Chapter 102: Caution and Reverence

Chapter 102: Caution and Reverence

In the end, Su Nan decided to leave quietly.

Though he was eager to explore the island, he had just gone through an intense battle, draining his mental energy. He only had seven high-grade rune gems left, and his strength was far from its peak. It was safer to return and prepare thoroughly before making another visit.

Back in Flash City, Su Nan immediately headed to the Lord's Manor.

Koy had been waiting in the council hall ever since he learned that Su Nan had gone to the cave. Seeing Su Nan return unharmed, he breathed a huge sigh of relief.

He couldn't help but ask, "Did you solve it?"

"It's solved," Su Nan nodded. Before Koy could show his relief, Su Nan added, "But there's a new development."

Koy was taken aback. "What kind of development?"

Su Nan gave a brief account of the underground city.

After hearing Su Nan's story, Koy felt numb.

He had thought that having a monster as powerful as a Third Circle Legendary Knight near Flash City was bad enough. Now, with the monster gone, an underground city had appeared, and the threat it posed was undoubtedly greater than that of the Hundred-Armed Beast.

Koy began to regret choosing Flash City as the provincial capital.

If he had known there was an entrance to the underground world nearby, he would have avoided it at all costs.

"If I'm not mistaken, the Hundred-Armed Beast likely had a trading relationship with that city," Su Nan recalled the words of the dog-headed men he had overheard. "They mined to exchange for food to feed the beast. In the cave, the only trading partner they could have had is the people from the underground city."

"The residents of that city probably already know that the cave connects to the surface. They haven't invaded the surface world in all this time, so they likely have no intention of doing so in the near future," Su Nan reassured him.

Of course, it was also possible that the Hundred-Armed Beast had occupied the passage, preventing the city's inhabitants from passing through. If that were the case, it would be even simpler. It would mean that the city's forces couldn't even control the beast, so Su Nan had even less to worry about.

Hearing Su Nan's words, Koy's anxiety eased slightly.

"What do you plan to do with the ore veins in the cave?"

"Start mining immediately," Su Nan replied without hesitation. The cave wasn't entirely safe, and the sooner the ore veins were mined, the better.

"Do you need me to send people to recruit miners from Blackstone City?"

"No, just prepare a set of mining equipment. The mining will be handled by the clay golems."

A single clay golem's mining efficiency was equivalent to that of dozens of skilled miners. Using clay golems would be much more efficient.

Su Nan intended to mine the cave's ore veins as quickly as possible. The battle had cost him a lot of money, and he needed to recoup his losses. Moreover, to prevent the underground city from invading, he would need to create more golems to guard the cave, which would also cost a significant amount.

"Alright, let me know if you need any help."

Koy turned to instruct the guards to take care of the arrangements.

The next day, Su Nan dispatched thirty clay golems from his base to the cave. They began the initial expansion of the cave to facilitate the mining operation.

While dog-headed men were naturally skilled miners compared to other underground residents, they were far behind humans in both technique and equipment. The ore veins they had mined in the basin looked as if they had been gnawed by dogs, far from neat and orderly.

After three days, Su Nan successfully completed the expansion and renovation of the cave. The mining equipment, including mine tracks, had also arrived. Once the equipment was set up, the mine was ready for operation.

Although the number of miners was small, they didn't need to rest or eat, allowing for continuous twenty-four-hour work. As a result, the mining progress was not slow. Su Nan estimated that the thirty clay golems could mine silver and gold worth over a hundred gold coins a day. If refined and sold, the value would increase even further.

At this rate, in about three months, the costs of killing the Hundred-Armed Beast would be recouped. After that, it would be pure profit.

Su Nan also arranged for five steel golems to guard the cave where the Hundred-Armed Beast had lived, setting up magical alarms. If any creature entered, he would be immediately alerted.

For the next two months, everything was peaceful. The mining operation in the cave went smoothly, and there was no activity from the underground city. Koy gradually relaxed.

Time quickly passed, and the last day of the Sleeping Moon arrived. On the Starlight Continent, this day was known as the Day of Rest, marking the end of the year and the boundary between the old and the new.

