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Chapter 58: Crisis (1)

Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe

"We can't just dawdle here and wait. We need to help Khedira kill that woman. The Green Spirit is one of the best familiars in the Northland Alliance. Since she controls the spirit, she must be someone special," Marylin finally stood up as she said with a worried expression.

"You can go. We'll stay here," one of the male wizard apprentices said. He absolutely didn't want to return to that place.

"You clearly don't understand! If Khedira dies, we won't escape that woman's attack!" Marylin yelled.

"But if we go, we'll end up becoming a pile of ash!" the male wizard apprentice answered.

"Khedira told us to leave because there's nothing we can do to help. Even if we go back, the situation won't change. I suggest we go back to the entrance and inform Khedira's knights of what happened," Griffia said with a calm demeanor.

"Yea! I agree with that," the male wizard apprentice said.

Angele never spoke, only standing there while listening to their exchange.

"Well, let's go to the entrance then," Marylin said. She began returning from the path whence they originally came while the rest of their group followed. In just a short span of time, they reached the entrance. What met their sights was the darkness that had begun covering the surroundings. The metal blockades were still there, however, none of the knights that were supposedly guarding the area was there. Even traces of battle were non-existent.

"Where are they?" Marylin asked. She had an enchanted item and was the strongest here; therefore, no one questioned her leadership in the group. They sought for clues around the entrance, yet they never found anything of use.

Suddenly, a bird began hooting from somewhere. The wizard apprentices searched for the origin, only to see a snow-white owl standing on a stone edge of the mountain. With its narrow eyes, it was merely overseeing them. However, to the group, it felt as though it wasn't the owl that was watching them. A strange sensation surfaced within Angele as he looked at the owl. Without making anyone notice, he immediately took a black-feathered arrow from his quiver. He nocked the arrow on the bow and pulled the bowstring.

"White owl," This reminded Marylin of something, and she yelled in panic, "Northland Alliance! It's the wizards from Northland Alliance!"

"Harryus!" With a face that had already begun to pale, she cast a spell toward the owl with her wand. Marylin chanted, and a speck of green light appeared on the tip of her wand. A slime-like, green substance separated from the tip and became a fist-sized green sphere. She waved her wand; the ball shot toward the owl, thus creating a green arc in the air as it flew.

Angele aimed right at the owl and loosened the bowstring, successfully launching the arrow. A silver dagger was thrown right toward it by someone at the exact moment Angele shot an arrow. The owl flapped its wings and began ascending. A small tornado suddenly appeared beside it, blocking and even pushing away the arrow and the dagger that successfully made their trajectories miss their target. Even the slime-like green sphere had been affected, causing it to fall onto a piece of stone beside the owl. At the place where the sphere landed, Angele could see green steam coming out of it.

The owl hooted and flew into the valley before it turned at a corner and disappeared.

"We have to go!" Griffia yelled, gasping for air. It seemed that the dagger was hers to begin with.

"Retreat to the school," Angele said in a grave tone.

"The guards here had already been killed. There's nothing we can do even if we stay," he continued. Apart from Marylin, who still wanted to say something, everyone else agreed with Angele's suggestion.

"We don't give a damn whether you love Khedira or not, just don't get us killed!" Griffia yelled. Marylin, whose face was pale, held her wand tightly in her hand. She bit her lips but ultimately didn't say anything.

"Come on, let's go. We already got detected by that owl. If we don't leave now, we'll all die. Angele decided not to waste time in other things, quickly taking out the map and finding the path back to their school. He began heading back to the school with others. No one bothered with Marylin anymore as she stood in place, unmoving.

They walked for a long time but didn't see Marylin catching up to them. It seemed that she went back into the valley by herself. A large forest lied in between the valley and the school. If the wizards decided to chase them, their group wouldn't be able to escape. However, not even a person pursued them, and instead let them leave.

It was nighttime. Everyone eased up a bit after making sure no one was tailing them. Originally, ten people were initially alive and kicking in their group, but now, only five remained. A campfire was lit; the light of the fire dyed Angele face red as he was reading the map beside it. He was trying to pinpoint their current location based on their initial route chosen. Others were also reading their maps.

One of the male wizard apprentices poured something like black seeds around the campfire.

"We should be around 10 days away from the school. I think we need to take night shifts to guard the camp in case wizards come after us," Griffia said with a low voice.

"It's not a revenge mission anymore since Northland Alliance itself is involved. We must return to the school and report this," one of the female wizard apprentices said.

"It seems like no one's tailing us, but they probably did it on purpose. They want us to send a message to our school. Otherwise, they wouldn't let us go," she continued. Angele and the other male wizard apprentice didn't speak upon hearing this.

"I poured some Flash Seeds around. If intruders breach within the 100-meter radius, it will explode and warn us." A male wizard apprentice sat down by the campfire, and said. He had been the one pouring those seeds.

"Thank you, Orio." Griffia nodded.

"There's still a long way to go. We need to make sure we have enough food and water," she continued.

"Yea. There's a small town ahead, but we have to hunt before we reach that place," Orio said.

"It's not a big deal. I used to hunt a lot when I was still with my family," the male wizard apprentice said. They stopped thinking about the wizards and started talking about other matters. Angele only sat there and listened, not even joining the conversation. He was busy checking the data the chip recorded from today's events, and he was arranging his personal data in order.

Today, he was able to take a glimpse at the true prowess of a wizard. He thought that he wouldn't have the power to contend against a wizard given his current abilities. The chip could increase his chances of survival, but it wouldn't help in fighting against familiars like the Green Spirit.

The fights between wizards all lied in their spells. If Khedira hadn't broken the illusion, their whole group would've been completely decimated. Because of that, Angele finally saw the gap between a wizard and a wizard apprentice.

'I need to start constructing mentality models. With that, I'll at least be able to protect myself,' Angele thought.

'Zero, simulate the process of constructing spell models,' he ordered.

'Mission created. Known spell models: 1. The Hand of Exhaustion. 2. The Stun Spell. Please choose,' Zero reported. Angele stood up and walked toward a nearby large tree. He sat down by the tree, causing others to think he was pondering over something. His line of sight remained at the direction of his fellow wizard apprentices, but he was actually communicating with the chip.

'I'll go with the Stun Spell,' Angele thought. He hadn't done anything else recently beside regular meditation. Anything related to the construction of spell models was left untouched. Before he could touch upon that subject, he had initially learned the complete fundamental knowledge necessary for the spell models. The courses for these fundamental subjects had been bought by him and stored on the chip. When Angele was traveling, most of his time was spent on revising and perfecting all the stored knowledge, and he tried his utmost to learn everything.

Constructing the spell models required a lot of mentality. Once he failed in the process, the consumed mentality would be lost. Therefore, Angele had decided to be patient in delving into the construction of spell models. He thought the chip and his skills in archery would help him survive this mission, yet never did he expect to face such strong enemies.

After seeing the battle between wizards, he began to realize how necessary it was to know a spell in order to counter other spells hostile to him. He completely comprehended the knowledge necessary for the two spells in his possession when their group reached the valley after fleeing. Angele had decided not to wait after they escaped. He wanted to at least be able to use one spell first. Also, he was very close to being promoted to stage 3; he looked forward to becoming a wizard in the future.

'Simulation initiated. 2 points of mentality will be consumed. Duration: 30 minutes.' Zero's mechanical voice echoed within Angele's mind.

He leaned against the tree and pulled up his collar in order to cover his neck. The forest had long been wrapped in darkness. The strange noises created by insects could be heard.

Angele opened his eyes and focused his sight on the grass. He started to see some thin blue lines forming various magic arrays right in front of his eyes. There were waves that only wizards could detect surrounding him, becoming stronger. However, the other wizard apprentices were unable to notice such changes. The magic arrays disappeared after half an hour's time had passed. Angele blinked his eyes after exerting such effort, so he felt relieved.

'Simulation completed. 2 points of mentality has been consumed. The model of Stun Spell has been constructed successfully. Every time you cast it, 1 point of mana and mentality will be consumed,' Zero reported. Angele had named the elemental particles in his body as mana, the energy wizards needed in casting spells.

'Check my current condition,' Angele ordered.

Chapter 59: Crisis (2)

Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe

'Angele Rio: Strength 2.9. Agility 4.1. Stamina 3.7. Mentality 3.3. Mana 3.0 (Mana is contingent on Mentality). Status: Healthy,' Zero reported.

Mana was a new attribute, which Angele had found before coining it with the term after reaching stage 2. This was the unit Angele had set for measuring energy particles — the particles stored on the chip and inside his body after reaching the new stage. He could store 3 degrees of energy in his body and more than 17 degrees on the chip. Angele had absorbed about 17 degrees of energy from Nancy's enchanted item, but he had yet to discover the maximum amount of energy he could store on the chip.

'3 Mentality and 3 Mana must mean I can cast three basic spells,' Angele thought while the chip kept reporting.

'Listing the data of Stun Spell:

Stun Spell (Basic) – Spell Level: 0

Cost: 1 Mentality and 1 Mana

Effect: Stun the target for a duration of 1 to 3 seconds

Effective Distance: Within 1.5 meters

You need to cast it within 5 seconds. Otherwise, it will fail.

Weak Point: If the target has high Stamina, the effect of the spell will be greatly reduced.' Zero reported.

Level 0 spells had a basic-level spell model and could be learned by wizard apprentices. Wizards place different spells into different levels based on their cost, damage, and area-of-effect. There were several different levels upon which level 9 was the highest.

'I didn't expect for the process to be so fast. Now, I just need to practice more after the chip finished sending me the data. I can easily learn the whole because of the chip. If I didn't have it, I might have thought of going to spell laboratories to experiment only to fail no small number of times and waste a lot of mana and mentality. Sleeping is the only way to recover those. Most likely, I can only experiment in the laboratory for 2 or 3 times. No matter how smart a wizard apprentice is, he'll need at least 25 days just to learn a Level 0 Spell. I heard the record was set by Garman, Jr. of the Faculty of Enchantment.' Angele thought. The result was something he was already satisfied with.

