Although they were once comrades who defeated the great demon king Diablo and his brothers together, it did not mean these heroes could become friends.
Differences in concepts and habits prevented them from truly becoming close. So, over the years, these heroes had not visited each other.
Ethan was the only person among those Xul met during that adventurous journey who came to visit him, and the first person who treated him as a friend.
So when Ethan activated his teleportation magic and left, Xul carefully put away the amulet Ethan had given him.
After leaving the smelly swamp, Ethan immediately locked onto Isendra's location.
Having learned from his mistake with Xul, Ethan did not rashly teleport directly next to Isendra this time.
Putting aside the fact that his target was a woman, if he happened to catch her changing or bathing, whether she minded or not was one thing, but Ethan himself would be very awkward.
Another important factor was that Isendra mostly stayed at the Holy Sanctuary, a sacred place for mages where most of the world's powerful mages gathered. If he just teleported there rashly, who knew what defensive spells he might trigger.
Even if he did not trigger defensive spells, being surrounded and attacked by a large group of mages would not be a good thing. So, after confirming Isendra's location, he first moved a significant distance in that direction, and then, like the mages of this world, teleported within visual range.
The only difference was that the mages here teleported on the ground, while he did so in mid-air.
Being in the air, he did not have to worry about terrain restrictions and could avoid accidentally teleporting into a ditch.
At the same time, being high up gave him a better view, ensuring he could see the Sanctuary at first glance, allowing him to teleport directly near it.
What surprised Ethan was that he had confirmed Isendra's location was within visual range, but there was no Sanctuary in the area before him, just a very ordinary town.
Ethan thought for a moment in mid-air, then activated a teleportation, arriving at a corner near the town. He then came out and walked onto the main road before entering the town on foot.
"Did I just happen to arrive at the time Isendra was assassinated?"
He thought about it and decided it was impossible. When he activated the teleportation, he had specifically emphasized that the time he was entering was a few years after he left.
Although there was no clear record of how many years after defeating Diablo Isendra was killed, it should not have happened within a few years.
Because there was one thing that could be used as a reference.
That was, after Isendra returned to the Holy Sanctuary, she took in a female disciple named Li Ming.
As the combat ace among the mages in this world, Li Ming quickly depleted Isendra's resources. Coupled with Isendra's indulgence, another mage in the Sanctuary, Volsec, took over the task of teaching Li Ming.
Several years later, when Li Ming had grown into a formidable mage, Isendra was assassinated. This incident greatly stimulated Li Ming, becoming the catalyst for her leaving the mage community and forming the Mystic community a few years later.
Assuming Li Ming, who was around ten years old when Isendra returned to the Sanctuary, immediately appeared in the Holy Sanctuary of Yishali, Li Ming should still be a young girl now. Time-wise, she might have just been taken over by Volsec for teaching, which meant Isendra should be quite alive and well at the moment.
"Besides, it does not look hot and dry here."
The climate was cool, the pedestrians on the street did not look distressed, and vendors had stalls selling various goods. This small town was full of vitality, so perhaps Isendra was just out on business and happened to be staying in this town.
Following the magical sensing, Ethan quickly found Isendra in this small city. The female mage was still wearing her green outfit, revealing large areas of healthy and beautiful dark skin.
At this moment, Isendra was standing in front of a fruit stall, selecting fruits she liked. She then smiled and paid the vendor, turned her head and glanced in Ethan's direction, then turned back and continued walking down the road.
Ethan gave a wry smile. Although Isendra had not said anything to him, that one look conveyed a clear message, follow me.
He guessed that Isendra had not recognized who he was. She had simply sensed his magical fluctuations and realized that this was not a suitable place for a conversation. There was also the possibility of a conflict. If they fought here, the full power of two mages could completely erase this city from the world.
So Isendra's first choice was to lead the person outside the city. After arriving outside, she did not stop but immediately activated her teleportation magic, continuously rushing into the distance. In just a few blinks, Isendra was reduced to a tiny figure in Ethan's eyes.
