Chapter 291: New Journey (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
Henn finally woke up when the sun started rising.
'High-Temperature Forcefield, huh? Good choice.' She did not sound surprised. 'This is the details about the spell model. Since you already know the entirety of the fundamentals, you should be able to master it quickly.'
'I want to craft an enchanted weapon. Do you have advice for me?' Angele asked and secretly ordered the chip to record the conversation.
'Majority of enchanted weapons are weak. If you want better enchantment results, you must look for high-quality materials. No one relies on the enchantment itself since it takes too much time just to replenish the energy required for usage. If you can find a magic circle that can help you replenish the energy, that would be a good choice. That's why the enchanted items can be used more than once although they have an internal cooldown time,' Henn explained. 'Your enchantment skill is way too weak. Without sufficient knowledge of magic circles, you'll just be wasting materials.'
'Alright. I'll think about it. No one can become an enchantment master in a single day after all. The High-Temperature Forcefield's rune engraving is my priority,' Angele responded in a calm tone. There was a blank expression on his face.
'Sure. I have a nice level 2 spell for you once you finish the procedure.' Henn continued, 'After transmitting the details of the level 2 spell to you, I will have a good rest again. That means you'll be on your own for a while. The transmitting process will cost me a lot of energy. Take some time and master it after you arrive at the Elemental Hand's territory.'
Henn transmitted the complete information of the spell model to Angele after she finished speaking.
'Is there anything else that I need to be careful with?' Angele wondered.
'It's still early. I'll talk to you after I wake up.' Henn stopped responding after this. It seemed the process had cost her a significant portion of her energy.
'Henn?' Angele tried to talk to her again, but she did not answer.
He narrowed his eyes. Getting off his bed, he headed to the potions room.
There was a black travel case behind the door. He opened the case carefully and covered the whole room with his forcefield, preventing the invasive mentality waves from detecting his special items.
The items in the case were covered by a black blanket.
Angele pulled the black blanket away and colorful glows illuminated on his face.
Under the blanket, there were countless potion bottles and tubes. The blue, red, yellow, and golden glows were from the liquid and dust inside the containers.
Angele spent some time testing in order to check if Henn knew what he was doing while she was resting. By then, he had now figured out how Henn's invasive mentality waves functioned.
He wanted to hide his special potions from Henn as one of them contained the extracted blood of the creature from the Nightmare Realm. He was not sure if Henn could recognize it but for the sake of any unexpected happenings, he did so.
Angele checked the condition of the potions in the case and grabbed a glass tube with green sticky liquid from the top right corner.
'I need to finish the engravings and stabilize my mentality as soon as possible. The date Mincola told me is now getting closer and closer. My time is limited yet I still need to analyze the bloodline sample…' Angele closed the case as he thought of this. He hid the case behind the door and covered it with energy particles to set up a simple alerting function.
Angele straightened his back and headed to the laboratory.
*************************
Ten days later.
The sky was blocked by thick clouds.
The raindrops were hitting the land constantly and the visibility outside was bad.
Beside a main road outside the city, there was a 2-meter-wide river running down the grass-covered land.
The bean-sized raindrops rippled on the surface of the water and the tall grass was dancing amidst the strong wind.
The flow of the river was slow but steady. There were several pedestrians wearing raincoats and carriages advancing along the main road.
There was a tall man wearing a gray raincoat standing by the running river. The gray hood covered his face, but it seemed that he was staring at the water quietly.
Suddenly, a tinge of white light flashed on the back of his right hand.
A deep voice echoed in his ears.
'3 o'clock. Green, hide your mentality waves.'
'For sure,' Angele responded in a low voice.
'There are two more groups of wizards doing the same mission as us. You need to hurry.' The voice continued.
'Alright.' Angele cut off the communication.
After ten days and thirty tries, he finally engraved the first rune on the mentality crystal with complete success.
He then decided to test the new effect of the metal forcefield right away.
Angele accepted an assassination mission from the inn. The target was a wizard from a random family.
It was a weak wizard who decided to inherit his family business after failing to advance to the next stage. He apparently hired several strong mercenaries as guards on the way to the city.
The downpour of the rain was becoming heavier and heavier. Angele could barely see the objects that were ten meters away from him and the only thing in his vision was the downpour.
He raised his head and the chilling raindrops splashed on his face. Angele took a deep breath. The air was wet but refreshing.
Suddenly, he heard the intense noise made by horse hooves from the main road.
*tabdak tabdak*
In the curtain of rain, a white carriage with two running black horses was moving forward at full speed. There was no coachman at its front and its wheels were surrounded by green energy particles.
Angele turned his head around and the carriage looked like a moving gray shadow.
He narrowed his eyes and started walking to the carriage.
Several seconds later, Angele stood on the roadside staring at the approaching carriage.
The noise made by the stomping horses was mixed in the rain, getting louder and louder.
The road was not for a smooth ride, so the carriage was shaking.
Angele slowly untied the silver scimitar from the belt and held it tight with his right hand. There was a blank expression on his face.
*BOOM*
Rays of silver light were released from Angele's hand. The carriage was blown away by the impact and it rolled back several times on the grass like a ball. The carriage stopped moving after hitting a large puddle.
Angele detected no movement whatsoever from the overturned carriage.
The two black horses were neighing in pain on the grass. Fresh red blood was dripping down their body, diluted by the rain quickly.
Angele walked to the carriage quickly and tied the cursed scimitar to his belt using the metal string. He then raised his right hand and conjured a silver sword.
The point of the sword turned red, now steaming hot.
The raindrops evaporated once they fell onto the point of the sword, producing sizzling noises.
The sword was about two meters long and its tip was wider than the blade itself. The glowing crimson sword's point was hard to ignore in the rain.
Blue light dots flashed in front of Angele's eyes as he walked to the carriage.
A bald man wearing a green leather suit was trapped inside the carriage and blood was dripping down his chin.
The man's face had long become pale since his chest was broken.
Angele raised his sword up high and swung it downwards.
A black shadow jumped out of the carriage and blocked the blade.
Angele leaned back due to the impact and took a step backward.
The blue light around his eyes faded.
'75 degrees?' He did a simple analysis. The enhanced metal forcefield and his high strength level had increased the damage dealt by his weapon slightly.
The black shadow was blown away by the impact. It was actually an old man wearing a black outfit. Blood was leaking out of his eyes and nose. Such a scene was horrifying.
"God damn it. I tried," the old man cursed as he coughed.
"Where are your guards? How did you get hurt?" Angele noticed that the situation was a bit complicated. He aimed at the horses and the carriage when he initiated the attack. His purpose was to let the forcefield to do its work and break through the old wizard's energy shield.
"You guys killed them all," the old man responded in a grave tone. "Young man, how much did they pay you to kill me? I'll double that price if you let me go. What do you say?"
The old man looked at his right arm and it was burnt black. The enchanted armband that was gifted to him by an elder in his family had broken into pieces after blocking the attack.
His energy shield that was created by the forcefield was pierced through easily. It would take him at least four years to recover from the injury.
'But…'
The old man rubbed his right arm.
It would not be a big problem if he could stay alive. He needed to find a way to convince the young wizard in front of him.
The old man raised his head and stared at Angele.
"What do you think about my offer?"
Angele brandished the sword in his hand several times, its blade far longer than his height.
"Whatever, it seems I'm the lucky one today. I need to finish you off before the others come." Angele did not care about the old man's offer at all.
"You…Wait, I'll triple the reward! Triple!" the old man who was trembling in fear shouted in desperation.
*CHI*
The longsword chopped through the old man's head easily.
The heated blade burned his flesh as it sliced through his head.
Angele was satisfied with the result, he crouched and took down a black leather pouch from the old man's belt to prove that he completed the mission.
Angele heard the noise produced by stomping horses coming from the main road. Two men in black cloaks riding on top of brown horses were moving toward him at full speed.
The man in the front was surrounded by a distorted forcefield and the raindrops were being blocked by it. The mentality wave released by him was strong and mysterious.
The two horses' red eyes were glowing, their muscular bodies looked a bit strange.
Angele observed the two approaching wizards for several seconds, now rather confused. He shook his head, then he turned around and disappeared into the curtain of the rain.
Chapter 292: Elemental Hand and Vivian (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
'My goal was to test my new forcefield and complete the mission. It seems everything went according to my plan.'
Angele modified his mentality frequency and talked to Henn. He was walking quickly in the heavy rain. He went around the city and found a small road.
'Time to meet up with Mincola and the group. Where's the level 2 spell model you promised me?' he asked.
'Don't worry. I'll give it to you when the time is right.' Henn, chuckling, gave a vague answer.
Angele continuously bugged Henn many times about the spell models right after she woke up, but she just would not tell him exactly when.
Angele returned to the Dream Inn to claim the reward of the mission and left right after. He walked down the street beside the river and entered a random tavern at around the corner.
There were several pedestrians running down the street and no one was waiting in front of the tavern due to the heavy downpour.
He pushed the door open.
*Ding*
The bell on the door rang as Angele stepped into the tavern.
The warm fragrance of the wines permeated the air. Patrons of the tavern were chatting and yelling. There were also people playing cards in the corner.
Angele's brows furrowed. He glanced around and walked straight to a corner on the other side.
There were five or six people sitting around several tables. The conspicuous outfits they were wearing were different from the other patrons in the tavern.
Mincola, Rose, and a white-haired lady were sitting together around one of the tables.
The lady was pointing at a light-yellow leather scroll on the table.
Angele's footsteps attracted the patrons' attention, with some of them glaring at him.
However, they did not utter a word as he was but a stranger to them.
Mincola stood up first.
"Hey, Green! You're finally here."
Rose and the lady just nodded their heads and smiled slightly.
Angele walked to the table and sat down by Mincola.
"Thank you for that tip, Rose. It helped me a lot during the mission." He looked at Rose.
"It's fine. Although my battle skills are weak, I still want to prove myself," Rose responded in a light tone.
"Who's this?" Angele turned to the lady who was seated beside Rose.