Angele didn't expect for the chip to show such a marvelous performance. He had been planning on going with it in a careful manner, even wanting to make sure he could use the spell before returning to the school. He never knew that he'd be successful on the first attempt.

'Improve the spell structure?' Zero asked. Angele became surprised upon hearing this, not believing it was possible to do so.

'Improve the spell structure?' Zero asked again. Angele finally realized the capabilities of the chip, causing him no small amount of excitement to fill him at this moment.

'What's the requirement for it?' Angele asked.

'It will cost you 14 Mentality, 14 Mana, 18 days 13 hours and 42 minutes. Currently, the requirement hasn't been met,' Zero answered.

'Why did you even ask then?' Angele felt a bit speechless.

'Will the 14 Mentality be consumed at once?' he asked.

'Yes,' Zero answered. Angele instantly abandoned this idea because he needed to increase his Mentality to over 14, something which was impossible for him right now. He needed to become a wizard first before he could improve the spell.

After simulating the Stun Spell, Angele felt very tired. No one brought tents, so he had to sleep by the campfire. Angele calmed down for a bit before he began meditating by the campfire.

The next morning.

The five caught a few rabbits and squirrels in the forest. They finally caught some meat, but they didn't bring any salt, making it harder for them to eat. Normally, they would have decent food in the school. At this time, however, they had no choice but to bear with the tasteless food. After breakfast, they began traveling back to their again. The Ramsoda College was located in the middle of nowhere with only one small town nearby. After all, people wouldn't think of living near a school specializing in necromancy. On their way back, Angele's group of five didn't encounter any trouble. When they became hungry, they would hunt wild animals. As for quenching their thirst, their water supply was obtained from the rivers they passed by.

Angele continued studying the information regarding fundamental knowledge on everything stored on his chip. He also learned the necessary information for the construction of his other spell model, the Hand of Exhaustion. He purchased the required course ahead of time and even stored everything on the chip. Angele had no time to read through the courses before, but now, he had some spare time to do so while on the road. He was planning on simulating the second spell model upon returning to the school.

****************

More than ten days later…

On the surface area of the Ramsoda College.

The heat from the sunlight caused the ground to become burnt. The entirety of the abandoned city seemed golden under the sunlight. The wind was blowing the dust into the air. On the bridge, a group of wizard apprentices was walking. The one who led the group raised his head up to look at the city.

"Finally. We must report the situation immediately," he spoke in an excited tone. A black crow landed on the handrail and looked at the wizard apprentices. The crow didn't speak and only flew away. The wizard apprentice at the front was trying to say something, only to be hindered by the one behind him.

"Don't, Master Moroco won't care. He promised the president he would guard the entrance, but he never was one of us," the other wizard apprentice said.

"Fine." The leading wizard apprentice nodded.

Angele was at the back of their group with his face covered with dust and leaves. He followed the other wizard apprentices and reached the tunnels of the school. Angele and the other two male wizard apprentices walked to the door first, along with Griffia and the other girl following from behind.

"I'll inform Master Luas. He knows the assistant dean of the resource department. With him, he'll be able to quickly pass the information to the other masters. I hope Khedira made it out," Griffia said with a low voice.

"Inform your masters about what happened in the valley. They'll share the information to other wizards," she continued.

Angele and the others nodded in response. When he was heading to Master Liliana's study, he met a wizard apprentice named Yale, whom by a strange coincidence, was similarly a student of Master Liliana. There were many forked paths between the tunnels. Sometimes, there would even be a room with benches inside between the tunnels. People often used this for rest, and the room was usually connected to more than two tunnels. Angele and Yale entered one of those rooms, and they saw someone else coming from the other side.

It was a white-robed man whose face was devoid of expression. A silver shoulder guard was on his left and also wore a large, white cape that covered his back.

"It's Master Ur!" Yale happily said.

"Yale, it's you. I thought you're still on Khedira's mission?" Ur asked.

"This is what happened…" Yale walked toward Ur quickly and then told him everything. Angele stood by the side and listened. Master Ur Caesar was one of the top wizards in the school and was titled 'The Ice Mind Reader'. As Yale reported the situation, Ur's expression changed, clearly understanding the severity of the situation.

"The lady you encountered wore a silver headband and had a Green Spirit on her shoulder?" Ur asked in a grim tone.

"Yes, the Green Spirit killed 5 of us in a second! I would never forget!" Yale answered.

"It's the Northland Alliance," Ur said nervously.

"You two, report the situation to President Kyler now. He should be around the trading hall. I'll check if Khedira's sign is still intact. If the sign disappears, I'm afraid…" Ur spoke in a worried tone.

"Yes, Master Ur." Yale and Angele bowed before they walked toward the door. Ur looked at the two with a thoughtful expression. His eyes began gleaming, and he suddenly raised his right hand. There was a barely visible ball twisting in his palm.

"Damn! How dare you disrespect me!" Ur's yells echoed.

"You…" Ur yelled before reaching out to Angele. His hand became strangely huge, completely blocking the light inside the room. Both Angele and Yale became horrified because of that scene. What made it worse was that they had no idea why Ur was trying to hurt them. The words Ur had spoken were too unreasonable, but they had done nothing disrespectful against him.

"Ur, they're my students!" A high-pitched female voice came from behind, and an old woman suddenly appeared from their shadows. Two forces clashed against each other — darkness against frost. Many shadow-formed claws were flying toward Ur in the air, but the white, cold air around Ur froze the claws before breaking them into pieces.

"Liliana…" Ur had an apathetic look on his face. He looked at the horrible-looking old woman in fear as though he had no wish of fighting her.

"Huh!" He lowered his hand, opened the wooden door, and left.

Chapter 60: Tranquility (1)

Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe

"You two, come to the study." Liliana's voice echoed in the room before disappearing into the shadows again. The room became still once again as though everything that had just occurred was but an illusion. Yet, Angele could still feel the coldness emanating from Ur. He looked at Yale only to see his shocked face.

They walked down the passage that led to Liliana's study silently. No one had the mood to talk anymore. Master Liliana was one of the top wizards in Ramsoda College, but it wasn't due to her horrifying look. It would be fine for them to just report the situation to her.

The study was devoid of light and heat. Angele and Yale stood by the door as they had already finished informing Liliana about everything they knew. Master Liliana didn't show any other particular expression apart from a thoughtful one. Time passed in silence inside the study.

"You two can leave now. Let me handle this. The Northland Alliance really has nothing else to do," Liliana finally spoke after a while. She knocked on her desk several times and looked at the two.

Angele and Yale had nothing else to say, so they carefully left the room and returned to their own dormitory. They had already passed the message. Apart from this, there wasn't much that they could do about the situation since they were merely wizard apprentices.

Angele felt relieved after returning to his room. He took off his equipment and placed it on the floor, and then he lied down on the bed. He was extremely exhausted, so he stayed in his bed for a long time.

"I should be more careful when picking missions to take. High returns are always accompanied with high risks," he murmured.

'That was really a difficult mission. If the chip didn't warn me about the attack, I would've become a pile of ash. I should have taken it slow. I've been too greedy,' he thought as he shook his head. Angele got up and looked at the crystal clock. It was 2:15 p.m.

'My sword skills and archery was useless in the mission. Fights between wizards are focused on spells. If I want to use physical attacks, I'll have to break through their force fields first. I need to find a way to do it, but the Anti-Force Field spell can only be studied by wizards. I'm only a stage 2 wizard apprentice. There's still a long way to go, but if I were to encounter a situation like this again, I'll need to find a way to protect myself. Ur Caesar and the Northland Wizards could kill me with a breath… Why did Ur attack us…?' Angele thought. He sat on his bed with his legs crossed.

'I need to find a way to make myself stronger.' Angele began thinking again.

'High-level spells will be too much for me to handle. Enchanted items are too expensive. After reaching stage 3, I'll be able to learn more spells, but I need to somehow increase my mentality. What if I can use my sword skills during battle…?' He suddenly remembered the first time he used the spell on the ring.

'The Agility Boost Ring's energy had already been fully absorbed by the chip, but something occurred after I spoke the incantation. It was like I cast a spell using the stored energy. How is that even possible? The burst of energy helped me cast a strong spell unconsciously?' Angele thought. He wanted to get to the root of what happened during the process.

'It's like I skipped several steps in casting that spell. Zero, can you find out how the auto-casting occurred?' Angele asked.

'Agility Boost… Analyzing… Conclusion: After the absorption of the energy of an enchanted item, the spell model on the ring had been stored on the chip as well. The spell can be auto-cast when necessary.' Zero reported.

Angele was surprised for a second, and then finally understood what had happened.

'So the whole spell from the enchanted item will be stored on the chip? Does that apply to normal spells?' Angele asked.

'Yes.' Zero answered.

'It's actually very helpful if I have several enchanted items. However, I can store my learned spells on it and even instant cast them when necessary.' Angele scrunched his eyebrows as he thought.

'Find me a way to break the force fields using physical attacks.' Angele asked.

'Mission established. Beginning analysis…' Zero reported.

Angele decided to leave the chip to its own devices and started meditating on his bed. After a while, his body started to shine, his skin and clothes all covered with green light. The green light illuminated for about half an hour before disappearing, and then some red spots of light appeared around him. These tiny red spots fell onto Angele's skin like the rain.

'Mission completed.' Zero suddenly reported. The red spots disappeared in the air and everything returned to normal as though nothing happened. Angele opened his eyes, red and green light still being reflected from his eyes.

'I chose the wind particles and fire particles when I reached stage 2. I used the other elemental particles to help lead these two types of particles into my body. I think I need to focus on studying one of them, though. It will be more efficient.' Angele thought.

'Show me the result.' He asked.