On the Day of Rest, the last day of the Sleeping Moon, both commoners and nobles gradually reduce their outdoor activities, including work and social visits. It's as if all the hustle and bustle of the year comes to a peaceful halt on this day.

When the first month of the new year arrives, people begin to hold various celebrations and banquets to welcome the new year.

Three days after the New Year's celebrations, Su Nan successfully constructed his eleventh star ring.

His mental power also smoothly broke through to 34, meeting the standard for consuming a high-grade third-tier Transcendent Elixir.

Su Nan immediately switched to the high-grade third-tier Transcendent Elixir, and his daily Star Ring Meditation proficiency skyrocketed to over 2,300.

However, the proficiency required to construct the twelfth star ring also soared to 800,000, estimated to take nearly a year to achieve.

Additionally, his Magic Item Crafting skill finally reached level 4.

Another condition for refining a Magic Pattern Core was now met.

"Finally, I managed to grind this skill to level 4."

In his workshop, Su Nan looked at his interface and sighed.

He casually picked up an ordinary longsword with one hand and a silver ingot with the other.

Under the bright light, the silver ingot transformed into thin threads in his fingers, gradually merging into the longsword. A visible silver sheen appeared on the blade's surface.

In the blink of an eye, the longsword gained a layer of spiritual aura.

A temporary enchanted weapon!

This was a new technique Su Nan mastered after his Magic Item Crafting skill reached level 4.

As long as he had silver and gold, he could imbue weapons with temporary enchantments at any time.

"Practicality is average, but it's better than nothing."

Su Nan put down the weapon.

His efficiency in crafting enchanted weapons had significantly improved.

If he wanted to, he could easily craft seven or eight in a day.

However, he no longer did this himself.

The task of crafting enchanted weapons was now handled by Xeman and Cole.

These two had already mastered certain techniques in magic item crafting.

While they couldn't yet create highly complex magic items, they could independently craft enchanted weapons, albeit at a slower pace.

As for Attila, the longer she practiced, the more her potential lagged behind Xeman and Cole.

Whether in meditation progress or spell learning, she was always a step behind.

Her performance in potion making, puppet crafting, and magic item crafting was also average.

On the other hand, a few promising students emerged from the second batch.

For example, a young man named Ethan.

He constructed his first star ring in just seven months, only a few days slower than Xeman.

Moreover, he displayed outstanding talent in potion making, now able to proficiently extract Silver Moon Flower essence.

It wouldn't be long before he could start making zero-tier potions.

Once Ethan and the other second-batch students grow and learn to make potions, the scale of potion sales could be expanded, leading to a significant increase in income.

"The only thing left is the materials for refining the Magic Pattern Core."

After participating in the Forest Cabin, Su Nan had already gathered eighty rare metals.

In the following months, he managed to research and identify four more rare metals.

From the magic armor of the Hundred-Armed Beast, he decomposed three more rare metals.

Now, he only needed two more.

"The experiments are almost complete; it should be done in a few more days."

A smile crept onto Su Nan's lips.

Once he fused the Magic Pattern Core, his strength would surge even further.

Since arriving in this world, his power had been increasing at an astonishing rate, but he still felt a lack of security.

The Starlight Continent was vast.

Even after a thousand years of elemental desolation, this land, which once gave birth to a prosperous wizard civilization, remained formidable.

No one knew how many powerful creatures existed on this vast and boundless continent.

For example, the perilous underground world.

Just near the entrance to one underground world, there was a Hundred-Armed Beast as powerful as a Third Circle Legendary Knight.

How many formidable and terrifying creatures must exist in the vast and expansive underground world?

Then there was the Forest Cabin.

Su Nan never underestimated the owls, those third-tier wizard apprentices.

Anyone who could break through to the third-tier wizard apprentice level in such a resource-scarce environment was undoubtedly a gifted and exceptional genius.

These individuals might have lived for over a hundred years, accumulating countless trump cards over the long years.

Underestimating them because of his abundant resources could lead to a significant setback at any time.

Furthermore, if there was a Forest Cabin, there might be other wizard apprentice organizations.

Su Nan felt it was best to maintain a bit more caution and reverence for this continent.

