Chapter 12 Journey (2)

“Alright, young man, goodbye,” Lynn waved to the frightened boy.

The scared little boy raised his right hand and gave a slight wave in return, “Goodbye, sir.”

Old Kim had already driven the carriage out of the courtyard. Teacher Angley had just come down from upstairs and boarded the carriage outside the yard.

Lynn followed and got on the carriage, continuing their journey southward.

In fact, the story Lynn told the boy earlier was true. While traveling south, he had indeed experienced some extraordinary events beyond his previous understanding.

However, these beings with extraordinary abilities didn’t seem as powerful as those legendary stories suggested. At least compared to his teacher, Angley, they were far inferior.

As of now, Angley was the most formidable person Lynn had encountered.

For instance, there was a creature with three heads and five hands. Besides the extra head on its neck, there was also a woman’s head hanging from its chest.

Its body looked like a toy that had been randomly assembled, with limbs scattered all over it.

Although the creature’s strength was slightly above that of an average person, and it had a better ability to recover from injuries, it was only marginally tougher. However, due to its terrifying appearance and its transformation from corpses, the psychological fear it instilled far exceeded its actual combat abilities.

The refugee group fleeing from the plague dared not attack the monster. At that time, some elderly people kept murmuring that it must be a creature created by a witch, and if they attacked it, they would incur the witch’s curse.

Eventually, some bolder men from the refugee group used long sticks to drive away the monster.

Shortly afterward, a cavalry unit riding on swift horses arrived, wielding long spears and short swords, and completely exterminated these monsters.

These cavalrymen were knights of the nearby lord, arrogant and tyrannical. Several pretty girls among the refugee group were taken away by the knights as if they were sheep.

Apart from the cries of those girls’ families, everyone else was just relieved that the knights hadn’t chosen their own family members.

As the domestic situation continued to be turbulent, these nobles became even more oppressive.

At that moment, Lynn was also thankful because when the knights approached, his father skillfully had his sister put on a hat and smeared dust on her face. Then several adults surrounded her, shielding her from view.

With these thoughts in mind, Lynn couldn’t help but think of his family.

He wondered if they had successfully reached Bangor Port.

Lynn looked towards the south.

That was where he and his family had agreed to go initially.

If things went smoothly, three months would have been enough for them to arrive there.

Perhaps they had even found work in Bangor Port.

Rented a place to stay.

When he appeared in front of them soon, they would surely have been pleasantly surprised.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Lynn’s mouth.

Bangor Port was the kingdom’s first open port, and it was also the most prosperous and advanced place in the kingdom.

At that time, many of the town’s goods were said to be imported and transported from Bangor Port.

Lynn knew that in places prospering with wealth like this, there must have been an undercurrent of filth and darkness as well.

But those were things for the rich— for people like them, as long as they had enough to eat and survive, it was sufficient.

As for wealth, it was too distant from their reality.

The sound of horseshoes striking the dirt road echoed crisply.

Lynn sat in the carriage, leaning against the window.

Turning his head, he looked at his teacher, who had closed his eyes. The teacher was probably meditating again.

No wonder the teacher was so skilled. Every day, it seemed to be either experimenting or meditating. Could it be that all wizards were such dedicated individuals?

“Teacher, you haven’t eaten breakfast yet. I saved this for you,” Lynn took out a white loaf of bread from his embrace and handed it over.

“I’m not hungry,” Angley opened his eyes and glanced at the bread in front of him, responding calmly.

“Very well.” Lynn retrieved the loaf of bread.

He knew the teacher’s character well— he didn’t like to repeat himself.

Tucking the bread back into his embrace, Lynn took out the alchemical diary and continued to eagerly peruse its contents.

Angley’s eyes, which had been closed originally, opened slightly. He glanced at Lynn beside him, observing the young man’s diligent expression. It was as if something triggered a memory in Angley, and he stared for a moment before retracting his gaze.