'Plan A: Enchanted potions. Not restricted by the level of a wizard apprentice or a wizard, and has the capability of breaking some basic spells. With the help of your archery skill, you'll be able to injure a wizard, and an average wizard apprentice without enchanted items in possession won't be able to handle your attacks.

Plan B: Obtain an elemental familiar. Some elemental familiars have special spell powers. They'll be able to block some spells for you.' Zero listed two plans in front of Angele's sight. Looking at the data of the two plans formulated by Zero, Angele scrunched his eyebrows.

The second plan was practically unviable. Angele couldn't afford an elemental familiar since one cost more than a hundred magic stones. Therefore, he selected the first plan. Basic knowledge on Potion Study was free, and there were several tested formulas Angele could use. However, merely knowing the formula didn't mean he could actually concoct a potion.

Potions were too difficult to concoct. In Ramsoda College, only two out of all wizards could concoct potions. Their success rate in potion concocting was about 40%, which was already very high compared to others. One would have a higher success rate if one had plenty of recourses.

The steps in concocting potions were easy to follow. First, Angele would need enough mentality and enough control in mana usage. He also needed to learn all about the raw materials and how to deal with the occurring changes during the concoction process. However, he couldn't learn any of those from the masters because he still needed to try concocting by himself even if he had already learned the fundamentals. Experience was most vital in potion concoction.

That was also the reason why potions were too expensive. The potions of lowest quality were worth at least 10 magic stones.

'If I can master the art of potion concocting, I'll be able to earn a lot more magic stones in comparison to taking missions. While an ordinary wizard doesn't have the assistance of the chip, I have the capability of using the raw materials with utmost efficiency with the help of Zero.' Angele thought. He wasn't certain if it was a good plan, but at the very least, he had hopes of making this work.

'Also, I hear that some potions could help increase my mentality. It's worth a shot.' Angele made the decision.

'First, I need to get my hands on a set of potion concocting equipment,' he thought.

****************

Twenty minutes later…

At the underground trading square.

The trading square was the size of a football court. Many small wooden houses were built upon it, though they weren't too organized. Each house had a wooden board placed beside it with the list of goods and prices written on the board. Some wizard apprentices were moving from one house to another. Only one or two wizards were around.

There were three wizard apprentices lined up in front of a wooden house by the left. Two of them were male, while the other one was a female. The male wizard apprentice in front of the line looked as though he was about 15 or 16 years old and had a strapping outlook. His shoulders were nearly covered by his brown hair, and it seemed that he hadn't had a haircut for a while.

It was Angele, who was carefully looking at the goods on the shelves. This store only sold equipment for concocting potions, and everything here was being sold cheap. A set of potion concocting equipment only cost one magic stone. However, the materials and colors of the sets differed from one another as some were second-hand sets of equipment.

The store owner was similarly a wizard apprentice who was about 30 years of age. He was currently sitting inside the house with his arms crossed and had an impatient look.

"You can see the price on the board, one magic stone for each set. Leave if you're not buying. Just don't waste my time," the owner yelled. He never once saw a wizard apprentice becoming successful in learning the potion concoction, so he would his patience for those wizard apprentices every time. He had bought these sets of potion concocting equipment through special networks from the Potion Study students. The new sets kept becoming worse than the secondhand sets. Rich wizard apprentices would never buy items from him, anyway.

Angele took a glance on the sets on the shelves, finally stopping his sight upon a secondhand set made of light red glasses.

"I'll take this one." Angele handed over a magic stone. The store owner grabbed the magic stone and threw it into the wooden basket under the shelves.

"Help yourself," the owner said.

"Sure. Wait, do you have raw materials for basic potions?" Angele asked.

"One magic stone per box. Each box has enough materials for you to practice concocting a Hemostasis Potion for about 10 times," the store owner answered right away. He clearly knew what wizard apprentices usually came here for.

Chapter 61: Tranquility (2)

Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe

"I'll take one please." Angele nodded as he put down another magic stone. The store owner looked at the magic stone before handing a black box to him.

"I'll take one, too," the male wizard apprentice standing beside Angele said. He was a blonde person who had an average face and narrow eyes. It seemed that he was about 20 years old.

"Failed again? Without someone teaching you, you're just wasting your money." The store owner looked at him and gave him a wooden box. The male wizard apprentice smiled but didn't bother responding. He took the box with him and placed down a magic stone. Only after he left did the female wizard apprentice behind him started browsing the store.

Angele watched the male wizard apprentice leave with a thoughtful expression for a moment. Then, he carried everything back to his room. There were many faculties in the school, and for every faculty, about 20 wizard apprentices occupied it. The underground area was as vast as an average-sized city. Angele barely knew people from other faculties, only familiar with the ones in the same classes he attended. He heard stage 3 wizard apprentices studied in other areas. After that instance where Alu had shown him around the school, Angele hadn't seen him at all.

Angele returned to his room with the items he had bought. Just after he sat down, someone knocked on his door.

"Angele, you there?" Ansett's voice came from outside the door.

"Yea." Angele stood up and opened the door.

"Your letter, from the White Tooth Castle," Ansett said, handing over a letter to him. She looked very attractive in her black hunting suit. Angele looked at the letter and saw that it was from Yuri.

"Yuri… Thanks, Ansett." Angele remembered the blonde boy who liked smiling often.

"No worries. You weren't here when the mailman came, so I received it for you," Ansett said. Her gaze fell on the potion concocting equipment as she closed the door.

"Angele, I heard you joined Khedira's mission?" She sat on the chair gently.

"Yea. I just got back. You heard about what happened there?" Angele nodded. He sat on his bed, seeing that Ansett occupied the only chair inside the room.

"I heard your group encountered the wizards of the Northland Alliance. Is that true?" Ansett asked. She was filled with curiosity, curiosity in everything related to wizards.

"Yea. I think the mission report will be announced to the public in several days." Angele looked at Ansett, noticing that she had another motive for coming here.

"Angele, you reached stage 2 not too long ago, right? How are you progressing recently?" Ansett asked but became flustered after noticing Angele's expression changing.

"Sorry," she apologized. She knew how impolite it was to ask such a sensitive question. Wizard apprentices and wizards didn't like others probing them when it could breach their privacy.

"It's fine," Angele said. He knew Ansett well, but he became flabbergasted when Ansett suddenly asked him that kind of question.

"If you need help, just ask." Angele would help her if he could since they were friends.

"I probably have to drop out of school…" While saying this, Ansett's expression changed.

"Why?" Angele asked in a surprised tone.

"I'm still at stage 1. I don't even know when I'll be able to reach stage 2. My family wants me to return and get married," Ansett replied with a sorrowful demeanor.

"Unlike you and Manas, my talent level is just 1, and I'm already 18 years old. It's most likely impossible for me to reach stage 3 before my 19th birthday. I'll never become a wizard if I can't reach stage 3 before 18 years old. I think you know how much money and resources we need just to stay in the school. There's no way I could pay the fees here by myself," Ansett spoke with a weak voice.

"So… your family will no longer support you if you refuse to return?" Angele asked as he scrunched his eyebrows. He wished to help, but there was nothing much he could help with in this kind of matter. Ansett wanted to reach stage 3 in a year's time and it had to be done by herself. Though Angele could impart to her his acquired knowledge, she still needed to learn and comprehend it by herself. Also, she, by herself, needed to find out how to lead energy particles into her body in order for her to reach stage 2.

"Actually, if I can find someone who could help me support my family name… I'll be able to stay," Ansett said, depression apparent on her face. Angele remained silent but had his eyebrows scrunched.

"Manas already has a fiancée who has a higher talent level compared to mine." Ansett raised her head and looked at Angele.

"I'm not going to get engaged with you. I'll return to my homeland in the future, so I can't promise you anything. Becoming my fiancée won't do your family any good," Angele said.

"We don't need to get married. Just tell everyone that I'm your lover, and my family will then provide everything you need to become a wizard. You know I'm from the Carter Family, one of the top 5 families in the school. I think should consider my offer," Ansett shook her head and said.

"You're not the only wizard apprentice sent here by your family?" After thinking for a second, Angele asked.

"Yea, there are two more, but they're the same as me. There aren't that many wizard apprentices who can reach stage 3 before turning 18 years old," Ansett answered.

"Why me?" Angele wondered.

"You're only 15 years old, yet you're about to reach stage 3 while Manas is still at stage 2. Furthermore, you survived such a dangerous mission. I think you're a suitable choice for me," Ansett said.

"Sign the contract with me and take an oath, then I and another girl will belong to you. I can assure you the other girl is also… attractive," Ansett continued.

Angele remained his sight on her. The offer she had given was something worthy to be considered for him. After all, he needed the support from a local family and he needed magic stones. He could also play with two attractive girls. This was definitely an offer that he had no reason to decline.

"That's an attractive offer, but I'm still wondering as to why you came to me," Angele said.

"You are the most talented apprentice I know," Ansett said.

"Only several wizard apprentices in our school reached stage 3 before the age of 15. You aren't the most talented one, but you can be considered to be one of the best wizard apprentices in Ramsoda College," she continued.

"I thought Alu reached stage 3 when he was 14," Angele said.

"He's different. People like him had high-level wizards in their family increase their talent levels using special methods. We call them Blood Inheritors, but their children won't be as talented as they are. My family does not wish to have their children married to Blood Inheritors." Ansett shook her head.

"Fine, I only see benefits in your offer. I'll sign the contract." Angele nodded.

"Great! I'll be able to stay in school then." Ansett happily took out a contract from her pouch. She obviously had come prepared.

"This is the contract. You can take a look." Ansett handed the contract over to Angele.

"You're similarly signing contracts with other people, right? I mean others from your family." Angele checked the contract and found nothing suspicious.

"Yea. There are many beautiful girls in other Wizard organizations that are from my family. If they can't reach a high stage, they'll try to marry the talented ones. You've no idea how large my family is." Ansett nodded.

"However, you're the first in Ramsoda College. If you sign it now, I and another girl will move into your room tomorrow," Ansett said while blushing.