Silky smooth and untainted, the white-haired lady's long hair draped over her shoulders. She wore crimson eyeshadows and a white dress. Overall, she looked rather young and attractive. Right beside her chair was a black wand of great length.
"Name is Celine. Nice to meet you, wizard Green." The lady named Celine raised her right hand as greeting.
"Nice to meet you too, wizard Celine." Angele raised his left hand and tapped on the lady's palm. "I'm still trying to get used to the strange greeting gesture here. It's quite unique."
(ED Note: Yep, they're doing high-fives as a greeting.)
"Haha, understandable." Celine smiled and nodded. She moved the leather scroll slightly so everyone around the table could see it.
"We're discussing the best route to Elemental Hand. This is a map I acquired from a local wizard. It's not very accurate but we have already made several different plans. Come have a look, wizard Green."
Nodding in affirmation, Angele lowered his head and started inspecting the map.
Three red lines were marked on the scroll and the black dots represented the locations.
The city was marked by a black dot as well and their destination was a larger black dot.
"What's wrong with the shortest route?" Angele blurted out in question. He noticed that one of the routes was much shorter than the other two which he had assumed right away that the former might be dangerous.
"Well, there's a big problem with that route. It's the same route used by the strongest wizards from the group. There's a rumor out there that someone wants to kill them and take their badges along the way. We might get into trouble if we choose this one," Celine explained.
"Why don't we wait for several days instead before we leave?" Angele looked at the map.
"We need to arrive at Elemental Hand before the deadline, so we can't waste time. Several wizards have been assassinated on this route last year while heading to an organization called Lycra. That's the only path they could use. Also, the area around it is…"
"You're making it too complicated. The main point is we can't use this route because assassins are targeting wizards who want to join Lycra and they might mistake us for being their targets," Rose interrupted. "It is said that those assassins are capable of slaying rank 2 wizards. I don't think we can fight back at all once we get ambushed by them."
"Let's choose a different route then." Angele nodded slightly. "Safety is our priority."
"I agree. We'll all die if the assassins are as strong as the rumors said. Let's choose the second route. It's a bit longer but it's safe." Mincola pointed at a red line.
"What do you think?" he asked.
Angele and Rose both nodded at the same time.
"Sure, when are we leaving?" Celine wondered.
"Is everyone prepared?" Mincola eyed the members.
"I'm ready." Rose shrugged.
"I just need to pick up my travel case," Angele responded.
"Me too." Celine nodded. "Just tell us the time."
"Let's start moving now. We don't have much time left, right?" Angele chuckled.
"Sure." The others all agreed with him.
The four went to pick up their travel cases after leaving the tavern. It was still raining but they gathered outside the city gate quickly.
Mincola hired four carriages for each of the wizards. They each entered their own carriages and quickly left the city within the heavy downpour.
The noises coming from the hooves and wheels had entirely been masked by the sound of the downpour.
*******************************
Angele was worried about their group being attacked along the way, but nothing happened.
The four did not encounter any problem during the trip.
The only thing Angele did was to clean off the broken stones and trees on the road. He did not even find any mutated beast.
Angele had carried enough nutrient potions to be used as a substitute for his meals.
They arrived at the territory of Elemental Hand successfully.
The entrance to the organization was literally a towering brown boulder.
On the surface of the boulder was a carved human face of humongous size. The face had its eyes closed, while its mouth—completely opened—was the entrance to the organization's territory.
There were carriages traveling in and out of the entrance and were divided into two categories: carriages transporting resources and carriages transporting the new members.
Majority of the newly-recruited members were wizard apprentices. While the rest of them were formal wizards, only a few were on par with Angele.
All the wizard apprentices being brought into the organization possessed their own recommendation letters and were being escorted by formal wizards.
These wizards were carrying either organizational badges or special enchanted items.
Each member of the Elemental Hand patrol team was riding a special white bird. These aerial mounts were constantly taking flight from and landing on a platform right beside the entrance. Specialists had been hired to take care of these birds while they weren't on patrol.
The four wizards quickly finished the registration process and were given a different-looking badge after they were officially accepted as formal members of the organization.
The registration process was easy due to Elemental Hand being associates with Dark Wizard Tower. Some of the elders of Elemental Hand had been, after all, assigned by Dark Wizard Tower.
The badge Angele acquired during the competition was different from those given to members who weren't members of Dark Wizard Tower.
He thought he would have to pass a number of challenges before he could be accepted officially.
There were several caverns and tunnels within the territory of Elemental Hand. Similar to a nest of ants, each cavern served its own function. Most of the people Angele met inside the tunnels were wizard apprentices.
The main tunnel connected the entrance of the organization to the platform atop the mountain. This was where the council hall of Elemental Hand was located, and its appearance was similar to a small palace.
As a new member, the organization required him to search for a place to live in within the territory and teach the wizard apprentices several courses. Angele was also required to leave his communication rune to the council so that the elders could communicate with him when necessary.
All the requirements could easily be fulfilled.
Angele, Rose, Celine, and Mincola talked to the several rank 2 wizards from the council. They were the strongest wizards belonging to the organization.
They were a bit confused, however, as the whole process itself seemed a bit too simple and the higher-ups of Elemental Hand seemed busy dealing with something else. Thus, they decided to find their respective places to live in first. Angele learned that there would be ten more wizards who will be joining the organization.
Angele thought for a while and understood the reason. The organization would never trust them like how they would trust the wizard apprentices. Wizards could do anything they wanted to as there was barely any restriction in the territory.
Elemental Hand's territory was a bit complicated and was divided into three areas: Star Dew Mountain, Bass River, and the underground caverns. The whole territory had a similar size to Nola.
Angele checked the map given to him by the wizard apprentice at the registration desk and the residential areas were marked clearly on it. There were about ten major cities in the territory and each city had a population of about half a million people.
Angele picked a remote area nearby Bass River and built a small wooden house. The only protection the house had were the wooden fences around it.
Henn had kept her promise. However, when she double-checked the requirement for the spell, she realized that Angele must still finish learning several basic courses before he could fully comprehend the level 2 spell model.
Chapter 293: Elemental Hand and Vivian (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
Over the course of the next several months, Angele had been routinely staying at his residence and focusing on studying the basic courses transmitted to him by Henn. He had asked the wizard apprentices from the headquarters to deliver food and water to him every single day.
He communicated with Mincola through the telescope and the communication rune. Angele had also sent several messages to Hikari, Stigma, and Reyline through the signal obelisk.
Stigma responded to him twice but both Hikari and Reyline only replied once. It seemed that they were all busy with their own missions.
Angele had also sent messages to Isabel and Nancy. The message was sent through the signal obelisk in the headquarters which was then transferred to the signal obelisks in the Molten River area. Messages addressed to the west coast would only be delivered once they collected enough messages to justify the cost.
Sending messages to the west coast through this method was too expensive and it would take about two years for the messages to be delivered.
Angele did not tell Nancy anything about his current situation, but he told her how to reply to his message.
He wanted to make sure people knew he was still alive so that Nancy and his family would continue to be protected.
Henn rested for another two months after transferring the basic courses to Angele, but she asked Angele to go to Star Dew Mountain first and find the female wizard named Vivian. If not, she would not transfer the level 2 spell model to him.
Angele packed up, putting the badge on his robe, and headed to Star Dew Mountain.
*************************
Star Dew Mountain Range.
Early in the morning.
Atop one mountain, parts of black rocks were covered by white snow.
Right in the heart of the mountain—or rather, a volcano—thick white smoke was slowly rising from the magma chamber.
Frigid winds blew some of the snow into the air. A stench associated with rotten eggs due to sulfur permeated the air.
*Kata-kata*
A man wearing a thick white cloak was slowly climbing up, heading to the top of the volcano. The snow-covered narrow path was a bit slippery.
He was wearing a white hood and was holding a silver staff with his right.
The surface of the path was covered by thin layer of ice and it was topped by the thick snow.
"Ha…" The man took a deep breath as he stopped. He turned to the side carefully and looked down.
He could not see the foot of the mountain at all. The thick clouds had blocked his sight completely.
"Are you kidding me…It's over nine thousand meters tall…" The man took off his hood, revealing his smooth skin and glowing eyes. This man was Angele.
White snow had fallen onto his hair and his eyebrows, but it quickly disappeared after a second.
Angele had been using the Fire energy particles to keep his body warm. For that reason, the snow close to him had evaporated.
'Henn, are you sure this is the right place? It's getting ridiculous…' Angele shook his head.
'I'm sure the location is correct. The environment in this area is the worst but the view is great. This is also the only volcano in the Star Dew Mountain Range.' Henn's voice was deep and hoarse. 'Keep climbing. You'll know why once you reach the peak.'
'Are you serious?' Angele looked down again but the only things he could see were the clouds. He had started to feel a bit dizzy. 'The altitude is even higher than the airships…'
Angele took a deep breath and started advancing again. He left a trail of deep footsteps behind as it was hard to walk on a snowy path.
'I didn't plan on using High-Temperature Forcefield in this manner, but the temperature is…' Blue light dots flashed in front of Angele's eyes.
The current temperature was displayed in his sight.
'-81.5 degrees Celsius.'
'I doubt I can survive this bizarre environment without the forcefield. That must be why I didn't see any normal creatures here.' The chilling wind here felt like daggers cutting his skin. The energy particles stored in the chip was used to support the forcefield. The good thing was Angele could restore the energy particles easily.
After using the mentality compression technique, Angele could now absorb energy particles at a much faster rate.
The only problem was that there were not much Fire energy particles in an environment like this, with only about 10 degrees of energy was being restored every hour. Nevertheless, it still reduced the consumption of the spell.
*Kata-kata*
He kept advancing on the twisted snow path.
It almost looked like a white ant trying to climb to the top of a humongous mountain.
After about half an hour, he finally reached the crater of the volcano.
Apart from the crater being covered by black rocks, Angele did not see any snow. The temperature in this place could easily melt the falling snowflakes. However, thin layers of ice still coated a few areas of the crater.
