"What's the matter?" Roy looked at her. "Olinda, you've caused us a lot of trouble!"
Olinda replied, "I don't understand what you mean."
Renien said angrily, "Are you really that clueless or just pretending? Back in the Gale Hills, you almost got us killed!"
Olinda's face turned pale. "You were hiding there?"
"That's right, and you owe us compensation!" Renien declared with righteous indignation.
"How do I know if you're telling the truth? You say I harmed you, so I did? I could just as easily say you harmed us!" Olinda retorted.
"Haha, so you're denying it?" Renien laughed in frustration.
Olinda snapped, "Say whatever you want. I've already thoroughly offended Olen, so I don't care about offending you any further."
Renien was left speechless, unable to respond.
Roy waved his hand, signaling Renien to calm down. "Olinda, we're not here to argue with you. I just want to talk, okay?"
Olinda hesitated for a moment, then nodded and led Roy into her room.
"Bang!"
The door closed.
Renien shrugged and decided to leave for the time being.
...
"Make yourself at home."
Inside the intermediate apprentice's quarters, Olinda sat down at her small desk. Beneath her dark apprentice robe, her curvaceous figure was evident.
Roy glanced around the room, unsurprised to find it as messy as his own.
Warlock apprentices rarely had the time or inclination to tidy their rooms, as they were constantly occupied with various experiments and preferred not to be disturbed.
The room might also contain private or valuable items, such as the lacy, see-through stockings casually hanging nearby.
Following Roy's gaze, Olinda also noticed the impropriety.
But she was clearly not the shy type. Instead of feeling embarrassed, she tossed her hair and gave him a flirtatious look.
"Roy, what do you want to talk about? It's not like that other guy, accusing me of harming you for no reason, is it?"
She shifted her chair closer, leaning slightly forward.
"Cut the act. Tell me, why is Olen after you?"
Roy averted his gaze and looked at her calmly.
"Is it because of the treasure from Chalkland?"
Olinda's body tensed slightly.
"The rumors about Chalkland have been spreading like wildfire. Some say that materials used in various Forbidden Experiments might have spilled out from the Small World...
There's an old saying from my hometown: 'A wise man knows when to yield.'
If you don't want to die without knowing why, you'd better clarify this matter, even if it's just to muddy the waters."
Roy spoke while carefully observing her reactions.
"Moreover, strictly speaking, we're already on the same side.
Olen is so arrogant that he treats us like ants he can crush at will.
If it weren't for dealing with him, I wouldn't have gotten involved in this mess to ask you these questions."
Olinda's expression suddenly became peculiar.
It seemed to contain shock, surprise, and an inexplicable mix of joy and conflict.
"So you weren't just trying to blackmail me? You were really hiding there?"
Roy replied, "That's right. I also saw the method you used to escape a certain death situation. That lifelike illusion—was it some kind of Substitute Puppet?"
Olinda said, "I do indeed hold some secrets of Chalkland. If you swear not to harm me and help me avoid being hunted by Olen, I will share this secret with you!
You were right earlier. Our team is now down to just me, so I can no longer dream of keeping it all to myself."
"So there really is a secret?"
Roy was inwardly delighted, but he quickly calmed himself at this critical moment.
The Seven Towers Alliance was a pirate-like civilization built on plunder and colonization. Whether it was division of labor or ensuring fair distribution of spoils, contracts were essential.
The great Wizards, who wielded divine authority, had even infused the World's Will with a powerful oath-binding authority to uphold the spirit of contracts.
However, the interpretation of such things often lay in the hands of the powerful.
Moreover, contracts were voluntarily entered into by both parties, and they were never free from devilish deceit and fraud. One misstep could lead to a deep pitfall.
"I can swear not to harm you, but on the condition that you also do not harm us.
Beyond that, I cannot guarantee your safety, but I can offer assistance within my capabilities."
Roy spoke while carefully weighing his words.
Such agreements often concealed traps like "unlimited liability" and "ambiguous value."
These had to be dismantled one by one.
Olinda immediately realized that Roy was no pushover and said, "I demand to be treated as one of your teammates.
If we encounter an opponent we can handle, you must help protect or fight alongside me."
Roy replied, "Agreed, but if we face an unbeatable foe or other force majeure, we will have to part ways.
Moreover, the number of times and the duration of this commitment must be limited, primarily based on the value of your information.
To be specific, it should follow the principle of fairness..."
Olinda reluctantly said, "Fine."
After the agreement was made, Olinda took out a simple map on parchment from the desk.
Roy took it and looked, his face immediately showing surprise: "This is..."
It was a topographic map of the Gale Hills area, with a large red cross marking a specific location—the very place where he had slain the Fishman Lord!
Olinda said gravely, "That is the rumored location of the Void Rift!"
Roy was astonished: "We've been there before, but we found nothing."
Olinda explained, "That's because you weren't lucky enough. The treasure was wedged within the spatial rift, and when we arrived, it just happened to fall out...
In fact, others have had similar encounters elsewhere, finding treasures falling from the sky while walking, which sparked the treasure-hunting craze."
Roy was momentarily speechless upon hearing this.
He admitted he was jealous.
What kind of people were they...
Finding treasures falling from the sky while walking? It sounded absurd!
Olinda continued, "But what's truly important isn't the treasure, but the treasure mountain!
Do you understand? Only there lies the true Void Rift leading directly to Chalkland, not some small hole or a long-closed Boundary Wall!"
Roy snapped out of his thoughts, pondering deeply.
"The portal within the Wizard Tower was destroyed long ago, and we, unlike the great Wizards, cannot traverse the Astral Realm...
So, that is the only Special Passage apprentices might use to enter or exit at this stage!"
In Olinda's explanation, Roy gradually understood that over a year ago, rumors of "treasures falling from the sky" had already been circulating among the apprentices.
However, those who were in the know kept it a secret, frequently heading to the Gale Hills to quietly amass wealth.
Over time, it inevitably revealed some clues, attracting Olinda and others to venture there.
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