Chapter 234: The School (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
Angele took out two tiny red eggs and handed them over to the two children.
"Here are some small gifts for you. Take care of them for me, will you?"
"Woah, the eggs of a Lulu Bird! Thank you!" Sophie took one of the eggs. "I have always wanted a lulu bird!"
Morrow held the egg in hand tight, looking joyful.
"Thank you!"
"You're welcome. Come by my place the next time you visit your grandpa." Angele smiled and pinched the girl's cheek playfully.
"Ah, master, your hand is so cold!" Sophie stepped back and put her hands on the cheek.
"So, what do you say? You have time today, right? I just finished some of my tasks so I can introduce the school to you," Shiva turned to Angele and said.
"Sure, I just finished my experiment," Angele responded in a relaxed manner.
"There's an anniversary festival going on in the school and my grandchildren joined one of the exhibitions. They asked me to be an audience." Shiva patted Morrow's head.
"No worries. I'll take my time and explore the school." Angele nodded.
They stayed in the living room and chatted for a while.
"Let's go. Our flying mounts have arrived." Shiva stood up upon hearing the noise made the eagles.
Angele and the two kids followed after the old man.
On the grasses outside, three humongous eagles' reins were held tight by several fire spirits. Their wings were several meters long and all of them looked grand and majestic.
Shiva stepped forward and jumped on one of the eagles.
Angele and the two kids followed after him.
He sat on the back of the black eagle and held the saddle tight. The eagle rushed forward as it swung its wings and left the ground.
The three black eagles formed a triangle in the air.
Angele looked down and saw the fire spirits watching them leave. The chilling wind was blowing across the trees and the leaves were dancing in the air.
It was early in the morning. The sky was blue but the gentle sunlight did not bring enough warmth to Angele's body.
He pulled his collar up and lowered his body. His eagle was the slowest among the three. It seemed like the eagle was having some trouble trying to speed up.
They went past the forest. Angele started seeing rivers, lakes, and several wizards' territories hidden among tiny trees. There were also several towns built by the wizard families around.
The black eagles finally left the Six Ring Area after passing by two towns and there was a long twisted black wall right below them.
"Public area is right ahead. Let's lower the altitude and prepare for landing." Shiva buffed his voice with energy particles.
"Got it," Angele responded right away.
The two black eagles slowly lowered the attitude and Angele saw a city that was not surrounded by city walls below.
The city was built on the top of a hill in the plains and the distance between each building was relatively large when compared to other cities that were similar in size.
He heard the noise made by the crowd on the street as the eagle approached the city.
There was a parade going on the streets. People were throwing diced up green leaves to the air on the back of boars and buffalos. There were also kids chasing each other beside the bards and the clowns.
Small vendors were giving people food and drinks for free.
*BAM*
Something exploded down there and the crowd started cheering.
The blue fireworks were shot into the sky and exploded. They were created using energy particles and were popular during festivals.
The three eagles slowly landed on top of the tallest building in the center of the city.
The light-yellow roof of the building looked like the top of a portabella mushroom and there were around five people waiting there.
A middle-aged man with a black mustache approached them as the eagles landed.
"Master Shiva, you're finally here. Master Singerad has been questioning me for hours…" The man looked helpless.
Shiva jumped off the eagle and patted its head. "What's the matter? I have already finished all my tasks, I believe."
"Well, it's the security of the parade. We need you to set up defensive magic circles in certain areas. It's the priority right now."
"Really? Fine…" Shiva turned to Angele. "Sorry, Green, there's something I have to take care of. You can explore the school with my grandchildren first. I'll come find you later."
"It's fine, grandpa, we know the way! Don't worry about it," Morrow interrupted.
"We'll show the school to the kind and generous master Green!" Sophie emphasized on the word 'generous'.
Angele shook his head and chuckled. "Well, I'm counting on you."
"Take care of my guest for me." Shiva found a wizard apprentice and ordered him. He then quickly left the roof with the man with a mustache and started chatting about the security issue as they walked.
Angele jumped off the back of the eagle and landed on the ground.
"Huh? Is this really a building…?" It felt like he was standing on something soft but elastic.
Sophie walked to Angele and answered loudly, "It's a mushroom, master Green!"
"You can just call me Green. For real? This is a mushroom?" Angele was surprised. He stomped his feet several times, and it did feel like stomping on a soft blanket.
The wizard apprentice waiting on the side was a cool beauty with short hair. She walked to Angele quickly.
"Master, my name is Fir. Where do you want to go first? It's the 100th anniversary of the school and there are many interesting events going on."
"I'll let them decide. Let's go to the streets first." Angele pointed at Sophie and Morrow.
Morrow walked in the front and the two left the mushroom building. A light wizard accompanied by two wizard apprentices behind him approached them right away.
"Master Green, master Shiva asked me to give you a tour of the school. My name is Merrat."
In front of the group, there was a shell-shaped open platform that was decorated with red, blue, and yellow flowers. The banner over the platform said: 100th Anniversary Award Ceremony.
There were more than a hundred Knights and wizard apprentices sitting in front of the platform and on the first row, there were two light wizards. All of them were staring at the platform without making any noise.
A female wizard apprentice in a red dress was reading people's names from a piece of leather paper. Angele had no idea why they were being awarded.
"Just tell me some general information about your school first." Angele stood by the exit of the mushroom building and started talking to Merrat.
"Sure." Merrat started introducing, "The name of the school is Cross. Our organization has a very long history and we also have the 4th largest underground library in the whole Nola. It's what we're proud of.
"The school is divided into three major areas—the dorms, the classrooms, and the library. There are only five big buildings in the area, including this mushroom building. The members of the organization don't have to stay in the school all the time. They just need to complete their shifts in the three major areas." Merrat stopped for a second and continued, "There are 19 formal wizards in the school and around 6 of them spend most of their time in the school. The number of the wizard apprentices is around 200 and most of them are from the local wizard families."
Angele was wearing a white robe and he was a stranger to the students here. Some of the wizard apprentices on the seats started whispering after seeing the unfamiliar face.
The wizards on the first row also noticed Angele's presence. One of them turned around and greeted Merrat. He then realized Merrat was taking care of the guest so he decided to focus on the award ceremony.
"Thanks. Let's get moving then. The school doesn't sound that big." Angele slightly nodded. He had collected some information about the school before coming here.
A Gas stage wizard like Shiva was rare in the school and the only Liquid stage wizard was the president. The school had a long history and strong background, but it was not very famous in Nola.
Angele raised his head slightly.
The enormous mushroom buildings were the signature features of the school.
All the mushroom buildings had doors and windows on their surfaces. They looked the buildings from the fairy tale.
Five mushroom buildings formed a circle around the city and in the middle, there were several white stone houses.
Merrat showed Angele all the mushroom buildings quickly.
It was not a large school and it had the similar size as the school in Marua Harbor.
There were many young wizard apprentices reading books on the street. Stone chairs and patios were built in the small gardens alongside the main street.
All the wizard apprentices bowed to Angele as they passed by, it seemed like they were well-educated.
Angele's main purpose of his visit was the World Stone Shiva had mentioned before.
He had just created something interesting with the flesh acquired from the Nightmare Realm. Although he was not sure how effective it would be, it should be better than the illusion signet.
Angele wanted to visit the Nightmare Realm as many times as possible so he could collect more extremely rare resources.
However, the great harpy was losing its energy after Angele came back from the Nightmare Realm. It seemed like there was a limitation on entering the realm using this way. Angele thought that the reason was he was not a true inheritor of the harpy and he could not resupply the harpy with the proper energy. The great harpy would lose all her energy sooner or later.
Chapter 235: The School (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
The great harpy's bloodline evolved from the regular ancient harpy bloodline. Angele had only acquired it by luck, therefore it was nearly impossible for him to duplicate the process.
If he wanted to access the Nightmare Realm anytime he wanted, the World Stone would be his only hope. Legends said that the World Stone was a portal to other realms.
It was the main reason why Angele decided to visit the school.
After finishing the tour around the school, the wizard apprentice named Fir took the two kids to the events, and Merrat led Angele to the school's main building.
Although Angele was still disguising his mentality waves, he was still a high-rank wizard here.
*****************
In the president's meeting room.
A young-looking blonde man put down his pen and stood up, staring at Angele with a smile.
"Welcome to the Cross, master Shiva already introduced you to me. Wizard Green." The man shook hands with Angele. "Nice to meet you. My name is Medivh, president of the school. Thank you for bringing wizard Green here, wizard Merrat."
"It's my pleasure." Merrat smiled. "I'll leave you two alone."
Medivh nodded slightly.
*Creak*
The door was closed.
"Please, take a seat." Medivh walked to the sofa on the left and sat down with Angele.
"Shiva has already told me why you decided to come here. For the World Stone, right?" He put his hands on the handles of the teacups on the table and heated the dark drink inside with fire energy particles.
"Of course. I don't think I'm the only one here. People will fight for it, literally." Angele remained calm.
"You're correct." Medivh was not concerned about what Angele just said. He just continued, "The Cross is dying. Without the World Stone, no one will come here. Since you're a Gas stage wizard, I'll honor you with the title of school professor. Your access to the World Stone research project is granted and you're allowed to read the rare books in the underground library. There's only one thing I need you to do. Recruit at least three wizard apprentices for the school and they'll be taken in as your students. You will also need to teach at least two public lessons each year and the money you earned from those lessons will be shared with the school. You need to be the leader of the field trips once every ten years."