***

“Knight Matthew hasn’t returned yet?” Within the baron’s castle of Delin Town, Baron Delin XVI inquired of his steward.

“No, there hasn’t been any news since the night before last when Knight Matthew took half of the town’s constables up the mountain,” the steward explained.

Baron Delin frowned. This Knight Matthew belongs to the Duke of Luan Tailbloom, after all.

If he were merely a knight, the baron wouldn’t concern himself greatly. His territory housed over a hundred musketeers, and even a knight would be turned into a sieve after several rounds of simultaneous musket fire.

The real trouble lay in this Knight Matthew’s status. The Duchy of Luan Tailbloom wasn’t too distant from his lands.

Since arrival, Knight Matthew had conducted an extensive search through the town, seemingly seeking something.

Two nights ago, he had even taken the constables up the mountain.

And then, vanished.

“Master, I’ve dispatched men to search the mountain. We should have news today at the latest.”

“Hmm.” Baron Delin nodded, though his brow creased slightly, his unease persistent.

A knight accompanied by a dozen musket-bearing constables was no trifling force, even in the forested mountains.

To disappear without a trace like this was profoundly dangerous.

“Lord Baron, Lord Baron!” A voice called urgently from outside the door.

“Master, this is one of the search party members from the mountain,” the steward said, then turned to the man with freckles across his face and golden hair. “Tell the lord what you’ve discovered.”

“Lord Baron, I found the bodies of the Lord Knight and the others on the mountain.”

“What did you say? All of them are dead?” Baron Delin exclaimed in shock.

He was deeply fearful, not knowing what had happened. All he knew was that all his people were dead.

So many lives lost in an instant, including an officially knighted individual who had passed the trials.

Delin declared, “Prepare the carriage. I’m heading to the duchy to report to Duke Luan Tailbloom about what has happened here.”

The situation here was dire, and Delin was determined to report it. He had to uncover the source of danger on the mountain— otherwise, his safety would be compromised living here!

***

The following days’ journey remained peaceful and uneventful.

During these days, Lynn also managed to read through most of the contents in the notebook that his teacher had left for him.

The gains were substantial— his progress in mutation¹ studies increased from 3% to 7%.

The knowledge he acquired was enlightening and ignited Lynn’s enthusiasm. Even though it was just 7% of level 1 mutation studies, some portions of the knowledge were complete and well-structured.

Especially intriguing was the section regarding mutation catalysts.

Mutation catalysts referred to the phenomenon where many organisms had a certain probability of giving birth to mutated individuals.

These mutated individuals often awakened their latent bloodlines.

Such mutation might not necessarily be benign— there was a considerable chance they could be malignant.

But all in all, mutated individuals had significant research value. Thus, mutation catalysts involved artificial methods to catalyze organisms, inducing mutation. Theoretically, the younger an individual, the more susceptible it was to mutation.

However, within this discipline of mutation catalysts, there was a specific type of potion— the physical vitality catalyst.

This potion had the effect of making an organism’s body brimming with vitality, making it more prone to mutation.

In Lynn’s understanding, could this “physical vitality” refer to cellular activity? This potion seemed to have other applications as well.

If the body became more active, could physical training results also improve?

In the world of wizards, there are numerous methods for enhancing the physical body, including those mentioned in the acquired knowledge of mutations, where certain creatures’ mutated bloodlines are exploited to craft potions that grant a permanent boost to physical strength.

This form of consumption offers a once-and-for-all solution, eliminating the need for step-by-step, laborious physical training.

Furthermore, with sufficient materials, it could even be produced in bulk.

For wizards, the energy spent on physically training oneself like a knight might be better invested in acquiring additional knowledge.

——

1. TL/N: Minor changes were made. 
   “Transmutation” was changed to simply “mutation” in order to differentiate between biological mutation (the evolutionary change of one species into another) and alchemical transmutation (the conversion of base elements into precious metals, such as gold or silver). Changes were in chapters 2, 3, 4, 7 & 9. ↩︎

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