Abel and Wizard Frank began to chat,f and time slowly passed as the other wizards of the team began to appear. Everyone was friendly to Abel. They stepped up to greet him and joined the chat.
âEveryoneâs here!â Wizard Hogg suddenly appeared. He gazed towards his team and continued, âOur mission today is to protect cave no.5 for 30 days. The reward is 50 credit points for each of us. If there is a battle, you will be granted more!â
âCaptain, why did we take this mission? I donât want to waste another month being bored.!â Wizard Evans complained. He was a rank 19 wizard, so his status was a little higher than the others.
âWizard Evans, if you feel bored, then Iâll let you be responsible for teaching Wizard Abel how to work well with the team!â Wizard Hogg locked him and then laughed.
âhaha!â Laughter also broke out in the team.
âWizard Abel, it seems like you will be following me for a month. By then, you can make me a magic staff. I want the best one!â Wizard Evans was not mad. Instead, he laughed as well.
Wizard Evans was trying to take advantage of the situation. He was a cunning wizard.
âOk, letâs get going!â Wizard Hogg said loudly.
They arrived at a camp on a mountain through the teleportation circle in the operation space. Wooden buildings surrounded it. Although it was rustic, Abel could sense a protection circle throughout the mountain.
âWIzard Hogg, you guys are finally here. Iâve been dying to go back for a rest. It really has been a boring month!â A rank 20 wizard with a team of 7 elite wizards said as he greeted them in the camp.
âWizard Angus. Did you want someone to attack you?â Wizard Hogg smiled and greeted back.
âItâs better than wasting a month on nothing!â Wizard Angus smiled and turned back to his team. âOk, letâs get out of here!â
âFinally, this place is so boring I can only kill time by playing around with the mana gems!â A rank 19 wizard said, looking at wizard Evans beside Abel.
âWizard Evans, make sure you dig out more gems!â Another rank 19 wizard smiled.
âWizard Hayward, why donât you stay and join me!â Wizard Evans bit back.
Abel laughed as they watched the teams interact. It seems like their relationship was quite good.
âWIzard Hayward, youâll stay here if you donât get going!â Wizard Angus yelled. He already had his move in a flash pattern ready.
âYes, captain. Iâm coming!â Wizard Hayward yelled back. Wizard Evans waved goodbye as he flashed away.
âWizard Abel, they are team no.5. Theyâve been guarding this place for the past month!â Wizard Evans smiled and explained to Abel.
âWizard Evans, there ainât any miners here. Why do we need to protect an abandoned mine?â Abel looked around. There was no scent of humans, which meant the wizards were the only ones around.
âThatâs because you donât know the value of this place. The mana gems produced by this place are an important resource to the evil knights. Also, it is not far from the evil kingdom, so they tried to ignite a portal here many times and take this place!â Wizard Evans explained.
âWizard Evans, you are the first on duty, and you can pick 2 wizards with you. Everyone else can walk around freely!â Wizard Hogg clapped his hands to get everyoneâs attention.
âWizard Abel, Wizard Frank. You two come with me!â Wizard Evans looked a little mad, but it didnât express it.
Wizard Frank and Abel followed Wizard Evans into a building on the came. The first thing they saw was a circle base in operation. Anyone who approached the protection circle would be spotted.
âThe wizard Union is too stingy. Why donât they get a spirit to take care of this!â Wizard Frank softly complained.
âWizard Frank, do you remember how many spirits we have lost by putting them in these level 2 battlegrounds?â Wizard Evans rolled his eyes.
âI just feel like I am being trapped in prison. If there is a spirit, at least we could take a rest!â WIzard Frank laughed.
Abel found a place to sit down and took out a book to read.
Half a day passed. The boredom began to kick in. All the 3 of them did was sit around. Although they could do whatever they liked, they could not leave the place. They had to focus on the circle base and alert others as soon as something odd appeared.
The reason they put 3 wizards on duty was to make things less boring. They were not short of men anyway.
The sky was getting dark. Wizard Harold stepped into the room with 2 other wizards. It was time to change shifts.
Wizard Abel, Iâll show you how to find mana gems. This place is huge! If the evil knights were not after this place, no way, we could have so much free time to dig around!â Wizard Frank saw Wizard Harold taking the shift, so he turned to Abel and said with excitement.
âWizard Abel, you can go with Wizard Frank. Iâll continue to teach you how to work with others tomorrow!â Wizard Evans was nowhere as excited.
It seems like he had no interest in giant mines.
Wizard Frank led Abel to a cave outside of the camp. They were still within the protection circle, so there was no problem when it came to safety.
âWizard Frank, why isnât Wizard Evans interesting in gems?â Abel couldnât understand. It seems like the others in the team was busy digging as well.
