Wizard: Starting from the Skill Tree

Chapter 805 - 745: Stronghold

Vera was the first to step into the Teleportation Array, her figure vanishing into the blue light.

Leon went second, Edmond third, and the other three followed close behind.

Duke stepped into the Teleportation Array as well.

Blue light swallowed his vision, and after a bout of spinning heaven and earth, solid ground finally pressed against the soles of his feet.

Duke opened his eyes and found himself standing on a huge stone platform.

The platform was built entirely from gray-white stone, its surface inscribed with densely packed teleportation runes that slowly flowed and shifted.

Around it rose impossibly tall stone pillars, each so thick it would take a dozen people with arms outstretched to encircle one; their tops vanished into the mist above, impossible to see.

The air was fresh, carrying a strange scent, similar to a forest after rain.

He could vaguely hear birdsong in the distance, but the tone of that birdsong was unlike any bird species on the Wizard Plane.

"We’re here."

Vera’s voice came from ahead.

She stood at the edge of the stone platform, looking up at something.

Duke walked over and followed her gaze.

Overhead was not the sky, but an endless canopy of leaves.

The trees were enormous—each trunk at least several hundred meters in diameter, their crowns blotting out the sky so completely that the top could not be seen at all.

Between the branches and leaves, tiny points of light could be seen filtering down; it was impossible to tell whether it was sunlight or some kind of luminous moss.

Farther away, a few trunks were so thick they seemed to be propping up the entire sky, their diameters by rough estimate exceeding a kilometer.

"The Wilderness Forest Continent." Vera withdrew her gaze and looked at the others. "One of the three remaining continents of the Ancient Fairy Plane. Right now we’re at a fixed outpost of the Wizard Council, with a Level 4 Mage stationed here on long-term rotation."

Duke turned his head and looked around.

The area around the platform had clearly been modified by human hands; several stone buildings had been constructed nearby.

Some looked like warehouses, some like dormitories, and there was also a tower that was obviously a defensive structure.

Atop the tower stood several figures in council uniforms, peering in their direction.

At the edge of the platform, a middle-aged Warlock in a dark blue Magic Robe was walking toward them.

His aura was restrained, but as soon as Duke probed even slightly, he felt a fathomless pressure—that was the unique oppression of a Level 4 Mage.

"West Coast?" The middle-aged Warlock’s gaze swept over the seven of them, pausing briefly on Vera. "Dele’s students?"

Vera inclined her head slightly. "Yes, sir."

The middle-aged Warlock nodded and did not ask further.

With a casual wave of his hand, seven streaks of light flew into the Six-Ring Tower badges on each person’s chest.

"This is your identity identifier here," he said. "With it, you can get basic supplies for free at the outpost, and you can also check the usage schedule of the Teleportation Array. Three months from now, you must return here and use it to teleport back."

He paused.

"This Plane is vast and dangerous; you might encounter anything. Be careful."

With that, he turned and left, not sparing them another glance.

Only after he had gone some distance did Vera turn around to face the group.

"Now for a few things."

Her voice was more serious than usual.

"First, we only have three months. After three months, we have to make it back here and return to the Wizard Plane through the Teleportation Array. Don’t forget, once we’re back there’s still the annual assessment."

Leon nodded, and Edmond and the other three all wore solemn expressions.

"Second," Vera paused for a moment, "I received word yesterday that Audric is here too."

Duke’s brow twitched slightly.

"The Blood Rose of the Golden Continent, Audric Bloodgold," Vera continued. "He entered a day earlier than we did and is probably already deep in this Plane. If we run into him..."

She didn’t finish, but everyone understood what she meant.

If they met him, it might not be a good thing.

"Anyone else?" Leon asked.

Vera shook her head. "The message only mentioned him, but the Golden Continent side definitely sent more than just him. There should be others with him."

"Running into them doesn’t mean we have to fight." A low voice sounded.

The speaker was the burliest of the three; Duke remembered he had introduced himself at the banquet as Marcus, from a medium-sized West Coast organization called Iron Rock Castle, specializing in Earth Element defensive Magic, ranked seventeenth in the Illusion Tower.

"We’re here to seek opportunities, not trouble," Marcus said. "We can just steer clear of them."

Another thin Warlock nodded. His name was Selman, from some small organization whose name Duke hadn’t bothered to remember, adept at detection and stealth, ranked twenty-first.

"Selman’s Perception Ability will be very useful here," Vera said. "We can have him scout ahead when the time comes."

The last member was a delicate-featured Witch named Ely, from the same organization as Lis—the Tower of Ashes—specializing in healing and support Magic, ranked fifty-third.

She hadn’t spoken at all, just listened quietly.

A Wizard in council uniform was already waiting at the edge of the stone platform.

He looked to be in his early thirties, with an ordinary face and an aura around Level 2. When he saw Vera’s group approaching, he merely nodded slightly, then turned and walked ahead.

"Follow me. Don’t fall behind."

His tone was flat, without any extra small talk.

The seven of them followed his pace, walking along a narrow path at the edge of the platform.

The path was paved with gray-green stone slabs, with dense ferns on both sides, their leaves large enough to cover a person.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, the view opened up before them, and they arrived at the foot of a giant tree.

The tree was so huge it felt suffocating.

Duke tilted his head back but still could not see the top.

The trunk was as thick as a mountain, its bark a dark brown, each crack deep enough to hide a person.