Wizard: Starting with Dealing with Magical Plants

Chapter 291 Heading to the Sunken Land

Only after returning to the relatively quiet alleyway of their hideout did Ellie dare to speak softly: "Mr. Rowling, that thing just now—"

""

"It's the remains of a secondary Arbiter or a similar model." Rowling continued walking. "Its state is extremely unstable, and its internal logic is chaotic."

"I used the weak link I marked to give it a very simple instruction to put it to sleep temporarily."

"But this is only a temporary measure."

"Then let's bring it back—"

"Bruno needs active fragments of his own kind," Rolin said. "Although this arm is only slightly active, it does retain some vitality, and its internal structure and runes are relatively intact."

"Perhaps it could be used as material to make jammers."

"However, how to use it safely is a problem."

Ellie nodded, seemingly understanding, and then asked, "The goblin said it was from the battlefield on the edge of the Ash Belt—"

Are there many of these there?

"Possibly." Rowling frowned slightly. "The Ash Belt—that doesn't sound like a friendly place."

"However, this at least shows that what we need is not entirely untraceable."

Back in the room, Baha flew down from the beam and landed on Rolin's shoulder, gently nuzzling his cheek as if asking what had happened.

Lorin stroked its feathers to indicate that everything was alright.

He took out the metal storage box, placed it on the table, and did not open it immediately.

Instead, he first sat cross-legged, circulated his star power, and carefully checked the markings on his wrist and his own condition.

Only after confirming that no hidden dangers had been left behind did he reopen his eyes.

"Ellie, get ready, we're going to Rust and Spark." Rowling decided to strike while the iron was hot.

The metal arm's activity could completely dissipate at any time, so Bruno must be shown it as soon as possible.

Ellie nodded immediately.

The two went out again, this time heading straight for the dwarf blacksmith's shop.

Pushing open the heavy iron door, the heat and clanging sounds remained the same.

Bruno was sharpening a newly quenched scimitar when he looked up and saw Rolin and his companion returning. He said gruffly, "Why are you back again? Did you find the materials?"

"Maybe." Rowling placed the metal containment box on his workbench. "I just found it at the market. Take a look."

Bruno put down his work, picked up the containment box, examined the runes on it through the crystal lens with his one eye, and then listened to it, although he couldn't hear anything through the box.

He opened the box.

The dark gold metal arm lay quietly on the soft velvet lining inside the box, its lines faded and motionless.

Bruno frowned immediately, his fingers hovering above his arm, not touching it directly, but carefully observing the fracture, texture, and material.

"Is this... the Judge series?"

"No, the details of the patterns are slightly different—damn it, who knows what these ancient model names are all about?"

"It looks like it's from a different period than the previous fragments; it's a bit more recent."

He took out the brass compass from before and held it above his arm.

The compass needle vibrated slightly, pointing toward the arm, but the amplitude was very small.

"Activity—so weak it's practically nonexistent."

"Are you sure it just moved?"

"It moved a few times and even tried to establish a mental connection," Rolin briefly described what had just happened. "I used a mark to give it a silence command, and that's when it became like this."

Bruno's one eye suddenly widened as he looked at Rolin: "You connected with it using your own mark? And even gave it commands?"

"You've got some nerve, kid!"

"This thing has a chaotic internal logic; one wrong move and it could trigger a self-destruct protocol or cause reverse erosion!"

"There weren't better options at the time," Rowling said calmly. "How's it now? Can it be used as a jammer?"

Bruno then spent a long time fiddling with his arm, carefully examining every detail with a magnifying glass, and testing the energy residue and rune integrity with several different detection tools.

Finally, stroking his red beard, he pondered, "It has some activity, but it's too weak and very unstable."

"Using it directly as a core material is too risky; the success rate is probably less than 30%. However—"

He paused, a glint of light flashing in his eyes: "If we can find something to power it, or stabilize its internal energy circuits, making its activity slightly stronger and more stable, then it will be usable."

"Furthermore, because you had a brief connection with it and gave it instructions, the jammer it made might be more targeted at the mark on your wrist."

"Charging? Stabilizing?" Roland immediately thought of the milky-white pebbles in his arms. "What do we use?"

"A high-purity stabilizer of order attributes, or—a fragment of a higher-level energy core of the same origin," Bruno said. "The former is hard to find, the latter is even harder."

"But didn't you mention before that you sensed similar energy fluctuations in a certain place?"

"If there are similar, more stable fragments of energy available, perhaps we could give it a try."

Roland recalled the dark golden light deep within the gray fog depression.

The fluctuations of that thing were indeed much more advanced and stable than those of this severed arm.

