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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Three Hundred Eighty-Four:
In her thoughts, Freya took out a piece of green leaf from her waist and softly murmured a spell.
A faint green light flickered as Freya tossed the branch into the air.
'Swish!'
The branch began to rapidly expand, gradually taking on a human shape.
As facial features and limbs appeared, a clone identical to Freya emerged.
After the clone's face stiffened for three seconds, it became completely animated, mirroring the original perfectly.
Sensing the Second-Grade Peak spiritual fluctuations emanating from the clone, Freya expressed her satisfaction.
"Well then, I'll leave you in charge during my absence."
"Understood," the clone replied calmly.
Freya nodded in approval.
Although this clone's energy was not as strong as those sent to other worlds, it would be sufficient to last for over a decade as long as it did not engage in intense battles, enough for her to travel back and forth to the City of Illusions.
...
Three months later.
In a white Dark Gorge.
The sides of the Gorge are surrounded by a deep green sea of trees resembling a Pine Forest, with a layer of cotton-like snowflakes covering the treetops.
A winding Black Path separates the sea of trees.
In the dimly lit sky, several large white Birds occasionally fly by, emitting loud calls.
On the Black Path, a Black Carriage moves quietly.
The two Horses in front of the carriage are covered in thick brown fur and appear much shorter than normal horses.
On their backs are fine white crystalline particles that hang from their fur, giving a slightly weighted appearance.
There is no one in the driver's seat at the front, yet these Dwarf Horses move forward on their own, looking somewhat strange.
Suddenly, the side door of the carriage opens, and a faint warmth escapes from within. Freya, dressed in a thick white coat, stands at the door, squinting at this cold place.
She wears a white furry hat that nearly covers half of her cheek.
As Freya exhales, her breath turns into white particles that scatter in the air.
"The temperature here in the north is too low, but this is also the closest route to the City of Illusions."
The procedures for cross-border travel by Airship are too numerous. Freya does not want too many people to know she has left Blood Eagle Territory, so she can only choose to drive the carriage.
According to estimates, she should reach the border of the City of Illusions soon. At that time, someone from Klyent will come to meet her.
Perhaps it was because this road had been deserted for years, the wheels of the carriage always made a 'clack, clack' sound as they rolled over it.
On both sides of the Pine Forest, animals occasionally peeked out, their fluffy heads curiously watching her carriage.
Feeling the cold air here, Freya was just about to return to the warm carriage when suddenly a white shadow leaped onto one side of the door.
It was a snow-white rodent-like creature. It looked like a ferret but had a pair of long ears, and surprisingly, it was wearing a white Felt Hat on its head.
"Kind lady, my name is Ham," the ferret said as it awkwardly removed its hat and bowed. "May I ride in your carriage? It's so cold, and I'm going to my grandmother's house, which is over by Pinecone Forest."
"Oh?" Freya looked at the creature that had jumped onto her carriage and teased playfully. "The fare for the carriage isn't cheap, you know."
"I understand, I understand," Ham said as it rummaged behind itself and pulled out two red fruits, grinning. "I have two Snake Tail Fruits here. Is that enough?"
Glancing at its dirty Claws, Freya raised an eyebrow.
"Snake Tail Fruits? Not bad. Come on in."
"Thank you, thank you."
As she closed the door, the spacious interior of the carriage featured a dark red pillar radiating warmth.
A pristine white blanket was spread on the floor, and a round table held some scattered white bandages and unfinished pastries, along with a cup of brown liquid that emitted a faint aromatic scent.
Freya walked over to the round table and sat down, casually gesturing to the seat beside her.
"So, Ham, would you like something to drink?"
"No, no need." Ferret Ham sniffed the aroma and said somewhat awkwardly, "I don't have much left, just some herbs for my grandmother."
"Oh. Free."
She smiled and poured some drink into a white cup, handing it over to the side.
Looking at the cup on the table, Ham almost buried his entire head inside, licking it eagerly. In no time, he finished the whole drink.
He let out a satisfied burp, and his rabbit-like ears twitched slightly, looking very content.