"Can you leave the contract here? I'll read it carefully tonight. I'll sign it tomorrow if I see no strange rules I need to follow." Angele waved the contract in the air.

"Sure." With a relieved expression, Ansett bowed to Angele.

"I'm counting on you." She drew nearer toward Angele and embraced him. Angele could feel it, her decent sized breasts.

"Don't make me wait," Ansett whispered. Angele became slightly aroused. He attempted to grope her butt, but she backed off right before his hand could reach it. She bowed again before leaving. Angele closed the door and placed the contract down while smiling.

His thoughts still lingered on that arousing sensation of her soft breasts. Angele had been too occupied with his thoughts about the mission ever since he returned, but because of what had just transpired a moment ago, the thoughts about the mission was finally out of his mind. He calmed down and looked at the equipment on his desk before taking the chair and sitting down.

Angele opened the black wooden box. Two different herbs were contained within it. The one on the left was a red herb called Dried Grass Root. The one on the right was a fruit that looked like an orange. Those fruits had been cut in half, showing contrasting colors of the light yellow surface and its bloody red inside. Both herbs were dried already.

Angele set the equipment up. There was one retort bottle, one alembic, one glass conduit pipe, and several test tubes and beakers. They were placed in a large linen bag filled with cotton when Angele bought the set.

He assembled everything on the desk.

'Zero, show me all the necessary data for potion concoction and simulate the crafting process of Hemostasis Potion,' Angele ordered.

'Mission initialized. Simulation initialized. Duration: 2 hours and 15 minutes. Success rate: 15%,' Zero reported.

'15%.' Angele was satisfied with the success rate.

'I didn't expect it to be this easy. It's my first time simulating the concoction of a potion,' Angele thought.

The success rate was calculated based on Angele's current mentality, mana, and other condition. With the assistance of the chip and a proper formula, Angele had a very high success rate. An average Potion Study wizard apprentice only had a 5% success rate, while Angele had a 15% success rate mainly due to the chip.

The only thing he needed to do was to wait for the simulation result. The chip would enhance the success rate after the simulation finished. After that, he would be able to obtain an even higher success rate.

Chapter 62: Defection (1)

Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe

After two hours, Zero finished the simulation of the potion concoction process. Angele stood in front of the desk and measured the necessary amount of herbs in accordance with the results of the simulation. He put everything into the beaker and began heating it using an oil burner.

The oil burner in this world was akin to the Bunsen burner on Earth, but it used oil as its fuel instead. The blue flame of the burner had a much higher temperature compared to normal oil lamps. Angele added some water into the beaker, which soaked everything inside, and then he covered the beaker with the lid. It took about 2 minutes for the water to boil, and the herbs inside had changed colors. The boiling water inside the beaker turned light purple as steam kept leaking out of the lid, thus causing the room to be filled with a sour smell.

Angele silently watched over the beaker, occasionally checking the crystal clock on the side. He maintained calmness and silence such that the only sound that could be heard was the sound of the boiling water. Ten minutes later, Angele took some cotton from the bag and removed the lid off the beaker, causing the white steam to rise in the air.

Angele stared at the liquid inside the beaker and ordered Zero to display the information of what was inside. The beaker turned into a blue hologram in the air with the data listed beside it. The data continuously changed, showing the temperature, changes, activities, and elemental shifts.

Angele looked at the beaker carefully. Suddenly, he flicked his finger and a red object was shot into the water. Angele's lips were shaking as he kept invoking the incantation. His voice was sometimes high and sometimes deep. With the changes in his tone, the liquid inside the beaker began to change, and it suddenly stopped boiling. The bubbles and the steam disappeared slowly as well.

No matter how strong the heat was, the surface of the liquid started freezing. This strange reaction lasted for about 10 minutes. Finally, the flames under the beaker extinguished by itself, and Angele stopped chanting. He bit his lips, scrunched his eyebrows, and stared at the beaker. The liquid inside it started boiling again, even the color stopped changing.

"Did I fail?" Angele muttered. He grasped the beaker and dumped everything inside into the sink. The washroom and the toilet were separated into two sections in the room, and his desk was close to the washroom.

'Zero, tell me why I failed,' Angele ordered.

'Your mentality wasn't synthesizing with the materials' activities well,' Zero reported.

'Well, let's keep going,' Angele thought as he took a breath. He placed the beaker back on the oil burner.

************************************

In the evening, Angele held two test tubes filled with green liquid in his hands with a bitter smile on his face. Angele had spent 8 hours attempting to concoct the potions, yet he only succeeded twice out of ten attempts.

"A single Hemostasis Potion can be sold for more than 10 magic stones. I paid two magic stones for everything, but I can earn 20 magic stones, a 90% gross profit margin. Not bad at all. However, even with the assistance of the chip, I could only concoct two potions successfully." Angele murmured as he shook his head. He felt slightly disappointed, but he now knew the reason why potions were so rare.

'Good thing Zero is extremely helpful in tasks like this. This is my advantage, and if I continue learning, I'll earn a lot of magic stones with all the potions I concoct.' Angele spent the whole time concocting potions. At present, his mood was pretty good because of the fact that he wouldn't be worrying about magic stones soon.

'However, Ansett will come tomorrow, and she'll find out about this. It's impossible for an average wizard apprentice to have such a high success rate, so she'll try to spread rumors in order to increase the reputation of her family. I need to find another place for me to concoct potions. Should I just keep her out of my room or should I apply for a potion concocting station in the laboratory?' Angele thought.

He shook his head. He needed to figure out a better plan and hide the two potions he had concocted. He never learned from a Potion Master, but he could already concoct potions. People might attempt to assassinate him just to obtain the formulas. Angele didn't want too much attention to be drawn to him. He wondered what might happen if someone were to discover his secret chip.

'I guess I'll just hide these potions for now and sell them at a later time. It takes years for a wizard apprentice to successfully concoct potions, and I'll need a ton of resources. Maybe I should wait for several years before showing others my potion concoction skills. I can keep practicing and try the formula for the mentality potion, but I must find a source to collect all the necessary materials,' Angele thought as he decided to conceal his potion concoction skills to others.

Angele placed the two potions inside his pouch and started reading the contract Ansett had given him. No strange clauses were written on it, so he signed the contract right away. After signing the contract, he saw the letter sent by Yuri and opened it:

'Dear Angele, how's your life in Ramsoda? I hear your school is famous for Necromancy, and that it's a cruel place. I hope there are no skeletons or corpses interrupting your dreams during the night…' Angele laughed as he read this, and continued along.

'I didn't expect for the White Tooth Castle to be in such a bad shape. I worked very hard just to get admitted only to discover that the organization's relationships with two other top organizations to be awful. Apparently, only you can receive my letter as the other letters I had sent had all gone missing. There are two large countries barring us, so I'm afraid we won't meet in a while. By the time you read this letter, I would've already left the castle for a mission. In order to obtain resources here, there's no other way than to complete missions. I don't know where my next mission will be, but I hope that I will see you in the future.' The letter ended there, but suddenly, a silver dot appeared below the last line and drew a signature that says 'Yuri Safeco'.

'Arcane Insignia.' Angele knew this trick that was particularly easy to do. Yuri merely left some energy particles on the paper, only revealing themselves upon meeting specific conditions. Any decent stage 1 or 2 wizard apprentices could do it. Angele closed the letter and returned it into the envelope. He sat by the desk and thought for a while before heading to bed.

The next morning.

Ansett knocked on Angele's door early.

Angele opened his eyes and got off the bed still a bit sleepy. He looked at the crystal clock on the side and saw that it was 7 o'clock in the morning. The problem he had in studying in an underground school was that he never knew if it was daytime or nighttime. Angele put his clothes on and opened the door.

Ansett stood by the door with a smile on her face. Wizard apprentices were passing by in the hallway.

"Did I interrupt your sweet dream?" Ansett looked at Angele as she asked. She stepped into the room and closed the door.

"Did you sign the contract?" she asked.

"Done." Angele took the contract from the desk and handed it over.

Ansett took the contract with a jubilant face. She was still wearing her tight hunting suit, but she had changed the leather pants into a short skirt. Her legs were long and slim, looking quite nicely in her long black boots.

"You want me now?" She latched herself into Angele's arms and stared at him from below. She also moved Angele's arms onto her breasts.

"I have a Reflection Course with Professor Vivian in a few minutes." Angele calmed down and said with a low voice.

"We have more than enough time this evening," he continued. He reached his hands into Ansett's skirt and groped her butt several times.

"I knew you would choose the class over me. I like a man who can control himself." Ansett said as she smiled.

"Thanks, I guess." Angele slightly pushed her away.

**************************************************

Ansett stayed in Angele's rooms for the night. Since their rooms had excellent noise isolation, no one heard them having sex. Angele awoke with complete satisfaction the next day, but he decided not to have sex often as he had much more important tasks to do. He joined many different classes.

He attended and listened to several different lectures for the free courses in the next 10 days just like any other wizard apprentice. Angele went to the library to check the additional information he needed and also joined some spell laboratory to practice his spells. He was doing the tasks he must do and was also working hard to increase his mentality.

As a wizard apprentice, Angele's talent level had been average, but he had the chip assisting him in memorizing and storing the knowledge he had learned. However, other wizard apprentices didn't have the chip, so they needed to invest more time into comprehending everything.

Some wizard apprentices had to spend a whole month learning one language used for incantations, while some would need more than a year for it. Most of them had sufficient mentality and mana, but they failed reaching the next stage due to the lack of fundamental knowledge and they had trouble dealing with the changes which occurred during meditation. They clearly had no idea how to solve these problems, thus they were unable to reach the next stage.

Angele spent his day doing the tasks any other wizard apprentice would, while he spent the night testing different potion formulas. With the chip's assistance, he already learned the second spell model. He hadn't shown off his achievements, but he had already become one of the top wizard apprentices in Ramsoda College.

