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Chapter 123: Promotion (2)

Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe

"As a rank 3 Wizard apprentice, Angele has already met the requirement for breaking the limit. Following the school's rule, I'll distribute one serving of Water of Asu to him." Liliana had a strange expression on her face. Angele could not tell if she was laughing or crying. She took a small tube, similarly made from vulcanized crystal, with golden liquid inside out of her robe.

Liliana placed the tube on Angele's palm gently.

"You're my 13th disciple. I hope you remember that you shall never lose yourself to power and unnecessary emotions."

"Yes, Master." Angele held the tube carefully with his hand.

"I wish you all the best," Liliana spoke in a deep tone, "Sorry, ladies and gentlemen. I still have a lab to attend to, so I have to leave now."

She looked at the bald man with a glass of red wine in her hand, "Gaz, you better be careful. If you're captured in Santiago, there'll be nothing I can do."

The bald man smiled, "Thanks, Master. I'll take care of it and come back before you realized."

"Good." Liliana turned around and stepped forward. Her body vanished in a heap of black smoke.

The bald man became translucent slowly and disappeared as well.

"Master is much more cautious than before." A blonde woman chuckled.

"Be careful with your words," a masked man spoke in a deep tone, "We shall never judge our master."

"Whatever." The woman sipped some wine.

People in the room started forming several small groups, chattering in low voices.

After several minutes, most of them finished their conversations as soon as they finished their wine. They put down their wine glasses and vanished into black smoke just like Liliana.

Only several people remained in the room. Angele was standing in the middle of them, but no one approached him. Those Wizards were not here to greet him. They had an opportunity, so they decided to exchange some information or resources.

Liliana would use any excuse to hold parties like this, so they could deepen their relationships with each other. She had just taken Angele in as her formal disciple, so she used this as an excuse to gather all her other disciples here.

As a rank 3 Wizard apprentice, Angele did not attract anyone's attention because the other disciples were already formal Wizards. Those 'black robes' already showed him respect by having a drink with him.

Angele was not concerned. His sole purpose was, after all, to obtain the third serving of Water of Asu.

"Angele Rio, right?" an old man with a pale voice walked over, and asked, "Although your talent level is low, and I'm not certain if you can break the limit or not, it's still incredible for you to meet the requirement at such a young age. You have my respect. My name is Daniel Curtis, you can just call me Daniel. I heard you purchased some rare herbs from Master. I still have some left in my room, do you need them?"

Angele smiled politely, "Of course, but I can't afford those super rare materials."

"How many magic stones do you have? Or do you have anything else to offer?" Daniel was a bit different from other black robes. It seemed like he did not care that Angele was still a gray robe.

"Name your price." It seemed that Daniel was a kind fellow. However, he noticed the others were looking at them scornfully after seeing Daniel talking to him. Daniel might be the weakest Wizard among Liliana's disciples.

"Well, how about 1000 regular magic stones. Although my herbs are not that rare, they are still worth at least 1000 magic stones. I think you're using them to practice making potions, right? You don't need high-quality herbs," Daniel smiled.

Angele nodded, "Deal. When are you available?"

Daniel looked at Angele, "I brought the herbs back to the school. You're talking to a real person. I'm not using reflections like the others."

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

After the party, Angele made the trade with Daniel and asked two low-rank Wizard apprentices to carry the herbs back into his room.

He obtained 5000 magic stones earlier, yet he now only had about 2000 left. He realized that being a Wizard was costly.

Angele spent most of his time preparing for breaking the limit recently. He did not even try to find the three Wizard apprentices who killed his horse in the forest. He decided to take his revenge after he became a formal Wizard. Angele was not allowed to attack them at the moment. However, he would gain much more rights in the school after he successfully broke the limit.

1000 magic stones brought him a lot of various materials.

He purchased the necessary equipment from the Potions Department and had already prepared the materials for crafting the Nightmare Potion. The reason why he bought a tremendous number of random herbs was he did not want others to know he had the formula of Nightmare Potion. The Wizard apprentices would probably think that Angele was just practicing some entry-level potions.

