"Greetings, Princess Dodoia. I am a friend from a distant land. Pray, could you tell me where you are at present and what you are engaged in?" Glen inquired, choosing his words with care.

He needed to extract information from the other party bit by bit, in the hope of uncovering some extraordinary secrets.

"Here..." The voice fell silent for quite a while. Just as Glen thought the connection had been lost, it resumed, "Why hasn't Mother come back yet..."

Glen covered his face, once again confirming that the other party's mental state was severely abnormal.

He changed the question."Princess Dodoia, are there any amusements where you are?"

"Yes!" The voice rose several decibels."I have numerous amusing things here! Let's play together! Where are you? I can see you! Hmm? Why aren't you speaking? Do say something!"

Glen looked around. He noticed no abnormalities, neither in his surroundings nor in his body. He tentatively said,"I can't see you, though."

"Strange. Isn't this you?" The voice was filled with perplexity.

Glen felt that this so - called Princess Dodoia seemed to have mistaken some random object nearby for him.

It seemed that normal communication was out of the question... Although Glen was eager to ask more, it seemed destined to be a fruitless effort.

He released his hold on the gray element.

However, the next moment, an unusual sensation in his hand startled him.

The palm of his spiritual form had turned gray, as if petrified.

Bending his fingers was extremely difficult.

Due to this intense mental upheaval, Glen abruptly exited the meditative state and jolted upright from his bed.

He immediately looked at his hands. The gray gradually faded until it disappeared completely.

Glen heaved a sigh of relief. He realized that he had been rather reckless, lacking sufficient caution towards the unknown. This was related to his state of mind since his transmigration.

With the thought that this life was a windfall and he had nothing to lose, he had been acting rather casually.

But this was highly inadvisable. Even the luckiest person could fall into a precarious situation one day.

After sitting in silence for a while, Glen lay down again and closed his eyes to rest.

What he didn't know was that due to the trace of gray - element aura he had brought out, extreme weather occurred in multiple parts of the Zeon Kingdom, almost simultaneously.

In all the churches, whether of the light or dark faith, that were still in operation, the statues therein trembled slightly.

Some people noticed this and thought it was a divine message of some sort.

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In a desolate, remote desert, where it was perpetually dark and no one was supposed to set foot, stood a dilapidated church.

The remains of the church knights who had once guarded it were scattered all over the church.

The desert wind howled, making a tattered, slanting flag flutter noisily.

This was a forgotten place, a true wilderness where all past prosperity had been buried.

At the same time as the extreme weather in the Zeon Kingdom, the decayed and broken statue in this church shook violently and then shattered completely.

Moments later.

A hidden trapdoor in the floor slowly opened, and an old beast - headed man carrying a lantern with a black - panther - like head emerged.

Its eyes glowed white, with no visible pupils, giving it an air of mystery.

The old beast - headed man walked up to the debris of the statue, gently picked up a handful, and kneaded it.

"Does even the god fear?" It suddenly murmured to itself.

...

Glen was awakened by the howling wind outside.

At this moment, the alarm that could wake one up instantly hadn't gone off yet, and it was still rather dark outside.

He got out of bed and walked to the window. The sight outside surprised him.

The sky above the Demon - Fall Valley was a hazy gray, with dark black clouds floating about. The world was filled with a tempestuous wind, yet there was no sign of rain.

The trees outside seemed to be tugged by a giant hand, as if they could be uprooted at any moment.

One could only imagine how strong the wind was.

Yesterday, it had been sunny with a clear sky. How could it have become like this today? It seemed that the climate knowledge from his previous life didn't apply here... Glen watched for a while and then pushed open the door and went out.

However, he found that all the apprentices were gathered on the balcony, seemingly observing something.

Glen also went to the balcony and then learned that the apprentices were watching Daof and Mako casting spells in the sky.

"Lucas, what are the teachers doing now?" Glen asked Lucas beside him.

The latter turned to look at Glen and said,"The teachers are trying to change the weather. This kind of weather is not favorable to the precious materials growing in the back - mountain."

Can a level - five mage influence the weather?..." Glen was surprised. He then looked at the two floating in the sky, casting their magic.

With his exceptional eyesight, Glen could clearly see every detail of Daof's movements, even the changes in his lips as he spoke.

After watching for a long time, he noticed that Daof's brows were constantly furrowed, indicating that things were not going smoothly.

Glen asked Lucas again,"Is it difficult for the teacher to change the weather?"

Lucas shook his head."Changing the weather in a small area shouldn't be too difficult. But the teacher has been casting the spell for some time, so it seems to be a special case."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Daof and Mako flew down from the sky and came in front of the apprentices, saying,

"It seems that the weather can't be changed by magic. Mako and I are going to the back - mountain to set up some protection. Don't go out. This weather is rather strange and doesn't seem like a good omen."

"Lucas, Glen, take care of them." Mako added as an instruction.

The apprentices barely had time to respond affirmatively before the two left again.

After they left, Leaves said discontentedly,"Glen has just arrived. Why should he watch over us? It should be me taking care of him!"

Lucas smiled and stroked her head."Glen is older than you. Of course, you should listen to him."

"But he's just an apprentice who hasn't even mastered low - level magic yet..." Leaves pouted.

Glen knew that this little girl just wanted to play the role of an adult taking care of others. Many children had this kind of mentality.

Seeing Leaves like this, Lucas's tone became a bit sterner."Leaves, listen to the teacher!"

Leaves nodded.

Subsequently, Lucas assigned tasks to each apprentice, and the children dispersed.

"You're quite experienced," Glen said to Lucas with a teasing smile.

The latter just smiled, and the two went to do their own things.

At the back - mountain.

As soon as the two mages arrived, they saw a small being with dragonfly wings busily gathering tiny plants.

"Ciri." Daof called out and then began to set up a spell to resist the strong wind.

Ciri heard the voice and knew it was Daof. So, he replied,"Daof, Mako, you've finally come. My poor herbs were almost all gone."

There was originally a barrier here, but it was very weak. This was because the plants needed sunlight, and a too - strong barrier would block the magic power in the sunlight.

"It's a miracle that such a strong wind didn't blow you away," Daof couldn't help joking.

This made Mako glare at him.