Dear Broom Knight.

Chapter 1102: Share the joys and the sorrows
Penelope pursed her lips and replied expressionlessly, "He probably has something to do tonight and needs to go out alone."

If even the Ice Tree is afraid of something, then other animals on the iceberg would probably be afraid of it too.

Except for the ice dogs.

The ice dog, despite its keen sense of smell and understanding that the scent was left by a powerful enemy, still ate it!
They'd probably even find it delicious.

Since it's not very bright to begin with, Ice Dog would definitely choose food over enemies.

Therefore, people who sneak out with this thing are definitely not afraid of ice dogs.

Mar understood: "That's normal."

There could be problems even among the knights! The squires are a prime example.

In other words, it's about the entangled life of the North and the Church of Ice.

No matter how loudly the Storm Church shouted its slogans or how terrible the consequences it predicted, it could not stop the Northerners from flocking to the Ice Church.

After all, even the weakest Ice Cultists can live a normal life in the icy wilderness.

Not being afraid of the cold is the biggest advantage, and it also prevents it from being ambushed by the most annoying ice dogs in the North.

Although the Northmen's lives have improved considerably in recent decades thanks to Lori's presence, it's really just a few earls' territories.

The commoners living in small territories were impoverished and isolated from news. If they also had a 'traditional' lord, they would still be just as poor and hard-working.

And the biggest wish of such people is to enable their children to go out into the world.

Ironically, they are the ones who find it hardest to overcome the limitation of talent.

For such people, the existence of the Church of Ice is like that of a savior.

Even now, during this truce, one of the key tasks for both the Hamilton and Montes Counties is to identify and mark the 'Frost' Knights within their own knightly orders.

Yes, it's just labeled, no refund will be issued.

The North has become accustomed to using these special knights over the years.

These Ice Knights are quite useful as long as they are not allowed to enter the upper echelons of power.

Especially when patrolling in winter.

The Northern Kingdom actually tacitly accepted this, otherwise families like Baron Watson wouldn't have received territories.

Since it can't be eradicated anyway, it's a tradition of the northern people to make good use of it.

Therefore, Penelope and Mar had no interest in pursuing the fact that they had discovered an intelligence agent from the Church of Ice.

All I can do is wish that knight with such discerning eyes well on... that knight is definitely fine.

The Church of Ice has a simple set of values.

If the knight himself is a believer in ice, then his retinue would certainly not include anyone who needs to go out and make contact.

Let the Knights handle it.

It saves time and effort, and doesn't require wasting another person's breath.

They even prefer to send assassins precisely to the right place... even after suffering countless failures over the years because of this, they refuse to change.

In Luscania's words, the Lord of Ice has the values ​​of a dragon at heart, and he won't pay an extra penny.

His followers either lose money themselves or risk their lives.

Most followers of the Ice Cult choose the latter.

After all, most of them are people who are used to being poor.

As for those nobles of the Ice Plains... aren't they poor too?
Many disputes between nobles in the Ice Plains, when brought to the Northern Kingdom, would elicit the same question: "Is it all because of this thing?"

But they have to fight and compete.

Therefore, discussing the hierarchical relationship among Ice Cultists is meaningless... just as there's no need to discuss why there's an Ice Cultist in a key defense area.

Penelope couldn't possibly delve into how that guy got that piece of dragon dung... She couldn't very well ask Bolaños if he had taken care of some livelihood issues along the way when he went fishing in the Ice Highlands all those years ago.
The only solution is to pretend this never happened.

Didn't you see that Lowry watched the commotion for so long but didn't say a word?
-
Penelope returned to her post.

This time, whatever she found, she obediently kept it to herself... and absolutely did not offer any comment.

Mikhail also began to make discoveries.

But after the tragic outcome of his first collectible, he simply put it away quietly.

Of course, the two children tacitly took out their long-unused first-generation storage rings to store these hidden items.
-
"You're back so soon?" Antirochus asked curiously. "You look like you've learned a lot! You're exhausted."

What happened to Pepe?

“The lips of misfortune have opened once more,” Mikhail replied calmly. “She is reaping the bitter fruits of her own actions.”

Antirochus took a small step back.

Euphemia, who followed him into the reception room, immediately slipped out the door.

"What do you mean?" Penelope, who was sprawled on the sofa, sat up angrily. "I've already had my share of bad luck!"

“Pepe, this isn’t my fault.” Euphemia poked her head out from the doorway. “Every time you have bad luck, you’re filled with resentment, and then you bring that bad luck to the people around you.”

What did you and Mikhail bring back?

Has it not been turned on yet?