âWizard Evans is too wealthy for it. This mine has been cleaned many times. All the easily spotted gems have been dug up. Most of us only find 10 gems with a day of hardship, but if you are lucky and find some top-level gems, then weâll be rich!â Wizard Frank laughed.
âCan we exchange those gems if we find them?â Abel asked.
âTo be honest, thatâs what the wizard union wants. It is best to clear out everything in this mine as soon as possible. Weâve tried to send miners here, but they were all killed by the Evil knights, so itâs up to us now!â Wizard Frank said, pointing at the mines.
Abel felt his heart move. He had a better way of digging mines. The wizard union wanted to clear out this place so the holy knights couldnât get their hands on it anyway.
âWizard Abel. Letâs begin!â Wizard Frank took out a puppet and gave it a digging tool.
Abel was speechless. Wizard Frank definitely knew the detail of this mission, so he had that puppet prepared.
âWhat? Iâve bought that from the dwarfs!â Wizard Frank replied, looking at the odd look on Abelâs face.
âIâm just not sure the gems you dig up are worth the cost of that thing!â Abel shook his head. He knew puppets very well and how energy-consuming they were.
âWizard Abel, all I need is one top-level gem, and Iâll be making a profit.â Wizard Frank said with confidence and continued, âItâs too bad, your Johnson will definitely be much faster than my puppet!â
âWizard Frank, you can have a head start. I need to ask the captain something!â Abel scratched his head. He didnât want to dig with his hands. It was too stupid, so he had to ask Wizard Hogg.
âOk, come back soon. Chatting makes time go faster!â Wizard Franks waved and said.
Abel flashed out of the mine opening and sensed the location of wizard Hogg. The scent rank 20 wizard was like a light in a dark tunnel to other wizards, even if he didnât intentionally try to expose it.
âWizard Abel, are you looking for me?â Abel appeared in front of Wizard Hoggâs room and heard his voice.
âCaptain, I have a special mining technique and want to generate some income for the team!â Abel said.
âOh right, you are a Grandmaster Blacksmith, so you must be familiar with mines. Quick, tell me!â Wizard Hogg laughed as he opened the door.
Abel stepped in. The room was just as rustic as its appearance. It seems like this mission was already just for Abel to get used to working with the team, so he wanted to repay them.
Wizard Hogg had led his team to fight a wizard war with the Blizzards in Frost City. Abel was very grateful for that, but he just had too many secrets on him.
Since he discovered this gem mine, he got an opportunity to repay the favor. When it came to digging ores, even the dwarfs were no match to Johnson.
âCaptain, my beast Johnson has the natural ability to locate ores underground!â Abel laughed and said.
âWizard Abel, are you saying Johnson can locate the gems underground as well since they are similar ores?â Wizard Hoggâs eyes began to sparkle as he said desperately.
Mana gems were a recognized wizard currency in the Central Continent as well. The reason why many members of the team didnât want to search for the mana gems was that they were too hard to find. It was not worth the effort.
Wizard Hayward from team no.5 was only joking when he said they were playing around with gems. All the gems of the surface had already been searched through by wizards on guards countless times over, and the oneâs deeper underground needed special tools and skills to discover.
âYes, itâs Johnsonâs natural ability!â Abel nodded in certainty.
âWizard Abel, Johnson is your beast, so the gems it dug up should belong to you. Do you really want to share it with the team?â Wizard Hogg asked. He respected Abel a lot.
He thought Abel didnât know the rules of the team. Resources like this did not need to be shared with the team.
âThis is our mission. Iâll be responsible for finding the gems and others are responsible for my safety, so it makes sense to distribute the gems equally!â Abel lowered his voice.
âI am very touched no matter if you succeed or not. Our bonds are much more important than mana gems, Wizard Hogg smiled and said.
An elite wizard at his level did not lack in gems. The Lightning clan had taken control of countless gem mines with their fighting power, as the captain of team no.3. He definitely got a fair share.
âEveryone besides the ones on duty, come gather around!â Wizard Hogg yelled, and his voice blasted through the roof of his room.
âWhat happened?â Vice-captain Lamo arrived outside the door and asked.
In seconds, the others appeared as well.
Wizard Hogg opened the door and walked out with Abel. As soon as he wanted to say something, another flash appeared next to WIzard Lamo. It was Wizard Frank.
âWizard Frank, you are too slow. If we were at war, your reaction speed would get us killed!â Wizard Hogg wiped the smile off his face and yelled.
Wizard Frank was embarrassed. He was underground with his puppet. Although Wizard Hoggâs voice was loud, it did not make it all the way underground.
If Wizard Lamo did not notice him, he might not even know the team was gathering. He didnât even have time to pack up his puppet. But still, he was late.
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