Chapter 319: Secret Treasure (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
A large campfire was continuously burning beside the river. A group of wizards was seated around it, talking about some things.
Two Watchers had been designated near the shore, patiently waiting for Angele to wake up.
"Master has woken up!" When they noticed the movement of Angele, they immediately sent word to the camp through energy particles.
"Has Lance finished communicating with the Flame Scorpions yet?" Angele stepped out of the river, and with a flick of his finger, the energy particles remove the river water from his body immediately.
"It is done. Lance has been waiting with the scorpions," one of the black robes answered quickly.
"Thanks for guarding the safe zone for me." There was a gentle smile on Angele's face.
"It is our pleasure." The two bowed slightly to Angele. Clearly, they were a tad different from the other wizards he had met.
Once the wizards in the camp were informed of Angele already finishing his meditation, they quickly walked to him, including the wizard called Lance.
"Ask the Flame Scorpions to get ready. I will have them use their flame breath soon," Angele spoke in a calm tone.
"…Understood…" Lance nodded several times.
Angele turned around and returned to the camp as he still needed to do a few preparations.
"Wait! Master wizard! I have something of great importance to tell you. It is about the secret treasure within the mountain!"
Angele narrowed his eyes; Lance's words surprised him.
"Secret treasure?" Angele repeated. "Is this the same treasure we talked about beforehand?" He looked at Hakeem.
Hakeem nodded slightly and started explaining, "Master, the secret treasure within Nash had come from a rumor. It says that there is a garden of elemental fairies somewhere nearby the volcanic river. Many items considered legendary are within the garden. If you can find the entrance to this place, the fairies inhabiting it will gift you one of those items."
"The garden of the elemental fairies…" Angele rubbed his chin. He had indeed heard of this place before.
He raised his head to look at Lance. The man had a neat and handsome face, yet his expression was complicated.
Lance immediately forced a smile after seeing Angele staring at him.
"Master, we have already found the entrance to the garden. Several of my family members have already entered it as well. We are staying here for a while because we are awaiting their return. They are the only people who can take us to the secret treasure.
"Why are you telling me these, then? Do you truly think I will trust you?" Angele felt a tad curious.
"My family is in trouble right now…master. We are not getting the promised share of the mission. The other two families who came with us might acquire the legendary items and used these to annihilate my family after we return to the city." Lance narrowed his eyes. "I would rather give all the treasures to you so that the other two families cannot use the power of the items to fight against us."
"Let me be honest with you. I am not interested in the treasures. Hakeem, why don't you…"
"Master…" Lance's expression soon changed and interrupted Angele from further speaking.
*Pa*
The female captain slapped Lance right in his cheeks. Using so much force, Lance nearly fell to the ground.
"How dare you interrupt the master." Red glows surrounded her eyes.
"It is fine." Angele stopped the captain from hitting Lance again. "Keep going."
The man gritted his teeth, but he quickly calmed down. His right cheek had already turned red.
"Master, the situation is a bit complicated." He decided to communicate with Angele through energy particles. "The garden of the elemental fairies is the last ancient holy ground of the fairies. All living beings that enter the garden will be blessed by the mysterious holy power and will be given legendary items by the fairies as gifts. In reality, the majority of strong wizards only want to search for the garden for the blessing. You might be blessed with a talent ability or a skill of a mutated beast. Rumors also say of being blessed with a great increase in the affinity with the elements. The only problem is, only five people or creatures can stay in the garden at a time. Three members of the families have already entered the garden. Only two more people can go through the gate."
"Interesting. I know about the place but never heard of the blessing." Angele felt no interest in the legendary items, but he was curious about the blessing. A free talent ability or a special skill would help him greatly. Furthermore, if his affinity with energy particles could be increased, it would become much easier for him to infuse his mentality with the elements.
Angele had read about the garden of the elemental fairies from a wizardry book. It said that the elemental spring in the garden could help remove the impurities inside a wizard's body, but it was the first time he heard of a blessing and its special effects.
"All right. I will go check out the garden of the elemental fairies. I want to know what exactly the blessing is." Angele narrowed his eyes and made up his mind.
"Lyn, tell the Watchers to prepare." He turned to the female captain called Lyn. "And make sure Lance is not lying. He will be the one to show us the way."
"Yes, master," Lyn nodded and quickly responded.
"Good. Let us deal with those Flame Scorpions first. It is important." Angele walked to the scorpions that were still in captive.
They had not eaten for three days but looked the same as before nevertheless.
Lance followed Angele and communicated with the Flame Scorpions. The scorpions nodded after listening to his words.
"It is done, master" the man respectfully said.
Angele nodded. Soon, the scorpions formed an encirclement around him and they started releasing flame breaths one by one.
*BAM*
The green flame from the first scorpion struck Angele's body with great intensity.
However, the flame breath of Flame Scorpions could only deal about ten degrees of damage, so it was nothing to Angele.
He deactivated his Metal Mastery forcefield and let the green flames brush over his body. Angele slowly closed his eyes and began his meditation in order to comprehend the runes of the second stage of Molten Core River.
Angele must decide on the form of his second body upon the start of meditation in the second stage.
Beginning from the second stage of Molten Core River, Angele must create his second body using pure energy or physical materials. He could modify the shape and property of the body however he wanted but the difficulty and requirements varied depending on the shape and property. Moreover, the power of the final form was decided by multiple factors.
This was the special ability granted by the advanced meditation technique, Molten Core River.
The second body Angele would create would grow stronger as he continued to progress further.
The red bird controlled by the female captain was her second body. Her soul could still survive in the second body even if she lost her physical form. The only way to kill her was to destroy both her second body and her physical body. She might survive if she turned herself into her soul form or her pure energy form, but her strength would tremendously wane.
Angele needed to decide on the property and shape of his second body. This incredibly strong special ability was what made the Molten Core River famous.
The only problem was if Angele was not strong enough, he would not be able to gain full control of the second body. Once it was so, the creation of his second body would depend not on him but on its own devices.
Time passed.
Thunder continued to rumble in the sky as lightning ceaselessly struck the land.
Rain finally descended from the clouds. Several minutes later, it turned into a horrifying downpour.
Hakeem pointed at the wall of the deep pit immediately and created a large cave.
Two Watchers stayed beside Angele to keep guard, while the rest of the group entered the cave to avoid the rain.
Angele sat in the center of the Flame Scorpions' encirclement, his body being surrounded by green flames.
The flames did not touch his skin directly, as they were being blocked by a distorted energy barrier several centimeters away from his body.
Miniscule specks of green light separated from the flames, slowly being absorbed by Angele.
About ten minutes later, the energy of all the Flame Scorpions was completely spent, causing them to faint.
Lance patiently waited for Angele to finish his meditation at the side.
A crimson rune suddenly appeared on Angele's forehead then disappeared after several seconds.
*WOO*
The translucent energy barrier disappeared and all the green flames were absorbed by his body.
Zero's mechanical voice echoed in his ears.
'2nd stage of Molten Core River mastered. Mentality increasing…'
'Checking…Mentality increased to 91.7.'
Zero's report woke Angele from his meditation. Angele's limbs had become numb; such feeling was quite strange.
'That's it?' Angele found it hard to believe. The progress was so smooth that he did not even feel the excitement of mastering the second stage.
Once again, this was the advantage of the wizards inhabiting the central continent.
'Have you finished the analysis for the third stage yet?' he asked.
'Estimated time for complete analysis: 73 hours, 21 minutes.' Angele felt a slight disappointment about Zero's response. He could feel his resistance vastly increased and he could now manipulate fire far better than before.
In his mind, while meditating, there was a hazy image of the second body, but he was not certain what it looked like.
It seemed that the second body would depend on itself to find the most suitable form for Angele, as he was not strong enough to form it himself.
According to the explanation recorded in the book, the second body's form and property would be influenced by its owner's characteristics, desire, body strength, and mentality.
However, Angele must first master the third or fourth stage in order for him to control his second body.
He was not particularly worried about his progression on the Molten Core River due to the assistance coming from Zero.
Angele stood up heading to the cave with the two Watchers and Lance.
"Master."
"Glad to see you back."
Hakeem and Lyn were meditating but when they noticed Angele's presence, they greeted him immediately.
"Thanks. Have some rest. My task was finished earlier than I thought it would be. We can go check the secret treasure out tomorrow." Angele smiled. "What do you think?"
"As you wish, master." Hakeem chuckled.
Liv nodded slightly and responded in a cold tone, "Certainly." She had never shown Angele respect due to her special position in the Watchers.
Chapter 320: Confrontation (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
The next day.
The mud around the volcanic river had already become soft and wet due to the heavy downpour of rain.
The trees on the other mountain were swaying slowly in the chilling wind.
Inside the forest, there was a large gray tent set up on an empty ground between the trees.
Several people wearing tight white clothes were adding wood into the campfire at the side and were rotating a metal skewer over the fire carefully. The fragrance of meat being roasted permeated the air.
It was still early in the morning during sunrise. White mist was all around the surroundings.
The opening of the tent was opened by an old man that had a long, white hair and had a cold expression on his face.
He wore white clothes befitting that of a swordsman with a short black dagger tied to his belt.
Two of the people beside the campfire immediately approached the old man.
"Elder Gill, we lost another member of our family yesterday," the woman on the left reported.
"When did it happen?" Gill narrowed his eyes.
"I have already sent out our sentries. Lance went to the volcanic river several days ago but never came back," the woman immediately replied.
"The volcanic river…" Gill's expression turned serious. Before he could say anything else, he detected movements from the shrubs and bushes in front of him.