Dear Peipei... I have things to do, tomorrow, no... after..."

“Now, take them apart!” Penelope opened her silver bracelet, and a bunch of small boxes fell out. “You’re not allowed to leave! Otherwise, I’ll take them all apart!” Antirochus looked at them in confusion: “What are all these things? There’s not a trace of magical energy in them, why did you bring them back?”

Mikhail replied with a sincere expression, "Lorry made us dismantle an apprentice-level building, the kind with the protective magic array that he dismantled first."

This is something that knights and squires throughout history would rather dig a hole in a three-meter-thick stone wall to hide, so it should have some value.

Mal and Komran didn't compete with us for it, they both..."

He opened his bracelet and took out a bunch of boxes: "They're all here."

"Where is Mage Lori?" Antirochus asked after a few seconds of silence.

“He was demolishing the main building.” Mikhail suddenly looked up and sighed. “At first, I could understand a little bit, but later all I could do was feel dizzy and disoriented.”

“He’s really dizzy,” Penelope added. “Lorry had clearly warned him that the magic circle was at an advanced stage and that his mental strength level was definitely not up to par, and told him not to force himself, but he insisted on looking at it with all his might.”

Then she fainted, vomiting all over the floor before she did.

Mikhail said nonchalantly, "But my mental strength has also improved a lot as a result."

“Lorraine specifically warned him that this kind of thing couldn’t happen often, or it would cause a mental shock.” Penelope gave her brother an extremely forceful eye roll.

Antirochus sighed, "Unfortunately, I failed Mage Lori's test."

Before Lowry went to the Great Cliff, she actually gave him a chance.

Mikhail and Penelope were just there as accessories, mainly to broaden their horizons.

But if it were Antirochus, Lowry would follow the rules exactly.

Antirochus and a number of other mid-level mages, who were exclusive to their respective territories, were sent into a special dimensional space from which only those who passed a series of trials could emerge.

The result was obvious: none of them succeeded.

The only thing to be happy about is that he's still the one who went the furthest.

"What did you take the test for?" Penelope asked, intrigued.

Antirochus smiled: "From mastering spell runes to identifying and drawing magic circles, and the precise control of mental and magical power."

Unfortunately, I was still a little short.

Master Lowry said my use of magic was still too crude.

Combat is no problem; I understand how to allocate my mana fairly well.

But it's not subtle enough.

"I'm still a bit short of being able to learn how to draw advanced magic circles."

Antirochus was not too disappointed by this.

He was well aware of his weaknesses.

His magical power distribution is stable and meticulous because he once had to suppress his identity as a nature mage.

He is a nature mage who awakened innately, not the kind who was chosen by magical plants to awaken... which means that he can form contracts with most magical plants.

Those naturalists who cultivate the fruit tree of life in the Earth Church are like him.

The benefit of making a contract with these magical plants is eternal youth and powerful regenerative abilities.

Of course, there are downsides too... The more powerful the magical plant, the harder it is for it to break free from the earth's constraints.

In other words, no matter how much power Antirochus gains, he can only be a fruit farmer for the rest of his life.

Antirochus couldn't do it.

Therefore, he had to do everything he could to suppress his magical energy fluctuations to almost nothing.

To achieve this, one must not suppress the magic power within the flesh and blood; one must find a way to allow the magic power to circulate repeatedly within the internal organs.

Of course, he also had to refrain from meditating and from allowing his magical power to continue to grow.

He did indeed blend into the crowd, and finally walked out of the castle openly and honestly.

However, this also made his control over magic too unique.

Just as Master Lowry said, when you have a clear and precise command of your magic, you can naturally cast spells with ease.

However, the accuracy is insufficient.

High-level magic arrays often require drawing runes within magic channels thinner than a hair, and he couldn't yet divide his magic power into such fine strands.

But Antirochus was not in a hurry at all.

Master Lowry didn't just ask questions; he also provided methods for cultivation... and because he was the one who traveled the farthest, he specially opened the alchemy laboratory in the castle to him.

There are tools there specifically designed for training people to split mana into threads.

Antirochus was extremely satisfied... This was exactly the kind of life he wanted.

In particular, the mage Lowry put him on the same starting line as the other castle mages.

This is what it means to really want to make good use of him... Parachuting in a leader is not a special case; as long as he is stronger than everyone else, there is no problem.

Having connections with lords and possessing sufficient strength naturally makes one acceptable to most people.

The rest is up to him to see how he handles it.

Penelope glanced at him, then at Euphemia who had already sat down next to her, and said nothing more. She simply lowered her head and picked up a box to open it.

(End of this chapter)