By carriage, Crow's Peak is about a day and a half from Mistdale. It's said that thousands of years ago, it was the site of a royal tomb complex for some kingdom or other.

  This rumor attracted a large number of adventurers, but no one found treasure and became rich overnight, instead they became the lunch of the ghouls.

  Two thousand years ago, the Beastmen Southern Legion and the Ogre tribes from the Dragonfire Peaks joined forces to invade Dranakfor, but were defeated by King Dranakfor VI at the Western Border.

  In this battle, the total number of soldiers killed on both sides exceeded one million, and corpses filled the county of Redwood, with flowing blood turning the land into a muddy swamp.

  The dead souls did not disperse, hovering in the sky all day long. For several consecutive months, the residents of the western border had not seen the sun.

  The sixth king, in order to prevent the outbreak of plague after the war, ordered soldiers to collect and dispose of the bodies, all of which were thrown into Crow Ridge. Initially, cremation was carried out, but there were too many corpses. As the king left, the generals in charge of the aftermath began to respond negatively, hastily disposing of the bodies to settle the matter.

  There were too many dead people, some of whom did not disappear souls, walked through endless years, and naturally evolved into undead creatures in the process of gradually absorbing magic.

  For the safety of border residents, the king once dispatched holy knights and pastors to conquer Crow Ridge until it no longer posed a threat. However, even so, people still avoided Crow Ridge like snakes and scorpions, never setting foot there again.

  "Kerosene lamp, candles, fishing line, five days' worth of food, clean water..." Danton checked off the items needed for the expedition, and after confirming that everything was correct, he packed them into a cowhide backpack.

  "We also need emergency medicine and high-quality weapons. If there's a magical accessory for defense, that would be even better!"

  Although he had carefully prepared, looking at the simple and shabby luggage, Tang Don still sighed, he was really too poor to afford it.

  "Perhaps this adventure was a wrong decision."

  Danton sat down at the round table under the window, by the faint light of the kerosene lamp, picked up a goose quill pen, dipped it in ink, and listed the precautions for this trip on paper. No matter how he calculated, the danger was over sixty percent.

  The moonlight is like water, sprinkling on the skin, slightly cool.

  "Get out!"

  The idea had barely entered his mind when Tong Dun shook his head and threw it away. Without a postal job, he needed a new source of income, otherwise he wouldn't be able to make up for his sister's tuition fees.

  To dispel his distracting thoughts, Danton opened the new law book he had just bought. The beautiful words and those fourteen-line lyrical poems about legal stories were delightful, and his fluctuating emotions gradually calmed down.

  "If I become a Magician, the danger coefficient will be much smaller!"

  Dunton leaned his elbow on the round table, propped up his chin with one hand, gazing at the starry sky, full of longing for the future.

  If one enters the Soul Stage, not to mention innate abilities, just being able to cultivate powerful martial techniques and magic can already allow one's own strength to increase, reaching the level of beheading ten people or a hundred people.

  Gazing at the twinkling starry night sky, basking in the warm moonlight, Tanton's mind became calm and serene, unconsciously entering a state of meditation.

  To absorb magical energy, one must enter a meditative state. Ordinary people's minds are restless and prone to wild thoughts, making it difficult to calm down. Although they may occasionally succeed in entering the state, the amount of magical energy required for advancement is too vast, and these few instances are undoubtedly a drop in the bucket.

  The depth of meditation determines the speed at which magical energy is absorbed, and Tandon is now practicing the whirlpool meditation technique taught by his sister.

  Normally, Tang Don could only enter a shallow meditation state, but now he had suddenly broken through the boundary and entered a mid-level meditation state.

  Under the bright moonlight, the magical energy in the small cottage was like a forest stream, gathering and flowing faster and faster, seeping into Tangdon's body.

  The magical density increases, and occasionally bursts out with starlight-like spots.

  Danton was like a vortex, greedily absorbing magical energy.

  Danton, who had entered a meditative state, did not notice that the grimoire was resonating with soul vibrations. Three mottled light points overflowed from the pages, like fireflies, emitting a warm glow. They were like magnets, drawing in more magical energy from all around.

  Bang, bang, bang, the sudden loud knocking sound made Tang Don jump out of his reverie, and his right hand shook, causing the goose feather pen he was holding to leave an ink mark on the page.

  "What's wrong?"

  Looking at that ink mark slashing through the fourteen-line poem, it was like an ugly scar on a beauty's face, and Tong Dun was heartbroken.

  "What are you doing? We're already half an hour late, and if I hadn't begged him, Robinson would have left long ago." Durren was puzzled, as Tonton was always punctual and would never make such a mistake.

  "What?" Tongdon looked at the old mechanical clock on the table, he remembered that after finishing tidying up, it was more than 9 o'clock, but now, it was already half past midnight.

  "Impossible, I actually daydreamed for over three hours?"

  Tang Dun's face was shocked, and he even forgot to open the door for Du Lun. In the past, when he meditated, he could hold on for at most 40 minutes before his mind would become chaotic and he would exit. However, among the young people in Chenwu Town, this had already placed him in the top ten. But now, it had actually been extended by nearly eight times.

  The extension of meditation time is not simply a matter of addition, because after the magician induces mana fluctuations and resonance through meditation, it takes time for the mana to gather from all around. Therefore, as the meditation time progresses, the amount of mana absorbed per unit time is constantly increasing.

  Of course, there is an upper limit of concentration, and after saturation, it will no longer change.

  "Open the door, is everything okay?"

