Chapter 521 – Leaving Green City

Lady Carmela and Lady Traci had both gone to find Lady Anita, and there was no telling when they would return.

The Wilds and the witches would likely be without a powerful Sorceress’s protection for some time.

Mo Lan, Lilith, Sylph, and Vasida all felt the weight of responsibility on their shoulders. They had to grow stronger faster and become figures that other races would think twice about provoking.

Even if they couldn’t guarantee every witch’s safety, they had to at least safeguard the peace of the Wilds.

Mo Lan was doing alright—ever since she was born in Emerald Creek Plains, she’d been obsessed with rapidly strengthening herself, seizing every moment to study and improve. After what happened with Lady Anita, she had merely sought the Witch Council’s help, asking the witches to spread the word about the Dawn Society and accelerate its expansion. In all other respects, things continued as usual—she stuck to her own plan, making the most of her time studying Magic and improving herself.

Lilith, Sylph, and Vasida were different.

Not only had they organized the experience-sharing sessions swiftly and excellently, but even in their downtime, they were never seen idling or having fun.

They were either reading their Grimoires or practicing Magic in the training rooms.

They had practically become Mo Lan 2.0.

Mo Lan noticed, but said nothing.

On the second night, the wild mage experience-sharing session in Green City began on schedule.

On the small stage in the restaurant, Mo Lan confidently shared her insights on Magic.

After finishing, facing an audience with sour expressions, Mo Lan said in a tone of earnest concern, “…I know some of you probably think everything I just said is nonsense, and the only reason you’re not showing it is because of my status as an advanced mage.

“But let me tell you—you’re wrong!

“Even the Imperial Magic Academy has started specifically recruiting students and training them along the path of ancient mages. I’m only holding these experience-sharing sessions along the road because I need to earn some travel money to get to Etheris.”

The moment the audience heard “Imperial Magic Academy,” they wavered again.

The Imperial Magic Academy carried far more authority than some wild mage.

While they were mulling over what Mo Lan had just said, Mo Lan had Lilith and the others distribute the Dawn Society Trial Invitations:

“Meeting is fate, so consider this a gift. If you feel your magical talent isn’t enough to support you on the ancient mage path, why not try joining the Dawn Society? The Dawn Society’s resource vault has Green Phantom Fruit, after all…”

A single mention of Green Phantom Fruit sent a shockwave through the audience, and they all scrambled to look at the invitation.

By then, Mo Lan and the others had already slipped out of the restaurant while the audience was absorbed in reading the invitations.

They headed straight for the parking shed. The magic carriage, having just been cleaned and serviced, was emanating an overwhelmingly strong fragrance. The moment they approached, they couldn’t help but sneeze several times.

“Achoo~” Mo Lan covered her nose. “This is way too fragrant!”

“My lady! The scent fades over time. Only a fragrance this strong can mask the filthy stench of the Outer City!” the attendant said.

“…” Sylph said, “The mages of Green City clearly find the smell disgusting too. Why don’t they do something about the Outer City’s environment?”

Just thinking about having to take that road out of the city again made her feel nauseous.

Worse still, it was her turn to drive today—not only would her nose be assaulted, but her eyes wouldn’t be spared either.

“You jest, my lady! Why would noble mages waste their efforts on the common rabble of the Outer City?” the attendant said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“But you’re clearly just a commoner yourself!” Vasida stared at him in bewilderment.

He was plainly a commoner too—how could he think living in those conditions was simply how things should be?

“I’m nothing like those people! My family has produced a noble mage—we were permitted to live in the Inner City…” the attendant said with a touch of pride and smugness.

Lilith looked at him, and her thoughts turned to the current state of the witch race. She could only feel pity.

The witches were still considering how to stand on their own without the Fireworks Witch’s protection, yet this attendant before her was wallowing in privileges granted by someone else.

Filled with disapproval, she reminded him, “Commoners with noble mages in their families are allowed into the Inner City, but if one day, the noble mage in your family doesn’t—”

“Lilith, it’s getting late. Let’s go!” Mo Lan cut her off.

Only after the carriage had pulled away from the Green Phantom Hotel did Mo Lan speak. “The class mentality among Green City’s commoners is already deeply entrenched. A sentence or two won’t make them see the light. Having clawed his way up from the lowest commoner to become a ‘higher-class’ commoner allowed into the Inner City, that attendant has already become a defender of the very system that oppresses him.”

This sort of thing had happened countless times throughout Earth’s history.

The only difference was that on Earth, the gap between those at the top and those at the bottom was merely one of status and resources—in terms of physical force, the difference wasn’t that great. But in Valen, between ordinary commoners and mages, there was an additional chasm of magical ability. A high-level spellcaster could wipe out masses of ordinary commoners with a single spell, making this particular class system exceptionally difficult to overthrow or break.

“I don’t like this place,” Sylph said, frowning. “It’s not just the filth of the Outer City—it’s the people here.”

“Same here!” Vasida said. “I feel like the commoners at the bottom have it even worse than the witches during the Divine Descent Era…”

“Will that attendant ever wake up to the truth?” Lilith didn’t dare to imagine.

“Although witches awaken from human women, they are truly very different from humans. To be precise, there isn’t a single other race in all of Valen like the witches—absolutely no infighting, no one enforcing rules, yet every one of them voluntarily protects and treats their own kind with kindness. Other races might unite against external threats, but they never truly trust all of their own.”

Mo Lan felt that in a certain sense, witches and Sorceresses were the true “outsiders” of Valen.

Witches all had their own personalities, but bravery, resilience, kindness, and trust in their own kind seemed like qualities carved into their very souls, without exception.

“We’ll be going to many more places after this. Once you’ve seen more, you’ll understand just how special the witch race is.”

After saying this, Mo Lan fell silent.

Because the carriage had left the Inner City!

Even with the windows shut tight and the overpowering fragrance, Mo Lan still felt as though the smell was seeping in.

With no carriages or pedestrians on the road this late at night, Sylph pushed the small wooden horse on the control panel all the way forward. The carriage took off at top speed, reaching the Outer City gate as fast as possible.

Leaving the city at night was forbidden—except for noble mages.

They weren’t titled noble mages, but a single advanced mage badge was more than enough to grant them the privilege of having the city gates opened just for them.

After leaving Green City, Sylph didn’t slow down. She drove at full speed for dozens of kilometers before pulling into a small grove of trees.

By the time they emerged on the other side, the magic carriage was spotlessly clean.

In the deserted grove in the dead of night, the four of them had “bombarded” the magic carriage with the water elemental force version of the Cleaning spell, washing it inside and out several times over.