Medivh looked at Angele after finishing telling him the rules. "Are the rules acceptable to you?"
"I'm fine with them." Angele nodded. "How long do I need to stay in the organization?"
"Ten years. However, you need to be prepared. We have spent dozens of years doing researches on the stone, but we learned nothing," Medivh warned.
"I understand. It's an ancient artifact and we don't have enough information on how to activate it." Angele nodded. "Did you perform any experiments with it?"
"The structure of the World Stone is extremely complicated and it can't be moved in any way. There are usually unstable energy waves surrounding the stone so we have to be cautious. Although the three major organizations are trying to figure out how to use it as well, they still haven't made any progress," Medivh explained. "If you're fine with that, we can sign the contract. It's a contract that's protected by the three major organizations."
"For sure." Even if Angele could not activate the World Stone, he would still be able to gain a lot of knowledge from the library.
Medivh handed over a contract specially prepared for Angele. The contract was only valid when the World Stone was real.
The contract would be effective for ten years.
"There are three major research subjects in the school: The Theory of Everything, the Basic Calculation, and the Fundamentals of Spell Models. You can assign yourself as a teacher to those courses. And if you want to teach something else, just inform the registration office first." Medivh smiled. "Also, thank you for joining us!"
Angele responded with a smile. He finished checking the contract and signed his name on it.
He then tapped the bottom of the page.
A twisted black snake mark appeared on the contract right away.
Someone knocked on the door as they finished signing the contract.
"Please come in."
*Creak*
A female wizard apprentice pushed the door open.
"Master Medivh, master Reyline is here. The supply from the east also has arrived and we need someone to pick it up. One more thing, master Gloria wants me to ask you if the charts are finished. She needs it urgently."
"Got it. I'll finish them as soon as possible." Medivh's brows furrowed.
"I'll go meet up with master Shiva then. I'll inform the registration office about the course I'll be teaching too." Angele stood up.
"I have plenty of time, don't worry. Have a drink first. We can go check the festival out together. I think professor Shiva has already finished organizing the security department."
"Sure, thanks."
"You're welcome. One of the alumni from our school will attend the event as well and the most talented young wizard in the Six Ring High Tower is here too, Wizard Reyline. I can introduce you to him."
"Reyline?" Angele stopped for a second. "The Perfect Wizard of the younger generation, Reyline?"
"Yeah."
*************************
The teaching area.
In one of the classrooms, a group of young students was chatting with each other.
"You know what? We met a generous wizard when visiting our grandpa. He gave each of us one egg of the Lulu Bird," Morrow held a red bird egg in his hand and said.
"I want Cococia to see our Lulu eggs…He only has a dream bird's egg and he showed it to everyone."
"Lucky you…We went to the Tora Lake last time but we found nothing." A boy sitting next to Morrow was jealous.
"Monkarito's aunt's house is right beside the Tora Lake. Someone killed his aunt's purple bees one day and Monkarito was punished hard by his mother. I hope you it wasn't you." Morrow shook his head.
"Hey Tori, where did you go during the vacation?"
"The Mist Forest, my father took me there and we caught two tri-colored chicken. We also collected many different materials." Tori was a young boy with freckles all over his face. He was waving his hands while speaking.
"Nice, I had grilled tri-colored chicken once and it was very tasty." Sophie looked at Tori.
"You got any plan for your next location?" a girl asked.
"Grandpa said he'll visit wizard Green's house with us. His house is beside a small lake so we can swim there," Sophie answered. "However, we need to pass the test first."
"I'm so jealous…I failed the Theory of Everything test again. Master Van's questions are way too hard. I think I'll have to stay at home and study."
"Go talk to Barbara. She has a feather pen that'll write the answer for you," Tori interrupted.
"Cheating is wrong." The girl shook her head.
"Come on." Tori pursed his lips.
"Well, let's move. Master Reyline is here. Our event is also starting soon," Morrow yelled.
All the students rushed out of the classroom and headed to where the award ceremony was being held.
***********************
Angele sat among a whole row of light wizards and the people beside him were chatting about music, painting, gardening, and sculptures. Some were talking about the things they had accomplished recently and the events that had happened in the organizations.
The things they were talking about were not important at all but it seemed like they were enjoying the topics. The two light wizards behind him were even arguing about what would make a perfect painting.
These white robes had lived in the peaceful Nola for too long, that they did need not worry about being ambushed every day. The biggest challenge to them was probably the political wars going on in their organizations. Some of them had developed these hobbies after realizing that they could not progress any further.
The white robes were enjoying their lives since they had no pressure and no restrictions. They just needed to follow the rules made by the three major organizations.
Angele forced a smile on his face. He was sitting in the first row, but it was boring as hell.
"The president must have begged master Reyline to come here. The school is under a lot of pressure right now so they need a way to attract students. The situation is getting worse every day since the organizations around the area are developing quickly recently," a light wizard whispered to the wizard beside him.
"You mean the River Arrow? Yeah, that organization is expanding like crazy. I was told that they recruited a lot of formal wizards due to the benefits they could provide."
About half an hour later, a young man with blonde hair walked to the stage. Medivh and two other light wizards followed after him.
The man was handsome and he was wearing a white robe with golden edges. It seemed like he was the Perfect Wizard everyone was talking about.
The host started introducing the man.
Based on the mentality wave Reyline was releasing, Angele could tell that the man was very close to the Crystal stage. He was weaker than Reyline at the moment.
Reyline suddenly looked at Angele when Angele was still observing the Perfect Wizard.
They stared at each other for a second and they were both surprised.
Reyline had some special techniques and he knew Angele was trying to hide his true power the instant he looked at him. However, Angele was not concerned. He did not detect any wizard curse on the young man's body, which meant Reyline had never killed any wizard. He doubted if Reyline had any practical fighting experience.
The president started giving a speech after the host finished the introduction. Reyline was awarded a medal and gave a short speech to thank the school before he left the stage.
Chapter 236: Pulse (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
Angele memorized the man's name in his mind. He was certain that Reyline was hiding something from the public.
He shook his head slightly and remained quiet in the first row.
The anniversary event in the Cross was short. After all the awards had been given out, some students played several songs and danced for a while. There were also stage shows from young students.
The event ended right when the sun started setting.
The president then led Angele to the registration office and finished all the necessary documents and the two then walked to the large mushroom building in the research area of the school.
The orange sunlight shined upon the enormous black mushroom building. The building was surrounded by metal walls and the walls were coated with electric pulses.
On the left side of the gate, there was a black sign saying: 'Permission Required'.
"This is it." Medivh entered through the gate first.
Angele glanced around. There were several guards patrolling the area constantly and the place was deadly silent. They were the only two wizards here.
He followed after the president and entered the mushroom building.
They walked down the dark spiral staircase.
A brown wooden door appeared by the end of the stairs.
Medivh raised his right hand and knocked on the door twice.
*CHI*
The wooden door vanished into the darkness and a spacious hall was revealed.
Angele saw blue water waves illuminating on the walls as he stepped forward.
In the center of the hall, there was a large blue pool and that was where the shadows of waves came from. The air in the place was wet and cold.
Medivh walked past the pool and stopped by a gray stone gate on the other side. He pressed his palms together and invoked the incantation.
*KA*
The gate lifted itself up.
The two entered the gate together.
Inside it was a large room that was painted in light yellow. There was an area surrounded by metal railings in the center of the room and a humongous stone was kept in the middle. The stone was about one meter wide and two meters tall. It looked like a normal stone that could be found anywhere in the mountains.
The stone was protected by a crystal barrier. There were several light wizards walking around it, and some of them were really old. They were writing down data from time to time, though Angele was not sure what study they were doing. He also saw two wizards meditating beside a table.
The wizards heard the stone gate open but it seemed like they were not concerned. Only a female wizard raised her head, glancing at the president and Angele.
"Master Medivh, isn't the anniversary celebration still going on?" the female wizard questioned in a light tone.
Medivh shook his head. "I have a new friend here who just joined the World Stone project."
"Is that so?" The female wizard responded but then lowered her head and stopped talking.
Medivh was not mad since that was seemingly how they communicated. He turned around and smiled. "Don't worry about them. They're just trying to focus on the study so they don't really care about the things happening around them."
Angele nodded slightly. "Understandable. I'm here just for the stone too."
"Help yourself." The president pointed at the large stone in the center. "You can exit through the tunnel on the opposite side. Just one more thing, the forcefield around the stone is unstable, thus any minor change will make the energy waves around it explode. Please proceed with caution."
"For sure."
"Alright, I'll leave you to it."
"Thank you, master Medivh, I'll start working on it right away." Angele smiled.
Medivh nodded, then he turned around and left the room through the stone gate.
Angele stood by the gate and glanced around.
There were five wizards in the room. Three of them were at the Gas stage and two normal wizards. He decided not to waste any time and walked to the crystal barrier in the center.
He pressed his palms onto the surface of the crystal. It was cold and smooth. Angele could see the rough surface of the World Stone through the translucent barrier and on the stone, he noticed something that looked like fingerprints.
Tear-shaped glowing crystals lined up on the walls and they brightened up the whole room.
Angele hesitated for a second and glanced at the other wizards around the barrier. Two female wizards were doing the calculations on their notebooks and a male wizard was thinking about something with furrowed eyebrows.
