Chapter 295: Chapter 264: Appetizer

The heavy door of the quiet room silently closed behind him, isolating the aura of the Seventh Level Wizard within.

Jeming stood in the dazzling corridor, breathing a slight sigh of relief.

Even if Dionysius Spencer appeared amiable, the intangible gap in life level still brought an indescribable sense of oppression.

After walking a few steps, he saw those First Level Wizards.

They had not left but were excitedly talking in low voices at the end of the corridor, each face brimming with irresistibly exuberant excitement.

Seeing Jeming come out, they immediately gathered around him, eyes filled with gratitude, even a hint of reverence.

“Lord Jeming!” The leading wizard respectfully saluted, tightly clutching a crystal test tube in hand, within which a brilliant ray of light slowly flowed—the reason for their delight and excitement.

Dionysius Spencer was indeed worthy of being a Seventh Level Wizard, generous in his actions, directly granting each wizard a strand of Plane Origin.

“This time, we really owe it to you! Without you, we wouldn’t even talk about gaining such an opportunity, we might not have even survived…”

The other wizards echoed, their gratitude overflowing.

The strand of Origin in their hands was like a beacon shining in the darkness for these struggling wizards, a hope of changing fate.

Although theoretically, wizards could take loans to purchase Origin to advance themselves, many wizards actually didn’t even qualify for the “credit.”

Aside from a few lucky ones who could quickly accumulate the military merits needed to purchase a strand of Origin, or show potential to attract investment, most low-level wizards died on the road to battling in the Planes before accumulating enough military merits.

And now, with this pure strand of Origin, they saw the dawn of touching the Third Level threshold in the future.

In the treacherous Plane battles, such an opportunity could be described as defying fate.

Jeming nodded calmly: “This is what you deserve, after all, you chose to follow me back rather than other possibilities.”

His words carried a hint, reminding the wizards of the peril at that time, sending a chill down their spines.

Indeed, given the situation at that time, if Jeming had been ruthless and used them along with Levin Mills as sacrifices for exchanging Plane Origin, no one would have known.

Several wizards’ lips moved, seemingly wanting to take the opportunity to request the exchange of contact information.

Forming ties with such a powerful, well-connected, and principled genius would undoubtedly be greatly beneficial to their future.

But thinking of Jeming’s composed manner before the Seventh Level Wizard, and the vast gap in strength and potential between them, their courage quickly dissipated.

In the end, they simply thanked him solemnly once more, then left with excitement and a hint of regret.

Jeming quietly watched their backs, seeing through their thoughts with ease.

He didn’t mind establishing contact with low-level wizards who have potential after all the wizarding path is long, more friends mean more pathways.

But since they didn’t even have the courage to try, he naturally wouldn’t humble himself to initiate.

Different paths do not pursue together, lacking even this bit of courage to strive, the future circles are destined to differ.

His thoughts quickly returned to that seemingly casual sentence from Dionysius Spencer.

“Dessert before dinner…” this phrase was repeatedly chewed in his mind.

Though brief, it revealed a huge amount of information.

Could it be that this resource-rich “Aerial Plane” is merely a pre-dinner appetizer for higher-level beings?

Then what could the real “dinner” be?

A wave of coldness swept up his spine, but Jeming quickly suppressed these chaotic thoughts.

As he thought, considering his current strength, probing into these matters prematurely offers no benefits but could potentially attract unnecessary trouble.

The most important task now is to digest the gains from this time and ensure sufficient self-preservation power in the upcoming exploration.

The harvest this time is quite ample.

Twenty strands of pure Origin personally refined by the Seventh Level Wizard, their value far exceeds naturally occurring Origin, equivalent to two billion in military merits.

Even for Jeming now, such returns can be considered substantial.

After all, even though the patent technology “Self-Stabilizing Field Regulation Protocol” continues to generate revenue, the rate of income growth in recent years has noticeably slowed down and is expected to soon reach the level Jeming anticipated, only earning one billion in military merits per year.

From this endeavor alone, he reaped what would be two years of income in just two months.

Moreover, this hasn’t even counted the rare creatures captured and special resources gathered during the exploration, their research value also being immeasurable.

Just the mutated Spider Snake alone, if Jeming were willing to sell it, could even tempt Fourth and Fifth Level Wizards.

However, before delving deeper into the “Aerial Plane” again, Jeming believes prioritizing the enhancement of survival capability is crucial.

The Plane’s intensely concentrated Wind Element leads to ubiquitous space distortion, and the previous experiences have profoundly informed him of its peril.

Lacking effective warning and protection means, exploring distorted areas is like a blind man riding a blind horse.

He took out his Magic Network Terminal, quickly browsing the latest announcements and supply lists from the Wizard Camp.

Soon, a piece of good news caught his eye: previously unavailable or strictly controlled space fluctuation-detection category Witchcraft Artifacts have now officially been open for exchange for all participating wizards, available for pickup at the Affairs Center by paying the required military merits.

This is evidently the camp’s response to the growing demand in space distortion area explorations.

Although knowledge involving Space Rules requires at least a Third Level Wizard to initially grasp, resulting in limited production of such Witchcraft Artifacts, the camp has provided subsidies to encourage exploration, making the prices relatively affordable—only ten thousand military merits.

This price is not considered a small amount for an individual, but for a well-equipped Wizard Squad, it’s something they could manage by pooling together.

Once equipped, the efficiency and safety of exploration will significantly improve, the returns far outweigh the investment.

Jeming immediately headed to the Affairs Center, using identification and military merits, smoothly exchanged a palm-sized, compass-shaped Space Fluctuation Detector from the Alchemy Puppet.

He immediately injected Spiritual Power and attempted activation.

The center of the compass lit up with a soft glow, followed by a cooling Energy stream pouring into his eyes.

His vision quickly transformed, the previously invisible space now displayed subtle “folds” and “ripples” in his sight.

Jeming briefly sensed, although far from the depth of analysis offered by his “All-Purpose Eye,” it could directly signify the boundaries between stable and distorted space areas.

Moreover, it bore nearly no information load, capable of sustaining long-term use.

“A nice practical tool.” Jeming nodded in satisfaction.

This equates to a simplified, sustain-opening space visual aid, extremely useful for wide-ranging patrols and avoiding dangerous areas.

Leaving the Affairs Center, he once again arrived at the Floating City’s Central Square.

Compared to two months ago, it’s livelier, with noticeably more wizards setting up stalls.

The materials or simple Witchcraft Artifacts previously hard to come by, somewhat associated with space attributes, are now found on the stalls.

Though the quality is uneven, the prices are steep.

Evidently, the word about the plentiful resources contained within the space distortion areas has thoroughly spread, stimulating wizards’ exploratory passion.

Jeming blended into the crowd, quietly listening to the wizards’ discussions, gathering information on the danger levels, resource distributions of different areas, even some unverified whispers.

Meanwhile, through the Magic Network Terminal, he quickly pinpointed and took on a mission to explore an unknown biological community.

The area was located at the edge of a newly discovered large space fold, preliminary scans suggest the possible existence of unique ecological systems with research value, fitting perfectly with his needs.

“Before that great being’s ’dinner’ commences, I must quickly store ample ’food’.”

Jeming silently mumbled in his heart, transforming into a stream of light, flying away from the Floating City unwaveringly, rushing towards the unknown area marked by the task.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep