Chapter 400: Reward (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
"You need to work hard so that your future soldiers will obey your orders." Medisa got a brown leather scroll and threw it to Juventus. "Take it. Read it carefully."
"Ha, thanks." Juventus caught the scroll in a way that looked like he was catching a precious treasure.
Angele stood beside Juventus and peeked at the scroll to see the contents, but the only thing he saw was a strange poem.
"What do you think? We can share it. I have always thought only poems and arias could represent the emotions of life." Juventus looked satisfied.
"I'll pass." Angele shook his head; it caught him off guard. "I don't understand why you have to cut a complete sentence into several parts.
Angele remembered that he still had several other questions and was about to ask.
"Oh! No!" Suddenly, a high-pitched male voice came from the table.
A piece of leather paper stood up on Medisa's table. Its edges had transformed into two short legs, and it was trying to escape.
Pa!
Medisa caught the leather scroll and pulled it back to the table and continued writing.
"No! You can't stain my beautiful body. I'm not an adult yet! God! Oh! Oh! Oh!" the paper started moaning as Medisa kept writing. The scene was quite disturbing.
"Damn it, Medisa! Do you really think your wig is large enough for your bald head! You shouldn't use me to draw on this guy," the black quill in Medisa's hand had also started talking.
"Listen to it! Listen! This guy is moaning, and it's gross! Do you know how painful this is? Every time, every time! I can't stand this guy's voice. I'm a high-quality quill with a very long history! Can't you find a normal paper to write on? I suggest that you break this guy to pieces and use it to wipe your butt!" the quill was surprisingly mean to the paper.
Medisa sighed but did not say anything.
Juventus chuckled and looked at the old man, "When did they become fairies?"
Medisa was not concerned about the argument between the quill and the leather paper. He raised his head and said, "Several days ago. I thought I could handle it, but…"
Angele was speechless. "What's going on? Fairies?" He wondered.
"This place is like… a rift between the Wizard World and the Fairy Realm. Sometimes, objects become sentient due to the mysterious power of the Fairy Realm, like the biscuits and bread rolls you had for lunch. Anything that is turned into living beings can be referred as fairies. That's why the Fairy Realm is powerful. They don't need to reproduce because fairies are everywhere, and they can be anything," Medisa sighed when he finished explaining.
"Seriously? That's the Fairy Realm?"
The noise made by the quill and the paper was getting louder.
Juventus exchanged eye contact with Angele. "All right, let's go. Medisa can handle this."
"All right." Angele finally understood why the Fairy Realm was feared by the wizards.
He left the room with Juventus and returned to the hall through the wooden staircase.
The guard by the door bowed to the two wizards and disappeared after turning into a ball of black smoke.
Angele glanced at the door drawn by the guard, which had already disappeared. What was left was the normal surface of the wall.
"Don't be surprised. You'll get used it to sooner or later as long as you live here." Juventus shrugged. "Let's go, I'll introduce you to a… cute female friend. You know, there's always a cute female student around a legendary white-bearded teacher, right? That's what they often wrote in novels."
"Is that so?" Angele was not sure how he should communicate with Juventus.
They quickly went across the hall and arrived at a small palace that had a fountain in the middle.
The fountain's green water was clean. There was a window on the roof where the golden sunlight came from.
A beautiful girl in a white dress was standing beside the fountain, looking upset. Her long, black hair was draped over her shoulder and her face was neat and pretty. But the most eye-catching thing was her light-green eyes.
"Damn it! If … that'll become the biggest shame of my whole life!"
Angele and Juventus heard the girl cursing while they were still walking to the fountain. The girl was cursing and washing something in the fountain.
"Hey! Dina, what are you doing?" Juventus loved to see others suffering.
He stepped forward and approached the girl, "Congratulations! I heard that your underwear turned into fairies."
"Juventus! What the hell! Why are you even here?" The girl turned her head around and became flustered. She quickly hid the thing she was washing behind her back.
"All right, let me introduce, this is our new friend, a student of our teacher, Angele," Juventus pointed at Angele.
He then turned around and introduced the girl to Angele. "This is the youngest student our teacher has, Dina. I hope you'll get along with each other."
Dina nodded at Angele unwillingly, "Greetings, nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, too." Angele's brow furrowed when he saw what was happening. "I'm sorry, but I think I should let you know that…" He pointed at Dina's legs.
Dina's short dress could barely cover her knees.
A white panty was hanging on the girl's legs. It had short, white arms and a mouth and a pair of eyes on its front side. It was trying to climb down to flee.
"Enough! That's enough! I can't take this no more!" the panty was crying as it climbed down, "Dina, you devil! The last time you took a shower was 10 hours and 32 minutes ago. I don't want to be your panty anymore. It's not like you'll die without a panty anyway, and… the wind will probably make you feel good!"
Silence. Dead silence. The three had never expected something like this to happen.
Dina's face was burning, and there were tears in her eyes. The girl suddenly opened her mouth and screamed before Angele or Juventus could say anything.
"AH!"
"Move…" Juventus and Angele quickly left the palace.
They could still hear Dina screaming even when they were more than ten meters away from the palace.
"Don't worry, you can talk to her later. This is a bit… awkward…" Juventus sighed, "Anyway, what do you plan to do with your magic circle inheritance set? Do you want to set it up here?"
Angele already had something in mind.
"I'll set it up in the energy pool?"
He thought about it on the way here.
There was no place that was absolutely safe in the main world. If he built it in the ruin under the volcano, it would be too hard for him to explain the situation to Vivian.
And building the circle set in the Nightmare Realm would be too risky. Like, what if the power could not be transferred to the main world? And the place was way too dangerous.
Building the circle set in the headquarters of Dark Wizard Tower was the best choice.
Dark Wizard Tower already had suggested that he should build the circle set by the energy pool. The energy pool could help him transfer the power since the place was safe. It was what the organization promised him.
Angele had thought for a long time, but he still decided to set up the circle by the energy pool.
The inheritor's magic circle set was the best energy buff tool he could get but he doubted if the circle set would help him after he found the way to activate his true form in the main world.
"Yeah, the energy pool," Angele repeated the location.
"All right, I'll take you there." Juventus knew that Angele already made up his mind and he did not say anything else.
Juventus told Angele more about the fairies while leading him to the energy pool.
They left the hall, walked over a wooden bridge, and entered a tall tower that looked like the trunk of a tree. This tree seemed to be a branch of the main tree.
The main hall of the branch was dark. Monster-looking, black statues could be seen guarding the place.
The black statues looked terrifying and seemed to look real. Their eyes were glowing rubies embedded in them and were the source of light in the hall.
In front of them was another thick square stone gate with a black dragon head engraved on the surface. The dragon closed its eyes tightly, and there was yellow smoke being released out of its nostrils.
Juventus pressed on the dragon's head and closed his eyes for several seconds.
Bam!
The door opened from the middle of the dragon's head.
They finally entered the hall where the energy pools were located.
The inside was a spacious round hall that contained countless glowing green pools, which covered the whole ground.
The pools had varying shapes: round, egg-shaped, rectangular, irregularly shaped, and tear-shaped. All of those were the energy pools and their glows were brightening up the dark hall.
Chapter 401: Reward (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
There were many people already lingering around the energy pools.
Some of them were uttering strange incantations and the rest were waiting for something while seated cross-legged. There were people making calculations with formulae and runes on something, too.
That being so, the arrival of Juventus and Angele did not draw any attention.
The entire room was lit by the green glow of the energy pools and so the faces of those wizards who were there were also dyed green. The place looked terrifying overall.
"Pick one. All the pools here should have enough energy to sustain the magic circle," Juventus explained, standing by the entrance.
Angele nodded a little and looked at the energy pools. The sizes of those pools varied.
Nonetheless, the size mattered not. He only needed to find the one that perfectly fitted the Legacy Magic Circle he obtained.
Too strong an energy pool whereas the magic power required not much, then the Legacy Magic Circle would be greatly affected, and the runes be weakened.
Besides, if the energy pool had insufficient output, it would not be able to transfer enough energy to the magic circle.
Angele had to check the magic circle's power level and search for the energy pool perfect for it.
He explored the energy pools in the hall and selected a rectangular one located on the right side.
"I'll take that one." He walked to the energy pool and took out the seed from his pouch. "How do I set this up? Are there any restrictions here?" He looked at Juventus.
"No. The only thing you must do is to place your mentality mark on the seed and throw it into the pool," Juventus said, crossing his arms, "And if you plant the seed in the energy pool you chose, the magic circle will completely be protected by the defensive power of the pools. It's nigh impossible for even a powerful wizard to mess with your magic circle without your permission, so don't worry—it will be fine even if others were to know the location of your magic circle."
"Is that so?" Angele somewhat nodded.
He held the seed and concentrated his gaze on its surface.
A crimson mark, which looked like a needle, took shape on where he was staring at with focus.
"All right." Angele crouched, sighing, and carefully dropped the seed into the energy pool.
It started germinating and developing rapidly as soon as it sank into the glowing green water.
Roots emerged from the seed's surface, twisting and expanding apace in the energy pool.
Seconds later, the energy pool was occupied entirely by the roots that soon formed a natural magic circle.
The magic circle formed from the roots slowly floated on the surface of the water. Green leaves and vibrant flower buds appeared in the circle immediately.
