"Is it really him?"
The White-Bearded Man dispersed the white mist in his hand in disappointment, completely ignoring what the female bartender had said.
Instead, he sighed helplessly and said, "Then I guess it shouldn't be him. I've already confirmed it. This kid is a beginner fire-element mage."
"So he's a fire-element mage," The female bartender talked to herself, her eyes lighting up, "No wonder he's so handsome! Ahhh, I really like him. I really want the mage's contact information."
"Besides him, has anyone else come here in the past two days?"
The White-Bearded Man seemed to have remembered something and immediately asked another question.
The female bartender shook her head, "Ever since I was transferred to Branch 1123 of the Magic Tree, the Peace Envoy and him are the only people who have come to this branch. Other than them, no one else has come."
"That's strange."
The White-Bearded Man could not figure it out.
After all, he really could not understand why an alchemist would come all the way to such a remote place just to make an equivalent exchange with an Abyssal Demon.
What could he possibly be exchanging that was worth coming this far?
Or could it be... was there something special about using alchemy on this corrupted blood-soaked land?
For example, was it easier to open an Abyssal Gate and release those monsters?
'No! I have to go back and hold a meeting immediately to discuss this with everyone.'
"Eh! Peace Envoy, why are you leaving?", Seeing the White-Bearded Man leave without another word, the female bartender hurriedly shouted after him, "You haven't put his information into my mocha yet! Sir! Sir..."
Whoosh!
However, at this moment, the White-Bearded Man's mind was filled with nothing but the mysterious alchemist. How could he have time to deal with a lovestruck bartender?
He simply used his magic staff to cut open a spatial gate in midair, then stepped straight into it and left.
———
Ethan still had no idea that he had narrowly escaped disaster by sheer coincidence.
After resting where he was for a while, he decided to go back and upgrade his manor.
But he did not want to return to the Magic Tree branch to take the insect carriage again.
It was not because the insect carriage was inconvenient or because the journey was too long. Rather, he was worried that he might accidentally run into that White-Bearded Man again.
Riding the stone horse all the way back was not impossible either.
After all, the stone horse could run forever.
But Ethan would be the one to die from exhaustion.
Mr. White had said before that traveling from Ethan's territory to Border City would take at least three days even at a fast pace.
And even if Ethan rode the stone horse, hurried along as fast as he could, did not sleep at night, and did not rest during the day, it would still take at least a day to get home, right?
That was way too exhausting.
"Emmm..."
"How about I try to see if I can open a spatial gate to Branch 1123 of the Magic Tree from here?"
A bold idea appeared in Ethan's mind.
It was also because the moment he saw the White-Bearded Man open a spatial gate with his magic staff, Ethan once again sensed that fluctuation in the air.
At the same time, his understanding of space had increased by 1.
This meant... his idea should be correct.
Anyway, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place right now. Going forward meant risking another encounter with the White-Bearded Man, while going back meant facing an extremely long journey.
Might as well give it a try.
"The frequency of the air vibrations at the time..."
Ethan desperately recalled the fluctuations in the air when the Dark Armored Insect had flapped its wings earlier.
Then he took out his magic staff as well and tried to use his understanding of space. He swung the magic staff in his hand again and again, making the air vibrate.
"Slow at first, then faster. A total of 233 strikes."
As Ethan recalled it, he struck the air again and again according to the speed and frequency of the Dark Armored Insect.
When Ethan reached the 125th strike, a black spatial gate appeared beneath his feet.
And that black spot kept growing larger and larger.
But strangely... Ethan could actually hear noisy voices coming from inside the spatial gate.
"What do you think the rewards are for the top three in this climbing competition? Could they be something like divine equipment?"
"I don't know what the prizes for the top three are, but I heard they're being provided jointly by the Magic Council and dozens of city lords. They say it's to prepare for the upcoming Magic Moon."
"The Magic Moon is coming soon. I wonder if we'll be able to withstand it this time."
"We can only hope the lord of Border City doesn't do anything too stupid. Otherwise, it'll be another major disaster."
"Back during that major disaster a few years ago, the Magic Council and the Mage Alliance had to join forces to put an end to it. But several Archmages died in that battle, and nearly a thousand ordinary mages died as well. Don't even get me started on the warriors."
"Sigh! This ten-year Magic Moon really is troublesome."
"Once every ten years isn't even the worst part. The scariest thing is that this year happens to be Magic Calendar Year 2000, which coincides with the ten-year, hundred-year, and thousand-year cycles, creating a triple-stacked Magic Moon. Who knows what will happen."
"Hope for world peace!"
"..."
The two male voices chatting gradually grew farther away, as if someone had passed by the black hole and continued walking away.
Then the voices of two women chatting appeared.
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