Also, besides one more serving of Water of Asu, Liliana had offered Angele a better room that was reserved for a rank 3 Wizard apprentice, but Angele declined it.

There was no time for him to get familiar with a new room at the moment, so he chose to stay in his dorm to prepare for breaking the limit.

The vice president of the school summoned Angele and two other Wizard apprentices that were preparing for breaking the limit. The meeting was set up in a small study. It was the first time Angele met the school's management team.

As Angele talked to the other two Wizard apprentices on their way to the study, he finally had a general idea about the structure of the school.

Ramsoda College was run by two vice presidents at the moment. Each faculty was led by its head, and the teachers worked under the order of the faculty head. Rank 3 Wizard apprentices would become formal disciples of their masters. People did not care too much about the low-rank Wizard apprentices.

No one knew where the real president was, but he would come back to check on the school every thirty years. This Wizard organization's main purpose was not to train Wizard apprentices. It had fought many wars with other organizations. It seemed that the school was built to safeguard a certain item.

However, Angele had decided to focus on the preparation first after obtaining this information.

For the next ten days, Angele stayed in his room and tried to concoct the Nightmare Potion.

With the accurate calculation and simulation of the chip, his success rate was way higher than an average Wizard apprentice from Potion Study. Nightmare Potion was an advanced level potion and Angele's success rate was over ten percent.

The formula of Nightmare Potion was complex to others, but Angele could analyze it easily.

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

15 days later…

Angele stood beside his desk with a small bottle of red liquid in his hand. He looked satisfied.

"Finally," he muttered as he shook the tiny bottle in his hand. The color of the liquid changed from red to blue within seconds.

Angele shook the bottle again and the color of the liquid returned to red quickly.

"Incredible… so this is the mysterious Nightmare Potion."

Angele spent more than ten days to concoct one serving of Nightmare Potion, which was enough for his simulation.

'I can proceed to the last stage now.' Angele was a bit excited.

'Zero, show me the data of the modified defensive spell.'

'Spell model successfully modified. Models used: High Temperature Field, Metal Spells, and Twisted Barrier. 15 runs of simulation were finished. All succeeded.'

Angele nodded and smiled. He was satisfied with the result.

He took out a crystal clock from a bag beside the bed and checked the time.

19:23.

"Umm… The rooms in the school are protected by barriers, but…" Suddenly, Angele stopped talking.

'High-energy living being approaching,' Zero warned. Angele saw a black dot rushing across the floor of his room.

Angele stayed calm. He glanced at the black dot. It was a tiny black insect.

The insect had a round body and was about the size of a fingernail. It had six legs, and it was moving around very fast.

The energy particles on the door had no reaction to it. The appearance of the insect reminded him of the ones controlled by his master Liliana. Her beetles looked exactly like this one. Without the chip, Angele would never notice it.

Angele didn't stop what he was doing, but he hid the Nightmare Pouch in his right sleeve.

"All prepared, I hope I can succeed…" Angele muttered. He looked a bit depressed, "Wish me luck…" He sighed and started organizing his messy desk.

The black beetle stopped for a second after hearing Angele's voice before it moved toward the corner of the room, turned into black smoke, and disappeared.

Angele felt relieved after the beetle left.

'Master sent her beetles into my room multiple times. They came here once every two days. I didn't know Master had such high expectations on a rank 3 Wizard apprentice like me…' He pursed his lips into a smile, 'I don't know why, but I think my preparation is done anyway.'

He took out the Nightmare Potion again and lined it up along with the three tubes of Water of Asu on the desk. Angele grabbed one of the tubes and stood beside the desk quietly.

"The eternal soul shall return to the motherland," he used the incantation.

*Crack*

The tube in his hand was opened, and the other two tubes on the desk were opened as well.

Angele had determination in his eyes, he raised the tube and swallowed the golden liquid.

He put down the empty tube and grabbed the other two.

He finished all the potions along with the Nightmare Potion and returned all the empty tubes into his pouch.

Angele crossed his legs as he sat on his bed. He could feel his throat and stomach burning as though there was a fire burning inside his body.

He slowly closed his eyes.

*BOOM*

Pale gray flame rose upon his skin, "I'll make it…"

Chapter 124: Advance (1)

Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe

In the forest outside Ramsoda College.

The intense flame streaked the sky, and the glare turned every nearby object green.

The trees, the mud, and the stones around all turned green including the two people who were standing beside the fire.

The shadow of the flames was dancing on the two's faces, and they were staring at the fire with no expression.

It was a man and a woman wearing black robes. They covered half of their pale faces with their hoods.

"The flame is from a Glowing Elephant," the man spoke in a light tone. He raised his right hand and waved at the fire.

Some of the green flames dropped down a large burning tree and gathered upon the tip of his finger.

"I can smell the stink of a Hundred-Eyed Monster in the air. It must be the Nakora Family. They are hunting humans again, but who started the fire?" The man looked a bit confused.

"It's getting out of control. They should just stay beneath the earth and stop wandering around the school. I think something is going on," the woman said in a light tone.

"It doesn't matter. We'll still be safe for the next 100 years, and we have enough time to recover. Let's go. It's probably just an accident. A glowing heart exploded, and the monster was caught in the explosion." The man waved his fingers, and the flames dropped to the ground.

"So, you want me to take care of it?" the woman asked.

"If you want." The man turned around and walked toward the bushes. He vanished into the shadows after several seconds.

The woman watched the man leave before she turned around and looked at the burning trees again.

"Arudia, hurry up."

"At your service." A deep male voice came from her body.

*Rip*

The cloth at the woman's left shoulder was torn apart, her skin was cut open, and a man's head appeared in her flesh.

The man's head slowly moved out of her wound and pushed the woman's head to the other side.

The woman looked strange with two heads on her shoulder.

The man's head had a handsome face. His eyes were dark blue, and he was smiling. The woman's head started withering as the man's head claimed the control of her body. The woman's head turned into a ball of black flesh and melted into her body after several seconds.

The female characteristics started changing as well, and her body was converted to a muscular man's body.

The woman's gender changed completely after several minutes.

He then raised his hand and pointed at the fire in front of him.

"Collins, Frost, Navco," The man started invoking incantations.

A white magic circle slowly appeared above his palm, which spun as he used the incantation. Countless shining runes and characters were flickering inside the circle.

White icy air kept sprouting around the magic circle. The grasses and the trees were frozen and completely covered in white frost.

The magic circle spun like a white plate and the icy air was pushed toward the green flames.

The icy air spread into the burning area and put off most of the fire. A thick layer of white frost quickly covered the burnt ground.

After several minutes, the entire green flame was extinguished by the white frost.

"Well, that was some hard work…" The man lowered his hand and shook his head.

The white magic circle became transparent and vanished into the air quickly.

The man looked at the forest in front of him, satisfied with the result. The ashes of the plants were covered in ice, but he could still see some green smoke rising upon them.

"Damn monsters, they sure know when to strike," the man muttered as he turned around. His body vanished into white smoke after stepping forward.

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

Angele's body was burning. He was covered in intense white flames.

There was no smoke or noise in the room, and the flame did not rise the temperature. It was almost as if his body was the fuel of the white phantasmal flames.

The whole room was brightened up by the strange white flame, sweat kept dripping down Angele's chin and his eyes were twitching. His brown hair lost its luster in the flame, causing it to become dry and damaged.

'Warning! Warning! Your body cells are failing. Please take action immediately!' Zero's report echoed around his ears.

Angele knew that something went wrong. He struggled as he raised his hands and crossed his fingers slowly.

'Check my mentality,' Angele ordered. It felt like his life energy was being converted into a special power.

A strange feeling filled up his mind and converted power was injected into his body.

'Your Mentality is increasing. 16… 18… 19…'

Angele finally understood what Water of Asu did in this process.

Water of Asu's main effect was converting one's life energy into the mentality, causing a massive increase in mentality within a short duration. Wizard apprentices could break the limit with such strong mentality and reach another level. However, if people who consumed the potion failed to break the limit, the converted life energy would be wasted and their life expectancy would be reduced.

