Chapter 63: Spoils of War
"Are you sure they've already left?"
Watching the skeletal ghost beside him, now far more translucent than before entering the spatial rift, Padin Green, shrouded in a black robe, asked cautiously.
"Hiss—"
After swiftly scanning the shadows, the skeletal ghost responded with a screech that only Padin Green could understand.
"Looks like those white wizard apprentices really are different from my dear old classmates. They don’t have that nasty habit of lying in wait… cough cough."
Amid a violent fit of coughing, a piece of flesh mixed with black tainted blood was spat out from Padin Green’s mouth.
"This time’s spatial storm was far stronger than the last… even managed to shatter your ghostly guard. But still, the gains weren’t bad… cough cough cough cough!"
Another intense bout of coughing followed. This time, a mouthful of foul blood sprayed from Padin Green’s mouth, landing on the grass and sizzling with a corrosive sound.
"Didn’t expect the contamination to be this severe… If I don’t get back soon, I might just mutate on the spot."
Wiping the tainted blood from the corner of his lips, Padin Green’s wand flashed with a dark eerie light.
The skeletal ghost beside him opened its gaping maw and devoured a nearby small figure whole.
"Let’s go."
"Hiss—"
Their soul shadows melted like water into the shade of the trees.
With a few leaps, Padin Green, now hidden within the ghostly form, silently departed in the opposite direction of Janna and the others...
...
"Aph, purify the contamination on them."
"Understood, Master."
After over an hour of rest and preparation, the group’s magic power had finally recovered somewhat.
The Celestial Finch, now fully roused from its semi-conscious state, was summoned back from the Spirit Realm by Janna.
"Tweet—!"
A clear cry rang out from the Celestial Finch’s beak, as a dense purifying light burst forth like a stream from the white jade atop its head.
As the light grew increasingly brilliant, spiderweb-like strands of contamination began seeping from everyone’s bodies.
Even the black fur on the back of Richard Eva’s hand started to fall off in large patches. Within mere breaths, he was completely restored.
"Just as Soro described, this purification effect is far superior to that of a potion."
Looking at his fully recovered body, Richard Eva couldn’t help but sincerely exclaim in admiration.
"This level of contamination was already close to infecting the soul. Normally, to fully cure it, at least three bottles of purification potion would be needed—no way it could be removed this completely otherwise..."
Lo Silverfox, also rid of his contamination by the light, felt a similar shock upon sensing the foul taint inside him vanish so swiftly.
Though he wasn’t very talkative and often kept to himself, through this collaboration, he realized that the teammate whose strength he hadn’t thought much of had completely redefined his view of a First Tier apprentice.
Or more precisely, redefined his view of a “wild genius” not born into a wizard family.
"You questioned me back then—why bring a First Tier apprentice into the group? So, how about it now? That invitation of mine wasn’t wasted, was it?"
"It certainly wasn’t."
Richard Eva wasn’t embarrassed when Soro Flare called him out.
After all, when he’d first heard that Soro intended to invite a First Tier wizard apprentice not from a wizard family, he hadn’t been the only one to express doubt.
Thankfully, the talent wasn’t lost, and the opportunity wasn’t missed.
"Looks like we’ll need to slightly lower the entry requirements each year. Letting someone like Janna slip away would be a real loss."
Surrounded by compliments from all sides, Janna remained calm, long used to such situations.
She didn’t feign modesty, only smiled and occasionally nodded in response while gently stroking the Celestial Finch now perched back on her shoulder—just enough to avoid letting others’ praises fall flat.
"Alright, it’s getting late. We’ve all been at this for over ten hours since last night—everyone must be exhausted. Time to head back and rest."
Seeing that everyone had mostly recovered, Richard Eva glanced at the dusk setting in and didn’t delay further, organizing the group to return the way they came.
"Lo, we’ll need your illusions again on the way back."
"No problem."
Cuckoo—cuckoo—
Just like before, as they stepped back into the tower’s barrier range, the forest mist became noticeably denser than in the valley.
Accompanied by the faint cries of cuckoos, the well-coordinated group of four quickly disappeared into the dense woods under the cover of illusion magic...
...
"Apprentices, show your identification—"
The sun had set, and the mist had thinned.
Bathed in chilling moonlight, as Janna and the others passed through the Mist Illusion Array outside the academy, the Humanoid Willow guarding the White Coral Academy’s entrance appeared before them.
Everyone promptly took out their Misty Branches engraved with their names.
After verifying their identities, they passed through the narrow Tree Path and finally returned to the academy.
"The library should be closed by now. Let’s part ways here."
With that, Richard Eva retrieved forty-four Source Energy Fragments from his Interdimensional Storage Ring.
"Everyone suffered some losses on this trip. Since there’s no one around, let’s divvy up the loot right here."
"No problem."
It was already evening, and with even the library closed, there were barely any apprentices on campus.
The four of them found a quiet corner. After quickly confirming the distribution plan, Janna took her share of the loot and tiredly returned to the dormitory building.
"Miss Janna, back so late again? Your most loyal doorkeeper has been eagerly awaiting your return day and night..."
"Thank you for your hard work, Door Spirit. You should get some rest too."
"Ah, it’s no trouble at all, not one bit..."
Nodding, Janna ignored the Door Spirit’s babbling from the doorframe, pushed open the door, and was instantly hit by a tidal wave of exhaustion the moment she stepped inside.
"Clean and fresh—"
She cast a Cleaning Spell, undressed, and washed up.
Seeing the mechanical clock on the wall pointing to 9 p.m., Janna was too tired even to sort her spoils.
She collapsed directly onto her mahogany bed.
"This trip… really wore me out..."
"Indeed, a proper wizard must not only improve her Spirit Power but also never neglect her Constitution..."
Feeling her eyelids grow heavier, Janna eventually gritted her teeth and sat cross-legged back on the bed.
"Meditation must continue, even today..."