, and she had a beauty mark at the corner of her mouth. At this moment, her smile was particularly sweet.

“I have no objection,” Chalt was the second to agree.

Weiss nodded and looked at Lynn.

Lynn frowned slightly, but nodded calmly on the surface: "It is necessary to have a preliminary understanding."

Just as Lynn had predicted, he was at a significant disadvantage in the current team.

Although Weiss's suggestion was not problematic, the feeling of having no other choice was still unsettling.

“Very well, I’ll go first.” Weiss nodded and said, “I am a wizard who cultivates both body and mind. I am skilled in force field magic, have strong physical healing abilities, and have excellent defensive capabilities.”

“I’m skilled in mental magic and know a little about evocation magic, but I’m not proficient in it. I’m afraid we can only rely on you this time,” Vivian replied second, her expression pitiful.

“Don’t worry, with Lord Weiss and me here, you can focus on protecting us from mental attacks from behind,” Chartreau said with a smile, his fiery red hair trembling. He then introduced himself, “I am skilled in Evocation magic, especially fire and lightning types.”

Now that the three of them had finished their introductions, they all looked at Lynn.

Lynn no longer maintained his calm expression, and his face showed just the right amount of embarrassment: "I have only recently been promoted to a first-level intermediate wizard. I know a little lightning magic in terms of attack... well, but I am very proficient in flight magic."

The three McKinley wizards fell silent.

After a moment, Weiss laughed heartily: "It's alright, at least you are a first-tier intermediate wizard! All things considered, we are still much stronger than those teams that are all first-tier beginner wizards!"

Lynn smiled in agreement.

By this time, the cabin was already full.

After an announcement, accompanied by a slight sway of the seats, the airship slowly ascended into the air.

(End of this chapter)