Published: March 11, 2025
Chapter 7: Not My Rule
As the sky gradually darkened, the entire castle relied on torches for light except for Zhao Hai's bedroom, which used a magical lamp.
This magical lamp was made from a type of magic crystal found on the Ark Continent. There were only two ways to obtain magic crystals: one was from underground magic crystal mines, which could yield good or bad crystals depending on the amount of energy contained within. Those with more energy could be used as power sources for magical tools, while those with less energy were only suitable for lighting. However, underground magic crystals were single-use, meaning once their energy was depleted, they became useless.
The other type of magic crystal came from magical beasts, which was extremely rare. Out of ten magical beasts, there might be only one that produced a magic crystal. Although the energy in these magic crystals wasn't very high, they were stable and served as auxiliary tools for mages when casting spells. Most importantly, these magic crystals could be reused; after expending their energy, they could absorb the same type of magical energy from the natural world over time, allowing them to recharge for another use.
Regardless of the type, magic crystals were very expensive. Those mined from magic crystal mines were slightly cheaper than those harvested from magical beasts, but their prices were still beyond the reach of ordinary people.
During this critical time for the budah family, although Galen had purchased a few magic crystals, each one was precious and shouldn't be used recklessly. As a result, aside from Zhao Hai's room, torches lit the other areas at night.
At this moment, the slaves had finished their meals and gone to bed, while Merlin had just finished preparing dinner and was sending Meg to call Zhao Hai.
Zhao Hai slept soundly; even in this foreign world, he had a spatial farm and didn't need to worry about making a living. Over the past few days, he had been unconscious, and Merlin had been using magic to treat him. His body still contained a significant amount of water elements, which inherently had a calming effect. Combined with the fact that he had set his mind at ease, he was sleeping particularly well.
Meg arrived outside Zhao Hai's room, listened for a moment, and heard only silence. She knocked on the door and called out, "Young master, it's time to get up. Dinner is ready."
There was still no response from within, and after calling out twice more with no answer, Meg reluctantly pushed the door open and entered Zhao Hai's room.
Upon entering, she heard the sound of steady breathing. She tiptoed to Zhao Hai's bedside and saw that he was sleeping soundly and hadn’t heard them calling him at all.
Meg sighed, unsure whether Zhao Hai was carefree or just foolish. How could he be sleeping so soundly at a time like this?
Standing by Zhao Hai's bed, she gently nudged him. "Young master, it's time to get up. Dinner is ready."
Zhao Hai groggily woke up and mumbled, "What time is it?"
Meg quickly replied, "Young master, it's already seven in the evening. It's time for dinner."
Only then did Zhao Hai open his eyes, glance at Meg standing by the bed, and look out the window. He noticed that it was already getting dark outside. Slowly, he sat up, shook his head to clear the drowsiness, and turned to Meg, asking, "What date is it today?"
Meg lowered her head and replied, "Young master, today is April 6th."
Zhao Hai nodded, mentally calculating. He had been unconscious since February 17th of the year 1637 in the New Era Calendar, and now it was already April 6th. This meant he had been out for over a month. It was miraculous that he could move around so freely after being unconscious for such a long time.
However, he didn't ask Meg for further details because he had learned from Adam's memories that the healing magic of mages on this continent was astonishing. Not to mention a month; even if someone were unconscious for a year, they could wake up and move as if they had just had a good sleep, without any muscle atrophy.