Wizard + System

CH254

Helag chuckled, realizing that the three of them were indeed just hitching a ride on the airship.

The third level of the airship was quite complex, with multiple housing areas.

Helag and his companions chose two rooms near the windows, allowing them to enjoy the view and avoid feeling claustrophobic during the long journey.

Having spent months at sea before, Helag knew how oppressive it could feel to be confined below deck for extended periods.

After a few days on the airship, Helag discovered that it had a library, and a rather large one at that.

Upon learning that all the books were free to read, Helag felt like he had struck gold. He practically moved into the library, spending as much time there as possible.

Every day, as soon as he woke up, Helag would dive into the library, immersing himself in the books.

The library had a wide variety of books, covering topics such as potion-making, spell theory, elemental magic, and spatial magic.

Most importantly, Helag found a book titled *Introduction to Wizard Arrays*.

In the Barrens, there was no knowledge or inheritance of wizard arrays.

But here, this introductory book on wizard arrays was casually placed on the shelf like a common magazine, available for anyone to read.

Helag wasn't about to pass up this opportunity to learn, especially since it was free.

With nothing else to do on the airship, he settled into the library and began studying.

His enthusiasm soon spread to Reese and David, who also started picking up books and quietly studying in the library.

Helag recorded all the books in the library into Deep Blue, then focused on studying *Introduction to Wizard Arrays*.

After reading the book thoroughly, Helag gained a basic understanding.

The foundation of wizard arrays lies in runes, of which there are thousands, each with different properties and functions.

By arranging these runes in specific patterns, one can create various types of wizard arrays with different effects.

Because there are so many runes, the possible combinations are nearly endless, leading to a wide variety of arrays.

The first step in learning wizard arrays is to recognize, familiarize, and master the various runes.

The more runes you can master, the better, as they are the building blocks of wizard arrays—the essential tools.

The more tools you have, the easier it will be to design and set up arrays.

This book, *Introduction to Wizard Arrays*, only covered the basics, introducing sixteen foundational runes.

For a beginner, these sixteen runes were more than enough to support a long period of study and practice.

To master a rune, one had to construct its structure in their mind through meditation, using mental energy to form it.

This process required a high level of mental control and concentration.

For an ordinary wizard, learning these runes would take a long time, as they would need to carefully observe the rune's structure and slowly construct it in their mind through meditation.

But Helag had Deep Blue.

"Deep Blue, start constructing these sixteen runes," Helag commanded.

[Task created.

Execution in progress.

Estimated time: 31 minutes.]

In Helag's mind, Deep Blue began precisely constructing the rune structures using his mental energy.

In just half an hour, all sixteen runes were imprinted in Helag's mind.

Helag opened his eyes and extended his right hand. Magic gathered in his palm, and a basic rune was instantly inscribed.

Normally, when a wizard first starts learning arrays, just the step of inscribing a rune takes a lot of time.

This is because inscribing a rune requires intense mental focus. The wizard must control their mental energy to guide their magic in inscribing the rune, with no room for error.

Even the slightest mistake would cause the rune to dissipate.

For beginners, this is a challenging process that takes time to master.

But now, the runes in Helag's hand shifted continuously, with all sixteen runes appearing one after another. He inscribed them with ease, as if it were second nature.

He had fully mastered the sixteen basic runes.

The simplest wizard array is created by combining different runes to form a micro-array.

Helag glanced at his clothes and inscribed three runes into the fabric.

Then, he picked up his cup of coffee and let a drop fall onto his sleeve.

The coffee quickly soaked into the fabric, leaving a brown stain.

But in the next moment, a barely perceptible ripple spread across the surface of his clothes, and the stain disappeared.

"One of the most basic arrays: the Cleaning Array."

Helag smiled, pleased with his first successful array, even though it was just a simple one.

He then thought about the wizard arrays in Blackrock Valley and the ones he had encountered before.

Now that he had some understanding, he realized just how powerful those arrays were.

For example, the protective array in Blackrock Valley covered a vast area. Helag couldn't even begin to imagine how many runes were used to construct it.

The knowledge behind these arrays was incredibly profound, and Helag felt that he still had much to learn and a long way to go.

Pruis entered the library and saw Helag and his companions engrossed in their books. He sat down across from Helag.

Hearing the movement, Helag looked up and greeted him, "Good morning, Mr. Pruis."

Pruis nodded and glanced at the book Helag was reading. He smiled and said, "Very good. Anyone who can make it out of the Barrens is no ordinary person. You should spend more time on that introductory book on arrays. There's no such knowledge in the Barrens. In the Land of Dawn, this is considered a children's primer."

"A children's primer…" Helag was speechless.

No wonder the book was casually placed on the shelf like a magazine—it was considered a children's book in the Land of Dawn.

***

Half a month passed, and Helag and his companions spent most of their time in the library, studying diligently like students preparing for exams.

Helag even took on the role of a teacher, answering questions from David and Reese whenever they didn't understand something.

Most of the time, Helag could answer their questions clearly and logically.

This was partly due to Deep Blue storing a vast amount of data, but also because Helag had spent years constantly learning and thinking.

After half a month, the airship finally began to leave the Ten Thousand Mountains behind.

Helag and his companions stood by the window and looked down. Below them was no longer the endless mountain range, but flat, open land.

However, the land was black and covered in large cracks, as if it had been dry for a long time.

CH255

Looking down from the sky, the black plains stretched endlessly below.