Angele stood on the crater and narrowed his eyes. He wanted to see what was within the magma chamber.
'That's the place? Henn?' he asked.
'Yeah,' Henn responded right away. 'The elders of Elemental Hand are dealing with something else right now, so they don't have the time to monitor the activities of the formal members. This place is supposedly a meeting area of the younger members, but it seems that they don't come here often. No one has restored the temperature matrix.'
'Younger members? Are you related to them?'
'Yeah…They are my family members and I'm their teacher. The lectures were usually held here but that was many years ago…I think Fin already left and Tidania is still missing. I don't know how many of them are still alive…' Henn responded, sounding a bit depressed.
'But what about now? Is there still people here?' Angele was concerned about this. Since it took him quite a while to reach the volcano, he did not want his efforts to be in vain.
'There should be someone here if you're lucky, like…Vivian.'
'What should I tell them?'
'Just tell them you're one of my students. It's easy to prove, so don't worry about it,' Henn responded.
'Can't you just leave my body and talk to them?' Angele pursed his lips.
'There's no point in me doing that. I'm too weak right now. They will understand and even the ancient wizards did not know how to turn themselves into the soul form. I don't want to become the test subject of some sick wizards. Your life is connected to my soul right now, so we're in the same boat.' Henn sneered. 'Arisma is not my only enemy. You already know how I lost my physical form.'
'I need to be more careful then.' Angele was speechless.
'I had spent a lot of time teaching all those students but not many of them know my identity. Only the strongest of the students knew who I was and all of them were Elemental Hand's core members.' Henn explained. 'I don't know about the others, but Vivian will certainly help you.'
'So she's the most loyal one?' Angele was curious.
'Loyal or not, I do not know. But her parents died when she was young and for that reason, she treated her only son very well. Her son was one of my students but no one else knew that Vivian had a son. Vivian thought her son died during a mission, but I can convince her that her son is still alive.' Henn chuckled.
'What do you mean?' Angele narrowed his eyes. 'Don't tell me you're going to tell her that I'm her son…'
'It's a good plan, eh?' Henn lowered her voice, 'From now on, you're the son of Vivian Fenrir, and my student. Check your right shoulder right now.'
After a second's time of hesitation, Angele pulled his clothes to the side.
Zero's warning echoed in his ears, 'Unusual energy activity detected at your right shoulder. Eliminate it?'
A dark red birthmark slowly appeared on his right shoulder and it looked quite strange.
Angele asked Zero not to do anything and he was now feeling relieved by the fact that the chip could warn him about Henn's unusual behavior.
'What are you doing to my body?' he asked in a cold tone. Angele was not mad at all but merely wanted to dig out more information.
'Don't get mad. Her son did not die during a mission. He suffered from a special disease and I failed to save him, but I knew that there was a birthmark on his right shoulder. Vivian should know about the birthmark as well, so she should believe you just for that.'
���Are you sure it was just a disease? Don't tell me you killed him.' Angele kept asking. He was asking Zero to check his body condition to make sure that Henn did not do anything else.
'It was just an accident…' Henn was not concerned. 'Vivian lost her ability to bear children due to a problem that happened during an experiment, so she will be very happy once she knows her son is still alive.'
'Are you sure this will work? She won't trust me just because of the birthmark.' After all, there were just too many holes in this plan.
'Don't worry, you have me. I know a lot more about Vivian's son than Vivian herself and you also have the harpy's bloodline coursing through your veins so it's hard for her to do any test. My mentality wave will block all soul-checking spells. If you can give me access to your mentality wave, I can even modify it to make it similar to the one her son had.'
'Interesting, you rested so long just for this moment?' Angele narrowed his eyes. 'Show me the mentality wave pattern. I can do it myself.'
'Sure. Anyway, I'm just making a fair trade with you. Since I need you to become stronger and kill Arisma for me, I won't do any harm to you. I will even make you my inheritor and provide you all the knowledge I possess so what are you afraid of?' Henn sneered again.
'That sounds beautiful and all, but I'll most likely die during all the tasks you will ask me to complete if I'm not cautious enough. You're hiding too many things from me.' Angele himself knew that there was no such thing as free lunch in this world, but he couldn't simply do whatever Henn asked him to.
Chapter 294: The Ruins Underneath the Volcano (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
'Ungrateful kid…' Henn sounded a bit unhappy upon hearing what Angele said. 'Alright. Come on, I'll transfer the soul pattern and mentality wave modification method to you.'
Angele was not concerned. Standing amidst the strong winds, he raised his right hand.
A small white light ball was conjured atop his palm. The ball of light looked like a translucent spinning glass ball and there was a strange black insect inside it.
The insect looked identical to a scorpion. It had two claws and one needle on its tail. The only difference it had were the black spikes on its back.
Angele narrowed his eyes and observed the glass ball.
'What's this?' he asked.
'It is called Spike Scorpion, just a specimen. This scorpion is easy to find in the wild, but it has many different forms. A part of the boy's soul was trapped within this specimen. Actually, it's not really a scorpion but just a symbol now.' Henn responded immediately.
'In other words, this is the soul mark of her son. I had lost my physical form, but I had instead gained the ability to separate souls from its vessel. So what do you think?' she continued.
Blue light dots flashed in front of Angele's eyes. He quickly scanned the scorpion using his chip to make sure that it was not a threat.
'Let me control this thing myself. I think I can do it.'
'Sure.' Henn chuckled, and she stopped talking.
The glass ball slowly landed on Angele's palm and the white light faded.
He looked at the glass ball. Hesitating for a second, he tapped on the ball with his finger.
*CHI*
The glass ball sank into his finger right away.
Angele shook his head, feeling dizzy.
Zero's mechanical voice echoed in his ears.
'Unknown energy detected trying to enter your brain, eliminate?'
'Yes.' Angele gave the order.
The blue light dots flashed in his eyes and his eyeballs looked like two perfect sapphires.
'Elimination failed. The energy particle is unknown. Try to interrupt it with mentality waves?' Zero reported back after several seconds.
Angele was surprised. It was the first time in a long time that Zero found a new type of energy.
'Yes, use the mentality wave.' He closed his eyes and modified his mentality frequency right away in order for Henn not to discover what he was up to. Not only that, he also began to inspect the properties of this unknown energy.
'New type of energy detected. Please name it. The energy particles are blocked by the mentality wave.' Zero brought the good news to him.
'Name it "Soul Power".' Angele preferred using straightforward methods.
He could feel something cold moving inside his brain.
'Soul power consumed. Mentality increased to 77.5.'
After about half an hour, Angele finished the simulation of the soul power. His eyes were once again surrounded by a golden glow.
'Alright. You should have realized by now that I did not lie to you, right?' Henn spoke at such a perfect time.
'I'm just being cautious. Don't think too much about it.' Angele pursed his lips into a smile. 'What should I do next?'
'You see those smoke coming out of the magma chamber? Touch it with your hands.'
Angele stared at the thick, white smoke coming out of the crater. He could smell the sulfur in the air. As he stepped forward, he finally felt the heat.
He raised his right hand and touched the smoke screen.
'Can you feel it? Pull it out!' Henn continued.
Angele moved his hand around and found a long stick that looked like a vein.
He held the vein tight and pulled it out. Some smoke left the smoke screen with the vein and it disappeared into the air right away.
'Alright. You can just stay here and wait. Someone will come to pick you up, but you might face some kind of trouble. I must cut the connection for now so that no one will know I'm still alive. You're a smart kid so you ought to know what to do. Only answer the questions that will help you prove your identity, though you can still say you're from the west coast and you were once a mortal. It doesn't matter anyway since you already have the soul pattern. Also, check the detailed information on her son that I transferred to you just now. Good luck.' Henn cut off the connection right after she finished saying these.
The information Henn transmitted to Angele was quite complicated. He stored it in the database.
Angele's expression turned solemn. Quietly he awaited there, unsure of what was about to happen.
Suddenly, a stone pillar slowly arose from the ground right behind him. The stone pillar barely made any noise.
The stone pillar was about two meters high.
*KA*
The pillar cracked open, revealing nothing but darkness within.
A woman wearing a long robe of whiteness stepped out of the cracked stone pillar. Her face was clean and attractive and dark blonde hair, silky smooth and shiny, trailed over her shoulders.
Angele heard this noise, causing him to turn around as the woman's cold gaze fell on him.
"Who are you and why are you here?" The woman was speaking in a rather cold tone and her voice crisp.
"I'm the ninth student of master Henn, who asked me to come here." Angele politely bowed to the woman. He noticed the white robe that the woman was wearing had no decorative patterns of any sort, only plain white.
'Henn…? Master Henn?' The woman glared at Angele with her eyebrows knitted. "What's your name?"
"I'm Angele Rio, you can just call me Angele." Angele looked at the woman's feet as he responded.
She was wearing a pair of long white boots. For some reason, no noise was produced when she stepped on the white snow.
"Follow me." The woman turned around and vanished into the darkness inside the stone pillar.
Angele followed suit quickly. The small space inside the stone pillar easily fitted two adults. The inside was pure darkness and dead silence, however.
The stone pillar slowly sank into the ground and disappeared into the black rocks.
***************************
Angele felt as if he was standing in an elevator. Moreover, different from what he had expected, the space inside was actually much larger.
The woman stood beside the wall, the distance between the two about one meter.
The stone pillar was quickly descended albeit the slight tremors.
Angele felt as though gravity had disappeared for a second.
"I'm Vivian Fenrir. You can just call me by my name directly if you are master Henn's student. However, I must first test you. You should know what will happen once I find out you lied to me.' Vivian looked at Angele.
"I didn't lie to you." With a flick of his finger, a small ball of purple flame appeared on the tip of the index finger of Angele's right hand. He slightly waved his finger and yellow flames came out of the purple fireball.
"This is a basic application of the fire stacking technique master Henn taught me," Angele said right after the fireball vanished into the air.
"Your foundation is strong. How long have you been practicing it? Ten years?" Vivian's expression loosened.
