The sudden question left Lynn momentarily puzzled.
As a few figures approached, Lynn immediately recognized the leader, the person he had been searching for – Jonny.
The young woman, cloaked in black robes, appeared to be around twenty years old. She had unique silver-gray hair and bright, gem-blue eyes.
Jonny had grown thinner since their last meeting, a result of constant evading and hiding. A sickly paleness now marred her complexion.
"I don't understand what you mean, Jonny!" Lynn's tone was unwavering, his memories confirming that Karl had not betrayed them in any way.
At most, Karl might have harbored some thoughts, but that shouldn't have necessitated hiding in the slums, fearing for his life.
"Where did you get that sword?" the gray-haired witch continued her questioning, her eyes fixed on the longsword Lynn held.
Lynn then noticed that Jonny had been staring at the hunter's longsword in his hand. He realized where the problem lay.
"This is a weapon commonly used by witch hunters!" a burly wizard apprentice named Buck exclaimed, his emotions running high.
"Of course, it's my trophy. Is there a problem, Buck?" Lynn replied calmly, though he was breaking into a cold sweat.
He had unwittingly been carrying around what was essentially a ticking time bomb for days. But it was understandable; he had left his personal short sword back at the slum's hideout, and it wasn't wise to just throw away a readily available weapon.
More importantly, Karl's memories contained no information about "witch hunters carrying standard weapons." Considering that Lynn had encountered no trouble in recent days, it seemed that very few people knew about this detail. However, it evidently didn't escape the old Hawk from the "Drunken Ghost" tavern.
No wonder they had hesitated and offered excuses when he tried to buy Galroth wine. The information about him possessing a witch hunter's longsword was probably passed on by old Hawk to Jonny's group.
"Your trophy? Are you saying you killed a witch hunter and took his sword?" Buck sneered. "Karl, if I remember correctly, you couldn't even master the most basic elemental spell, Frostblade. You'd be better off with a more plausible excuse."
As lackeys of the Church, witch hunters were the cream of the crop, highly skilled and usually operating in small teams. Even seasoned wizards found them formidable opponents.
For Lynn and the other apprentices, simply surviving an encounter with a witch hunter was considered a stroke of luck.
"Sometimes strength isn't everything, Buck," Lynn shook his head. "Besides, the last time we met was four months ago, right?"
As he spoke, Lynn extended his hand, manipulating the hydrogen and oxygen in the air to swiftly create a diamond-shaped ice blade, a bizarre yet strangely beautiful form.
The other wizard apprentices present were taken aback, not by the unfamiliar shape of the ice blade, but by the incredible speed at which Lynn had cast the spell. In their world, before becoming full-fledged wizards and gaining access to memory slots, rapidly performing complex spells presented a significant challenge.
Real combat didn't wait for you to finish casting your spells, and most apprentices were considered good if they could prepare a spell within two seconds. Lynn had compressed the entire process into about a second, opting for pure speed, even if the shape of the ice blade wasn't the perfect Kro'ah configuration. Nevertheless, it was enough to capture everyone's attention.
"Furthermore, I don't think the Church would make a wizard a witch hunter and provide them with such a weapon," Lynn continued before the others could recover from their surprise.
Buck was left speechless. The Church had a strict policy of not letting any wizard they suspected of "demon corruption" become a witch hunter, let alone equipping them with a witch hunter's weapon. This was seen as blasphemy against the gods.
The other apprentices also realized the gravity of Lynn's argument and softened their hostility.
Jonny, however, remained vigilant. She turned to one of the apprentices, Dove, and asked, "Have you checked the surroundings, Dove?"
Dove, her voice trembling, responded, "No one has surrounded this place..."
With the confirmation, Jonny then turned to Lynn and apologized, "I'm sorry, Karl, but the situation is urgent, and we had to be cautious."
"So you're only suspicious of me and ready to kill without evidence?" Lynn questioned.
"I assure you, the magic I used was just a test. No one would want to harm their comrade," Jonny explained earnest
Lynn was briefly taken aback, then rummaged through his memories to recall that Kent was Kora's third disciple, the only one of the wizard apprentices who was absent. He couldn't believe that Kent had met his end.