A man adorned with a red leather armor stepped out of it with a silver scimitar in his hand.
The man had a blank expression on his face.
"You are of the Spenders', right? We need to decide on who to send to the garden. My master wants to see you at the peak of the mountain before noon." The man was glancing around.
Elder Gill pursed his lips; he was about to say something.
However, he was stopped by two other elders who had just stepped out of the tent.
Gill's face turned red and he started panting out of complete rage.
The people nearby the campfire were not satisfied with the way the elders were dealing with the situation, and they looked a tad nervous.
One of the elders calmed down and stepped forward.
"Please tell master Loffy that we will be there on time," he replied with a loud voice.
"Good. It seems your eyes haven't been clouded by fury yet." The man nodded slightly. "I will bring your message to master Loffy." He turned around, and jumping into the shrubs and bushes, he disappeared.
*BAM*
A deep crevice appeared on the empty ground beside the tent. It had been caused by an explosion of pure energy.
Elder Gill then lowered his hand. He was absolutely infuriated that he had to find a way to vent out his rage.
"They have already obtained a slot and they want to take other as well! These bastards…"
"Our opponent is the firstborn heir of the Blue Eagle Nest…They are far more powerful than us…" The elder beside him on the left side sighed with mixed emotions. "In the last battle, we lost several of our family members, two of whom are elders, and many were injured…We are the weakest of the three families now…"
"Master Karl is right. We need to calm down. They will try to annihilate our entire family if anything were to happen during the meeting. Master Kita is still inside the garden, so we still have hope." The elder on the right side nodded slightly.
"Yes." Karl bit his lips and sighed again. "Our main priority is to make sure that Kita remains safe when he departs from the garden. Although the relationship between family leaders is bad, still, as the firstborn heir, Kita knows the other heirs of other families quite well. This might be our chance."
Gill breathed deeply and finally calmed down after several minutes. "All right. I know what we should do. We were given two slots, but the Blue Eagle Nest has ignored the rules specified in the contract. Anyway, we should head to the meeting now. I want to see what they are planning."
"We only need to protect Kita and wait until it ends." Karl nodded. "Let's go."
Gill raised his right hand and pointed at the peak of the mountain.
The family members started preparing for the short trip right away.
*****************************
*PA*
The muddy soil was covered by a thick layer of dried leaves. Black, muddy water was oozing out as Angele continued to walk on them.
He didn't seem to mind the mud on his boots as he just kept on walking.
The paths between the trees had all been covered with black leaves, making them almost looked like rough carpets.
Angele was positioned in the middle of the group while traveling along the narrow path between the dark green trees. From afar, they looked like ants moving along a long, black carpet.
The man called Lance Spender was the one leading the way.
"We are almost there. It is on top of this mountain." Lance felt slightly worried that Angele would kill him after reaching their destination.
Angele was not even paying attention to Lance but was just checking the surroundings constantly. Hakeem and Lyn followed behind him, while Liv was casually reading a book at the back of their group.
"I like the environment here." When Angele inhaled deeply, he did not smell even a hint of sulfur in the air, so it was actually quite refreshing.
"Master, the plantation in this place purify the air. That is the reason why you do not smell the sulfur," Lance, who was ahead leading the group, quickly explained.
"Is that so?" Angele looked at the brown grass beneath the trees. "How did you discover the location of the garden? I'm curious."
"I shall explain the situation to you right now." Lance slowed down his walking pace a bit and walked beside Angele. "There are three major families in the city beside the mountains but the relationship between the three is bad. However, the firstborn heir of our family, master Kita, is not affected by this issue. He knows their heirs of the other families quite well and they usually hold dinner parties on the peak of the mountains. About half a year ago, they discovered the elemental fairies' garden by accident and entered the place together. Our families thought they were lost so we sent multiple rescue teams to the mountains but what they found was the gate to the garden. The mysterious engravings around the garden were what helped us identify that it was the elemental fairies' garden from the tale."
Lance stopped for a second and continued, "Sorry, I forgot to mention that the other two families are called the Philip Family and the Morgan Family. The situation between the families is complicated. The family elders decided to fight for the right of entry into the garden but later realized they could not open the gate and had to wait for the heirs of the three families to come out first. Hence, they agreed to a temporary ceasefire and the elders started investigating the gate. However…"
"However, what?" Angele's brow furrowed in curiosity. "Just tell me everything."
"Someone else joined the fray…" There was a bitter smile on Lance's face.
*****************************
Atop the peak of the mountain.
Three groups of people were standing in front of an arched door that looked like a silver mirror.
The door's surface reflected the cloudy gray sky. There was nothing else behind the door which was only standing on top of a boulder.
On the opposite side of the three families, there was another group of people of which were wearing long, blue robes and leather dresses.
There were about twenty of them, also separated into three groups, protecting a wooden chair located in the center.
A handsome man was seated on the chair, whose ears looked like a pair of gray wings.
It was still dark outside; there were thick clouds floating above the mountain.
The man supported his chin with his right hand. With a gentle smile on his face, he surveyed the members of the three families. The feathers on his ears were swaying in the wind.
"So, everyone is here now?" He slowly stood up. "Let us decide on who will take the last slot to the garden, then."
Members of the Spender family all wore white clothing and the three family elders stood in front.
The Morgans all wore light yellow clothing and were led by five family elders.
Members of the Philip family also wore white clothing but were led by three old men and one young man. The right arm of one of the old men had been twisted to a strange angle; it seemed he was injured.
The man's expression soon changed when he heard and saw no one responding to him.
"Well, if you do not have anything to say, I will just make the decision myself. We should decide on who the last one will be to enter the garden through a duel. The winner will earn the final slot for their family. What do you think? Wait, one more thing. Do not overestimate yourselves. It is fine to step down when you know your opponents are much stronger than you. Ha."
Still, the man's words did not change their current conundrum.
The family representatives all knew that winning the competition did not matter that much. What they desired were the rare materials and resources that could be found in the garden. The amount they could obtain could easily support a large organization or family for years and were much more valuable than the blessing of the garden.
This was the main reason why the three families did not want to compromise.
The Spender Family was the weakest of the three, and the man was telling them to quit.
"We are fine with that."
"Yeah, let us just start the competition."
The representatives belonging to both the Philip Family and Morgan Family agreed with the man's decision.
Spender Family's elder, Gill, was looking at a bald old man who was in front of the members of the Morgan Family.
"Christopher, are you really going to do this?" he questioned in a grave tone.
The bald man called Christopher sneered but did not say anything. He only turned his head to the man seated on the chair.
Gill shook his head and looked over at the Philips. The young woman in front had a blank expression and did not make any eye contact with him.
Chapter 321: Confrontation (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
Gill took a deep breath.
"All right then. Spender Family will no longer take part," he spoke in a loud voice while attempting to remain calm. "Let's go!"
"Wait, you must stay here until the end of the competition," the man seated on the chair suddenly said.
"You!" Gill became enraged and his face turned red.
"He is right. The garden's location is a secret. We do not trust you. You should just wait here." Christopher, Morgan Family's head, nodded slightly.
"Ha…When we first arrived at this gate, the Spender Family was the strongest family yet now they are the weakest…You should at least stand up for Kita's sake, considering how he is still inside the garden." An elder who belonged to the Philip Family sneered while shaking his head. "What a joke."
Members of the Spender Family had been utterly enraged due to those words. Some of them even had already placed their hands on their weapons, all at the ready.
The man seated on the chair curled his lips into a smile. He had immediately brought his subordinates in this place after learning the information on the garden. They had ambushed the two strongest elders of the Spender Family and murdered them, which was the reason for the Spenders' sudden plunge in battle capability.
He would have taken everything from the garden himself if not for him feeling uncertain of his chances of winning a battle against the entire three families. What he did not know, however, was the three families had never once thought of uniting due to their terrible relationship with each other.
The atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense.
The Spender Family was in a tough position. They wanted to depart but Unos, of the Blue Eagle Nest, and the other two families would not let them do so.
Although the Spenders seemed to have started cooperating now, the rest knew their priority was to guarantee that Kita could safely leave the garden and that they did not want to initiate a fight.
"Come on…We can let the Spender Family leave once their family heir leaves the garden. What do you think?" A woman who had long, black hair and was standing beside Unos said.
No one reacted to her suggestion. The other two families knew they could not win a fight against the Blue Eagle Nest once the Spender Family left.
Gill's plan was to avoid any battle then come back once the other two families' power was weakened. After all, he needed an assurance that his family could still survive once they returned to the city.
The current situation had reached a conundrum.
But suddenly, they heard intense footsteps which seemed to belong to people hiking to the mountaintop.
The members of the Spender Family looked happy. Since the situation was currently against the odds, to them, any form of outside interference was a necessity in order to disturb the balance.
The other two families, and Unos, were dissatisfied about such changes.
Unos' expression changed, and with a flick of his finger, his voice soon became louder and more powerful due to the influence of energy particles.
"We are having a meeting on the mountain's peak. I am Unos of the Blue Eagle Nest. Strangers, please leave the mountain immediately!"
Unos' voice echoed throughout as he glared toward the narrow path between the dark green trees.
"Watch your filthy mouth, you are addressing the representatives of THE Elemental Hand!" a cold voice belonging to a female retorted.
The family heads and Unos exchanged eye contact with each other upon listening to these words. They were uncertain on how to react to that.
"The Elemental Hand…We are in trouble."
"How did they find this place…?"