"11 years actually. I have put a lot of effort into it." Angele had no idea how to continue this conversation. He had learned the fire stacking technique not so long ago when Henn asked him to master this, being it the requirement for the level 2 spell. With the assistance of the biochip, he mastered this technique in several days. Henn would've been surprised if she had witnessed what Angele had done.
The descending speed of the stone pillar was slow. Although the woman still continued to ask a series of questions, she had already begun to trust Angele after she saw him perform the fire stacking technique.
Henn had long transferred the detailed information to him, and Angele had no problem answering all those questions.
Vivian was no longer talking to him like a complete stranger.
"I'm sorry. But for some reason, it doesn't feel like this is our first time meeting each other. You remind me of someone…familiar…" Angele now spoke the line they had prepared.
"Huh?" Vivian suddenly began to show hesitation.
*PA*
The stone pillar reached its destination and landed on the ground. The crack Angele had seen earlier was actually a door and there was a long crimson tunnel right in front of him.
The rotten-egg-like stench of the sulfur was far stronger in the tunnel than outside.
With creased forehead and brows furrowed, Angele followed Vivian out of the stone pillar.
"To be honest, I'm having that same feeling too." Vivian slightly nodded as she advanced. "This is the place where master Henn taught me everything. But now, I'm the only one left…" She looked a bit depressed.
"I learned a lot from master Henn, but I also lost so many things over the course of my long journey. It is unfortunate, yet it may happen to you, too…"
It seemed that Angele's plan was working.
Angele did not reply. He could feel Vivian emanating a horrifying mentality wave. It was not considered strong to him, but it gave him the chills. Angele was certain that if she had the intention to kill him, it would be impossible for him to retaliate. He had also felt a similar feeling when the airships had been attacked by the lord of the storm spirits.
The temperature in the tunnel increased as they kept moving onward. The air was thinning out, and Angele noticed a strange yellow mist floating around.
"This is the place." Vivian turned left and stepped into a black stone gate.
Angele's face turned red. Zero began to send warning messages upon detecting the temperature that was now over 50 degrees Celsius. The sulfur in the air was so dense he was now having problem breathing. Angele thought he was going to faint.
However, he felt refreshed after following Vivian into the stone gate. The air was nice and clean.
Angele took a deep breath, now feeling much better. The tunnel was almost like a different world to him.
Chapter 295: The Ruin Underneath the Volcano (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
On the other side of the door was a small room constructed out of stones. A wide stone pillar noiselessly sat at a corner. There was a yellow rune spinning slowly above a magic circle.
A bed of blooming red and green flowers was planted on a stone platform right in the middle of the room. The leaves of spider plants entwined with several dried plant veins were hanging down the platform. Mushrooms of purple and white colors were growing in the gaps between the flowers.
Four red crystal runes were embedded into each wall.
The pattern of the rune looked like a large anchor with chains surrounding it. The crystal was glowing, and the red light illuminated the stone room.
Vivian walked to the yellow rune and moved her hands around it carefully.
The once-fading light of the rune became bright once more when she finished restoring the energy.
After several minutes, she straightened her back and turned to Angele. "Climb up the pillar and stand at the center of the magic circle. I still need you to participate in a few more tests."
Angele abided in her order and he stood at the center of the magic circle.
Vivian explained in a calm tone, "This magical matrix will be used to verify your identity. If you are indeed master Henn's student, the magic circle will release a ray of eye-blinding yellow light. It can also be used to test your connections with certain creatures or people. There are several things I need to…"
A ray of yellow light suddenly illuminated out of the magic circle before Vivian could even finish her explanation and immediately turned into a cylinder of light, shooting to the top of the room.
Vivian seemed surprised. Nonetheless, she remained calm and was about to pull Angele out of the yellow cylinder of light.
*CHI*
Suddenly, the magic circle started reacting again.
A ray of red light pierced through the yellow light and illuminated on Vivian's face.
"Wait…how is that even possible?!" Vivian's expression drastically changed causing her to grit her teeth. "The red light represents…me. It should be my first time meeting you, yet the reaction of the magic circle indicates that you're…related to me."
Several seconds later, Vivian narrowed her eyes and gradually calmed down. She quickly tapped on the surface of the stone pillar.
*CHI*
The cylinder made of light produced strange noises as it began to shrink. Soundlessly, Angele was still standing at the center of the magic circle.
"Congratulations, you passed the first test." Vivian had a blank expression on her face, but still, Angele could see the struggle in her eyes. "There is still something else I must ask you. Stay there and do not move."
"Sure." Angele already knew what Vivian was thinking and knew that Henn's plan had indeed worked.
Vivian pointed at Angele's shoulders.
*CHI*
A red light glimmered around Angele's 'birthmark'.
"It is real…" As Vivian muttered this under her breath, she took out a small black ring from her pouch and threw it into the air.
The black ring flew toward Angele and started spinning at an insanely fast speed.
It almost sounded like the ring was vibrating after being thrown, with its noise echoing throughout the entire room.
The noise gave Angele a headache and for some reason, his body started resonating with the ring. His skull numbed and his skin vibrated.
The vibration of the ring was getting stronger and the echoing noise was turning deeper.
Several seconds later, a black scorpion appeared at the center of the ring.
A column of sharp black spikes was on the back of the scorpion.
Vivian looked surprised and, at the same time, happy when the scorpion appeared.
She took a deep breath and pointed at the ring.
*CHI*
The scorpion disappeared from the center of the ring and the ring returned to Vivian's hand.
"You really are…" Vivian did not finish her words. She herself knew that it was not time yet to speak of it. There was now a gentle smile on her face as she stared at Angele with a loving gaze.
"Your name is Angele, right?" She lowered her voice.
"Yes." Angele knew why Vivian was now talking to him in a different tone and a different expression. Everything was going as planned.
"Do you remember what your mother looks like?" Vivian asked in a light tone.
"Master Vivian…I…don't." Angele's expression immediately changed as soon as he heard the question. His face was now filled with confusion. "Why do you ask?"
"I know it's a weird question to ask…but…" Vivian was not certain about how to make things clear. "Well, I want you to help me complete an important ritual later and I will award you with a magic device. What do you think?" She stopped for a moment before continuing, "You can leave the pillar now. Actually, can you tell me more about the things you have done recently and your experiences with master Henn?"
"Of course." Angele nodded and jumped off the stone pillar.
Vivian waved her right hand and two black rocks rose from the floor. These rocks immediately reformed themselves into two black chairs.
She told Angele to sit down and she started asking questions about everything Angele had gone through over the recent years.
Angele used his own experiences combined with the detailed information on Vivian's son to answer all the questions. He did not speak about the Nightmare Realm and the ancient bloodlines, however, as those were his most guarded secrets. He had never seen his mother of this world upon reincarnating in this world anyway. From the narration of his story, it seemed that Vivian did not find any flaw.
Vivian asked a load of questions that required him to give more details but she still respected Angele's privacy, which helped Angele to dodge several hard questions. Angele did not know the exact age of Vivian, but her social skills were far better than most wizards'.
Time quickly flew by as they continued to talk in the stone room.
Angele almost narrated his entire life story to Vivian but suddenly heard something exploding outside. However, nothing had seemingly happened.
He checked the time through his chip. It was already 2 o'clock in the morning.
"It is quite late already. I think I should leave now," Angele politely said as he stood up.
"You went here all the way from Bass River, right? You can stay and rest here. Follow me and I will find a room for you." Vivian grasped Angele's hand and smiled. "This place is an abandoned ruin of the ancient times which was built beneath the crater. Master Henn found this ruin and transformed it into our secret base. This place is much larger than you expect it to be. There's a laboratory, a garden, and even an ecological zone here. Everything is being powered by heat. The current supplies in the ruin can support more than twenty people at a time."
"Thank you, master Vivian. Is this place truly an ancient ruin?" Angele was curious. "What kind of ruin?"
"Follow me. I'll show you around." Vivian was no longer smiling but she still continued to hold Angele's hand.
They left the stone room together and the stone gate closed by itself.
The two wizards walked to the end of the tunnel and went downstairs. Several times they turned around corners before they arrived at a dark red hallway.
"This is the residential area." Vivian pointed at the hallway. "Do you see the ladders on both sides? Climb up the ladder and you will see a stone door leading to the respective bedroom. Pick whichever you want."
Angele observed the hallway.
There were about 20 red ladders in total and on top of each ladder, there was a dark red stone door with different numbers marked on it.
Vivian then took him to the garden. Countless plants and flowers were inside. Angele could hear birds chirping as soon as Vivian opened the door. The atmosphere was warm and humid. The fragrance of flowers permeated the air. Angele could even see fireflies flying around.
Inside the dark garden, the blue fireflies were moving around like glowing raindrops. Watching such a beautiful scene made Angele feel relaxed.
The ecological zone and laboratory were nothing special. They looked like the ones Angele had back in the Six Ring Area.
Angele returned to the residential area with Vivian after visiting all the areas in the ruin. She left the hallway and headed to the laboratory after asking Angele to pick any room he wanted.
Angele sat in the hallway quietly and made sure that Vivian had left the area. He turned around, and climbing up a random ladder, he opened the stone door.
*KA*
It did not require too much force to open the door and Angele entered the room quickly.
The room was simple but spacious.
Two diamond-shaped glowing rubies brightened up the room and there was a large white bed beside the wall. The red light from the rubies illuminated on the white blanket which almost made it seem like the color pink.
On the other side of the room, there was a table and a black cabinet.
Angele closed the door and locked it right away.
'She's gone.' He changed the mentality frequency and tried to talk to Henn. 'Alright. Henn, you're not resting, are you? What's your real plan? Just tell me.'
'Real plan?' Henn responded right away. 'What real plan? Vivian is preparing the complete soul pattern ritual. She hasn't fully trust you yet and she will ask someone to check your background and validate the information you told her.'
'I'm not sure about this.' Angele knitted his eyebrows.