None of them was interested in communicating with Angele.
"I'm sorry…" Someone interrupted him before Angele could finish.
"If I were you, I wouldn't waste any second talking to people," The female wizard raised her head and said. She was the one who chatted with Medivh.
"Why?"
"The wizards here can only stay in the room for two hours. After that, you need to leave the building for a while, because the unstable forcefield will damage your body from the long-term exposure. You can stay longer if you want but don't risk your life," she advised in a light tone.
"For real?" Angele's expression turned serious and asked Zero to check the energy waves in the room. Although the energy was unstable here, it would not do any actual damage to his body, that was the reason why Zero did not warn him.
"Much appreciated." He smiled politely but the female wizard had already lowered her head.
Angele shook his head slightly and turned around. He started observing the World Stone closely.
'Create the task and analyze the World Stone for me.'
'Task created, scanning the World Stone.'
'The target is surrounded by unstable force fields so it can't be scanned. Task failed," the chip reported quickly.
Angele knitted his eyebrows.
'Create the task, scan the unstable energy around the stone and create a basic model.'
'Task created. Scanning the energy radiation. Time needed to create the model: 13 days, 21 hours, and 45 minutes.'
Angele shook his head slightly. 'The model of the energy flow takes more than 13 days to create…The World Stone is not a joke. I can't even scan it directly using the chip.'
Legends said that the World Stones were the portals to other realms and different World Stone would bring one to a different realm. The modern wizards spent a long time trying to activate them but none had ever succeeded.
Angele was not in a hurry. He still needed some time to learn the basic knowledge and he decided to proceed slowly with caution.
***********************
Several months later…
Inside the underground research lab.
There were only three light wizards remaining in the lab.
The three were all standing around the World Stone. Two of them were male and one of them was female. There was a man with brown short hair wearing a long white robe and a tight leather suit inside. His eyes were surrounded by golden glows and there was a silver glint on his skin.
It was Angele, who had already stayed in the lab for a long time.
"Did you get anything? Green," The female wizard suddenly asked.
"I have some trouble here. The results I get are different from Glue's." Angele creased his forehead.
The handsome man with blue pupils and hair beside Angele nodded slowly. "Yeah, the difference is huge, over 0.5."
"So this model won't work. We need to start over again…" The female wizard looked depressed. She put down the pen and paper as she took a deep breath.
"Alright, let's stop for the day. Let's head back together?"
"Sure." Angele and the man called Glue nodded together.
Angele spent months trying to study the World Stone but he only made friends with two wizards.
The two joined the school because they wanted to study the World Stone. Angele pointed out a critical error for them when they were arguing and they started communicating after that. The three formed a small group and they would trade opinions regarding the World Stone research.
Angele followed Glue and left the room. The chip only helped him create the correct model of the energy flow around the stone but he had no idea how to make the basic model for the whole stone and he did not understand why the forcefield was unstable.
Angele was progressing much faster than the other wizards here. Glue and the female wizard had already spent years in the lab but their progression was the same as Angele's.
They left the room and the stone gate closed itself. The three stood in front of the pool.
"Sherry, you go first," Glue said in a light tone.
"Alright then." The female wizard named Sherry untied her hair and jumped into the pool.
Her white robe was then soaked by the water, unraveling her attractive body.
Angele and Glue stood beside the pool, staring at the lady moving around in the pool and was almost naked.
Sherry did not seem concerned about the watching her and she would not mind having some fun with them to relax. Most female wizards knew the techniques to stop the shape of their bodies from changing because of age.
She rubbed her chest slowly, trying to seduce Angele and Glue.
Angele and Glue were not interested at all. They would rather spend the time studying the World Stone.
"Come on, finish your shower. We need to use the pool too."
"Don't you want to have some fun with me?" There was an attractive smile on her face.
Chapter 237: Pulse (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
"Come on…I need to meet someone soon." Angele was speechless. He checked the time using the chip. "It's almost 7 o'clock. Your young sister is still waiting for you, right?"
Sherry slapped her forehead. "I almost forgot." She quickly finished showering and black liquid spurted out of her body. It dissolved in the blue water within seconds.
She quickly left the pool, then she pressed her right hand on her chest and used the fire energy particles to dry her clothes.
Angele and Glue jumped into the pool. Black liquid spurted out of their bodies as well.
"The energy pollution from the World Stone is ridiculous. Without the purifying pool, it'll take us much longer to deal with the pollution." Sherry chuckled.
"I agree that building the pool was a brilliant idea." Glue nodded slightly.
The three left the hall together after purifying their body. They walked up the spiral staircase and left the black mushroom building.
It was dark outside. Angele said goodbye to Glue and Sherry, then headed to the parking lot. He walked to the platform and there was a black eagle waiting for him quietly.
A wizard apprentice was feeding the eagle carefully with some fist-sized black beetles.
"Ah, you're here." It was the wizard apprentice named Fir. She was assigned to Angele as a personal assistant. Her family was not wealthy so she was doing many part-time jobs in the school, which included feeding the eagles.
"Thank you." Angele smiled politely and jumped on the back of the eagle. -
The eagle raised its wings and rushed forward as it jumped off the platform. It slid for a while and drew an arc in the air before increasing the altitude.
The eagle flew straight to the east and after about twenty minutes, it started hovering above a public forest.
Angele looked down and noticed an empty ground hiding among the countless green trees. There was a black dot in the center of the empty area with nothing around it.
"That's the place." Angele pulled the reins and guided the eagle to the landing area.
The eagle started lowering the altitude and landed on the empty ground after several minutes.
A humongous vulture was parked on the empty ground and beside it, there was a female wizard wearing a white robe with a silver edge. The lady's long black hair draped over her shoulder and she smiled after seeing Angele landing on the ground.
Angele jumped off the eagle right after it stopped moving.
"Long time no see. How's everything going for you? Is your grandmother still asking you to get married?" Angele smiled.
"It's not a problem although I don't know what she is thinking…I asked you to come here because…" Isabel bit her lips and hesitated.
"Talk to me. What happened?" Angele noticed that something was different this time. Isabel was a good friend of his and they had communicated many times using the runes. However, it seemed like Isabel was struggling.
Isabel finally raised her head and looked at Angele.
"Well, actually, my grandmother is pressuring me a lot recently. I'm just imagining what it'll be like if you're…my partner."
"Haha, that's not going to happen I think. Alright, how's your progress? Do you have enough rhino blood?" Angele shook his head slightly.
"I'm fully prepared thanks to you. I want to invite you to the ritual. It'll be held on February 15 next year." Isabel nodded.
"So you have all the necessary resources, right? Do you need my help?"
"No, it's fine. My grandmother said that my success rate should be high. I prepared so many years for it and my family has collected countless rare resources to aid me. I think I'll be fine," Isabel responded in a serious tone.
"Sounds good." Angele nodded. He assumed that Isabel had more than 50% of chance to successfully advance to the next stage. The Crystal stage was the highest stage in rank 1 and the required mentality level was much higher than the Liquid stage. Isabel had a strong family to back him up so he was not too worried about it.
Angele had the help from the chip so he could find the best way to increase his success rate. Ordinary wizards had to rely on rare materials and test their effects one by one.
"But…there's still a chance that I'll fail. If I fail to advance to the next stage, my life energy and potential will be drained. That's the reason why my grandmother is trying to find me a partner…" Isabel did not continue to speak but Angele knew what she was trying to imply.
"If your potential is burnt out, you won't be able to bear a child with high potential, right?" Angele shook his head again. "Master Flan is doing this for the future of your family."
"Yes, I understand." Isabel nodded.
The two stood on the empty ground and chatted with each other face to face.
Isabel jumped onto the back of her vulture as the sky got darker and darker. She vanished into the dark night with the vulture within seconds.
Angele stood on the ground alone and watched the black dot disappear from the sky. He then started walking back to his eagle. The eagle belonged to the school but he applied for the permit to use it for personal reasons.
He took several steps forward and realized someone was hiding in the dark.
"Reveal yourself!" he suddenly shouted.
A dark shadow walked out of the bush behind the eagle, yet Angele did not hear any footsteps.
"Great. It seems like I made a wise decision. You should be Isabel's husband. You're a much better choice." The man removed his hood, revealing a pretty face without any eyebrows.
"Master Flan?!" Angele was surprised. He involuntarily stepped back immediately and kept a safe distance from her.
"Why are you here, master Flan? You want me to marry Isabel? Are you serious?" He took a deep breath and tried to calm down.
Flan stood beside the eagle. She looked like a white mask floating in the air as her body blended into the darkness perfectly.
She kept looking at Angele.
"I'm not joking. Isabel's ritual is coming. You two should get married within two months. I'll send Isabel to your home. Reproduce at least two children for me within a year. I don't care what technique you use, but you must meet my requirement." It sounded like Flan was giving orders.
"Within a year?" Angele was speechless. "I like Isabel but…it's nearly impossible for us wizards to have two kids in such a short period of time…I think you know the reason too."
"One year is a long time. How much time do you need then? Just tell me." Flan creased her forehead.
Angele suddenly turned his head around and stared at the sky before he answered the question. He heard an infant crying.
His heart was beating intensely. It was a special feeling that brought by the connection between two people with same blood.
"It's…my child…My child is born." It would only happen when a wizard's child was born. Angele visualized the scene that a tired woman just gave birth to an infant in a dark room on the other side of the Gem Sea. There was still some umbilical cord left on the baby.
