What's wrong with me, a mage, loving to farm?

Chapter 299. The Genie with Five Bones, Friendship Ivy

Lopas was indeed very, very shocked.

He had considered that his bard friend might be a descendant of some prominent family, sent out to broaden his horizons.

Hmm... this is acceptable.

After all, if you throw a stone randomly at the training camp on Hanjiao Island, you'll hit nine and a half out of ten children who are descendants of high-ranking nobles from the Kingdom of Norland.

Nobles are not a rare species in Kroa at all.

But he never expected it to be Duke Hanjiao himself!

He hesitated for a moment, then controlled the golem to kneel down respectfully: "Your Grace, Duke!"

It's only because this golem can withstand his difficult movements that it would break down on the spot. Any other golem would have definitely broken down on the spot.

"I know my identity might put pressure on you." Kroya gestured for him to stand up. "I'll give you a job in the Golem Management Office, and also give you access to the Golem Modification and Parts Warehouse."

Don't be fooled by the fact that this is just a basic engineering golem; if you want to further modify it, it could even become a diamond golem.

The golems on Hanjiao Island are based on the Holy Spring Merchant Guild and inspired by the research on Mia's World Tree spirit body, so they have plenty of room for upgrades.

By simply adding parts and drawing magic runes, even a golem used for farming can instantly transform into a war golem that fires magic missiles—this is one of Kroya's clever little ideas.

If war were to ever spread to his territory, he could simply modify tens of thousands of engineering golems and immediately summon an army.

This is how soldiers are hidden among the people.

After hearing Kroa's words, Lopas was so moved that he wanted to cry, but since he was inside the golem, he could only shed mana liquid if he cried.

After explaining the position he was giving to Ropas, Kroya looked at the golem and suddenly asked curiously, "Don't you feel a little disappointed? After all, even if you didn't join the golem, I should have given you a future."

"Now you can't feel the warmth of the sun and rain, nor enjoy the gentle breeze and light snow. You're forever trapped inside the golem. Even if you're incredibly powerful, don't you feel a little resentful?"

"Of course not!" Lopas's voice boomed through the golem's loudspeaker. "I'm very happy! And I should be able to live a very, very long time."

Kroya nodded: "Then I'll give you your first task: get to the Golem Factory at the Coral Base on Reef Island before sunset. There, I have a gift for you."

Remember, you must arrive before sunset, or there won't be any left!

Although Lopas didn't know what gift Kroa was going to give him, he immediately started running, the giant golem covering dozens of meters with each step.

Running fast in the sunlight.

No one stopped him along the way; in fact, some adorable elves even cast spells on him to help him run faster.

With the help of the elves, he quickly reached his destination.

It underwent a second modification at the Platinum Bubble Golem Factory in the Air Coral Base.

The once enormous golem was shrunk to the height of a person, and its metallic shell was transformed into human-like skin, with magical runes hidden beneath it, from which flowed a continuous stream of magical power.

A gentle breeze and ocean vapor surrounded him, making him feel cool and comfortable.

"..." Ropas looked completely stunned.

Before this, he could never have imagined that there were such special golems that were completely indistinguishable from real people, yet could instantly transform into giant golems.

Samir, the manager of the golem factory, looked at him with satisfaction.

"This is a golem personally made by Lady Miya."

"From now on, you can enjoy delicious food and gentle breezes, and you can enjoy everything that humans can enjoy."

When necessary, you can simply activate your magic to transform into a golem and crush everything with your power.

But Mr. Lopas, this golem is of immense value. Your future, until the very end, will be dedicated to the Isle of Reef and to the great Lord Kroya.

There are some things that Chloe won't say and doesn't care about, but Samir has to make things clear.

The cost of this golem was something even he found hard to accept.

The golem's outer shell is made entirely of the most magically potent bark from the simulated magic tree, the internal solution is deep blue marrow purchased from the Holy Spring Merchant Guild, and even the materials used to depict the magic runes are high-purity arcane.

As for the materials used in those cores, even Samir couldn't recognize them, only feeling terrified by the immense magical power emanating from them.

This golem can contain all the materials of golems, can shrink, and can provide the same perception of sound, temperature, and taste as humans, which is truly a miracle.

So much so that once this golem was made, it became the treasure of the entire golem factory. Countless apprentices worked overtime every day just to be able to oil and dust this golem. Unexpectedly, it was taken away by this unknown kid.

Samir will definitely give Ropas a good beating.

Ropas, perhaps sensing the "killing intent" emanating from Samir, trembled and quickly made a promise.

"Lord Kroya gave me this opportunity! I will never betray him!"

Samir nodded after hearing his sincerity.

There's still a whole host of tests waiting for Ropas to do.

……

the other side.

Since she had already taken leave, it would be a waste for her to go back to work, so Kroya wandered around aimlessly until she came to a village.

He stood at the entrance to the village, looking at the drawing in his hand.

Five faint lights were shimmering above—this meant that there were crystal skeletons here, and five of them at that.

