A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 84 Investigation Team

After a day's journey, Rorschach arrived at Pema, the capital of the Duchy of Württemberg, the closest major city to the Black Forest.

The standard for determining whether a city is a major city is simple: does it have a headquarters for a magic guild? If so, it's a major city.

The guilds in Pema City were also quite large. The city as a whole was relatively prosperous: it was the economic crossroads of the southwest of the empire, and it also produced horses and concentrated the rich resources of the Black Forest.

Rorschach then went to the mail room in the guild's underground area, where there were two teleportation arrays.

"This document is addressed to the Tower of the Forest. Hmm, there's no specific recipient; it's an official letter." Rorschach took out the organized materials and letter of introduction, including a map with information about Old Melson attached. "This one is addressed to the Tower of Stars, to Archmage Lionel Cano."

The staff member glanced at it and said, "Sorry, this one is overweight. You'll need to pay for two." She was referring to the one for the Forest Tower.

"Also," the other party said apologetically, pulling out a document for Luo Xia, "this is an international letter, so you need to fill out a form. We need to keep records of when and why you sent it."

Before Luo Xia could say anything, the staff member immediately explained, "You see, we're just trying to comply with the new bill. You just need to fill it out randomly, as long as you don't fill in the wrong date."

Are the guilds really abiding by the Empire's new laws? This stance surprised Rorschach, but he knew less about the magic guilds in the Empire than he did about the Kingdom's branches, and he couldn't delve into the reasons behind it.

"Do you have a portable mail reel? Something that can be used to send letters anytime."

"Yes, but the other end of the portable reel connection is fixed and requires a continuous and stable power supply. You can choose to bind it to our guild's teleportation array to ensure successful sending and receiving."

The transmission requires energy and spiritual materials. The portable reel must be bound to a "high-power host" to be effective. The portable reels cannot transmit messages to each other.

"Then please allow me to enclose another letter with the documents for the Tower of Stars."

Rorschach planned to send a letter to Kano first, guessing that the Tower of Stars should have its own teleportation address and would not need to go through the Magic Guild.

Replies from both sides arrived the following day. Knowing that Rorschach was waiting for a reply in the city, the guild staff gave him a token—a secret contract that would vibrate whenever a message required his signature.

Carnot's reply was a large parchment, but it contained only one sentence: You can buy blank mail rolls and fill the inner rings yourself with undiluted standard-concentration Tottenham ink.

So Luo Xia bought three sets in one go. This thing is very expensive. Although it is not a disposable item, once the inner ring is constructed, the bound permanent magic circle cannot be changed.

They'll have to pay more than twice, won't they? The reply from the Forest Tower also consisted of a large document, and it was delivered in two separate messages.

Back in his room, Rorschach first used [Magic Detection] to check the surroundings, confirming there were no magical reactions before examining Kano's reply scroll. Sure enough, there was a large patch of hazy magical light in the blank space, but the content was illegible.

Rorschach examined the parchment again more closely and found a line of small print on the back: If you don't know [Reading Magic], just stick your Star Tower ID card on, kid!

"Did the mentor predict all of this?" Luo Xia pulled out a card he hadn't used in a long time, and sure enough, it reacted as soon as he touched it. The contents of the spell concealment revealed that it was the core of a teleportation array, which should point to the Tower of Stars or Master Kano himself.

To ensure the replicability of the design, the pattern of the magic circle's core used a standard drafting method: blue ink was used to draw auxiliary lines, red ink was used to mark the length of each straight line, the radius of curvature of each curve, each angle and arc, and finally, the thick black solid line was the core that Rorschach would use alchemical ink to outline.

Unpleasant memories from my past life are attacking me! Luo Xia recalled the days when he stayed up all night to complete engineering drawings. He now misses CAD a bit; at least he doesn't have to hand-draw, right?

The Forest Tower's reply contained more details, including information about the dispatched investigation team members:

Alexander von Humboldt, the eighth-tier archmage leading the team; Peterson, a second-tier mage; and three apprentices.

Send a high-ranking mage directly? Luo Xia immediately understood. After all, it concerned a lost god; sending high-level combat power was the safest approach. Hmm, much more reliable than the magic tower of a certain holy kingdom.

Rorschach examined the large package sent by the Forest Tower, which contained extremely detailed information: a map of forest vegetation distribution, a map of rainfall distribution, a map of water systems and terrain. Although there was a lot of data labeled, there were still large blank areas.

Observing the entire forest, the further west you go, the more human settlements and outposts there are, while the further east you go, the less information is recorded. The vegetation is densest in the north, dominated by pine, fir, and cypress, while oak dominates in the central part, and the south is a mixture of forest and meadow, which is the pasture and horse breeding area of ​​the Duchy of Württemberg.

According to old Melson's route map, the original team should have crossed the mountain pass and ventured deep into the eastern heart of the forest. Along the way, Rorschach noticed a small house marked with an "X" on the map sent by the Forest Tower—the former elven settlement.

The following content is a long list of personal supplies that Rorschach needs to prepare before entering the forest.

"Sleeping bags, tung oil-coated tarpaulins, machetes, compasses, bandages, sugar, dried biscuits, and other nutrient-rich foods. Please make sure you bring enough warm clothing and leg wraps."

Finally, he wrote a special line: "Master Luo Xia, please trust us at the Forest Tower, you do not need to prepare herbs to prevent insect bites!"

Meet at the Magic Guild Hall in Pemaburg at 9:00 AM two days from now. Looking forward to seeing you!

It was quite thoughtful, and he even showed a little pride at the end. Luo Xia smiled knowingly after reading it. Besides these, he also needed to purchase measuring tools for drafting, compasses, and alchemy ink.

At nine o'clock, in the lobby, Rorschach immediately spotted a group of people whose main color scheme was green:

The middle-aged man at the head of the group had many decorations on his clothes and exuded an air of authority. Behind him was a young man with a high hairline and wearing round-framed glasses. Following him were two men and a woman, with the man carrying the largest and heaviest backpack.

It must be the Forest Tower team, Luo Xia concluded.

The people of the Forest Tower didn't wear flowing mage robes or apprentice robes; instead, they wore leggings, and their overcoats were as fitted as possible with many exposed pockets. Compared to the legendary druids, they were more like explorers. Each of them carried a half-person-long oak staff, but it looked more like a trekking pole than a walking stick.

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Archmage Humboldt, the leader of the group, was full of energy. His face was full and his eyes were firm. He held Rorschach's hand with strong, rough hands that looked like those of a farmer. "We've heard about the exciting adventures in the sub-planes. We didn't expect you to be so young."

No, I was forced that time, just like now my hand is being held tightly by you and forced to swing around.

Rorschach felt that Mr. Humboldt's handshake was far too wide and was about to pull his hand away before it dislocated. Just then, the doors of the Magic Guild opened again, and a tall, imposing figure appeared against the backlight.

No, it was a young man carrying a bundle that was two heads taller than himself. He shouted at Luo Xia:

"Master Luo-Xia! I am Cavendish, a three-year apprentice at the Tower of Stars. Master Cano has asked me to accompany you!"

I have a long professional experiment to do this afternoon, which will probably last until tonight. The second update will probably be around 9 PM. Sorry!

(End of this chapter)