Exploring Technology in a Wizard World

Delan Branch, Supervisor Long Mei'er, dressed in a luxurious golden robe, appeared here.

His expression wasn't great at the moment, because not long ago, he received some rather bad news. Although this news has little impact on the overall situation of the Southern Free Federation, it successfully ruined his mood.

So, with a slight frown, Long Mei'er pushed the door open and walked into the office of the branch steward, Canon.

Canon was sitting behind the desk in the office at the time, seemingly holding something in his arms. The moment Long Mei'er entered, a white light leapt out from his arms, quickly hiding into the darkness in the corner of the room.

Canon was first startled, then quickly stood up, giving his seat to Long Mei'er, and asked with a slightly nervous expression, "Supervisor Long Mei'er, why the sudden visit?"

Due to his mood, Long Mei'er did not press Canon about what he was holding earlier and went straight to the point: "There's been an incident at the Hall Orcs Branch."

"Hall Orcs?" Canon was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, as he was somewhat familiar with Hall Orcs.

It is a remote branch of the Truth Society in the Southern Free Federation, often going unnoticed, generally making no significant contributions, nor causing any trouble. It's unclear what happened this time.

"Is Hall Orcs in trouble?" Canon asked.

"Not exactly trouble, but it might be a harbinger of some problem." Long Mei'er said, "In the area managed by Hall Orcs, there is an ancient forest. In the previous investigations, nothing unusual was found, but in the most recent one, an entire team has completely lost contact.

Although the team was very weak, without even core members leading it, they wouldn't be easily wiped out. Their current loss of contact obviously indicates that some unknown dangerous changes have occurred in the forest."

"So..." Canon looked at Long Mei'er, "how should we handle this?"

"Follow the standard procedure." Long Mei'er said, "Currently, the entire Southern Free Federation has too many matters to handle. We can't devote all our energy to a minor issue. I've already ordered the Hall Orcs Branch to increase the danger level of that forest, and dispatched a more capable team for exploration. Once some basic information is clarified, we can then think of a way to resolve it thoroughly."

Canon nodded, finding no fault in Long Mei'er's approach, since most unexpected incidents are handled in this manner.

Then Long Mei'er looked at Canon again and asked, "By the way, how is the situation at your Delan Branch recently? Don't end up like Hall Orcs with some bad occurrences."

"No." Canon quickly shook his head and replied, "Everything is normal at the Delan Branch recently, proceeding according to the established plans. The previous delay caused by Inspector Chikafu has been completely caught up now, and in some aspects, we've even surpassed expectations."

"That's good." Long Mei'er nodded.

Suddenly, Canon thought of something, blinked his eyes, and hesitated to speak: "It's just..."

"Just what?" Long Mei'er raised his eyebrows and asked.

"Just that the number of points circulating in the branch has seen some changes recently, moderately exceeding normal values." Canon said.

This indeed qualifies as something worth noting because the number of points circulation to some extent reflects the status of branch members. Although moderate changes don't call for too much alarm, they still require attention.

"Have you determined what's causing this?" Long Mei'er asked.

"Yes, we've determined." Canon answered, "According to the investigation, the main reason is that an outer member has been consuming a large amount of points to exchange for branch spell materials."

"An outer member?" Long Mei'er seemed slightly surprised, "Who?"

"Someone you know, Richard." Canon said.

"That Richard?" Long Mei'er asked, with a hint of implication.

"Yes, that Richard." Canon nodded.

"Interesting." Long Mei'er squinted slightly, "He has that many points?"

"He has a decent talent for magic runes, providing related services to the branch continuously. Privately, he also helps other members repair magic tools, so naturally, the points in his hands are not low. Besides, according to your previous promise, the modification of the crystal ball, along with several reports he submitted, have all been rewarded significantly.

All these added up to a rather exaggerated number. The sudden large consumption naturally caused the fluctuation in circulation." Canon explained.

"Do you know why he's exchanging a large number of spell materials?" Long Mei'er asked.

Canon shook his head, "We haven't looked into it because the spell materials he's exchanging are quite random, not seeming to have a clear purpose."

"Alright then." Long Mei'er didn't care much, "Just keep observing for now. If there are any further actions from him, report back to me."

"Understood." Canon nodded in agreement.

"Alright then, I'll check around the other branches." After finishing his words, Long Mei'er didn't waste any more time and got up to leave.

Canon escorted Long Mei'er to the door, watched him leave, and then returned to his office, closing the door tight. He let out a long breath, looking into the dark corner.

"Plop, plop..."

The sound of movement came, and a fluffy white rabbit jumped out from the darkness, landing back in Canon's arms.

Canon gently stroked the rabbit while walking back behind the desk to sit down, his eyes glinting as he spoke: "I shouldn't have been discovered just now, right? Hmm, probably not... Even if he noticed, Supervisor Long Mei'er didn't seem to care, which is for the best... Yes, for the best."

Letting out a sigh of relief, Canon settled into his seat, the rabbit in his arms, and began reviewing documents with a quill in hand.

"Rustle, rustle, rustle..."

...

Elsewhere.

In the early morning hours.

The Silent Forest, within the area managed by the Hall Orcs Branch.