Sighing helplessly, Ethan also activated his teleportation. Compared to Isendra's activation, which was accompanied by electric sparks and strong magical fluctuations, Ethan's teleportation had almost no magical fluctuations or energy light. He simply took a gentle step forward, and when he reappeared, he was already standing in front of Isendra.
"..."
Isendra looked at the unfamiliar man before her, her expression more serious than ever. Perhaps she had the same expression when facing Diablo, Mephisto, and Baal, but Ethan had never seen it.
Holding her staff and striking a pose, Isendra's magic power was fluctuating violently. She could unleash a series of powerful magical attacks on the stranger before her at any moment if she wished.
However, she still asked about his intentions first to avoid accidental injury.
"No need to be nervous."
Ethan raised his hand and took out the Bracers Isendra had given him back then.
"I am Ethan."
"Ethan?"
Isendra did not relax her guard and showed a suspicious expression.
"You say you are Ethan? Then what spells did you use when you rescued Deckard Cain with me?"
"It is a shame, I was too weak back then and did not have enough strength to adventure with you. I withdrew after the battle with Blood Raven, and I did not have the ability to cast any spells at that time."
Hearing Ethan's answer, Isendra relaxed her guard slightly, then looked him over with a surprised expression.
"Are you really Ethan? You have changed so much."
Isendra could understand the changes in height and build, as Ethan had still been young when she met him.
As for his appearance, after so many years, a change in looks was somewhat acceptable, although he had become a bit too handsome.
What was with this powerful strength?
When facing Ethan, Isendra had the illusion of facing a demon lord from hell again, even though he had not released any magical fluctuations.
However, as a mage, Isendra also drew energy from the magic-filled plane to increase her strength or replenish her magic consumption. The moment Ethan appeared before her, she had a fleeting illusion of facing that vast and boundless alien plane filled with energy.
"Is it an illusion?"
She had indeed thought so, but in the end, she trusted her feelings. As an outstanding mage, she absolutely did not believe she had felt wrong.
"A lot has happened, and for me, it has not just been a few years."
Compared to Xul, Ethan had even more respect for Isendra.
In the initial stages of his path as a mage, the Ancient One, Merlin, Akara, and Isendra all played important roles. They successively helped him lay the foundation, allowing him to advance rapidly on his path as a mage.
If Ethan's training on the path of magic is compared to building a skyscraper, then the Ancient One taught him how to better use his spiritual power, giving him a good foundation, which was like helping him perfect the foundation.
Merlin gave him a sufficiently broad space for development and drew up a detailed construction blueprint.
How to start building was learned from Isendra, who taught him the basic knowledge.
As for Akara, the potion making she taught became an accelerator, helping Ethan speed up the construction from time to time.
Combining the things taught by these people, he finally became who he is today.
When facing these few people, Ethan basically would not hide anything. Besides, he had passed the stage of being cautious and struggling to survive. He often spoiled things for the locals, so there was even less need to hide anything from acquaintances.
Therefore, when Isendra marveled at why he could have such a dramatic change in strength in such a short time, Ethan directly told her about his situation.
In fact, he had also wanted to tell Akara and Xul, but these two did not want to interfere with Ethan's life, so they were not interested in his situation. They also did not think about learning anything from his experiences, because they had already determined the path they were on and would take in the future.
Isendra, on the other hand, was a mage. She had a strong curiosity about how Ethan had grown into such a powerful mage, so she not only asked questions but also asked them in detail.
Ethan's answer shocked her. Only then did she understand how he had teleported away back then. Afterwards, she had specifically studied the scattered energy, but she had not found anything.
She was incredibly curious about what kind of powerful mage Ethan's teacher was. Why had she never heard of him? Now she finally had the answer. His teachers were not from this world at all.
"After hearing about your experiences, I am truly honored to be one of your mentors."
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)