Angele could store the spell models on his chip and use them like a one-time enchanted item. However, Angele could only use the spells he learned and instantly cast them when necessary. No incantations were required; therefore the instant casting was faster than activating the enchanted items.

Only wizards were capable of instant casting, but the chip could only store one learned spell model at a time. Angele once tried storing two, but the spells failed to combine, leaving only pure energy. Still, it was extremely helpful to Angele since it was as though he had something that could be used to store the spells.

hapter 63: Defection (2)

Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe

Basic spell storage items cost 2000 magic stones in the market, but Angele needn't purchase any of those at present. The other girl came over one after Angele had signed the contract, but he wasn't too interested in her as he thought that having Ansett was enough. Furthermore, Ansett's family had already sent him plenty of magic stones, resources, and some paid courses. Angele was satisfied with what he received upon signing the contract. The only thing he needed to do was to show others that he was related to Ansett's family.

Another half-month passed. Yet, Angele could only store the Stun Spell on his chip. The Hand of Exhaustion required Root Dust in supplementing the casting, and Angele couldn't simply store it on the chip.

"What! Manas defected to another organization?!" Angele was so surprised that he stood up while eating. Other wizard apprentices looked over for a brief moment with unconcerned faces, checking if there was a commotion. Ansett had told him the news, but he himself had never thought of something like this happening.

"Well, it's true. It happened yesterday." Ansett seemed a bit despondent.

"He defected with Ur Caesar, the 'Ice Mind Reader', and several others," she continued.

"What happened? He has no reason to do so." Angele inhaled once first before he slowly sat down.

"I don't know, but I heard that all people related to Manas's family defected. Something big is going on, we just don't know it yet," Ansett said as she shook her head.

"A storm is coming." Angele's expression changed upon realizing something. Angele looked at Ansett, the girl whom he had a sexual relationship and had sex with occasionally. Ansett would rather spend more time meditating in order to reach stage 2. They were more than friends, but that was pretty much it.

"What do you think? I hear we're on the losing side against the Northland Alliance," Ansett asked in a low voice.

"How about you?" Angele asked back instead of answering her question. Angele hadn't spent too much time with Ansett since his purpose was to obtain resources from her family.

"I'm afraid I have to return to my family. The situation here is making my parents worried," Ansett said.

"You want to stay with me? I'm going to apply for a position at Ramsoda Empire's border. I think the border is relatively safe. Only normal citizens live there and there are no important resources around that area, so wizards won't care too much about it. I don't think a war could change the situation at the border," Angele spoke in a faint voice.

"Me? I think I'll stay with my family. My parents, brothers, and sisters are all there. I'm not going to leave them," Ansett answered after chuckling.

"Yea?" Angele stopped speaking. Both of them knew they wouldn't be able to visit each other in a long time if they decided to choose different paths. Based on the contract, Angele must help Ansett's family once he became a wizard, but such thing wouldn't seem to happen anytime soon. Ansett spoke about going back to her family without mentioning an ounce about the contract, which meant her family had already made the decision to terminate the contract with Angele.

Ansett's conversation with Angele didn't involve anything about the contract. Angele could understand her underlying intent during the conversation. Her family was no longer going to support him anymore, and Angele didn't have to return anything the family had given him. The family wasn't going to wait for Angele to become a wizard due to the current situation of the school.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay with me?" Angele asked again. Ansett hesitated for a second. She was weighing the pros and cons of each option she had. After a while, she shook her head thinking that going back to her family was still the better option.

They finished their food in a silent manner before leaving the dining hall. Angele headed straight to his master's office after lunch. Master Liliana, who was wearing a black robe that completely covered her body, sat in the middle of the study. Angele saw that the door was open, and then a lady in a white robe exited the study.

Angele bowed and glanced at her face. Seeing that she was wearing a white robe, she was definitely a wizard.

The lady seemed lifeless. Her eyeshades were black; if she closed her eyes, it would look like there were two black holes as her eye sockets. There were many scars on her skin but instead of her scars having a pinkish red color, it looked like black rotten meat.

'A dead body that escaped its grave,' Angele thought. The lady didn't even look at Angele, only disappearing around the corner.

"Angele, right? Come in." Liliana's voice came from the room. Angele walked into the study and closed the door after hearing his master's words.

"That was Wizard Christina, also a student of mine," Liliana said as she smiled, however, she looked even more terrifying after smiling.

"Master, I…" Angele interrupted her.

"I know. You wish to go to the border, right? You're the 15th student to come here today with everyone having the same purpose as you. I only have 18 students, yet 15 of you want to leave the school." Liliana sighed.

"I knew you survived Khedira's mission and every day, the school's situation is becoming worse. I think your choice is right. Though there aren't many resources at the border, safety is guaranteed and you won't get involved in wizards' battles," she continued.

"Thanks for your understanding, Master," Angele said as he lowered his head.

"There are many countries around the border, which one do you want to go to? The ones close to the school? Like Ramsoda Empire? Or somewhere farther? Like Santiago?" Liliana asked.

"Ramsoda Empire, then. I might return here someday," Angele said.

"Good, but there are 24 provinces in Ramsoda Empire; most of the students applied to somewhere else. There are only two people who decided to go to Ramsoda Empire. You're the 3rd one. It's a huge country. I doubt you'll meet each other in the future. You're on your own out there. You need to obtain all the resources you need by yourself," Liliana said.

"At least I don't need to return to my homeland. There's barely any magical resource overseas. Also, I've earned enough magic stones, could you still sell the Black Lead Potion to me…?" Angele smiled, and he asked.

"Sure, it's right here." Liliana smiled before taking out a small silver bottle from the drawer. Angele became ecstatic upon seeing this. He gave her one high-class magic stone. One high-class magic stone was equivalent to more than 10 mid-class magic stones, which was more than sufficient to but the Black Lead Potion. Angele bowed again after obtaining the potion.

"I'll talk to the guard so that they won't stop you from leaving. You can go now," Liliana said.

"Thank you, Master." Angele bade his farewell before leaving the room.

Angele felt a bit down. He joined the school not so long ago but had to leave now. He would need to search for resources by himself after. The good thing was, he had already stored all the information he needed on the chip. All the information had been obtained from Ansett's family, and it was enough for him until he became a wizard. However, he still needed to make plans for his future.

If Angele reached stage 3, he could become a disciple of Master Liliana. He would then have free access to many things such as the Black Lead Potion. However, people like Angele were merely normal wizard apprentices who paid tuition fees in order to stay in the school. The school didn't give them too much attention, and the school wouldn't hinder them from leaving.

"Leaving the school could be good for me," Angele muttered as he walked down the hallway.

'Zero, how's my mentality?' he asked.

'Your Mentality is 3.4. You need 6 Mentality to reach the next stage,' Zero reported.

"I think I'll visit the market before I leave," Angele thought aloud.

**********************************************

The underground market.

Many stores were already gone. Angele could no longer find the man who sold him the potion concocting equipment. There were fewer wizard apprentices checking around as well compared before. Six stores remained at the square. Silence loomed all over the place with the lack of people within the vicinity. The only thing Angele could hear was the noise coming from the wall torches.

There was much garbage left on the stone ground. Angele could see cracked glass equipment, broken bronze rings, and torn apart gray robes. He could even see traces of blood on the ground. This made Angele scrunch his eyebrows as he walked in a small store. Several wizard apprentices were gossiping about the present situation in the school and the desertions.

Angele decided not to listen, quickly walking into the store instead. He looked over the goods and took a small pouch with silver dust inside.

"Phosphorescence Powder, two magic stones." The owner was a wizard apprentice who had a goatee. Angele nodded before putting down two magic stone. He began browsing the inventory, intending to take everything he could because he didn't know when he was going to see a Wizard market like this again.

Another wizard apprentice entered the store. It was the blonde boy he had seen last time. His features hadn't changed at all.

"Owner, I got something of value here, can you check and buy if you're interested in it?" the blonde boy yelled.

"You again. I told you last time, your items weren't valuable at all. I only gave you three magic stones because we have the same master," the owner answered with an annoyed expression.

"Take a look, please. Perhaps there's something you need." With a nervous face, the blonde boy opened his bag.

"I told you, I don't need anything related to Potion Study. There's barely anyone buying those things. I told you not to spend your magic stones like that. There's nothing more I can do for you now," the owner spoke kindly after calming down.

'Items related to Potion Study?' Angele thought.

"Can I take a look? I'm looking for items related to potion concocting," Angele asked. He was now certain that it was the same blonde boy he had met at the time he was buying the potion concocting equipment.

"Are you sure?" The blonde boy looked at Angele, and he asked.

"Yea, I'm sure." Angele still had around 5 magic stones, anyway. He had no other ways of using them when he leaves the school. Seeing that the blonde boy was trying to trade his items for magic stones or other materials, it could easily be speculated that the situation in the school was becoming worse, therefore causing him to have no time in studying potions anymore.

Chapter 64: The Journey (1)

Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe

"You want them?" The blonde boy looked happy.

"You can have these in exchange for three magic stones." He handed over a bag. Taking the bag, Angele peeked at the contents inside. Several leather scrolls, some potion concocting equipment, and other random items were inside.

"A whole set of equipment? And the formulas?" Angele asked.

"Yea, two formulas, and my equipment. Some are broken though," the boy answered right away. Angele took one of the scrolls and opened it. The title said, 'Awareness Potion'.

"This is an entry-level potion." Seeing this made Angele scrunch his eyebrows.

"And it's a formal entry-level formula. Not many people can craft this, I think?" Angele asked.

"Well, you can put it into your… collection?" The blonde boy looked nervous.

"You know what, the school's already transporting the books out of the library for protection. You won't find any other formulas. I wrote my personal experiences on the two scrolls, too, so that'll improve your success rate for sure. Also, you'll find my notes much easier to understand than the information you can find in the library," the blonde boy kept explaining.