'Don't worry, kid. I'm the person who knows her the most in this tragic world,' Henn answered. 'And after the ritual, she will believe all the things you said, then you will know what a great decision it was that you made.'
'What rank is Vivian at? You know everything about her, right? I'm having trouble checking her mentality level.' Angele walked to the black cabinet and pulled the drawer open. There were several long robes of varieties inside.
'I don't know how strong she is now, but she had already reached rank 3 when I left. Umm… She should at least a rank 4 wizard now after all those years…' Angele was shocked at Henn's conjecture.
'Rank 4…? Dawn Wizard…' He thought, his expression changing at the same time.
Chapter 296: Accident (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
'A soul pattern ritual done by a rank 4 wizard…I don't think I will comprehend the runes she used. If something unfortunate happens, we will both die.' Angele pursed his lips.
'Don't worry. Nothing will happen.' Henn sounded confident. 'You will pass the ritual with no problems. Vivian will truly treat you as her son by then.'
'What about the rank 2 spell model you have promised me?' Angele asked.
'I will certainly give it to you but transmitting it will cost me a huge amount of energy. I will have to rest for a long time afterward. Are you sure you want it now?' Henn asked.
'Of course. It is a fair trade.' Angele remained calm as he responded in a light tone.
'Alright. I will transmit it to you after you pass the ritual.' Henn stopped talking right after she said this.
Angele walked around the room checking the whole structure quickly. He washed his body with water, then going to his bed, he began to rest.
Over the next successive ten days, Angele patiently waited in the ruins. Finally, Vivian had completely finished all preparations for the ritual.
The magic circle looked like an enhanced version of the one Angele had used in the stone room. He stepped into the circle. The light it produced was still the same yellow and red.
Upon confirming her assumptions, Vivian began to treat Angele much better than before. She even allowed Angele access on the majority of the facilities in the ruin, though she still had her doubts since the entire matter itself was too difficult to believe. This sudden and almost 180-degree turn in Vivian's attitude toward him caused Angele to feel discomfort when he noticed this during the course of the next several days.
Angele was still a stranger to Vivian, so she still talked to the young man in an emotionless tone. But she was treating Angele like her own son at present after the ritual. Angele could feel the expectations she had on him and knew that Vivian was overjoyed. Such was the genuine love of a mother to her son.
Whenever she talked to Angele, Vivian would always wear a gentle smile on her face.
********************************
Five days after the ritual.
Vivian and Angele walked through the tunnel together, their footsteps echoing throughout.
"So, I have shown you the basic facilities in the ruin. Now I will take you to the more dangerous areas. In those areas, there will be mutated beasts roaming and the sulfur content in the air is denser. I would not want you entering those areas accidentally." Vivian led the way in front explaining the situation to Angele.
"I have not completely explored every area yet due to it having too many unknown factors, so remember don't enter the unexplored areas just because you are curious."
"Sure." Angele nodded. If a rank 4 wizard said that those areas were dangerous, he would definitely not test his luck.
Vivian led Angele to the southern area of the ruin where almost every part was restricted.
Angele saw an empty prison and a large black rock inside a special room. These two places had caught his attention.
After showing Angele the restricted areas, Vivian brought him to a large empty room where the wall facing them was covered with black veins and leaves.
A gray human face was surrounded by the veins at the center of the wall, as though these veins were preventing it from awakening.
Angele carefully observed the face and even had Zero scanned it, but he realized that it was only an engraving and no life energy was detected.
"Walls with engravings like this are built using special materials." Vivian smiled. "This wall can absorb any damage dealt by even level-3 spells. You can come here and practice your spells when you have time."
Angele nodded. "Understood, master Vivian."
"You can just call me Vivian, or…" Vivian hesitated. She herself knew it was too early to tell Angele that she was his mother. "Well, you can call me 'sister'."
Angele's expression changed. He knew Vivian would sooner or later tell him about the 'truth' but still, it would be hard for him to call her 'sister'.
Vivian, who noticed Angele's hesitation, waved her hand. She could discern what Angele was thinking. "I'm not forcing you to call me 'sister'. Don't worry too much about it.
"Also, I have a private library here where I put most of my collections inside. You can go read the books if you want to but don't go over your mentality limitations," she added.
"Yes," Angele politely replied.
"Come on, don't be so serious." Vivian rubbed Angele's cheeks and even patted his head several times.
Angele was not used to being treated like a kid. Nevertheless, he did not try to dodge or escape it.
"Learn to smile more but do not force it. Do you know about the wizards' saying, 'Smiling will help loosen up your mood'? Your facial expression will affect your feelings so smiling will cheer you up even when you are feeling depressed," Vivian spoke in a light tone. "That is what I do whenever I am sad…" She stared at Angele seemingly reminiscing about the past.
*CHI*
The noise sounded like a match being ignited.
A blazing green fire bead appeared above Vivian's right shoulder. This almost fist-sized fire bead was slowly spinning, yet Angele could not feel any heat coming from it.
Vivian checked the green fire bead.
"Alright. I must go to the Elemental Hand headquarters now. There is something I need to deal with. Feel free to explore the ruin but do not go to the dangerous areas I have told you about. You can also leave the ruins if you must, but I will be happier if you can spend more time with me." There was an attractive smile on her face.
"Well…sure." Vivian attempted to rub Angele's cheeks once again, but he now tried to escape.
"You are so adorable…" Vivian chuckled. "I have to leave now. Have fun in the ruin."
She turned around and her long robe started scorching. Flames swallowed her body and shrank into a small fireball which then exploded and disappeared into the air.
'Head to the library first. You will find something you need there.' Henn's voice echoed in Angele's ears.
"Sure." Angele turned around and headed to the library.
'Did you see a completely sealed room in the restricted part of the library? If you did, just…' Henn suddenly stopped speaking.
*PA*
Someone tapped on Angele's shoulder from behind.
"Wait! There is one more thing!" Vivian's voice came from behind.
Angele trembled in shock due to him being caught unaware. He quickly turned around and looked at Vivian.
A crystal statuette of a scorpion was being held in her right which she then handed it over to Angele.
"Take it. This is the magic device I promised you." Vivian stopped smiling; her expression became stern. "I do not know why but I think you are being tracked down by an untamed soul. This device will help you hide your mentality wave. The soul is somewhat familiar to me…almost as if it is someone from the Axis of Time. You said you explored the abandoned ruin of the organization, right? Anyway, this magic device will prevent the soul from tracking you down. Members of Axis of Time are all completely deranged. Some of them committed suicide in groups and some even had cannibalistic tendencies. I will do a detailed check on your body later so don't worry."
"Thank you." Angele accepted the crystal scorpion.
"You're very much welcome." Vivian chuckled as she lightly rubbed Angele's cheeks.
*CHI*
Red flames surrounded her once again and she disappeared into the air after turning into a fireball.
Angele looked at the crystal scorpion. A line of sharp spikes was on its back; its entire appearance looked exactly like the soul pattern of Vivian's son.
'Henn, does this thing work on you?' He carefully rubbed the surface of the crystal which was cold and smooth. He could still smell the fragrance of Vivian's body scent from it.
No one responded.
'Henn?' Angele was confused.
He looked at the crystal. After thinking for several seconds, he quickly placed the crystal scorpion on the ground.
'…The statuette…you…throw…it away! Hurry…!" Henn's voice was unclear, and she sounded nervous.
Angele, who had finally understood the current situation, moved ten steps away.
Henn's voice became clear again.
'… Damn it! Damn it!' She cursed several times showing how enraged she was. 'F*ck this thing! This statuette can completely block my connection to you! What on earth has she been doing all these years…?! Where did she find this?!'
'Huh? It works?' Angele narrowed his eyes in curiosity.
'Your soul will be weakened by this item! I advise you not to carry it around with you. Most importantly, it will cut the connection between us.' Henn warned in a cold tone.
'This is a good magic device. I really need it.' Angele walked to the statuette and picked it up. Henn's voice disappeared once again.
'She is definitely lying, ha…' Angele shook his head as he kept the crystal scorpion statuette in his pouch. He turned around and continued to head to the library.
Chapter 297: Accident (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
Henn's presence was increasingly becoming a problem to Angele. He now barely had any time to concoct potions, further study ancient bloodlines, or even enter the Nightmare Realm.
He walked to the library with the crystal scorpion in his pouch. Angele was wondering if there was another way of communicating with Henn. He took out the black he acquired back in White Mist Town and opened it carefully.
Inside the box was the black smoke.
'Green, you little bastard…'
*PA*
Angele closed the box.
Henn's voice disappeared.
He opened the box again.
'Green, are you looking for trouble?!' Henn's hoarse voice echoed in his ears again. 'I already told you this thing will weaken your soul.'
'I know it is harmful to you, but it helps me a lot,' Angele replied in a nonchalant manner. He had already noticed that what Henn was capable of doing to him was limited. 'This is much better as well. I need my own privacy and it is impossible to throw this box away anyway. What do you think?'
'Seriously? You are worrying about your privacy now?' Henn stopped for a second before she continued, 'But you need to promise you will let me access your mentality wave once in a while. There will be a big problem if you don't let me do that.'
'Alright.' Angele did not expect Henn to understand his concern so easily. Thus, he decided to fulfill her request.
He closed the box and took out the magic device. He inspected the device to know how to activate it and quickly found a switch at the end of the scorpion's tail.
Angele tapped on the switch, then he asked Zero to scan the device.
The detailed information of the magic device was immediately transmitted into his brain.
The name of the device was Spike Scorpion. This device could reflect a certain amount of damage. Its main ability was to block invasive mentality waves, soul power, and tracking spells.
He then entered the library. The shelves were protected by energy barriers such that Angele could only check the first two bookshelves with his current mentality level. Majority of the books contained the theories and records of wizards' adventures.
Angele checked some of the books but found nothing important.
He wanted to see if there were any level 2 spell models here.
However, it seemed that level 2 spells were just too weak for Vivian's collection as most of the theories were difficult to comprehend and Angele did not have the required basic knowledge.