"One of the most powerful organizations in the region of Tarry River, ha, now that's interesting." Gill's expression loosened.
Several minutes later, a group of black-robed and red-robed men and women arrived at the peak led by a black-robed female who wore a face devoid of any expression, her eyes glowed in red. In reality, though, she did not expect to see so many people competing for the opportunity to enter the gate.
"I have already told you who you're dealing with, yet it seems you do not even care…I will…"
"Calm down, Lyn. This is a public place, and they came here before us," a gentle voice belonging to a man interrupted.
When Unos listened to the voice, he looked at a brown-haired man stand behind the female wizard. The man was clothed with a long, black robe. Him being in the safest position of the formation indicated him as the leader of this group.
The man had an average face but his overall appearance was eye-catching. A pink glow surrounded his eyes and a silver glint on his skin.
It was Angele; they had finally reached the mountain's peak.
"We are members of Elemental Hand, here for the garden's secret treasure. We will not harm you as long as you do not attempt anything stupid." There was a gentle smile on Angele's face.
His words were easily understood. Elemental Hand was a far more powerful organization compared to Blue Eagle Nest and the three families. With such authority and power, they should be the ones to take possession of the treasure.
"Elemental Hand…they cannot just come here and steal the treasure right from under our noses." There was a serious expression on Unos' face.
"Master, that is how Elemental Hand often deals with things. I think we should…" An aged female wizard communicated with Unos through energy particles.
"That is unacceptable! We have put so much effort into our plan. It's too late for us to step down. Through the garden's blessing, I will get promoted!" Narrowing his eyes, Unos replied through energy particles.
Angele stepped forward and stood in front of his group looking at the leaders of the three families and Blue Eagle Nest.
He expected them to recall their forces upon hearing the name of the organization, but it did not occur. The fairy garden's value was too high that they would not even mind stirring a conflict with Elemental Hand.
"It seems you did not clearly hear my master's words. Do not overestimate yourselves, or else you will regret your decision." Hakeem himself stepped up as well. "Master, it is pointless to try to negotiate with them. Let's just make an example out of them. If you can win against us, we will give you a share of the secret treasure."
Hakeem complied with the plan and spoke the words Angele told him to.
"While it is true that Blue Eagle Nest is a weaker organization than Elemental Hand," Unos inhaled sharply to calm himself down. "we are the ones who discovered the gate to the secret garden first, and some of our members are still inside. We can negotiate once they come out. What do you think?"
Hakeem was about to say something else but was held back by Angele.
Angele was not afraid of a fight, but if the three families decided to join forces with Blue Eagle Nest, it might pose a problem.
"Let me be honest with you. I am not interested in that so-called secret treasure. I just want to see the Fairy's Spring. You see, we are just a small group. It is impossible for us to take all the treasures away."
The formerly tense atmosphere eased up a bit after Angele finished speaking. However, he was unsure whether the family heads would trust him or not.
Angele was not lying in the slightest; the only thing he wanted was the secret garden's blessing and its Fairy's Spring. Although, he had doubts about whether the secret treasure could actually help him progress faster.
However, those people whose allegiance lay in Blue Eagle Nest were not happy with it. Their plan would go into shambles if he was only after the blessing.
Unos' cold gaze fell on Angele, and he was communicating with the old female wizard behind him through energy particles.
"Have you finished inspecting them?"
"Nearly done. They have three rank 2 wizards and several rank 1 Crystal stage wizards. Their leader is just a rank 1 wizard, interesting. Based on their eyes, they should be training in the Molten Core River," the aged female wizard replied.
There was a translucent crystal orb on right palm, glowing.
Unos thought for a while and made up his mind. "The three rank 2s are the biggest threat to us…Training in Molten Core River indicates that they are part of the Watchers and are all elite, seasoned fighters. Garcia, make arrangements for your team to ambush the three rank 2s. Command the rest to eliminate the rank 1s. Their leader must be an important entity to Elemental Hand. I will capture him myself," he passed this message through energy particles.
"But we need to inform the division leader first…" the woman who had long black hair interrupted.
"Do not worry about the division leader. Our headquarters is not within Tarry River, so it will not be a big problem if we can retreat after winning the fight," Unos coldly replied. "Use the secret strategy and separate their forces. It will be an easy fight."
"Master, you have only advanced to rank 2 not too long ago. I think you will need my help…" the woman advised.
"Their leader is merely a rank 1 wizard at the Crystal stage. We have already set the magic matrix. I don't think there will be a problem." While glaring at Angele, Unos shook his head.
Angele turned to the side and smiled after noticing Unos' line of sight focus on him
"Start the ambush once the gate opens. Watch out for my hand gesture." Unos pursed his lips.
"Understood," his subordinates immediately replied.
******************************************
Lance had arrived with the Elemental Hand's members at the mountain's peak. Nevertheless, he complied with Angele's order to return to his own family right away.
The words Angele had said flipped the entire situation. The three families would no longer be in a conflict with Elemental Hand.
"And I agree with the point you have raised. We should start the negotiation only after the gate opens." His lips curled into a smile. "Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Angele."
Once the elder of the Spender Family, Gill, heard him introducing himself, he quickly stepped up to exchange introductions as a courtesy.
"I am one of the elders of the Spender Family, my name is Gill. You are certainly correct, master Angele. We should wait together for the gate to open. Since it is an ancient ruin, there might be guardians. We must combine our strengths to prepare for any possible encounter," Gill spoke loudly. Meanwhile, the one who brought Angele to this place, Lance, was standing behind Gill.
Christopher, the head of the Morgan Family, forced a smile on his face. "As long as you are not here to deprive everything from us, I shall be on your side."
The female head of the Philips' slightly nodded her head. Clearly, she agreed with Angele's point as well. Just like the rest of her family, she was not that talkative.
The mountains they were in were within the territory of Elemental Hand. Even high-ranked wizards must answer the call to the organization's guard posts. According to the intelligence report sent by the headquarters, the ranks of all the wizards in front of the secret garden's gate were below rank 3.
The family elders, Liv, Hakeem, Lyn, and Unos—all of them were rank 2 wizards.
The only problem was, wizards who trained in the Molten Core River could be easily recognized. Everyone knew of the fact that only the Watchers had the access to this advanced meditation technique. Vivian had defeated the lords and the storm giant right in front of Thousand Waterfall City alongside her Watchers. People would think twice before trying to mess with such a powerful force.
Members of the Watchers were trained to kill. Majority of them had served in multiple wars. Average wizards stood no chance in the face of their great strength.
Chapter 322: Revealing (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
No one would want to mess with the Elemental Hand, including the Blue Eagle Nest.
Angele glanced around. "It seems you are fine with my plan. Let's wait for those who have already entered the garden to come out and ask them a few questions first. What do you think?"
"I'm fine with that. We also need to set up barriers and patrols around the mountain so that no more strangers will come here and demand a portion of the treasure from us." Unos pursed his lips and looked at Angele.
Angele gently smiled, not even bothered by everyone else's thoughts regarding his proposal.
However, Lyn was unhappy with what Unos said.
"Master, if we must fight for the treasure, leave that man called Unos to me. I am going to cut his tongue off…"
"Calm down, Lyn." Angele tapped on Lyn's right shoulder and stopped her from continuing.
Lyn was a team captain of the Watchers, and Angele liked her more than Liv. Her face was pretty, her body well-toned. She was also powerful, and never questioned Angele's decisions.
It seemed Lyn had the intention to become his servant.
Angele glanced at the members of the three families.
They must have thought Angele was a member of the Watchers, yet no one knew that he was actually the third elder's son.
"Good idea. We do not want any strangers here. I agree." Angele raised his voice.
"We agree, too!" The Spender Family's elder voiced out his agreement as well. To Gill, who was like a drowning man that would clutch at anything to survive, Angele was like a life-saving straw.
The heads of the other two families made eye contact with each other.
"The Philip Family concurs with such plan."
"The Morgan Family will comply as well."
The two other heads voiced out their decision.
"All right, let us send our respective patrols then," Unos advised.
Each of the forces picked several of their respective members to patrol the surrounding area of the mountain.
While the rest of them patiently waited for the gate to open.
Time flew quickly, and it was already late in the afternoon. The sky was becoming dark, and the frigid winds became much stronger than before.
Angele asked his group to build a wooden shelter on the mountaintop.
Several people had done so while the others were preparing for dinner. Liv and Angele had built several stone chairs by themselves, and already sat down and started meditating.
The three families similarly decided to do the same after witnessing Angele's prior actions.
Unos was still seated in his chair. His group's position was slightly awkward. Although they were the closest to the gate, there were a lot of boulders scattered around the area they were at.
He sent several of his subordinates to prepare the ingredients for dinner upon realizing the lack of space for them to build their own wooden shelter. After he thought for a while, Unos decided to build a campfire and focus on cooking for now.
Angele never bothered himself with what everyone else thought. At the mountaintop, they had the largest wooden shelter and the cooking ingredients of the highest quality. This made them look as if they were not here for the treasure but here to merely go camping.
He continued to silently stay seated on the stone chair and meditate. As he had already formulated a plan in his mind, there was nothing to worry about.
***************************
Five days later.
The gate to the secret garden still remained closed. The three families, Unos, and Angele himself tried to open it yet none succeeded in such endeavor. Spells, magic circles, and enchanted items—nothing worked.
The mirror-like gate remained tightly shut, so they had to wait for the heirs of the three families to come out.
The three families and Angele built several wooden shelters on a smaller scale during these recent days but on the contrary, Unos still had yet to build one.