"What happened?" Flan was not sure what was going on and she looked at the sky as well, but the only thing she could see was the night sky. "Whatever, I have already made the decision. You better follow my plan." She shook her head, then turned around and walked into the shadows. The lady turned into white fog and disappeared into the air.
Angele lowered his head and deeply whispered under his breath, "It's my son…My son is born…"
A blue communication flashed on his right hand.
He remained silent for several seconds and held his fist tight.
"Nancy, hire the best Knight and rank 3 wizard apprentice you can find. Send them to our homeland and find two people for me."
"Sure. Who are you looking for, master?" Nancy responded to the message immediately.
"A woman named Caitlyn and a boy that was just born. If that boy has potential, bring both of them back to me. If not…give them money…make sure they can live a good life there."
Angele raised his head and stared at the sky again. Several seconds later, he jumped onto the eagle and flew into the air.
**********************
In the night sky.
Isabel was on the back of her flying mount and was chatting with someone using the communication rune.
"I went to meet an old friend." She smiled.
"Oh? How did it go? You don't really have a real friend, do you?" A clear male voice responded to the message.
"It went well. He's my only friend."
"So, did you tell him that…"
"No, I didn't. I don't want to trouble him too much. It's my problem." Isabel lowered her voice.
"…Well, not a big problem. Although it'll be hard, we still have hope." The man stopped for a second and chuckled. "Actually, without him, you won't be able to leave the family for so many times and we'll never meet each other. I should thank him too."
"I'm glad you understand, Raymond."
"I'll try to break my limit as soon as possible so your grandmother will agree on our marriage," the man said in a serious tone.
"Best of luck." Isabel nodded. "I love you, Raymond."
"I love you too, Isabel." The man cut the connection afterward.
(ED Note: I'm sorry, what?)
Chapter 238: Drama (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
Caitlyn was pregnant. That was something Angele had never expected.
It had been years since he left his homeland. The child stayed in Caitlyn's body for so long. Angele knew that she was likely not treated well by the locals, as people just liked to spread rumors. Maybe she stayed in her family territory the whole time but it was lucky that she survived the plague.
Angele was not sure why it took so long for the child to be born. Perhaps it was due to his special bloodline.
His mother was a tree elf, and tree elves usually chose to reproduce with a human due to the higher fertility rate.
Angele wondered if he failed to control himself during the intercourse with Caitlyn and some of his special bloodlines went inside her body. That was probably the reason why it took years for her to give birth to the child.
However, he was certain that it was his child. As wizards had special mental connections to their inheritors, they themselves would know when their child was born.
If the child had talent, he wanted to bring it to Nola but if the child was not gifted, the radiation in Nola would be too much for the child to handle.
It was Angele's plan and the decision he made. He could understand why Caitlyn decided to keep the child. After all, having an inheritor of a wizard in the family could bring her anything she wanted.
*CHI*
A purple fireball exploded on top of an oil lamp. The light from the fireball illuminated on Angele's face and the walls.
He removed his right hand from the top of the oil lamp and stared at it. It was steaming hot and that was the result of the explosion.
'I need to ignite my right hand once a day now… The implant of the turtle flesh might be a huge mistake.' Angele shook his head and extinguished the remaining purple flame.
He stood up and walked to the window of the biological lab to peek outside.
It was 9 o'clock in the morning. The eye-blinding sunlight had already warmed up the land. The air was hot and dry.
The warm wind entered through the window and blew over Angele's face. It helped lighten up the mood a little bit.
'I haven't made a lot of progress on the study of the World Stone and now I suddenly have a child. Also, the marriage with Isabel…Misfortunes never come singly…' Angele's brows furrowed.
Suddenly, light blue smoke rose from the tip of his finger and a blue rune started flashing on the back of his nail.
"Green, do you have time right now?" Isabel's voice echoed in his ear.
"Isabel? What happened?" Angele responded right away.
"Well, do you know that my grandmother wants you to marry me?" Isabel was speaking in a shaky tone.
"Yeah, she told me the day before yesterday. Master Flan came to me right after you left. For the marriage, if you don't want to, I can go talk to her. We are good friends but there's no intimate love between us." Angele smiled. To be honest, Isabel was a good girl but Angele did not like her personality. Isabel was way too naïve, and Angele would not have the time to protect her all the time.
"Yeah, I'm sorry but I don't think we'll be a good couple too." Isabel hesitated for a second and responded, "Actually, there's someone that I fall in love with right now…My grandmother probably noticed it but she did not like my choice."
"Huh? That's the first time I heard you talk about it." Angele was surprised. "Who's the lucky guy? Can you tell me more about him?"
"His name is Raymond. I met him on the third time that I left my family's territory," Isabel was speaking in a gentle tone. She sounded a bit shy when talking about her man.
Angele shook his head. Although Isabel looked like she was lacking in emotions, she still had a pure heart, and it sounded like they were deeply in love. He recalled the words Flan said to him that night and he suddenly felt a bit depressed.
"How's he treating you? I mean…" Angele regretted right after speaking.
"He's a great guy and he's treating me very well…" Isabel lowered her voice. "Alright, let's stop talking about him. I contacted you because I want to apologize for my grandmother."
"Don't worry about it. I wish you two the best," Angele responded in a light tone.
"Thank you."
The communication was cut off here.
Angele stood by the window with his eyes narrowed and he started thinking. He could smell something fishy in the whole incident but he couldn't make tails or heads about the reason why. There was also no evidence supporting his assumptions so he decided to give up and focus on the World Stone project instead.
Isabel never contacted him again after the short conversation they had.
He spent most of his time studying the World Stone and testing the basic models. Angele was still meditating every day but his mentality was barely growing. He also made some basic potions for daily use.
Several days passed.
At noon of the fifth day.
It was dark outside. The thick clouds blocked the bright sunlight and it looked like it was about to rain.
Angele was collecting some material samples by the lake and he wanted to grow plants that were polluted by the turtle flesh in the area.
He suddenly heard a noise that sounded like a sheep bleating.
Angele leaned to the side and saw an enormous white sheep slowly stopping by the road sign that indicated that the area was wizard Green's territory. A fully geared Knight jumped off the sheep quickly.
Two patrolling Knight walked to the sheep and the man handed a brown wooden cylinder to them. They then quickly delivered it to Angele.
"Master, a letter from the Jones Family delivered by the post office." The Knight handed over the brown wooden cylinder.
"Thanks." Angele grabbed the wooden cylinder and unsealed. Inside it was a light-yellow leather scroll.
He unfurled the scroll and read it through. His expression changed afterward.
The letter was from the Jones Family but there was no name on it. It seemed like the sender did not want to leave any trace so he chose to send it by means of the postal office.
The information on the letter was simple. It listed the things Isabel did recently.
Angele put down the letter and he knew something was not right. He tried to talk to Isabel using the communication rune but no one responded.
"Amy, prepare the eagle for me."
"Yes, master."
Several minutes later, a black eagle took off from the house and flew toward the location where Isabel was last seen.
**********************
Angele was not sure if he had enough power to help Isabel this time.
He found it hard to believe that Isabel did so many wrong things just in several days.
First, she sent out a part of her family resources to someone without permission and then she stole one of the most important family heirlooms before sneaking out of the territory. Second, she rushed into the Bennis Family's territory and stole two more important family heirlooms. The report said that Isabel was injured by the guards of the Bennis Family before she escaped. The Bennis Family had been pressuring the Jones Family intensely after the incident and Flan had to put a price on Isabel's head.
Flan had no idea how her granddaughter found a way to destroy the runes that she set up for monitoring the girl's daily life. She was the leader of the family so she needed to give the council an account for what Isabel did. The council of the elders was still voting for the best solution at the moment.
No one expected that Isabel would become a criminal. After all, she was a good girl.
The letter also said that a team had been formed tasked to track Isabel down. The two families wanted to capture her and question her as soon as possible.
The Six Ring High Tower paid a lot of attention to the events and the organization was also pressuring the Jones Family for an answer.
Angele tried to look for Isabel before the team captured her. However, he failed.
*************************
Inside a black castle that was built in a sea of trees.
Angele finally met Isabel in a prison with heavy defense. The prison was called the Eye of the Dark Forest and it was controlled by the Six Ring High Tower. Countless defensive magic circles were set up around it and wizards inside could not cast any spells due to the special energy barrier.
A team of on-duty wizard apprentices guided Angele through the hallway and headed to the underground cells. The place was dirty and it smelled like rotten meat.
Isabel was kept in an individual cell with only one entrance.
There was nothing inside the dark room. Isabel was sitting on a chair, staring at the black ceiling. It almost looked like she had lost her soul.
*CLANG*
The metal door of the cell was slammed closed.
Angele glanced around after entering the room.
The only things he saw was a chair and a female wizard.
"Hey, Green, it's you." Isabel stood up. She looked depressed and tired. Her cheeks were thin and there two dark circles surrounded her eyes.
"I don't understand. Why did you do this?" Angele knitted his eyebrows.
"My family didn't like Raymond." Isabel forced a smile on her face.
"Raymond, huh?" Angele shook his head. "It seems like many things have happened between you two but I know nothing about it. You need to know that advancing to the next stage should be your priority right now and what you did was against the rules. I can talk to master Flan and try to make her change her mind but all these things you did…You're just looking for trouble."