A human face took shape on the magic circle. It looked like as if it was trying to smile and its left eye was open and the right eye closed.
"That's…" Juventus had his breath taken away, "the Totem of the Metal Giant… I didn't expect your reward to be so good. The director must really have high expectations for you."
"Huh?" This was the first time Angele heard of the Totem of the Metal Giant. "What do you mean? Is this a rare Legacy Magic Circle?"
"Rare? No, no. It's extremely rare," Juventus looked at Angele. "This Legacy Magic Circle is not part of the rewards that had been decided upon, which means, the directors have prepared it especially just for you. It may not be the strongest Legacy Magic Circle of all time, but it should be the most suitable for you."
"What enhancements do this Legacy Magic Circle come with?" Angele raised his eyebrow questioningly and asked softly.
"It will aid you in manipulating metal forcefields, according to its distance, strength, and accuracy. And the Metal Skin spell, a derivative of the Stone Skin spell, will become your passive spell. Any damage you receive will be greatly reduced. For the other basic features, you will have to find those out yourself," Juventus explained.
Angele slightly nodded. Information regarding the Legacy Magic Circle was being transmitted to his brain as the circle continued to grow. His biochip verified the safety of the information and stored it in the database.
All of the information pertained to the Legacy Magic Circle set.
A permanent passive spell called Metal Skin and an area spell called Metal shock that could be cast twice per day. The power of the Legacy Magic Circle was further enhancing his body withal.
Angele discovered that if the power of the circle was to be applied to an average wizard's body, it could double the wizard's life expectancy. However, with Angele having merged ancient bloodlines, he could already live much longer than an average wizard. Angele could easily live for more than a millennium.
Common sense dictated a wizard would reach a different level altogether with the assistance of a Legacy Magic Circle.
On top of that, Angele had yet to fully activate the Legacy Magic Circle set.
He did not know how strong or powerful the circle would be until it was fully activated.
"All right, let's leave since the magic circle is done. Our body will get damaged if we stay here for too long. The wizards who stay here all day are those who are nearly on their deathbed and already lost hope. They are making an attempt to develop a spell that can extend their life expectancy," Juventus whispered.
"Sure," Angele agreed.
The two of them promptly departed from the hall of energy pools.
"Since I placed the circle here, can I still activate it when I'm out in the Wizard World?" Angele asked as he walked with him.
"You can. The energy pools here are connected to many different areas. But since the coordinates of your magic circle is here, if you move too far away from this location, the power that will be transferred to you is going to be weaker than it should be. Keep that in mind.
"And should you opt to stay in Dark Wizard Tower, you will be able to request for extra resources. It's a benefit that's not counted as your future reward. Besides that, you can go to the department of change and request for some bodyguards, excluding the shadow you already have."
"Department of change?"
"Yeah, one of the six departments and responsible for soul modification experiments on living beings. The department of change has five major armies and four of them consists of modified mutants. The core army is the last one and it creates so many mutants every day that they often send some of those mutants to the members of the organization to become their bodyguards/ Well, that is what I heard at least. I can't access the special rewards yet, so I don't know a lot of details about it.
"Did you not place your magic circle in one of the energy pools?" Angele wondered.
"Yeah, I did, in an energy pool of my family's secret chamber." Juventus shrugged. "Do you want to go to the department of change now? Their director likes you, so she may give you something good," he advised.
"Sure, it'd be better if I can get everything done now." Angele nodded.
They left the energy pool hall and went down the wooden spiral staircase outside the tree. Several minutes later, they stopped at a black stone door.
Two doorkeepers wearing black, full-body armor were standing outside the arched stone door. Black energy particles were leaking out of the gaps between the pieces of armor. The doorkeepers were grasping heavy metal spears.
"Welcome, Master Green," the guard on the right spoke deeply and nodded at Angele. He immediately smacked the surface of the door with his left hand.
Chi!
The stone door was slowly opened.
Behind the door, there was a cozy room painted in bright yellow.
The orange flames were dancing in the fireplace. The floor was covered with red carpet.
Angele saw someone familiar sitting in a chair by the fireplace.
It was a woman in a fit, white leather armor. She had a body that was balanced and looked strong, a pair of blue eyes that were crystal clear, and her hair was tied in a ponytail. The woman was gentle and beautiful.
When she heard the noise produced by the door, she turned her head to see and saw Angele and Juventus standing by the door.
"It's you!" the woman hurriedly stood up and glared at Angele with such resentment in her eyes.
Angele was a bit startled. It was, after all, the woman who had been torn apart by him in the competition.
The woman was breathing heavily, panting in rage.
"This must be destiny," Angele smiled, "Destiny has brought us together. What happened in the competition was just an… accident."
"Why are you still smiling?" the woman's tone was sharp, and it sounded like she was trying to remain composed when she spoke.
"Well, it was a competition. I did what I have to do." Angele spread out his arms, shrugging.
The woman no longer talked, but she was still somewhat scowling at Angele.
"Anyway, I'm here to pick up my reward. I have already placed my magic circle in the energy pool," Angele went straight to the point.
A middle-aged man slowly stepped out of a room, "Yes, we've already received the message. Master Green, please follow me." The man was wearing a long black robe.
He then sent his words to the woman in white using energy particles. Angele was not sure what they were saying.
The woman's expression changed several times and finally nodded her head. She glared at Angele before she turned around and walked down the stairs.
Angele could still hear the loud noise made by the woman's feet. She seemed to be doing that intentionally.
"Please follow me." the man turned around and entered a hallway.
Angele and Juventus quickly followed after him.
The three continued to walk. Angele saw maids and servants running around with random things in their heads. They all bowed to the wizards, but they did not say anything.
The man smiled, explaining, "This is the department of change's territory and the person in charge is Commander Ulanos. He prefers a quiet environment, which is why the servants and maids here don't have tongues. I'm sure they'll greet you if they can."
"Is that so?" Angele was a bit surprised. He looked at Juventus, but the latter seemed to already be used to a situation like this.
Chapter 402: Return (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
Members of Dark Wizard Tower might seem like ordinary wizards, but most of them were extremely cruel in reality.
Angele looked at Juventus, who seemed to have already witnessed such a situation so strange and had already gotten used to it.
Nonetheless, Angele stayed calm as he followed behind the servant without further making any noise.
They changed directions several times before entering a dark hallway. No maids or servants were in the hallway, and the atmosphere was cold and humid.
Wall-mounted yellow crystals brightened the hallway, but some of them had already cracked and would likely need to be replaced soon.
The man brought Angele and Juventus to a room on the left side of the hallway. Opening the door, he led them in.
Inside was a spacious room decorated with brown wooden floor and walls.
There were dark-red coffins arranged in two columns on the floor.
The coffins were sealed tight and a glowing white magic circle was engraved on the surface of each coffin.
"These are your goods, Master Green. They've just been delivered here not so long ago. Please press your hand on the magic circles," the man explained.
Angele looked at the man and stepped forward. There were ten coffins all in all. He immediately pressed on the magic circle with his palm.
The man nodded and smiled, "All right, they're yours now. Your mark has been planted in those liches that will become your bodyguards. This is a gift from the department of change."
"How powerful are they?" Angele was curious.
"Hard to measure. Liches will perish under the bombardment of powerful light element spells, but on the other hand, all damage from other spells will be halved. Not only that, the plague aura emanating from their bodies is extremely dangerous. Please make sure it's under your control, lest it becomes a huge problem."
The man handed Angele a small wooden box. It was a hexagonal box as large as one's palm, dark-red in color, and had a smooth surface.
"This is your coffin locator. Please keep the guards inside the coffins when you don't need them because the longer they stay inside, the more powerful they will be."
Angele accepted the box and thought it was light upon checking its weight. "From what I know, liches are often slow due to the changes done to their undead bodies. Are those liches the same?"
"Yes, but it's much better than you expect. These liches can teleport within the vast effective range of the aura, so you can stay within it when you need them. Also, the owner and selected people by the owner will not be damaged by the radiating energy," the man smiled, "Our researchers know what they're doing."
"Sounds good." It was a free gift, and Angele had no reason to decline this. "And do I have full control over the liches? I mean, it's understandable if the department can destroy them when necessary."
"Don't worry." Juventus, smiling, started to explain, "Department of change's rules are strict, and there are other departments verifying the gifts they send out, so the situation you mentioned will never happen."
"That's great, then." Angele nodded slightly. "Will department of change accept personal orders? I hear the department is also researching on soul forms."
"That depends. We do research on souls, but I think the wizard department does a better job on that," the man composedly answered. "And you need to set a reward if you want us to fulfill your request, and we will then spread the request to our members. But if no one wants to take it, there will be nothing we can do."
"Interesting." Angele squinted his eyes. "I will think about it." He was, at present, still trying to deal with Henn even though he possessed the Thousand Shadow Orb, and no one could find her at the moment. Regardless of that, there were just too many secrets lying within Angele's body, and he was worried that Henn would find out the truth sooner or later.
Angele was a core member of the Dark Wizard Tower and he wanted to remove Henn from his body. However, he had not yet found someone he could trust in the organization and he needed to wait for the time to come.
"All right. That's all I have to say, I think." The man nodded slightly. "I shall be leaving now."
"Right, how can I carry all those coffins back?" Angele asked.
"We'll set the coordinates and send them to you," the man replied, "Hence the reason I gave you the box."