The secret garden's gate finally began to show changes in the afternoon.
The gate's mirror-like surface turned from achromatic to light purple, immediately catching everyone's attention.
Angele was sitting in his chair staring at the purple gate curiously.
"It is almost over, I guess. They will leave the garden soon. Stay alert everyone." Angele narrowed his eyes.
"We waited five days for this!" Hakeem laughed. "But before that, we should drive the Blue Eagle Nest out. They are way too close to the gate."
Angele shook his head. "It is fine. According to the information provided by Lance, they must channel a special spell before they could enter through the gate. We can easily interrupt it and once the spell casting is stopped, they will suffer heavy injuries due to the backlash. I don't think Unos knows about the repercussions."
"They may have a different method of dealing with the gate." Lyn pursed her lips.
"Out of the question. The gate's structure is complicated. The ancient barrier's strength is beyond your expectations. You will know once you see it." Angele shook his head slightly. "All right, watch the gate. It will be opened soon!"
"Yes, master!"
The group of Watchers responded all at the same time and walked out of the wooden shelter altogether.
Angele was going through Zero's report as he continued to gaze at the gate.
The third stage of Molten Core River had already been analyzed. If he could completely master it, he would then advance to becoming a rank 2 wizard.
There were two requirements in the third stage of the advanced meditation technique.
First, he must have a rich source of Fire energy particles that would assist in the building of his second body's core. The fire source's magnitude and quality would determine the strength of his second body. Vivian had already taken care of it for him.
Second, he must engrave the complicated magic circle provided by the Molten Core River technique on his mentality crystal and use it to aid in his progress as a wizard.
'The first requirement is not a problem but the second…' Angele frowned. 'The magic circle must be engraved on my mentality crystal, which means I will have to give up one Talent Spell. I wonder how the Watchers solve this issue. Vivian never told me anything about this.'
Lyn, Hakeem, and Liv were wizards who had fully mastered the third stage of Molten Core River, which meant they had also encountered this similar issue. Angele was thinking of finding a plausible solution from them.
He made up his mind, activating a red 'Z'-shaped communication rune. Within seconds, he had already sent out a message.
A blanket was being used as a door to their wooden shelter. People would not be able to see the situation from outside, but Angele could peek outside through the gaps.
Several minutes later, Lyn pulled the blanket to the side and entered the shelter in a courteous manner.
"Master, you wish to talk to me?"
Angele nodded. "I have a question regarding the third stage of Molten Core River. It is what every member of the Watchers trains in, right?"
"Yes, what question?" Lyn bowed in respect.
"I was checking the book and found one thing that bothers me. It seems I have to engrave the technique's magic circle on my mentality crystal which means I will have to give up the next Talent Spell, right? I want to know how everyone deals with this issue." Angele had gone straight to the point.
As though Lyn was not surprised at Angele's rapid progression, she calmly and unconcernedly answered his question, "Actually, it is not only Molten Core River. All advanced meditation techniques will take one of your Talent Spell slots. Don't worry, though, the magic circle has a special effect that is stronger than the majority of average Talent Spells in terms of offensive and defensive capability. You certainly will not be disappointed."
"Huh?" Angele was flabbergasted. "All advanced meditation techniques will take one Talent Spell slot?" He did not find such a requirement in the Mask of the Black Wing technique.
"Yes." Lyn confidently nodded. "It is something you will have to live with. Advanced meditation techniques aid you in ranking up, and you will have to give up one slot for the Talent Spell. Wait…actually, I have heard that the legendary advanced meditation techniques do not require engraving a magic circle but…"
"Is that so?" Angele's countenance changed. "But the third stage of Molten Core River only requires you to engrave the magic circle on your mentality crystal, right? Why is it so easy?"
"Easy?!" Lyn stopped speaking for a moment, seemingly confounded. "You will know just how difficult it is once you start trying to engrave it on your mentality crystal. You also need a core rich in Fire energy particles. Cores like that are difficult to find."
"I have heard about that from Liv. Wizards who trained in the Molten Core River technique usually use a Fire Earth Stone as the core of their second body, right?" Angele raised this question.
"That is correct." Lyn nodded. "I can demonstrate it to you now."
"Much appreciated." Angele smiled.
Lyn bowed slightly and took two steps behind.
Standing beside the shelter's entrance, she started drawing lines in the air.
Lines of glowing red energy particles remained in the air as her finger continued to move.
*CHI*
Several seconds later, a magic circle appeared in front of Lyn, near her feet, and released a ray of crimson light, connecting the lines that had been drawn using energy particles together. It formed a three-dimensional magic circle with crimson runes spinning around it.
Suddenly, all the crimson runes gathered to between Lyn's hands, like water flowing, and a crimson ball of light was formed in the air.
The ball of light looked like molten lava covered with cracks and golden liquid flowing between the gaps.
When Angele stood up, he could feel the intense heatwaves coming to his face. In fact, some of the leftover pieces of wood around the corner were blown into the air.
These leftover pieces were ignited and burnt into black ash when it fell to the ground.
The heatwaves were still being released at every angle from the lava ball on Lyn's palms.
"Master, this is the ability you would acquire from the magic circle. All wizards who mastered the third stage gain this ability. The shape, strength, and features of the second bodies might be different but the only way to determine their actual power level is to check how many stages they have already mastered. The power difference between each stage is tremendous."
"Interesting, that should be the reason wizards who train in the Molten Core River technique could easily be recognized…Is the situation similar to other advanced meditation techniques?" Angele continued to ask questions.
Chapter 323: Revealing (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: Leo
"Indeed." Lyn nodded. "The earlier you start training in an advanced meditation technique, the more eminent the technique's features will be to others. The lava ball on my palm is of the ability I acquired when I completely mastered the third stage and is called 'Lava Rain'. Once I throw this ball in the location I designate and make it explode, it will then cause the descent of a rain of lava—it is great for large-scale wars. The power of this ability is dependent on the caster's mentality level. If the caster has high enough mentality, then they can even double or triple this ability's base damage."
Lyn explained as the lava ball disappeared from her hands. "And there is one benefit to it. You do not have to search for the best spell you can obtain when you rank up."
"Sounds good." Angele nodded. "That should be the reason wizard organizations in the central continent were founded with complete copies of advanced meditation techniques."
"With the assistance of an advanced meditation technique, we can easily cast spells that suit our rank. It is every wizard's dream," Lyn added.
She stopped for a second and continued, "You can use it to improve your Talent Spells, too—just focus on manipulating the energy flow. This is the method the majority of wizards would choose. Simply speaking, you can instantly cast multiple Talent Spells while your opponent is still preparing to cast their first spell. This sounds too simple, but it is truly effective in certain situations."
"All right, I understand." There were blue dots of light flickering in front of Angele's eyes. "Thank you for the detailed explanation. You may leave now. I will find the method most suitable for me."
"Very well." Bowing slightly, Lyn stepped out of the wooden shelter.
Angele, who remained alone inside, then took out a small red box from his pouch.
It was a half-moon-shaped wooden box with silver engravings on its surface.
*PA*
Angele opened the box which revealed a blackish red stone inside. It had a smooth texture similar to that of a jade stone.
He took it out and carefully inspected it several times.
'So this is an Earth Fire Stone. Zero, inspect its energy structure,' he ordered.
A glowing light with the shade of blue surrounded Angele's eyes and illuminated on the stone in the box. It took about ten seconds for the biochip to finish the process.
Angele felt a tad surprised after seeing the result.
'It is actually a high-quality fire energy stone perfectly suitable for the Molten Core River technique…A stone like this can absorb Fire energy particles and store up to 100 degrees of energy. Vivian gave me the best material she had…'
'An Earth Fire Stone like this one is the perfect for wizards training in the Molten Core River technique. There is no longer a point in me trying to search for substitutes.' Angele was satisfied with the stone Vivian had gifted him and even felt relieved at the thought of not having to prepare anything for the third stage.
Although the power of this special ability would be akin to that of the other wizards who similarly trained in the Molten Core River technique, his main offensive skill remained to be the signet from the ancient bloodline. The power of the bloodline signet only lay in the source of the bloodline; his wizardry rank did not matter. The only difference it could make was that Angele would be able to extract stronger bloodlines if his mentality level was higher.
Ancient wizards had relied more on bloodlines, while modern wizards focused more on damage spells.
Yet Angele was attempting to improve bloodlines and damage spells both at the same time. The only problem was that no one had told him how to progress further through bloodlines. There was little or no information that had been left by the ancient wizards.
On the other hand, for the spells, he had the help coming from the wizardry books and Vivian.
Angele breathed deeply as he looked at the stone.
'I should try mastering the third stage before the gate opens. Let me see just how hard it is to engrave the magic circle onto my mentality crystal.'
After calming himself down, he threw the stone into the air.
He then quickly drew a rune.
*Blast*
The stone was ignited floating in the air as it released countless heatwaves.
Angele's expression soon turned serious. He raised his other hand and pointed at the stone.
While checking the magic circles recorded on the book, he started engraving the first portion of the magic circle.
*CHI*
Countless red lines appeared around the Earth Fire Stone and started drawing the first part of the magic circle.
Minutes and minutes passed. The lines were clear, and the completed magic circle surrounded the stone in the center.
Cold sweat was dripping down Angele's chin. It seemed a lot of mentality was consumed during the process.
'This is the first part…I'm not sure if my mentality is high enough for the whole process…'
*PA*
Countless cracks appeared on the surface of the Earth Fire Stone.
All the flames, runes, and energy lines disappeared together. The Earth Fire Stone was no longer in the air, almost as if the stone had sublimated.