"I know the consequences…" Isabel remained calm. "But I trust him. He'll never lie to me…!" Isabel suddenly started coughing after speaking and she covered her mouth with both hands, but Angele saw blood leaking out through the gaps between her fingers.
Chapter 239: Drama (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
Angele's expression turned serious. He stared at Isabel in the eyes and saw a hint of purple glint inside.
"You were hurt by the wizards from the Bennis Family?"
Isabel nodded.
"It was my fault. I took their treasure, the Claw of the Billow."
"Did Raymond ask you to do it?" Angele questioned in a deep tone.
"No, I made the decision myself." Isabel shook her head slightly.
Angele looked at Isabel and he felt like the things happened on Angele were much more complicated than he thought.
"Isabel…What have you done? Your grandmother tried everything she could to protect but you still ended up in a place like the Eye of the Dark Forest. This is a place for people who have committed serious crimes. Do you know what's going to happen next?"
"Tell me then, what's the purpose of life? What are you fighting for? Power? Or fame?" Isabel suddenly asked.
"I don't regret the decisions I made."
"Are you really the Isabel I know? I talked to you not so long ago." Angele shook his head. The girl in front of him felt like a stranger to him. "You're right. There are things and people you can be willing to die for but I'm certain that Raymond isn't one."
"You don't understand, Green."
"I can see that you already consumed the Pearl of the Deep Sea."
Isabel remained silent.
Angele continued, "You betrayed your family but master Flan didn't kill you. She loves you, Isabel. After consuming the Pearl of the Deep Sea, your body will start turning into pure energy. You had a bright future in front of you."
"I'll wait for my Raymond. No matter how long it'll be," Isabel muttered.
"Why are you so stubborn?! Isabel?" Angele was speechless. "I came to help you because we're friends. Why are you not listening to my words?"
"I'm sorry."
"Saying sorry won't do anything for you. We're not engaged and you have the right to choose your partner on your own will but think about what master Flan will do after she finds out that Raymond started all this?" Angele tried to stay calm.
Isabel bit her lips but did not say anything.
*KA*
The metal door was pushed open.
"Green is right. The family guards are already sent out. As long as Raymond is still in Nola, the council will hunt him down." Flan slowly walked in wearing a white dress, staring at Isabel with a blank expression on her face. Her mentality wave was hidden, so Angele did not sense anything.
"Master Flan." Angele stood up and bowed to her.
"I apologize for what Isabel did. I was going to make you her husband." Angele was surprised to see Flan apologizing to him.
"It's not a problem. The priority right now is to find the man who tricked Isabel," Angele said calmly.
"You're right. Don't worry too much about it. Isabel is still a good girl and I'll send her to you after we capture Raymond." Flan nodded slightly.
Isabel did not say anything but just lowered her head.
Angele knitted his eyebrows.
"To be honest, master Flan, Isabel is a good girl but she's not the type of wife I want."
"I thought you two would get along…" Flan sighed with mixed emotions. "I didn't expect her to fall in love with a rank 3 wizard apprentice."
"Isabel is way too naive. I think that man tricked her," Angele added.
"You're correct. It's all Raymond's fault. Isabel did nothing wrong. All he wanted were the resources and the superior enchanted items…" Flan gritted her teeth. "I'll capture him for sure."
Isabel chuckled after hearing Flan's world.
"Grandmother, you'll never capture him, never."
"Is that so? We'll see." Flan shook her head again and left the room.
Angele narrowed his eyes, he had one final glance at Isabel before stepping out of the door.
She had a pure smile on her face. It seemed like she truly believed that Raymond would never be captured.
Angele sighed and walked down the hallway.
Flan was waiting for him ahead, she still had something to say.
"Sorry again, Green, about Isabel," She apologized again. "No one expected something like this to happen."
"It's fine. Just find the man named Raymond and we'll know what exactly happened," Angele responded in a light tone.
"Isabel found a way to destroy the runes I placed in her room and she had already left the territory when I found out about it. I was too confident." She sighed again. "I'll send you more information after everything is clear."
"Thank you, master Flan."
Angele bowed to her politely and left.
*****************************
Angele knew that his words would not get through Isabel's head and thus, he returned to his home. He spent most of his time studying the World Stone and modifying spell models.
Two weeks later, a letter from the Jones Family was delivered to Angele.
It was a sunny day.
Angele was watering the mutated plants in the small farm he set up by the lake. He put down the hoe and grabbed the wooden cylinder handed to him by Amy.
"Master, the letter is from master Mei from the Jones Family," Amy explained politely.
"Master Mei?" Angele hesitated for a second. "Isabel's mother sent this letter?"
He unsealed the cylinder and took out the scroll.
His expression changed several times as he read the letter.
Raymond sneaked into the Eye of the Dark Forest and saved Isabel. Moreover, according to the intel, Raymond's real name was Raymonlia, a berserk wizard's daughter from the White Tooth Castle.
Raymond was trained like a boy since she was young. She was the only girl in the family and her first pet was a white tiger. Raymond had never considered herself a lady after she grew up. She dressed like a charming man and approached Isabel in a forest.
Angele put down the letter and there was a strange feeling in his mind.
In Nola, same-gender marriage was permitted. One rumor stated that master Flan's partner was a female wizard from the headquarters, whom she married after her husband passed away.
Angele was a bit speechless. He tapped on the scroll with his finger.
*CHI*
A ray of light shot out of the scroll and turned into a white light screen. A lady with long blonde hair trailing over her shoulders appeared on the screen, standing on top of a tall black pine tree. She was laughing with confidence written all over her face. The lady had a high-quality long sword in her hand and her white cloak was flying in the air.
"So she must be Raymonlia…I really want to know how she sneaked into that well-guarded prison." Angele stared at the light screen. The lady's background was what brought Isabel the confidence. There were only three berserk wizards in White Tooth Castle and they were the reason why people feared the organization. No one knew that she was a female and that was probably the reason why the team failed to track her down.
"Flan Jones, huh? You sick bitch! Isabel is mine now. If you want her back, come talk to my grandfather in the White Tooth Castle," Raymonlia spoke. She sounded like a man with a feminine voice.
*CHI*
The image disappeared as the light screen exploded into countless white light dots.
Angele threw the scroll into the air and lighted it up with a yellow fireball. The scroll was burned to ashes within seconds and blown away by the wind.
"Should I join the team…?" Angele rubbed his chin and hesitated.
In the letter, master Mei also invited Angele to join the hunting team that was specially created just for Raymond. Angele was a member of the Six Ring High Tower and he was a friend of Isabel so he had the intentions to join the team. However, it seemed like Raymond disguised herself as a rank 3 wizard apprentice and she was just testing Isabel to see if she really loved her. Everything went as Raymond planned.
She saved Isabel and they wanted to return to White Tooth Castle so her grandfather would protect them.
'The whole thing is a joke.' Angele finally understood what had happened.
To Flan, the things Raymond did put shame on the name of Six Ring High Tower, but at least she confirmed that Isabel was safe.
Isabel probably already knew who Raymond was when she was captured and that was why she stayed calm.
Angele thought for a while and decided not to join the team.
He still needed to worry about the World Stone and his child overseas. He wanted to know if his child was safe and sound.
Although the ship would only dock on this land once every four years, the tiny signal obelisks in the Six Ring Area would be able to deliver messages within a certain distance. He was a member of the organization and he was granted the access to the special feature.
There were many signal obelisks built upon the islands of the Gem Sea but using them to deliver messages was not cost-effective. The organization's name came from the six enormous signal obelisks they built on the west coast.
After the people Nancy hired arrived at the other side of the Gem Sea, he needed to pay a big price for that, but it was worth it. He was dying to get the information about his child.
However, based on the data recorded by the chip, Angele was not sure if the child would have the perfect wizard bloodline. But he wanted the child back as long as he was talented.
Chapter 240: Death and Gift (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
Angele did not think that his first child would have the talent to become a formal wizard.
However, everything would still depend on the actual situation.
He grabbed the hoe again and started loosening the soil again.
Nancy was waiting on the side. She had a bucket of water beside her feet.
"Master, we have just received a letter from the division. Do you want to read it now?" Nancy asked. She was wearing a gray wool one-piece and black cotton tights. She looked elegant and sexy in the outfit.
Nancy had various types of tights and Angele found her charming wearing them. The tights in this world were usually worn in cold weather and they were loved by the noble girls and female wizards.
Angele's forehead creased. "The division? Not the school? There are so many things going on recently."
"Yes, most of the letters we received are from the division and the school. And the president of the Cross wants you to start recruiting wizard apprentices," Nancy added.
Angele gave her the right to read the unsealed letters as most of them were not important.
"Fine…" Angele pointed toward the water bucket beside Nancy's feet. The translucent water was pulled out of the bucket by energy particles and landed on the loose soil with a black seed already planted in it.
*CHI*
The water was absorbed by the black soil quickly.
After watering the seed, Angele put down the hoe and checked the time.
"Show me the letters," he ordered as he headed back to the house.
"For sure."
Nancy answered politely.
The two returned to the house. Angele sat down on the sofa in the living room, and Amy served him with a glass of warm milk.
"Master, the dwarfs reported that the dorms for the slaves were completed. Do you want them to start building the botanical garden now?" Amy asked as she put down the milk.
There were too many things going on recently, Angele had almost forgotten that he asked the dwarfs to build the dorms and the botanical garden.
