Chapter 404 – Setting Off! Heading North

Seeing Mo Lan like this, Vasida and Sylph understood immediately.

Needless to say, this girl had definitely stayed up all night again!

Mo Lan couldn’t quite withstand her companions’ accusatory gazes any longer, so she changed the subject:

“Ahem! What does everyone want to eat for breakfast? We’ll be setting off soon, so let me prepare it!”

“No need!” Vasida pulled a coffin out of her Spatial Card and patted the lid. “Egg Fried Rice! Come out and make breakfast!”

Bang~

The coffin lid flew open, and the zombie chef climbed out clutching a wok.

Vasida laid out the ingredients and emphasized to the zombie chef, “Enough for four people!”

The zombie chef immediately tossed the wok back into the coffin and swapped it for a super-sized pot.

Vasida nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Mo Lan and the others — especially Mo Lan — and said, “You all won’t get upset looking at egg fried rice, will you? You’d better eat every last bite!”

Sylph and Lilith shot daggers at Mo Lan with their eyes — they were the innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire!

Mo Lan: “…”

She had miscalculated.

In order to salvage a decent breakfast, Mo Lan walked over to the zombie chef’s side and conjured a large ball of fire. “Let me help control the heat!”

Lilith and Sylph quickly caught on too.

“I’ll help with the prep!” Sylph said.

Lilith walked over to the pot. “I’ll… I’ll just stand here and admire egg fried rice’s cooking.”

The zombie chef egg fried rice was making its specialty today — egg fried rice, as always.

The zombie chef’s technique for making egg fried rice was actually quite proper — the problem was its rigid grasp of heat control and timing.

It never bothered adjusting whether the flame was too high or too low, only staring into the pot. No matter how much rice it was frying, it always cooked for the exact same amount of time.

It even deliberately cooked a bit longer to make sure nothing was undercooked.

The result was that eight times out of ten, the rice came out charred black.

This time, with Mo Lan and the others keeping watch, they finally produced a proper pot of egg fried rice.

As usual, Vasida got a huge basin, while Mo Lan and the others each got a bowl.

But perhaps because preparations had been made in advance this time, each of them got a heaping, overflowing bowl.

Breakfast concluded without incident, mercifully.

The tents and planting pots were transformed back into cards and stowed away, and they were ready to depart.

Mo Lan and Lilith both transformed their broomsticks into flying carpets and said simultaneously, “Ride mine!”

Both of them had already completed the modification upgrades on their broomsticks. Though their upgrade paths differed slightly, both had added the function to transform the broom into a flying carpet.

Vasida and Sylph’s broomsticks were still the original versions.

Vasida’s especially — her broomstick had been burned once before, and she’d had to use every last spare Broomstick Grass branch just to repair it.

For long-distance flights on a fixed route, sitting on a flying carpet was certainly more comfortable than riding a broomstick.

“You two should take turns,” Vasida said. “Once we’ve upgraded our brooms, all four of us can rotate, so everyone can stay in good shape.”

Flying on a broomstick itself didn’t consume Mana, but after the modification upgrades, using the functional runes added to the broomstick did consume Mana.

“Then ride mine first!” Lilith said. “I have the most Mana to spare!”

“Alright!” Mo Lan didn’t mention the fact that she still had her Energy Storage Cards and psychic power.

Everyone climbed onto Lilith’s flying carpet and settled into comfortable positions.

“Destination: the capital of the Duchy of Lance. Let’s go!” Lilith set the destination and selected the fastest, safest route to the Duchy of Lance’s capital from the route-planning rune combination.

The flying carpet rose swiftly into the air and cruised along the planned route at a steady speed.

Spring Sight Lake and Witch’s Town slowly shrank and gradually faded into the distance.

Vasida opened the 《Safe Flight Route Map of the Continent of Valen》 that had been transcribed into her Grimoire, and leaned in with Sylph to look at it together:

“We should be heading north, leaving the Wilds through Emerald Creek Plains, right?”

“That should be it. I remember 《The Complete Encyclopedia of the Wilds》 covered the details of Emerald Creek Plains.”

Sylph found 《The Complete Encyclopedia of the Wilds》 in her own Grimoire. “Here it is!”

Vasida read the passage aloud: “Emerald Creek Plains is crisscrossed with rivers and dotted with numerous lakes, along with vast meadows. The water elemental force and wood elemental force are dense… To the south lies the heartland of the Wilds, to the east is the Elven Woods, to the west is the Black Forest and Poison Mist Swamp, and to the north is the Duchy of Lance, a vassal state of the Mage Empire… Only the southern portion of Emerald Creek Plains falls within the Wilds. The northern part is both uninhabited territory and the border with the Mage Empire, and the north contains large numbers of flying magical beasts — caution is required when flying through?”

“It’s all Emerald Creek Plains, so why are the flying magical beasts only in the north?” Sylph asked, puzzled.

Mo Lan, who had been continuing to read her Grimoire since boarding the flying carpet, spoke up when she heard this:

“Because of the defensive magic formation of the Wilds! This magic formation doesn’t just protect the Wilds — it also repels flying magical beasts.”

Flying magical beasts were arguably the greatest threat to witches when riding their brooms outdoors.

The defensive magic formation of the Wilds solved this problem entirely, allowing witches living throughout the Wilds to travel safely by broomstick.

The entire sky over the Wilds was a safe zone for witches.

The magical beasts on the ground below posed no threat to them as they flew through the sky.

“You don’t need to worry about the flying magical beast swarms in northern Emerald Creek Plains either,” Lilith said. “My broom has an invisibility rune combination added to it. When the time comes, I’ll pause the auto-flight, take manual control to steer around the areas where flying magical beasts are active, and as long as we don’t get too close, we’ll be perfectly safe!”

“Upgraded brooms are so amazing!” Vasida and Sylph were filled with envy.

“You two can gather the materials and Lilith and I will help you with the modifications!” Mo Lan looked at Lilith. “Right?”

“Absolutely! No modification fee for you two!” Lilith said.

After all, they needed to prepare materials for practicing Alchemy Magic anyway.

Wouldn’t modifying brooms for Vasida and Sylph be a perfect hands-on practice opportunity?

Vasida and Sylph were tempted for a second, but ultimately declined.

“I want to learn Alchemy Magic properly and modify my broom myself!” Vasida said.

Sylph: “Me too.”

Alchemy Magic was very important to them as well.

During their fourth and fifth years, they couldn’t buy materials from the Card Shop, and they didn’t have the energy to gather them on their own, which was why their progress had stalled.

Now that they could purchase materials from the Card Shop — even though the prices were steep — they could both afford it. Materials were no longer an obstacle for them.

Even if it meant having to wait longer for an upgraded broom, they wanted to use this opportunity to motivate themselves and improve their Alchemy Magic skills.

“Alright then! In that case, can we stop in the southern part of Emerald Creek Plains for a while?”

Mo Lan said, “I want to collect some of the fish, wild beasts, and magical beasts from Emerald Creek Plains. Back when I was little and living in Emerald Creek Plains with my mom, I ate those fish — they were really delicious!”

“Of course!”

Lilith, Vasida, and Sylph answered in perfect unison.