The fifth mana turbulence arrived.
But this time, Tarot Villa was surprisingly quiet.
The reason was simple: everyone was busy preparing for the seven-person expedition team's journey to the large ship graveyard.
They had done a "team building" exercise at the hidden paradise before, but that had been too rushed.
Back then, most of their gear had been cobbled together at the last minute.
In particular, some of the technology used on Steel-grath was the most cutting-edge magic they could offer at the time.
Even the Thorium armor was something Lan Qingyou had improvised on the spot to handle the fierce physical attacks of a behemoth like the ancient tree.
As with all cutting-edge technology, it was imperfect and far from ideal.
Looking at it that way, Steel-grath was essentially an undisputed, through-and-through prototype.
This time, they wanted to properly equip the expedition team.
To that end, Chariot had even asked Lan Qingyou for the heavily damaged Steel-grath, saying he wanted to rebuild it.
With the mana turbulence lasting seven days, it was plenty of time for everyone to tinker and trade resources.
To put it bluntly, once a group of researchers encountered a chance to show off their skills, they couldn't help but feel their hands itch for action.
It was often said that in literature, there is no first, but in martial arts, there is no second.
In a group with so many researchers, even if their fields were different, there was still a bit of a competitive spirit.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have developed so many new races.
Why not just use the Witch potion?
Even if someone didn't want to become a girl, they could have just become a Tree Elf, right?
But no, one after another, they insisted on researching entirely new races.
Even now, over a month later, some were still conducting research, though none had succeeded yet.
Everyone was busy.
But the busiest of all was likely Magician, David.
There was no helping it; he was the one responsible for the teleportation circle.
Currently, they were all in different locations. Without a teleportation circle, there would be no expedition; they would just have to scatter and find their own dungeons to clear.
Of course, Lan Qingyou wasn't idle either.
Seven days was more than enough for her to produce a significant number of potions and golems.
Considering the dungeon's complex terrain—composed of countless grounded and wrecked ships—she even developed palm-sized dragonfly golems and spider golems for reconnaissance.
She wasn't sure if they would be needed, but she made them anyway. It was better to be safe than sorry.
Magician: "Is everyone ready?"
High Priestess: "I've been ready for ages."
The Sun: "I'm starting to get impatient."
The Emperor: "Quick, quick! I can't wait!"
With those three troublemakers nodding, it basically meant the whole team was ready.
Magician: "Alright, I'll explain how the teleportation circle works."
As the final day of the mana turbulence arrived, Magician finally finished the teleportation circles for the mission.
Magician: "Simply put, these are one-time-use two-way teleportation circles, divided into a Main Array and Sub-arrays. The Main Array is with the Hierophant; it has enough energy to bring everyone over. The Sub-arrays can only transport one person at a time and will break after two uses. So, everyone should place their Sub-array in a quiet, undisturbed spot inside their shelter."
Magician: "I've already sent the circles to you. You can teleport over tomorrow. Once we've all gathered at the destination, we'll set out."
After distributing the items to the other six, Magician went over the precautions.
The Star: "I get the feeling that if these teleportation circles were mass-produced, Magician would probably become the richest person among us."
Since Magician also sold cards, he was already quite wealthy.
If he could charge a toll for teleportation, it would be a business that practically minted money while he slept. He would be wealthy enough to rival a nation.
High Priestess: "No, no, no. I actually think The Tower is the richest."
The Sun: "I agree. Medicine is a high-profit business no matter where you are. That's an unchangeable fact."
The Tower: "Not at all. How much could I possibly have? Magician is running a massive business targeting billions of people."
Seeing the two of them say that, Lan Qingyou almost blurted out, "I'm not, I don't, stop talking nonsense."
She really didn't feel like she was that rich.
While it seemed like materials arrived every week, it was a world of difference compared to Magician's market of billions.
Especially in terms of production volume.
If she had someone who could make proper crucibles for her, her production could increase, but it would still be a step behind Magician's scale.
The Tower: "@Justice, are you there?"
To end the topic, Lan Qingyou tagged Chu Yuan to shift the conversation.
Justice: "I'm not asleep yet. What is it?"
The Tower: "Now that the regional barriers are gone, has the Supreme Council made any moves?"
Since she wanted to change the subject, she naturally picked a big one.
Sure enough, the group went silent. Even Justice, who had just spoken, didn't immediately respond.
Wait... was this a Supreme Council secret?
Asking it so bluntly in front of so many people might not have been the best idea.
Even if he wanted to answer, he probably couldn't.
Justice: "There are definitely plans, but it's not convenient for me to tell you the specifics."
After some consideration, Chu Yuan replied.
This immediately drew the group's mockery.
High Priestess: "Tsk..."
Chariot: "What a letdown."
The Star: "I thought I'd get to hear some high-level secrets for fun."
Righteousness: "I was hoping to be like those people in the White House and make a fortune off of inside information."
The Sun: "Forget it, everyone. It's a bust."
Usually, this group would have gone to bed early or stayed up late doing their own things. But tomorrow was different—it was the day of the "expedition," so everyone chose to stay awake.
Given their current attributes, staying up for a day or two didn't matter anyway.
This was likely a very convenient hidden benefit of evolving—or rather, of no longer being entirely human.
Justice: "You bastards, there are no 'White House' people in the Supreme Council."
Wheel of Fortune: "So there are other kinds of people, then."
High Priestess: "I bet your council definitely has those vampire types."
The Sun: "Aren't you the vampire?"
High Priestess: "Uh... then call them demons? I think that's what people usually call them anyway."
The Moon: "The world is harsh, the organization is new, and it's a mixed bag of people. That's only natural."
Righteousness: "Calling them demons is accurate. After all, they're the kind of people who would sell out even their own prophets."
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