“Would leaving the Borderland make us safe?” Saul chuckled softly, dismissing the idea of fleeing. “The Borderland occupies nearly one-fifth of the entire Stat Continent. If even it falls, then the Stat Continent will inevitably perish in the later stages. Should we run to other continents then?”

Moreover, the Borderland possessed the richest magical resources on the Stat Continent, and Saul had already established his foundation here.

This included the two species of ants he was raising, and the Black Sea Tree Source he had planted according to Justin’s dying words had only just sprouted.

Oh right, Little Algae had also taken root on the second underground floor of the wizard tower. If they moved away, he would lose part of his vitality again.

“Then let’s stay here.” Saul exhaled and leaned back into the sofa. “I have prophetic dreams and the diary. At worst, if there’s really no other way, I’ll pack up and leave. I can’t start by thinking about escape. If I only wanted comfort, why become a wizard?”

Saul opened the diary within his spiritual body. Thinking of the Black Tide, he happened to have several questions he wanted to ask Nerela, who was staying in the black pages.

“What is this Storm Eye you were searching for before? Why did you need to find it?”

Nerela had been in the small dark room for five days and was now numb.

[Storm Eye is just a code name. It actually refers to an anchor point of the abyss. The abyss is a terrifying pollution aggregate located on the other side of this world. It has been continuously polluting our world from the other side, and its anchor points are constantly approaching our world from the world’s other side. What we’re looking for is the location where this anchor point is about to break through the boundary, so we can join forces with the Tribunal and Stargate Council to seal it together.]

If that whirlpool were large enough and deep enough, it could indeed penetrate from the other side of the planet.

But how could that whirlpool penetrate the entire celestial body without causing it to disintegrate?

Was it simply because of magic, this new force system?

“What would happen if the anchor point breaks through the boundary?” Saul continued to ask.

[People near the anchor point would rapidly mutate. This would then affect everyone who carries the unique pollution of the Borderland hidden within their bodies.]

“Everyone?”

[That’s what they say. Even leaving the Borderland would be useless. The pollution within their bodies would influence each other. The more people that mutate, the faster the mutation spreads, and they wouldn’t even need any contact with each other.]

“Pollution mutation that can spread without contact… that sounds terrifying.”

Although Saul could clear these pollutions himself, he wasn’t sure if he could still clear the mutations caused by pollution when the anchor point broke through the boundary.

The Black Tide pollution before breaking through the boundary could already penetrate his consciousness space—though it ultimately retreated—so could the enhanced Black Tide pollution afterward directly pollute him?

For instance, turning him directly into a pitch-black skeleton?

“So at the very least, what you’re doing now is right. We can’t let the abyss’s anchor point break through to our continent.”

“Did you find the Storm Eye?”

[Before I entered this dark space… not yet.]

“It seems I’ll have to remind Ann to continue the search. This matter must proceed simultaneously with restoring Pei’er’s strength.”

At this moment, the door was knocked, and from the sound, he knew it was the steward Hope.

“Please come in.”

Hope pushed open the door. “Tower Master, there’s a letter sent from the east.”

Hope handed the letter to Saul, then stepped back two paces and waited quietly.

Saul opened the letter and discovered it was from Ann, whom he had just been thinking about.

He first cast a decryption spell according to their agreed-upon code, and only then did the text on the letter appear.

“Herbert indeed came looking for Ann? From his tone in conversation with Ann, he definitely knows the original Wind Sprite was fake, but for some unknown reason, he didn’t expose this fact, and didn’t even take the opportunity to invade the cliff.”

“Asking Ann if she has any clues about the Storm Eye? Mm, Ann managed to deflect for now. Perfect timing to tell her in the reply.”

“Pei’er has already awakened once during this period? She’s recovering quickly. For dangerous matters, it’s better to let her handle them.”

After reading the letter, Saul immediately took up his pen to reply—Hope had prepared the paper and pen needed for the response early on.

After writing the letter, Saul cast a concealment spell to encrypt the text, then handed it to Hope.

Hope left and quickly returned.

“Tower Master, the letter has been sent. However, there was a small incident. The messenger that originally delivered the letter seems unwilling to leave the wizard tower.”

“Oh?” Saul stood up and followed Hope to the window.

Only then did he discover that the messenger was actually the pale yellow bird that the fake Wind Sprite had ridden during the assault on the wizard tower.

“It was the one that delivered the letter?”

Hope nodded. “Yes, Tower Master.”

“Then how did you send the reply?”

“When I wanted to ask the giant bird miss to deliver the reply, it suddenly laid an egg. That egg hatched within seconds, and the chick grew full feathers within seconds as well, directly carrying away the letter I wanted to send. But this giant bird miss didn’t leave.”

Saul looked curiously at the pale yellow giant bird. “It seems this is a gift from Lord Pei’er. Very nice—its combat power equals that of a formal wizard, and it can function as both mount and transport.”

The giant bird’s head swayed left and right nimbly, as if searching for something.

Hope looked somewhat worried. “But how should we feed the giant bird miss? I’m not yet clear about its tastes.”

The giant bird beneath the tower suddenly ran two steps, lowered its head, and grabbed Marsh, who was growing mushrooms.

“Aiya aiya aiya!”

Marsh’s muffled voice came from between the bird’s beak.

“Heavens!” Saul immediately jumped out the window.

Hope wasn’t anxious. He lightly tapped his left palm with his right fist. “Ah, it seems the giant bird miss likes to eat mushrooms.”

Although the shadow of the Black Tide had quietly spread over everyone’s heads, life had to continue.

Saul, who had already advanced to second rank, still had to worry about learning new magic and conducting more complex experiments.

A month later, Saul, who was researching new magic with Camus on the first underground floor, straightened his back.

“Let’s call it here for today.” Saul stood up and began organizing the scrolls on the table. “I’m going out for a trip and will be back within three days.”

When Saul called for a stop, Camus immediately closed his mouth, instantly transforming from a rigorous scholar into a sculpture.

The fourth-rank magic Saul was currently learning was Electric Light Shield. This magic was provided by Pei’er. Although she didn’t specialize in light and electricity, someone under her command knew this magic. So Ann and Pei’er had coaxed and tricked their way into obtaining this magic for Saul.

Electric Light Shield wasn’t the strongest among fourth-rank defensive magic in terms of protective performance, but it had one advantage: it could reduce thunder attribute attacks by half.

This compensated for one of Saul’s weaknesses.

Just the basic information for this fourth-rank magic filled a thumb-thick spell book.

Saul had spent over ten days just interpreting it.

Fortunately, he had Camus beside him—a wizard who had reached third rank before death—to tutor him at any time. Otherwise, he might have needed even more time to fully understand this spell book.

Now that he had finished interpreting it, he could attempt to cast the spell.

However, since it was time for his promised visit to see his only apprentice Noah, Saul decided to set aside this headache-inducing magic for now and give his brain a change of pace.

He left the first underground floor, greeted the steward, and then climbed to the fourth floor where he resided.

However, just as Saul picked up the Chaos Realm Compass, the door was knocked again.

“What is it?” Saul asked, standing in place.

“Marsh brought back a wizard from outside who claims to be Byron and says he’s your old friend. Would you like to see him?”

“Holy shit!” Saul threw down the compass and ran outside.

(End of Chapter)