Looking at the two huge monsters in front of them, Xio, Iman, and Maureen felt very familiar with them, and even had a sense of intimacy.

Once, when he was still a wizard apprentice in the Dark Forest, he would encounter them whenever he entered or left the Dark Forest. Iman looked very ferocious, while Xiu still spoke with a hint of meanness and mockery.

"Oh, Iman, look at this wizard, he doesn't move, has he been scared silly by the great Lord Xio?" Xio flew over with his wings flashing, and his huge lizard head drooped.

Iman didn't say anything. After glaring at Morin with murderous intent, he raised his steel fork, pointed it at Morin, and said, "Wizard, no matter where you are from, you have now entered the territory of the Dark Forest. Be honest and follow us obediently!"

"Iman, don't be so irritable."

Xio blinked his eyes, and with a hint of laughter in his voice, he said, "Listen, strange wizard, follow us obediently, otherwise, the great Xio will eat you up in one bite! Eat you up in one bite!"

Maureen looked at Xiu and Iman and couldn't help shaking her head and laughing.

"Actually, I am a wizard apprentice in the Dark Forest." Morin said softly, "Of course, that was a thing of the past."

Morin's body moved slightly and turned into countless dark energy particles and disappeared in the air. When his figure appeared again, he was already standing on Iman's back.

"Go to the Dark Forest." Morin said.

His mind moved slightly, and immediately, a hidden and powerful aura pressed towards Xio and Iman.

Whoosh.

Hugh and Iman flapped their wings hard to prevent themselves from falling.

Feeling the aura coming from Morin, Xiu and Iman were almost frightened to death.

"Second...second level wizard..." Xio stammered. Iman didn't say anything. He swallowed hard with a few gurgling sounds.

"Go to the Dark Forest." Morin said again with some amusement.

"Okay, Master Wizard! No problem, Master Wizard!"

Xio turned his head and tried to force a flattering smile on his ferocious-looking face, but it made Xio look particularly funny.

A huge figure flew through the air, and Xio and Iman were flying towards the distance.

On the way, Xio saw Iman, who was so quiet and didn't dare to move, and he opened his mouth to laugh several times, but when he glanced at Maureen from the corner of his eye, he held it back.

Not long after, Morin appeared outside the dark forest.

Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar building in front of him, Morin felt quite emotional.

"Master Wizard, this is the Dark Forest. What do you want to do..." Xio looked at Morin and asked cautiously.

"I just came to exchange some things."

Maureen raised his eyes.

A powerful aura suddenly rose from Morin's body, like an invisible storm swirling in the air, pressing forward madly.

Rumble, a loud noise came from the air, forming a circle of ripples visible to the naked eye.

Hugh and Iman were horrified at the time.

"who!"

"What a courage!"

"Who dares to trespass into the Dark Forest?"

There was a loud shout from inside, and then the energy particles in the air kept vibrating, and figures flashed continuously. One after another, human figures appeared in the air. They were all wizards of the Dark Forest.

"Are you the one who wants to trespass into our Dark Forest, wizard? No matter who you are, you will pay for your actions. We will put you..." Among these wizards, the leader was a liquefied wizard. He was about to say something, but the next moment, his face suddenly changed.

This breath...

Level 2 wizard, this is a level 2 wizard! The leading liquefied wizard screamed madly in his heart, feeling extremely shocked.

"I'm here to trade some things with you. Do you agree?" Morin looked quietly at the leading liquefied wizard.

"Of course, of course I agree, of course I agree."

The liquefied wizard nodded quickly.

Faced with a powerful second-level wizard, he did not have the courage to refuse, nor did he have any qualifications to refuse.

The other wizards also reacted and began to offer compliments.

"That's good." Morin nodded.

He looked at the leading liquefied wizard and the other wizards, and couldn't help but sigh. The former wizard leader was Ogulite, and the Dark Forest was very powerful. There were many liquefied wizards and several solidified wizards. It was nothing like now, where even the wizard leader was just a liquefied wizard.

The Dark Forest has completely declined.

Faced with the arrival of a second-level wizard, everyone in the Dark Forest showed unusual tension.

Looking at Morin, who had a calm expression amid the respectful gazes of many wizards, one of the wizard apprentices suddenly felt that Morin looked very familiar. Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, his face changed and he couldn't help but exclaimed.

"It's you, it's you Maureen Olsen!"

The wizard apprentice's face was full of disbelief.

Faced with the slightly puzzled expressions of many wizards, the wizard apprentice quickly spoke up, "Maureen Olsen is our wizard apprentice from the Dark Forest. I have seen him in the Dark Forest before, but, how come he..." As the wizard apprentice spoke, he met Maureen's interested gaze and slowly closed his mouth.