"Thanks." Angele nodded. "So, I don't need to do anything."
"Correct."
The man turned and left the room as soon as he finished speaking.
Angele glanced at the coffins.
"Let's go. We're done, right?"
Juventus nodded, "Yeah, that's it. You can either teleport back or stay here for much longer. And you can meditate in the heart of the tree where your progression will be slightly faster. But if you stay here for too long, your items may transform into fairies."
"I think I'll teleport back, but how do I return to the heart of the tree if I want to?" Angele looked out from the window as he walked.
A sea of towering trees; everything he saw was filled with vibrant green.
"The same way you came. Technically, it should be easier since your ring will guide you." Juventus retrieved his pocket watch and checked what time it was. "All right, it's three in the afternoon. I have something else to take care of. Just contact me if you have any further questions."
With a flick of his fingers, a black light-dot was thrown toward Angele.
Angele turned to catch the light-dot with his finger. "Thanks for showing me around."
"No sweat. Our teacher asked me to take care of you, and you're my senior brother anyway." Juventus waved at Angele, putting away his pocket watch, and left the room.
Angele's eyes fell on the coffins after Juventus left.
"Lich, heed my call." He sent his mentality wave into one coffin on the right.
Creeaak!
The wooden coffin opened, and a dried-up corpse stood up from inside.
The corpse was covered with wounds. Yellow smoke was drifting out of the gaps. The corpse seemed to belong to a male's; its eyes had already turned black and its muscles looked like grayish meat jerkies.
The lich was wearing a yellow robe and holding a short wand made out of black crystal in his right hand.
"As you wish… ah…" Yellow smoke came out of the lich's mouth.
Blue light flashed in Angele's eyes as he scanned the lich's body.
[New file created. Name: Lich.]
[Scanning for data…]
The lich's hologram was displayed in front of Angele's eyes.
Rows of data were shown under it.
[Lich. Strength 6, Agility 5, Stamina 11, Mentality 0.] This was the lich's attributes. Besides that, the undead creature also had talent skills.
[Plague Aura: Deadly poison that affects a large area. Creatures with Stamina lower than 5 may be killed instantly.]
[Withering Light: Release polluted light from the wand. Damage: 40 degrees.]
[Enhanced Skin: Reduce damage taken by 50%, except for damage inflicted by light element spells. Lich will be destroyed when it receives over 1000 degrees of light element damage.]
The lich only had three talent skills. Nevertheless, Angele was satisfied with the result.
I won't call it a bodyguard, but a lich will assist me on the battlefield for sure, especially when the battle is intense.
Angele put away the wooden box in his pouch and left the room. He began to walk back the way he came.
He could hear unusual noises coming from the closed doors on both sides of the hallway.
There were women moaning, monsters roaring, wind blasting, and many men groaning. It sounded as if those men were undertaking a terrifying ritual.
Angele hurriedly returned to the first room after passing through the hallway.
The flames in the fireplace had become weaker. There was a young girl wearing green clothes sleeping on the chair.
Angele left the room and went to the wooden staircase.
When he looked down the stairs, he saw a river with a rapidly flowing current. The wet and chilling wind was blowing across his face.
He ascended the flight of stairs quickly and returned to the first area.
There were not many people in the heart of the tree due to the fairies being a bother. No one wanted their clothes to suddenly transform into a fairy, especially their undergarments. Being in a situation like that would certainly be awkward.
Angele continued walking and then he returned to the main hall.
The ceremony had already ended; no one was seated on the chairs and the servants were already cleaning the place.
Angele returned to his room after inspecting the map made by Zero.
When he opened the door to his room, he saw a black, egg-shaped ball of light floating in front of him.
"Message. Core members who live in the heart of the tree. If you wish to return to the Wizard World, you will need this black egg," an old man's voice rang throughout the room.
Angele made sure he had everything with him before stepping into the egg-shaped portal.
It was time to end his trip to Dark Wizard Tower.
Pure darkness surrounded him and the only thing he could see was the energy shield manifested by the crystal scorpion.
Angele felt himself not moving at all as he stood in the darkness.
Then, after about 10 seconds, light blinded his eyes.
And soon, he was standing on a cliff edge where a boiling black smoke lay beneath it.
Green trees with huge roots, vibrant vines, and dancing flowers amid the chilly breeze—this environment was familiar to him.
Chapter 403: Return (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
This was the place where he jumped down and was teleported to the Sky City.
Angele turned around and saw the enormous tree right away.
He patted the dust off his clothes before walking toward the tree.
Green vines were tangled around the tree. He could still see the human face in the white flower, which seemed to be taking a nap.
"Oh… it's Green. You're the third one who teleported back. That was quick." The face awoke due to the sound of Angele's footsteps and immediately opened its eyes.
"Is that so? Well, I have finished my mission. I'll be leaving now." Angele smiled.
"Green, it's different now. You have signed the contract and become a core member. You can now summon organization members within this region when necessary. This is the list of the members." The face opened its mouth wide to reveal a long, black scroll on its tongue.
Angele took the scroll and unfurled it. The scroll was filled with names of people, their position in the organization, identities, and also their skill levels. About 100 elite members were on the list.
The list had more than ten and two ranks 3 and 4 wizards, respectively, and all of them had powerful backing.
It constituted a truly powerful force.
Angele became kind of surprised when he saw a familiar name on the list. It belonged to an Elemental Hand elder who was similarly an elite member of Dark Wizard Tower.
With a flick of Angele's fingers, the scroll was ignited.
Seconds later, the scroll was completely burnt to ashes—he had no reason to keep it after recording the data—and its remains were instantly blown away by the wind.
"You're responsible for the safety of the data as a contracted member. Benefit comes with duty," the face said. "And there is another person in-charge of the area, responsible for the execution of the plan given by the organization. You two will have to cooperate."
"Cooperate? You mean, I will have to assist them?" Angele raised his brow. "I thought I was the only core member of this region."
"Well, he's responsible for handling the army, and you will assist him when necessary. You two are now the ones accountable for executing the orders of the organization within the Tarry River region. That's all I know. You must complete the setup and wait for the time to come," the face explained.
"Fine. Do you have anything else to say? If there's none, I will be leaving."
"See you next time."
"See you."
The face disappeared. Along with it, the flower turned black as it withered and dropped to the floor before it became a pool of black fluid and was quickly absorbed by the soil.
Angele sighed in relief and he began to walk into the forest.
*********************************
Several days later, in the morning.
In the mansion beside Ness River, Angele sat in the living room while comfortably having breakfast.
The golden sunlight passed through the window and to the ground, bringing rejuvenating light and warmth to the living room.
On the contrary, Lyn was lying on the sofa with an exhausted face while reading a thick spell book carefully.
"All you all right? Having nightmares lately?" Angele put down the bread and cup of goat milk, looking at Lyn.
"Thank you, master. There has been an accident during an experiment, and a side-effect similar to the Hand of Exhaustion's was applied to my body," Lyn replied in a low voice, yawning afterward.
"The mansion's protected by my secret force. You don't need to worry too much about safety. Go take a rest," Angele shook his head and said.
"Thank you, master." Lyn was way too tired. She stood up and returned to her room.
Angele would never tell Lyn that it was him who drugged her and wanted to make sure she did not know what he was planning.
After Lyn went to her room, he took his time to finish his breakfast and when he did so, he clapped his hands.
A maid entered the room and quickly cleaned up the table.
"I don't want anyone around until noon, understood?" Angele ordered.
The maid nodded, "As you wish, master."
"I don't want anyone to interrupt me." As soon as he finished speaking, he stood up and went up the second floor and stopped by a room that had its door open.
This ought to be an empty room, except for the fact that there was a maid cleaning inside.
"Done?" Angele entered the room and questioned her.
"Yes, master, almost done," the maid replied and bowed. She was wearing the standard black and white, laced maid uniform. Its low-cut design made the uniform quite revealing. Angele could see her bare chest when she bowed, and it felt like he could easily fondle it if he wanted to.
The maids had been hired by Lyn not so long ago, and all of them had their own plans. These maids were seeking to seduce Angele in the hopes that he would like them, so their job in the mansion would become much easier. Some of the maids hired even had plans of building a romantic relationship with their new master.
"All right, you may leave now." Angele looked coldly at the girl. Things like this had been happening constantly in the mansion. It had been like this ever since Lyn purchased them from the slave market.
The possibility of wizards reproducing with mortals was nil, but they could still basically have intercourse with their maids if they so desire. Angele knew of several wizards who relished such lifestyle as it was rampant in the Wizard World.
In any case, wizards would not simply feel tired just because of having sexual intercourse plenty of times in a row.
But even with that fact, Angele had never thought of it as the right way to live his life.
The maid seemed disappointed when she was asked to leave, but she still did so hurriedly. Angele closed the door and the windows and carefully inspected every nook and cranny of the room to confirm it was safe.
He retrieved a tiny hexagonal box from his dragon skin pouch.
Angele crouched and placed the box in the middle.
Pa!
The box was opened.
Angele immediately withdrew several steps and looked at the open box quietly.
Yellow smoke floated out of the box right after it was opened.
The intense leathery smell from the thick yellow smoke quickly drifted in the air. The smoke wrapped every object in the room.
The clock continued ticking. About 2 to 3 hours later…
The smoke was becoming much more thicker, rapidly reaching Angele's waist.