Chapter 103: The Mysterious Attacks

Giant Oak City, Manor.

In the bright and spacious hall, three High Priests of the Starfire Sect sat facing each other. The atmosphere was tense, and all three of them had furrowed brows.

After a long silence, Joris finally broke it.

"In just two months, eighteen of our sect's outposts have been attacked. Fourteen priests and over a hundred acolytes have been killed, and the number of ordinary believers who have died or been injured is countless. And we still haven't even identified the exact identities of the attackers. How are we supposed to explain this to Grand High Priest Ovij?"

Jensen, seated on the right, snorted and said, "Do we even need to investigate?"

"The attackers were capable of casting spells, which clearly means they are wizards. This is a targeted attack by a wizard organization!"

"I think it's either the Forest Cabin or the Eternal Society!"

Blakc pondered for a moment and said, "But why would they attack us? We haven't offended them in any significant way, have we?"

"That bunch of profit-hungry scoundrels don't follow principles like others. If there's a benefit to be gained, they'll do it. Have you forgotten what we lost in the recent attacks?"

"You mean the Divine Blood Amber!"

Joris and Blakc immediately understood, their expressions turning grave.

After losing over twenty pieces of Divine Blood Amber last time, the sect had tightened its management of the precious substance. However, this time, the number of attacked outposts was so high that they lost over thirty more pieces.

Initially, they thought the attackers had just taken the Divine Blood Amber as an afterthought, considering the other valuable items that were also stolen. But Jensen's reminder made Joris and Blakc realize something was off.

Perhaps the attackers were specifically targeting the Divine Blood Amber.

Divine Blood was useless to anyone outside the sect, but for wizards, it was a different story. According to ancient records, wizards had extensively studied Divine Blood in the past.

After a moment of deep thought, Joris suddenly said, "Do you think this could be related to Su Nan? He also stole over twenty pieces of Divine Blood Amber when he attacked the Stone Bell City outpost!"

"You mean Su Nan joined the Forest Cabin, and the attackers are from the Forest Cabin?"

"That's not impossible, is it?"

"But even if Su Nan joined the Forest Cabin, how did he persuade the other wizards to act? The Forest Cabin has always been low-profile and hasn't launched such a large-scale operation in many years."

"Regardless, we must find a way to stop those wizards. The recent attacks have severely impacted our missionary efforts. If we don't resolve this, our missions will grind to a halt."

"We also need to recover the lost Divine Blood Amber as soon as possible. If Grand High Priest Ovij holds us accountable, we won't be able to bear the consequences."

Joris rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

If it really was Su Nan, that guy was truly relentless!

He hadn't even had the chance to settle the score with Su Nan, and now Su Nan was targeting them first. How audacious!

Joris suddenly remembered the words of the dying Marquis Golden Rock, and his heart stirred. But he quickly suppressed the thought, looked up at the other two, and asked, "Grand High Priest Ovij has been in seclusion for almost half a year. When will he emerge?"

"Who knows?" Blakc shook his head. "The royal wizard was no pushover. Grand High Priest Ovij had to use three holy relics to kill him, and the backlash was severe. He will need a long time to recover."

Jensen sneered, "That old fool had it coming for daring to insult the great Star Deity. Killing him was a mercy."

"According to me, we shouldn't have even promised the Star Duke Divine Blood to strengthen his body. Killing that wizard would have made the royal family more compliant. Would they dare oppose us then?"

"Things are not that simple," Blakc smiled slightly. "It's better to have the royal family cooperate willingly than to force them."

"Besides, the Star Kingdom has a deep and rich heritage, spanning several hundred years. Even without their sponsored wizard, they still have significant power. As far as I know, the Star Kingdom produced a Third Circle Legendary Knight fifty years ago. If that person is still alive, they would be just as formidable as a wizard."

"In short, we should show just enough force to keep them in line. We don't need to push them to the brink. If the Star Kingdom chooses to fight to the death, we'll have a headache on our hands."

Joris nodded in agreement. "You're right. As long as the Star Duke values his life, he will have no choice but to cooperate with us."

Seeing the two of them in agreement, Jensen pursed his lips and didn't say more.

The conversation soon shifted to their missionary efforts.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end