Angele was breathing heavily.
'I thought the process was easy…The entire magic circle has three parts. I have only completed the first, and there are still the second and third parts. Good thing is, I have the biochip helping me do all the calculations. Other wizards might need several years before they could complete the entire magic circle, but I will only need about half a month to master the third stage.'
The engraving of magic circle was a critical step in the third stage of the Molten Core River technique. He could advance to the next rank after the process was completed. Not like using a potion, advancing using this method would not create too many impurities.
Angele noticed that his mentality level increased slightly after finishing engraving the first part. And with the help of Zero, he could find the best way to finish the engraving while not making any mistake.
'Zero, create the task. Analyze the magic circles and compute my success rate of mastering the third stage,' Angele commanded.
Angele had stopped at the Crystal stage for three years with his biggest achievement, removing the impurities from his mentality. It was about time for him to try to advance to the next rank.
'Mission created. Analyzing…Estimated time: 12 hours,' Zero reported back immediately.
Angele had high affinity with the Fire energy particles, so his progress with the Molten Core River technique was relatively fast.
Completing the third stage and advancing to the next rank was no longer a big problem to Angele. The biochip could finish most of the complicated calculations for him.
He wanted to meditate for a bit longer, but he heard the loud noise coming from outside.
"Master Kita!"
"You finally came out…"
"Master Susana!"
Angele's brow furrowed as he stepped out of the wooden shelter.
A Watcher was about to enter the shelter, bowing immediately after seeing Angele.
"Master, the gate to the garden has finally opened!"
Angele nodded. "I know." He raised his head and looked at the gate.
There were three wizards standing in front of the mirror-like gate.
There was one female wizard and two male wizards, all at about 15 years old. Their clothes were messy and there were scars on their faces.
The two male wizards were wearing black robes and the female wizard was wearing a white shirt, but they were all damaged.
The three was surrounded by the families and organizations. They looked a bit nervous, as it seemed like they were trying to return to their own families.
Angele noticed that the three teenagers' bodies were translucent for some reason.
*CHI*
A ray of blue light pierced through a translucent male wizard's head, but nothing happened.
The man was startled due to this and retreated immediately but he looked confused.
A blue robe behind Unos lowered his hand and scrunched his eyebrows. "Master, they are illusions. We cannot attack them."
"Is that so?" Unos narrowed his eyes.
A middle-aged woman from the Morgan Family saw the scene and was enraged. She was stopped by the other family members, but she was still cursing. It took her several minutes to calm down.
"Mother!" The man that was hit by the red light stepped forward and looked at the middle-aged woman.
"Mother! I'm here!" He looked excited.
"Wait, Henry!" The other male wizard stopped him. "Something isn't right."
"Master Kita!" The members of the Spender Family shouted together.
Kita turned around and saw the members of his family waving their hands.
"Master Gill?"
"Master Kita, are you in the Foreseer Form?" Gill questioned carefully.
Kita looked surprised after hearing the name. "How did you know about the Foreseer Form?"
He realized that the elders knew a lot about the garden and calmed down several seconds later.
Kita nodded slightly. "You're right. We're in the Foreseer Form right now but we don't know how this happened."
"Wait, the foreseer state? You can give access to the ones that want to enter the garden now?" Unos suddenly questioned.
"Alright, just give access to us!"
"No, pick the Philip Family, please!"
"Susana! You're a good kid, and you should give access to your brother Marino!"
Several members of the three families shouted. The elders and leaders did not say anything. They were the relatives of the three wizards that were in the Foreseer Form.
"Mother…?" The female wizard named Susana hesitated. She looked around and saw a beautiful woman saying something to her. Her expression changed and there were tears in her eyes. "Mother, why are you here? Alright, I will give access to…"
"Wait, Susana!" Kita suddenly interrupted in a deep voice.
"What happened? Kita?" Susana wiped the tears off from her eyes, looking confused.
"Wait a second. It seems like we're in trouble," Kita whispered to her ears.
"Kita, we can give the access to two people, and I want to give my mother one. That shouldn't be a problem, right?" Henry pursed his lips. "She has treated you well, you know that." He looked a bit disappointed.
"Think about it. We can give two people access to the garden but there are three families here. We need to proceed with caution."
Henry and Susana were young, but they quickly realized how complicated the situation was.
"What should we do then?" Susana and Henry looked at Kita.
"Let's find out what's going on first," Kita replied in a low voice.
Chapter 324: Gate of the Garden (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: Leo
"Do not listen to him, Henry!" Right beside Henry's mother, an old man loudly shouted, "Kita only wants to save a slot for his own family. Give the right of entry to us now before it's too late!"
At the mountain's peak.
People divided into five groups had the gate to the elemental fairies' secret garden surrounded.
Susana noticed Kita's facial expression changing upon listening to the old man's words.
"Susana! It's me! Your uncle Nicole! Just give the right of entry to us…"
"Master Kita, please…" Gill stopped one of his family members from continuing. He and the two other family heads were looking at Angele sternly.
With a smiling face, Angele took a step forward with the Watchers doing the same.
"Just give the right of entry to us. I am one of the core members of Elemental Hand. We will reward you if you do so." Looking at the three teenagers in front of the gate, he spoke in a gentle tone, "You do know you can only send in two people at most, but all of us here want the right of entry, right?
"Just give it to me. We can make a fair trade. I have many resources of great rarity. Just tell me what you need." Angele narrowed his eyes.
"You do not want to see you beloved family murder each other, do you? An argument like that will destroy friendships and it never ends peacefully. Think about it. You are standing on the land owned by Elemental Hand. We can sign a contract. I swear I will not harm your families."
For a second, Angele stopped as he shrugged. "This is the only way in order to bring this matter to a peaceful closure. I am the only one who can control the situation here."
The three teenagers pondered if they should accept Angele's offer.
Those who belonged to the three families finally regained their composure and began to think of the best plausible solution.
For some reason, Angele seemed to be someone trustworthy—that was what they felt.
"I can actually offer you a bit more than that. Do you want to become a member of the Elemental Hand and work for me? … Why are you still waiting? Are you perhaps afraid of the Blue Eagle Nest? Do not worry. This is our territory, so they cannot possibly be at the helm here."
"You!" Unos gnashed his teeth as he scowled at Angele. Behind him, the wizards were readying themselves for the forthcoming clash.
The Watchers noticed that the situation had changed so in order to protect Angele they formed an encirclement with him located at the center.
Kita opened his mouth, about to say something.
"Now!" Unos chimed in with a shout.
*CHI*
Underneath the blue robes' feet appeared a massive circle of blue light.
It began expanding to the point of nearly covering the entire summit. Angele heard a noise that of the waves of the sea out of thin air.
Steam that came out of the blue circle nearly moistened his clothes to the point of being wet, causing his eyes to narrow. A strange oceanic smell drifted across the air.
Angele immediately raised his hand. A speck of red light exploded in front of him.
*BAM*
The explosion caused itself to form into multiple rays of red light but these were devoured by the mist coming out of the blue circle.
"Huh? It did not work?" Angele was startled. He hastily looked at his surroundings.
He was now surrounded by blue mist and had a feeling as though he was sinking deep into the ocean. He could still breathe but people near him had all disappeared.
"This is either a strong illusion spell or a strong void spell." Angele controlled his sangfroid. He then took a step and gradually released the full strength of his mentality wave. A blue laser dot was flashing in each of his pair of eyes.
He had already studied the illusion signet and created an anti-illusion technique, but it looked like the spell cast by the Blue Nest Eagle was much stronger than he had expected.
'My illusion-related skills have already reached the highest a rank 1 wizard can get. The anti-illusion technique I created should be ineffective only against rank 3 wizards but there is no such person in their group…which means…they must have activated a high-quality magic device.' Angele made his conjecture.
*************************
Kita, Susana, and Henry, the three of them, had already realized that the summit was covered in blue fog. They were getting nervous.
Members of the Blue Eagle Nest had surrounded them.
There was a blue horn in Unos's right hand. With a pale face, he was uttering the incantation. The blue smoke drifting out of the horn was the source of the fog, and it continued to become increasingly thicker.
The blue smoke created a sea of fog at the summit, such that Kita could barely see anything around him.
"Master, the eagle horn has created multiple divided areas that separated our enemies from each other. The only way for them to escape the fog is to break the illusion spell, but we do not have much time left. What should we do?" the woman with a long, black hair asked.
"Follow the plan. Take a team with you and take out the families. I shall deal with the man from the Elemental Hand." Unos had a heartless expression. "He is trying to break the spell. I must stop him as soon as possible."
"Why don't we just kill him first?" the old wizard advised.
"We cannot. Looks like he is an affluential member of Elemental Hand. I do not wish to face the possible repercussions." Unos shook his head declining the suggestion.
"All right, let us move. We must take out as many as we can," Unos ordered.
They now divided themselves into two groups led by the woman and the old wizard, respectively. Within seconds, they vanished into the blue fog.
Unos tied the blue horn to his belt and drew the black scimitar from his sheath. He was the last person to enter the fog.
************************
Within the sea of fog.
Angele was advancing at a slow pace as he continued to draw red runes in the air that disappeared after several seconds.
At the same time, the blue fog surrounding his body was becoming thinner and thinner as soon as the red runes disappeared into thin air.
*PA*
Suddenly, he heard a noise made by tiny rocks being stepped on.
Angele stopped and licked his lips. He lowered his hands and looked at the man in front of him.