Seconds later, two rows of dark-red coffins appeared within the smoke, with five coffins each row. They were well-arranged on the floor.
Angele nodded satisfactorily and waved his right hand.
The entire heap of yellow smoke drifting about in the room was sucked back into the ten coffins completely.
Before leaving, Angele inspected each coffin.
Pa!
He placed his right hand on the door. A black snake rune appeared on the surface.
"You! Come here." Angele pointed at one maid who was wiping the handrail on the left side of the staircase.
"Yes, master." The maid walked to Angele carefully and lowered the rag in her hand.
"From now on, no one shall enter this room without my permission." Angele pointed at it. "Go and inform everyone in the mansion."
"What about Master Lyn?" the maid asked.
"Same."
"Understood." The maid immediately bowed and went down the stairs.
Angele watched on as the maid went down before he walked to a mirror on the wall.
His metal forcefield was destroyed in the competition, and he needed enough time to fix it, so he could not create a mirror with his talent ability. That was the reason he asked one of the maids to purchase a large mirror for him.
The mirror was about a meter tall. Angele's body was reflected on it.
Long, crimson hair, an average face, and a pair of glowing red eyes that looked like spinning vortices. His skin was pale and his body well-toned.
He was clothed with a long, black robe decorated with silver hem—a simple robe yet luxuriously designed.
Angele retrieved a dark-red crystal that was irregularly shaped and looked like half of the crystal was bitten off by a beast.
Angele placed the crystal in front of him and closed his eyes for a second.
The appearance of his reflection immediately changed.
Now appeared a tall and muscular body and a lengthy black horn on his head, which looked like a black tail behind his back. There was a second pair of eyes on his face, which were exactly the ones he had in the Nightmare Realm, and golden light was leaking out of it.
His armor had also turned crimson. Light was flickering on the spikes of his knees, arms, and shoulders. The spikes almost seemed to look like they were covered in blood.
What changed the most was Angele's height.
In his normal form, he was approximately two meters tall. But at this moment, he was more than three meters tall, and the mirror now barely showed his entire body.
"Ha…." Angele exhaled slowly, his breath sulfuric. The dark-red crystal in front of him was shrinking at a rapid rate.
The crystal soon sank into his chest and disappeared within half an hour.
Angele was becoming taller once more, and the black horn on top of his head was growing longer, almost reaching his knees already.
"The rate of development of my true form is terrifying…" Angele frowned. "While it's great that my true form is improving quickly, my mentality isn't experiencing the same. I cannot fully control the abilities of my true form if my mentality is not high enough. The best possible option in order to increase my mentality lies in the Molten Core River technique, but the path I'm walking is of the ancient wizards'. How did they solve such a problem?"
Angele began pondering, and his true form gradually dissipated as the crystal was being absorbed. After several minutes, his body transformed back to its original shape.
Chapter 404: Sister and Brother (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
A strong body must be matched with a strong mentality. If not, he would not be able to utilize his power to the fullest extent.
That was what he was anxious about.
Angele had never known how ancient wizards solved this particular issue. The information he acquired from Eye Devil had never mentioned anything related to it.
He left the mirror, heading to his study, and looked at the bookshelves inside.
Thick, brown books were arranged on the dark-red bookshelves. He had recorded some of the important information on those books.
The contents were mostly regarding his theories and the results of his researches. There was no dangerous spell book kept in the shelves and those books were encrypted through the use of a special method. There were even several books that introduced poems and local tourist attractions.
Angele lifted up his left hand and slightly spun the ring around his finger.
Chi!
The ring released a streak of white light, soon materializing into a rectangular screen in front of him.
Displayed on the screen were rows of information. The ones being shown on the left were the quests provided by Dark Wizard Tower and the one shown on the right was the summary of the latest intel he had received.
Angele checked the available quests at present. Majority of these quests were about ruins exploration, collection of rare resources, and guarding certain members of the organization. Yet, nothing had piqued his interest.
However, there was a message in the summary that was addressed to him.
He tapped on the screen, and a message popped out of it and covered the entire screen.
From: Count Vanara
"Vanara, leader of Red Scimitar and the Count of River Empire, cordially invites you to his birthday celebration."
Following the body was a marking drawn like an onyx ring, an eye-shaped ring that was identical to the one Angele had in his possession.
So he's the other one in-charge. That was fast. Angele rubbed his chin.
He lifted his finger and began writing his reply just below the message.
This was the method used in replying to messages.
Time and location?
Seconds later, another message appeared.
In one month, at the Count's Mansion at Wheat City. It shall be our first meeting then. I hope you will have a good time in my party, the count immediately sent a reply.
Certainly, Angele replied right away.
They swiftly wrapped up their conversation.
Angele closed the message box and started checking out Count Vanara's intel through the intel center.
Count Vanara, the member overseeing the Tarry River region. His skill level, hidden. Publicly known as the leader of the Red Scimitar but actually one of the organization's important members, possessing authority over the Fiery Shadow Army.
Angele read through the intel. He was now even more certain that the count was doing the same thing as him.
He received several more messages as he read through it.
Angele's ring functioned as a receiver of messages, too. Other members of the organization could message him anytime; the only requirement was his communication rune.
He just received more than 10 messages, all of which were sent by his future servants.
I can gather elites and rare resources now. Re-signing the contract with Dark Wizard Tower was the right decision , Angele thought of this as he replied to the messages one by one.
The senders were important members, leaders, wives, and relatives of small organizations and also core members of large organizations.
These people had different backgrounds, yet all of them could gather elites and use the resources with their backing.
Angele categorized the people who showed respect to him into three different groups based on the intel provided by the organization.
He made certain that the members of these groups held nothing against each other so that their power could be utilized.
Besides that, Angele selected three members to represent as the leader of each of the three group.
They need me for something, so they contacted me right away. Seems like they already know something is about to happen. There are more than 100 elites within the Tarry River region. Those who already know of the events that will unfold in the future must have connections with the core members of Dark Wizard Tower, while the rest are just people who work for the organization and are not sure of what's happening.
Angele closed the screen after replying to all those messages.
"Sadly, no matter what happens, I've got no right to make decisions when I signed the contract. No one will give up their final hope when the world's about to change, which means the members of the organization within this region must obey me. They have no choice."
He stood up and walked to a bookshelf and took out a book. "It's good. I should probably talk to them when I visit the count."
Angele was the son of one of Elemental Hand's elders. While the core members of those other organizations would never talk to him as their backing were far more powerful, he was a core member of Dark Wizard Tower who had also become a student of one of the six directors. Things now had upended.
Rank 4 wizards were much stronger than him, yes, but those below rank 4 would have to obey his orders…
Angele began formulating a plan while reading the book.
Suddenly, he noticed some of the pages at the end of the book were covered in mold.
"Damn it!" Angele scowled. "Hana! Hana!"
He shouted.
Intense footsteps came from the other side of the door quickly.
"Yes, master!"
A middle-aged woman's voice echoed in the hallway.
Angele waved his hand, and the rune marking on the door gradually faded away.
Creeaaak!
The door opened by itself.
A maid in a black uniform entered the room and walked to Angele carefully. "Master, were you looking for me?"
"Hana, how long have you been working in the mansion?" Angele closed the book.
Cold sweat appeared on the maid's forehead.
"It's… it's about ten years, master."
"Ten years, huh?" Angele lifted up his hand to raise her chin with a deadpan expression. "You were a naïve girl when you were… hired. Time flies. You're now more than 30 years old…"
Hana didn't do anything and only let Angele touch her chin.
"You're becoming old. Go fetch your remaining payment and leave. Find a good man to marry or do whatever you want. You're no longer my maid," as Angele said this, he released her chin.
"Master…" Hana was trembling, knowing that she had just been fired by her master. Now, she would have a hard time in her hometown.
"You want to know the reason?" Angele turned around and sat down by the window.
"Yes, master." Hana bit her lips; tears were welling up in her eyes.
Angele glared at her, "I thought I told you how to take care of the books in this room."
Hana became dumbfounded for a moment, quickly realizing what blunder she had done.
Angele remained unfeeling, "The books inside this room are important. All significant information I have acquired from around the world are recorded there. I've told you to soak the books in black stripe oil once a year and apply the cat-head incense on them. I'm paying more than 2000 gold coins just for that every year. Do you remember?"
Desperation was in the eyes of Hana, who leaned down her head and not say anything.
"This is just a guess, but did you keep some of the money for yourself after noticing how those books were fine even without treatment?"
"Master… I'm sorry…" Sweat was dripping down Hana's chin.
"Leave now. I won't ask you to reimburse me considering you served me well. Return to your hometown and enjoy the rest of your life." Angele waved his hand, sighing. "Also, summon Raylene for me."
"Thank you, master…" Hana replied shakily and sighed. She thought the master was going to punish, or even kill her for what she had done. The maid was grateful. She bowed to Angele and turned around to exit the room.
Seconds later, a pretty girl about 18 years of age entered.
"You'll be the one to take care of my books from now on, understood?" Angele looked at the girl, saying this.
"Yes, master," the girl nodded her head politely in response. Though, it seemed like she had something else to say.
"What?" Angele noticed the look on her face.
"Master," the girl bit her lips, "there's a girl named Sari. She's a maid in the mansion, hired not so long ago. Sari wants to… talk to you." Raylene became a maid in the mansion when she was 15 years old and had worked for Angele for some time now.