Angele didn't want to waste time, so he read through the notes. The boy was indeed speaking the truth. It was entirely because Angele had already stored most of the information he could find in the library on the chip, and the blonde boy's notes included information he didn't know. The boy also added some helpful notes about the Awareness Potion.

"Alright, I'll take these." Angele had no time to finish reading everything, so he placed the scrolls back inside the bag. He handed three magic stones to the blonde boy, causing the latter to become relieved.

"Thanks. Wait, I think you're one of the departing wizard apprentices, right? You're a decent guy, I have a copy of the local map. I'll charge you only one magic stone for it, what do you think?" The blonde boy lowered his voice as he asked.

"You have a copy of the local map?" Angele was surprised. He had been searching for a map ever since he first arrived in the school, but the only thing he found from the library was the information of the surrounding areas. He knew nothing else besides that, and now, the blonde boy was offering him a map. If the map was accurate, this would really be a great help to him.

He could've asked for a copy from Ansett's family, but the situation escalated too quickly.

"Are you sure?" Angele also lowered his voice as he asked back.

"I'm sure." The blonde boy nodded his head.

"Let's find someplace else to talk." Angele led the blonde boy to a corner.

Ten minutes later.

Angele returned to his room with the bag and the map.

Unlike before, the dormitory wasn't as noisy as before because there was barely anyone remaining. Most of the wizard apprentices were gone; Angele hadn't seen anyone else in such a big school. He lit the oil lamp and sat down in front of the desk. He then began reading the map.

The middle of the map was the Ramsoda College marked with a big, red dot. Many hills and forests surrounded it. By the northern direction of Ramsoda College, there was another Wizard organization called Liliado's House, which controlled a vast area at the north.

At the western direction of Ramsoda College, there was a sea that only had a single harbor. It was called 'Nick Dock', and written by its side were the words: 'Once every 4 years'. The Ramsoda Empire was located in the eastern direction of the college with only one forest lying in between them. The map was easy to read as many routes were marked on the map.

"Liliado's House is north, the sea is west, Ramsoda Empire is east, and the mountains are south." Angele finally gained a general idea about the country's terrain and its different locations.

Angele kept reading the map, but then, he scrunched his eyebrows. Apparently, the one who drew the map only knew of the situation around the school, and there were no details. The most valuable information were the two routes between Ramsoda College and Ramsoda Empire because Angele didn't know of it. He started searching through the information stored on the chip.

'The royalty here is pretty much controlled by wizard families. The wizards themselves are ruling the land. Countries with more resources will be controlled by stronger wizard organizations. If I want to lay low and live a decent life, I'll need to find a place that doesn't have many resources, but I still need the wizards. Otherwise, it will be difficult for me to become a wizard,' Angele thought. His finger was tracing around the map as he checked the route that would lead him to the Ramsoda Empire.

'I should head to the empire first, then go to the provinces that are close to the school. I need to find a quiet place. I hear the Ramsoda Empire has two neighbors, Northland Alliance and Janika Empire. Other countries barely have Wizard Rift, so the wizards didn't take any interest in them. I won't be able to buy any materials if I go there. I'm not even sure if the area is similar to my homeland…' Angele kept thinking.

Wizard Rifts were places suitable for wizards to stay. Since these places were usually good for growing magic materials, wizards labeled those areas as Wizard Rifts. There were many materials in each Rift, and some of the stronger Wizard organizations monopolized and mined in those places. Wizard Rifts were also the restricted areas in the wizards' world.

Angele learned everything from books. He understood why some places had a great number of wizards while some had little or no wizards, even causing the inhabitants in those places to think that wizards only appeared in legends. Wizard Rifts were the main reason for this. Wizard apprentices and wizards had to go to places that had the materials they needed. Otherwise, they would die without being promoted to a higher stage. In places that had good weather condition and various materials, many wizards lived here. Most of them barely had the need to travel to other areas, except for the hopeless wizard apprentices. They were everywhere.

Angele confirmed the route and returned the map inside the bag. He took out the two scrolls he had bought and spread them on the desk.

The first scroll was the Awareness Potion and the second was the Tranquility Potion. Both potions could aid people in increasing their mentality. The blonde boy was trying to increase his mentality by concocting the said potions. Many wizard apprentices had attempted to concoct these two potions, yet not many succeeded.

An above average Potion Study wizard apprentice could make one potion using a large amount of materials, and this alone would already cost them 100 magic stones. However, the potions were only worth 20 magic stones. Just the cost already far surpassed the benefit it was supposed to give.

Angele nodded his head in satisfaction from the items he had bought. He put the two scrolls inside the bag. Although he had already stored everything on the chip, he still wanted to keep the copies.

Angele stood up and placed every important item he had on his desk. There were the maps, the formulas, his silver crossguard sword, his metal longbow and quiver, his chain claw, several poisoned daggers, the box containing the Dead Soul Grass, the wizard's book, the crystal dagger, the red pearl, two magic tones, and a small leather pouch containing around 20 Hemostasis Potions. These were all very important to him.

He placed the survival tools and clothes onto the ground. There were some meat jerkies, two large bags of dried vegetables and fruits. These could keep him going for about three weeks.

'Three weeks' worth of supply is enough. I can hunt more if needed,' Angele thought before he started checking all his weapons.

**********************************************

The second morning, Angele woke up early and packed everything up. He left the school and reached the entrance of the abandoned city. There were several wizard apprentices selling horses there as they knew many people were leaving. Angele spent one magic stone to buy two strong horses and a bag of horse beans. He tied everything to the horses' saddles and leaped onto one of the horses. Just like the others, he quickly disappeared by the end of the road as he departed.

Four days later…

It was raining and the clouds covered the sky.

Two horses were galloping fast along a twisted path between the dark green forest. Under the gray sky, the sound of hooves stomping echoed throughout along with the sound of the wind blowing the tree leaves and the noise of the rain.

A young man in a gray robe was riding one of the horses wherein the other one had a lot of luggage tied upon it. The bags were covered with gray linen to prevent them from being soaked.

The young man had an average face and brown hair that flew about in the air due to the strong gust of wind. He had a crossguard sword tied to his waist and a black metal bow and quiver filled with black arrows carried on his back. The young man was wearing a tight black suit, looking very clean.

The young man was Angele. It was already the fourth day on the road since he left the school and was on his way to the Ramsoda Empire. He continued along the path for another half-hour before slowing down and deciding to rest.

Angele glanced around his surroundings while mounted on his horse, and then he took a black silk scarf out of the bag to wipe the water off his face.

The chilling gust of wind mixed with the rain blew across his face. The two horses were galloping forward slowly. Yellow mud flew into the air from the impact of the hooves stomping on the ground. From Angele's left, he could hear people talking and he could smell the meat those people were grilling. He also heard the crackling noise created by the campfire.

Chapter 65: The Journey (2)

Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe

Angele turned his head around and peeked through the gaps in the trees. Two men wearing brown leather armor were grilling meat around the campfire. They also had a pot of white soup sitting by the side. Angele could smell the fragrance of the mushrooms from hundred meters away. As the two men heard the noises produced by the horses, they looked over to check.

'They're also leaving the school,' Angele assumed. He had met many wizard apprentices like then along the way, but he never greeted anyone of them. All of them had different destinations and they didn't know each other. Trusting others was a pointless task to them.

Angele didn't stop as he continued to advance through the path slowly. He wanted to let the horses rest a bit. After a while, he increased the speed of the horses but suddenly heard someone coming toward him.

Angele lowered his body on the back of his horse and looked at the road in front of him. A young man wearing a white leather armor mounted on a brown horse appeared. After seeing Angele, he became surprised but tried to hide his surprised by changing his expression before slowing down. Angele slowed down as well.

"Could you tell me how far the Nick Dock is from here?" the man asked.

��With your speed, you'll arrive in 5 or 6 days," Angele answered as he smiled. The man likewise smiled and nodded. Both of them started urging their horses to speed up again.

Suddenly, Angele drew his sword. The sound of the sword being unsheathed scared the horses. Angele didn't hesitate to slash his sword toward the man, which caused the latter to fall to the ground and die in a second. Angele had cut his stomach open, dyeing the mud on the ground with blood.

Angele looked at the body for a while and scrounged through it. He then turned back and left the places as fast as possible. He disappeared in the rain quickly.

**************************************

With a pale face, Angele put his crossguard sword back into the sheath and reached toward his back with his hand. He could feel the bleeding hole there. Angele took out a Hemostasis Potion and removed the wooden plug off the tube. He poured some onto his palm and applied it on the wound.

Green steam rose out of it as the wound absorbed the fluid.

"That guy was a rank 3 wizard apprentice. If I didn't hear him chanting, I'd be dead already," Angele murmured. He still felt shocked as he tried recalling the appearance of the wizard apprentice he just killed. The wizard apprentice was wearing a white leather armor suit that had an insignia of a silver ring.

'It was a wizard apprentice of the Northland Alliance. I didn't know they were so close. It's likely that they are trying to surround the college. I need to leave,' Angele thought. He bit his lips and shook the reins.

"Giddy up!" Angele yelled. The horse neighed and began galloping faster.

**********************************

The corpse of the man in a white armor suit was split in half and was lying on the muddy ground. The brown horse circled the corpse for a while before it left the place, heading to a certain location. The rain was becoming heavier. Around 20 minutes later, a man in a white robe appeared from the forest.

The man seemed old and had no expression on his face. He walked toward the body and squatted by its side. He dipped his finger into the blood and put it on his tongue. He turned and stared at the route that led to the Ramsoda Empire.

The man looked slightly disappointed, but he didn't speak, only standing up and wiping his hands.

**********************************

Angele was breathing heavily. He lowered his body on the back of his horse. He slowed down before stopping by the roadside after half an hour. He led the two horses into the forest and tied them to a tree. Angele sat down and applied some pressure to the wound using his hands.

He just killed an enemy with but a mere second, but it wasn't as easy as it seemed. If he had hesitated for even half a second, he would've been the one to die.

