Chapter 463 – Green Forest Town

Chapter 463 – Green Forest Town

“Vasida! Don’t accelerate so much all at once—first steer onto that path through the woods!”

“Also, pulling back means decelerate, holding still means constant speed forward, and the farther from the center of the disc, the faster you go.”

“To adjust direction, just turn the horse’s head the way you want to go.”

“Start slow. Once you’ve got the hang of it, then speed up.”

“Apart from this power core, this carriage has no other magical devices. If you crash into a tree, it’ll be completely destroyed.”

“I only built this one carriage. If you wreck it, we’ll have to trudge into Green Forest Town on foot in the rain!”

Mo Lan was terrified that Vasida didn’t understand the gravity of the situation and would smash the carriage, so she hurriedly laid it all out.

Vasida realized she had nearly caused a disaster and quickly pulled the little wooden horse back to its starting position.

“Ready?” Mo Lan asked.

Vasida nodded emphatically.

Only then did Mo Lan release the safety valve, though her hand still hovered over it, not daring to pull away.

Fortunately, Vasida was much more careful this time. She gently pushed the little wooden horse forward just half a notch, then stopped.

On the disc, the little wooden horse raised its hooves, pulling the tiny carriage, and began walking slowly in place.

The carriage wheels sank deep into the muddy earth and began rolling forward slowly, kicking up murky water.

Vasida turned the horse’s head to steer around a large tree blocking the path ahead, guided the carriage onto the forest trail, then carefully adjusted the direction and began traveling along the path.

Once she had learned to control the steering, she gradually increased speed one notch at a time.

The little wooden horse’s hooves clip-clopped as it galloped in place on the disc, pulling its tiny carriage behind it.

The real carriage raced along the forest trail.

The ride was incredibly bumpy. Inside the entire cabin, only the control console remained stable.

Even so, the Sorceresses—experiencing a human alchemical creation for the first time—found the whole thing utterly fascinating.

“Vasida, stop for a moment—let me try!” Lilith was second in line.

Sylph kept peering out the carriage window the whole time.

After a while, it was finally her turn too.

Mo Lan, amid the jostling, changed into a set of black waterproof mage robes.

Once changed, she stood and urged, “Sylph, we’re almost at Green Forest Town—go change your clothes, quickly!”

After Sylph got up, Mo Lan smoothly slid into the driver’s seat and eagerly took control of the little wooden horse.

She had only built this carriage in the last few days and hadn’t even driven it herself yet! Watching them have so much fun had made her fingers itch to try.

Vasida, who had just changed into her mage robes, protested: “Moira, ‘Instructor’! How could we let you handle something like driving the carriage! Please, let this lowly apprentice take care of the labor!”

“Shoo, shoo, shoo—don’t distract the driver! One wrong move and we’ll all be dead in a wreck!” Mo Lan said.

She played around with it for a while and found it felt pretty much like playing a driving game.

At low speed it was quite easy to handle; at high speed, that was another story.

It wasn’t until she spotted the faint glow of lights ahead that she handed the controls back to Vasida.

“The show begins now. From here on out, it’s all about our acting. You still remember what I told you on the way here, right?” Mo Lan said.

“Of course!” “I am Lilith, Instructor Moira’s first student. The apprentice-level spells I’ve currently mastered are Ignite and Stoke Fire.”

“I am Sylph, Instructor Moira’s second student. The apprentice-level spells I’ve currently mastered are the germination spell and Grass Rope.”

“I am Vasida, Instructor Moira’s youngest student. The apprentice-level spells I’ve currently mastered are Loosen Earth and Stone Throw.”

Since their names on the contract were written in Witch language—which no one but witches could read—they all simply used Common tongue names transliterated from their real names. They hadn’t even taken transformation potions. As long as they didn’t actively reveal the presence of mana, no one would be able to identify them by appearance alone.

“We are all orphans that our Instructor rescued during her travels. Our aspiration is to follow our Instructor on her journey across the nations, improving our magical abilities along the way. We previously stayed in the city of Elwiss for a time, but because of the war, we set out southward ahead of schedule.”

“Our Instructor Moira is a traditionalist mage who carries on the ways of the ancient mages and refuses to use elemental meditation techniques to improve her elemental affinity. No one knows just how many spells she has actually learned. She firmly believes that as long as one persists in psychic power meditation training and possesses enough active psychic power, one can harness the power of the elements even without sufficient elemental affinity… Moira, is that actually true? Can having enough psychic power really compensate for a lack of elemental affinity?”

“Of course it’s not true! I made it up on the spot. We’re bumbling rogue mages with no noble titles, no territory, and no formal education! Going down the wrong path is perfectly normal for us!” Mo Lan declared without an ounce of shame.

She did actually want to test whether such a thing was possible.

But although she possessed a vast reservoir of psychic power, her elemental affinity had long since been maxed out, making verification impossible.

Whether it was right or wrong didn’t really matter anyway—dabbling in unorthodox methods was what made a rogue mage a rogue mage!

“Instructor! There’s a town ahead! Approximately one thousand meters away,” Vasida began playing her part.

Not to be outdone, Lilith stuck her head out the carriage window for a look. “It’s Green Forest Town!”

Mo Lan raised an eyebrow. “You can see the boundary marker?”

“Mm-hmm!” Lilith answered.

Mo Lan put on a stern face. “Lilith! Honesty is the finest quality an apprentice can have. It’s dark out there, the rain and fog are thick—how could you possibly see that far? How could you read the words on the boundary marker?”

Lilith: “…”

She’d forgotten that she was supposed to be just a lowly apprentice who hadn’t fused with Vampire dark vision!

“I’m sorry, Instructor. I was wrong.”

Mo Lan assumed the expression of a teacher pleased with a teachable student. “Good that you know your mistake.”

After a while, Sylph finally found her opportunity. “This time I can really see the boundary marker. It is indeed Green Forest Town. We’ve entered the Duchy of Lance.”

Mo Lan nodded. “It’s getting late. Let’s hurry into town and find a decent inn to stay at.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Vasida pushed the little wooden horse forward two notches. The carriage’s speed jumped up two levels, and in the blink of an eye, they had arrived at the entrance of Green Forest Town.

The Duchy of Lance and the Kingdom of Elwiss were both vassal states of the Mage Empire, bound by its authority. Even when friction arose between them, both sides would send mage representatives to settle matters at the Empire’s dueling grounds.

There was no warfare along the border between the two nations.

The Elves of the Elven Woods generally didn’t expand outward either.

Magical beasts in the surrounding area were also cleared on a regular basis.

Outside Green Forest Town, there were no defensive fortifications whatsoever. Vast stretches of farmland and farmsteads served as the only buffer between the wilderness and the town.

Mo Lan’s carriage drove straight in without any obstacles, rolling right into the town.

By now, the sky had gone completely dark, and there were hardly any pedestrians on the streets.

Vasida searched for an inn through the lookout port while Lilith and Sylph opened the side windows to help look.

Mo Lan, as befitting an “Instructor,” sat calmly in the center with her eyes closed, resting.