The girl was young and pure and never made any advances on Angele like the other maids. Just for that reason, Angele liked her a lot.
That was the reason why he was offering her an easier job.
"Ask her to come here." Angele nodded and fetched a book about wizards' history from the desk.
Raylene bowed to Angele.
"Thank you, master." She herself knew she was the reason Angele considered to talk to Sari. Her master was busy, and he barely talked to the mortals who worked in the mansion.
Raylene exited the room and minutes later, she brought back a red-haired girl with her.
The girl was looking down her feet. She was approximately 17 years old and could not even look at Angele directly. The girl looked quite cute in her white maid uniform.
"Ma… master… my name is Sari," the girl introduced herself with a small voice. "Thank you for seeing me, master."
"Tell me what you want," Angele put down the book and replied.
Sari soon noticed that Angele wasn't a coldblooded monster the rumors said otherwise. She lifted her head up and looked at Angele's average face. The man's long, red hair was draped over his shoulders, and he was leaning on the back of the chair with his legs crossed.
With the light of the sunset on his body, Angele looked like a handsome man in a picturesque scene.
The girl had stopped talking. This was her first time directly looking at the owner of the mansion.
"Sari… Sari…" Raylene noticed her friend wasn't doing anything, so she tried waking her up.
Sari got her left arm pinched by Raylene. She looked down again with her face blushing, completely ashamed of herself that she almost wanted to run away.
Chapter 405: Sister and Brother (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
"All right, tell me what you want." Angele became curious upon witnessing the girl's reaction. While he was a noble before he became a wizard apprentice, the girls in the castle back then wouldn't simply blush just from seeing his face. Now, however, Angele had become a god in the eyes of mortals and he reveled in this feeling.
Things, on one hand, might have been much easier had he changed his appearance.
On the other, the girl's reaction was refreshing to him. As a wizard, Angele hadn't had many opportunities to enjoy his life amid such a dangerous world.
Angele's mood was lifted for that reason.
"Just say it. If it's not too much trouble for me, I'll solve the problem," Angele encouraged.
Pursing her lips, Sari finally spoke out.
"Master… I have a younger brother who enjoys reading, a lot. And he loves taking care of books. I hear there are many books in your study, so I want to recommend him to you. I'm sure he can take good care of your books."
"Taking care of books, huh?" Angele's brow raised up. "How old is your brother?"
"Thirteen. He worked in the lord's mansion for several years. His main job was maintaining the lord's books," Sari hurriedly replied.
"Sure, ask him to come here. I will hire him, if he can get the job done." Angele nodded.
"Thank you, thank you, master… thank you." Sari bowed several times before she was dragged out of the room by Raylene, who knew Angele dislikes noisy places. Sari's voice was a bit too loud, after all. Both of them hurriedly bowed to Angele and left since Raylene did not want to anger her master.
Angele smiled, not in the least bit concerned. It was better if the person taking care of his books was a bibliophile. At least, there would be no mold in his books.
Even though the information recorded on the books had already been stored in his biochip, he still found it a pleasure reading the physical copy of books whenever he had time.
******************************
Three days later, in the morning.
Inside the study, Angele was gingerly taking a sip from his cup of hot milk and looking at the two teenagers who were quietly standing before him.
The one on the left was Sari, who was in a black-and-white maid uniform. The one on the right was a red-haired boy.
The boy, wearing an old, gray linen clothing, looked thin and weakly. But even though his face looked pale, his eyes seemed bright. He was staring at Angele hopefully.
"Master, my name is Saya. Please trust me, I shall take good care of your books!"
He leaned over to bow. Sari did the same, too.
The brother and sister duo stood there unmoving.
Angele gazed at them curiously.
"Saya, right? Straighten your back. I have several questions for you."
"Yes! Master!" Both Saya and Sari answered loudly and straightened their backs.
"Too loud. Lower your voice whenever you're answering my question." Angele waved his hand.
"As you wish, master," Saya softly replied, nodding.
"First question. Where are your parents?"
Saya and Sari instantly became downcast upon hearing the question.
"I don't know, master. They sold us in exchange for money…" Sari softly spoke, "If I hadn't been bought to become a maid, I would have had to work at the town's tavern…"
The town's tavern was equivalent to a brothel.
Saya tightly grasped Sari's left hand.
"Very well. Second question." Angele was unbothered, for he had heard far too many stories similar to theirs.
"Saya, how did you fall in love with books?"
Saya was caught off-guard. Such a question was something he had never thought of being asked. The boy thought for a while before he suddenly raised his head.
"Master, in my eyes, books are priceless gems. I can learn a lot of things I will likely never experience just by reading. Books are treasures to me!"
Angele nodded satisfactorily. Saya was young, but the words he spoke didn't sound like they came from the mouth of a 13-year-old boy. His childhood must have been tough.
"All right. Last question, do you know how to take care of this book?" Angele picked up a book he had been reading recently.
The book entitled [Honor of the Family] looked like a large, black brick.
"Come here and take a look. You can read, can't you?"
"Yes!" Saya affirmed excitedly, exultation written all over his face. He carefully took the book away from Angele's hand.
"It's an old book. This texture… it's made from the high-quality bark of a White Angle Tree. The book needs to embrace the sunlight for at least one hour every three months and must be kept in a dry, dust-free environment. The branches of the white pine will steer insects away, and if you put on gloves when reading the book, the material will last for hundreds of years…" Saya gazed at the book in his hand and continuously muttered these things. He seemed to love the book so much that he forgot where he was.
Angele nodded as he listened to the boy's murmurs. He himself knew how to take care of books made out of different materials, but he didn't have time to do so.
Saya had just explained the best method of preserving the books made from special materials. Angele was satisfied with this result.
Angele trusted the maid Hana, but mold still appeared in his books. Saya would seem to do a much better job than her.
"Good. I'll hire you to take care of my books. Monthly payment shall be 10 gold coins. What do you think?"
Ten gold coins could easily sustain a mortal's needs for a month, but they must know how to cook considering how the cost of bought cooked food in restaurants was much more expensive compared to the cost of the raw ingredients in the market.
Besides, Saya was young, so he might not need much money. Angele didn't want to offer him too much, for he knew just how greed could easily destroy a person. Ten gold coins should be more than enough money for a teenager, and he would be safe working in a wizard's mansion.
Angele was now becoming partial to Saya. In the future, he was planning on increasing his wage.
"Thank you, master! Thank you!" Saya was so jubilant that his voice was trembling too much. Nonetheless, a bright smile was on his face.
Angele smiled without saying any more.
***************************************
Saya did not disappoint Angele over the next 10 days. He categorized the books in the room and carefully maintained and cleaned them.
And even though Angele never told Saya not to read the books, the boy still tried his best not to, even one, open any of them. To a bibliophile, Angele's study was akin to a treasure trove.
Angele was not only the owner of the books, he was also the owner of his sister. Saya himself knew he must not bring any trouble to his sister. Sari had already taken a risk when she introduced him to Angele, so Saya needed to be careful when he worked in the mansion.
Angele grew fond of the boy's behavior. While he never told him directly, he mentioned to Saya that it would be fine if he read the books in the study while cleaning.
The boy was shaken up and thrilled upon being given permission to read books in the study. He then spent more time cleaning the study, just so he would have the time to read books.
Time went by.
Angele didn't blame Saya for staying in his study for too long. On the contrary, he respected people who enjoyed studying, especially the young ones.
But what staggered him was the change in Sari's behavior. The girl would often steal glances from a corner when cleaning the mansion and would look away if Angele exchanged glances with her. She seemed to have become starstruck with Angele.
Sometimes, Angele watched Saya clean the books while having mixed feelings about it.
A person like Saya would shine if given the chance. Knowledge was power; studying could change one's life. If Saya could survive in this chaotic world, he would likely become an influential personage in the society.
Saya was similar to a sponge that knew no limit, wanting to absorb as much knowledge as possible so that he could have a better life in the future.
And Angele had noticed that Saya had been training in a certain set of physical skills since he was young. The boy reminded him of Freia's brother whom Angele had not heard from for a while already.
Freia's brother was different from Saya, but both of them had their own dreams and both would try to fulfill their dreams.
Ten days soon passed. Saya and Sari had settled down in the mansion over the course of this time. Things were going well for them.
Angele could easily overturn someone's life if he so wished, but he never intended to help them out. It was merely a whimsical decision he made.
The time to attend the count's dinner party had come.
Prior to his usage of the ring, Angele informed the wizards who had contacted him before. Approximately 20 more wizards joined his team, with the total number reaching 40. Half of the elites in the Tarry River region had joined his team.
They received Angele's message and decided to meet him at the Blue Gold Cave of the Red Stone Mountains by the outskirts of the Tarry River region.
The meeting location was suggested by Angele.
Barely any people were around Blue Gold Cave. There had been several wizards inhabiting this place back then, but they had moved to other areas a long time ago. Mortals would never explore an area they thought to be related to wizards as they perceived these places to be hazardous.
Apart from that, Angele would have to pass by the Blue Gold Cave along his way to the dinner party.
Angele arranged the work in the mansion after messaging his newly-gathered followers. Lyn wanted to accompany him, but the good thing was, Angele found an excuse that discouraged her from going with him. Once Lyn knew Angele had something private to take care of, she no longer insisted. Things involving the Elemental Hand were also becoming better recently.
