CH80

The blacksmith looked anxious, as if remembering something important, urging Helag to leave quickly.

Helag nodded and walked to the door, then turned back and asked, "Blacksmith, do you know how to get out of here?"

The blacksmith hesitated, thinking for a moment before his expression turned pained. Holding his head, he said, "I've forgotten so much. I only know that if you stay until dawn, you can leave. Most importantly, stay away from these houses. Don't go near them!"

"Ah!" he cried out in pain, crouching down as a large bulge appeared on his back, its nature unknown.

Seeing this, Helag turned and ran, closing the door behind him.

Bang!

A loud noise came from behind the door, and Helag felt the entire street shake.

"Robert?" Helag looked around but couldn't see Robert anywhere.

He remembered seeing Robert outside the window earlier, but now he was gone.

"Did the blacksmith scare him off?"

Helag suspected that Robert had fled when the blacksmith opened the door. After all, a living person couldn't have an axe in their head and act normal.

He decided not to worry about Robert, hoping he had the luck to escape.

Looking down the mountain, Helag knew that route was a dead end. He turned and ran north, away from the residential area.

The blacksmith's advice to stay away from the houses seemed sound.

Helag's own experiences confirmed that each house contained something dangerous.

However, there were many valuable items here, like the garden full of Demon Flowers and the Cursed Doll the girl held.

Helag sighed, feeling inadequate. If he were stronger, he could have taken the Cursed Doll from the girl without fear.

But for now, he had to flee.

Using the Blessing of the Wind Spirit again, Helag sped away from the residential area.

As he ran down the street, each house he passed lit up, followed by various noises.

Ignoring them, Helag ran north.

Once out of the residential area, he found himself sweating, unsure if it was from fear or exertion.

The malevolence emanating from the houses had been overwhelming, creating a fear akin to facing death.

To the north, there was a small forest and some cultivated fields.

As Helag approached, a breeze blew by, making him feel much better.

He sniffed the air. "That smell… it seems like Dragon Beard Grass."

Dragon Beard Grass was a rare potion ingredient used in many high-level potions, including the well-known Earth God's Blessing.

Earth God's Blessing could significantly enhance a wizard's earth element affinity for a short time, making it very useful.

Earth-affinity wizards could use it during advancement to greatly increase their chances of success.

After consuming Earth God's Blessing, earth element spells would be much more effective, as the surrounding earth elements would assist, requiring minimal mana to control a large amount of earth element power.

This high-level potion ingredient, like the Cursed Doll, was very expensive.

Helag didn't know the exact price, as he hadn't had access to such items before.

Now, as Larry's student, he could sell these items to Larry for a safer, albeit lower, price.

Larry could then sell them on the market without issue, as it was normal for a formal wizard to possess such items, and he could profit from the price difference.

Helag planned to sell the Cursed Doll in his space ring to Larry, as he didn't specialize in curse spells and had no use for it.

Looking at the fields ahead, Helag saw many "crops" growing.

Upon closer inspection, he found Dragon Beard Grass growing in the outer fields, making his mouth water.

Casting three shields on himself, Helag carefully began digging up the Dragon Beard Grass with a spade.

The flower of Dragon Beard Grass had a long, red tongue that could attack, capable of piercing a few holes in an ordinary person.

But for a wizard apprentice like Helag, a single shield could block its attacks.

Squatting in the field, Helag endured the incessant tapping of the grass's tongues on his shield, sounding like rain.

After about half an hour, he had dug up seven Dragon Beard Grass plants.

Though fewer in number than the Demon Flowers, their value far exceeded them.

The nearby fields also contained many potion ingredients, many of which Helag couldn't name. He had only studied basic herbalism and hadn't taken advanced courses.

He worried about damaging some ingredients with improper digging techniques.

But since he was already here, he couldn't leave empty-handed. Even if some were damaged, it couldn't be helped.

Helag moved to another field, speeding up his digging while staying alert to his surroundings.

He hadn't forgotten where he was, knowing danger could arise at any moment.

If he got too absorbed in digging, he might not notice approaching threats.

After about an hour, Helag was still digging.

Looking around, he saw the fields were vast, and even digging all night wouldn't make much progress, given the abundance of potion ingredients.

"Who planted these?"

Helag wondered as the fields looked cultivated.

The ingredients were neatly categorized and planted in different fields, unlike wild growth.

"If these were planted, it must have been by a wizard. To cultivate such a large area of potion ingredients here, the wizard must be very powerful. They don't seem to be around, or I'd be in trouble."

Helag felt uneasy, knowing he would be in serious trouble if the wizard returned.

"I'm not stealing, just picking up what's here…" he reassured himself.

"Deep Blue, how long until dawn?" Helag asked.

[About an hour and a half, but due to the unique environment, this may not be accurate,] Deep Blue replied.

The environment here was unusual, and Deep Blue could only provide an estimate based on normal patterns. But with the mystery and unpredictability of this place, Helag wouldn't be surprised if the sun rose from the west. He couldn't rely on conventional logic to predict the sunrise.