Mage Adam

Lina was rather impatient. Adam had given her a deadline of two days, but she shortened it to one and announced it. The slaves were puzzled as to why their master was in such a hurry, but no one dared to ask.

By noon the next day, Adam received the map he had requested earlier than anticipated.

However, the map was far from standard. Speechless, Adam looked at Lina, pointing to the map and asked, "What's this triangle? And this circle, this square? Are you sure this isn't some random scribble instead of a map?"

Adam realized he had overestimated these alien races. They lacked even the most basic geographical knowledge. In his world, any apprentice, no, even a knight, would have the basic knowledge to draw a map. Yet what the forest elves gave him seemed like mere scrap paper.

Lina was baffled by the question. Taking the map, she explained, "This is the main peak where Lord Okov resides. This is a lake not far from the main peak, and this is the tribe of the wetland race." After her explanation, she looked at Adam innocently, "It's quite clear."

Adam sighed in resignation. It was his oversight, and he couldn't blame Lina. He habitually used the standards of the mage world to issue orders, forgetting that races from the Dragon Plane never received basic education. In other words, they were illiterate.

Reluctantly, Adam created an ice crystal board. He drew the route from the main peak to the forest tribe in a more standardized format, and labeled the various terrain icons in a universal language on the side.

"Take this and study it closely. Then redraw your map in the standard format. Most importantly, mark the areas with the most intense and unstable energy reactions."

Lina took the ice crystal board, realizing her drawing was completely different. She felt embarrassed. The important places on the map Adam gave her were highlighted with energy. Still, Lina had questions, such as, "Master, what does 'scale' mean?"

Adam patiently explained the concept, and Lina nodded repeatedly, assuring that she could produce a perfect map. She then hurriedly left the laboratory to gather data.

The devil, lurking in Adam's mind, laughed heartily, "Master, I believe I am smarter than her. Won't you reconsider?"

Adam, initially ready to destroy this temporary lab, was taken aback by these basic issues. He sat back down, silently placed a speech restriction on the devil, and said, "Shut up."

That evening, Lina presented the redrawn map to Adam. While it still had some deviations from the standard, the general terrain was comprehensible. For ordinary mortal races, a high degree of accuracy in a map was essential. However, for mages with formidable individual strength, this was sufficient.

Adam took the map, stomped on the ground, and both the laboratory and the central ice spikes of the tribe shattered simultaneously. A sudden blizzard came down, melting away all traces of his presence.

Pointing to a male forest elf behind Lina, Adam said, "He will accompany me. You can leave with the others."

The designated forest elf turned pale, while Lina, struggling to contain her excitement, wanted to say something.

Adam cut her off, "Enough talk. Remember your task." He then grabbed the elf and flew towards the uncharted territories of the Dragon Plane.

The main peak of the Makalu mountain range towered into the clouds, perpetually covered in frost and populated by numerous ice elementals. These elementals belonged solely to Okov, cycling into his body with every breath he took in his slumber.

Adam speculated this was the dragons' way of cultivation, absorbing the elementals directly, somewhat resembling the Elemental Trueself cultivation method. If this was accurate, the reason adult dragons chased away their young after their infancy might be because the young ones needed to cultivate. Unwilling to share the limited elementals with other dragons, even their own offspring, they would drive them away.

This would mean that this period was the most dangerous stage in a dragon's life. Adam wondered, *How do ordinary dragons evade the malevolence permeating the entire Plane? Is it through inherited knowledge and dragon magic?*

After flying through the night, Adam reached the edge of the forest. Beyond lay a barren rocky desert, devoid of any visible life.

"What is this place?" Adam asked the elf, who nervously flew beside him.

The elf shuddered. To him, Adam was the embodiment of terror. Not only had Adam ruthlessly killed hundreds of their kind, but even the way he bestowed power upon them was quite horrified. Though the elf enjoyed the newfound strength, he could never forget the terrifying sensation.

"Sir," the elf hesitated on how to address the master's master, "this place has no name. But if you fly straight for three days and three nights, you'll reach the Racial Union Zone."

"The Racial Union Zone? Not a kingdom or a duchy?"

The elf shook his head. "No, there haven't been countries on this continent for a long time, only individual city-states. The rulers there call themselves Commissioners. They're a group of unpleasant individuals. They aren't welcoming to races coming from---" The elf swallowed the disrespectful descriptor he was about to use, then continued, "from Dragon's territory."

City-states, a backward system of separate autonomous low-level political communities. Autonomy was both its characteristic and its fatal flaw. Adam landed and silently pondered this system. Ideas flashed through his mind; it seemed he could take advantage of such a system for a significant endeavor.

As Adam pondered, the elf was mentally preparing himself. He knew his life, power, honor, and everything else was tied closely to the terrifying being before him, known as the Frost Dragon but more like a demon. To survive, he had to prove his value quickly. Gathering courage, he spoke, "Master, are you looking for a safe place to build a lair?"

Adam slowly walked forward, flicking his tail as a gesture for the elf to continue.

"The Makalu mountain range is the region with the richest concentration of ice elementals. However, if we continue northward, we'll reach a vast icy plain inhabited only by a few barbaric races."

Adam's eyes lit up. To him, an ice plain was far more suitable than a mountain peak for his plans to unfold. If what this elf said was true, he could base his subsequent plans around this icy plain.

"What's your name?"

Taking a deep breath to contain his excitement, the elf responded, "Master, my name is Kambi."