Chapter 138: Surveillance Network (3/4)

It was a pity that the hundreds of spells Zhao Xu had memorized were locked away in his mind, and he could not risk losing them by having them copied down for others to use. Otherwise, he could have made a decent profit just by renting out or selling spellbooks.

At this moment, the two of them looked at the seven or eight first-level mana pearls resting in Lu's fair palm. They wanted to reach out and take them, but found themselves momentarily speechless. Even Ying, who had a hoarding obsession, felt the same. Currently, ordinary players had to scrape by with only two or three first-level spells a day. Possessing these mana pearls meant that Lu was essentially born with the ability to restore her first-level spell slots eight extra times—though she could only restore the spells she had already prepared. Unlike Zhao Xu, who was not restricted due to his "Versatile Spellcaster" feat and "Extraordinary Prevision," this still meant that Lu's endurance had reached a terrifying level. The fact that she offered these pearls without the slightest hesitation also showed that the mage Lu was willing to share her resources with both Zhao Xu and Ying.

"Use them. I haven't consumed many spells today," Lu said generously.

No matter how magical scrolls were, when it came down to it, they were not always as convenient as the spell slots memorized in one's own mind. However, scrolls were strategically important because they covered spells that one might not prepare on a daily basis. Zhao Xu did not prepare scrolls because his own limit of fourteen first-level spell slots, combined with his ability to cast various spells at will, meant he had little need for them. It just so happened that he had visited the combat testing facility earlier that day, where he had expended a massive amount of energy. Otherwise, in his prime state, he might have truthfully said he didn't need them.

"You go first," Zhao Xu gestured for the mage Ying to use them first.

Ying picked one up, held it in her palm, and began to absorb the power of the pearl. A second or two later, the once-translucent pearl turned dim, looking like a cheap imitation.

"Your turn," Ying said, putting down the pearl and turning around.

Zhao Xu walked up to the mage, feeling a bit awkward. He looked at Lu and asked, "Don't you need to restore yours?"

Lu smiled and shook her head. "No need. I only used one or two cantrips; using this would be a waste."

Hearing this, Zhao Xu felt it made sense. He confirmed with Lu again, "Then I'll use it to restore my slots."

Although Lu found Zhao Xu's repetition a bit strange, she showed no impatience and instead softly comforted him, "Mr. Feng, feel free to use them; I still have more."

Relieved by her words, Zhao Xu picked up a first-level mana pearl and squeezed it; the texture was indeed excellent. Suddenly, the pearl, worth 1,000 gold pieces, erupted with energy that flowed from Zhao Xu's palm into his mind. The first-level spell slots he had exhausted began to condense once more, like raindrops falling to earth flowing back into the sky.

Ying glanced at Zhao Xu with a strange expression. Was he really being so hesitant over just using a pearl?

After feeling refreshed, Zhao Xu put down the drained pearl and picked up another from Lu’s palm to continue restoring his slots. Seeing this, Ying frowned slightly. She had assumed that since they spent most of their time reading in the floating city, no one would have exhausted so many spells beforehand.

However, Ying’s expression changed when she saw Zhao Xu, looking refreshed after restoring his second spell slot, pick up a third pearl. Because a Versatile Spellcaster could freely combine two cantrips into a first-level spell, Zhao Xu often used this as a last resort, as it was the most flexible method—it saved him from having to use a first-level spell slot when he ran out of cantrips.

When Zhao Xu picked up the fourth pearl, both mages looked bewildered. Spell slots varied from person to person, but players' intelligence stats were usually quite clear. By the time Zhao Xu picked up the seventh pearl, Lu had lost her composure and couldn't help but laugh. "Mr. Feng, your first-level spell slots are truly far beyond the norm."

Ying, who had regained her calm, looked at the man calling himself "Feng" with newfound seriousness for the first time. Indeed, the quiet ones were the truly dangerous tigers. Because Zhao Xu’s clerical spells were tied to his spellbook, he could not apply "Extraordinary Prevision" to them. However, when he obtained his Archivist spell slots, they were similar to those of a wizard, allowing him to use "Extraordinary Prevision" when preparing them. All three knew that no fool would waste these precious first-level mana pearls on cantrip slots. This meant that Zhao Xu’s endurance was equivalent to at least three first-level wizards.

"Thank you," Zhao Xu said. He looked at the final pearl, briefly wondering if he should cast a spell first, but ultimately felt too embarrassed to do so.

