Chapter Thirteen: The Island in the Heart of the Lake

Having gained a rough understanding of the market prices, Qi Xiao did not linger and returned to the Mushroom House.

After constructing several more models, he gazed at the dimming sky and decided not to continue. He planned to rest well for the night; otherwise, if he showed up at the Heart of the Lake Island looking pale as before, he might leave a poor impression on his mentor.

He slept through the night without dreams.

The next morning, Qi Xiao donned the finely crafted wizard’s robe he had purchased yesterday, featuring exquisite embroidery, and made his way to the mount rental center.

He spent fifteen magic crystals to rent a griffin for five days and set out toward Heart of the Lake Island.

The All Spirits Vault covered a vast area; even discounting the underground structures and various subsidiary planes, its size was nearly equivalent to a province from his previous life. Fortunately, the Heart of the Lake Island was not too remote—after half an hour of flight, its outline appeared.

The island was situated at the center of Lunken Lake, a body of water teeming with a diverse array of fish. Many wizard apprentices favored this place for fishing.

As he flew across the lake, the closer he drew to Heart of the Lake Island, the fewer living creatures he saw. Lunken Lake’s surface became increasingly magnificent, and the waters around the island shimmered with radiant, rainbow hues. The corals beneath the surface rose and fell with the waves, as if they were alive.

He descended slowly onto the island at the agreed meeting place, where a vibrant, red-haired young man sat nearby, fishing.

“Hey, little brother, you’re here! Come, sit!”

The red-haired man, seeing the griffin land, cheerfully patted the sandy ground beside him and invited Qi Xiao to sit.

Without fuss, Qi Xiao sat down and asked, “How should I address you, senior?”

The red-haired man burst out laughing. “No need to be so formal; just call me Raymond. If anything happens, use my name—no one will dare mess with you.”

Qi Xiao smiled. “Then I must thank you in advance, senior.”

After listening to Raymond boast for a while, Qi Xiao maintained his pleasant expression, watching the water’s colors shift ceaselessly under the sunlight. He glanced at the floating bobber and, after a moment’s hesitation, voiced his curiosity:

“Can you actually catch fish here, senior? I’ve heard that nothing survives in these waters near Heart of the Lake Island—is that just a rumor?”

Raymond replied with absolute certainty, “Of course you can’t catch fish!”

“Uh…” Raymond’s confident answer left Qi Xiao speechless for a moment. “Then what are you doing…?”

“Haha, you don’t understand, do you?” Raymond tilted his head, clearly waiting for Qi Xiao to play along.

Qi Xiao could only oblige, adopting a humble expression. “Please enlighten me, senior.”

Raymond’s demeanor shifted; he glanced around mysteriously, leaned in, and whispered into Qi Xiao’s ear:

“A few days ago, while helping the teacher, I overheard him giving Eve some special advice.

He said when she can catch a fish from the shore of Heart of the Lake Island, she’ll be ready to become a full-fledged wizard.”

“Everyone’s circumstances and fate are different. What suits her may not suit you. You should know that well, Raymond.”

A calm, deep voice sounded from nearby. Qi Xiao looked up to see a middle-aged man in formal attire, holding a staff, walking toward them.

Though his face bore traces of age, he did not appear old; rather, an unusual charm radiated from him.

Raymond quickly tossed aside his fishing rod and laughed. “Teacher, what a surprise! I was just about to bring little brother to you. You’re always so busy—don’t tire yourself out.”

Midiel ignored Raymond’s nonsense and spoke seriously: “You’re too impatient. To become a true wizard, you must fully understand your own heart and desires. If you can’t even manage that, how will you find your path?”

He shook his head and paid no further attention to Raymond. His long, narrow eyes turned to Qi Xiao. “Come. Since you’ve chosen Heart of the Lake Island, from now on don’t be too restrained—treat this place as your second home. Just don’t follow your senior’s example; don’t cut corners at every turn.”

Qi Xiao obediently called him “teacher” and kept a respectful three-meter distance as he followed Midiel. After a few steps, Midiel glanced back at Raymond, who was about to slink away.

“You too—come along.”

“Uh, yes, teacher.”

Seeing his escape plan foiled, Raymond followed, his steps heavy as he trailed behind Qi Xiao.

The atmosphere along the way was oppressively quiet. Qi Xiao, new to the place, was still observing his future mentor’s temperament and said little.

Raymond, dispirited, remained silent as well.

Midiel was not one for idle chatter. Fortunately, Heart of the Lake Island was not large, and soon they reached its central area.

There were no buildings in sight, only countless transparent bubbles orbiting a massive black bubble at the center. Raymond, apparently recovered, began to explain:

“This is where we live and study. Don’t be fooled by their size—each bubble is reinforced with spatial magic by teacher. Some bubbles contain spaces larger than the entire island itself.

There aren’t many people here; most inhabitants are subsidiary races affiliated with teacher. As for official students, counting you and me, there are only four. Senior Rupert ascended to Level 1 wizard two years ago and has been traveling the worlds, seldom returning. It’s usually very quiet here.”

He spoke with a hint of envy when mentioning Rupert. Qi Xiao studied the bubbles and nodded in understanding. At that moment, Midiel tapped his staff against the ground, and a voice sounded:

“Take your junior to his residence first, then come to my study.”

Qi Xiao’s vision blurred, and when it cleared, he found himself standing in a wide corridor lined with portraits on both walls.

Looking around, he saw only Raymond at his side.

Raymond, though slightly exasperated, visibly relaxed once Midiel disappeared, his energy restored. He smiled, “Come on, little brother.”

Raymond casually took out a flying carpet from his storage bracelet—it looked similar to Rocco’s, though the color scheme was different.

After they both settled onto the carpet, Raymond seemed to remember something and grinned:

“I heard you’re a talented alchemist. You’ll probably study spatial magic under teacher, right? Someday, make me a storage artifact, will you?”

Qi Xiao instinctively nodded. “Certainly.”

He then asked, a bit puzzled, “But don’t you already have a storage bracelet, senior?”

Raymond rolled up his sleeve and waved his wrist, sighing, “This? It only works for storage and retrieval inside the All Spirits Vault. Outside, it’s just decoration.

I’m not sure why—that’s one of teacher’s research achievements. You’ll get one eventually too. If you’re interested, you can study it yourself or ask teacher.”

He immediately gritted his teeth and added, “Real spatial storage items are ridiculously expensive. Even if I spent everything I own, I might not afford one. Two years ago, I accompanied teacher to an auction—the first lot was a storage necklace. Guess how much it sold for?”

Qi Xiao estimated Raymond’s wealth and hesitated, “Twenty thousand magic crystals?”

“Wrong! Fifty thousand!”

Raymond sighed. “Alchemy really is lucrative. Teacher said the material cost for that necklace was at most ten thousand. Even if only one in three succeeds, that’s enough to earn me over a decade’s worth of magic crystals.”

He then patted Qi Xiao’s shoulder, speaking earnestly, “Junior, you have to make us proud! I’m counting on you for my future!”