"Yeah, of course. Just follow the original plan. I have more than enough magic stones to pay for their work. Nancy oversees this, so ask her the next time you have questions," he responded in a deep tone.
Amy went to talk to the dwarfs right away.
Nancy found the letters and handed them over to Angele. They were written on two pieces of wooden boards.
Angele read through the letter and confirmed that the seal was left by the president himself.
The president was asking him to start teaching a class and recruit wizard apprentices. Each professor needed to recruit at least two wizard apprentices according to the contract.
The other letter was from Shiva, who said he was still working on a defensive magic circle that could stop students from cheating during tests by monitoring their communication messages.
It also mentioned that he wanted to visit Angele with his grandchildren during vacation. Shiva had to take care of the kids as their parents left the area for a mission. He wanted to visit Angele and discuss his recent findings in his research.
Angele replied to Shiva right away immediately and said that he would wait for them to come.
He created a schedule and listed the things he needed to do.
Angele leaned his back against the sofa and took a deep breath.
'So many things to do…' He shook his head slightly.
"Nancy, how long have you been serving me?" He stared at the girl.
"Several years, master," Nancy lowered her head and responded calmly.
Angele nodded. "Don't worry, I'll propose to you one day." He stood up and walked to Nancy, slowly moving his hand into her dress.
Nancy's skin was warm, soft, and elastic.
He rubbed her butt and legs for a while before moving to the crotch.
Her body could barely handle the excitement that she almost fell into Angele's arms.
"Master Green…at least do it in the bedroom, please…"
Angele smiled, then he carefully lifted her up and headed to the second floor.
"Don't worry. I promised you that I won't touch you before we get married, but we can still have some fun, right?"
He slowly rubbed Nancy's private area, which resulted in her being able to barely talk at the moment. Angele could see that her face was flushed red. Nancy's body was sensitive. She rested her head on Angele's shoulder, whose eyes then narrowed. It seemed like she was enjoying the moment.
************************
Everything was progressing as Angele planned.
He went to the signal obelisk and filled out the application at the message desk. He paid a lot of magic stones and finally got his request approved. The only thing Angele needed to do was to wait for the people he hired to travel to the other side of the Gem Sea.
The dwarfs spent about half a month to build a large botanical garden in Angele's territory. It had the size of a soccer field. It looked like a large white worm that was lying on the ground. He also used the trading tower to purchase plant seeds and he wanted to hire professional gardeners to look after the plants for him.
The crops and plants in the botanical garden could provide enough food for the slaves he purchased. Angele had already spent a lot of money on taking care of the slaves' daily lives. Furthermore, the daily supplies could only be purchased from the Bennis family. He could save some money in the long term if the botanical garden could be maintained properly.
It would take about one year for the botanical garden to start producing food for the territory. Angele had also asked the dwarfs to build him the basic processing factories around the garden, such as the mill and the oil mill.
Angele recruited two wizard apprentices from the school as his students. Both apprentices were male and they were well-educated. The two were both from the other side of the Gem Sea. Although their talent level was average, he still took them in.
The two wizard apprentices needed to pay a certain number of magic stones to the school if they wanted to do their research with the professors. However, Angele gave them a big discount. It was just like in Ramsoda when master Liliana sold him the Black Lead Potion for a discounted price because Angele was her student.
They would study much harder if they paid for the knowledge and that was the reason why everything in the school had a price.
Angele finished most of the things listed on his schedule and he spent the rest of his time concocting potions and reading the books sent to him by the potions department of the organization.
He scanned all the books into the database using Zero and returned them right away. Ander did most of the work for Angele in the organization and he was not complaining.
Time flew by. Nothing exciting happened. Angele barely had any time to rest.
One year later…
**********************
The bright sunlight of early morning shined upon the land.
Beside the white house, there was a small wooden dock and a brown wooden boat was tied to the leg-sized stake.
Several green leaves were floating on the surface of the water beside the boat.
A young man wearing a black swordsman's suit was fishing on the boat quietly.
The place was deadly silent. A pretty girl with blonde hair trailing over her shoulders was walking to the man quickly.
After several seconds, the girl arrived at the dock.
"Master Green, there's a message from the signal obelisk."
"Huh?" The young man was Angele, who then put down the fishing rod and stood up slowly.
His brown hair was much longer than before and the golden glow around his eyes was almost faded, revealing a pair of black pupils.
There was still a silver glint on his skin and his body was protected by a thin layer of metal barrier.
"When did the message arrive?" He jumped to the dock from the boat and walked to the lake shore.
"Just now. I brought it to you right away," Nancy responded then she handed a small crystal orb over to him.
The crystal orb was about the size of a fist and there was a nail-sized red rune spinning inside it.
Angele grabbed the crystal orb and threw it into the air, releasing a distorted wave.
The crystal floated in the air and the red rune inside stopped spinning.
*CHI*
A white light screen was displayed in front of Angele.
A clear image visualized on the surface of the screen within seconds.
A blonde man wearing a silver heavy armor suit was standing in a tiny room. A black greatsword was held in his right hand and a helmet in his left.
"I'm sorry, master. We arrived at the land in the second year of the mission safely and we found the people you wanted right away. Sadly, the child had birth defects and passed away about three months ago. The lady named Caitlyn is still here," the man pursed his lips and said.
"Passed away?" Angele was surprised. He sighed and felt depressed. It was his first child after all.
The image on the light screen changed and a dark room showed up.
The walls of the room were made of black stone and they were covered with relief sculptures.
A pretty lady with blonde hair was lying on a bed in the center of the room.
It seemed like she was in a coma.
The lady was around thirty years old, and Angele could see the crow's feet around her eyes. The black collar around the lady's neck caught his attention.
Chapter 241: Death and Gift (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
"It's Caitlyn." Angele recognized the lady right away.
The male Knight spoke again although he was not inside the image.
"This lady named Caitlyn has been in a coma for more than a month already. The wizard apprentice in our team checked her body condition and it seems like most of her life energy has been consumed while giving birth to the child. We have tried everything to wake her up but she's just dying."
Angele remained silent as he stared at the blonde girl in the light screen with his eyes blinking.
Suddenly, the image on the screen flashed several times and the room appeared in front of him again.
"Half a month later, we returned to her place. We did everything we could. Please forgive us." The voice came from a female wizard apprentice.
Caitlyn looked much weaker than the time she was last seen, like a skeleton covered by a thin layer of skin.
"She's…dying." The female wizard apprentice explained in a calm tone, "Sadly, our mission will be finished here. We'll record everything using the orb you gave us."
About 15 minutes later.
Caitlyn was no longer breathing.
"She passed away."
*PA*
Angele grabbed the crystal orb and the light screen disappeared.
He shook his head and looked at Nancy.
"Ask the Six Ring division over the sea to take care of Caitlyn's family for me. Political rights, money, houses, whatever they want."
Nancy nodded slightly. "Got it. You're a member of the potions department. I think the organization can easily fulfill your request."
Angele turned around and said, "I'm also working on solving your problem. The Labyrinth College has removed the bounty on my head after I joined the Six Ring High Tower. Since you're my servant, they won't try to kill you anymore and the rest of your family members will be saved as well."
Nancy looked excited. "Thank you so much, master!" After giving her thanks, she lowered her head.
Angele nodded and returned to his house with the crystal orb.
The gentle wind was blowing across his face and the fragrance of the flowers permeated the air.
*Chirp*
Suddenly, a black bird flew over Angele's head.
With a flick of his finger.
*CHI*
A silver needle hit the black bird.
He caught the bird with his right hand when it fell down.
The bird was about the size of Angele's palm and was struggling in pain. The silver metal needle penetrated the bird's head and blood was dripping down its black feathers.
Angele watched the bird lose its strength after struggling for a while. The fishy smell of blood rushed into his nose.
"Life is so fragile…Perhaps one day, I'll die in a corner quietly just like this bird…"
The silver needle melted and was absorbed into his skin.
Angele threw the body of the bird to the ground and walked back to the house.
Nancy was chatting with two female flame spirits that came to report on the daily tasks.
Nancy had a lot of things to do recently. Matters regarding the new botanical garden, the maintenance of the buildings, the acquisition of supplies, and the checking the progress of the oil mill and the wine factory. She also needed to mediate the fights between the slaves.
She spent most of her time checking the dorm area, the botanical garden, the trading tower, and talking to the wizard apprentice from the Bennis Family.
Angele had already created a manor with multiple facilities inside. His house sat in the center of his territory quietly. The whole area was patrolled by the Knights and wizard apprentices he hired.
Most of the people working in the area communicated a lot with Nancy. Although they knew that Angele was the owner, some of them had never talked to the mysterious master wizard.
Nancy picked two smart female slaves to do some of her simpler jobs in the area.
She stopped Angele as he was about to enter the house.
"Master, the potions department has delivered the items you asked for."
"Great." Angele checked the schedule using Zero and thought that it was about time.
"Ask them to carry the items to the living room."
"Got it."
He stepped into the living room and walked to the potted plants, starting to trim it with the scissors.
Four muscular men entered the door quickly. They were wearing thick leather armor suits with silver scimitars on their back. They carried two huge boxes into the living room.
The four were breathing heavily. Angele looked at their necks and saw a purple flower-shaped pattern.
"Ah, it's you. Carry them to my basement then." He narrowed his eyes.
The four men nodded without saying a world. The tattoo on their necks indicated that they were the slaves of wizard Ander. They were the people who delivered the books to him.