"Thank you for the treat." He patted his belly. Then he handed the two Snake Tail Fruits to Freya.
The red Snake Tail Fruits had a somewhat translucent appearance and felt soft like jelly.
"The Snake Tail Fruit changes its flavor based on the mood of the eater; it's a specialty of Snowfield and quite rare elsewhere."
Muttering to herself, Freya wiped the fruit casually and popped it into her mouth.
A faint bitterness mixed with a sweet and sour taste filled her mouth; it wasn't great but not bad either.
"Of course, that was given to me by Sister Alice," Ham said, his face slightly flushed.
After chewing a few times, Freya swallowed the fruit and looked at Ham with a strange expression. She found it very odd that this fluffy creature could show such a red hue on its face.
"Who is Sister Alice? A human?"
"No, Sister Alice is my neighbor; she's a Pika. She's really nice to me, but it seems she likes that bad guy Danny."
Freya listened silently to Ham's chatter. This rabbit-eared ferret seemed a bit awkward at first, but now it appeared to have completely relaxed, revealing its somewhat talkative nature.
Most people treated the intelligent races of the forest with kindness, except for some hunters.
Occasionally, lost human children or creatures caught in traps relied on them to escape danger.
However, these creatures mostly lived deep in the forest or in secluded environments, and humans rarely saw them.
After all, to some extent, these talking beings had always been the favorite toy pets of noble children and were quite valuable.
The rabbit-eared ferret named Ham likely approached Freya because of its age and the unique life aura it sensed from her.
She quietly listened to Ham's various stories about the forest, making the dull carriage ride seem less boring.
As the dim sky gradually took on a dark gray hue, the carriage traveling along Black Path suddenly came to a stop as evening approached.
The door opened, and Ham jumped down from the carriage, waving goodbye to Freya before quickly disappearing into the forest.
Standing at the door of the carriage, Freya glanced at a large tree nearby. At its base was a wooden sign only half a meter high, with the words "Pinecone Forest" written on it.
A flurry of crystalline snowflakes slowly fell from the sky and landed on her head as the wind seemed to pick up pace.
Freya looked up at the slightly gloomy sky.
"It seems we can't travel at night. Let's find a place to rest for now."
If the wind and snow were heavy at night, even if she was unaffected, the two Dwarf Horses would not be able to endure it.
She closed the carriage door, and the cart continued forward.
Large flakes of snow slowly descended, burying the black road beneath a blanket of white.
After two hours, the carriage finally discovered a dilapidated wooden cabin in a forest and came to a stop.
At this point, half of the two Dwarf Horses' bodies were completely covered in snow, and white vapor occasionally puffed from their nostrils. It seemed they were nearing their limit.
Freya fed the two Dwarf Horses a little and quickly built a simple shelter to shield them from the wind and snow before heading toward the cabin with her leather suitcase.
With a creak, the wooden door was pushed open, and Freya stepped inside.
The cabin was empty, filled with thick layers of white dust. The floor had rotted away, creaking underfoot with every step.
On the left side, there was a large hole in the roof through which snowflakes drifted down, already accumulating inside.
Seeing the state of the place, Freya frowned slightly but then gently snapped her fingers.
A gust of Azure Wind swiftly blew away all the dust in the cabin, flowing out through the hole in the roof.
Then she took out a seed and placed it against the wall of the cabin.
With a hiss.
A green halo flashed by, and the large hole in the roof began to close up, soon completely mending itself.
After repairing the wooden cabin, she gathered some dry branches and placed them in the center of the cabin. She lit a fire.
The orange-yellow flames gradually warmed the originally cold wooden cabin.
Freya took out an iron rack and a piece of meat from her suitcase, setting it over the fire and sprinkling some seasoning before roasting it.
Before long, a faint aroma of meat mixed with a spicy scent slowly filled the air.
She reached out and tore off a small piece of meat to taste; it was still a bit raw, but the flavor was not bad.
Outside the cabin, the wind and snow seemed to intensify. In just a short while, thick piles of snow had accumulated on the nearby stable, where two Dwarf Horses could be seen huddling together for warmth.