He suddenly remembered an enormous red stone inside a room when he was exploring the ruin. The energy wave emanating from it was familiar.
'It might be a world stone,' he thought.
Angele checked the map he had created using the biochip and returned to that room quickly.
He could clearly see what was inside the room through the glass door.
The large red rock was covered in complicated strings and runes. There was a hallway at the other side of the room.
A black door with golden engravings on its surface was located at the end of the hallway.
Angele wanted to observe the world stone but for some strange reason, his eyes were being glued to that door.
He recalled the words Vivian had spoken to him.
"The door looks like an engraving on a huge rock. I think it is just a decoration since it is impossible to open it. Perhaps it was left here by the original owner of the ruin. Do not go to that hallway and do not even try to open the door. I think whatever behind it is dangerous." This was what Vivian told him.
Angele blinked his eyes. He could feel the weakened illusion signet of the great harpy throbbing in excitement, as though the hallway was related to the ancient bloodline in his body.
Vivian had advised him not to enter the hallway due to it having too many unknown factors and it being one of the restricted areas in the ruin.
However, Angele was completely attracted to that hallway and was unable to stop looking at it.
He could sense something familiar from that area.
'Right, it is the same feeling I got when the signet awoke!' Angele finally found the answer.
'I don't know if the weakened signet can still help me enter Nightmare Realm again. This is perhaps my chance.' He stared at the hallway and thought of this.
'Zero, check the energy waves and do a simulation for me.'
'Task created, analyzing…' Zero reported back right away.
Angele pushed the door open and walked to the hallway as blue light dots flashed in front of his eyes.
Several seconds later, a bitter smile appeared on his face.
'Well, it seems I really have to pay it a visit.'
Vivian would definitely not allow him to enter the restricted area once she returned and he assumed that the mysterious energy wave would only be released if he was alone at this place. After all, nothing had happened when he walked past the room while he was with Vivian.
Nightmare Realm was overall dangerous but there were just too many great opportunities. He wanted to enter the realm without losing the signet.
He checked his equipment right after he decided to go. Angele wanted to make sure he could draw the cursed scimitar at the fastest.
He walked straight through the hallway, but nothing happened.
However, the mysterious energy wave was increasingly becoming intense as he continued to approach the door.
As Angele stood right in front of the door, the golden patterns on its surface started to move slowly.
Countless golden runes and strings gathered in the center of the door like a small flowing stream of water.
Angele silently looked at the golden liquid, then he raised his right hand and carefully tapped on the surface of the liquid with his index finger.
*BOOM*
The golden liquid formed into a small fireball and exploded, causing flame sparks to spread everywhere.
************************
Headquarters of Elemental Hand.
Inside a spacious large white hall.
Its floor was as smooth as a mirror and the chandelier it had was luxurious. A large stone table with a shape of an egg noiselessly sat at the center of the hall.
Five wizards sat far from each other around the table.
Vivian's long dark blonde hair draped over her shoulders and the long red robe she was wearing fitted her perfectly. She was sitting on the right side of the table where she had her chin rested on her palm.
"… We survived this time, but our organization is gradually weakening. Everyone knows that." A white-haired and white-bearded old man was reading from a speech script. "We have followed the three orders given by the council and we need to complete our next five goals in the future. We must make sure that the organization will still be attractive enough to recruit new members and we must…"
Due to the speech being way too boring, one middle-aged man among the other meeting participants yawned from boredom.
The old man cleared his throat and looked at the middle-aged man. "Quiet! The meeting is still ongoing."
"Sure, sure…" The middle-aged man nodded.
"Come on, Rocky. You are…" Vivian chuckled but her countenance suddenly changed before she could finish speaking.
"Apologies, Elder Master. Something unfortunate has happened to my laboratory. I must leave now." She immediately stood up and pushed the chair away, graveness apparent on her face.
"How bad is it?" the old man asked in a deep tone.
"Extremely bad."
"Alright, you can leave now."
"Much appreciated." Vivian nodded and turned around. Her body turned into a large ball of fire and vanished into the air.
******************************
Angele nervously looked at the golden fireball in front of him.
It had been formed right after the explosion of the first fireball. At present, it continued to silently float in the air.
Right after he tried to open the door using the illusion signet he possessed, strange runes were transmitted into his brain through his energy waves. However, the door was being guarded by the dangerous golden fireball.
'What the hell is this…?' Angele knew he should have proceeded with caution. He made a mistake by directly touching the liquid.
"Ha…"
Suddenly, he heard someone laughing inside the flame.
Angele immediately retreated several steps.
The fireball immediately flew toward him bringing waves of intense heat.
Angele's fire resistance should already be high, but his skin was being burnt.
*WOO*
The fireball began shrinking and the process repeated multiple times.
"You need to leave now! It is going to explode!" Vivian appeared in front of Angele. "I have told you not to enter the hallway, right? Why didn't you listen to me?!" she shouted in anger.
"Leave now! You are too weak to fight this thing! Damn it!"
Angele did not think that Vivian would come back for him.
"I…" He wanted to explain but doing so would reveal his secret. Angele himself knew how dangerous the fireball was and that it was about to explode, but he thought the flame would not inflict any damage to him. The illusion signet on his left palm was answering the call of the golden fireball. Moreover, he also had the intention of directly touching the flame.
"Leave now!" Vivian shouted and raised her hands to conjure a long flame chain between her palms.
Angele knew he had no time to explain so he began running toward the door of the room.
He heard something explode from behind him as soon as he left the hallway. Golden flame and red flame were clashing against each other. The strange laugh coming from the golden fireball was echoing throughout the whole area.
Angele was blown away by the strong impact of the explosion. He flew away and rolled several times on the floor smashing into the stone wall outside the door.
He soon heard the noises produced by the collapsing walls and his vision became blurry due to the dust.
Angele saw the room where the world stone was in and several other facilities being swallowed by the thick dust.
The explosion must have destroyed multiple rooms.
"I made a mistake." Shaking his head, he sighed as he leaned against the wall.
Chapter 298: Searching (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
The place slowly fell silent within the onslaught of thick dust.
*WOO*
Angele heard the wind howling.
The entirety of the gray dust gathered around toward the center of the room and formed into a solid ball the size of a fist floating above Vivian's right palm.
She lightly squeezed the ball.
*CHI*
The gray ball burst into purple flames which completely illuminated the entire room. The burning dust ball began shrinking until it completely disintegrated in just seconds.
Angele struggled to stand up. The walls in the ruin had been built with special materials. If not for his forcefield and high attributes, he would have been severely injured after the impact.
Vivian walked to Angele quickly.
He knew Vivian was not going to let him touch the golden fireball.
Vivian shook her head as she stared at Angele. The lady was taller than the young man. Her expression was cold, and anger filled her eyes.
"Don't you know how dangerous the situation was?! You would have been burnt to death if I hadn't returned in time!"
Vivian opened her mouth and sighed. She raised her left hand and patted Angele's head as she calmed herself down.
"Don't risk your life like that ever again."
Angele became speechless. He did not want to tell Vivian his secret but that was the only way to explain the situation. The golden fireball had just been destroyed by a rank 4 wizard and Vivian was certain that her 'son' would not be able to deal with it alone.
Angele thought Vivian was going to punish him for that yet the only thing she did was give him a warning. After putting down her hand, she turned around and began to inspect the damages from the explosion.
Angele hesitated for a second before following her.
The hallway was not damaged in the slightest and the door was still there. Everything else, however, was destroyed. The world stone had been broken into several pieces; only about half of it was intact right in the center of the magic circle.
Vivian walked to the world stone sighing. She carefully observed what remained of the world stone, then she looked at Angele. "Angele, you can rest now. We did not lose anything important."
Angele was not sure what he should say as he himself did not expect Vivian to return so soon.
He knew there was nothing else he could do here, so he nodded and returned to the residential area.
Vivian waited until Angele left before walking to the door at the end of the hallway. She slowly rubbed the runes that were engraved on the surface of the door.
"Damn…I spent ten years preparing for the final step and I only needed two more years, but everything is gone now…" She sighed once again.
Vivian had spent ten years collecting materials in order to communicate with the mysterious power on the other side of the door, but never did she expect Angele to ruin it all.
Vivian looked depressed. However, Angele was her only son and she did not want to get mad at him.
"Whatever, as long as he is safe," she muttered. "Let me clean up this place first."
*PA*
With a flick of her fingers, green energy particles started dancing in the air.
*****************************
Angele soon returned to the residential area. Climbing up the ladder, he returned to his room.
He walked to the corner and took out the black box, then he placed it atop the cabinet.
'The world stone has been destroyed. Vivian is going to be sad,' Henn immediately spoke right after the box was opened.
'Why is that? It was probably my fault.' Angele pursed his lips.
'A world stone loses its function once its structure gets damaged. The energy waves it emanates will soon disappear, which means, the world stone is more or less a regular stone now. And did you see the magic circle in that room and the entire rune engravings? That should be at least ten years' worth of effort.' Henn chuckled.
Angele looked at the box. 'Since I did not turn the switch of the crystal scorpion on, it seems you saw the whole process.'
'Yet I still do not know why you went to check that door.' Henn sneered.
'Whatever. Transmit the level 2 spell to me now,' Angele responded in a light tone.
'Not a problem.' There was no hesitation in Henn.
Angele could feel the information being transmitted to his brain through the mentality wave. At the same time, Zero's warning messages were constantly echoing in his ears.
He asked Zero to allow the invasive mentality wave access and soon began accepting the details of the level 2 spell.
There was so much information that Angele felt a bit dizzy.
It took about half an hour for Henn to finish transmitting the information.
Angele soon realized that Henn had transmitted two level 2 spells to him. The first spell was Fire Eye and the second was Pyroblast.
Fire Eye was a tracking spell which was hard to be detected by anyone other than the caster. It could hide in any flame. The current scene, together with the sound, would then be transmitted back to the caster as though the caster was at the same place where the spell was cast.