The Elemental Hand and the alliance desired to put an end to the war, for it had lasted for too long already and both forces were growing weary. The areas around the battlefield all suffered greatly, and the smaller organizations demanded peace, so they began negotiations.
No one would foolishly attack the son of the third elder during these times of negotiation. Things would become much more raveled if Angele was indeed attacked.
Not only that, people also knew how Angele defeated two rank 4 wizards and walked away without dying. Without any plausible reason, no one would want to mess with him.
Chapter 406: Guide (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
A twisting gray road with other paths branching out from it lay amid the vibrant green trees, as though it was the blood veins of the land.
Slowly advancing along the narrow path was a black carriage being pulled by four unicorns.
There was no defining feature on the carriage whatsoever, only pure black. The coachman was a messy-haired, short old man holding a horsewhip in his hand. He looked as if he could fall asleep any time.
The dark sky brought no light to them and to the path. The cold wind continued to swoosh across.
The path was smooth but not so much, so the wheels occasionally stumbled on some rocks and granted a not-so-smooth ride to whoever was inside the carriage.
Inside the carriage was a man seated cross-legged, staring blankly at one corner. Blue light was continuously flashing in his eyes.
"Perhaps once I return home after the birthday party, I'll be able to finish my new project… It's about time I start this," he uttered under his breath. Looking at the holographic image rotating before him, he smiled.
Angele was looking at a hologram modeled after him. But, it had some slight modifications compared to his true form. The model showed an appearance similar to his true form, though his height had become shorter by half a meter, from three meters.
Three days ago, as he traveled in the black carriage he was in, Angele was contemplating on several things. One of these things was the continuously decreasing usefulness of his biochip. His biochip was now only used for storing a powerful spell or for storing data—mainly, becoming a mere archive.
Angele's brows were furrowed.
Just using Zero as a storage seems to be not fully utilizing what it's actually capable of…
A while ago, Angele had started thinking of things that could be used to further enhance his strength with less effort but more results. And so, his biochip came into his mind. If he could get Zero to integrate his spells, matrices, and runic knowledge to create something, then he'd gain another card for battles.
At present…
In the hologram, his body had become much slimmer and not only did his one horn get reduced to several centimeters long, he also gained another horn, and these were each located on the side of his head. His eyes had also become two golden-red pairs of eyes that when looked upon, would make one feel like they would get sucked in. Equipped with silver plated armor formed by his Metal Mastery and his face covered by illusory flames—all of this was Angele's newly conceptualized form, a new, powerful arsenal of his.
This new form's purpose was to increase the damage output he could unleash in fights all the while reducing the mentality and stamina required.
Angele breathed in and out.
He looked out the window and could see a red mountain from afar.
Angele closed his eyes. Soon, they would arrive at the Blue Gold Cave.
******************************
From near a cave, at a place not too exposed, several men and women wearing robes of different colors were gathering in one place. All of them were exuding terrifying auras. They were all clearly elites. Yet, nobody seemed to be talking and instead were gathered there as though they were waiting for something.
The chilling gusts continued to howl across the surroundings.
The sound of a black carriage traveling toward them echoed and stopped by where the group of elites was at.
A young man, with an average face, long red hair that was draped over his shoulder and wearing a golden-hemmed robe, stepped out of it.
All of them looked at the young man and bowed in greetings.
"Wizard Green?" a male wizard asked.
The young man only nodded and replied with a question, "Is everyone here?"
"No, two more people are on their way to this place. They should be arriving in a few minutes."
"Got it."
After a moment, a portal appeared, and two black-robed wizards stepped out of it.
"Just in time."
When the two wizards saw the red-haired young man wearing a golden-hemmed robe, they bowed to him and introduced themselves.
"I'm Frappe, and this guy right here is Leo." Wizard Frappe smirked.
Wizards Frappe and Leo said, "Happy April Fool's Day!"
"The real chapter is below!"
******************************
A twisting gray road that had branched paths lay amid the vibrant green trees. The overall appearance of the road looked like blood veins but on land.
Slowly advancing along the narrow path was a black carriage pulled by four unicorns.
No defining feature could be seen on the carriage, only pure black. The coachman of the carriage was a messy-haired, short old man who held a horsewhip in his hand while he looked as though he could fall asleep any time.
No light was brought upon from the dark sky. The cold wind was swooshing across everywhere.
The carriage was slowly advancing as the wheels relentlessly crushed the pebbles in its wake. The shrubs on both sides of the road were shaking. Some forest creatures seemed to have been scared away due to the movements of the carriage.
"Master, in three days, we'll reach the Blue Gold Cave, but you will have to walk there to the cave yourself," the coachman reminded as he yawned.
"It's fine. I can walk." A deep voice belonging to a male came from the carriage.
The window of the carriage opened, revealing the pale and mysterious face of a man.
The man had a pair of glowing red eyes, which looked like clear red crystals of the highest quality.
He placed his hand on the windowsill and looked out to the other side of the forest.
"Something is going on. Ham, stop the carriage. We have to wait," he spoke calmly.
"As you wish, master." The coachman was not in the least nervous, for he seemed to have already gotten used to this kind of things. "This is the fourth time. What's wrong with this world? If it wasn't Master Green who hired me, I wouldn't even think of traveling this far."
Angele chuckled upon listening to him and looked at the other side of the forest again. Along a narrow path, an intense battle was occurring.
Several people wearing gray clothes and white bandana were duking it out with the guards of three carriages. People were laughing loudly, groaning in pain, and shouting. It was complete chaos.
"There are several bandits nearby. We should wait until they finish," Angele spoke tonelessly. It had been since he departed from the mansion, heading to the Blue Gold Cave. Still, the number of bandits in the forest was surprising.
Angele would always wait until the bandits finished pillaging before passing by, not wanting to draw too much attention.
The noise ahead slowly dissipated as the bandits had the carriages surrounded. Something seemed to have happened, and Angele could hear them laughing.
For more than 10 minutes they laughed and shouted.
Angele initially thought they would leave after they were done, but they were doing something else instead.
He stopped watching and closed the window and then took up the staff lying on the seat.
Ka!
Angele jumped off the carriage with a black staff in hand after the door was pushed open. He put on his hood and covered his entire body with his long, black robe.
"Ham, stay here."
"Sure, master!" Ham smiled. Angele could see his white teeth. He was simply no mediocre coachman, considering how a normal coachman would not travel alone with someone like Angele.
Angele nodded and slowly advanced with the staff in his hand. Some of his hair could still be seen underneath the robe.
Three carriages formed a triangular blockade up ahead, barring the bandits outside. The women and children within the blockade looked helpless.
The ground was covered with corpses and pools of blood. The stench of blood drifted in the air. Some of the corpses belonged to the bandits, but most of them were from the guards.
The bandits around the carriages were looking at the women and children with malevolent expressions. There was no way for those in the middle to escape.
Most of the bandits were carrying scimitars or crossguard swords. Some were wearing a broken version of the army's leather uniform.
The bandits were being led by a half-naked man who had a long scar below his left eye, standing on one side with his arms crossed. The scar twisted as he laughed. It was terrifying.
"Beard, what else?" the man shouted at the carriages.
There was a brawny man who had a long, black beard standing in the triangular blockade. He held the corpse of a girl in his right, his chest was soaked in fresh blood, and he was laughing.
A gash was left on the corpse's neck, with blood spurting out. The girl's soulless eyes were wide open, her body still twitching.
Hatred, desperation, and anger were written all over the female guards' faces as they looked at the girl's corpse. They tightly gripped their weapons in anger, yet there was not much they could do.
There were many broken arrows on the ground, indicating that arrow attacks weren't effective. No visible wound could be seen on the man who had a long beard.
"Whatever, we'll sooner or later die anyway. Why don't we try and take some of them down?" A girl in red was enraged, looking as if she would fight until the end.
"They killed all the men. It's obvious what they'll do to us. There must be a way. We shouldn't just hand ourselves to them!" one of the female guards said.
"Besides, Big Daddy just needs some treatment. I'm sure he's still alive! We shall not give up!" the guard encouraged.
There were about 10 girls in the blockade. Their final hope lay in the white-haired old man who was lying on the ground.
He had a damaged black leather armor equipped. A long scimitar was stabbed into the ground beside him.
"Yes. If Big Daddy wakes up, there will be hope," the other female guard said.
"Who's there?!"
Suddenly, the bandits around the carriage shouted.
Angele was slowly walking to the bandits, but before he could reach the carriage, he was detected.
Nevertheless, he didn't try to sneak. He was still unhurriedly walking to the bandits without a care.
A small group of bandits went to Angele immediately. The leader was the man with a scar under his left eye.
The man squinted, and his face turned solemn after noticing that there was only one man walking toward them.
"Friend, we're members of the Sandstorm. We'll be done in 10 minutes. Can you wait?" The man knew that no one would dive straight into a group of bandits alone unless it was someone who possessed great power or a… formal wizard. But in his troupe, there were several wizard apprentices, and he was a grand knight himself. With enchanted weapons in tow, he was certain they could win a fight against a low-rank wizard.
The man wasn't really a bandit and so he didn't wish to risk himself in the situation. Hence, he decided to speak with the stranger first.
