Chapter 258: The Road
This was a somewhat sparse jungle, where moss-covered trees grew in twisted shapes and vines climbed up their trunks. Bright sunlight filtered through gaps in the leaves, casting irregular patches of light upon the vibrant green moss.
A gentle breeze rustled through the trees, causing crystal-clear dew to fall upon the yellowish-brown ground. Several startled insects flew out from thick-leaved bushes, their colorful wings tracing brilliant arcs through the sunlight.
This was a peaceful jungle, where the wind carried tranquility and every movement revealed elegance. Each flying insect seemed an inseparable part of this forest, every leaf appeared as indispensable as the hem of a maiden’s skirt in this hidden realm.
It was a quiet morning, devoid of buzzing insects or croaking frogs… though it was about to become much quieter, a hundred times quieter than now!
Behind a curtain of vines, a pale finger lifted casually and made a light flicking motion.
Instantly, hundreds of vines as thick as iron chains were cleanly severed. Emerald vine segments and bisected leaves pattered to the ground, revealing the figure they had concealed.
This was a youth who appeared only fifteen or sixteen years old. He wore a black Mage Robe with spreading crimson patterns, carrying a vibrant green long-staff on his back that seemed almost alive. His face remained shadowed beneath his hood, but a pair of eyes shining with azure light pierced through with soul-penetrating intensity.
The moment he appeared, the forest winds seemed to vanish completely. Even falling leaves descended with caution, flying beetles froze mid-air before dropping straight down, and all living creatures prostrated themselves on the ground, not daring to move. Even the most restless bamboo rats trembled uncontrollably while hiding beneath grass blades.
At this moment, even the least intelligent, most wild creatures understood: a terrifying being had arrived – one they couldn’t possibly defeat, nor even escape from!
Undoubtedly, this “dreadful arrival” was Punk!
Punk stepped lightly over the scattered vines, walking unhurriedly across the uneven Woodland as if strolling on flat ground. He moved with the casual grace of a wealthy young master wandering through city streets, completely disregarding the vast jungle around him.
“The Projection said it would send me to a relatively central location on the Faerûn Plane. I wonder if this guy is reliable,” Punk thought with some annoyance. He kicked aside a moss-covered stone and used pure mental power – without any spell – to lift a bamboo rat hiding beside it.
“According to the Divination Spell’s information, this forest alone is a province’s distance from the nearest city. Is the central region of the Faerûn Plane this sparsely populated too?”
Punk muttered to himself while holding the palm-sized bamboo rat.He was now a solid, no-water-added level 16 Master-Level Caster, where distance wouldn’t pose much of an issue unless it was utterly absurd. However, Punk had just emerged from the Netherese Ruins and hadn’t yet mastered enough Master-Level spells. Thus, he was eager to quickly find a place to seriously study his spells and, while at it, see if he could join a caster organization.
That’s right—join a caster organization, or rather… join a Legendary organization backed by a Legendary Expert!
Punk cleaned the bamboo rat in his hand, then pinched its glossy, oily ear. Watching the little creature tremble as if set to vibrate mode while still flailing its claws, Punk couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
Since leaving the Netherese Ruins, Punk had been pondering his next steps. He now possessed Master-Level power and the lifelong knowledge of a Grand Arcanist, but the former still fell within the realm of “insignificance,” while the vast latter required immense resources to utilize fully.
From Vedrasha’s memories, Punk knew how much assistance a mage could gain by joining a caster organization before reaching the Legendary stage—at the very least, many resources could be acquired peacefully through trade, and much knowledge could advance through exchange.
After all, Punk’s previous solitary lifestyle was highly inefficient. For instance, he had the ability to brew Alchemical Potions and produce large quantities of high-value concoctions, but he couldn’t find buyers, leaving the potions for his own use only.
Similarly, when he needed materials, he had to search for them himself, but his range of activity was quite limited. He couldn’t possibly travel half a year to the Plane of Shadow just for a single Shadowgrass, even if such grass was commonplace there.
Thus, Punk had to forgo many Alchemical Potions he could brew due to unavailable materials, even though those potions could provide significant aid.
If he joined a caster organization, especially one of those widespread Legendary organizations, everything would change. Punk could exchange his potions directly for needed materials, no longer helpless against resources that weren’t particularly rare but only produced in specific regions.
Punk understood that, at least until he reached the Legendary stage and possessed his own demiplane and Legendary organization, the resource-gathering capability of a caster organization was unmatched by any solitary caster.
This was a point of some frustration for Punk. Grand Arcanist Vedrasha was highly skilled in Alchemical Potions, and many precious formulas in his memories were of great use to Punk. However, the materials required for these formulas were complex and numerous. If Punk had to scurry around collecting them all himself… he’d likely spend two to three hundred years just gathering ingredients for one recipe, given the vastness of the Faerûn Plane.
Undoubtedly, even for a long-lived Master-Level Mage, wasting vast amounts of time on travel was unacceptable.
Punk pinched the bamboo rat’s nose, lifting the little creature into the air. Watching it flail helplessly with its limbs off the ground and unable to breathe, he let out a deep, melancholic sigh.”Sigh, a Master-Level Caster’s influence can at most control one Kingdom. Those Legendary old monsters would never allow an ‘ant’ who hasn’t even reached the Legendary level to spread their influence across the Faerûn Plane. Ultimately, any force without a Legendary Expert overseeing it is merely livestock raised by those Legendary Experts—fattened up only to be slaughtered in the end… Yet, advancing on the path to Legendary requires the support of a faction, so Master-Level powerhouses have no choice but to join the ranks of a Legendary organization…”
Punk’s gaze grew increasingly cold as he watched the bamboo rat struggle in vain. He grabbed the rodent firmly in his hand, listening to its pained squeals while murmuring softly:
“All of this is likely a deliberate arrangement by the Legendary Experts—exploiting the ignorant who try to stand on their own, forcing ambitious talents to ‘voluntarily’ join their ranks… What clever scheming, what masterful planning. But even knowing this, there’s no alternative… Truly, without reaching Legendary status, one remains nothing but an ant!”
(End of Chapter)