'Zero, did you identify which spell the man used?' Angele leaned against a tree before asking.

'The possibility of the spell being Launch Bolt is 92.7%. The weapon he used was a metal needle,' Zero reported.

'Launch bolt…' Angele bitterly smiled as he checked the wound. It had already stopped bleeding a while ago. The Hemostasis Potion was a great help, but he needed to take out the needle out of the wound. Angele took off his clothes and began checking his wound. With a dagger in hand, he tried to use it to search for the needle.

'Zero, can you help me see my wound better?' Angele asked. Zero quickly showed his wound as a hologram in front of his sight, which helped Angele find the needle's location within a short span of time. The black, thin needle nearly penetrated his stomach.

Angele bore the pain, cut the wound open, and used his fingers to pull out the needle. He once again applied some of the potion to the wound right after, and it stopped bleeding right after the fluid was absorbed.

Angele's hand was drenched with his own blood as he grasped the needle he had just pulled out.

'Zero, can you identify its components?' Angele asked.

'Analyzing… Material is unknown. It's hard and highly conductive. No information on it can be found in the database,' Zero reported.

'I should've searched his body… but I had to play safe,' Angele thought as he shook his head in disappointment.

Angele rested for a while. He took some meat jerky and dried veggies out of the bag and ate them with the water he had. He also fed the horses with the horse beans. He didn't wish to tarry for too long, so he left after feeding the horses.

For centuries, the Ramsoda College and the Northland Alliance had been mortal enemies, but no one remembered the cause for their enmity. The Northland Alliance started the war, yet Angele still had no grasp of the whole picture. He never even figured out why Manas betrayed the school. The man Angele had killed started casting a spell after realizing Angele was a wizard apprentice from Ramsoda College. He didn't even hesitate.

'It's sad how I'm not allowed to look at classified information in the library as a wizard apprentice,' Angele thought.

Angele knew there were 5 different stages and 3 different ranks for wizard apprentices, but he wasn't sure how wizards were ranked. He knew that any wizard was much stronger than a wizard apprentice. He had already seen wizards battle but didn't know the strength hierarchy.

The wizard apprentices' stage was determined by the abilities they have while the ranks determine the strength and power of a wizard apprentice.

Rank 1 wizard apprentices belonged to the weakest, merely having a higher mentality and better spell resistance than normal people. Knight-level warriors might even be stronger than them.

Rank 2 wizard apprentices were much stronger than rank 1s. They had energy particles inside their bodies, which could help in strengthening themselves. They had also learned basic spells and could easily contend against top knights.

Rank 3 wizard apprentices were the best wizard apprentices. They knew about 5 spells and were capable of using energy particles in blocking incoming spells or physical attacks. Rank 3 wizard apprentices were also capable of improving spell incantations, making them faster to cast. Wizard apprentices rated as rank 3 vastly outstrip others' strength as they only required seconds of time to slay their opponents with various spells. If they knew physical skills, they could use buff spells and make themselves invincible during battles.

The man Angele met used improved incantation. When Angele heard him chant, Angele drew his sword right away. Angele was already a top-level knight before becoming a wizard apprentice, so he was still a bit faster than his opponent. If he had hesitated, giving the man time to use more spells, he would be dead within seconds.

Every wizard apprentice had their own combination spells. There were a countless number of spells in the world; the Ramsoda College had at least a hundred. Strong spells were usually very difficult to learn, so wizard apprentices would instead combine basic spells to make their combination attack stronger. Wizard organizations were also creating new spells, so it was nearly impossible for a person to recognize every spell.

Angele thought for a while before stopping again. He set up a tent by the tree quickly and covered it with the linen clothes that wrapped the bags. He had gotten all of these from Ansett's family, yet he didn't expect to use them so soon.

He put more leaves on the branches above to block the rain and he tied the horses to the trunk under the tree. Angele took the bags off the horses and put them inside the gray tent. The downpour of rain was becoming heavier and heavier.

Angele sat inside the tent with his legs crossed while peeking outside through the small window. The wind was blowing across the tree, causing the branches to shake. No one else was around. It was dark, cold, and silent.

Angele suddenly thought of his father. He knew the baron was already out for a mission on the Anser Plain before he embarked on the ship. Angele never heard anything from him after. He started thinking about everyone he knew as it was getting darker and darker outside.

He wondered what made Manas decide to betray the school, and also thought of Ansett, who returned to her family after he left the school.

'Master Liliana, Yuri, Nancy…' Angele didn't know why, but he kept thinking about everyone he knew. He didn't know what lied ahead of him and when he would be able to settle. For the first time, Angele felt loneliness and isolation spreading deep in his heart.

'Damn rain…' he thought.

Chapter 66: Encounter (1)

Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe

Angele finally stopped thinking after a while, then he rubbed his temples and closed his eyes. The raindrops kept hitting the tent such that he could only barely hear the horses neighing. It was dark inside the tent. Angele calmed down and started to meditate. He was breathing rhythmically.

'Warning! Warning!' Zero suddenly reported. Angele was alerted when he felt his own wound itching.

'Infection?' Angele opened his eyes and looked at the wound.

He saw that there were still leftover fluids of the potion on it. The wound wasn't bleeding, but the area around the wound looked dark red.

'How should I deal with it?' Angele asked calmly.

'Analyzing…' Zero reported.

'Required materials: Golden Flower, 15 grams. Single-eyed Deer's eyes, 180 grams. The Bighead Fish, 520 grams…' Zero kept listing the necessary ingredients of the medicine that could stop the infection, but Angele looked disappointed.

'Where can I find all those random things in a forest?' Angele checked his wound again and saw some tiny stones growing rapidly around the wound. They were about the size of sesames; some were white and some were black. The infection was getting worse every second.

The tiny stones almost covered the wound. It looked quite grotesquely disgusting that Angele didn't even want to stare at it.

'I need to do something.' Angele bit his lips and started to pack up. He needed to get all those materials quickly. He had no idea what would happen if the infection wasn't cured.

***********************************

Five days later.

It was noon.

Two robust horses were slowly advancing between the trees along a path. Angele, who was still in his tight hunting suit, was lying on the back of the first horse, but he was in low spirits. It was the fifth day since he had been inflicted with an infected wound. His face was pale and he was exhausted to the point of barely having any strength to control his horse.

"At least I found something to slow down the infection, but I still need a cure," he murmured. Angele had covered the wound with a handful of a black substance, preventing the tiny stones to spread outside the covered area.

Angele got off the horse after a while and decided to take a rest. He led the horses to a tree, then sat on the grass as he grabbed some food and started eating.

'How strong those bacteria are… They're much stronger than the ones on Earth, at least,' Angele thought as he drank some water from his canteen. He started to miss the world that had all the antibiotics people needed.

"I think I already crossed the border, so I should be in the Ramsoda Empire now. The map no longer has details of it; I can't rely on it anymore. I really want to know when I'll reach the closest town," Angele muttered. He stared ahead, but he could only see the sea of trees and the road between them.

Angele turned his head and saw a twisted path through the gaps in the bushes, yet he couldn't see the end of it.

The trees suddenly veiled itself within the mist, and at the same time, Angele's vision became fuzzy.

***********************************

Noises of hooves stomping on the ground echoed within the forest as two white large carriages appeared from the thick fog. Each carriage had two white horses in front. On one of the two carriages, there was a middle-aged coachman who was at his mid-forties. He was a pudgy man who wore a gray hat on his head. The man was holding the reins, skillfully showing his control on the carriage.

The two carriages were painted in white, but some painted parts were peeling which revealed the dark-red wood.

"Father, how long until we reach Lennon City?" a girl from the leading carriage asked. Her voice seemed to belong to a young girl.

"Ten more days, maybe? We're half-way there, why do you ask?" a man answered.

"Ten more days?! Really…" The girl sounded disappointed.

"Yea. Our territory is far from Lennon City. There's nothing we can do about it," the man said.

"But we can…" The girl was trying to say something, but she was interrupted by the coachman.

"Milord, I can see a young man lying on the ground. I think he's dying," the coachman yelled.

"A young man? Where?" the man asked, opening the window to take a look. The man inside the carriage wore a white noble suit. He looked kind and respectable.

"Right there," the coachman said as he pointed to the left. The man turned his gaze at the direction the coachman was pointing at and saw a young man lying on the ground beside two black horses.

"What happened? Mark?" a lady asked.

"We saw a young man lying on the ground. He looked unwell," the man named Mark answered.

"A young man? Let me see!" the girl yelled.

"Is he from our territory? I haven't seen people from other countries in a while," she continued.

"Stop! Let's go and help him!" the girl kept yelling. The two carriages slowed down. A sinewy man in black plate armor got off the second carriage and walked toward the first carriage. He helped the girl get off the carriage. The girl was wearing a white one piece and had a pretty-looking face.

"Dunleavy, can you go with me?" The girl's skin was white and her blonde hair looked silky smooth, as though she was someone who came from a fairy tale.

"Sure," the man named Dunleavy replied. With a seemingly heavy beard, he began walking toward the unconscious young man while holding the left hand of the girl.

"Dunleavy, stay alert," the nobleman said. He helped the beautiful noble lady to get off the carriage.

"No worries, my lord." Dunleavy nodded.

They walked toward the young man with quick steps. As they arrived near to him, Dunleavy lowered his body to check on the young man and saw the wound on the young man's waist; it had a black color and produced an awful stench.

"He has an infected injury," Dunleavy said in a grave tone.

"Is he alright?" the blonde girl curiously asked after she jogged toward Dunleavy. Her appearance was akin to a princess's.

"I thought people scream after getting hurt. Why isn't he screaming?" the girl said as she tried pushing the unconscious young man.

"His wound is infected. I don't think he's conscious. His breathing is weak, and he's dying," Dunleavy smiled before explaining.

"He's dying?" With a nervous face, the girl asked.