The reason why more Water of Asu would bring better success rate was that the amount of life energy it converted into mentality would be larger.

Wizard apprentices usually consumed one serving of Water of Asu when trying to break the limit. It would damage their body permanently. Some of the apprentices who attempted even died during the procedure. It was the main reason why younger Wizard apprentices had higher chance to survive after breaking the limit than older Wizard apprentices.

Angele consumed three servings of Water of Asu and one serving of Nightmare Potion. In all likelihood, he would die if he failed to break the limit.

The furious white flame was burning on Angele's body quietly.

'Start constructing the spell model.' Angele suddenly opened his eyes. Countless blue light dots were flashing in his eyes.

'Model construction starting. Combining spell, Metal Mastery. I will monitor the status of the model creation.'

Angele crossed his fingers, and a golden metal ball appeared between his hands.

His hands turned red within seconds, and the metal ball started melting. It turned into a ball of golden liquid. Two tentacles separated from the liquid and attached to Angele's wrists. It was akin to dropping water into a lake. The tentacles were absorbed by his skin immediately.

Two thin, light golden strings were connecting Angele's hands with the golden ball. The metal liquid was injected into the surface of his skin.

His pale skin that had absorbed the metal liquid started turning golden slowly. Angele kept his position. He just let the fire burn on his body. Finally, he absorbed the golden ball made from the claw completely after several minutes.

'Basic mentality model created,' Zero reported.

Angele looked relieved after he heard Zero's voice. He struggled and loosened his fingers. He took out his jacket and threw it to the corner.

Five silver daggers without smeared poison were revealed after he took his jacket off. There was also the chain claw, the knife, and the crossguard sword hanging on his waist.

All the daggers were inserted into the slots on his brown belt, Angele put his hands on them.

*CHI*

The first dagger he pressed on with his hands melted into his hand.

The second one, the third one, and the fourth one…

Also, the chain claw, the knife, and the crossguard sword…

Two minutes later, the metal weapons Angele had all been melted and absorbed into his body.

His skin was coated with a silver glow, and some of his hair turned white.

'Spell model created. Material requirement met,' Zero finally reported again, 'Your time remaining, 15 minutes and 32 seconds.'

Angele's expression changed. He could feel that he had reached a level that he could never imagine before, but he also noticed how weak his body had become.

"Last step…" he muttered as he raised his right hand. Angele's fractured arm still had not fully recovered yet although he spent a long time resting.

Angele touched his left face gently with his right hand. His palm was burnt, and he could feel the pain.

He groaned and closed his eyes slowly.

Three silver scars appeared as his fingers slowly slipped down his left side of the face. Those scars looked like metal strips that were inserted into his face, leaning from the mouth to ear, and his average-looking face was decorated with something strange now.

*CHI*

He opened his eyes again, and it sounded like something slashed the air open.

Angele's pupils were no longer black but instead silver.

'Talent Spell acquired, Metal Mastery.'

'Attributes increased. Strength, 3.5, Agility, 5.2, Stamina, 4.5, Mentality, 21.2, Mana, 7.7. Talent Spell, Metal Mastery. It's a force field, and after the 50% potential is reached, Metal Rune support will be enabled.'

Zero transferred all the information into Angele's mind.

"Finally, it's over." Angele felt relaxed. He smiled.

He rubbed the left side of his face again with his hand, and the three metal strips disappeared. The white flames around his body extinguished after several seconds.

Angele did not stand up. He sat on his bed with his legs crossed and started thinking again. His hair turned pale and his clothes were soaked in sweat. The sheet beneath him was soaking wet as well.

After about ten minutes, he got off the bed slowly, 'Zero, how's my body condition?'

'Your body cells are dividing fast, 80% of the potentials were consumed, and your life expectancy was reduced by 20%,' Zero reported honestly.

*CHI*

A three-dimensional body model appeared in Angele's side, and it was rotating.

It was a translucent blue hologram. There was no vein or muscle displayed inside the body and instead, there were many tiny blue tunnels. There were blue and red spots on the model's skin. Their sizes varied, and the red color around the heart and the head were the deepest.