  "It's nothing!" Tandon stood up, took a few steps, and found that his physical strength was abundant, his spirit was full, and he seemed to have endless power.

  He pushed the door open to let Duren in, and Tanton turned around, walking towards the window with a thoughtful face. He wanted to grasp this wonderful feeling and figure out why his meditation had been prolonged.

  Durant wanted to complain, but seeing Tang Dun's expression, he immediately shut his mouth. He knew that his good friend must be thinking about something important.

  "What's the reason? Appreciating poetry, gazing at the starry sky..." Tang Dun recalled the details before his meditation and looked at the law book. There wasn't a single fluctuation of magical energy on it, so it shouldn't be a magic equipment.

  "Are you done yet? Robinson is definitely getting impatient!" Duren glanced at his watch and couldn't help it.

  "Sorry, I'm leaving." Tong Dun inserted the goose feather pen into the ink bottle and was about to close the law book when he suddenly froze. The ugly ink mark that he had accidentally drawn earlier disappeared without a trace, as if it had never appeared before.

  "What's wrong?" Duren picked up Tangdon's backpack. "Hurry up, Robinson can't wait."

  "Hmm!" Danton picked up his dagger and stuck it in his boot, walked out of the room, but when he locked the door, he couldn't help but take another look at Fatian.

  "No way, I have to figure it out as soon as possible!" Tang Dun ran back and stuffed the magic book and ink bottle into his backpack.

  Tang Dun and Du Leng ran to the south of Chen Yu Town, before they could apologize, a young man with acne scolded them fiercely.

  "You think you're some kind of big shot, making us wait so long?"

  "Sorry, it's my fault." Downton didn't argue.

  "Never mind, it's getting late, let's get on the bus and depart!" Robinson stopped Tony who was about to scold again and urged everyone.

  Next to it stood a carriage drawn by two Orlov Trotters, its roof piled high with supplies tied down with thick ropes.

  "Master, get in!" Kiel opened the car door, slightly bowed and respectfully invited Robinson to board.

  This slightly hunchbacked middle-aged man was Robinson's servant and coachman, apart from that there was another tall and strong man named Pire, carrying a Viking heavy sword on his back, with every move of his hands and feet revealing a tough guy-like aura.

  "How did you get here?" Downton was somewhat taken aback to see Will there too.

  "I want to make some extra money!"

  In keeping with Bohlmer's character, Will knew he would be fired for sure, so after thinking about it all afternoon, he found Robinson in the evening and asked to join the team.

  If you behave a bit better, you might be able to follow Robinson for a long time. After all, he is a well-known young businessman in Morning Mist Town, and many young people strive to be like him.

  "Cut the crap, let's go!" Tony picked his nose and gave Will a shove.

  The night wind blew gently, and amidst the crisp sound of horseshoes, the carriage drove out of the small town and set off on its journey to Crow Ridge.

  "Robinson, you're risking your life for wealth, aren't you? You even dare to go to Crow Ridge!" Tony was a chatterbox, chewing on a smoked sausage and speaking in a muffled tone.

  "There's no free lunch in this world, if you want to get rich, you have to take risks!" Robinson closed his eyes and rested.

  Millions of corpses, thousands of years of time, have formed a dead ecological environment on Crow Ridge, which is very suitable for the habitation of undead creatures and plants. Some of these animals and plants are materials for making various magical potions, which can be sold to alchemists for a huge profit.

  Every year, some fearless adventurers enter Crow Ridge, but most of them are unlucky and become the lunch of the ghouls.

  "What's the point of bringing these two useless non-magicians along?" Torl sneered at Tondon, his mouth still full of meat scraps.

  "We should give young people with dreams a chance!" Robinson smiled, revealing his white teeth, very sunny and infectious.

  "Thanks a lot, boss!" Will was so grateful he started stuttering.

  Robinson nodded, but in his heart he was secretly sighing. Bringing these two people along was actually a trap.

  Even if they were only first-tier mages, their physical abilities would still surpass those of ordinary soldiers who had undergone rigorous training. Therefore, once they encountered danger and fled for their lives, the two youths would inevitably fall behind, naturally drawing the attention of the pursuing ghouls.

  Danton didn't hastily observe his companions in the carriage, and there was still a day's journey ahead of them. There was plenty of time, after all, everyone had just met and were sizing each other up, with their guard up at its highest. A careless glance might offend someone and lead to conflict. Besides, Danton had more important things to attend to.

  After lighting a candle, Tong Don took out the law book and flipped through it.

  Robinson glanced at it and lost interest. As an experienced businessman, his eyes were very poisonous, and that book had no magic fluctuations at all, very ordinary.

  After flipping through it carefully, he didn't find anything unusual. Tondton hesitated for a moment, then took out the goose feather pen, dipped it in ink and drew a stroke on the blank space at the top of the page.

  Ten minutes have passed and nothing has changed!

  Tang Dun frowned and scribbled a few words casually.

  An hour passed and there was still no change, Tangdon began to doubt his own judgment.

  "Could I have guessed wrong?" Tang Don thought of giving up, but he was not reconciled. If he could find a way to extend his meditation time, he would be able to enter the Soul Stage soon.

  "Give it another try!"

  Tang Dun was furious and decided to write a few more words, so he started writing a Shakespearean-style poem.

  "Ordinary people, you've gone too far! Write any more and I'll lose my temper!"

  On the paper, a line of elegant and unrestrained handwriting suddenly appeared in front of Tong Dun's eyes.