Chapter 41
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Marietta stared wide–eyed at Linda fleeing from the valley. She believed that the person hidden in the thick mist had to be Linda as well.
Marietta thought, ‘She’d been right behind us the whole time. Why did she wait until now to show herself?‘
Marietta gritted her teeth. Even though the woman’s face was covered and she couldn’t make out her features, Marietta just knew that she had to be Linda.
The woman’s eyes and brows were unmistakably familiar.
Her build matched Linda’s perfectly as well.
But if it really was Linda, there was no way Marietta could let Toney find out who she really was.
Marietta whipped around and dashed off with Toney.
“Toney, it sounds like things are getting wild back there. We need to get out of here now.” Marietta urged.
Toney immediately picked up the pace.
Linda noticed Marietta’s hateful glare but didn’t bother chasing after them.
She simply cast a calm glance in their direction, her hands moving swiftly as she pulled someone out.
It was Alfredo.
“Why should I save this guy?” Linda asked.
If she hadn’t doubled back to fish Alfredo out, she wouldn’t have shown up at this moment.
Emmett, inside the Amethyst Band, piped up, “I just picked up a familiar vibe from him. Pretty sure he’s got something I want.”
“What exactly?” Linda asked.
“Still figuring it out,” Emmett replied.
The disaster came so quickly that he barely had time to think. He just told Linda to grab Alfredo first and figure out the rest later.
The disaster inside the valley was still raging, held back for now by the mountain walls. But it was still dangerous as hell.
Linda dragged Alfredo a few feet away, scanning the area with a furrowed brow, clearly searching for something.
Her face looked unnaturally pale..
Emmett picked up on it instantly. “Pushed yourself too hard, hu? All out of juice now?”
‘Serves you right for getting cocky.‘ Emmett thought smugly.
Linda said calmly, “I need to find a safe shelter to recuperate. Can you keep watch for me?”
Those two gold charms had completely drained her mana. She needed somewhere safe to restore her strength, or she wouldn’t make it through the next twenty days.
Emmett’s mouth twitched. “Why make it so complicated? Just head into Dream–Weaver Fens.”
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‘Dream–Weaver Fens… Linda mused.
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She instantly pictured that Lucent Mere. Linda glanced down at the ring. “You mean, I can actually go inside the ring?”
Can a Void Ring really hold its master? Linda wondered.
Emmett caught on right away and explained, “Now that I’m the resident spirit in this ring, it’s nothing like those cheap Void Rings you’ve seen before.
“Just focus your mind, and you’ll be able to step right in.”
Linda thought, ‘Cheap?
Void Rings are anything but cheap
Linda asked, “So what, I just toss the ring on the ground and let someone else pick it up?”
“Please, I can transform now. As the spirit living in this ring, I can shrink it down to a speck of dust and bury it in the dirt. No one’s ever gonna find it,” Emmett bragged.
Linda’s frown relaxed. “Sounds good to me.”
“Still, you should get far away from here. If that devouring force leaks out, you’ll be toast,” Emmett warned.
Linda said, “Yeah, thanks for the heads–up. I’m not stupid.”
Linda hauled Alfredo away, flying a good distance to make sure they were far from the valley entrance and the coast was clear.
Once she was sure, she dumped Alfredo into the Amethyst Band first.
Then she slipped inside after him.
The space inside the Amethyst Band had become a world shimmering with starlight.
A Lucent Mere surrounded a patch of rich, fertile earth at the center.
On that land grew a millennia–old Nucleus Orchard, the third–tier Dusk–Tart Orchard Linda had brought in, and more than a dozen third–tier witch–weeds.
Other witch–weeds were scattered around the Alchemical Arbor
Everything was thriving
They were thriving far more than they ever did in the valley. They were lush, vibrant, and putting their old selves to shame.
Linda’s gaze deepened, her eyes dark with contemplation.
Emmett materialized atop the Alchemical Arbor, arms folded, looking down at Linda with a superior smirk. “These low- level witch–weeds must’ve hit the jackpot to end up in Dream–Weaver Fens.”
Honestly, if it were up to him, he wouldn’t have let this junk in here.
Linda gathered her skirts and seuled herself cross–legged. ‘Hontly, I don’t see any difference between you and them. You’re all just stuff I use for alchemy, no need to act all superior
Emmett stomped right up to Linda, bristling with indignation. In an Enchantment spirit the most precious companion spirit in existence.
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“I run this whole realm. And you dare lump me in with a bunch of weeds?”
Linda just shut her eyes, not even bothering to respond,
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Emmett puffed up, looking absolutely miserable. “Apologize right now, or I’m gonna get mad. I won’t play with you anymore”
Linda said flatly, “I’m going to meditate. Go amuse yourself.”
Linda raised her hand and casually pushed Emmett aside. Five Cilded Cores floated around her, forming a protective barrier that kept her safe.
Emmett stared at those Gilded Cores, totally lost in thought.
How the hell does a mage’s Gilded Core leave their body?‘ Emmett wondered.
This was something Emmett had never managed to wrap his head around.
Emmett wasn’t the only one stumped. Even Mack Dunlap had almost freaked out the first time he saw it.
