bookpub Chapter 200 - 014: Temporary Teammate
Chapter 200 - 014: Temporary Teammate
Chapter 200: 014: Temporary TeammateA while later, by a small stream in the forest.
Lynch washed his face, then turned and walked back to the nearby riverside.
At this moment, a bonfire was already lit on the riverbank. The flames crackled and burned steadily, while Susan sat before the fire, staring at it without blinking.
Lynch asked, "How are you feeling? Any better?"
Susan shifted her gaze from the fire and nodded toward Lynch. "A little better. Thank you."
Lynch shrugged. "No problem."
He sat down by the fire without further comment, retrieved some prepared dried meat, apples, and other provisions from his space ring, and placed them over the fire to heat. After a long night, his stomach was indeed a bit hungry. Adding a meal wouldn’t hurt.
Staring at the bonfire, Susan spoke bitterly. "I just wanted to collect some blood crystals... I had no choice. My time in Shadow Land is running out, and I haven’t found any good options. If this continues, my future will likely be working at a plantation or forest, and that will be the end of it..."
"I’ve heard that in those places, there’s endless work from dawn to dusk and you can only earn a minuscule amount of magic stones each month. Continuing down the Wizard’s Road under those conditions is nearly impossible. Advancing to a wizard in the future would be a distant dream..."
She sighed heavily. "I don’t want this to end so early. If I could just gather enough blood crystals, I could exchange them for an opportunity to enter Netta. If not that, joining a Wizard Family would still leave me satisfied. But I never expected..."
Lynch interjected, "You didn’t expect danger so soon after coming out, right."
Susan shook her head. "I was prepared, ready to face enemies, even considered the possibility of dying here."
"What I never expected was... that the ones who would betray me would be my allies... Daniel and the others invited me intentionally. We had agreed to leave the safe zone together to
Susan’s face paled abruptly. Mistakenly thinking Lynch was unprepared, she gasped in alarm, stepping in front of him and hastily erecting an Elemental Shield.
However, this pitch-black arrow was no ordinary projectile. The Elemental Shield Susan hurriedly summoned shattered upon contact, and in the blink of an eye, the arrow continued its trajectory, aimed directly at the center of Susan’s forehead.
In this life-and-death moment, a large hand abruptly reached out, firmly catching the speeding arrow, halting it mere inches from Susan’s forehead. The sharp tip was practically brushing against her skin.
"Whoosh!" Another sound rang out.
The assailant hiding behind the walls wasted no time, retreating the instant their attack failed. Their movement was extraordinarily swift, clearly enhanced by some kind of speed-boosting spell.
Lynch sneered, "Hit and run? Not so fast!"
With a flick of his sleeve, Parker shot out like an arrow, chasing after the fleeing figure.
"Ahh... Ahh!!"
"Boom!"
Moments later, cries of agony echoed along with the sounds of fighting. Flames sprang up in the distance, consuming the area before everything quieted down completely.
Not long afterward, Parker flew back, clutching a crossbow in its claws.
Lynch took it and examined it briefly. It was a finely crafted piece of alchemical witchcraft, primarily designed to fire arrows, embedding several solidified enhancement spells that granted the projectiles power comparable to high-level apprentice spells.
Not the best weapon, but it was worth some magic stones.
Lynch casually stowed it away.
Susan finally snapped out of her daze. She looked at the composed Lynch with amazement. "You knew they were there earlier?"
Lynch nodded. "I sensed them."
Susan said, "Then I guess I overstepped..."
Pausing briefly, she marveled, "Apprentice Lynch, I have to say, you’re truly incredible!"
Ten years ago, he had merely been a low-level apprentice who had just entered the Inner Ring. Yet in mere ten years, he had grown to possess high-level apprentice strength—a feat she couldn’t fathom as she herself was still just a mid-level apprentice.
Unable to contain her curiosity, she asked, "Could you tell me how you managed to do it? How... how did you grow to this level in such a short time? Is there some sort of secret method?"
"A secret?" Lynch thought for a moment before replying honestly, "Not really. It’s just been nonstop cultivation. Morning, cultivation. Evening, cultivation. Eating while cultivating. Sleeping... well, I don’t sleep much."
"Just cultivate, cultivate, and keep cultivating. Gradually, the strength builds up."