Aresia discovered that the castle’s reserves not only included locally produced minerals but also various other items, some of which were quite rare.

Apart from minerals, there was also a dedicated warehouse for storing magic plants and materials from magical creatures. Moreover, the quality of the items stored there exceeded what could be found in common stores.

Aresia didn’t hesitate to search the warehouse thoroughly, taking what she needed while leaving a small portion. She arranged for the soldiers to deliver the minerals to the available mages. The list of how to handle the materials was attached.

For those who helped process the materials, Aresia made sure they were compensated according to their workload or received an equivalent amount of materials from the warehouse.

While waiting for the assigned workers to arrive, Aresia returned to the laboratory and began processing the remaining materials, pondering the next steps.

Instead of bringing a group of people, Aresia decided to go on her own to collect the materials.

As previously mentioned, the creation of a long-distance teleportation array required a significant amount of materials that contained spatial elements. Interestingly, some of these materials could only be found underwater, not on land. They were scarce and expensive, making it difficult for Aresia to acquire enough of them.

Fortunately, there was a neighboring sea adjacent to the Duke’s territory, abundant in resources. It seemed like a good place to search.

Additionally, she needed the blood of high-level magical creatures, which became more elusive as their level increased. In particular, the blood of large sea creatures was both high-level and rare. Unfortunately, she couldn’t buy it, so she would have to obtain it herself.

However, Aresia didn’t want to draw too much attention to herself, so she planned to wait until nighttime.

As a result, she had a late dinner and returned to the laboratory. She instructed Luna and the others to stay in the lab until late and rest there without needing a night watch.

Luna tried to dissuade her, but Aresia stopped her, saying that there was a room in the laboratory for resting. This magical laboratory had a bedroom with all the necessary amenities, including a solution for washing up. It was convenient for taking breaks.

Luna understood and left. As she had been staying in the Duke’s residence for a while, it was not unusual for Aresia to spend a few nights in the lab. There was no need to raise any suspicions.

Once everyone had left, Aresia locked the door and activated the defense magic formation in the laboratory. She cast a few alert spells to prevent anyone from entering.

She then recited a somewhat inconspicuous incantation, and her appearance quickly transformed.

Aresia looked at her reflection in the water mirror and was satisfied with the result. She now had a familiar and unremarkable appearance. She appeared to be in her thirties, with dark brown eyes and ordinary features. Her demeanor was cold and exuded a strong sense of confidence, enough to make people overlook her appearance.

Aresia glanced at her reflection in the mirror again, pleased that the appearance had been modified based on the image of a well-known mage. She had made efforts to make it look as ordinary as possible, so it wouldn’t draw attention.

After adjusting her posture to appear more ordinary, Aresia changed into the attire of a mage. She put on a hood and carried a tall staff that was taller than most people. With her teleportation magic, she quietly left the castle.

Within moments, she had arrived on a plain several tens of kilometers away from the castle.

Unfortunately, the location was not ideal, as there were several level three magical wolves nearby, searching for prey. As soon as they noticed Aresia, they didn’t hesitate to attack.

Aresia used a control spell to bind the pack of wolves, preventing them from retaliating. She followed up with a stunning spell, causing some of the wolves to collapse. She quickly stored the defeated wolves in her spatial storage and claimed them as her spoils.

Dealing with this was troublesome, but Aresia glanced around and confirmed the direction. She cast another teleportation spell and arrived at the top of a mountain—a remote area that was difficult to access. Her teleportation magic allowed her to reach the destination instantly, and now that she had fully recovered her strength, she didn’t lack magical power.

Once again, she teleported, this time to the seashore.

The sun was setting, casting a golden hue over the entire sea, creating a serene and breathtaking scene. The beach showed no signs of human presence. It wasn’t a lively beach, and various crabs scurried about. Flocks of birds gathered here, finding their prey.

This was not an ordinary beach but a habitat for low-level sea creatures. Under the current circumstances, no one would pay attention to what Aresia was doing.

Aresia admired the sunset for a while. Then she cast a few spells on herself and teleported once more, this time directly to the depths of the sea.

Even a powerful professional could maintain their breath underwater for a long period of time. Aresia created a defensive bubble filled with air, allowing her to breathe and resist the water pressure.

This time, she teleported a long distance, selecting a location several hundred meters underwater. The surrounding visibility was dim, making it difficult for human eyes to see. Within a few meters, everything was shrouded in darkness, beyond human perception. However, Aresia expanded her magical senses, covering an area of about a hundred meters, ensuring that nothing would escape her detection.

The sea was a forbidden zone for land creatures in this world. Besides ordinary sea creatures and sea monsters, there were two humanoid races: merfolk and sea spirits. The relationship between the two races was generally strained, often marked by conflicts. However, the Duke’s territory didn’t have their habitats in the nearby waters, so they didn’t have any interactions with humans.

Aresia quickly detected signs of their presence in this area but wasn’t interested in finding them.

Soon, she found her target based on various responses.

It was a level seven Emperor Eel, a massive creature measuring over a hundred meters long. Its back was covered in poisonous spines, and it had several protrusions on its head resembling a crown, hence its name.

In the dimly lit underwater world, the Emperor Eel leisurely swam, its belly pressed against the seafloor, indicating that it had recently enjoyed a satisfying meal.

Aresia didn’t hesitate and unleashed an eighth-level ice magic—Frozen World.

This was the first time she had used such a high-level magic in this world. Magic of this level was known as forbidden magic for seventh-level mages and above. Eighth-level magic was considered the pinnacle of forbidden magic and had the power to destroy an entire city.

When a ninth-level mage cast an eighth-level magic, they would typically recite an incantation. However, Aresia had simplified it to just uttering the name of the spell. Using an eighth-level magic to deal with a seventh-level magical beast was a bit of a waste of resources.

The Emperor Eel didn’t even react to the magic. In an instant, it became encased in ice. Not only that, the surrounding seawater was also frozen. Aresia controlled the effect of the Frozen World, limiting it to a certain range. Soon, she formed a massive ice mountain hundreds of meters high on the seafloor.

Through the transparent ice, she could see that not only the Emperor Eel but also some other sea creatures in the vicinity had been frozen. Aresia was satisfied with the result. The Frozen World not only killed the target, but also preserved every part of it, even the tiniest thorn, without wasting any materials.

The freezing effect of eighth-level ice magic last for a very long time. If left untouched, the ice could take several decades to melt completely. Aresia used her magic to slice off the parts she needed from the remaining ice blocks, leaving nothing behind. She let the water carry away the remaining fragments.

She stored the entire Emperor Eel inside her spatial ring. Aresia used a spatial cutting spell to separate the ice mountain. She quickly sensed the presence of other high-level sea creatures in the area but noticed that the surroundings had calmed down after the explosion of the ice mountain.

Aresia teleported to another area in search of her next targets. She approached them quietly and cast the Frozen World spell, this time with even greater precision. She managed to freeze the targets without affecting the surrounding seawater.

That night, Aresia had a bountiful harvest. Although she didn’t encounter any colossal sea creatures like the Emperor Eel, she obtained several medium-sized ones, ranging from tens of meters to several hundred meters in size. These creatures not only had a substantial amount of blood, but their bones and flesh were valuable resources that couldn’t be bought.

As Aresia continued her search for sea creatures, she realized that she had forgotten the original purpose of her journey, which was to find materials related to spatial elements. Nonetheless, her magical senses allowed her to detect a trace of what she needed. Although it wasn’t enough for her requirements, a few more trips would suffice.

When the time was running short, Aresia concluded her hunting expedition with a sense of satisfaction.