"On the same day our teacher was captured by the Church, the guards of the Nordland territory launched an attack on Kent's hiding place. Afterward, Buck, Barton, and Will were also pursued. Only Dove, with her unique abilities, managed to evade the attack beforehand," Jonny explained.
"Unique abilities?" Lynn asked, raising an eyebrow.
He instinctively glanced at Dove, who seemed incredibly young, probably around thirteen or fourteen. She was considerably shorter than him, her face adorned with sparse freckles, her hair disheveled. She was feeding a few gray crows in a corner.
Lynn quickly recalled the crow cries he had heard in the tavern and guessed that she possessed some kind of animal-controlling magic.
"I suspect someone has leaked our information. That's the only way the Church could have found our hiding place so precisely," Jonny said with a worried expression.
"How many people are supposed to know our hiding place? It should be just a handful of us, right?" Lynn asked, getting to the core of the matter.
Jonny pondered for a moment and then shook her head. "In normal circumstances, only a few of us should know."
"Could it be our teacher..." Buck hesitated and asked.
"Absolutely not!" Jonny shot back firmly.
Buck immediately fell silent. Lynn didn't dwell on this issue too much. Instead, he asked the second question that had been on his mind.
"So, what's our plan from here?"
Lynn was starting to regret seeking out these apprentice wizards. He had hoped that, even though they were pursued by the Church, they would have a stable internal organization. He believed that even if he couldn't find another full-fledged wizard to join him, they would still be a valuable asset. However, it didn't seem so now.
If Jonny didn't have a reliable plan to evade the Church's pursuit, he would look for an opportunity to leave the group. Solo action was much safer than sticking with a group of rookies.
Buck and Will also looked at Jonny, and even Dove paused her feeding of the crows in the corner.
During the time they had been pursued by the Church, they had asked the same question multiple times, but Jonny had always evaded giving a clear answer, insisting they wait until everyone was present.
Jonny didn't hide this time and answered promptly, "We will take a boat to cross the Misty Sea and head to the Wizard's Land - Greenrill!"
"Does Wizard's Land actually exist?" Will, who had been silent until now, suddenly asked. "I've heard that beyond the Misty Sea is a dead land, and those who set sail never return."
"Yes, I've been there with my mentor. It's a land exclusively for wizards, with no presence of the Church or witch hunters. Everyone can freely study magic there!" Jonny stated firmly.
"That sounds as wonderful as the Holy Land of Aila," Barton muttered softly. He couldn't imagine a world where wizards weren't hunted and could practice magic freely. It was like a dream.
"Just so you know, Aila doesn't like wizards..." Dove, who had been squatting in the corner, spoke softly, interrupting Barton's fantasies.
"So, how do we get there?" Will asked eagerly.
Jonny hesitated for a moment but then replied honestly, "The town of Uhl is close to the Nordland territory's port. We can take a boat from there. I believe... Lame Loude will help us."
"Loude?"
Lynn was somewhat surprised. The owner of the "Drunken Goblin" tavern, Old Hock, had also mentioned this name. Rumors had it that Loude had been a pirate in his youth, earning quite a reputation, until he lost a leg in an attempt to raid a merchant ship. He had narrowly escaped death by pretending to be dead. However, this event turned his fortunes, and Loude had surprisingly become a legitimate businessman. He now controlled the liquor trade in Uhl and the port, making him the biggest kingpin west of the Nordland territory.
Lynn immediately realized that the so-called liquor trade was just a cover. Loude's true business was likely to maintain contact between the Wizard's Land and the outside world.
"Anyway, we have to act quickly. The road to the Wizard's Land will only be open for five days this year, as indicated by the stars," Jonny said as she outlined the plan. Lynn and the others listened carefully, committed the plan to memory, and, when finished, Jonny created a fireball to destroy the drawing she'd made on the ground.
"Let's end it here for tonight," Jonny said, looking at everyone as the fire flickered. Finally, she added, "Dove, you're in charge of the night watch. Tomorrow, Karl will carry you on our journey."
"Why me?" Lynn couldn't help but feel a little annoyed that he was singled out. Were they targeting the newcomer?
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