Chapter 59: Astrid's Intelligence (Please follow, please favorite, please recommend)

Chapter 59

Listening to the words of the Beak-faced Apprentice, Lynn's brow furrowed deeper and deeper.

He could understand why the Lord of the Furnace would personally travel to the Emerald Island Great Forest to rescue his student.

However, what confused him was that with the Lord of the Furnace's strength, he should have been able to sweep through the transcendent forces of the entire Emerald Island Great Forest with irresistible force. Instead, the reality was a stalemate.

In the world of wizards, the gap between realms was as vast as the difference between heaven and earth; every three levels brought a qualitative leap.

The gap between a Level 3 Wizard Apprentice and a formal Wizard was like the difference between mud and the clouds.

It was no exaggeration to say that a single formal Wizard could instantly kill the strongest Level 3 Wizard Apprentice.

Furthermore, the gap between a Level 3 formal Wizard and a Level 4 Morning Star Wizard was like a natural chasm; even if ten Level 3 formal Wizards joined forces, they would struggle to match a single Level 4 Morning Star Wizard.

Therefore, the personal intervention of the Lord of the Furnace should have resulted in a total sweep of the battlefield, crushing all enemies.

Yet, the current stalemate seemed highly abnormal.

"Could it be because of Estri?" Lynn murmured softly.

He now knew the true name of the Lord of the Furnace's student, the Black Dragon Witch—Estri.

If the enemies in the Emerald Island Great Forest were holding Estri hostage, the Lord of the Furnace might be hesitant to act, which could explain the current deadlock.

"Oh? It seems you know quite a bit..."

Hearing Lynn mention Estri, the Beak-faced Apprentice replied casually, sounding slightly surprised.

He clearly did not know that Lynn had personally experienced the battlefield and had even witnessed Estri falling into the Emerald Island Great Forest with his own eyes.

"It is indeed because of her..."

Halfway through his sentence, the Beak-faced Apprentice suddenly fell silent and lay back on the sofa with a leisurely expression.

Lynn had been listening intently, and seeing the sudden halt in conversation, he felt a surge of irritation.

"What a miser. One question for one potion, a thousand gold pieces for a single word..."

Lynn cursed inwardly, but he understood that this Beak-faced Apprentice wouldn't open his mouth without profit.

To obtain more information regarding Estri, he would clearly have to pay another "consultation fee."

Left with no choice, Lynn pulled out another bottle of potion and tossed it over.

This Beak-faced Apprentice had a rather eccentric fee structure. He didn't take points or magic stones; he only accepted a potion called "Aether's Trace."

It was an extremely niche hallucinogen. It was said that after consumption, even powerful Wizard Apprentices could fall into hallucinatory visions, dreaming of the legendary celestial realms.

The price of niche potions was always exorbitant; sometimes, even with a high price, they were difficult to acquire.

Fortunately, Lynn was a potion master. Ever since he had purchased the recipe, he had been able to refine this potion himself.

After the owl swallowed the potion in one gulp again, the Beak-faced Apprentice finally continued

"Currently, in the process of rescuing Estri, the Furnace has encountered a mysterious and powerful resistance force. The opponent is actually capable of resisting the Furnace's offensive, leading to a stalemate between the two sides..."

He paused, then added half of the information: "If it weren't for Estri, if it were anyone else, that Great Being would have undoubtedly destroyed the entire Emerald Island Great Forest by now."

Hearing this, Lynn understood that he would need to "pay" more to hear the rest.

Helplessly, he threw another bottle of "Aether's Trace." The owl opened its mouth repeatedly, swallowing the potions.

Only then did the Beak-faced Apprentice continue

"Estri's identity is indeed extraordinary. She possesses noble blood and hails from the royal family of the Eluria Kingdom. To be precise, she is the biological daughter of the current King..."

Upon hearing this, Lynn's eyes narrowed, and he had a sudden realization.