Angele looked at the bandit, but before he could say anything, things changed.
Chi! Chi! Chi!
Suddenly, a huge red shadow appeared under his feet and transformed into a man right above the bandits. The shadow quickly solidified, and he turned around and showed everyone his appearance.
It was a young man with an attractive face.
Pa!
The man landed to the ground on his toes and bowed to Angele.
"Master Purple Eye, don't waste your time. I can kill them for you since they got in your way." He licked his lips. Flames were rising in his eyes.
Angele looked at the man.
"Turin?"
"I'm glad you know me." Turin was one of the elites who joined Angele's group.
Turin was also one of the powerful wizards who joined Dark Wizard Tower through their own power. They hadn't come from famous wizard families, but their skill level was extremely high.
Turin's body was wrapped with a red cloak. His hair was as red as a burning flame. There was a queer expression on his face.
"I recognize you because your words have left a deep impression on my mind." Angele smiled. "Regardless, I'm glad you're here to welcome me."
"Victoria is up ahead awaiting your arrival, too." Turin smiled as well. "We're certain you'll make our life more exciting."
"That should be one of the reasons you joined me, right?" Angele chuckled. Turin was one of the three leaders Angele had decided upon.
Turin was like a cruel beast who craved for danger and excitement in his life. That was his reason for joining Dark Wizard Tower. When he learned about the organization's big plan, he almost went crazy.
Rumors said Turin was a genius from a small wizard organization. He stayed in the mountains for years, but he realized his family and the organization he was formerly in could no longer satisfy him. Turin craved for better knowledge and stronger spells.
Turin realized that the people around him were too weak after accidentally killing off his father and his teacher during a simulation battle.
After that event, Turin became mentally unstable and he slew thousands of people during a war between wizards. That was how he became an infamous "criminal" and a wanted person by all the organizations in the central continent.
Furthermore, the man loved eating the raw liver of children and kept many of them as a livestock in his territory, just so he could enjoy a fresh liver whenever he wanted to.
Chapter 407: Guide (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
Victoria was also an oddity who was recruited by the Dark Wizard Tower, for he too was a genius.
Angele had already checked into Victoria's data from the intel center of the organization.
Victoria gave up his original physical body and created a new one through the blood essence he had collected from more than ten thousand corpses on the battlefield. With his Blood Aura, he could harvest blood from any living beings that were weaker than him.
On top of that, his Blood Aura was a passive ability, ergo uncontrollable.
Like how fishes swam in the water and people breathed in the air.
In other words, people ought to stay away from Victoria as much as possible. The man was a plague, literally.
Turin licked his lips and glanced at the bandits.
Fear came to manifest on the faces of some bandits.
"Turin! It's Turin…!" One wizard apprentice began to flee when he realized who the person was. He seemed to have heard about Turin's tales.
The bandit leader's face stiffened, and he put his right hand into the pouch tied to his belt He was about to activate an enchanted item. He might not know who Turin was, but he knew how dire the situation they were now in just by the look on the wizard apprentice's face.
"Die!" Lifting up his hand, a green fireball materialized and darted toward Turin.
Chi!
Turin released a circle of red light, with him standing right in the middle.
The luminous circle expanded within seconds.
"Kill… him…" the bandit leader shouted as every movement of his slowed down. The man's voice had started sounding older by the second, his skin was drying up, and wrinkles had now covered his face.
Pa!
A wisp of green flame exploded in the air, like a soap bubble.
The bandits raised their weapons up and rushed to the two wizards, but they immediately turned into dried-up zombies in several steps.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The corpses dropped to the ground, dying as their life energy was completely depleted. Some, killed by the weight of their own equipment.
All the bandits died in a split second. The scene was terrifying, and the women and children within the triangular blockade were frightened.
Turin stood beside Angele to see his face. He wanted to find the expression he wanted to see.
Angele only squinted his eyes and once again put on his hood, all the while showing a callous expression.
"Let's go. There are people waiting for us."
"As you wish, master." Turin chuckled and glimpsed at the people who were in the blockade. While some thought that the two wizards were their saviors, Turin overturned it when he raised his hand and gripped the air.
Boooom!
A ball of flame exploded.
The children and woman began screaming, shouting, groaning in pain. All of them were instantly devoured amid the explosion.
The fervent conflagration devoured everything in its wake, burning the carriages into flames and the trees around.
The nearby vegetation was also caught up in the flames.
Not once did Angele turned to look back at the burning carriages, only heading to his carriage straightaway. The people being attacked by the bandits and the bandits themselves were nothing to him. Mortals were mere ants and their deaths meant nothing to Angele. People had all stepped onto ants at least once in their life, but no one would care about their deaths.
Turin was only silencing the witnesses. He turned and went after Angele without looking back.
When Angele returned to the carriage and was opening the door, he heard another carriage approaching from behind his.
He stopped for a second and turned to look to the side.
A silver-edged, black carriage was slowly drawing near, protected by a convoy of mercenaries wearing green leather armor.
"Hey! Friends, what's going on there? What's burning?" the leader of the mercenaries asked aloud when he saw Angele.
"There was a conflict between bandits and several merchants," Turin answered, now standing behind Angele.
"Is that so?" The leader lost interest. He asked several of his members to check up on the situation and put out the fire.
"The situation is worsening. Bandits are everywhere. We have already encountered five groups of bandits, but luck was upon us. None of them were strong." The leader sighed.
The two carriages began to move. Angele never said anything, knowing that those mercenaries thought that bandits would not attack them if they traveled together.
Angele and Turin had both gotten inside the carriage. They only wanted to reach their destination and thought it would be fine if and as long as those mercenaries did not bring them any trouble.
Riding a horse, the leader of the mercenaries moved near to Ham and began conversing with him.
Ham sighed in response.
"You're right. I've fought on the Reindeer Battlefield. The deserters were much better than these bandits."
"You fought in the Reindeer War? Me too. Which unit were you in?" The leader found a new topic to get into.
"I was in Unit 13. What about you?" Ham was interested.
"I was in Unit 12. I didn't expect to meet a comrade here." the leader of the mercenaries laughed and began to talk about the things that had happened during the war.
Several minutes later, they returned to their former topic.
"The mercenary group was the one that put an end to the war of the three organizations in the Tarry River region. Did you know that?" the mercenary leader started recounting the stories of the mercenaries.
"I know, actually. The White Sword Mercenary Group, right?" Ham knew the situation back then well. "The White Sword Mercenaries' performance was impressive in the final battle."
"And their leader, Eagle of the White Sword, crushed the Storm Giant's service troop with his two thousand mercenaries. The first elder of Elemental Hand even conferred him an honorary title for his great deeds for the organization. He's a true legend among mercenaries…" the leader recounted with excitement.
"So, you're saying the Eagle of the White Sword contributed to world peace?"
"That's right," the leader nodded. "The Eagle of the White Sword, Master Augustin, is still fighting alongside his brother-in-arms in the central continent. His mercenary group has the potential to become one of the five biggest mercenary groups on this land."
Angele sat in the carriage, silently eavesdropping on their conversation.
Turin sat opposite him, smiling.
Angele knew Turin was trying to showcase his power when he killed all the bandits before he could do anything.
The two of them sat opposite to each other without uttering a word.
Angele discovered that Turin had a skill level rivaling a powerful rank 4 wizard and was much stronger than the Wizard Shozo. The man might be as powerful as Vivian without the Legacy Magic Circle supplying her power.
And without his True Form, Angele would have a difficult time overpowering Turin. The latter seemed to have realized Angele's situation, hence the reason he acted with contempt upon Angele.
Even though Angele's backing was more powerful than his, he might not obey Angele's orders if the situation allowed it. Turin only joined Angele's group for cordiality's sake and might not do things as Angele would order.
This case was the same for the other people who joined his group. For example, Victoria and that particular elder of Elemental Hand.
Angele mused on the situation and understood the reason.
He took a glimpse at Turin, who was looking out the window with a bored face.
With the Dark Wizard Tower's contract, while Turin's stronger than me, there is nothing he can do. Angele reached this conclusion in his mind.
"Master, have you ever heard of a group of people who call themselves 'Pathfinders'?" Turin suddenly asked.
"Pathfinders?" Angele remained composed. "No. Who are they?"
Turin despised the thought of being controlled by someone weaker than him. But Angele possessed the Legacy Magic Circle set, so he still came here as a courtesy.
"These Pathfinders all wear gray robes. No one knows what they are planning."
"Huh?" Angele opened the window. "That's the 'Pathfinder' you're talking about?" His eyes fell on a hill in the forest.
Turin smiled, not saying anything. He didn't want to answer Angele.
Pathfinders were the observers of the world and would only appear around the people who would become someone with a leverage on the world in the future.
*****************************
In the forest, a man in a gray robe was standing atop a hill, looking at the carriage slowly moving along the narrow path.
The window of the carriage opened, and the man inside looked at him.
The gray robe was holding a long cane in his hand when he exchanged eye contact with the man.
The carriage slowly disappeared into the horizon.
The gray robe retrieved a small black scroll and started writing down something carefully with his finger.
He furled the scroll after he finished writing and tapped on the ground with his cane.
Tap!
The man transformed into an enormous gray eagle with the robe and the cane.
The eagle raised its wings and flew up into the sky, soon turning into a black dot and disappearing into the endless sky.
