Although Arnold and Swain don't seem to get along very well, they actually cooperate frequently. It's just that Arnold doesn't like Swain's cautious style.

Even though he says he doesn't like acting with Swain, Arnold is well aware that a person like him actually needs someone like Swain to clean up his messes.

Swain is always able to take into account situations that Arnold hasn't considered, and Arnold just needs to charge forward and defeat the enemy, leaving the rest for Swain to handle.

As for the Tenth Legion, it was quite normal, since Adric and Swain have a mentor and friend relationship, and the two legions have always had a good relationship.

After Lucas sent Duke to the deserted island, he politely declined Duke's invitation to come up for a cup of tea, saying, "I have things to take care of. Don't leave Black Sail for the time being. There might be more things to ask you later. Also, apart from us from the Third Legion, you can ignore other people seeking you out."

"Lord Swain is also paying attention to this matter, so you can leave the rest to us."

After Lucas finished speaking, he left by boat, as he had many other things to handle.

Duke felt much relaxed knowing there was a force he could rely on. Without the Third Legion's support, there was no way he could have returned to the island so easily.

Lucas never asked about matters of the other plane from start to finish, as it was Duke's own private matter whether to report relevant intelligence or not, entirely left to his discretion.

The intelligence on other planes has never been lacking. With Astrologers around, many other planes will always be discovered.

However, from discovering a plane to deciding to launch a plane-opening war, there's a long way in between, involving the investigation of plane intelligence, determining if the plane has high-value resources, and whether it's worth conquering, etc.

A series of investigative evaluations is required before Black Sail decides to initiate a plane war.

Conducting a plane war requires a lot of resources, so only with strict evaluation can one know if the plane is worth conquering.

However, Duke could be sure that if Black Sail found out about the special nature of the Oracle Plane, they would definitely be interested in investigating it.

He still hasn't figured out the real situation with the Oracle Plane, suspecting there are more complex reasons behind it for the emergence of the player group.

After returning from the Oracle Plane this time, apart from receiving the 5000 contribution points for the guarding task, Duke also received an extra 10000 contribution points as compensation.

He now has a total of over 18000 contribution points, allocated to him by the Third Legion as compensation.

After all, Duke did not make any mistakes and only encountered such an incident while performing his tasks, winding up in another plane.

Both emotionally and rationally, Black Sail would provide some compensation and certainly wouldn't pursue accountability or punishment, with no reason to do so.

After watching Lucas leave, Duke glanced at his Wizard's Mark and received messages from Vivian, Harrison, Simon, Merrick, and others.

He first sent a message to Vivian, assuring her of his safety. Vivian had to leave many messages in the Wizard's Mark for him, many of which seemed like self-talk.

Vivian quickly replied, "You're finally back! Are you unharmed?"

"I'm fine, everything is safe, just went through some twists and turns," Duke replied.

The two chatted for a long time, speaking of ordinary things, but both felt reassured.

Vivian still needed some time to advance to an Official Wizard. During this period, her unsettled emotions due to Duke's matter affected even her meditation.

According to the cultivation plan outlined by Grace, she was supposed to be preparing for advancement by now.

However, due to unstable emotions, she could not rush the advancement and needed some time to adjust.

They weren't in a hurry to advance but were pursuing the most stable advancement possible.

Now that Duke has returned, she could practice with peace of mind and strives to advance to an Official Wizard soon.

Upon Duke's return to the island, Yala, Shari, Nina, and others were very excited. For Yala and other slave creatures, Duke was their everything.

If Duke were to meet with an accident and had no relatives, these slave creatures would be managed by Black Sail and sold elsewhere.

Yala was well aware that the lives of most slave creatures were miserable, and staying with Duke was very comfortable. Going elsewhere meant an uncertain fate.

Shari had been studying on Academy Island, and she was now a Second-Class Wizard Apprentice; with resources left by Duke, her cultivation had faced few obstructions.

She was now capable of making some simple Secondary Potions, with much help from Harrison, who often provided her with small amounts of Magic Potion Materials for practice.

However, Shari was also unsettled in her heart. Recently, she went through the Third-Class Wizard Apprentice examination and witnessed the fierce competition among apprentices.

Her passing the examination was entirely due to arrangements by Giant Rock Commerce Association, who watched over her during the examination.

Without her connection to Duke, Shari believed she likely would have died in the examination.

Now that Duke was back, he set their minds at ease, and they were no longer as worried.

After dinner, Duke spent a comforting time with Yala and Nina. It had been a while since they met, and the reunion was enthusiastic, leaving Yala and Nina completely exhausted and weak.

Duke, however, was perfectly fine, and after the reunion, he drank a White Mist Forest Potion and headed to the Magic Laboratory.

He planned to experiment there with the effects of Curse Magic.

"Mokosaye..."

Duke muttered a few strange syllables quickly, and a small fireball appeared before him, shooting towards the experimental dummy in front. The fireball left some light black scorch marks on the dummy before dissipating.

"The curse magic from the Oracle Plane can be used in other planes as well. It seems that these incantations themselves contain some universal rules for the Endless Plane..."

Duke was experimenting while pondering, simultaneously recording relevant data.

With the Magic Laboratory now available, and all the equipment complete, conducting experiments became much more convenient, unlike on the Oracle Plane where hands were tied.

Meanwhile, his proficiency in Curse Magic kept increasing.

Duke found it convenient and quick to cast these curses, all of which were secondary spells, and didn't consume much of his own Magic Power.

This kind of Curse Magic was perfect for grinding proficiency, bypassing a lot of learning and Magic Model construction processes, ready to be used directly.

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