Science/Magic

The Archon tree was a very valuable treasure. It could gather and purify mana before spreading it to the surroundings.

Normally, Archon trees only grow up to fifteen meters. However, this Archon tree was almost one hundred meters tall. Even if it was not the tallest Archon tree in the world, it was one of the tallest.

"Amazing, right?" Chorius spoke in pride. "It was the pay I received for guarding the borders of the exiled lands. This tree is probably the most valuable of its kind in the entire world. I don't want to brag, but cultivating here is around five times easier than in the outside world."

"Impressive." Bloed whistled.

"Mm mm." The bird nodded pleased. "This tree alone is responsible for creating the entire swamp. Moreover, have you not noticed yet?"

Bloed tilted his head in confusion. He observed the tree carefully for a few seconds, but he could not find anything strange.

Regina was the one that rescued him.

"Master, the mana here is different."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"… It's not berserk." Liu Ying mumbled in astonishment. "Impossible… all the mana in the exiled lands is supposed to be berserk."

The bird nodded pridefully. "This tree is the cause. It calmed down the mana in hundreds of meters around it, eliminating all the side effects of the Exiled Lands."

Berserk mana was one of the Exiled Lands' distinctive features. Due to the great battle that occurred one hundred years ago where gods fell and thousands of forbidden spells were used, the mana in this part of the continent turned berserk. Since then, cultivating here was many times harder, and if you were not careful, the berserk mana could injure you or even turn you crazy.

That was the reason behind the bloodthirstiness of the monsters in the exiled lands. The berserk mana made them much crazier and ferocious that their counterparts outside the Exiled Lands.

"Come, follow me inside. I trust that none of you need my help to climb the tree, right?" After saying it, Chorius flew towards the treetop. He then flew inside a hole-like opening and disappeared from the group's sight.

Bloed looked at the others. "Let's go."

But before he could jump, Regina stopped him. "Master, let me go first. It could be dangerous."

Bloed thought for a moment and nodded. They just met this bird, so Bloed could not trust it completely. Although it had shown goodwill until now, maybe it was just a way to bait them to a trap.

The next second, Regina kicked the ground and jumped directly into the hole.

Liu Ying opened her mouth wide.

"Bloed, there is something I don't understand." Liu Ying asked.

Bloed indicated her to ask while waiting for Regina's signal.

"… If Regina is so strong, why did she not destroy the beast horde directly?" Liu Ying said unable to hide her confusion. "With her strength, we would not have needed to escape."

Bloed smiled wryly. He thought for a moment and decided that there was no need to hide it.

"It was to not stunt my growth."

"Huh?" Liu Ying was taken aback.

Bloed explained. "Battles and life and death situations are the best way to temper one's strength. Before dying, my mother asked Regina to keep me safe, but at the same time, she told her to not interfere with my growth. Due to it, Regina will normally not use her true strength at least my life is in danger. In fact, Regina will probably not act even if I'm gravely injured. She will only move in situations like today, where the threat to my life is evident and I can't resolve it through my own strength."

Liu Ying nodded in understanding... Soon, however, she noticed something in Bloed's words.

"Mother?" It was the first time Liu Ying heard Bloed talking about his family.

But instantly, she saw Bloed's expression turn downcast.

'Right, he said that his mother died!' Liu Ying instantly regretted not being more careful. It was obvious that this topic bothered Bloed.

"S-Sorry, it was not my intention to…"

Bloed shook his head. "Don't worry, It's just I was reminded of something. My mother, she… She was an amazing woman."

Liu Ying wanted to continue asking, but at that moment, Regina's voice came from the hole.

"Master, everything is fine."

Bloed nodded. He instantly jumped on the tree and stepped on the branches to reach the hole.

Liu Ying could only suppress her curiosity and follow behind him.

The hole was located fifty meters up from the ground, but it was not a problem for superhumans such as Bloed or Liu Ying. In a few seconds, both of them reached it.

Chorius greeted them with a displeased face.

"Boy, why is this young girl so distrusting? Even although I told her that there was nothing wrong, she insisted on examining each notch of the place!"

"I have to ensure my master's safety." Regina replied indifferently. "Besides, I don't trust you."

The bird scowled. "Boy, I think that this puppet has a flaw in her personality."

Bloed ignored the bird's words. He even didn't correct the bird for calling Regina 'puppet'. It was obvious the bird did no care about his opinion.

The three of them watched Chorius's home with interest. Bloed was very surprised. Chorius's abode was filled with all kinds of valuable treasures. Bloed saw gold, jewels, magic cores, precious plants, and even a big luxurious bed. Some of these treasures showed energy fluctuations that blinded Bloed's eyes.

Apart from these, the bird also had a big library that occupied more than half of the space. The library was filled with books, mainly about magic. Bloed saw many books about magic theories that he did not even know existed.

"This is my library." The bird said when it saw Bloed's interested gaze. "It's filled with the most valuable books I had found in my life. Some of the books are incredibly valuable, so valuable that kings would kill to have them."

"Amazing…" Bloed could not hide his astonishment.

Chorius looked at Bloed with a smile. "Do you like books?"

Bloed nodded with an embarrassed smile.

"Me too." Chorius said happily. "Since the day I was able to coherent thought and learned to talk, I was charmed by the worlds hidden in the books. The information you can find in the sea of words is incredible."

Bloed agreed with him. "Yeah, I have also loved books since I was a child. Unfortunately, I have read most of the books I have."

The bird grinned. "Well, It's hard to meet with a kindred spirit. Go ahead, you can read them."

Bloed was not polite and walked towards the library. He started grabbing a book about lightning magic and in seconds, he was completely immersed. He only raised his face to ask some question to Chorius from time in time.

Regina smiled wryly and decided to observe the treasures. She analyzed their composition and characteristic and added them to her database. This information could be useful to Bloed someday. Of course, she made sure of keeping an eye on Bloed in case the bird tried something funny.

Liu Ying could only look helplessly while the other three busied themselves. The bird had completely ignored her and perched on Bloed's shoulder, talking with him about magic theories.

She could only walk towards the treasures and examine them, but unlike Regina, she could see nothing beyond their beautiful shapes and the abundant mana inside them.

Only after one hour, Bloed and Chorius stopped their reading and conversation.

"Such a satisfying chat. Boy, you are very knowledgeable about magic despite your inability to use it. Are you interested in staying here with me to study magic together?" The bird said with sincere admiration. It was in awe of Bloed vast knowledge. Some of Bloed's opinions about magic were so enlightening that Chorius was still thinking about them.

Regretfully, Bloed shook his head. "Although that is a tempting proposal, unfortunately, I must leave."

The bird sighed. "Such a shame. Well, if one day you get bored of the outside world, you can come here."

Bloed smiled. "Of course."

Afterward, the bird flew up and perched in a branch.

"It's time to give you the reward I promised… Mmm, what about this, each one of you can choose a treasure from my collection."