No wonder people jokingly called her the "Little Princess of the Furnace"; she was, in fact, a true princess.

"Heh, however, to a Great Being, the princess of a kingdom is not enough to make him value her so highly. In fact, even if the King were to die, it would be of no consequence to him..."

Lynn was already used to this "miser" apprentice selling information piece by piece, so he could only pull out another bottle of "Aether's Trace" and hand it over.

The man smiled slightly and continued to leak information

"Rumor has it that Estri is not actually of the King's bloodline, but was born of the Great Being and that enchanting, captivating Queen. She flows with the blood of a Great Wizard, which is why she is so highly favored..."

Hearing these words, Lynn's pupils contracted.

Estri was actually the descendant of that Level 4 Morning Star Wizard?!

If this rumor were true, her heaven-defying transcendent talent likely originated from the Lord of the Furnace's genetics.

It was no wonder the Lord of the Furnace had personally rushed to the Emerald Island Great Forest, willing to pay any price to rescue her.

Everything suddenly became much more logical.

The stronger one's strength, the harder it was to leave descendants, especially descendants with outstanding talent.

Perhaps this was one of the reasons why the Lord of the Furnace had failed to sweep through the Emerald Island Great Forest?

However, since the Beak-faced Apprentice had called it a rumor, Lynn remained skeptical.

After extracting a few more scraps of intelligence from the apprentice, Lynn ran out of potions and decided to leave.

Seeing Lynn stand up, the Beak-faced Apprentice was quite "considerate" and offered him one extra piece of information as a parting gift

"Friend, you look like a decent fellow, so let me give you a warning: you might have been scammed. I suggest you blacklist that potion master who sells you potions or helps you refine them. He might be cutting corners with the ingredients. Don't buy anything from him again."

If the quality of a single potion was mediocre, the Beak-faced Apprentice could understand—after all, even wizards make mistakes. But if so many bottles were all mediocre, it was clearly the potion master's fault...

Hearing this, Lynn let out a cold laugh and tossed back a sentence: "Heh, thanks a lot."

He then left without looking back, while simultaneously blacklisting the Beak-faced Apprentice. This man was too malicious, actually insulting Lynn to his face.

"What's wrong with my potions? The effect was just a bit lacking, it's not like they're unusable! As long as they work, isn't that enough? It's not like I'm the one drinking them anyway..."

Lynn dismissed the thought, suppressing his annoyance.

After leaving, he lingered briefly at the ball to observe the prices for trading transcendent knowledge.

However, upon a quick glance, he reached a conclusion: he couldn't afford it.

The price of transcendent knowledge here was astronomical, but it had one advantage: once purchased, it could be freely disseminated.

In contrast, the transcendent knowledge sold within the Furnace was relatively cheaper, but it was limited to a single study session and required signing a strict confidentiality contract.

Once leaked, one would face contractual punishment.

Lynn looked at his wallet, sighed helplessly, and decided to stick to purchasing one-time study sessions from the Furnace for the time being.

His trip today hadn't been in vain, as he had at least clarified the current situation of the Furnace.

The Furnace was besieging the Emerald Island Great Forest; although the situation was somewhat deadlocked, the Furnace held the advantage, and it would likely continue for some time.

Lynn could continue to develop within the Furnace, but he was being cautious, filling two spatial items with items useful for escaping.

Because he had experienced this scene personally. Before he entered the Nightshade Bunker, that Black Dragon Witch had also held the advantage.

But by the time he emerged from the bunker, the Furnace army had been defeated, and he had been forced to flee for his life.

Lynn hoped the Furnace could hold out—at least until he became a formal Wizard, giving him enough time to grow...

"I hope that Great Lord of the Furnace doesn't suffer defeat like his daughter or his student..."

With these thoughts, Lynn hurried back to his dormitory in the Potion Garden to rest. After all, he had to continue grinding his potion progress the next day.

(End of Chapter)