The plains were riddled with cracks of various sizes, some so deep they formed canyons.

There wasn't a hint of green, no sign of vegetation.

Not even a single blade of grass could be seen on the ground, nor any animals moving about.

As for humans, there was no trace of them either—not even the slightest sign of human activity.

Pruis stood by the window and spoke, "In areas overtaken by the Wasteland, no vegetation can grow. If we hadn't preserved the Land of Dawn and the Barrens, we wouldn't even have places to grow food. Who knows how many people would starve to death."

"And the territory of the Land of Dawn is shrinking. Over the years, it's been slowly eaten away."

Helag asked, "Even with Wizard Towers protecting the cities, they still get overrun?"

If the territory was shrinking, it meant that some cities, even with the protection of Wizard Towers, had been polluted by the Wasteland or overrun by monsters.

The wizard organizations in the Land of Dawn were incredibly powerful now, yet even they were being forced to retreat…

Pruis gave a bitter smile. "Yes, every so often, something abnormal happens. For example, someone inside a city might suddenly become contaminated, and overnight, the pollution spreads throughout the entire city. Or, a powerful, strange entity might suddenly appear and storm the city."

"These events are rare, but when they do happen, they're catastrophic. A city can fall suddenly and very quickly."

"That's why we invade other planes to plunder resources. We have no choice. If we don't seize resources from other planes, the ones we have here will eventually run out. We have to expand into new planes."

The wizards of the Land of Dawn invade other planes to ensure their own survival.

Though the wizard organizations in the Land of Dawn appear strong, they are constantly surrounded by danger.

Compared to the vast polluted areas, the Land of Dawn is just a small piece of land.

In those unknown polluted regions, who knows what kinds of powerful creatures exist?

If one of those powerful beings were to emerge one day, the entire Land of Dawn could be wiped out.

No one knows what's really going on in the polluted areas. Even those who venture in to investigate can't go far and can only explore the outskirts.

Helag hadn't realized just how dire the situation was for the wizards of the Land of Dawn.

In the Barrens, he had never heard of any of this and had no understanding of the overall situation on the Karag Continent.

Now that he knew, he realized that all wizards were facing a grim reality.

The people of the Barrens, unaware of the truth, probably lived more carefree lives, with far less pressure.

But the people of the Land of Dawn were born knowing what surrounded them and what kind of situation they were in. From the start, they knew the harsh reality they faced.

David and Reese also fell into deep thought. They hadn't expected the Land of Dawn, which they had always dreamed of, to be a place filled with such peril.

Helag's mind raced with thoughts. He realized that all his future actions would need to be even more cautious.

The situation in the Land of Dawn was too complex. In addition to the various internal factions, the polluted regions outside were a massive threat.

Helag thought for a moment and asked, "Mr. Pruis, which city are we headed to?"

He had the full map of the Land of Dawn in his mind, and Seranthiel had many cities, each in different locations.

Helag wanted to know which city they would be going to. In theory, the closer they were to the Central Zone, the safer they would be, as it was farther from the polluted regions.

However, there were polluted areas scattered between the cities, marked in black on the map.

Although the polluted areas between cities weren't as large as those outside, they were still spread out in a chaotic pattern, with many small patches here and there.

"Silvermoon City. It's Lord Parker's main residence, and most of our faction operates out of there," Pruis replied.

Helag immediately checked his mental map and found Silvermoon City's location.

Seranthiel was in the southern part of the Land of Dawn, near the Ten Thousand Mountains.

Silvermoon City was located in the southernmost part of Seranthiel, closest to the Ten Thousand Mountains.

In terms of location, Silvermoon City was relatively safe, as there were no large polluted areas nearby.

The only polluted area was the one between Silvermoon City and the Ten Thousand Mountains, and it wasn't very large.

Most importantly, this polluted area was a flat plain, making it easy to monitor the situation.

Unlike other cities, where vast, uncharted polluted regions loomed just beyond the horizon, Silvermoon City's surroundings were more predictable.

The only downside was that Silvermoon City had no buffer zone—no other cities stood between it and the polluted areas.

If something went wrong, Silvermoon City would face the threat directly, with no buffer to fall back on.

But this wasn't something Helag could control. Silvermoon City was still one of the better locations.

All he could do was remain cautious and be even more careful in the future.

The airship flew over the black plains for nearly half a month.

Looking down at the plains, Helag thought that if it weren't for the Wasteland's pollution, this would have been a very livable place.

The vast plains offered plenty of land for cultivation. Just this one plain could have fed all the people of the Land of Dawn.

Unfortunately, it had been polluted by the Wasteland, turning it into a barren wasteland where not even a blade of grass could grow, let alone crops.

Helag also spotted a dried-up riverbed. Judging by its width, it must have once been a mighty river, nourishing the surrounding plains.

About a hundred kilometers from the dried-up riverbed was Silvermoon City.

From the airship, Helag could already see the city in the distance.

Silvermoon City was surrounded by tall walls and covered by a transparent protective barrier.

As they approached the city, the airship gradually slowed down and descended.

The airship finally landed on a wide patch of yellow land in front of Silvermoon City's gates.

The area around Silvermoon City, within the protective barrier, was free from the Wasteland's pollution.

The contrast between the black and yellow land was striking, especially when viewed from the air.

"Once we disembark, don't wander off. Stay below and go through the inspection," Pruis reminded them.