According to the goddess of the underworld, the deeper the suffering, the more special the remains obtained when they are finally ended, and there is even a possibility of directly obtaining powerful strength similar to that of a chosen one of the gods.

Kroya was speechless. Although he had arranged for people to search, this place was said to be the most special, so he had to come in person.

He put the drawing away and muttered to himself:

"What are the effects of the crystal skeletons in this village?" he asked, before stepping directly into the village.

His attire was, of course, still that simple, even somewhat shabby, bard's outfit, with the yellow duck that the Merlion Sea Duck King had transformed into following him.

His arrival quickly alerted the villagers.

The first to run out was the village chief. Although he wasn't the governor sent from Hanjiao Island, he had received some training.

The young village chief, seeing Chloe dressed as a bard, asked curiously, "Sir bard, what brings you to our village?"

"I've just arrived in the West and I'm a bit tired. I'd like to exchange a song for some food. Is that alright?" Kroya said with a smile.

"Of course!" The village chief nodded immediately. Because of Kroya, the bards held a very high status in the North and the West, which had already been occupied.

Moreover, with a bard willing to play beautiful music, life should become much more pleasant.

So he quickly gathered the villagers together and arranged a stage for Cloa to perform. The villagers stared intently, waiting for Cloa to start her performance.

Kroya glanced down below and gently plucked the strings.

A song called "The Breeze of a Dream in the Forest," from the Elven race, flowed from his slender fingers, truly like a dreamlike breeze wandering through the crowd.

The elven folk tunes were elegant and gentle, perfectly suited to the increasingly leisurely life and daily routines of the villagers, who listened with rapt attention.

As the music gradually subsided, they erupted in thunderous cheers—

"It sounds great!"

"marvelous!"

Thank you for your performance!

Faced with their sincere gratitude and cheers, Kroya smiled happily. His gaze swept over the group, and he already had a plan in mind.

To bring together five crystal skeletons in one family... just how much suffering must have been ended to achieve that?

After finishing her performance, Cloa was naturally invited into the house to be entertained, and the food served was all crops produced in the western mountains and forests.

Although it's simple, the taste is pretty good.

The powerful magic gave Kroya an extremely strong digestive ability, so even if she ate more than a dozen meals a day, she would not feel full, and thus she could eat more delicious food.

He enjoyed the afternoon tea to the fullest, then feigned curiosity and asked, "Mr. Village Chief, when I was playing just now, I seemed to sense a magical fluctuation in the village..."

Before the village chief could show any wariness, he showed him a card branded with a sun pattern, and the chief's expression almost immediately became respectful.

That card represented official Northern certification; although it wasn't a particularly high-ranking one, it was enough for a minor village chief.

The village chief organized his thoughts and explained, "There is a family in the village who seem to have obtained some kind of magical artifact that allows them to make wishes, and any wish can be fulfilled."

I've already reported this to the Western Border Management Office. Thank goodness you came; otherwise, I really wouldn't know how to resolve it.

Uh... so they thought I was from the Western Border Management Office.

Just as Kroya was about to say something, someone knocked on the door, and then a tall woman walked in, exuding a dignified aura, like a female warrior.

"I am Jessica from the Western Border Administration," the woman introduced herself. "I've been ordered to handle what's happening in your village."

She spoke crisply and decisively, as if she were about to say, "Where, how many?"

Then, the village chief wore a look that was hard to describe.

He looked at Chloe and then at Jessica, completely at a loss for words.

Jessica then realized what was happening, reached out and gripped her staff, completely disregarding Chloe Adam as some kind of dangerous person.

"..."

Kroya sighed silently and had no choice but to take out another card.

This time, however, they produced an identity card from the Hanjiao Island Management Office, which is equivalent to the superior of the Western Border Management Office.

With this card, Jessica's previously tense expression immediately disappeared, and she expressed her willingness to assist Chloe in completely resolving the matter.

Kroya was somewhat relieved that when he came out, the Tower Spirit had given him a copy of all the identity cards for all the positions he held in the Northern Territory from childhood to adulthood, otherwise it would have been quite troublesome.

"Village chief, please tell me in detail what exactly happened."

Since she wanted to appear as a professional, Kroya naturally put on an air of shrewdness and competence, intending to find out the details.

The village chief quickly explained the situation in detail.

It turned out that the family consisted of five children who huddled together for warmth; all of them were orphans without parents or elders.

Just a few days ago, they suddenly produced an oil lamp. All you had to do was make a wish on the lamp, and you could immediately receive either food or gold coins.

Kroya was slightly puzzled by this.

An oil lamp? Wasn't it supposed to be a magical plant? How did it turn into an oil lamp?

He became increasingly curious about the matter and used his mental energy to spread outwards, quickly finding the area where the five children were located.

Unexpectedly, just as his spiritual power was about to enter the house, it was blocked by a rather powerful magical fluctuation.