But it is also clearly more dangerous there.

"I understand." Rowling nodded. "You can keep this arm for now and do as much research as you can."

"I need to leave the town for a few days."

Bruno looked at him: "To the edge of the Ash Belt? Or somewhere else where you sensed the fluctuations?"

"Kid, let me warn you, none of these ancient artifacts are buried in any place that isn't dangerous."

"Your injury is only about 70-80% healed."

"I'll be careful," Rowling said. "I'm leaving this to you until I get back."

"We'll discuss the compensation when I get back."

Bruno waved his hand: "Alright, alright, just put it here."

"I'm also interested in this thing itself."

"But let me make this clear from the start: if you don't come back, this thing will become my research material."

Without saying anything more, Rowling left the blacksmith shop with Ellie.

Back in their room, Rowling closed the door, set up some simple soundproofing and warning runes, and then said to Ellie, "Get ready, we might be leaving town for a few days."

Ellie asked nervously, "Where are we going? Is it dangerous?"

"Let's verify some information." Rowling took out the map Morpheus had given him and spread it out on the table.

Pointing his finger towards the southwest of the sunken town, he saw the edge of an area marked in dark red and labeled "Ash Belt (High Risk)".

"Let's go here first, to the land of the sunken corpses."

"Let's see if the energy eruption phenomenon that the herb gatherer mentioned earlier is related to what we need."

His finger then moved northwest, to the gray fog depression area marked "unknown, extremely dangerous".

"If there's no harvest at the wreck site, or the harvest isn't enough, the next step might be to go here."

"I sensed a stronger homologous wave there before."

Ellie looked at the two alarming marks on the map, her face paling slightly, but she quickly nodded firmly: "I'll go with you."

“This time it’s different.” Rowling looked at her. “The edge of the Ash Belt and the Ash Fog Depression are much harsher and more dangerous than the outer edge of the swamp we crossed before.”

"Although my injuries have mostly healed, I may not be able to completely protect you if we encounter a strong enemy."

"Furthermore, someone in the town needs to be there to provide support and keep an eye on things."

Ellie panicked: "But—"

"Let me finish," Rowling raised his hand to stop her. "You have a few things to do while you stay in town."

"First, continue cultivating and improve your strength as soon as possible."

Second, keep an eye out for news from markets and taverns, especially any information about the Ash Belt, ancient ruins, energy anomalies, and the Secret Council supply ships.

Third, if the Morpheus administrator or the old mole asks about my whereabouts, I will say that I am collecting some special swamp materials nearby, which will take a few days.

Do not disclose the specific location.

He paused, then softened his tone: "This isn't about abandoning you, it's about dividing the work."

"I need someone reliable who can keep an eye on things and pass on messages for me in the town."

"With your current skills and experience, you should be able to handle the environment of a small town, as long as you are careful enough."

"Moreover, with Duan Yu and Lan Yu by your side, they can also warn you or call for help in case of an emergency."

Ellie bit her lip, her eyes filled with reluctance and worry, but she knew Rowling was right. With her current strength, going to such a dangerous place might really make her a burden.

"—I understand." She finally lowered her head, her voice somewhat muffled. "I will stay here and do what you asked me to do. You—must be careful."

"I will." Rowling patted her shoulder. "This trip will take at least three or four days, and at most six or seven days."

"If I haven't returned in more than ten days—" He paused for a moment, "then you should leave with the Secret Language Council's supply ship, go to the Dustwind Plains, and find the Secret Language Council."

"Take this letter with you."

He took out a pre-prepared letter sealed with sealing wax from his dimensional bag and handed it to Ellie.

"If I really don't come back, give this letter to the Secret Language Council. They might give you a place to stay because of the information you brought."

Ellie took the letter, her fingers trembling slightly, her eyes reddening, but she forced back her tears and nodded vigorously: "You will definitely come back!"

Luo Lin didn't say anything more and began to quickly pack his things.

He left most of the supplies to Ellie, taking only the necessary weapons, medicines, a small amount of high-energy food and water, the milky white pebble, a few energy crystals, and the map for himself.

The metal containment box remained with Bruno.

After he was fully prepared, he did a final check on his equipment and condition.

"I'm leaving. Lock the door, and don't open it for anyone except Old Mole and Morpheus's men."

"You can go to the market and tavern during the day, but you must be back before dark."

"If you encounter any trouble, go to Morpheus," Rowling instructed.

"Yes!" Ellie nodded emphatically.

Luo Lin glanced at her and the two rainbow-feathered birds one last time, then pushed open the door and left, his figure quickly disappearing into the shadows of the dim alleyway.