Wizard: Starts with Advanced Meditation

The five of them walked to their destination, and since they were not familiar with each other, they hurried on their way in silence.

The academy would normally send flying magical beasts to take the apprentice teams to their respective strongholds, but with the war intensifying and the dragonborn dwarves also spewing freezing rays to kill the teams, low-level apprentice teams like Hughes's had to go on their own.

Of course, they could also rent Icehoof Horses and other magical beasts for transportation, but most of them had already been bought up by the teams ahead of them.

This place is still safe for now, and the fighting has not spread here yet, but the further they go, the closer Hughes and his men will get to the battlefield.

Every step Hughes and his group took was a measurement of the distance between the safe zone and the war zone. The surrounding trees were no longer intact as before, with charred black and ice blue intermingled at the broken ends, clearly torn apart by various forms of witchcraft.

Some trees have been carbonized into charcoal, while others have frozen into ice crystals. Even the fibers at the broken points have frozen into brittle fragments. The fallen leaves underfoot are stained dark red, and sometimes you can step on half-dried bloodstains, which are sticky and pasty among the grass leaves.

Before long, the scent of human habitation could be seen through the gaps in the woods ahead. On a wide open space, dozens of wooden houses were neatly arranged like soldiers in formation.

In the center of the open space, a fortress built of black crystal stone rose from the ground. The gray-black walls were scorched and covered with ice crystals, and a worn flag with the emblem of the Everfrost Spire fluttered at the top.

At the very edge of the stronghold, a solitary spire stands, its body constructed of dark brown rock, with a deep blue crystal embedded at its top that gleams even in the daytime—that is the residence of the resident wizard.

The group arrived at the entrance of the stronghold. They had been assigned to War Zone 5. Elena handed the squad identification to the guard apprentice at the entrance. After confirming their identities, Hughes and his group entered the stronghold.

Countless apprentice squads moved through the stronghold amidst great noise. Elena led the group to the central fortress, where squad information was processed, tasks were assigned, and strategic supplies were stored.

The group went to the front desk to register their information, and after registering, they received their room keys and left. Each room corresponded to a small team. The interior of the cabin was very spacious, with not only 5 rooms but also a fully equipped alchemy room.

The cabin has two floors, with two rooms upstairs and three rooms downstairs. Naturally, the two girls, Elena and Vivian, live upstairs, while the three boys, Hughes and his companion, live downstairs.

After some discussion, it was decided that only Hughes and Heleto had studied alchemy, so the rune room would go to Heleto, the alchemy room to Hughes, and the laboratory would be allocated on a weekly basis.

However, the rune room and laboratory are downstairs, while the Vido alchemy room is upstairs. Hughes has to tidy up two rooms. The potion room also has alchemy equipment, but Hughes prefers to use his own alchemy equipment.

After tidying up the potion room, Hughes stayed behind to study the low-grade mana potion he had received from Serafina a few days earlier, which could restore mana.

Speaking of which, Hughes remembered that his mentor was also one of the resident wizards, so it seems that Serafina is quite powerful.

……

The next day, Hughes and his team began their mission. Newly arrived squads are usually assigned to simple tasks first, without direct contact with the Frostskin Dwarves, to help them adapt to the battlefield atmosphere.

The five-person team was responsible for patrolling the Whispering Woods, which was 1 kilometer away. The Whispering Woods was inhabited by some corrupted tree spirits, and the atmosphere of the forest was rather gloomy.

Stepping into the forest, the sound of leather boots crunching over fallen leaves and broken branches is always swallowed up by a sticky silence. Perhaps it's because of the stench of decay, but unlike the Snowy Tree Forest, this place isn't covered in snow and ice.

The entire forest resembled a green cloth soaked in ink, with sunlight only able to slant into the treetops, casting scattered patches of light on the ground.

Dark brown liquid seeped from the ground—it was the "blood" of the corrupted tree spirit.

The five did not intend to split up for patrols. The Corrupted Tree Spirits were very powerful and were social creatures, so facing them alone would put them at a disadvantage.

Hughes and his companions not only had to check Whispering Wood for signs of Frostskin Dwarves, but also had to be wary of the Corrupted Dryads lurking in the shadows.

"Click—"

Before the morning mist had even dissipated, Hughes had already crushed the third piece of frosted bark with the sole of his boot, and the grass was now covered with bark.

This was the first unusual place Hughes and his men encountered during their patrol.

"Look at these trees."

Jovin pointed to several oak trees nearby, each so thick that it would take three people to encircle them. The trunks were covered with crisscrossing wounds, the deepest of which was almost big enough to fit a fist. The wounds contained semi-dried sap, which was an eerie purplish-black color.

At this moment, Vivian's role as a flower fairy came in handy. Vivian came to a well-preserved bush, from which she could see all the injured oak trees.

Vivian stretched out her slender hands, closed her eyes, and gently stroked the green leaves on the bushes with her fair fingers. After a short while, the bushes began to tremble slightly on their own.

Vivian opened her eyes, and a hint of green disappeared from them, revealing golden pupils. Her expression remained unpleasant, and she had been covering her nose with her hand throughout the patrol, as if the forest environment was not very suitable for this flower fairy.

"Several wounded frost-skinned dwarves escaped here, but the Corrupted Dryads ambushed them and took their bodies," Vivian said calmly.

Hughes walked to the vicinity of the trees. Dark brown and red blood mingled on the ground. As soon as he squatted down, a strong stench of stench and decay hit him.

Hughes took out a needle, picked up a little red blood from the ground and put it into a container, and then picked up a little dark brown blood and put it into another container.

They'll be patrolling this area for the next few days, and he wants to try making some powder to deal with the Frostskin Dwarves and Corrupted Dryads.

Potions masters can do more than just concoct potions; they can also create alchemical tools based on available materials to deal with specific situations.

Experienced potion makers not only concoct potions, but also improve or even create new potion recipes.

"Can you be sure exactly how many Frostskin Dwarves and Corrupted Dryads there are?" Elena asked.

"There are only three Frostskin Dwarves, all second-class wizard apprentices. There are four Corrupted Dryads, three second-class wizard apprentices and one first-class wizard apprentice," Vivian said definitively.

"There's a small gathering place for corrupted dryads nearby, and there should be about two more frost-skinned dwarves around as well," Elena said casually.

Hughes glanced at her curiously. Corrupted tree spirits do usually hunt for food after clearing out other creatures, but how did she determine that it was a dwarf? Could she have some kind of sensory magic?

The group continued their patrol, ignoring the corrupted tree spirits, but they had to eliminate the remaining frost-skinned dwarves that Elena had mentioned.

Soon, Hughes and his companions spotted two frost-skinned dwarves sitting in the distance.

"Does anyone speak Dwarven?" Elena asked.

It seems she's planning to find a lone dwarf and ask him for information.

Unfortunately, no one responded.