That was at least a level six magical fluctuation, otherwise he wouldn't have felt any obstruction.

What surprised him even more was that this magic was somewhat similar to the magic fluctuations in the gray desert, both belonging to the most primitive magic of the desert's scorching wind and sand.

That is, the magic before Leviathan's magic eroded the desert.

So, is this magical plant a desert magical plant?

After thinking for a moment, he simply led Jessica and the village chief to the front of the house and gently knocked on the door.

A moment later, a girl of about twelve or thirteen years old came to open the door. At first, she was very wary, but she felt a little relieved when she saw the village chief behind the two of them.

"These two are mages from the Western Territory Administration," the village chief introduced. "Aisla, take a look at that strange magical artifact in your house."

For an ordinary village chief like him, the sudden appearance of such a strange magical artifact in the village was actually quite detrimental to his work.

He urgently hoped that someone could resolve this unstable factor.

The little girl named Aisla immediately showed a joyful expression, completely unlike the resentment that Kroya had imagined of being forced to hand over something.

"Master! My brothers and sisters and I are terrified of that genie. It... it wants more and more."

As she spoke, her voice grew softer and softer, as if she were afraid of being overheard, and her body trembled.

"An evil spirit?" Jessica's expression changed, and she immediately took out her staff without hesitation, along with a scroll.

The surface of that scroll emanated a divine magic and a burning flame of love—it was a divine scroll obtained through a collaboration between Hanjiao Island and the Church of the Goddess of Love.

In the area of ​​exorcising evil spirits, the divine power of the Church of God is indeed much stronger than pure magic, making it a perfect match for their expertise.

"Calm down," Chloe reassured her, then bent down and smiled at the girl, "What does it want you to do? And what has it given you?"

The girl, Aisla, looked bitter: "It wanted us to play games with it, and it took us to a... such a strange place! It was all sand, with only a few vines growing there."

But it also gave us a lot of food... and things we'd never eaten before!

Forgive her for not being able to describe it precisely; after all, she was just an ordinary girl who couldn't understand that the area covered in sand was actually a desert.

The more I listen, the stranger it gets.

It can be taken to the desert and people can play games with it. Is it some kind of monster from another dimension?

Aisla had very little information to offer, so Chloe and Jessica discussed it briefly and then cautiously stepped into the unremarkable courtyard.

As a result, the moment I stepped into this courtyard...

The wind around them grew hot, dry and scorching, and coarse sand lashed against Kroya's cheeks.

He looked around and found himself in a golden desert. As far as the eye could see, there was only sand, and the golden grains of sand were dazzling under the sun.

This is definitely not a fantasy; we have really arrived in the desert.

Spatial transfer?

The ability of this oil lamp to perform spatial transfer so silently seems to exceed his expectations.

Hmm... why does the magic around me seem a little familiar?

He was able to remain calm, but the village chief and Jessica were utterly astonished and couldn't understand why they had suddenly appeared there.

Fortunately, they had all received training and knew that staying calm was the most important thing in this situation, so they didn't run around or do anything reckless.

They hid behind Kroya.

Kroya paid no attention to their actions, silently concealing her magic beneath the magic of the iris, which gradually spread out like a net.

This perception was significant; he actually saw tall cacti growing in the desert. Those cacti were clearly the magical plants he had researched to use to calm the magical environment of the Gray Desert!

In other words, this is a gray desert.

"Gray desert, vines..."

This coincidence instantly reminded him of something very important—the daughter of the god of wine had once said that there was a kind of ivy in the gray desert.

That was a treasure left behind by Dionysus.

After learning of this news, Kroya has been arranging for Jamie to search for it, hoping to obtain the magical plant left behind by the god, but they have not been able to find it yet.

I didn't expect to suddenly receive news like this. Does this mean we'll finally get it?

Even Kroya, whose heart was usually calm and composed, felt a little excited.

Thinking of this, he immediately increased his mental power and began a wide-area search at the limit.

Then, unsurprisingly, he saw some lush green vines growing in the desert. The name of those vines was—

"Friendship Ivy".

"You really are here... but why does the magic seem a bit disconnected?"

Although they were hidden in the magic of the desert, Kroya had long been accustomed to the magic of the desert, and with the magical plants he had planted here, locating them was a piece of cake.

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out—

"A few guests."

"Welcome to my paradise."

His voice had a childish quality, suggesting he was just a little kid.

However, before it could finish speaking, Kroa located its position and immediately played the Gopher Wood Harp. The terrifying magical fluctuations instantly drowned out the location where the sound came from.

Now, Kroa was preoccupied with obtaining the Ivy and had no interest in playing house with this guy, so he simply used half of his power.

A moment later, a pitiful creature with a gaseous lower body was brought before Kroa by the surrounding iridescent light.

Kroa looked down at it: "I hate dawdling types the most."

"Mr. Genie, is there anything you'd like to say?"

The village chief and Jessica stood there dumbfounded.

Huh? They caught him already?

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(End of this chapter)