85: Chapter 85: A Mixed Bag

The journey proceeded in silence. White led Byron to a sprawling farmhouse made of stone and wood, a stark contrast to the thatched cottages seen earlier in the village.

White hurriedly pushed open the farmhouse's tightly shut gate and said obsequiously, "My Lord Wizard, this is my humble farmhouse. Please, do not take offense at its simplicity."

Byron nodded slightly, saying nothing more.

Guided by White, they entered a room with a distinct medieval feel and sat down.

After declining White's service, Byron spoke directly, "How did you know I was a Wizard?"

Upon hearing this, White's body trembled. Not daring to hesitate, he hurriedly began to explain.

"Forgive me, My Lord. The reason I knew you were a powerful Wizard is because I saw another Wizard when I was young, and the clothes you are wearing are exactly the same as his."

Hearing this, a light flashed in Byron's eyes, and he breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed he hadn't been transported to some distant place and was still within the territory of the Dark Eclipse Wizard Academy.

With that, things became much simpler. He only needed to figure out his location, confirm the direction of the Academy, and he would be able to return.

It was as simple as putting an elephant into a refrigerator.

As for why Byron could be so certain, it was because he was currently wearing the official uniform Wizard robe issued by the Academy.

If White wasn't lying...

Byron narrowed his eyes as he looked at White. "Are you telling the truth?"

Seeing this, White's heart trembled. With a "thud," he immediately knelt on the ground again, saying in a panic, "I dare not deceive you, My Lord. Everything I said is true!"

"When I saw that Wizard, I was still very young. Although so many years have passed, I have never dared to forget that Lord's bearing!"

Byron: "How do you remember it so clearly after so long?"

White: "That is because back then, our area was plagued by Demonic Beasts, leaving the people in dire straits. That Wizard came specifically to deal with these Demonic Beasts, which is why I remember it so clearly."

Hearing this, Byron nodded slightly. Through White's words, he understood why that Wizard had come here.

He must have accepted a mission from the Mission Hall of the Academy, which was why he had come here.

This made sense.

Thinking of this, Byron nodded slightly. "I will believe you for now. Get up."

White was overjoyed, his eyes filled with excitement as he looked at Byron. "Thank you, My Lord. Thank you, My Lord."

Byron waved his hand, cutting him off. "Alright, enough of that. I still have some questions to ask you."

White stood to the side, nodding hurriedly.

"Do you know where this is? Are there any peculiar places nearby? Do you have a map of the area...?"

Byron immediately blurted out all the questions he had in mind.

After speaking, seeing White's anxious and bewildered expression, Byron waved his hand.

"Alright, don't be anxious about these questions. Answer them one by one, but make sure not to talk nonsense, otherwise..."

White was so scared that he shook his head repeatedly. "I dare not, My Lord. I would never dare to deceive you."

Subsequently, White began to carefully answer Byron's questions.

I do not know how much time had passed. Watching White's retreating figure, Byron felt he had gained something, though not much; it was a mix of joy and worry.

The worry was that, despite White being the village head, his range of activity was limited to the area around the village. He only knew that they were all subjects of Viscount Lorenz.

As for the places he had been, it was just wandering around a few other nearby villages that also belonged to that Viscount.

Let alone a map, he did not even know the official name of this place.

Consequently, Byron's hope of learning the name of this place from him and then confirming his location via the Academy map was dashed.

But the joy was that, according to White, about a hundred kilometers to the southeast of Grey Stone Village, there was a city in the Kingdom of Cold Ash, where he should be able to find what he needed.

Byron did know of the Kingdom of Cold Ash; it was recorded in the Library.

It was a nation on the peninsula of the Dark Eclipse Wizard Academy, surrounded by two other Wizard Academies.

The territory of this kingdom was several times larger than the island where Byron's own kingdom was located.

However, regarding this kingdom, Byron also noticed that the three Academies had a very ambiguous attitude toward it, as if they were all lingering on the periphery and were not close to it.

Apart from going there to recruit apprentices, the Academies would only send people to deal with things when Demonic Beasts appeared in the kingdom.

At other times, these three Academies acted as if this kingdom did not exist; their attitude was very strange.

Moreover, there was a blind spot here: since they could recruit apprentices in this kingdom, why did the Academy travel all the way to their island to recruit them?

Wasn't that ignoring the nearby to seek the far?

Could it be related to that matter?

Byron still remembered the conversation between Andrei and Klevin when he boarded the cross-sea ferry.

After pondering for a while longer, Byron stopped thinking about it.

After all, the most important thing right now was to figure out exactly where he was.

"Hum—"

Just at this moment, Byron suddenly felt a buzzing sound coming from his Mental Sea.

Byron's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly checked the anomaly appearing in his Mental Sea.

As a Wizard, the most important and critical place was the Mental Sea.

After all, for a Wizard, if the body is damaged, it can be replaced; if there is a problem with magic power, it can be recreated.

But if a problem occurs in the Mental Sea, the person is truly finished.

Because the Mental Sea is where a Wizard's Mental Energy resides, and also where the Soul resides.

With a serious expression, Byron entered his Mental Sea and immediately knew what had caused that buzzing sound.

This thing was none other than the contract imprint formed when Byron enrolled and signed the student loan with the Academy.

He had previously ignored it, thinking it only had a positioning function, but he had not expected that something else was hidden beneath it.

Thinking of this, Byron narrowed his eyes. It seemed he must use the Eye of Omniscience to analyze this imprint clearly later, to see what else was hidden inside that he did not know about.

After analyzing it clearly, he must find a way to solve this problem.

Even if he could not remove it and it had to remain in his Mental Sea, he needed to have the ability to counter it, or be able to clear it away in an instant.

Otherwise, Byron suspected that he might die without knowing why at some point.

Thinking this, Byron continued to stand at the edge of his Mental Sea, quietly watching the imprint whose sound was becoming increasingly distinct.

He wanted to see what kind of trouble this imprint would cause this time.

Several breaths passed, and the sound from the imprint suddenly stopped, and it erupted with a brilliant light, even illuminating Byron's Mental Sea.

Byron stared fixedly at all of this, not daring to have the slightest slack in his heart.

As the light dimmed again, Byron saw the imprint clearly once more.

But the moment he saw the contract imprint clearly, he was stunned, and the corner of his eye twitched uncontrollably.