Chapter 492 - 223: Intimidation

Since Sean had already confirmed the final destination of Fan Ke’er and his group, he didn’t follow the route provided by Witch’s Bay.

That was the route Fan Ke’er’s group was taking. Knowing their destination, there was no need to trail them. Instead, Sean chose a faster highway that led directly to Cadola Royal City.

Austinburg State was a vast region with a sparse population and very few cities. There weren’t many cities between Cadola Royal City and the Golden Coast, yet the journey was nearly a thousand kilometers long. The roads were mostly empty, but many sections had speed limits for safety, meaning the drive would take nearly ten hours.

There were plenty of service areas along the way. Driving for such a long time continuously would be exhausting. Sean didn’t want Elise to overexert herself, so he had her pull over at a service area to rest and grab a bite to eat before continuing.

This made Elise’s beautiful eyes curve into crescents.

’After all, when she and Anna drove from Vernadu to Gothra Town, she’d been behind the wheel for much longer. Back then, they had only stopped for gas, and Sean hadn’t shown any concern for how tired she was. This time, however, she had only been driving for seven or eight hours, and he already seemed to feel bad for his driver.’

’It proved that spending so much time with Sean day in and day out had been worthwhile.’

’This man, whose actions betrayed his words, was slowly starting to have a place for her in his heart.’

More than her own skyrocketing Magic Power, Elise felt *this* was the greatest reward she had gained from coming to the New World.

"Oh, right, I haven’t asked you yet. How did you suddenly break through to Tier Six?" Elvire asked Elise.

’Elise and Sean had only been "Dual Cultivating" for a short time. Even if she practiced Meditation every day, it couldn’t be this fast, right?’

’Jumping from Tier Four to Tier Six in just a few days... not even a rocket was that fast.’

Elise answered honestly, "It was because of a Magic Potion."

Elvire asked, puzzled, "A Magic Potion?"

"Yes," Elise explained. "It’s called Wine of Imagination. If a Wizard below Tier Six drinks it and combines it with Meditation, they can advance at least one Tier."

"It’s that incredible?" Elvire asked, astonished.

’She had never heard of a Magic Potion that could directly help a Wizard advance a Tier.’

’Perhaps her past self had known of one, but she hadn’t recalled it in this life.’

Elvire always remembered a line from *Basic Mysticism*: "Magic Power is an intensely personal thing. Nothing can help a Wizard increase their Magic Power; it can only be obtained through their own Meditation."

This was a "law"—or perhaps a "rule"—that her brother-in-law, Carl Black, and numerous other Scholars from the Era of Polymath had established. It was a rule no one could break.

’So, the Wine of Imagination Elise mentioned probably didn’t increase a Wizard’s Magic Power directly. Instead, its potency must stimulate the Wizard’s brain, heightening their imagination or something similar. This would guide them to Meditate more efficiently, ultimately leading to a Breakthrough.’

"Where did you get this Magic Potion?" Elvire asked.

’If she could get her hands on some for the Witches to study, and if the ingredients weren’t scarce, they could start mass-producing Tier Six Witches.’

’That would be a massive boost for any Wizard Organization.’

"Well, where it came from..." Elise didn’t dare to say, and she stole a glance at Sean.

But Sean said it outright, "I gave it to her."

Elvire: "?"

’You gave it to her??’

Elise: "..."

’Oh, no.’

’Mr. Sean, you’re not about to expose yourself, are you?’

Of course, Sean had no intention of exposing himself.

He just felt that a hundred or so Magic Potions were nothing to hide. It wasn’t like they were some kind of romantic token.

A wave of jealousy instantly washed over Elvire. She stared at Sean. "How come I never knew you had any Wine of Imagination?"

"You’d give it to Elise, but not to me..."

"There’s definitely something going on between you two!"

"Hey, it’s not what you think." Sean, who had anticipated this, placated the girl. "Wine of Imagination only works on Wizards below Tier Six. It would be useless for you."

Elvire countered, "But I only broke through to Tier Six recently."

’When she and Sean came to the New World, she was still just a Tier Five.’

"I didn’t have any Wine of Imagination back then," Sean said. He gave a heavily abridged version of what happened with Elise in Blake City, explaining that he’d given Lauden some intelligence last time. Lauden had received a commendation for it and, as thanks, had set aside the Wine of Imagination for him. Sean had only just picked it up on this trip to the New World.

"Then why didn’t you drink it yourself?" Elvire asked.

’Giving something so valuable away to a friend instead of using it himself... Could this ’friend’ really be just an ordinary friend?’

"It would be a waste for me to use it," Sean said with a sincere expression. "You know I can use Lante’s poison to break through. There’s no need for me to use a proper Magic Potion."

Elvire: "..."

’Come to think of it, that did seem to be the case.’

But she was still a little jealous.

’Any girl would be upset if her boyfriend was that nice to another woman.’

Elise feigned anger. "Hey, hey, Miss Flame Crow! No matter how you slice it, I’m your best friend, right? So what if I mooch a little off your family?"

’She didn’t actually want to say that. It would make her seem like a schemer, a bad person—someone who benefited from a situation and then played the victim.’

’But this had always been her personality. Because she knew there was nothing going on between her and Sean, she could joke with him without reservation, even playfully compete with Elvire for his attention. Elvire would never take it seriously anyway. But if she suddenly acted out of character, stopped joking, and deliberately kept her distance from Sean, Elvire would start to suspect something really *was* going on between them—that she had a guilty conscience.’

’So, Elise had to maintain her established persona. She had to keep interacting with Sean with the same clear conscience as before, as if nothing had changed.’