Angele walked to the staircase and pressed his hands against the wall. A small door opened itself quickly.
The whole wall was made of metal, so Angele could use his Metal Mastery to control it easily.
They carried the huge black boxes to the hall of the basement and left right away.
After the four left, Angele asked Nancy to keep the others away from the house.
He then entered the basement after sealing the door.
He quickly walked down the stairs and started observing the two huge boxes.
The surface of the boxes was smooth and they were painted with spiral patterns. On top of the boxes, there was an egg-sized ruby and the edges were decorated with silver strings.
Elegant and luxurious.
Angele stood in front of the box on the left and tapped its lid.
A red glint flashed upon the surface of the lid.
*Crack*
The ruby in the center started cracking.
Angele remained calm, then he put his hands on the lid and lifted it up.
The lid was pushed to the side and slid to the ground. White smoke rose from the box.
Angele's forehead creased and he created some wind to blow the smoke away.
Inside it was a creature covered by a black blanket. It was half-human and half-horse.
The creature's upper body looked like the body of a girl, clean and elegant. Long blonde hair trailed over her shoulder. Its nose was cute and its lips were attractive. The girl's chest area was covered by a piece of brown linen. That was the only clothes she was wearing.
The bottom half of her body looked identical to a white horse.
'The centaur from the auction market.' Angele was satisfied. 'She was put down by the sleeping gas that was released from a Sleep Gem.'
He then opened the other box and found another centaur inside. The two centaurs' face looked identical to each other. It seemed like they were twins.
Angele was depressed ever since Caitlyn and his child died but the two centaurs somehow cheered him up slightly.
He raised his right and activated the communication rune.
White light flashed on the back of his hand and a rose-shaped rune slowly appeared his nail.
"Master Ander, thank you for the gift. I love them." He sent the message.
Several minutes later, Ander replied
"Glad you liked it. No one has touched the two centaurs I sent you. Their stamina is great. Go ahead if you want to reproduce with them."
"Haha, I'll see what I can do with them." Angele stopped for a second. "Alright, have you decided on the secret laboratory we discussed?"
Ander coughed several times and responded, "Well, I thought for a while but I have a better choice in my mind."
"That's sad." Angele made himself sound depressed. "One more thing, do you have a detailed information on why wizards have low fertility rate? I didn't find any detailed data in books."
Ander remained silent for several seconds.
"Actually, I once heard the truth from a wandering wizard. Normal creatures and mortals can't handle formal wizards' bloodlines. And female wizards' bodies naturally consider our semen as an impurity and they would try to expel it from their system. The stronger a female wizard is, the harder it will be for her to get pregnant. Male wizards have tested various methods on different creatures and realized that giving birth to a wizard's child will consume most of the mother's life energy. The mother will die if she's not strong enough."
Angele remained silent after listening to the old man.
The bloodline of a male wizard was so strong that his semen would kill the weak eggs in the female mate, and female wizards considered the semen as an impurity that would do harm to their body so the energy particles would try to expel it from the system.
"But male wizards and female wizards still have a higher chance, right?" he wondered.
"Well, that depends. It's hard to find two wizards that are at the exact same level, but yeah, the chances will be higher."
"Understood." Angele sighed. "So the reason why the white centaurs can give birth to wizards' children is due to their incredible life energy."
"Correct," Ander confirmed Angele's assumption.
"Thank for answering my questions. Thank you once again for the gift."
"We're in the same boat, right?" Ander chuckled.
Angele had a blank expression on his face as he stood beside the boxes, staring at the white centaurs after finishing the conversation. He sighed again with mixed emotions.
Chapter 242: Mutation (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
Angele raised his hand and pressed it onto the centaur's neck carefully.
"Morria (Wake up)!" Angele invoked the incantation.
A red glow surrounded his hand that illuminated his face and the centaur inside the box.
The red light slowly disappeared after about ten seconds.
Angele lowered his hand.
"Huh…" The centaur slowly opened her eyes and woke up. She stared at Angele with a pair of bright big eyes and glanced around, looking confused.
"Ah…" She opened her mouth and yelled unconsciously.
Angele creased his forehead, then he held the centaur's head with his left hand and checked her eyes.
Her green eyes were soulless.
"Can you understand my words?" Angele asked in Anmag.
The centaur looked at Angele for several seconds and turned around. She grabbed the edge of the box and tried to stand up but it seemed she did not have enough strength to support her body.
"Do you know what I'm saying?" Angele switched to the ancient language that was commonly used among magical creatures.
The centaur still had no reaction to his words.
Angele tried several other languages, including the chaos language that he barely knew, but nothing worked.
He stared at the centaur in the box and suddenly pulled the blanket off her body, revealing her large white chest.
*CHI*
"Ah…" The centaur looked at her naked body but did not say anything meaningful and began struggling in the box.
In the middle of her chest, Angele noticed a bloody red rune.
The rune looked like an anchor with a red snake twisted around it.
"I knew it." Angele shook his head and walked to the other box, pulling the blanket off the other centaur's body. He found the same rune between her chest.
Angele pursed his lips and stared at the two centaurs, looking disappointed.
"So the Red Snake Anchor had their hands on those centaurs. That's why they were sent to the auction market. Two white centaurs that have lost their souls…I'll just try to extract the ancient bloodline from them."
He raised his hand and silver metal liquid came out of the tips of his fingers, turning into five strong silver strings. The strings tied the two centaurs up and lifted them into the air.
Angele controlled the forcefield and continued to use the strings to support the centaurs. He brought them to the spell lab.
*Creak*
The door of the spell lab was pushed open.
The two centaurs were dropped to the dark floor that was covered with complicated runes. They looked around the dark room and ran into one of the corners together. Fear was written all over their faces.
Angele was not concerned at all. He took a few pieces of the special equipment from the potions room.
He had always wanted to dissect a centaur's body as he was curious about their bodily structure and now he had the opportunity.
There was a gentle smile on Angele's face.
He closed the door of the spell lab as he stared at the two centaurs. Red light flashed on the door and it was locked right away.
The signet on his left hand was activated and the wings of the great harpy swung slightly.
A strange high-pitched noise echoed in the room as the effect of the illusion signet was triggered.
Both centaurs calmed down immediately. Their eyes lost all focus and they just stayed at the corner.
"Here…come to me…" Angele whispered.
However, none of the centaurs reacted to his command.
He assumed the reason was that they could not understand the language.
Angele walked to the centaur on the left and dragged her to the center of the room.
The naked female centaur stood in the center of the room without making any noise. Her arms were drooped as if she had no control over them. The area below her waist looked exactly like the body of a horse. Angele noticed that there was some white fur covering her belly.
He raised his hand and rubbed the fur around her stomach.
It was soft and fluffy. He did not notice anything strange. He then touched the centaur's skin, which was elastic like jelly.
Angele moved his hand to the horse part of the centaur's body. The skin was not as smooth as the area around the stomach.
He moved to the back of the centaur and saw a long blonde tail hanging over her ramp.
'The bottom half of her body looks exactly like a horse's body…The centaur's body structure is really interesting. I wonder if the horse part and human part share the same organs…'
Angele did a quick check on the centaur's muscles.
He carefully took out a translucent glass syringe from the toolbox on the side and the syringe was about the size of a finger.
The needle of the syringe was made of silver metal.
Angele pushed the air out of the barrel and walked to the right side of the center, slightly pressing her neck.
He raised his right hand, creating a tiny metal needle on the tip of his index finger.
*CHI*
Some red light dots flashed around the needle and he ignited it.
Angele carefully pressed the neck of the centaur with the burning needle.
She did not feel any pain.
The centaur just stood there staring at nothing.
Angele knitted his eyebrows and the silver needle returned into his skin. He realized that the fire elemental attack failed to penetrate the centaur's skin.
'So they do have high fire resistance.' He was satisfied with the result. Angele walked to the toolbox and took out a cigar-sized brown stick.
He returned to the centaur and rubbed the tip of the short stick.
*CHI*
The stick was ignited and bright yellow light appeared on its tip.
As time passed, half of the stick turned red which now looked like heated iron.
Angele extinguished the flame and pressed on the centaur's neck with the heated stick.
*CHI*
The centaur's body trembled and some of its hair on the neck was burnt to ashes. The skin area that touched the stick started to turn red.
Angele lowered the stick and he saw a red dot left on the surface of the centaur's neck.
He grabbed the syringe and stabbed it into the red dot.
*CHI*
He slowly pulled the plunger up and a whole barrel of shiny red blood was extracted from the centaur's body. It looked like red wine.
Angele took a glass tube from the toolbox and removed the stopper, pushing the blood into the tube with the syringe.
He repeated the procedure four times and acquired four tubes of blood from the two centaurs.
Angele deactivated the illusion signet and grabbed some walnuts from the material room, throwing them to the centaurs. He wanted to keep those two centaurs in his basement.
With four tubes of fresh blood, Angele entered the potion room and started extracting the bloodline.
Three days later…
Angele walked out of the potion room with a small tube of green liquid in his hand. The crystal tube was about the size of a finger and it was half filled.
"Finally, it's done!" He was satisfied with the result. Angele failed many times while trying to get the ancient bloodline and he had to extract blood from the centaurs many times. This was possible only because their stamina was so strong that they could recover within hours. After many tries, he had finally acquired the purified ancient bloodline of the centaur.