Pyroblast, on the other hand, was a spell which would conjure an enormous fireball and could be detonated by the caster within a certain amount of time. It was powerful considering that it could deal not only physical but also magical damage. The spell range was decent and the area damage it could deal was high.
'I like what you did to the world stone, ha. The second spell is a bonus for you.' Henn chuckled. 'I modified these two spells myself. You will see the difference once you master the spell models.'
Angele nodded then closed the box after their conversation. He took out the crystal scorpion from the pouch and activated it.
*CHI*
Translucent energy waves released out of the scorpion statuette.
Angele knew it meant Henn would no longer be able to track his activities.
(ED Note: You don't need to worry about exposing your browsing history now, Angele.)
He carefully returned the scorpion into his pouch. Angele then took out a pen and paper and began to check the information about the two level 2 spells Henn had just transmitted to him.
The accident that had happened in the room where the world stone was held was Angele's fault. Vivian lost everything and the efforts she had invested into her project were wasted, yet she did not punish him in the slightest. Vivian had even assured him that it was not a big problem.
However, Angele knew she merely did not want him to feel guilty. He had destroyed Vivian's ten years' worth of effort with but a few minutes. Vivian hadn't killed him only because she thought Angele was truly her son.
The biggest problem lay in the fact that the only thing Angele acquired from the mysterious power was a strange rune and the golden fireball had already been eliminated.
The benefit he obtained could not justify the cost.
Angele finished checking the information. He sighed and sat down by the cabinet.
'The ruin is definitely related to the Great Harpy's bloodline. Vivian will likely monitor my daily life after this incident…'
He stood up and walked to the door, opening it.
Tiny red energy particles were on the edge of the door and were difficult to notice.
Blue light dots flashed in front of Angele's eyes. He recognized the owner of these energy particles.
'It's Vivian's…She left these energy particles here.' He closed the door again.
'Vivian will find out if I ever try to do anything in the restricted areas, I think.' Angele shook his head.
'Let me finish learning those two level 2 spells first.'
***********************
Angele spent most of his time studying and using the biochip to do simulations. He would have meals with Vivian in the dining hall every day. Their meal was simple—white bread, milk, eggs, and some fruits.
Without Zero, Angele would not even know what the current time was in the ruin. Life was repetitive, but he still had gotten a lot of work done.
Angele could still explore the ruin freely after the incident, but he noticed that many of the once-opened tunnels had been sealed in stone walls. It was now nigh impossible for him to head to the restricted areas.
He knew Vivian was trying to protect him from the dangerous areas.
Vivian knew there was only so much Angele could do in the ruin, so she imparted to him many level 2 Fire category spells to study.
Angele stored everything in the database.
His goal initially was to obtain as many level 2 spells as he could, and it should already be time for him to leave. However, Angele detected the remains of the mysterious energy inside the ruin several days after the incident, so he decided to stay here for a bit longer.
***********************
15 days later.
In the dining hall of the ruin.
There was a rectangular brown table at the center of the dining hall.
Angele and Vivian sat opposite to each other silently. The dining table was about ten meters long, yet they were the only ones having dinner.
The hall was being lit by the glowing red crystals on the walls which made the walls seem as though it was filled with dark red lava.
Angele cut the red meat on his plate into pieces and sent one into his mouth with a fork.
The meat was tender, and the garlicky flavor exploded in his mouth.
"What kind of meat is this? It's great." Angele looked at Vivian.
"I'm glad you liked it. It's the sirloin of the fire lizards." Vivian drank white milk from a glass and smiled. "I know you're getting bored in the ruin. You can return to your home if you want to. I won't force you to stay with me. For some reason, there's some strange energy movement in the ruin after the accident…"
She stopped for a second before she continued, "You have your own things to take care of. Ah, you joined Elemental Hand, right? Make sure you do the basic tasks as the rewards are decent for new members. I can also offer you some help since you're my…"
Angele hesitated for a second then he interrupted, "Actually, I didn't see many Elemental Hand wizards when I joined the organization, why is that?"
"You are a new member, so you have not seen anything yet. What did they tell you? The headquarters of Elemental Hand is not just the place you have gone to. The Watch Tower, Wind Canyon, Wanderer's Farm, Golden River, and the council are all part of the organization's headquarters. There are more than one thousand wizards in Elemental Hand, but they live in different areas which is why you did not meet many of them," Vivian explained.
"Well, I actually don't mind a quiet headquarters. I am just curious." Angele shrugged.
Chapter 299: Searching (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
"Yeah. Majority of wizards dislike noisy places since they require a quiet environment for their research and experimentations." Vivian nodded while she sent another piece of meat into her mouth.
Suddenly, a red eye appeared beside her body floating in the air.
It was an eye formed out of flames.
Vivian turned to the eye and checked.
"Someone from the council is here. Come with me. I need to introduce you to the elders of the organization."
"Sure," Angele immediately answered.
Within minutes, they completely finished having their lunch.
Vivian then raised her hands. All plates and silverwares sank into the table and the leftovers gathered into the air and formed a yellow ball. The ball dropped onto the table after several seconds and soon disappeared.
Together they left the dining hall and passed through the tunnels, ultimately reaching a spacious meeting room.
A male and a female wizard, both wearing long black robes, were standing there silently.
Vivian led Angele to his seat and she similarly sat down right away.
"What brings you here?" she asked the two wizards in a light tone.
Both of the two wizards were wearing strange outfits underneath their robes.
The male wizard was wearing a mysterious white mask which had two red squinting eyes, but no mouth or nose painted on it.
"Master Fenrir." The man stepped forward. His voice was deep and hoarse. "I am here to inform you that the registration of your son, Angele, has been completed."
"Master Fenrir." The other spoke as well. She was wearing an asymmetrical bob. "The council elders wanted me to pass some information to you."
"Wait here." Looking at the masked man, Vivian nodded. She then pointed at the female wizard. "Follow me. Angele, you can talk to him if you wish to."
Angele nodded in affirmation and watched them leave the meeting room.
Right after he heard Vivian and the female wizard leave the hallway.
"Take a seat, please." Angele pointed at the chair Vivian had just seated on.
"I'm good, thanks," the masked man politely responded.
"Sure." Angele was not concerned. "I have a question, which city around the headquarters is under the control of the organization?"
"The closest city to the headquarters is Andie City which is famous for its gemstones and crystals. You should pay it a visit if you are interested," the masked man immediately answered.
"You should be from the council considering that you are allowed to enter this ruin, right?" Angele asked. He inspected the masked man through his mentality wave and the biochip but failed to determine the exact stage of the man, which meant that the masked man was stronger than him.
"You are correct."
"Can you tell me more about Elemental Hand?"
"Certainly."
The masked man thought for a while, then he started explaining.
"In Elemental Hand, the lord and the council possess the highest authority. They control most of the cities and facilities within the organization's territory. Your mother, master Fenrir, is the 3rd elder in the council. Although, the situation in the organization is still complicated due to the fight between the lord and the council which lasted for years."
"So you are here merely to…"
Angele stood up after the man declined his offer to sit down, then they continued chatting for a while.
Introducing himself to Angele, the masked man's name was Seilin. He only donned a mask due to his face becoming permanently disfigured during an experiment. Exposure to light would make him suffer.
The female wizard was called Pina, who was the captain of master Vivian's private army.
Blue light dots suddenly flashed on the back of Seilin's right hand when they had finished their conversation.
"Excuse me."
"No worries. Go ahead." Angele, smiling, waved his right hand.
Seilin did not seem to mind Angele's presence as he did not even modify the frequency of his mentality wave in the slightest.
"You do not mind me eavesdropping?" Angele was slightly taken aback.
"It is fine, not a private matter." Seilin shook his head. "It should be the talented newbie from my district."
When he slightly raised his hand, Angele heard a deep voice coming from the communication rune.
"Master Seilin, miss Linda and Omega are both here. Do you wish to see them?" The voice sounded like a girl speaking in a low-pitched tone.
"Omega? They have offended Ray. There is nothing I can do to help them since Ray and I are not friends. They need to figure out a way themselves," Seilin immediately answered.
"The situation is different now. Omega's younger sister has been taken captive by Ray. Linda said that she would come here every day if you do not help them."
"This little kid…he is my daughter's lover but that does not mean I will wipe his ass for him every time." Seilin was a bit speechless. "Alright. Send Ray a message and see what he has to say. I barely know him, so I am uncertain if it will work. Also…"
Seilin, shaking his head, gave the newbie several orders through the communication rune.
Angele quietly waited at the side. It seemed that Seilin was the most powerful man in a certain area. He sounded angry at first, yet he immediately calmed down and he even figured out his future actions quickly, and his plans were cost-effective.
Seilin deactivated the communication rune after everything was done.
"Sorry for the wait."
"It is fine." Angele shook his head. He already realized that Pina and Seilin were not average wizards. Both of them were part of Elemental Hand's core members and both possessed a certain scope of authority within the territory.
They started chatting again.
At present, Seilin had long known that Angele was the most important person to Vivian. Although Angele was weak, he still needed to pay respects. Seilin was overall courteous and acted with elegance over the course of their conversation since he wanted to leave a good first impression to Angele.
Angele noticed that Seilin was not overbearing in terms of his behavior; he did not mind becoming a friend to a person who possessed authority and power. There were many things which he wanted to do in Elemental Hand and he did not want to rely on Vivian too much in the future.
Still, being a son of the 3rd elder was convenient, and he wanted to take advantage of this in order to meet more core members of the organization.
Vivian returned to the meeting room while Angele was still conversing with Seilin. The two wizards departed right away upon bidding farewell.
Angele found an excuse to return to his own room.
He locked the door and checked if the room was safe.
The crystal scorpion provided him an ability to block Henn's invasive mentality wave. When inside his own room, it could additionally help him stay undetected. Vivian had provided him some privacy due to the fact that he had not attempted to enter the restricted areas in the past days.
For safety, Angele decided to meditate in his own room. His Mask of the Black Wing was still stuck at the first stage and he was having troubles progressing. The advanced meditation, albeit slow, was still far better than basic meditation techniques.
