Chapter 8: Mara's Opportunity

When Mana lifted the lid of the final teapot, there was no aroma, not even the slightest wisp of steam.

Yet, this seemingly mundane tea suddenly caused Molo to stand up, his eyes fixed on the greenish-yellow liquid with intense excitement.

That look of agitation was by no means an act.

Molo stared intently at the liquid in the teacup he held, not even noticing that the force of his rising had overturned the chair behind him.

Angel’s confusion reached its peak at this moment. Why would Molo react this way to "Morning Dew After Rain"? Could he tell that the tea came from another world?

Just as Angel was wondering, Molo slowly poured the Morning Dew After Rain into his mouth along the rim of the cup, cautious and solemn.

Molo’s movements appeared dignified, as if he carried an aura that caused the previously lively atmosphere to fall silent in an instant.

Leon wanted to say something, but he felt an inexplicable urge to keep his mouth shut.

The silence did not last long. As Molo closed his eyes to savor the aftertaste of the tea, an inexplicable aura emanated from his body.

This aura was astonishing, causing everyone to freeze in shock. Then, they discovered that they were suddenly unable to speak.

No matter how hard they tried, they could not make a sound. It was as if they had entered a world of absolute silence!

Being unable to speak was only temporary; the more terrifying part was yet to come.

Molo suddenly opened his eyes, pulled a crystal ball from his robes, and suspended it in the air. After chanting a few words, a flash of light swept across the room. In the seconds that followed, they were not only unable to speak, but their movements were also bound.

"With the help of this low-level magical plant, my mental power is about to break through its barrier. To avoid any accidents during the breakthrough, I have cast a binding spell and a silence barrier upon you all. Once I have broken through, I will naturally release you." Molo’s voice was low and hoarse, with a strange cadence to his tone.

After speaking, Molo ignored the reactions of the others and closed his eyes, the crystal ball continuing to circle around him...

Among the restrained group, Earl Eton and the others were slightly uncomfortable at first, but they soon regained their composure. Angel and Leon, however, appeared much more panicked.

The two brothers had never experienced anything supernatural since birth, and they had once believed that the world they saw was the only world that existed. But today, at this very moment, Molo’s magical and mysterious arts shattered the worldview they had built since childhood.

To be forced to accept what was happening before them so suddenly and without preparation—it would be strange if they could remain calm!

The binding spell could prevent them from moving, and the silence barrier could prevent them from speaking, but it could not stop their thoughts.

In the silent barrier, after the initial panic, Angel slowly calmed down.

His pupils, which had been dilated, returned to their normal state.

At this moment, he saw Irene, sitting across from him, give him a reassuring smile and mouth the words: "Don't worry."

Angel was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously returned a smile.

Suddenly, Irene’s face turned flushed, and her eyes darted around, not knowing where to look.

Angel didn't think much of it, assuming Irene was shy about being stared at, so he simply followed Earl Eton’s lead and closed his eyes, waiting patiently.

"Is this the magic? Sorcery? Or immortal arts from the strange tales my mentor told? Or is it some kind of sleight of hand? But aren't those all fabricated? Can they really exist in reality?" A series of questions swirled in Angel’s mind, refusing to dissipate and remaining unanswered.

He recalled the historical documents of nearby countries that his mentor had compiled. Some of the historical descriptions contained many fantastical elements. For instance, in the Golden Sparrow Empire, eight hundred years ago, a fire-breathing dragon appeared in the Mosan Canyon on the empire's border, endangering the people of the region. The King called upon the warriors of the world to slay the dragon; countless soldiers, troops, and knights responded to the call and flocked to the dragon's lair, but before they could even get close, they were burned to ashes by the fire spewing from the dragon's mouth.

This dragon-slaying campaign lasted for several years, with hundreds of thousands of warriors killed or wounded, yet the dragon remained unscathed.

Just as the King decided to blockade the area for a thousand miles around the dragon, an old man in white robes floating in the sky happened to pass by the Mosan Canyon. He simply waved the wand in his hand, and the dragon was pulled into an unknown space... Then, the white-robed old man left without saying a word. In historical records, a dragon-slaying campaign began in tragedy and ended in absurdity.

Jon’s commentary on this historical record was: "The art of kingship, using myths to pacify the people."

Angel had once thought the same, but at this moment, doubt arose in his heart. Perhaps that white-robed old man, just like old man Molo, was also someone who possessed magical powers?

Furthermore, in the historical records of the Hailan Kingdom, there were several mentions of the Goddess of the Sea blessing the islanders, or mermaids luring sailors to sink fleets... Not just the Golden Sparrow Empire and the Hailan Kingdom; many countries' historical records contained traces of myths.

Could it be that these were all fabrications?

The scales in Angel’s heart began to slowly tilt.

...

The time it took for Molo to break through the barrier was not long, about the time it took for a small quartz hourglass to flip once—by Earth's calculations, 30 minutes.

The crystal ball slowly descended from its circling, protective state and hovered quietly beside Molo.

Molo’s expression was filled with joy! How could he not be happy? He had been stuck at the intermediate apprentice level for nearly 20 years, thinking he would never be able to break through to a high-level apprentice in this lifetime, which was why he had listlessly accepted the recruitment mission to return to the Old Earth Continent to search for students with talent. He still remembered the bitter smile on his face in the mirror when he accepted the task. Searching for the talented? Heh, there were barely any in the Source Plane; how could there be any in the Old Earth Continent?

He had boarded the ship to the Old Earth Continent with a sense of dejection, thinking that ahead of him lay nothing but thorns and despair.

But! Heaven had mercy. He never expected that this journey, which he thought would be incredibly dull, would bring him such a huge surprise!

First, he found two talented individuals, who happened to be his own grandchildren. This not only allowed him to exceed his mission quota, but once Allen and Irene grew up, they could in turn help him.

Then, he actually discovered an unknown low-level magical plant in the Old Earth Continent! After drinking the Morning Dew After Rain from a merchant on the front lines, he immediately realized that this tea was vaguely comparable to White Orchid Potion.

White Orchid Potion was the only primary potion with the ability to break through barriers, making it extremely valuable. He had worked diligently for years on missions just to exchange for one bottle of White Orchid Potion. And yet... he had discovered Morning Dew After Rain in the Old Earth Continent.

Unfortunately, the Morning Dew After Rain from the merchant had been stored for too long, and its effects were severely diminished. After inquiring about the origin of the tea, their party had rushed to Gru Town without stopping...

Opportunity! This was opportunity!

Having successfully broken through the barrier, Molo finally understood at this moment why some wizard apprentices loved to wander through dangerous ruins—because as long as they found even a sliver of opportunity, they had hope for advancement!