There is no concept of a country in the Borderlands.

There are not even large agglomerations.

The more densely populated a place is, the more likely it is to erupt into large-scale chaos.

The most powerful structure here is a wizard or apprentice who rules a higher rank than him.

Some forces will also raise a group of ordinary people to do the most simple and inefficient chores.

The strength is strong, and the resources are not bad, and it will also drive some puppets, spirits, and low-intelligence monsters.

At the same time, the leaders of these places usually owe nominal allegiance to higher-ranking wizards, paying tribute and completing some orders in exchange for limited resources and shelter in times of crisis.

Of course, there are also those who claim to be stronger and do not surrender to anyone.

They are generally powerful loners, struggling to survive in the Borderlands on their own, seeking opportunities for advancement.

The island in the middle of the Rhine Lake lives such a first-order wizard named Dodge.

First Order Wizards aren't as powerful in the Borderlands.

But the rules of the Borderlands are confusing, and if a first-order wizard can fully adapt to the power of the local rules, he may be even more powerful than a second-order wizard here.

On this day, Thor stood on a small hillside looking ahead, wearing a cloak that had been dyed gray and white by the wind and sand.

In the distance, you can faintly see the surface of the lake, which is still quite wide, but most of it is shrouded in a thick gray mist.

Marsh, the driver who lost his car, followed him with a huge suitcase on his back.

Lost their means of transportation and difficult to navigate the Borderlands, they walked for two months from the old witch's rat hole to their destination, Lake Rhine.

"Lake Rhine, also known here as Lake of the Dead, is said to be the only large lake in the Borderlands. There is an island in the middle of the lake, which is rich in resources, but because of the special rules in the vicinity, only a first-order wizard majoring in dark attributes will settle down. ”

Thor communicates mentally with several of the consciousness subjects in the journal.

Agu: [This wizard is very powerful, his status here is very high, and his strength can also be greatly increased. If so, would he be willing to give up the place to the owner? 】

Ann: [If you don't agree, just kill him.] 】

Thor shook his head, "If I could, I'd still prefer to use knowledge and resources to solve problems. ”

Saul is not averse to killing, but he is reluctant to treat it as a preferred way to solve problems.

Although it should be difficult to convince the Dodge wizard, Thor felt that he had a relatively strong capital in the dark attribute field, especially in the soul field, and might be able to afford the price of the other party's interest.

But before entering the island in the middle of the Rhine, Thor still needs to wait for news.

After a while, a small figure wearing a pocket cloak and only three heads the size of a body flew out of the mist and landed in front of him.

She was surrounded by a large amount of clouds that looked like a dark cloud.

The Rhine Lake has been shrouded in a thick fog for many years, and it is very stealthy to act with this cloud.

"Check it out, you're lucky, he didn't open the closed circle."

The man who looked like he was only the size of a two-year-old child was the old witch.

After two months of growth, the old witch has changed from the original deformed baby to a little girl. The body is no longer so deformed.

It's just that her face is still the face of an old witch, and her mouth can still grin to the root of her ears.

Thor nodded, pulling his cloak together, "Then let's go visit this Dodge wizard." ”

The old witch pouted, "When you get enough souls, remember to suck the remaining Kuroshio out of me as soon as possible." This thing is on me, I don't even dare to meditate! ”

The old witch was also helpless.

These days, whenever she meditates, she hears the sound of water droplets. The sound of water droplets is getting louder and denser, and sometimes she feels like she's about to turn into water droplets.

Thor didn't speak, he slowly walked to the Rhine, feeling the cool air by the lake.

"The temperature here is very low, and the closer you get to the lake, the cooler it gets."

Thor crouched down, and a corner of his robe was plunged into the shallow water, and immediately a layer of hoarfrost formed.

He lifted the corner of his coat and shook it, letting the thin ice fall off it.

At this time, he suddenly saw something in his peripheral vision, and when he looked forward, he saw ripples in the dark lake, and after the ripples, some vague white shadows appeared under the water.

The white shadows were slowly approaching the water, and their appearance was becoming clearer.

It was a confused face with wide eyes, only the whites of the eyes, no pupils.

It's not just people, it's faces of other races.

Some are humanoid, others are more beast-like.

They looked at Thor through the water, just as Thor looked at them through the water.

Herman: [That's a lot! 】

Thor slowly stood up.

The line of sight is gradually farther away, piercing through the fog and seeing a wider world.

Above is a gray sky, and below is a bottomless lake.

Beneath the surface of the lake, as far as the eye can see, there are numb faces.

They were separated from Thor by a lake, and it was like a world apart.

Suddenly, a wave of water rippled from the middle of the lake.

After the ripples, all the faces disappeared, and everything seemed like an illusion.

"Today is not the day of the Rhine's foreign trade. However, I will not let my friends who have come from afar go go home empty-handed. ”

A figure broke through the fog and appeared in front of Thor.

The person who came was a middle-aged man, with gray sideburns and beard, and he looked kind-faced, not like a wizard, like a simple scholar.

He stood on a huge pure white feather with his hands behind his back, slowly floating, and his body exuded steady fluctuations of magical power.

is a first-order wizard.

"Is Your Excellency a Dodge wizard?" Thor bowed slightly.

The man smiled, picked up the monocle pinned to his collar and looked at Saul, a little surprised, "It's a completely new face, the bones look fresh, you're not even eighteen years old, right?" ”

The wizard, though he looked kind, completely ignored Thor's greeting and took it upon himself to ask a new question.

It's not as easy to get along with as he seems on the surface.

Thor blinked his eyes, knowing in his heart, and didn't care, "Yes, my name is Thor and I'm just sixteen. I took the liberty of visiting you and wanted to make a deal with you. ”

Saul tacitly assumes that the other party is a Dodge wizard.

"People who come here want to make a deal with me." Dodge didn't deny it, either, "I like to make deals with everybody. But many people can't afford it. I had to regret giving them some small gifts, and then reluctantly asked them to leave. ”

Thor smiled, "That's great, I like trading too." ”

He raised his right hand with the palm facing up.

After a few seconds, a subcutaneous bulge moves from the wrist of the cuff to the palm of the hand.

Then the skin cracked, and a clear, irregular stone with a hint of bright red blood squeezed out of his palm.

The expression on Dodge's face instantly condensed, and his gaze stared through the monocle, staring closely at the transparent stone in Thor's hand, and it took a full three breaths before he slowly spoke: "Cryptocrystalline." ”

Thor nodded. He ignored the equally burning gaze of the old witch and the frantic screaming of Penny in his ear.

"Don't, don't, Brother Thor, don't give cryptocrystalline to anyone else!"

Seeing that Thor was indifferent, Nightmare Butterfly, who had been hiding in the pages of her diary since entering the Borderlands, finally couldn't help it, burrowed out, and stood in front of Thor in front of him, trying to get him to reclaim the cryptocrystal.

"Jingle bell—"

Suddenly, a crisp sound sounded in everyone's ears.

Penny swooped back into the diary.

"Oops, what a sound, so harsh!"

Nightmare Butterfly immediately hid back in the journal, shivering, and even Thor could feel its unease.

Sol wondered as he looked at the source of the sound.

I saw that Dodge on the other side also took out a ...... from the cuff a little strangely Dream Bell.

"Strange, why did it ring on its own?"

(End of chapter)