Lu remained kind and took back the remaining pearl without a word. Zhao Xu wasn't being selfish; it was simply that, as an Archivist, his spell repertoire was far broader than theirs, allowing him to make better use of the pearls.

Immediately after, the three of them began casting long-duration spells like *Mage Armor* on themselves. As for short-duration spells, they would have to consider those when the need arose.

The mage Ying looked at them and said, "I saw *Unseen Servant* and *Transposition* in the scrolls. You should cast *Unseen Servant* as well."

Zhao Xu and Lu did not object and cast the spell as requested. They each placed their servants at the corners behind them, about ten meters away, so that the three servants formed an equilateral triangle.

One of the spells Zhao Xu had learned as a first-level wizard was *Transposition*, which allowed him to swap positions with a willing ally, or swap two willing allies. With a simple casting, this first-level spell could instantly reverse the positioning of an entire battlefield. Back at the canyon, if he had cast this while being charged by the ironstone golem, he could have indeed pulled someone else over to take the hit for him. But Zhao Xu didn't have the heart to let others die for him, so he hadn't done it. Now, if they ran into trouble and couldn't create a ten-meter distance, they could use this spell to swap places with their respective *Unseen Servants*. If Zhao Xu fell into a pit, he could simply swap with a servant outside the pit as long as it was within ten meters. *Transposition* was the only spell they had for spatial movement until they acquired higher-level displacement spells.

Fully prepared, the three continued their journey through the Forest of Whispers. Gradually, Zhao Xu noticed the number of dead trees increasing, and the three of them had to move closer together.

"Wait." Suddenly, Lu tugged on Zhao Xu, who was leading the way with a wooden staff.

Zhao Xu stopped instantly, but he didn't turn back, keeping his eyes fixed on the dark, gloomy path ahead.

"I have a strange feeling," Lu said.

As mages, neither of them had invested points in adventurous skills like Spot or Listen, so their effectiveness in this area was mediocre. This was the disadvantage of three low-level mages adventuring together.

"Our Spot and Listen skills are too low; they’re not helping," Ying whispered.

"Lu, is your intuition reliable?" Although Zhao Xu found Lu's behavior strange, he respected her as their financier.

After serious consideration, the mage Lu nodded. "I have a bad feeling, but the interface shows no abnormalities."

"Let me cast a spell to check," Zhao Xu said. He focused on the incantation for the *Detect Net* spell in his mind and began to chant, mimicking the gestures.

As he finished the incantation, the power of the spell erupted, invisible energy permeating a six-meter radius.

"Everyone, focus on Spot and Listen now," Zhao Xu commanded seriously, still not turning around.

*Detect Net*, a unique divine spell for first-level Rangers, linked the Spot and Listen skills of all those affected, boosting their abilities and strengthening them as more people were added. With two people, it granted a +2 bonus, but for every additional person, it increased by another +2. Thus, all three of them received a +4 enhancement. Combined with their decent Wisdom, they were no weaker than players who specialized in Spot and Listen. Back then, Rainbow, as a lead scout, had only managed to max out the skill to level 4 at level 1, which was on par with Zhao Xu’s current +4 enhancement. While every profession had its specialty, the Archivist, with its access to various miscellaneous divine spell lists, showed great strength in skill-based support as well.

The two women felt the boost from Zhao Xu’s spell and silently began to perform their checks. The photographic-memoried Ying quietly took the mage Lu’s hand. Lu was slightly startled but did not pull away. Ying quietly traced a message in the Common language on Lu’s palm. After a few seconds, Lu understood what Ying was telling her—*Detect Net, Ranger, first-level divine spell.*

She shook her hand slightly, signaling that this was improper. But Ying’s lips curled into a smile, and she continued to trace on her palm: *My guess: Archivist.*

Lu froze, looking at the back of Zhao Xu with a dazed expression. Thinking Lu had accepted her deduction, Ying continued to trace: *No, not asking, just, speculating.*

This was what she had said from the start. She hadn't violated any rules; she was simply sharing her theory with the mage Lu, whom she had taken a liking to.

Suddenly, Zhao Xu’s eyes widened in shock. He quickly signaled for everyone to crouch down. Though they didn't know what he had noticed, they followed his lead and pressed themselves against the tree stumps. There was no tall grass here, only withered branches piled up, barely concealing their figures.

Suddenly, a strange and terrifying laughter echoed through the air.