After enjoying the roasted meat, she made some soup with mushrooms, vegetables, and meat chunks. Holding the warm soup in her hands, Freya walked to the window of the cabin.
Although it was nighttime, the white snowflakes drifting in the air were still clearly visible.
She took a gentle sip of the soup and exhaled a puff of warm breath.
Outside, besides the falling snowflakes, faint roars of beasts could be heard, suggesting that something was still hunting in this weather.
In this atmosphere, Freya's heart seemed to calm down as well, distancing herself from the life of a wizard and all its noise, feeling very at ease.
"No wonder there are so many Wandering Wizards; this kind of life is indeed quite nice."
Finishing her gradually cooling soup, she turned back to the fire to engage in her daily meditation.
Although she envied this kind of life, it was far from enough for Freya.
Her ideal was to traverse various magical worlds, seek the truth of the universe, understand the secret of why she came to this world, and protect the few people she cared about.
Thus, this kind of life was merely a part of her existence; continuing to strengthen herself was fundamental to achieving her ideals.
As time gradually passed, the snowflakes that had been drifting down stopped falling at some point.
The dark clouds dispersed, and the bright sun slowly climbed into the sky.
Its rays streamed through the window and illuminated the wooden cabin.
The remnants of the fire pit emitted wisps of blue smoke as Freya opened her eyes.
A night of meditation had not left her feeling fatigued. She eased her somewhat stiff body and rose from the floor.
She opened the wooden door, and a pile of snow rushed in, measuring nearly half a meter high.
In the distance, the stable was almost buried under the snowdrifts.
This made Freya furrow her brow slightly; with this amount of snow accumulation, ordinary carriages seemed unable to operate normally.
After pondering for a moment, she stepped into the deep snow and walked to the carriage. She brushed off the snow on top and took out a Charcoal Pencil to begin sketching a Rune Array.
Soon, a simple lightweight Rune Array appeared on one side of the carriage. Freya placed her palm gently on the Rune Array.
‘Sizzle.’
Azure Wind flashed by, and the entire carriage seemed to become much lighter.
She exerted a slight pull, and the massive carriage miraculously floated on the snow, as if all its weight had vanished.
After a simple modification, she brought out two Dwarf Horses from the stable.
Five minutes later, a bright carriage sped off across the snowdrifts.
By noon, as the snow on the ground gradually diminished, the carriage finally arrived at an ordinary town on the border of City of Illusions.
According to the information provided by Klyent, Freya drove the carriage to a tavern.
Before entering the tavern, the noisy sounds and smell of alcohol wafted out, accompanied by bursts of cheers, suggesting that some game was being played inside.
With no intention of entering the tavern, Freya sat quietly in the driver's seat, waiting.
After a while, a silver White Carriage approached from down the road on the other side of the tavern.
The carriage looked very luxurious, and the Steed pulling it was pure white without a hint of color.
Freya noticed that one side of the carriage was adorned with a carving of a roaring Grizzly Bear, which looked very familiar.
Suddenly, she recalled that this emblem seemed to be Klyent's Secret Mark.
Sure enough, the carriage headed straight toward her. The driver was a tall man clad in animal skin armor, exuding a wild aura.
A faint spiritual presence emanated from him; he was indeed a wizard.
The Silver Carriage came to a stop in front of her.
"Wow—"
The door opened, and a young woman dressed in a black robe and wearing black leather gloves jumped out of the carriage.
Upon seeing Freya, the woman blinked and smiled.
"Long time no see, Freya."
"Shirley?" Freya seemed surprised by the visitor and quickly got down from the carriage.
"Aren't you going to the Deep Sea Garden with Klyent? Have they returned already?"
"No, my lord hasn't come back yet." Shirley shook her head. "I was delayed by some matters and couldn't go out with him, but I happened to be here to handle some things, so I came to pick you up."
"Thanks." Freya smiled. "It's been over ten years since we last met. I didn't expect you to have successfully advanced to Level Three as well." (To be continued.)
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