Chapter 109: Wild Sorcerer
Anse glanced sideways and immediately felt his heart tighten. His right hand gripped the Scepter of Sanctuary tightly, feeling an urge to run.
Speaking of which, there were plenty of people on the road. If she wanted to ask for directions, why come to him?
The flying carpet approached with a whooshing wind, circling to his front from the side and hovering low, just a bit higher than the horse’s head.
The holy symbol on his chest showed no abnormality, so Anse relaxed slightly, raised his head, and feigned surprise as he looked at the other.
A figure sat on the flying carpet, completely covered by a purple cloak, revealing only a smooth chin and plump red lips.
A hot gust swept by, pressing the cloak tightly against the woman’s body.
Thus, the wind took on a shape.
Seeing her not speak for a long time, Anse said calmly, “Hello, if you want to ask for directions, please find someone else. I’m not local either.”
The woman removed her hood, and purple hair cascaded down like flowing water, revealing a stunning pale face. Her purple eyes held the sky and lake light, brimming with subtle charm. Her lips curved into a faint smile.
Anse’s heart raced, a feeling of love at first sight rising in his chest.
He immediately averted his gaze. His first reaction wasn’t how beautiful this woman was, but how high her charisma attribute must be.
At this moment, he finally understood the feeling Tina had when she first saw him.
The woman smiled brightly, pulled out a money bag, and tossed it to the front of the flying carpet, where a gleam of platinum light peeked out from the opening.
“Can you tell me what happened?” Her voice was low and soft, her purple eyes fixed on Anse.
“An adult green dragon and a bald man fought in Blue Water City, and the city fell…” Anse gave a brief description.
He wasn’t doing it for the money; there was no need to hide something everyone knew, as it wasn’t worth unnecessarily angering her.
“Adult green dragon?” The woman frowned slightly.
“Probably.” Anse said vaguely. Not every professional could distinguish dragon types and age stages.
“Who’s winning? Is that man still alive?”
“Not sure. Didn’t dare get close.”
“Oh.” The woman extended a slender finger pointing at the steel curtain to the west, her expression puzzled. “You came from that side. Do you know what that is? Isn’t that Sword Sea?”
Anse understood. This person didn’t seem to know what had happened, which was normal—many scholars might not have even heard of Abel.
After thinking for a moment, he didn’t hide it. Under his deliberate spreading, many people already knew this news.
“Do you know about the magical plague?”
“I’ve heard of it.” The woman replied, her eyebrows arching expressively.
Anse averted his gaze to steady his mind: “During the Magical Plague Era, Toril and Abel experienced realm convergence and area swaps…”
“You mean realm convergence has happened again, with Abel’s Emerald Plains connecting to Faerun, and the green dragon invading…” the woman said in surprise.
“Something like that.” Anse nodded slightly.
“You know… quite a lot.” The woman crossed her arms, twirling a small wand between her fingers, her gaze flickering.
“I’ve heard too.” Anse smiled faintly. “Blue Water City is pretty dangerous. I advise you not to go.”
With that, he lightly tapped his horse’s flank, wanting to go around her and continue.
“You’re going to Beregost?” The woman’s eyes turned, not yielding the road.
“Mm.” Anse didn’t avoid it.
“I advise you not to go either. Amn has gathered a large force there with strict controls.” The woman smirked. “That disguise of yours probably won’t fool them.”
Anse’s heart skipped a beat, but he remained composed: “Then just go around.”
“I’m Illyas. If you’re willing to accompany me to Blue Water City, I can take you to Dulag’s Tower on the flying carpet and give you ten thousand gold coins as remuneration.” The woman maneuvered the flying carpet back in front of Anse, staring straight at him.
“Sorry, I want to live a few more days.” Anse didn’t budge and urged his horse around.
“What if the green dragon has withdrawn?” The woman raised her hand and tossed a slender item to Anse. “Try this.”
Anse didn’t catch it immediately. Once he saw what it was, he grabbed it—a single-tube telescope made of brass, etched with strange magic runes on the surface.
He raised the telescope and looked; distant scenes filled his view, even insect wings several kilometers away visible in fine detail.
Turning the ring on the copper tube adjusted the magnification and brightness. Animals hiding in shadows had nowhere to hide; it seemed usable at night too.
“Good stuff.” He praised.
“I just checked,” the woman said calmly. “There are only some kobolds around Claw Bay. The green dragon and wyverns have withdrawn. We go in quick and come back quick—find Stol and leave.”
“Stol? That bald man?” Anse raised an eyebrow. So this woman was here to rescue someone. “What if he’s… dead?”
Illyas’s face darkened, and she took a few deep breaths: “He won’t die that easily. If he is, try to bring the body back.”
“Actually, I wouldn’t be much help if I went. How about I tell you the approximate location?” Anse suggested.
“Twenty thousand gold coins!” Illyas emphasized.
Anse focused his mind on Illyas, the dice spinning rapidly as he struggled to detect target info:
【Illyas, human, level 16 sorcerer（wild sorcery）】
‘No wonder.’
A wild sorcerer’s innate magic came from the chaos under the Creative Order, manipulating raw magic, which indeed adapted easily to disrupted Magic Net environments.
Peak of a level 16 advanced professional, but against an adult green dragon, no real chance. He still wasn’t reassured.
But if he refused, her reaction was unpredictable.
Putting himself in her shoes, if he were rescuing kin or friends and met someone in the know, he’d never let them go—would drag them along if needed.
Still, he wasn’t afraid. She couldn’t recover full spellcasting ability; he could run, fight, and hide in the Black Tower.
After thinking, he activated the King Butterfly Cloak, flapped the butterfly wings to rise into the high altitude, raised the telescope to maximum magnification, and scouted Blue Water City.
The situation dozens of kilometers away was clear. He slowly turned his view: the green dragon had indeed withdrawn, and even Dusk City, which was occupied, had few dragonborn and kobolds left.
Many survivors hiding on the Peninsula were escaping, not facing mass pursuit.
He descended and met Illyas’s gaze, saying shamelessly, “I don’t want money. Can I have this telescope instead?”
Illyas’s red lips parted slightly, her expression enigmatic: “You’re so greedy and bold.”
“Then I’ll go?”
“No, take it!”
“Actually, I can make up the difference for you. I just really like…”
“You can’t afford it.” Illyas cut him off directly, hovering the flying carpet beside him. “Get on!”
Anse patted his warhorse regretfully, untied its reins and saddle, then jumped onto the flying carpet and squatted behind Illyas.
“Sit steady.”
Before Illyas finished speaking, the flying carpet shot upward without warning, nearly flinging Anse off. He hurriedly grabbed the front buckle to steady himself.
This magic carpet wasn’t large; two people sitting on it was cramped. The advantage was its speed—even carrying two adults, it was faster than typical fly spells.
Anse deliberately sat back a bit, not out of propriety, but because Illyas’s flying hair was whipping his face painfully.
They flew straight through the air, no detours, faster than imagined.
Soon, Blue Water City’s outline appeared in their sight, the outskirts littered with kobold corpses, their dark green skin especially conspicuous.