"A random guy from Elemental Hand almost breaks my illusion spell. No wonder it's the strongest organization in the area.
The man stepped forward to reveal himself.
Short blue hair, a pair of blue eyes, and a handsome face—this person was Unos, who was wearing a long blue robe and holding a black scimitar tightly.
"Wizard Angele, it's you and me now. We are the leaders of our groups. Perhaps we can sort things out," Unos calmly spoke as he smiled.
Angele raised his right hand and conjured a silver greatsword. The sword-point was red-hot, and it released heatwaves into the air.
The glowing red sword-point was eye-catching in the fog.
Black smoke rose from the scimitar in Unos's hand, making the black blade even darker.
He sprinkled silver dust into the air wherein it slowly descended onto the ground.
*CHI*
Unos disappeared from his original location. The black blade seemingly became a black string charging toward Angele.
For some reason, Angele's eyes lost focus, dropping his guard, after seeing the silver dust. He could not move his eyes away from it in the slightest as if he was looking at a precious treasure.
The strength from his hands seemed to have been sapped away, causing him to gradually lower his sword.
The blade was getting closer and closer, yet Angele still remained unmoving.
*Clank*
Suddenly, Angele was jolted awake by Zero's warning and barely blocked the incoming strike. Sparks were created when the two weapons clashed.
'What on earth is that spell?! It somehow made me feel entranced.' Angele was startled.
The black scimitar changed directions and struck at Angele's back.
*Clank*
Angele turned around immediately and blocked the strike again.
The black scimitar quickly moved away and Unos appeared once more.
The man's expression had turned serious.
"Your body is incredibly strong. I have spent so much time increasing my strength, but I am still weaker than you. Looks like I underestimated your ability."
After he finished, he raised his right hand. A strange, slimy, blue substance was discharged out of his right shoulder, covering his entire right arm within seconds and turning into a huge chunk of armor.
A black, diamond-shaped crystal appeared in the center of his right elbow.
*KA*
Unos swung his right arm several times.
"My speed and strength have now tripled. Where is your special ability from the Molten Core River? Why don't you use it? Ah…I forgot you are still a rank 1 wizard." He sneered and raised his right arm.
*WOO*
Clouds of dust, pebbles, and rocks were blown into the air. Unos's right arm was indeed terrifying. Covered in a blue glow, it almost had the same size as his body.
Angele narrowed his eyes into slits. Several heart bombs connected with silver metal fluid noiselessly slid into his left hand from his sleeve.
He suddenly raised his left hand and threw five heart bombs into the air.
*BOOM*
Red flames and green venom coalesced together, with Angele at a distance away and Unos standing right in the center of the explosion radius, in great successive explosions.
The amalgamation of heated air and stinky poisonous gas started spreading in the area and even caused a small shockwave.
Angele did not stop but immediately retreated as he threw out several more crimson heart bombs.
*BOOM BOOM BOOM*
The loud noise from the consecutive explosions echoed in the sea of fog.
Angele remained composed. He continued to move around and threw dozens of heart bombs at every angle. At present, he was surrounded by the furious flames and shockwaves generated by the explosions.
The intense light from the flames drove out the blue fog and illuminated on Angele's body.
Chapter 325: Gate of the Garden (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
The odor of burnt meat permeated the air—it came from the heart bombs that had exploded.
Those were all the energy bombs Angele possessed. Three silver scars manifested on his face, and his skin now had a metallic silver glint.
He tightly grasped the greatsword and brandished it forth.
*CHI*
The greatsword then shrank in size quickly and reformed into a long, slim blade. Its length had now increased from two meters to ten meters, and was twisting.
The blade formed a shell-shaped screen of light in front of Angele.
*Clank*
The sword screen collided with a black dot and stopped.
Unos had blocked the sword screen with the black scimitar with a disappointed expression.
"I did not expect you to interrupt my spell!" He was not hurt in the least, seemingly as if the heart bombs had done nothing to him.
"Well, I think I know how to win this now." Blue glows slowly surrounded Unos's horrifying right arm and was becoming brighter and brighter.
Suddenly he raised his right arm and swung forward with his black scimitar. The blade's tip drew an arc in the air and generated a fierce energy wave.
This energy wave was initially a meter long and it started growing in length after it left the blade's tip, increasing to seven meters in length within seconds and soaring through the air.
Unos did not care whether the energy wave had struck Angele or not. He quickly retrieved a small yellow ball about the size of a fist from his pouch and threw it into the air while taking out another one.
Several seconds later, there were now more than ten yellow balls floating around Unos's body. Each of the balls was marked with a blue rune.
Unos began uttering an incantation in a low voice.
The yellow balls exploded in the air, like flowers starting to blossom, and conjured into miniature winged men.
The wings on their backs looked like the ones dragonflies had, but they were flapping so fast that they became blurry. The tiny men were thin and naked, and their blue eyes were the only things that could be found on their faces. Angele was not sure if they were male or female.
They were flying around Unos like bees.
"Go!" Unos pointed at Angele and gave an order.
All the winged men started flying toward Angele.
Sharp metal needles slowly protruded out of Angele's body and floated in the air. The air temperature around him began increasing. There were lines of red energy particles revolving around his body.
Several seconds later, each tip of the metal needles all turned red.
Angele pointed at Unos with his right index finger, while black light flashed in his eyes.
One of the metal needles had infused with the black light but regained its original color quickly.
*CHI*
The needles soared into the air as it flew toward Unos.
The needles, winged men, and the black energy wave from the scimitar smashed against each other savagely. The winged men and energy wave dodged the metal needles, now flying straight toward Angele.
The metal needles, too, did not stop as they continued flying toward Unos.
Everything was traveling at the peak speed. It was nearly impossible for Angele or Unos to dodge.
*BAM BOOM*
Loud noises echoed in the area.
The black energy wave exploded with the winged, yellow men and the damage they did was much higher than the heart energy bombs.
The silver needles directly struck Unos with such ferocity. As he was controlling the miniature winged men, he did not do anything to defend against Angele's attack. A screen of black light shattered into fragments after blocking most of the needles. Meanwhile, the rest of the needles pierced through his last defense and one needle suddenly accelerated.
*CHI*
Unos leaned to the side but failed to dodge the accelerating needle. He grunted when the needle pierced his left shoulder.
The dust that had been blown into the air due to the collision slowly dropped to the ground.
A silver needle had stabbed Unos's left shoulder. No blood was coming out of the wound, but his shoulder was slowly turning gray. It was the effect of his petrification ability.
"Damn!" Unos quickly took out several small glass bottles filled with liquid and, one by one, poured all contents of each bottle. Soon, the rate of his shoulder petrifying slowed down.
Angele was standing at about ten meters away from Unos. He had blocked the explosion using the greatsword that had returned to its original form. His face was pale but there was no visible wound on his body.
"The explosion barely did any physical damage, yet it drained my mentality…How is that even possible?!" Angele was panting—he only had more or less 15 mentality remaining, and the situation was getting worse. The forcefield of the crystal scorpion was activated when the winged men exploded. That was the reason he still had mentality left but his head was now aching. Without the scorpion, he would have already lost consciousness.
"You are pretty good. Where did you learn the petrification spell from?" Cold sweat covered Unos's forehead.
The battle was stopped to a standstill. Angele was trying to predict what Unos would do next.
Since Unos was a rank 2 wizard, he thought he could easily win against a rank 1 wizard like Angele.
"I did not want to do this, but I really need to enter the garden." Unos took out the blue horn and tapped on it.
*WOO*
A countless number of blue runes flashed on the horn's surface and the complicated pattern started shining. The intense blue light slowly climbed up Unos's right arm then turned into a thick layer of conflagrating flames.
Angele raised his left hand; the silver ring on his finger started releasing rays of golden light. His expression changed as he saw the eye-blinding blue light in the front.
The golden light coming from the Light of Thorns had been weakened by the blue light and was having trouble moving around.
"That magic device…" Angele pursed his lips as his gaze fell on the blue horn.
He put his right hand into the pouch and activated the crystal scorpion once more.
*CHI*
Suddenly, a red scorpion-shaped rune appeared in the center of his forehead.
"Huh?" Unos hesitated after seeing the rune. "That mark…Don't tell me you are…"
It seemed the rune reminded him of someone. He quickly tapped on the horn again and the blue light began retracting immediately.
"You can have the access. I give up!" Unos forced a smile on his face. "I should have double checked…" He stored the horn back into his pouch and disappeared into the blue fog.
Angele's plan worked. Unos had realized that Vivian was his mother after seeing the rune.
About ten seconds later, the blue fog disappeared completely, and everything returned to normal again.
Angele was still with the Watchers, as if nothing had happened.
The members of the three families were still at their original positions but the Blue Nest Eagle disappeared from the top of the mountain.
Unos probably did not want the situation to get worse so he decided to retreat.
'That blue horn…Had it fully activated, I would have had to use my signet and see if it could help me survive the attack…' Angele bit his lips when he recalled the horrifying forcefield from Unos's magic device.
"Master, are you alright?" Lyn's black hammer was covered in fresh blood.
"I'm fine, is everyone alright?" Angele glanced around.
Most of the Watchers were injured but Liv, Lyn, and Hakeem's weapons were soaked in the enemies' blood.
Liv's face was pale. It seemed like she used a lot of mentality. "The blue fog must be from their strongest magic device called the Eagle's Horn. I didn't expect them to bring it here."
"How strong is that thing?" Angele asked.
"Well, it can deal an incredible amount of area damage instantly," Liv replied in a grave tone.