"Yes," Dunleavy replied.

"We need to help him! We're close to Lennon City, anyway," the girl said.

"Well… I'm afraid we can't… Ask your father," Dunleavy said. The nobleman was already slowly heading in their direction with his wife.

"We've no idea who this man is. If he's a spy, we'll be in trouble," the man said with a soft-spoken voice.

"Also, he's injured. Whoever injured him is probably still looking for him. If we help him, we'll become the targets instead," he continued.

"But Father…" The girl tried to say something.

"No means no!" the man said.

"Get back inside the carriage, Avril!" He was nearly yelling.

"But Father, what if he's a prince of another country? If we save him, he will… he will…" the girl replied.

"You told me a lot of stories like that! That's how princes meet their lovers!" she yelled.

"Well… stories aren't real." The man looked speechless.

"Avril, listen to your father, get back inside the carriage. We need to hurry." The lady stepped forward to intervene.

"No!" Avril refused to move.

"I can guarantee you that this young man isn't a prince. Let's go," the nobleman said.

"If you don't help him, I'll stay here forever!" the girl yelled as she stared at the other three.

Ten minutes later…

There were two black horses following the white carriages in the back.

"Where am I…?" Angele opened his eyes slowly and looked around. He was inside a carriage, and two swordsmen in black plate armor suits were sitting right beside him. Avril was sitting beside one of the swordsmen, looking at Angele curiously.

"We saw you unconscious near a bush, so I saved you," Avril said, her face showing a 'thank me already' expression.

"Really? Thank you," Angele said after he smiled. In actuality, he was conscious the whole time and could still see and hear things clearly. However, he was too weak to do anything. He wanted to continue traveling, but he caught a fever so he decided to lie down for a while. Angele wanted to move after he woke up, but his fever became worse and his wound began aching. He knew that two carriages were coming and even heard everything those people said, yet he really couldn't stand up nor could he move his lips at that time.

Angele was uncertain about what caused the fever. It could be the infection, but it could also be the weather. Although he had the chip, Angele needed to search for the medicine by himself. He was lucky that someone stopped to help him.

Chapter 67: Encounter (2)

Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe

Angele had been lying down in a relatively busy route and seeing several other carriages passing by, yet no one had stopped to help him. He never expected people to stop and help a total stranger like him until Avril's group came. The girl reacted happily after seeing Angele wake up

"Actually, other people had seen me lying there but none stopped for me. Only a lovely princess like you would help a stranger," Angele smiled as he said this. The girl looked pleased after hearing him say that.

"I only did what I thought I should do…" With a blushing face, she spoke. Angele conversed with the young girl for a while. She was about 11 or 12 years old. While chatting with Angele, she noticed that he was still too weak.

"You're hurt and your wound is infected. Also, your fever isn't gone yet, you better get some rest. We can talk later," Avril kindly said, and then she asked the two swordsmen to leave the carriage. She wanted to make sure Angele could rest well.

The carriage fell silent after Avril closed the door. Angele lied down on the bed with a very tired face.

'Check my situation," Angele inhaled once, and he asked.

'You're infected with unknown bacteria. The infection is controlled by an effective drug. You caught an unknown flu and your body is weak. You need about 5 days and 14 hours to recover,' Zero reported.

'When can I at least be able to move?' Angele asked something that was a significant issue to him. He needed to have the capability to react when threats approach. At this point, he was too weak to do anything. It was even more impossible for him to pick up any weapon. Angele felt so helpless because the infection and the fever made him weaker than a normal person.

'If you consume enough food and have enough rest, it will take 41 hours and 23 minutes,' Zero reported.

'That's a long time…' Angele sighed in disappointment.

'One hit from a rank 3 wizard apprentice and I nearly lost my life. I need to become stronger…' Angele thought.

****************************************************

After Avril's carriages left.

A young female deer slowly walked toward the place Angele had rested on and lowered its head to inhale Angele's scent. A white owl flew toward the deer and stood on a branch by the side. Its whole body was white, yet its eyes were deep and dark.

"Wizard Renee, this is the end of the trail. The Tracking won't work anymore," the owl began talking with the voice of an old man. The deer walked around the place for a while before it raised its head to look at the owl.

"Based on the scent, he's a fleeing wizard apprentice of Ramsoda College. I think he was just lucky. Otherwise, there's no way he could kill Bahamut. If we can't track him anymore, there's nothing we can do. Bahamut's death won't affect anything, anyway," the deer began talking as well.

"We need to stop focusing on matters that aren't important," the owl said.

"It isn't the time to break the Treaty of Grimgar yet. Catherine and her crew already arrived at the destination. We mustn't let Ramsoda's main force live," it continued.

"Waki sent a message to us from Acrylic. It says Liliado is making a new Rift," the deer said.

"Yea, we need to help the Northland Alliance to finish the job quickly. I think Liliado already noticed the situation. Santiago also sent some of their wizards here," the owl said.

"We'll get the Shadow Pearl this time! No matter how many opponents we have!" The deer's eyes gleamed.

***********************

The two moons quietly hung over the night sky. The clouds were slowly moving along the sky and there were several visible stars beside them. Angele was still lying on the bed, slowly eating his meat jerky while drinking some water.

He could hear the crackling noise created by the campfire outside and could see the fire through the window. Angele smelled the fragrance of meat stew being cooked. His gaze fell onto the meat jerky in his hand, but he decided not to ask for food. The only one who treated him well in the group was Avril.

Others were still against letting Angele stay with their group. They acted cold to him, and Angele knew the reason why as he overheard some of their gossips. If Avril hadn't insisted on using the expensive Anti-Infection Drug on him, he wouldn't have recovered quickly. He was supposed to be dropped off by the road after he woke up.

Outside the carriage, a swordsman who had been sitting near the campfire suddenly stood up.

"Hey, Gandhi, where are you going?" a man asked.

"It's almost my turn to patrol." Gandhi patted the long sword hanging by his waist and smiled.

"Don't go too far," Dunleavy said. He was sitting by the campfire and applying oil to his crossguard sword.

Gandhi walked toward the back of the carriage while looking at the campfire and the carriages to make sure no one noticed him. He slowed down his footsteps and walked around before approaching the two strong, black horses. His face showed a jubilant reaction after seeing the horses carrying several pieces of luggage, thinking that there might be some valuable items inside.

Gandhi checked the bags and saw a smaller but more delicate one. It was the bag that contained Angele's most important items. Inside the bag, there was the red pearl, Hemostasis Potions, the first Wizardry book he received, and the Black Lead Potion. At this point in time, the Black Lead Potion was most likely the most important item to him.

Gandhi rubbed on the small bag laughing.

"Found it!" he muttered in a low voice.

*******************************

Inside the first carriage.

"Father, I want to stroll around," Avril said. She was trying to tie a ponytail, so she was looking for the headband on the table.

"Stay in the carriage. Don't go anywhere," the nobleman looked at her, and spoke with a silvery voice.

"I'll be back in 10 minutes." However, Avril didn't seem to care. As she found the black headband, she quickly tied her hair into a ponytail and jumped off the carriage.

"Avril…" the nobleman said as he looked at his wife. Their daughter was giving them headaches.

Avril saw people gathering around the campfire talking, so she wanted to join the conversation. But suddenly, she stopped as she thought of Angele who was about 15 years old and was also saved by her not so long ago.

"He isn't so handsome, but he looks smart," she said.

"It's my first time leaving home. I feel like I'm like the princesses in stories." She was in a good mood, so she began singing random songs. Avril turned and walked to the second carriage quickly. Suddenly, she saw someone sneaking around the two black horses, not knowing what the man was doing.

"Gandhi?" Avril recognized the man right away.

"What are you doing!" she yelled.

Gandhi was scared witless after hearing someone called his name. He turned around and saw Avril walking toward him. His face became pale since he knew what would happen if the lord were to find out that he was stealing. Avril had realized what Gandhi was trying to do, so her expression turned cold.

"Gandhi, do you know what you're doing?" she asked.

"I'm just lollygagging." Gandhi tried his best to smile.

"Whatever. Why don't you stay close to the camp instead of wandering around?" Avril smiled.

"I won't report you to my father if you leave now," she continued.

"Thanks… I'm leaving." Gandhi hadn't opened the bag yet. He smiled and left right away.

Avril organized the bags on the horses and walked toward the second carriage.

Angele knew Gandhi was trying to steal his items. He had heard everything, but he wasn't in the state to move. He needed to wait two days in order to secure his valuable possessions. It would've been too late if Avril didn't stop Gandhi.

"How do you feel?" Avril opened the door and got into the carriage.

"Pretty good actually, thanks to you." Angele liked the kind girl, so he wanted to thank her for everything she did for him.

"Can you tell me your full name?" I am Angele, Angele Rio," Angele said.

"My name is Avril Zolota Hasrim. What's your middle name?" the girl asked curiously.

"We don't have middle names. It's the tradition of my homeland." Angele said while shrugging his shoulder. That was one of the minor movements he could still do.

"I thought you were from Ramsoda?" Avril asked.

"No, I'm from the other side of the sea. Where are you heading to?" Angele smiled.

"Lennon City, we need to bring my grandpa back to our territory. He's ill and it's getting worse," Avril answered with a sad expression, not hiding anything from him. They chatted for a while. Angele told her that he got lost and got injured by bandits. He said he was also heading to Lennon City and even told her interesting stories about his homeland. They enjoyed their chat.

Avril wished to stay longer with Angele, but someone was calling her from outside the carriage, so she had to leave. Angele finally had the chance to meditate. It was imperative that he meditate every day and couldn't let others know what he was doing.

The good thing was, he didn't have to be in a certain position to meditate. He could just do it while lying on the bed, sufficient for others to think he was merely resting. He wasn't sure what the locals thought about wizards, especially when he was from the Ramsoda College that was famous for Necromancy. For now, he decided not to tell anyone that he was a wizard apprentice since he still needed to recover from the injury.