The models of level-three spells were the best that the Association of Mages could collect. The rest of the books were on level-one and level-two spells, or biographies and novels, or travel journals about certain places.Those books were not unimportant. All knowledge was useful. Even the travel journals could be eye-openers for the readers. But different people needed different knowledge. For Roland, he was only interested in magic books at this point.

He began to search for useful magic books in the library… In fact, he didn’t care if they were useful but simply took a photo of all the books related to magic, ready to copy them and put them in his Magic Tower after he returned.

While Roland was “looting” books crazily, the other six Mages in the library were more and more drawn to him.

Eventually, it was the male Mage who gave his book to Roland that came to him.

After a brief hesitation, he asked while the other Mages looked at him yearningly, “May I know your name, sir?”

“Roland!”

Roland closed his book and said to the Mage, “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Can you teach us the level-three Flashing Magic Ball?”

The eyes of the male Mage were full of hope.

Roland looked around again, only to find that the rest of the Mages were all staring at him avidly.

So, he might as well teach them.

They had all read the spell model, although they couldn’t understand it yet.

Roland hadn’t improved the model of the Flashing Magic Ball yet, and those Mages would understand the old model sooner or later, so he might as well teach it to them.

Chances were that they would return the favor someday.

Then, all seven of them sat down around a table, and Roland interpreted Flashing Magic Ball in great detail.

Those Mages were all middle-aged men of levels eight and nine. They could learn level-three spells.

Also, Roland’s teaching was very informative. They understood what he said very well.

But the more they listened, the more shocked they became.

It was because of the details that Roland covered. Generally speaking, it would be knowledgeable enough if one knew whether the magic power should pass a certain node quickly or slowly, but Roland told them the functions of all the nodes, informing them what kind of effects the vibrations of a certain frequency at a certain node would cause, why the magic power must be split at certain nodes, etc.

Soon, Roland explained all the nodes in Flashing Magic Ball. The smartest of those Mages could already condense minor plasma balls.

In the next four days, the seven of them met in the library each day and discussed magic.

Although those people did not know the basics as well as Roland did, they were much older than Roland and had many special little tricks.

For example, some of them resolved the problem of creating colored images with mental power.

After listening to their explanation, Roland had a new understanding on the application of mental power.

In the evening of the fourth day, when the meeting was over, Roland said, “I won’t be here tomorrow. There’s business that I must attend to.”

He had learned from the guild channel that Li Lin and the rest of the gang had come to the capital. Tomorrow, they would set off for the quest.

“Mr. Roland, when will you return to Delpon?” someone asked.

Roland thought for a moment and said, “In one month, if we’re quick, or two to three months, if we’re slow. I’m not sure.”

“Then I’ll be sure to visit you in Delpon in half a year,” said the Mage affirmatively.

After the four days, the seven of them were already close to each other. They also learned of each other’s identities.

Of the six Mages, four were branch chairmen of the Magic Towers in other cities, and two were Mages in service at the royal palace.

Roland had always hoped to facilitate the communication among Mages whether they were players or locals of this world.

So, he introduced to them the specialties of his Magic Tower, including the unique spell models he modified.

While he talked, he even released magic spiders and magic puppets to be more persuasive.

That indeed drew the attention of those Mages.

Of course, Roland also told him the rules he would implement. His spell models could only be exchanged with other spells models or magic tricks that were equally valuable, or with an appropriate amount of gold coins.

The other Mages promised that they would be fair.

After all, special spell models could be very attractive for the pure Mages.

After the meeting was over, Roland left the library and checked out at his hotel. Then, he came to the manor of the Hibiscus family.

Li Lin and his other friends were waiting inside.

Roland walked in and hugged his friends that he hadn’t seen for a long time. They were all very happy.

Dinah, on the other hand, smiled to one side. Her eyes were focused on Betta most of the time.

After chatting with his friends for a while, he said, “Miss, everybody has been gathered. Can you tell us the details of this mission now?”

Dinah nodded and pointed at the long table, before she sat down first.

After everybody else was seated, she looked around at F6 and gazed at Betta for two seconds. Then she began. “Like I said earlier, I want you to fetch some water from the Well of Light.”

“The water from the Well of Light?” asked Brazil curiously.

“It’s said to be the tears left by the Goddess of Light. It’s in a certain forsaken place.”

Roland thought for a moment and said, “Then may we know the usage of such water?”