The ancient bloodline of white centaurs was the combination of the centaur chieftain and the legendary unicorn.
Angele was uncertain as to what special ability the inheritor of the centaur chieftain and the unicorn had but the ancient bloodline was extremely valuable.
He held the tube in hand and hesitated for a second.
Angele opened the spell lab as he sealed the tube with a stopper.
He fed the two centaurs with various types of nuts these days and the floor was covered in their feces and the broken nut shells. The two centaurs looked excited after seeing Angele open the door, they ran to him while yelling happily.
Angele's brow furrowed, he opened the door and let the centaurs come out. He decided to keep them in the main hall.
He raised his right hand and activated the communication rune.
"Nancy, ask someone to clean the basement."
"Understood," Nancy replied within seconds.
Angele walked upstairs with the tube. He only left the spell lab open and he was certain that the slaves in his territory would not be able to break into the other important rooms. All doors were sealed by the special alloy created by his Metal Mastery. If someone tried to break in using force, the three defensive matrices would be triggered and it would alert Angele right away.
Amy was already waiting beside the staircase as he stepped out of the door. She bowed to Angele right away with the dustpan and the broom in her hands.
Angele nodded slightly, then he walked to the second floor and entered the biological lab.
A black shadow flew toward Angele and landed on his shoulder. It was the black Four-wing Night Sparrow.
He walked to the shell-shaped table quickly after locking the door.
"Come here, Korby," He whispered to the sparrow on his shoulder and pointed at the table. Angele had long decided to name it as Korby.
Korby understood Angele's order and it jumped to the table. It then raised its head and stared at Angele. The small bird looked quite adorable.
Angele smiled and walked to the corner. He grabbed a tiny turtle that he captured not so long ago from the water tank.
The turtle's carapace had black-yellow patterns mixed together and it looked dirty. Its four tiny legs were moving slowly. It seemed the turtle was trying to escape.
It was a Barry Turtle that could be found in any lake.
Angele returned to the table with the turtle and held the tube with green liquid in his hand.
Chapter 243: Mutation (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
"One way of checking the side effects and special features of the bloodline is to conduct a biological experiment."
Angele put down the turtle on the table. He inserted the crystal tube into the rack and put a syringe into a beaker on the side, which was filled with bubbling yellow liquid.
He raised his palm and silver metal liquid spurted out of his skin, turning into five metal balls on the tips of his five fingers. The metal balls were then connected by multiple silver strings, creating a metal web above his palm.
"Palu!" Angele uttered the incantation in a whisper.
In the center of the silver web, a white hoof-shaped rune slowly appeared in the air.
He applied the rune on the stomach of the turtle just like what he did to the four-wing sparrow, the rune would help him gain control of the Barry Turtle's body.
'Zero, show me the attributes and basic information of the turtle.'
'Initializing…'
'Barry Turtle, Strength 0.07, Agility 0.4, Stamina 0.05, Mentality 0.06. Special Talent, none. 3 years old. Can be found around small lakes.'
Zero quickly displayed the information of the turtle in Angele's sight. It only took seconds for the chip to scan the creature.
Angele wondered what would happen if he injected the ancient bloodline into a normal turtle.
He took out the sterilized syringe from the beaker. The yellow liquid was a special mixture that was commonly used for cleaning surgery equipment.
Angele extracted some green blood from the crystal tube and turned the Barry Turtle's body around.
He pushed the remaining air out of the barrel and carefully stabbed the needle into the turtle's head.
The green blood was pushed into the turtle's body within a second.
'Legend says that the centaur chieftain has the strength of a God and its speed is extremely fast and that the legendary unicorn has insane defense and recovery. I want to know what I can get from the combination of the two.'
The Barry Turtle lay on the table quietly, with Angele still waiting for the mutation to happen.
He scanned the turtle's body with Zero and the report indicated that the energy inside the turtle's body was changing rapidly every second.
Suddenly, Angele noticed that the turtle was seeking food through the control rune he applied on its body.
He quickly pulled the drawer open and took out a huge bottle with dark purple liquid inside. It was a bottle of highly concentrated nutrient solution and a bottle's worth could easily feed a male adult for seven days.
Angele removed the stopper and threw the Barry Turtle into the solution.
*Blop*
The turtle sank into the liquid and the water level started dropping quickly.
About ten seconds later, the whole bottle was consumed by the tiny turtle.
Angele turned the bottle upside down and the turtle dropped to the table.
It started growing at an insanely rapid rate. The edge of the turtle's carapace turned serrated and gray thorns began emerging out of the surface of the shell.
About ten minutes later.
Initially, the Barry Turtle was about the size of a palm. But after the mutation, its body was now more than half a meter long. Its hardened skin already turned gray.
'Ha…'
The turtle opened its mouth and made some strange noise.
Angele was surprised as he stared at the mutated turtle. It was only 20 centimeters long not so long ago but it now looked like a monster that was packed with power.
He carefully pressed on the turtle's neck with his right index finger after the mutation process was completed.
It felt like pressing on a hard rock or the surface of an old tree.
Angele activated the rune and made sure the turtle was not moving.
'Zero, scan the mutated turtle and show me the results.'
'Task created, scanning…'
'Mutated Barry Turtle. Strength 0.7, Agility 0.5, Stamina 1.2, Mentality 0.09. Skill: Bite. Special Talent: Hardened Skin. Thorn Carapace.'
'Its Stamina was increased by more than one point…' Angele pursed his lips. 'And it gained two special talents. The increase in stamina and the hardened skin are within my expectations. They probably came from the traits of the centaur and unicorn, but what about the thorn carapace?'
He observed the appearance of the turtle and started thinking.
'Maybe the ancient bloodline activated part of the traits from the Barry Turtle's ancestor and that's where the thorns came from.�� A thought came to his mind.
'Zero, can you do reverse check for the Barry Turtle's DNA?'
'Insufficient amount of data, task can't be created.'
'Can you scan the turtle's mutated body parts and check if some of the new traits came from its ancestor?'
'Task created…Analyzing…'
Zero reported back after about five minutes.
'Task completed: Atavism has occurred. Specific ancient DNA of the Barry Turtle was activated.'
'So I was right…' Angele stared at the mutated turtle and slightly nodded.
'It seems that the combined ancient bloodlines can activate creature's ancient genes…Plus the strong ability it acquired after the mutation. I can produce a decent number of biological weapons if I want to…but not all creatures have strong ancestors. Let me check the bloodline signet first.'
Although Angele had low expectation for the signet, he still wanted to give it a try as he wanted to collect data for future bloodline extractions. Burning the potential of the ancient bloodline was never a good idea and it was possible that the signet came with strong side effects.
Ten more days later…
Angele had stayed in the biological lab the whole time and he successfully created the bloodline signet. However, as he had expected, the ability of the signet was weak. It could only boost his stamina, recovery, and defense for a short duration. The ability sounded useful but it could only increase two points of stamina and the recovery effect could only be triggered when Angele consumed a large amount of food. Furthermore, the atavism effect did not apply to him. He decided to keep the bloodline of the great harpy till he could find something better as he still wanted to explore other realms.
Angele removed the signet of the centaur after trying it once and he managed to extract the bloodline from his body. He then added it back to the crystal test tube.
He named the mutated turtle as thorn turtle and he dropped it into the lake beside the house. Angele planned to observe it when he had the time and he could control it to defend the house if any enemy sneaked into his territory.
After discovering the atavism effect of the ancient bloodline, Angele wanted to create more mutated creatures and insects that he could easily control using a rune.
After staying in the lab for more than ten days, he finally walked out of the house after Nancy notified him about the upcoming event.
********************************
"Master Shiva and his grandchildren are waiting on the other side of the lake," Nancy reported to Angele politely.
In the living room, Angele just finished changing his clothes.
"Prepare the snacks and drinks. Ask the dwarf knight to protect the two kids and to play with them."
Angele hired the dwarf knight several years ago and they visited Shiva together.
"Any area you don't want the kids to enter?" Nancy questioned.
"The Botanical Garden and the basement. I don't care about the other areas, ah, and the creatures in the biological lab. Be careful with them."
"Understood."
Angele walked out of the door after talking to Nancy. He walked to the narrow path beside the lake and saw Shiva's black carriage slowly arriving.
Two horses were pulling the carriage forward and the coachman was still a fire spirit.
The two kids stuck their heads out of the window before the carriage stopped. Sophie was wearing double buns today and she was shouting something while waving her hands.
"Master Green, we're here!" she yelled. It almost looked like she was trying to jump out of the window.
"Come on, be careful." Shiva's voice came out of the carriage.
Angele watched the carriage stop in front of the house with a smile on his face.
*KA*
The door of the carriage was pushed open, Sophie jumped out of it first and Morrow followed after her.
Shiva was the last one that left the carriage.
"Green, teach your students yourself. I don't have that much time." The old man shook his head. "You have barely visited the school and you're an esteemed professor…"
"It's just some basic knowledge, right? You're much more knowledgeable than me and you're also a great teacher." Angele chuckled.
"Yeah, yeah…" Shiva shook his head again, speechless.
"Well, I have something serious to tell you this time," Shiva cleared his throat and spoke in a grave tone.
"What?" Angele stopped laughing. He knew that when Shiva was serious there must be severe trouble.
"The lab area for the World Stone exploded."
"Exploded?" Angele could not believe what he had just heard.