No one ever expected Linda to take advantage of the Mind–Tempering Liturgy’s quirks, using a technique that cycled mana inside and out to lay down five huge mana channels outside her body.
It was like she’d created a massive phantom self, enveloping her true body.
Within these outer spell circuits, Linda’s Gilded Cores could roam around outside her, even letting her strike from angles no one saw coming,
When Linda shared this idea with Mack, he stared at her for ages before finally saying, “You really are a genius.”
People kept calling her a genius, but it was just noise to Linda now.
Frankly, she was over it.
She just wanted to get stronger,
If this trick worked, that was all she cared about.
Mack warned her, “But this technique does have a downside. If someone manages to knock your Gilded Core loose, you could lose it and end up seriously injured. Not really worth the risk.”
After all, a Gilded Core was everything to a mage.
Linda just waved it off. “Sir, I’m not worried about that. I might not have much, but I’ve got more Gilded Cores than most people.”
Mack just stared at her, lost for words.
He said, “Fine.”
Mack felt that there was really nothing to worry about now.
Linda activated the Mind–Tempering Liturgy, channeling ambient mana from all around her. The mana surged through the Amethyst Band, pouring straight into Dream–Weaver Fens in a powerful rush.
Five swirling streams of mana mist swept down from the void, leaving Emmett momentarily dumbstruck
Emmett thought, ‘Who the hell is she?
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Chapter 41
“I run this whole realm. And you dare lump me in with a bunch of weeds?”
Linda just shut her eyes, not even bothering to respond.
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Emmett puffed up, looking absolutely miserable. “Apologize right now, or I’m gonna get mad. I won’t play with you anymore.”
Linda said flatly, “I’m going to meditate. Go amuse yourself.”
Linda raised her hand and casually pushed Emmett aside. Five Gilded Cores floated around her, forming a protective barrier that kept her safe.
Emmett stared at those Gilded Cores, totally lost in thought.
How the hell does a mage’s Gilded Core leave their body?‘ Emmett wondered.
This was something Emmett had never managed to wrap his head around.
Emmett wasn’t the only one stumped. Even Mack Dunlap had almost freaked out the first time he saw it.
No one ever expected Linda to take advantage of the Mind–Tempering Liturgy’s quirks, using a technique that cycled mana inside and out to lay down five huge mana channels outside her body.
It was like she’d created a massive phantom self, enveloping her true body.
Within these outer spell circuits, Linda’s Gilded Cores could roam around outside her, even letting her strike from angles no one saw coming.
When Linda shared this idea with Mack, he stared at her for ages before finally saying, “You really are a genius.”
People kept calling her a genius, but it was just noise to Linda now.
Frankly, she was over it.
She just wanted to get stronger.
If this trick worked, that was all she cared about.
Mack warned her, “But this technique does have a downside. If someone manages to knock your Gilded Core loose, you could lose it and end up seriously injured. Not really worth the risk.”
After all, a Gilded Core was everything to a mage.
Linda just waved it off. “Sir, I’m not worried about that. I might not have much, but I’ve got more Gilded Cores than most people.”
Mack just stared at her, lost for words.
He said, “Fine.”
Mack felt that there was really nothing to worry about now.
Linda activated the Mind–Tempering Liturgy, channeling ambient mana from all around her. The mana surged through the Amethyst Band, pouring straight into Dream–Weaver Fens in a powerful rush.
Five swirling streams of mana mist swept down from the void, leaving Emmett momentarily dumbstruck.
Emmett thought, Who the hell is she?
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Chapter 41
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‘She’s triggering phenomena in Dream–Weaver Fens simply by meditating. Why does it look so easy for her to pull in this massive surge of ambient mana?‘
Watching Linda turn into a vortex, endlessly devouring ambient mana, Emmett sucked in a sharp breath. “This new master of mine is something else.”
His former owner never had this kind of talent, not even when he hit the Gilded Phase.
However, Linda, who was supposed to have a rough time cultivating with her fivefold affinities, was pulling this off like it was nothing.
Emmett’s gaze kept shifting, torn between doubt and hope, but finally he made up his mind.
He thought, ‘Guess I’ll stick with her and see where this goes. Who knows, maybe she will be able to help me.
‘Maybe I won’t be trapped in this realm forever after all.
Emmett squatted off to the side, watching for a bit, when he suddenly remembered Alfredo, the guy Linda had dragged in.
He smacked himself on the head, then rushed over and started stripping Alfredo, poking through his belongings to see what secrets he might be hiding.
Five days later, Linda came out of her meditation.
After opening her eyes, she realized that mana was flowing smoothly through every spell circuits. She lifted her hand and realized she’d made a breakthrough.
She’d advanced from the second degree of the third phase of mana–Stoking to the third degree.
Her Wood Affinity was at the fourth degree
Mana–Channeling
Her Water and Pyric Affinities were at the third degree of mana–Channeling.
Her Metal and Earth Affinities were at the second degree.
Linda raised an eyebrow and thought, ‘The mana of Wood here is so dense that it jumped me straight to degree four.
‘That’s insane.‘