"Instantly…?" Angele then realized that it was probably much stronger than the Light of Thorns.
"Unos must have discovered your identity and decided to leave. If you ever got hurt or killed, master Vivian will no doubt slaughter the Blue Eagle Nest. But yes, none of us can handle the power of that magic device. From the beginning, Unos should have realized your worth to our organization. That is why he did not use the horn right after the start of the battle," Lyn added.
"It is about time to enter the garden." Angele did not comment on Lyn's words. Inwardly, he never thought Unos stood a chance of winning if he was without the magic device since he still had his signet. The outcome of the battle was difficult to predict as well.
However, Lyn did not know about the secret of having an ancient bloodline and thought Angele was going to lose. Angele was not concerned as he had learned a great deal from the battle. He now knew he could win against rank 2 wizards that had no ridiculous magic devices.
Angele remained calm and looked at the gate to the secret garden of the elemental fairies.
"Let us go. Who wants to come with me?"
At present, the heads of the three families were injured so no one was making any decision. This ought to be part of the Blue Eagle Nest's plan.
Angele led the Watchers to the front of the gate.
The three teenagers retreated. Although they were in the Foreseer Form, they still feared the young man approaching them.
"Do you swear to keep your promise?" Kita questioned. He gazed at Angele and narrowed his eyes.
"Of course." There was a gentle smile on Angele's face.
Kita looked at the members of the three families and shook his head. "Fine, I'll give you the access."
He exchanged words with Henry and Susana. It seemed they finally made up their minds.
"Take one more person with you, please. We do not have much time left," Kita said.
Angele thought for a second and replied, "Lyn, come with me."
"Yes! Master!" Lyn stepped forward looking excited.
Kita, Susana, and Henry turned around and disappeared into the gate.
About ten seconds later, the surface of the gate was covered with a distorted energy wave.
"You can enter the gate now, masters." Kita's voice came from inside the gate.
Angele nodded and grasped Lyn's right hand as they stepped into the gate together.
Chapter 326: Fairy (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
For a moment, a white, eye-blinding light prevented their eyes from seeing.
Angele and Lyn had stepped into the gate, which felt like passing through a gargantuan ball of slime with their bodies then soaked in a strange, sticky fluid.
They regained their consciousness after several seconds.
On the other side of the gate was a patio of average size. Overall, the place looked to be worn out as there were withered plants remaining on the ground.
At the central part of the patio, there was a fountain which contained no water. The walls of patio were of great height that Angele had no idea what was going on outside.
The sky was gray, the sun blocked by the thick clouds. A rotten, musty smell spread into the air.
Both Angele and Lyn were standing near the patio's entrance.
He then used his biochip to scan the surroundings.
"Stay alert. Something is not right."
"Understood." Lyn nodded but then rubbed her temples. "I do not know why but I am feeling dizzy—I want to sleep—There might be an ancient magic circle that prevents outsiders from entering the garden here."
"Feeling sleepy?" Angele was surprised; he quickly read through Zero's report.
'No peculiar forcefield…no hypnotic gas…I need to check this place myself.'
Angele walked to one of its walls and observed the entirety carefully.
The walls of the patio were dirty and damaged; the engravings on the surface of the walls were decaying.
Most of them had already lost their original shape.
Angele walked along the gray walls slowly and touched a few of these engravings carefully with a confused expression.
The texture of the engravings was soft and elastic. When he applied pressure on one of the engravings, it bounced back immediately.
"That is unusual. Lyn, you should…" Angele turned around; what he saw surprised him.
The rank 2 wizard, Lyn, was standing there with both of her eyes closed. She was still breathing, nonetheless, as it seemed like she was under a sleep-like state.
"Lyn?" Angele had gone so much as to increase the volume of his voice with energy particles, yet she did not wake up.
He retreated several steps away, but Lyn continued to follow him as though she was sleepwalking.
Angele's countenance soon turned serious. He raised his hands and moved her eyelids up.
Lyn's eyeballs were rolling around rapidly, and her pupils were contracting.
He put his finger into her mouth and acquired a sample of her saliva.
"Monti…lion…scrying…" Angele spoke the incantation aloud and pointed in the air with his finger.
A small, dark red magic circle appeared on his fingertip.
In a blink of an eye, the magic circle disappeared and the saliva sample on his finger turned blue.
"So she's having a queer dream." Angele's brow furrowed.
Since she was not in a life-threatening situation, he decided to go check the fountain first.
This water fountain had a white finish and had three tiers.
Angele stood beside the fountain and looked down. The only things he could see were white bones and dried mud. The bones were covered with black leaves. It looked like this place had been abandoned years ago.
Suddenly, a tinge of red flashed in his eyes, but it was blocked by the base of the fountain.
Angele quickly walked to the other side—he was surprised.
There were three teenagers lying shoulder-to-shoulder on the ground. The girl's face was covered in dried-up blood. Their condition was similar to Lyn's.
Angele frowned. 'It seems like I will have to fall asleep in order to find the true location of the garden, but I'm not affected by the mysterious power here…'
He turned around and saw that Lyn was still following him.
She was wearing a long, loose black robe with a white outfit that looked like a swordsman's suit. There was a pair of brown leather gloves on her hands. The tight chest piece showed the outline of her magnificent chest. The long, white battledress failed to cover her slim legs.
Lyn was wearing a black ponytail; her face was clean and pretty. Although she was sleeping, there was still a serious expression on her face.
Angele raised his hand. He could easily touch the girl if he wanted to.
He swallowed hard but then realized something not right.
"Wait!" Angele suddenly bit his own tongue. The pain woke him up.
"Something is distracting me…" He quickly turned away from Lyn and started surveying the surroundings once more.
On the other side of the patio was a hallway, which emerged out of the shadows, leading to the endless darkness.
Angele noticed that on the black walls of the hallway, there was an enormous spiral engraving which looked like a compass with a radius of one meter.
He quickly stepped into the hall and stood in front of that wall.
The engraving looked like a normal spiral pattern, not releasing any energy wave.
However, Angele discovered, to his surprise, that he could not turn away from the engraving after looking at it for the first time. He just stood there and stared at the center of the spiral pattern.
About 15 minutes later, he still had not found any helpful information.
Suddenly, he noticed that a petal from a black flower dropped to his feet.
"The black rose?" Angele turned around and looked at the direction where the petal came from.
The patio was covered with the black rose's buds and they were slowly blossoming. Angele had no idea when they appeared.
The whole patio was sinking into the seemingly endless sea of black roses. The hallway was the only place that was still empty.
Clean water flowed out of the fountain that was located in the central-most part of the patio. There was no sun in the air but there was still light illuminating the rippling water.
Under the gray sky, there were beautiful roses and a shiny water fountain. The patio looked old but attractive.
Angele licked his lips and stretched his back. Raising his right hand, he conjured a silver longsword with the Metal Mastery.
*Kata Kata*
He heard intense footsteps coming from the corner where the sight was blocked by the fountain.
It was a woman in a long, silky dress. There was no expression on her pretty face. She noticed Angele's presence as well.
The woman slowly walked to Angele. She was not releasing any mentality wave.
All the black rose's buds blossomed as the woman approached. They were quiet and mysterious, almost as if time was accelerated.
The woman stopped walking and stood outside the hallway.
She had pale skin and dark purple lips. The woman just stared at Angele with a pair of deep, black eyes that looked like amethyst.
The woman raised her right hand slowly and reached into the hallway.
*CHI*
A black lightning flashed on her hand.
The woman lowered her hand when she failed to break through the lightning.
"Isn't this the elemental fairy's garden?" Angele questioned in a deep tone, "Who are you?"
The woman did not react to his words. She just stared at Angele as though she could not hear anything.
Angele was not sure how he should deal with the situation, so he deactivated the crystal scorpion immediately.
"Henn, are you there?" He took out the black box.
"Yeah? I'm still resting…What's the matter? Wait…this place is…the Spiral Garden?! What the hell? How did you enter the Spiral Garden? You need to leave the area immediately. This is the portal to the fairy's realm. Anything can happen. Listen to me, leave the garden as soon as possible!"
Henn noticed the situation around Angele. Her voice sounded serious and nervous.
"Fairy? I'm looking for those elemental fairies. They should be friendly and kind, right?" Angele asked as he looked at the woman outside the tunnel.
"Those are elemental fairies you read from the books! Elemental fairies were created by wizards. Fairies, in reality, feed on human beings since the best snack in the fairy's realm is human flesh. You really need to read more history books. There had been many times that ancient wizards had to fight against fairy invaders. You are currently in a portal called Spiral Garden. You should be safe for now. It seems like this is a new portal that opened about one hundred years ago…but how…?"
*CHI*
The black lightning flashed again.
Angele quickly raised his head and saw the head of the woman in a black dress fly away from her body; the stretching long neck of the woman looked especially terrifying. The woman opened her mouth, about to bite Angele in the face.
The head was one meter away from Angele and there was a twisted smile on her face.
Angele could smell the fishiness from the woman's mouth.
"Ha…"
The woman's mouth opened like a zipper from a handbag, revealing the white sharp teeth inside.
Her head was trying its best to reach Angele, but it was being hit by the black lightning inside the hallway. The woman's elastic neck was more than three meters long and its length was still increasing.
The pulses from the lightning formed an electric web that was trying to stop the head from advancing.
"This monster…" Angele narrowed his eyes and raised his sword.
*CHI*
The sword drew a silver arc in the air and slashed through the woman's head.
However, Angele was hit by the black lightning, causing him to tremble and be blown away by the impact.