“It can improve your physical qualities and bring you much closer to the light,” Dinah said. “It can also significantly improve your theurgy of light.”

“It sounds rather incredible.” Roland nodded. “But I’m even more curious. If you are aware of this information as a young girl, and you have told it to us so generously, other people must be aware of the water’s existence too. Why has nobody taken the water from the Well of Light yet?”

The rest of F6 were silent, because Roland generally spoke for them in group operations.

Even though Schuck was the nominal leader, he listened to Roland’s command most of the time.

“Because only you and me are aware of this right now.” Dinah’s eyes were focused on Betta, as tranquil as a clear lake reflecting the bright moon. “The goddess told me this piece of information in my dreams.”

A favor from the goddess?

Then it was understandable.

Dinah was a Saint Samurai. The goddess probably felt sorry for her when she made no progress at all.

“Okay, you can tell us the location.” Roland stood up. “We’ll set off right now.”

“It’s buried in the Northern Dawn Woods near Pine Wind City… Why don’t you wait until morning before you take off?” Dinah bit her lips. “It’s already evening.”

“The Golden Sons do not need to sleep.” Roland added, “Besides, the sooner we go, the sooner we will come back. We’ve wasted a lot of time.”

“But…” Dinah peeped at Betta now and then.

“Don’t worry. After we fetch the water and complete the mission, Betta will be one of the Hibiscuses, won’t he?”

There was a teasing smile on Roland’s face.

His other friends were smiling rather mysteriously too.

Betta was the only person who was confused, as if he had no idea why they were smiling so weirdly.

As a shy girl, Dinah stomped on the floor and ran back to her room when they teased her.

“Let’s go.”

Roland snapped his fingers at his friends.

They rented a carriage… Apart from Schuck, Raffel did not come either.

Raffel was now learning under a dwarf shieldmaster and would probably turn into a Dwarf Shieldguard.

He had also studied the Hybrid specialization and selected the dwarf bloodline.

Therefore, the remaining five members of F6 were able to take one carriage and set off.

As a Rogue, Husseret naturally knew how to drive a carriage.

Nothing strange happened on their journey. Because they maintained a high speed, they reached Pine Wind City in no more than three days.

Pine Wind City was at the center of Hollevin with good access to other places. Also, it was surrounded by a fertile plain. So, the city was prosperous and populated.

Though it was not as good as the capital, it was the second largest city in the country and had a profound business atmosphere.

At the same time, many professionals were active in this place.

Many minor mercenary groups even considered the city their base.

Roland and his friends checked in at a hotel in Pine Wind City. After a day of rest, they bought enough food and items that were needed in their adventure, before they set off for the Northern Dawn Woods.

According to Dinah, the ancient relics were buried deep under the Northern Dawn Woods.

However, Roland and his friends ran into trouble when they tried to enter the Northern Dawn Woods.

They were blocked by a mercenary squad.

“Sorry, the Northern Dawn Woods is the territory of the Silver Mercenaries.” Standing before Roland and his friends was a young man with brown hair and blue eyes in gray leather armor. “We’ve rented this area for ten years from the mayor. Everything here belongs to us for the next ten years. So, my friends, please go back. If you want to go hunting, you can go to the Western Dawn Woods over there.”

Roland and his friends looked at each other in bewilderment.

They had gotten off to a bad start.

They did not plan to kill those mercenaries to get through.

It hadn’t been long since the incident with black leaf players happened.

The players had found that the NPCs were strongly protected in this game. Killing ten players might not be as evil as killing one NPC, unless the NPC was an objective in a quest, or if they had done something horrible.

They returned to the hotel and sat around a table. “It seems that we have to figure out a way to get into the woods.”

They all looked at Roland.

Considering for a moment, Roland said, “Those woods are huge. I don’t believe that the mercenaries can keep an eye on every part of it at night. Husseret, you sneak there at night and find out the routines and the sentry posts of the mercenaries first. The rest of us can take a rest.”

“Can we do nothing but wait?” Li Lin scratched his head angrily. “That’s so boring.”

“We can visit the city.” Roland stood up with a smile. “I’ll make preparations to help Husseret at night. Otherwise, it will be too difficult for him to investigate the mercenaries all by himself.”

But at this moment, Brazil suddenly stood up, walked to the window, and looked down.

Then he said, “We’re surrounded. Those people seem hostile.”

Everybody was confused.

They had only been here for half a day, and they hadn’t pissed off anyone yet. Why were they surrounded?