Judging from his appearance, he looked to be about forty years old, a middle-aged man, just a wizard apprentice, while Morin was very young, still a young man of about twenty years old.

Moreover, Morin's strength had already exceeded his imagination. After all, Morin was the legendary second-level wizard.

"Maureen Olson?"

"I was wondering why he looked familiar, as if I had seen him somewhere before. It turned out to be him..."

"Yes, Wizard Morin... The respected Wizard Morin was once a disciple of Wizard Adrian. He is a well-known genius in alchemy."

The wizards in the Dark Forest looked at Morin carefully, and suddenly there were bursts of exclamations. Obviously, although some time had passed, the wizards still had an impression of Morin.

Morin's eyes slowly swept across the many wizards present. As he scanned, he found many familiar faces among these wizards. As a second-level wizard, Morin had a strong memory. He could easily identify those wizards and call out their names.

But everything has changed. These wizards still look the same, but he is no longer the little wizard apprentice he once was.

"You, it turns out that you have been in the Dark Forest before..." The Liquefied Wizard is the current ruler of the Dark Forest. He opened his mouth and his voice sounded inexplicable.

After all, the person in front of him is a second-level wizard.

Morin took a look at the liquefied wizard, didn't say much, and continued walking forward.

"I want all the precious witchcraft knowledge and all the witchcraft materials in the Dark Forest." Morin's voice echoed in the hall, saying, "Of course, as the price of the transaction, I will give you something of equal value in exchange."

"You choose."

Morin quietly looked at the many wizards in the dark forest.

The wizards agreed to the deal without much hesitation. They were not stupid. After all, a second-level wizard was not something the Dark Forest could afford to provoke.

The transaction was completed quickly, and Morin obtained wizard knowledge and witchcraft materials, but Morin did not leave. He settled down in the Dark Forest.

The scenes in the dark forest seemed very familiar to him, and he wanted to see more.

George once came to see Morin and expressed goodwill to Morin on behalf of the wizard family behind him. Morin did not refuse and accepted the gift from the wizard family.

Maureen appeared in the restaurant in the Dark Forest. He was alone and was eating veal loin and lamb meatball soup in the restaurant, which was his favorite food in the past.

"Richard, Babulu and the others are here again." A sigh sounded from the dining table between curtains, saying, "This time, they want nineteen magic stones."

"Damn it, Babulu, this wicked jackal who eats people without leaving any bones. The amount is clearly fifteen magic stones, why does he want nineteen magic stones!"

"Richard, don't..."

“Damn it!”

There was a sound, it was a fist hitting the seat heavily, and at the same time, there was a man's heavy breathing.

"Richard, don't be impulsive. Think about me and Gretel." The woman's anxious voice rang out.

"Lucy, I know, I know. If it weren't for you and Gretel, I would have fought with Babulu, the jackal, long ago. I would never have tolerated it again and again."

Richard's panting sounded continuously. After a while, he finally couldn't help but smiled bitterly and said, "Lucy, dear, don't worry, I will work hard to earn magic stones. I will earn enough money for your injuries and Gretel's witchcraft education. Don't worry, don't worry..."

"Richard..."

Lucy's voice sounded bitter.

She seemed to have thought of something and said, "Richard, it would be great if you were a pharmacist like Maureen. In that case, you..."

"Maureen, he has been gone for a long time." Richard looked dazed, with a sense of nostalgia and sigh.

Suddenly, Richard looked outside the curtain and an incredible look appeared on his face.

Maureen lifted the curtain and looked over quietly.

"Long time no see." Maureen put down the curtain, walked over slowly, and said, "Lucy, Richard."

"Maureen!"

"Maureen!"

Richard and Lucy both exclaimed in surprise.

"Maureen, what's wrong with you..." Richard's expression was trembling, and his face was very excited, looking a little out of control.

"I'm back, back to the Dark Forest."

A smile appeared on Maureen's face.

"Maureen!"

Richard stood up, walked forward and hugged Maureen tightly.

His eyes were filled with tears.

In front of Maureen, Richard was very open. He kept talking about the changes in life in the Dark Forest and the hardships he had suffered on the path of becoming a wizard.

"Maureen, you know, when that wizard apprentice, Scrat, found out that I had wizard qualifications, I was really happy, because from then on, I was a wizard!"

"Haha, really, I'm so happy. Even now, I still remember the name of that wizard apprentice."

Richard drank too much, his face flushed, and his mouth kept emitting a strong smell of alcohol. He said, "Later, I met Lucy. I liked her very much. Coincidentally, she liked me too. That was really good, really good."