*BAM*
He hit the wall hard and fell to the ground.
"Ha…you're too weak to break the realm barrier…" Henn chuckled. "You thought that that was just an energy barrier separating the hallway from the patio? You need to understand the laws of both our world and the fairy realm to break the realm barrier."
Angele coughed several times, every bone in his body was aching.
"Damn! What should I do then?"
"Wait for her to leave."
The woman was still trying to break through the realm barrier with a maddened expression.
*CHI*
The woman's head returned to her body. She looked at Angele and swallowed hard as if she was looking at a piece of tasty meat.
*WOO WOO*
Suddenly, a noise that sounded like a beast roaring came from the sky.
A large shadow appeared in the sky. Angele could see the creature swinging its wings.
He raised his head.
A gargantuan black dragon was flying around above the patio. The dragon had a long neck similar to that of a snake's tail. Its eyes were black, and poisonous green fluid was dripping down its sharp teeth.
The dragon looked like a strange lizard that possessed a pair of wings.
Chapter 327: Fairy (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
The woman showed a disappointed look upon seeing the dragon. After hesitating for a second, she turned around and jumped onto the dragon's back.
A purple dragon, a terrifying banshee, and a patio filled with black roses—this combination were what made the entire place mysterious.
The petals of the black roses were blown into the air as the dragon, alongside the banshee, after she jumped onto its back. Their figure immediately turned into a black dot and soon disappeared into the gray sky.
"Good, looks like she had to leave," Henn said with a relieved tone. "Only wizards over rank 4 have the ability to tame dragons. If this was a stable portal, you would have been killed by the dragon's breath right after you entered the patio."
"But you and that woman should have been separated by the realm barrier completely, making it impossible for her to detect your presence. It might be possible if you possess the ancient bloodline of a creature that possesses illusion-related abilities…Don't tell me…" Henn was becoming suspicious of Angele.
"Anyway, is there anything valuable here? This is a portal to the fairy realm, right?" As he decided to change the topic immediately, Angele stood up and looked at the cracked wall behind him.
"Well, you can certainly find something valuable here, but I just noticed, you are training in Molten Core River now?" Henn sounded slightly surprised. "So the Mask of the Black Wing really does not suit your style…"
"My style? Don't tell me you already knew that from the start, when you gave it to me." Angele narrowed his eyes.
"The Mask of the Black Wing is extremely powerful, but its stages are hard to master. If you could master the first several stages, I would give you the next part then you may be able to become the second Shadow Lord in history. Sadly, you are just not talented enough." Henn sighed. "In any case, let us first leave this place. You need the magic circle engravings to master the stages of Molten Core River and you must find the right way to finish those engravings. With the help of a rich and strong fire source, you will be able to progress at a much faster rate. The third stage should be easy but for the fourth and fifth stages, there is no shortcut. You do not need much talent training in Molten Cover River, but you will have to put a significant amount of effort and dedication into it."
"Strong and rich fire resource, huh?" Angele watched as the dragon disappeared into the sky, then grasping Lyn's hand, they soon returned to the patio filled with black roses.
"These are no ordinary black roses. You can only find them in portals. Try igniting them," Henn explained.
Angele nodded. He quickly tapped on the black roses in front with his burning hot sword's point.
Soon immediately, the black roses were ignited. The flames' temperature was so high that Angele had to take a step away. Even though there was no wind, the strange red flames were still leaning toward him.
"Let me teach you a technique that will allow you to carry a large amount of those black roses back. You can infuse this technique with your Metal Mastery." Right after Henn spoke, she started transmitting the information to Angele's brain.
'Unknown information wave detected, accept?' Zero's mechanical voice echoed in his ears.
'Yes,' Angele confirmed.
The technique was then transmitted to his brain quickly.
After checking the information, he closed his eyes for several seconds. The sword in his hand melted and formed into a ball of metal fluid.
The ball exploded as soon as Angele raised his hand that caused it to shower on the entire patio.
All the black roses in the patio were covered with the silver raindrops after several seconds.
"Come to me." Angele waved his right hand.
*WOO*
Gentle wind was released from his hand and all the black roses started flying toward the center of his palm.
The sea of the black roses' petals was controlled by a distorted force field and they were compressed into a fist-sized metal ball that floated on Angele's palm.
Several minutes later, all the petals had been completely absorbed resulting in the color transition of the metal ball from silver to black.
"All right, let us leave now. The twisted realm barrier will cause a permanent damage to you if you stay here for too long," Henn warned.
"I know. I still need to attend that dinner party." Angele observed the black metal ball for a while before he put it in his pouch.
"I am still disappointed, though. I was expecting the blessing of the elemental fairies." He shook his head and sighed.
"Take the teenagers with you. They survived in the Spiral Garden, so you can study them," Henn advised.
Angele had nearly forgotten about the heirs of the three families. He walked to the fountain and saw the three teenagers still asleep in the colorful water of the fountain.
The colorful water turned into a distorted energy wave as Angele approached.
The water quickly disappeared, and the fountain returned to its original form.
Angele pointed at the three teenagers.
*CHI*
Three metal strings emerged out of his fingers and tied up the teenagers, using his forcefield to lift them up after.
"Wait!" Henn suddenly stopped Angele as he was about to leave the patio.
"Check the top tier of the fountain, use your hands."
"The top tier?"
Angele walked to the fountain and created a staircase with the metal strings.
He climbed up the stairs to reach the top tier, then he touched it with his hand.
The material was cold and hard, but he quickly discovered a square item that was warm and smooth.
*PA*
Angele carefully grabbed the item and lifted it up.
It was a square box made of white jade stone.
He opened the box but there was nothing inside. The only thing he could see was a dark hole that led to nowhere.
Angele narrowed his eyes and released a thin silver string into the box with his index finger.
*CHI*
The silver string continued to increase in length.
The box was small, yet the string could not reach the ends of that black hollow. It seemed like it was an entrance to an individual space.
"Do not even try. This is the box of the abyss. The very concept of infinity itself is sealed within. You will not find the end no matter how long your silver string can be," Henn explained in a calm tone.
"Concept?"
"Do not worry about it for now. The knowledge of concepts originated from the chaos world. Keep it well, you will need it in the future. Come on, time to go."
Angele nodded, and the silver string returned to his finger.
He closed the box, then he returned to the entrance and stepped into the mirror gate with the slumbering people.
***************************
White light flashed in the air.
Angele and the other four people appeared on top of the mountain again.
Several black robes were chatting beside a campfire.
Liv was checking the surroundings by the bushes.
Hakeem was conversing with the female head of the Philips' and sneaked glances on her chest. Though it was obvious that the female leader had no interest whatsoever in him.
The members of the other two families were waiting quietly at their own camps.
"They are out!"
"Yeah, that was fast!" Someone shouted as soon as Angele stepped out of the gate.
Hakeem, Liv, and the Watchers ran to them immediately.
"Master, how was it?" Hakeem inquired.
"This is not the secret garden of the elemental fairies but the Spiral Garden. If you want to, just enter using the gate. I have no idea how those kids tricked us with this so-called Foreseer Form." Angele looked disappointed.
"The Spiral Garden?" Liv's expression became grave the instant she recognized the name. "I must inform master Vivian now."
"Yes, go ahead. I still have to attend a dinner party at a city nearby." Angele already knew what would happen the instant the portal stabilized. "Do not worry. It will take at least one or two hundred years for the portal to stabilize."
"Alright, I'll go take a look." Liv nodded walked toward the gate.
"Sure, the hypnotic aura is no longer there."
"We want to check the garden too."
Several members of the three families entered the gate with Liv. It seemed like they did not even know what the Spiral Garden was.
Angele returned the three sleeping teenagers to their parents.
Lyn slowly woke up as well. She rubbed her temples, and it seemed like she was still struggling.
"I apologize for disappointing you…" She bit her lips and apologized in a light tone.
"It's fine. The situation was complicated." Angele nodded slightly. "Alright, let's head straight to Rofo City."
Henn's voice suddenly echoed in his ears.
"Return to the mansion after the party. I will teach you how to combine the box of the abyss with the queen's cube. They will help in building ignition magic matrix. You can activate it with energy particles. The matrix is extremely good for Molten Core River. Just throw in certain materials into the matrix and it will convert them into pure mentality for you. The petals of the black roses are one of the best fuels you can get. With the matrix, you will be able to master the third stage with no problem."
Henn stopped for a second and continued, "As a matter of fact, anything that does not belong in this world can be used as fuel. The flames acquired by igniting special materials, especially ancient bloodlines, will greatly help in your progression. There will not be consequences or impurities. If you can, try to find ancient creatures and extract their bloodline."
"Huh?" Angele hesitated for a second. "Igniting an ancient bloodline will help me complete the stages of Molten Core River?"
"Yeah, let me explain the advanced meditation technique in a different way. You're training in the technique because you want to become the strongest living being in this world. Strong bloodlines will accelerate the process."
Angele nodded slightly but did not say anything.
He slowly walked down the mountain and activated the crystal scorpion.
Angele quickly took out a glass tube with purple liquid inside. With a flick of his finger, the liquid inside the tube was ignited and the flames were absorbed into his body by the back of his hand.
The feeling was comfortable and refreshing.
Angele turned around and noticed that his team already caught up. He quickly extinguished the flames and returned the tube to his pouch.
'Unknown life essence absorbed, mentality increasing…' Zero reported.
'It's true…' Angele was satisfied with the result.
There were countless black beetles in the Nightmare Realm, it would be incredible if he could use them as the fuel.