A team of seven wizards from the Truth Society entered the forest, including three core members and four outer members, led by the strongest among them, who is at the high-level of a second-level wizard.

The group held their short wands, maintaining a high level of vigilance as they explored the forest, as though terrifying enemies were lurking in every corner of the forest.

It's not surprising they were so cautious; after all, the entire team's previous loss of contact caused a huge commotion at the Hall Orcs Branch, making the members of the branch regard the Silent Forest as an absolutely dangerous place. So being overly cautious wouldn't be an exaggeration.

The team leader, with the strength of a high-level second-level wizard, was a tall bald man with a fierce expression, leading the way, ready to engage in battle at any moment.

"Clack, clack, clack..."

The sound of footsteps echoed as the group moved forward, covering several miles before a "rustle, rustle" sound emerged from the grass on the side of the team, as if some creature was passing through.

"Be careful!"

The bald leader shouted, putting the entire team on high alert, with two members even directly activating the shields of their magic tools.

But after waiting for a good ten seconds, nothing happened, and the group looked at each other in confusion.

Finally, the bald leader spoke again, pointing at one of the outer members, ordering: "Deke, check out the situation."

"Understood." The one called was a one-eared wizard with a scarred face and a fierce expression, looking even more menacing than the bald leader. Hearing the command, he nodded, cast a Petrification Skin spell on himself, and cautiously approached the grass where the sound came from.

Gently parting the grass, the one-eared wizard named Deke was taken aback, finding no dangerous creature inside, just...

"Deke, what did you find?" A companion, seeing the one-eared wizard's odd expression, couldn't help but ask.

"Look." The one-eared wizard said, bending down to gently scoop up what was in the grass onto his palm, revealing a plump little hedgehog. It seemed to have eaten something, its belly round and nose pointy, eyes blinking adorably.

The one-eared wizard's fierce expression vanished, replaced by a smile as he clicked his tongue, saying: "It's just a little one."

The others sighed in relief, realizing it was a false alarm.

One of the wizards joked: "I thought it was something else, just a little guy."

The group looked and all let out a collective sigh of relief, understanding it was just a false alarm.

Another wizard quipped: "I thought it was something else, turns out it was just a little one."

The bald leader looked at the wizard who had been glared at and said: "Well, it is what it is." Then decided, "I'll see if it's male or female, hope it's female, just right for pairing with the little adorable hedgehog I already have."

"Whatever you say." The glared-at wizard shrugged.

"Let me find out." The one-eared wizard, called Deke, in a growling tone, bent down to gently bring the being out from the grass, placing it in his palm, revealing it to be a small, fluffy white rabbit.

As the rabbit landed on the ground, it hopped into the embrace of the one-eared wizard named Kaf, who gently patted it while walking back to his place behind the table, his eyes flickering as he said, "We shouldn't have been discovered just now, right? Hmm, probably not... Even if discovered, Supervisor Long Mei'er didn't seem to care much, which is for the best... Yes, the best."

Letting out a breath, Kaf settled into his seat, cradling the rabbit in his arms, picked up the quill, and began to review the documents.

"Scratch, scratch, scratch..."

...

Meanwhile.

At dawn.

The Silent Forest, within the area governed by the Hall Orcs Branch.

A team of seven wizards from the Truth Society entered the forest, consisting of three core members and four auxiliary members. The strongest leader was at the high-level of a second-level wizard.

The group held their short wands, maintaining high alert as they explored the forest, as if terrifying enemies were lurking in every corner of the forest.

No wonder they were so cautious, given that the previous entire exploration team had lost contact, causing a massive uproar at the Hall Orcs Branch, making everyone treat the Silent Forest as an absolutely dangerous place. Therefore, their caution was warranted.

The bald leader, with a fierce expression and the strength of a high-level second-level wizard, was leading the way, prepared to clear the path at any moment.

As they were moving cautiously through the forest, holding their short wands, there was a rustling sound from a bush, as if some creature was passing through.

"Watch out!"

The bald leader shouted, and the entire team remained vigilant, with two even activating their magic wands' shields directly.

But after waiting for more than ten seconds, nothing happened, making the group collectively let out a sigh of relief as they understood it was a false alarm.

"What did you find, Deke?" asked one of the companions, unable to resist when they noticed the peculiar expression on the one-eared wizard named Deke.

"Look for yourselves," said the one-eared wizard, bent down and gently cradled the creature in the grass, placing it in his palm, revealing it to be a little hedgehog.

The forbidding expression on Deke's face disappeared, replaced by a smile, as he clicked his tongue and said: "What a little fellow we have here."

The group, upon seeing it, collectively let out a sigh of relief, realizing it was merely a false alarm.

One of the wizards joked: "I thought it was something else, but it's just a little hedgehog."

The bald leader, eyeing the person who had just spoken, replied: "Whatever," with a shrug of his shoulders, indicating he was leaving the matter alone.

But before they could relax, the tiny hedgehog suddenly emitted a flash of purple light from one of its quills, shooting out like a dart with barely any time to react, piercing deep into the one-eared wizard's hand.

The one-eared wizard froze, reaching up to touch his wounded eye where the dart had struck, puncturing deeply.