"Yes, Richard, it's all good, it's all good."

Maureen spoke in a low voice.

"Yes, everything was fine. Although Lucy and I were not very talented at that time, I was still very happy and full of confidence in the path of wizards. I felt that everything was possible and nothing would be particularly difficult." Richard's hair was disheveled. He opened his mouth and burped, saying, "As long as you do everything with your heart, everything will be fine."

"But I was wrong."

"I was wrong, Maureen."

"The path of a wizard is really too difficult. Geniuses are always geniuses. They are destined to be at the top. As for us, we are just ordinary wizard apprentices with mediocre qualifications. We can only move forward with difficulty on the path of a wizard."

"The learning and accumulation of witchcraft knowledge, magic stones, meditation methods, materials needed for witchcraft experiments, and so on. There are so many things that we are overwhelmed." Richard burped for a long time and said, "Lucy was injured during an outdoor expedition and almost died. Although she survived in the end, she was left with sequelae and has to take medication every month."

"By the way, we also have Gretel, our son. Haha, Maureen, you know, that's my son, my son. Hey, that little guy is so clever..."

"Gretel is always naughty and even broke my experimental equipment, but I never blame him. Lucy has told me so many times, but I still don't blame him. Gretel, my little one..."

"In the blink of an eye, it's time for the little fellow to receive witchcraft education. However, this requires magic stones, magic stones..."

"Lucy needs magic stones, Gretel needs magic stones, and I need magic stones too..."

Richard kept talking, he took a deep breath, his face was full of emotion, there was a taste of happiness, but also deep pain.

"Maureen, Maureen, you know, I have been enduring the usury exploitation of that jackal Babulu, all for Lucy and Gretel. Otherwise, I would have fought with that bastard long ago, but no, no."

"I have things I want to stick to and protect."

"Lucy..."

"Gretel..."

"For them, I have to work hard to earn magic stones. I am always there, day or night, in the deep forest, in the swamp, in areas where witchcraft creatures appear. In order to complete the mission and to earn magic stones, I have to work hard."

"Richard." Lucy looked at Richard and wanted to say something.

But then, seeing the rare happiness on Richard's face, she stopped talking.

She looked at Richard and smiled gently.

Tears streamed down her face.

"It's just that I'm also wondering why it's like this, why I'm living like this." Richard's voice was loud and there was a hint of tears in his voice. He said, "I'm willing to do anything for Lucy and Richard, but... I'm also living a very hard life."

"Sometimes, I wonder whether it is good or bad for me that we were taken away by Sklater and embarked on the path of wizards."

"If Sklater hadn't come here, I would have inherited my father's title and become the Duke of Scran, and would have lived a carefree life instead of being like this now."

"Now I also have a goal to strive for, but I am also suffering... Lucy is comforting me and trying her best to earn magic stones... Gretel, the little guy is very sensible. He doesn't compare himself with other wizard children. I know he wants some wizard toys, but he never asks for them. Instead, he saves magic stones. He is such a good child... Gretel... Gretel..."

"I can't give up their..."

"So, I was thinking, maybe the best thing for me is to leave the wizard seed team after meeting Lucy, and then return to Scran to live a peaceful and prosperous life."

Richard's body kept shaking, and he put his hand on Maureen's shoulder and said, "Heh..."

He opened his eyes and looked at Maureen.

"Actually, Maureen, you know, everything changed from the moment we boarded the carriage. Everything changed."

"Whether it's you, me, Aaron, or Elena, good or bad, in short... everything has changed."

"Molin... I... Molin, maybe I shouldn't have come to the Dark Forest in the first place."

Big tears kept rolling down Richard's face.

"Richard, go back." Morin looked at Richard with clear eyes and said, "Go back to Scran, go back to where it all started."

"Richard, you still have Scran."

Maureen's voice was soft.

Richard shuddered and began to cry while laughing.

"Sclan...Sclan, Maureen, I have been away from Sclan for too long."

"The last time my father wrote to me, he told me that he was seriously ill and would not last much longer... I never expected that in the blink of an eye, my father would also become old."

Richard's voice was trembling as he said, "Scran... I should go back... I should go back."

"Gretel... the little guy also has wizard talent, but it's just low-level aptitude. Forget it, let him give up the wizard path and return to Scran with me."

"The path of a wizard is really too difficult..."

"Being a stable noble duke is fine, that's fine."

Richard looked at Maureen, then he reached out and hugged Maureen tightly again.

His face was covered with tears.

"I've been away from Scran for too long..."

“I’ve gone too far…”

"Now I am going back."

"Goodbye... Goodbye Maureen..."

"Bye now."