If Angele could progress to the next stage, his mentality level would similarly rise as well. His mentality would meet the requirement in the advancement in order to become a rank 2 wizard once he successfully progressed to the second stage of Mask of the Black Wing. This was the advantage of wizards who possessed advanced meditation techniques.
Angele would be alerted by any changes in the mentality wave if anything happened during meditation, but he still needed to ensure the safety of the environment.
He continuously meditated from noon to night. Vivian suddenly left the ruin and left a message to him through the communication rune. She would apparently come back in several days' time and she asked Angele if he needed anything from the city. Vivian then asked Angele to continue to stay in the ruin but not enter any of the restricted areas.
This was the moment Angele had been waiting for.
He had already mastered the level 2 spell Pyroblast. However, this was not at the top of his priorities; he had a different plan in mind.
Angele was certain that the ruin was related to his ancient bloodline. Therefore, he decided to enter the Nightmare Realm at this place to see what would happen.
He needed to do it without being detected by Vivian and Henn. Vivian had left the ruin, and with the help of the crystal scorpion, he could pick any time of his choosing and enter the Nightmare Realm.
However, if he failed to restore the energy of the bloodline during the trip, this would probably be the last time he would enter the Nightmare Realm.
Angele's main goal was to either restore the energy of the Great Harpy ancient bloodline or find a different ancient bloodline.
******************************
It was late at night.
Angele sat on his bed with his legs crossed and eyes closed.
Pink light was being released from the glowing crystals on the walls and the room was deadly silent.
"Alright. This is my last chance." Angele inspected the condition of the crystal scorpion, his potions, and his equipment. He had also successfully stored the level 2 spell in the biochip, so he could instantly cast it if necessary.
A level 2 spell would consume half of his mentality. Although he had yet to test the spell, he believed it was stronger than the Light of Thorns of his other magic device. Angele went through the simulation results multiple times, so he was confident.
He took a deep breath in order to calm down.
Black distorted waves were being released from the illusion signet on his left hand.
The black waves slowly filled up the whole room and vanished into the air.
'I can only explore the realm for half an hour…time is tight.' Angele read the report from the biochip.
The remaining power of the bloodline could only help him stay in the Nightmare for a short duration.
'Whatever, half an hour is good enough. Even if I can't find the bloodline I need here, I can still extract it from harpies. The only problem lies in the evolution of the signet…' Angele shook his head.
He raised his left hand and pointed forward.
*CHI*
Angele disappeared from his bed, leaving no trace behind.
Chapter 300: Exploration and Thoughts (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
*CHI*
Several translucent energy waves appeared on the bed again.
A man sitting cross-legged on the bed gradually emerged as soon as the waves vanished into the air.
Angele slowly opened his eyes, feeling dizzy.
He could see the pink mist floating around in the bedroom.
The place was deafeningly silent. He could no longer hear the noises produced by the lava from the tunnel.
Angele's brow furrowed as he jumped off the bed.
He drew the cursed scimitar slowly and activated the buff, strings of green energy climbed up his wrist.
'The familiar air…and this feeling…it's making me nervous and excited at the same time…' Angele narrowed his eyes. His fear of being in an unknown realm was making his heart pump harder.
Moments like this were the main reason why he enjoyed being a wizard.
The bedroom was quiet and the only thing here was the red mist.
Angele walked to the door and carefully unlocked it.
The bronze handle of the door was hard and cold.
*Creak*
The door was pushed open slowly, revealing the dark red tunnel outside.
Angele did not leave the room right away but waited by the door for a while.
He did not detect any movement outside.
He tapped his pouch slightly and a scorpion-shaped rune appeared on his forehead. Angele then took out the Light of Thorns and held it tight in his left hand.
He jumped out of the door after everything was prepared.
*PA*
He landed on the floor of the tunnel safely.
Angele glanced around. The sight in the tunnel was blurred by the red mist as well.
Upon taking a deep breath, he noticed that the sulfur smell in the air was gone.
*DANG*
A sound like a metal hammer hitting a wall.
'Is it a bell…?' Angele was surprised; he quickly covered his body with a thin layer of metal.
*DANG*
The bell rang again, and the noise echoed throughout the tunnel.
'It's close." Angele followed the direction of the sound and started advancing slowly.
The tunnel would lead him to the other areas of the ruin, but the visibility was very low.
Angele proceeded with caution, as he turned left at a corner and entered another tunnel.
Several seconds later, he found the source of the noise.
On the left side of the tunnel, there was an enormous wooden grandfather clock. The base of the case was red, and the clock was white; such contrast was eye-catching.
The structure of the clock was a bit strange. There was a black hammer hitting a piece of red metal and that was where the noise came from.
Angele stopped by the clock and rubbed the surface of the glass panel feeling that it was cold but smooth.
His eyebrows drew together as he started moving forward again. The mysterious rune he found from the door was guiding him to a certain location.
The rhythmic noise made by the clock was still bothering him after he went past several tunnels.
*DANG DANG DANG DANG*
Suddenly, the noise produced by the clock became intense.
*DANG DANG DANG DANG DANG DANG DANG DANG DANG*
It almost sounded like someone was hitting the metal piece furiously with the hammer.
Angele drew the scimitar and as he turned around, he started running back to the grandfather clock.
*Kata Kata*
His footsteps echoed in the tunnel, and the noise coming from the clock was getting louder and louder. It seemed as if the clock was trying to convey something.
Angele lowered his body and started scanning the area using the biochip.
He was approaching a corner as he lightened his footsteps.
He turned around and rushed to the tunnel where the clock was located.
At that moment, the sound made by the clock disappeared.
The tunnel was silent and empty. He could not find any trace left by the grandfather clock.
Angele exhaled once slowly. What was in front of him was a clean and smooth stone wall.
*CHI KA*
He heard something that sounded like a radio changing its frequency.
"This is Coleman and the Coleman's Last Voice Potion will become the greatest achievement in his life. Father said that I'll become a legend and I'm certain that…"
The strange voice echoed in Angele's ears. He took several steps back as his expression changed.
The voice sounded like a young boy's and it came from nowhere.
"Coleman loves chestnuts. He loves berry juice. He wants to stay in the bed as long as he can…"
The boy's voice changed, and it now sounded cute.
Angele had a serious expression on his face. He sped up even more as the voice seemed to continuously pierce through his brow. It almost like being stabbed by multiple forks in the head.
"Ah…I stabbed my father by accident. He's bleeding. Will he die? It doesn't matter, I can change the body for him and he'll live forever!
"Why do they fear me? I'm so cute. I hate them! I hate those filthy adults!"
The boy's voice slowly quieted down and disappeared as soon as Angele had fled from the tunnel.
He quickly stopped; his face was covered in cold sweat.
The path ahead was dark. When Angele turned his head around, the only thing he could see was pure darkness.
He had no idea where he was at now. The voice of the young boy was killing him, and he could barely think straight. A wizard needed to focus his mind before he could fight back. That was the reason why he escaped the area.
'Zero, show me the map.'
'Checking … Warning �� Warning … Unfamiliar route detected …'
A clean blue map was displayed in front of Angele's left eye labeled as 'Original Ruin Map'.
A red map then appeared in front of his right eye of which he had never seen before.
Angele observed the two maps carefully. The route he had chosen was marked on the red map but the only known area on that one was the residential area.
Furthermore, he noticed that his route on the map was a straight line.
Angele was certain that he turned several times on the way.
He compared the red map to the blue map and realized that they were completely different.
Angele took a deep breath and calmed down. He double-checked the surroundings, but he did not detect any invasive energy wave.
He held the scimitar tight and began to press on once again.
Several minutes later, a painting appeared on the right side. Golden edges, colorful image, and clean frame.
Angele stopped by the painting and looked at it.
He saw a city in the painting. There were two stick men standing in the center of a street. They did not fit the image very well as there was no detail on their faces.
It felt like that the two stick men were drawn by a kid, but the city was drawn by an artist.
Suddenly, the two stick men started moving in Angele's sight.
They held each other's hands and started moving around the city.
"Ah…my sons… Where are you going? Come back… Come back home… Don't leave…"
A gentle female voice echoed in the tunnel which sounded as if she was muttering and singing.
Angele glanced around. The place was empty, and no one was around.
An unpleasant feeling climbed up his back.
He decided to keep advancing. The woman's voice slowly went away.
By the end of the tunnel was a pink bronze door. It was half-open and bright white light was leaking out of it.
He slowly moved to the door and peeked inside.
On the left side of the room, there were two cats playing chess in the corner. White-furred yet instead of paw and leg, they had a muscular human right arm of yellow color.
They were using the human hands to pick up the chess pieces.
The two white cats were focusing on the chessboard, not noticing the wizard outside the door.
Angele used the stealth technique and stepped into the door, moving to the right side.
He did not want to startle the two cats. Angele already knew how dangerous this realm was. He was certain that the danger level of the ruin was higher than his home in the Six Ring Area and back there, he had already nearly experienced death.
Angele was a much stronger wizard than before, but he did not test his luck on those mutated nightmare creatures. The old turtle he met by the river almost petrified him.
The two white cats still focused on the chessboard after Angele entered the room. It seemed the stealth technique worked.
He went across the room safely and found a door. Angele opened the door and entered a hallway.
Angele realized that the area ahead was the spell training facility. The visibility was still low due to the absence of light and the red mist.
He looked to the left and saw a wall covered with black veins. In the center of the wall was an engraving that looked like a woman's face.
Walls with such engravings could absorb a large amount of spell damage and they were great for practicing spells.
Angele walked to the engraving and realized that there was something different.
Suddenly, the black eyes on that woman's face rolled several times then stared at him.
Angele's skull numbed after witnessing what just happened.
"Welcome to the realm, my beloved guest," The woman's face opened her mouth and spoke in the universal ancient language; her voice was high-pitched but hoarse.
"Come closer. Don't be afraid, I won't harm you."
Angele licked his dry lips and stepped forward with the scimitar in his hand.