Chapter 408: Meeting (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
Within the Tarry River region, at a particular part of a mountain, there was a huge and dark cave; and at its entrance, there was a small lake, which reflected the azure sky and the white clouds amid it.
More than 10 people were waiting nearby the lake, all wearing black robes. Despite gathering so, all of them kept some distance between each other. Most of them were watching a red-robed person seated at the mouth of the cave.
"We have waited for two days already. I must return within the next three days or else they'll start suspecting." A woman standing beside the small lake questioned, "Where is Master Purple Eye?"
"Let's wait. He should be here soon," a man answered in a whisper, "Turin should have met up with him already."
No longer talking, the woman walked to one side and started meditating with her eyes closed.
It was already noon time. Time seemed to pass by slowly. The swooshing sound accompanying the wind was becoming louder, as if a banshee was screaming.
The loud noise awoke several wizards that were meditating.
"He's here," someone said.
The wizards nearby the cave glimpsed at the forest.
Two people were slowly heading toward the cave they were at, coming from the dark green forest.
All of them ceased chatting and those who were seated all stood up, their gaze falling on the two persons walking to them.
Of the two, the one in front was a man clothed in a robe of black, though the robe was not long enough to hide his dark red hair. The man looked at all the wizards there quite calmly, and he wore a purple-eye-shaped ring on his left hand.
"He must be Purple Eye," someone spoke seriously.
Angele walked before Turin and observed them carefully.
He checked the information stored in the biochip and identified them quickly.
Angele walked to the cave entrance and looked around.
"I'm glad everyone is here. The organization has assigned me to become the leader despite the fact that I may not be the strongest here, and…" Angele paused for a second then continued, "I hope you cooperate with. Everything we do is for the better future."
No one reacted or spoke out as if they were waiting for one who would begin talking.
The cave bore pure darkness within, behind the wizards, and cold winds were coming out of it. The temperature of the surrounding area also plunged because of it.
Angele scanned the wizards, "Do you have anything to say? If not, I shall start giving out orders in accordance with the rule."
"Wait!" Someone took a step forward right when he finished.
The person was a man clothed in red, had a pair of purple eyes, and a see-through skin wherein the bones could be seen by Angele. The oversized robe he was wearing made him appear to be a child in an adult's clothes.
"I have a question." The man eyed Angele.
"You're Victoria, aren't you? Go ahead." Angele stayed unperturbed.
Victoria chuckled. "I want to know, what will happen if we don't obey your orders?"
Angele looked around, a smile appearing on his face. "I won't give out orders that won't benefit us all and orders that are impossible to fulfill. And since you're here, I think you already know what's going to end up happening. The world is changing as ever, yet there is nothing we can do. Ergo the reason we came together in this place. As long as you obey my orders, I shall protect you in the pandemonium that will soon come.
"Also, if you ever try to betray my trust, I shall enforce the rules and punishments of the organization upon you." Angele lifted up his left hand and blatantly revealed the purple ring to everyone. "This ring proves my identity as your superior and the right to banish you from the organization. If you do not obey my orders, or if you make a big mistake, you know what will happen."
Angele derided them. "All of you knows the secret. You should know the consequences if you're banished from the organization, v ery serious consequences."
"We know the consequences. We will be chased down, killed, and then turned into puppets at the beck and call of the organization," a middle-aged female wizard answered him. "What I want to know is the standard of this 'big mistake' you mentioned."
Angele's eyes fell on Victoria, who was standing before him. "You must restrain yourselves, and never do anything that will become a hindrance to the entire plan as a whole."
He paused for a second then carried on, "Earlier, Turin slew a band of bandits and the people whom they were attacking. I have nothing against that, but it's completely unnecessary. I don't think drawing the attention of the public is a good idea at this point."
"Huh? It's not necessary? What should have I done then?" Turin stepped up and asked.
Angele glowered at Turin. "You could have killed the bandits and made yourself seem like a hero just passing by. It would have been fine had you killed the bandits only. But killing all of them was a problem. There's a line between good and evil, and you broke it. That way of dealing with such situations isn't a clever one."
"My mistake then," Turin smirked and bowed slightly to Angele. "I'll be careful next time."
"Good." Angele nodded then turned once again to Victoria.
The red-robed Victoria was watching Angele with a detached face.
"Also, Victoria, you're the troublemaker of this group." Angele traded a glance with this bloodsucking murderer. "As a wizard, we ought to devote our time to improving ourselves to become much stronger. Meaningless genocide will only drag you into the spiral of vengeance."
"I have my own way of dealing with things," Victoria retorted.
"Slaughtering for no reason will increase the possibility of our secret plan being exposed to the society."
"Giving orders already, are you? I may show you respect, but that doesn't mean I'll obey you," Victoria screwed up his eyes, "or do you really think I won't try to kill you?" Red fluid gushed out of his red robe, his body seemingly surrounded by red mist. Purple glow filled his eyes, and he started releasing a terrifying mentality in every direction.
Woooo!
Victoria conjured a vortex that contained pressure. The vortex began its expansion, albeit slowly.
"I didn't give you an order, only telling you what a true wizard is," Angele spoke out calmly.
Chi!
Victoria raised his right hand up.
A streak of light flashed and completely materialized into a crimson crossguard sword.
The sword-point touched Angele's nose and left several thin lacerations on his skin.
"Are you serious? Are you telling me that I don't know what a true wizard must do?" Victoria's voice turned cold. Angele could now feel the intent to kill surface from the man.
Yet, Angele's facial expression did not change. "I'm only telling you what I think. You have two choices, kill me or obey me."
Victoria's gaze slowly switched onto the purple ring on Angele's left hand.
Chi!
The blood-sword dissipated and transformed into a blood sphere, sinking into his robe. An amiable smile instantly surfaced on Victoria's face.
"Why would I kill you? You're the leader assigned by the organization and if you want, you can banish us from the organization. No one here will… mess with you. Don't worry."
"That's good if those are your true thoughts." Angele seemed oblivious to the wounds on his nose. He, too, smiled. "The organization would punish you if you killed me, and had I banished you from the organization, someone from the organization would solve the problem for me. No one wants to die a turncoat, right?"
"Absolutely." Victoria walked to Angele's right. Turin was standing on Angele's left. Both of them were expressing their submission.
"What are you doing?" Angele's voice turned cold, as he stared at Victoria.
"You!" Victoria's face soured as he, too, looked at Angele in the eyes. The atmosphere became heavy. It felt as if a battle between the two could start at any time.
Angele lifted up his left hand. "Maybe I should banish you from the organization."
"I'm sorry, leader." A smile appeared on Victoria's face yet again. When he lifted up his right hand, a red light flashed in the air.
His right hand fell to the ground. Blood was boiling in his wound, yet it did not splatter.
Victoria was still smiling.
"I totally respect your words. Please forgive me."
Angele loosened up. "Why, Victoria? Cutting your hand off will weaken your life energy. I knew there was a misunderstanding. You know I was just trying to clear things up, right?"
"Yeah… It took me some time to understand the situation." Victoria picked up his right hand and walked up to Angele.
The rest of those who gathered were not crazy like Victoria. They already had understood the situation and paid their respect to Angele. Turin and Victoria were the only two persons who wanted not to be controlled by someone weaker than them, while the other members had none such problem.
Turin and Victory were the only ones here that were stronger than Angele in any case.
"We have nothing against your decision if Master Victoria follows your orders."
"You're the Purple Eye. The rule says we must follow your orders."
"There will always be one or two persons who would want to test you. They don't even know how powerful you are."
The wizards started licking Angele's boots. In spite of that, one person thought otherwise.
The crowd quieted down as a person wrapped in a black robe took a step forward.
The person put down their hood. It was a woman, a beautiful woman who had a pair of attractive and clear eyes.
"I wouldn't be as kind as you are right now if I were you. Victoria will bring trouble to the group. We should kick him out." The woman seemed to despise Victoria a lot.
"It's you, Lela!" Victoria recognized who the woman was, but his reaction was a bit unusual. The man began surveying the surroundings as though he was looking for something.
"Where are your cuties? Didn't you bring them here?"
Lela chuckled. "They are here, but I'll never reveal them to you."
Angele moved his eyes and looked at Turin, Lela, and Victoria successively.
He noticed how the others seemed to fear this wizard called Lela. She must have a powerful backing and a high skill level. Only basic intel about her was on the report sent to him by the organization.
"All right, let me explain my plan." Angele clapped his hands to draw everyone else's attention. "You have already agreed to join me since you're here today. Turin, Lela, and Victoria will each be a captain of a unit. All of you should have powerful backing in your own territories. Everyone here has different specializations. In any case, please send all intel to Lela, who will then send out a report to me after verifying the gathered intel. Victoria and Turin, you two make sure we possess a powerful force at our disposal whenever necessary. Only elites shall be selected as soldiers; I don't need weaklings. I hope all of you can contribute to the establishment of this army. I'll reward each of you with mission points accordingly."
Angele fulfilled his plan of asking the wizards to build up an elite troop directly under their control so that he could have a force that could fight for him whenever necessary. Using mission points as a reward was also a reasonable action.
The wizards began pondering after Angele said everything.
Although they decided to serve the organization to survive in the future pandemonium, they were worried that the organization would dispose of them once they could no longer provide the required quota. They had to figure out how much they should contribute to the organization.