One day later, at the Golden Sail Commerce Association outpost in Shiyan Town.
"Lord Velin, are you sure you want to hire a Mage apprentice? You know that even a Mage apprentice must be one of the 'Blooded' to qualify. The price… it isn't cheap."
The association manager was the same fat man he'd met before. He was rubbing his hands, his tone filled with confusion.
For a Pioneer Knight, every single Copper Leaf should be spent where it counts most—for instance, on enchanted weapons or powerful guards.
"There are special circumstances. I need a Mage who can sense the flow of ether."
Velin leaned back in his chair in a relaxed posture, but the subtext in his words was crystal clear—don't ask questions you're not meant to.
"Of course, of course. Your will is my mission."
The manager immediately bowed, said no more, and soon led a young man in.
He was a boy who looked no older than sixteen or seventeen, dressed in a faded gray apprentice's robe. His frail body seemed somewhat lost inside the oversized garment.
The boy clutched a simple Magic Staff carved from white ash wood. The head wasn't embedded with a Magic Power crystal, but it was polished smooth.
He kept his head down, looking nervous, as if he didn't dare to look directly at Velin, a true nobleman.
"Lord Velin, this is Ryo, a Mage apprentice. He has a bit of a talent for Ether Perception, and his price is very reasonable," the manager introduced the boy.
Velin didn't speak. His gaze lingered on the boy for a moment.
[Ryo]
[Level: Level 1 Mage]
[Bloodline: Fae Descendant (Bronze Tier) 32%, Mixed Bloodline 68%]
[Abilities: None]
[Overall Evaluation: A novice who has just crossed the threshold of the Extraordinary. Possesses a faint intuitive sense for the flow of ether. Bloodline optimization is possible.]
[Optimization Plan: ...]
'That's enough.'
"Ryo?" Velin spoke.
"Y-Yes, my lord." The boy jerked his head up, stumbling through a Mage's salute.
"I'm hiring you. Your task is to find an area rich in ether for me. A lower concentration is also acceptable. Can you do it?"
"I can! I can, my lord!" Ryo's eyes lit up. "I've learned two spells, 'Magic Power Perception' and 'Ether Compass.' I can sense the direction of ether flow within a one-kilometer radius. If there's an ether-rich area, I will definitely find it!"
"Very good." Velin stood up. "Your pay will be three Silver Moons per day, room and board included. We leave now."
This price made both the association manager and Ryo pause in surprise.
For a fledgling Mage apprentice, this was undoubtedly a generous offer—the association manager's own daily salary was less than five Silver Moons.
"Thank you for your generosity, my lord!" Ryo bowed deeply, his face flushing red, half from excitement and half from gratitude.
Velin, however, thought nothing of it. Useful people naturally deserved to be paid accordingly.
Before leaving, Velin handed the manager a slip of paper with a list of materials he needed.
Since they were all common materials, Velin bought several boxes and took them with him.
On the way back to Gray Mist Village, Velin and Ryo shared a carriage—not because Velin couldn't ride a horse, but because Ryo, a commoner, couldn't.
Because the original owner of his body was one of the "Bloodless," his knowledge of bloodlines came from ancient texts of dubious authenticity, not from any systematic study.
In order to test some of his theories, and also to assess his new employee's professional expertise, Velin initiated a conversation.
"Ryo, tell me: in your view, what is ether?"
"Huh?" Ryo hadn't expected the noble lord to chat with him. He sat up straight, tense, like a student called on by a teacher in class.
"Ether… is the cornerstone of the world, the life source of all things." He answered as if reciting from a textbook. "It's omnipresent, like air and water. When we breathe and eat, we are exchanging with ether."
"Then what about 'ether-rich areas'?"
"That's different, my lord!" As the conversation turned to his area of expertise, Ryo relaxed and grew more talkative. "Ordinary ether is like a calm stream, but an ether-rich area is like a lake where countless streams converge. The ether concentration there is much higher, and it can take on specific properties depending on the geographical environment. In a rich area, the efficiency of everything from practicing breathing techniques to cultivating Magic Creatures is greatly increased."
"Are they hard to find?"
Ryo scratched his head and said, a little sheepishly, "Actually, it's not hard. Unless you're in a 'Dead Zone,' the continent is full of ether-rich areas of varying concentrations. It's just that the larger the area, the more likely it is to spawn powerful Magical Beasts, or to have already been claimed by powerful nobles and Mages."
Velin nodded in understanding.
This confirmed his suspicions.
'So ether isn't some scarce resource; it's a ubiquitous energy field. All I need to find is a 'node' where the field is stronger.'
For the next few days, with Ryo leading the way, Velin and a ten-man team led by Barrett began to survey the hilly terrain on the outskirts of the marsh, starting from Gray Mist Village.
However, the task proved far more difficult than imagined.
Ryo's spell was indeed effective; the tip of his ash wood Magic Staff would glow faintly according to the flow of ether.
But the environment around the Gray Sea Marsh was simply too harsh.
The first location they surveyed was a mud pit bubbling with green gas. Ryo said the ether concentration was acceptable, but the acrid smell of sulfur and the fact that the mud was toxic enough to kill a rabbit made it worthless as a potential campsite.
The second location was a steep slope of jagged rocks. Ryo's Magic Staff glowed astonishingly brightly, but when Barrett sent a man to climb up, he was met by a swarm of fist-sized "Thornback Bees" with venomous stingers. They nearly lost someone.
For four consecutive days, the team found nothing, and the mood grew increasingly oppressive.
The air also turned strange. The sea breeze that usually blew had died down, replaced by a stifling, humid heat that made it hard to breathe. The sky grew as dark as an early dusk.
On the morning of the fifth day, Old Walker appeared before Velin's party as they were about to set out. He gazed gravely toward the depths of the marsh, his withered fingers fidgeting. "My lord, something's wrong. The 'Crying Moon' is coming."
"The Crying Moon?"
"It's the rainy season in the Gray Sea Marsh, my lord."
Old Walker's voice was low and hoarse.
"Every year, at the start of summer, it rains for over a month straight in the Gray Sea Marsh. When that happens, the whole marsh turns into a part of the ocean. The ground beneath our feet becomes a quagmire that can swallow a man whole, and the Magical Beasts that live deep in the marsh all come out to hunt."
He paused, his murky eyes filled with a fear rooted in his bloodline.
"When I was young, I saw an adventuring team that didn't make it out before the rainy season. There were more than fifty of them, but fewer than ten survived. The roars of the Magical Beasts in the marsh merge into one constant sound, day and night, like the whole marsh is wailing. That's why we, the people who have lived here for generations, call it the 'Crying Moon.'"
Velin, already feeling pressured, grew even more frustrated. He was out of time.
He glanced at the village's perimeter wall. It was reasonably sturdy, but only enough to fend off scattered Magical Beasts.
'I can't leave our fate to the Magical Beasts of the marsh!'
"We're pressing on," he commanded.
He had to find an ether-rich area before the "Crying Moon" arrived. He would use the Spring Messenger to accelerate the evolution of the Stone Skin Vines and personally "print" a fortress sturdy enough to withstand the tide of Magical Beasts!