Ancient Wizards: A Little Progress Every Day

In Bernal's secret base, he was half-squatting in the lush potion garden, tending to something. As he patted the soil off his hands and stepped out of the nursery, his movements and steps suddenly froze.

Suddenly, Dago appeared in his field of vision, standing dozens of meters away from him, quietly watching him.

Their eyes met, and after a moment of eye contact, Bernal slowly spoke: "Everyone has their own secrets, but I never imagined you had so many secrets hidden from me!"

Dago shook his head, a helpless smile on his young, handsome face. "Bennal, is this the first thing you say to your friends these past few days?"

Bernal paused slightly upon hearing this, but his gaze softened quickly, and he spoke softly, almost in a voice only he could hear, "Welcome back, Dago."

The two then went to sit on the sofa in the living area and chatted about their recent situations.

"Ice Castle"

After listening to Dago's account, Bernal did not show much surprise on his face. Instead, he calmly said, "The Tower Master's suggestion is very pertinent."

"Why there?"

Dago couldn't help but frown and ask.

"Because of Ice Castle's reputation, a group of very powerful wizard families live there. It is said that Ice Castle may have a subtle connection with the seven seats of Ice Prison Palace of the Wizard Alliance."

Bernal explained calmly, "Once you arrive at Ice Castle and find a wizard willing to guide you, he will naturally explain everything to you in detail."

"Regarding cultivation, the Tower Master's advice and arrangements for you are far better than mine; just listen to her."

He changed the subject, turning his gaze towards the Potions Botanical Garden, and said thoughtfully, "Your trip to Ice Castle and back will take at least two months. The Blood Imprisoning God Sapling is in a critical growth period, so I suggest you bring it along as well."

Looking up at Dago, he asked, "When are you planning to go to Ice Castle?"

Three days later.

"That should be enough time. Come find me then, and I'll give you a little surprise." Bernal nodded slightly and got up to work at several lab tables.

Meanwhile, Dago returned to the Sky Island, waiting for the surprise Bernal had prepared for him.

..................

........

Three days later.

In the vast rune-infused airship docking plaza of Cletam City, a colossal magical airship, ten stories high and covered in rune arrays, slowly came to a stop.

The group of magic circle wizards who had been waiting at the docking square boarded the ship one after another. Among them was a tall, handsome young man with black hair and blue eyes who looked "unremarkable". He was none other than Dago, who was about to set off for Ice Castle.

This is not an airship from the French Ring, but belongs to a large wizarding guild called "Star-Covering Whale," and is only temporarily docked in Cletam City.

Dago quietly counted that there were a total of twenty-three people boarding the ship, most of whom came from the Thorn Ring, and a few ice wizards who came from other wizarding factions.

Once he was airborne, he discovered that many wizards were already waiting on the ship, almost all of them were wizards who specialized in ice magic, and their bodies exuded varying degrees of icy aura.

Their strength varies greatly; most are at least first-ring formal wizards, while there are a few apprentice wizards and even some second-ring wizards.

Judging from their speech, manner of speaking, and temperament, most of these wizards are from a group of wandering wizards, while the rest come from small wizarding factions.

These Ring-level wizards boarded the ship, all possessing late-stage Ring-level strength. The spiritual energy they exuded solidified the air around them, and their powerful aura contrasted sharply with the other wizards on the ship.

All the wizards looked at them with a hint of awe, and made way for them.

Two second-circle wizards who were originally on the deck quickly left with wary eyes after seeing Dago and his group of wizards board the ship.

"The Thorn Ring, as a wizarding force with numerous third-ring wizards, and possibly even fourth-ring miracle wizards, enjoys a rather prominent reputation in the surrounding area, and its powerful image is deeply ingrained in people's minds!"

Dago saw all of this and thought to himself.

Once upon a time, he was also one of these wandering wizards, looking up at these chosen ones with the same envy and awe.

Unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, things have changed, and time has passed. He has become the person I once "envied" so much, and is even many times better than before.

"Mentor, why don't we just disembark at the Thorn Ring? This faction looks incredibly powerful!"

"The Thorn Ring isn't easy to join; Ice Fortress is a better fit for us."

"All right."

Dago overheard whispers among the fringe wizards, their words filled with longing and melancholy.

At this moment, the people from the "Star-Covering Whale" Chamber of Commerce quickly came up and led Dago and his group of wizards to different rooms in the cabin. Only then did he realize that the tickets purchased by these wizards who chose to stay on the deck only allowed them to move around in the area above the deck.

"This is your room. Please call us anytime if you need anything, and someone will come to serve you."

Dargo was led by a spirited-looking young apprentice wizard to the door of a room inside the airship. This room was near the top deck of the airship, a better location than any of the other wizards in the group. It seemed that Undine had bought him the highest-class ticket.

"Thank you for showing me the way."

"You're too kind."

After watching the crew member who had led the way leave, Dago pushed open the door and entered the room. The room was more spacious than he had imagined, well-lit, and he could see the blue sky and white clouds rushing past the window.

There was a simple isolation rune array in the room. Dago activated the array with his mental power, and then took out the magic tool components that Undine had prepared for him from his storage ring and began to build another rune array.

Most of the components are rune crystals and metal modules. The assembly process is very simple. Just follow the instructions on the diagram, place the components in the corresponding positions, put the magic stone into the power supply slot, and finally use a little mental power to guide it. The entire magic circle will then be fully activated.

Once activated, the rune array enveloped almost half the room, with a pale blue rune energy shield seeping into the floor, leaving virtually no blind spots. The array's main function was to provide magical protection and to block detection by mental energy and general detection spells.

A high-grade magic stone can only sustain the entire magic array for one and a half days. Once the magic stone in the power supply tank runs out of energy, it can be replaced in time.

This time, Undine gave Dago a large sum of magic stones, totaling nearly a thousand high-grade magic stones!

With his own savings, Dago didn't need to worry about the magic stone consumption at all.

"It still feels extravagant!"

Looking at the surrounding runes and magic circles, Dago couldn't help but sigh softly, "Without realizing it, all thanks to hooking up with a rich woman, I've already become a second-generation rich kid."

However, it must be said that with such a magic array maintaining it, the safety and privacy when going out are greatly improved compared to ordinary wizards.

After Dago checked the operation of the magic circle and found everything to be correct, he slowly took out a wooden box about half a person's height from his storage ring.

He used his mental energy to activate the rune lock on the box, and with a "click," the box opened, revealing a small sapling about two palm-sized pieces tall.

This was the little surprise Bernal had prepared for him.