Chapter 1840: Chapter 1840

Chapter 1840: Chapter 61: A New Assignment

Casual conversation ultimately remains just that: casual conversation.

Fat Man didn’t realize that his casual remark brought him one thin layer of silkworm paper away from the truth. As with most of life’s fortuitous missteps, it wasn’t so much the great distance between yin and yang, but the slight connection between the two, with the timing just not being right.

After a brief rest, the Absolution Hunting Team, a group of six, stood once more at the door of the tent.

Only this time, everyone was not just relying on the law book in their hands. Each person clutched several talismans with intact body and dense strokes; their pockets held a few bottles of magic potions for replenishing magic power and healing wounds; and Xiao Xiao had a few clean and pretty scapulae in his arms, perfect for divination by roasting.

Zhang Ji Xin still led the way, with Jiang Yu and Li Meng in the middle, Zheng Qing and Xiao Xiao flanking, and Xin Fat Man bringing up the rear.

Yet, as in most cases, risk tends to descend unexpectedly when we are unprepared; and when we are well prepared, poised and ready, the risk looming overhead disappears without a trace.

Zheng Qing followed behind Zhang Ji Xin, steadily walking into the tent, with such a thought swirling in his mind.

Other than the faint ticking of a clock, there was no noise at all, and Zheng Qing felt as if he could almost hear the breathing of his companions beside him.

After entering and not far ahead, there was a short staircase leading down, less than ten steps, covered with soft Persian carpets, echoing the grand thangkas hanging on the tent walls, mixing opulence and grandeur with an indescribable eerie atmosphere.

Old Verne stood with his arms crossed at the foot of the stairs.

“Is there no test upon entering?” the red-faced male wizard asked directly.

He cautiously glanced at the strange magic artifacts on the shelves around him, but his eyes were constantly drawn to some peculiar magical creature skulls further away.

“There are no tests when you are well prepared.”

The old man’s voice was not high, but in this quiet tent, it sounded particularly clear: “Like the cat in the box, before the lid is opened, it could be dead, or it could be alive…”

Old-school wizards love to play with these vague things.

“… This way,” the old-school wizard, ignoring the young fee-paying student’s muttering, continued diligently with his task, gesturing for the young individuals to follow him:

“Let me show you around first… If everything goes as planned, this will be your base for rest over the next week, commonly known as a ‘nest’.”

‘Nest’ is a wonderful word, it always gives a sense of warmth and comfort.

Zheng Qing had this nameless sentiment flash through his mind as he surveyed the tent, spacious enough to fit a basketball court, and compared it to the exterior, which was no larger than a hundred paces around.

“Wow, this place is really not small.”

The young fee-paying student followed closely behind the Grey Robe Wizard and finally expressed his amazement: “From outside it didn’t look this big… Is space magic being used?”

“Perhaps,” the old wizard narrowed his eyes, momentarily caught in memory: “It’s an old item, before there was even a concept of space magic… Don’t touch the artifacts on the shelves, no one knows what curses lie within; if you do not want an unfortunate demise, it’s best to maintain enough reverence for the unknown.”

Even for such a seemingly understated warning, someone as daring as Li Meng still listened and complied, folding his arms and following behind the old man, not daring to glance more than twice.

But as for Zheng Qing, having not been educated in traditional wizardry, he lacked awareness of the risks involved, and rather focused on the strange magic artifacts on the shelves, pondering if any hidden quests or rewards might be there.

Isn’t that how it’s always portrayed in storybooks?

The captain of the hunting team was momentarily distracted; the diviner had to take over the old man’s words and continued to ask, “…so just how large is this tent?”

“I would like to know too.”

The old man casually pointed at a ruler hanging on the wall: “You could measure it yourselves when you have the time. I measure it whenever I can, but it remains uncertain. Sometimes it just differs by a few square meters in the hall, and other times there are more rooms; who knows if the wizard who made this tent misunderstood the magic.”

“Sounds a bit overly magical,” Zheng Qing said at last, unable to hold back a chuckle.

“Very true. Excessive magic will always lead to chaos. In various degrees and senses,” said the Grey Robe Wizard, pulling open a wooden door at the end of the tent with some force, revealing a dimly lit long corridor with doors of various sizes and shapes scattered along either side.

“Is this where our dormitory is?”

“It doesn’t seem to have the best atmosphere… Do the rooms have windows? I hope there’s a sea view room.”

“Are you here for a vacation?”

The young wizards of the Absolution Hunting Team stretched their necks, engaging in a lively discussion.

“No, no,” Old Verne stood in their line of sight, vigorously shaking his finger, and sternly warned: “I just wanted to tell you in advance that there’s nothing mysterious behind this door, but more doors beyond it. So don’t be driven by curiosity to venture in… If you manage to come back, you’ll find that the scores on your trial card have been completely deducted.”

“So it’s prohibited to enter here?” Zheng Qing suddenly realized.

The old man did not answer but firmly shut the wooden door, even finding a piece of tattered yellow poster paper to seal the door seam, with the words ‘No Entry’ written prominently in red ink.

This indeed somewhat diminished the curiosity of some.

Zheng Qing glanced sideways at Xin Fat Man and Li Meng, uncertain of where the risk lay within this team.

Afterward, the old man took the young wizards to show them their dining area and dormitory.

The so-called dining area was a large table at the edge of the main hall that provided free hot water and chickpea paste, but if they wanted more sumptuous meals, they’d have to venture outside and do it themselves.

The dormitory conditions were slightly better than Zheng Qing had imagined, with two separate rooms, though not spacious and with small windows, they were clean enough, with one room for four boys and another for two girls.

The old man did not give these young individuals much time to rest, quickly guiding them back to the front hall.

On a wall not far from the dining table, he unrolled a scroll that was originally tied up with hemp rope and attached to the ceiling. The scroll unfurled to reveal a map.

Comparing the rivers and mountains seen from the sky, Zheng Qing could vaguely discern that the map depicted the surroundings of the camp.

If not mistaken, the small red triangle likely denotes the location of this camp.

A large expanse of open land lay across the river, its color starkly different from the camp’s side, marked in black. Narrow white paths wound out from the camp, traversing the open land like a spider web, partitioning the black areas into varied plots.

“This is your next task.”

The old man’s bony finger pointed to the variously sized black blocks, and he swept his gaze over the attentive young wizards: “The white paths are safe… it means walking on them won’t lead to untimely death.” Discover more novels at n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net

“And each black area is what we, and you, need to explore.”