Chapter 125: Advance (2)

Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe

Beside the three-dimensional hologram, several rows of data were listed.

'Blue, undamaged. Red, damaged.'

Angele stared at the hologram in front of him. He remained silent, 'Life expectancy is determined by the rate of cell division, so it means my life expectancy is shortened by half already? Is there anything I can do? Wizards need a great amount of life energy. There must be a way. Check the database for me.'

'Mission created, searching…' Zero reported.

Angele stood beside the bed and waited for Zero to complete its analysis.

'129 plans created. Show them all?'

Angele opened his mouth a bit, dumbfounded as he did not expect so many plans.

'Add filter: No sequelas, Fast, Easy, Can be done right away. Search again.'

'Filtering… Done. Plans left, 2.'

'Transfer them to me,' Angele ordered.

All the information was sent to his memory block immediately.

'Plan A: Energy radiation. By exposing your body to the radiation of your main energy particles, your body condition will change and your life energy will be restored within one year. I will support you in controlling the amount of radiation that goes into your body. Otherwise, your body will be polluted by the excessive energy.

Plan B: Catch any living being and drain the life energy from it constantly every day. Requirement, any spell that drains life. Time needed, 12 days.'

Angele's eyebrows furrowed, 'One year is a bit too long, I'll go with plan B.'

'Show me the detailed procedure.'

'Processing…

Polari's Chronical Life Drain: Originated from the level 2 Wizard spell, Chronical Life Drain. It was modified by Wizard Polari and mainly used for restoring life energy after Wizard apprentices broke the limit, so the modified spell was named after him.

Spell model: Not learned yet.

Requirements: Blood Ritual, Evil.'

Angele stood in his room. There were blue light dots flashing in his eyes, which took about five minutes for those blue light dots to slowly disappear.

'Well, I guess I have to go with plan A for now. It's nearly impossible for me to set up an evil ritual.' Angele checked the information about the blood ritual, but it was a brutal and evil way. He did not want to become the target of other Wizards.

Angele rested for a while and some gentle wind blew the stinky air out of the window with a flick of his finger.

Angele stared at the dirty bed and the messy desk. He collected all the important items and put them into his case.

"Finally, I've become a formal Wizard. However, the school doesn't provide any information regarding the future progression for Wizards. I need to talk to my master." Angele checked the situation in the school already.

The school's attitude to formal Wizard was not recorded in any book, someone told him that there was a special area in the school reserved for the formal Wizards. However, he needed to sign a contract with the school first before he could access that area.

Wizard apprentices differed from Wizards in terms of their power and the rights they had. The original contracts would not affect what new Wizards wanted to do, so the school had to sign a new contract with the formal Wizards. Those special contracts were written by high-ranking Wizards and were enhanced using certain spells.

Wizards sought rare resources, so most of them would sign the contracts with the school. Furthermore, it was a win-win situation.

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

Angele stood in front of his master's laboratory.

He wiped the dust off his gray robe and knocked on the door.

*Knock-Knock*

"Come in, please." Master Liliana's voice came from inside.

Angele pushed the door open. It was a bit dark inside the lab and the only source of light in the room was a white light ray coming down from the middle. Master Liliana sat in a high chair beside the light ray, holding the bronze pocket watch in hand. She was trying to insert it into her left eye.

It seemed like she was having trouble with placing the pocket watch into the right place. She took the pocket watch out and started checking it in her hands. Black smoke was exploding between her fingers from time to time.

"Force field?" Liliana noticed Angele's presence. She raised her head and looked at the door, "Angele, is that you?!"

"Master." Angele bowed slightly, pressed right hand on his chest and smiled, "I was just lucky."

Liliana hesitated for a second but had a sincere smile on her face after. She stood up and walked toward Angele. Her body turned into a pile of black smoke that surrounded Angele.

"Congratulations, my child." Liliana embraced Angele and patted his back. She saw the white hair on Angele's head.

"Thank you." Angele knew Liliana was actually happy for him. Although hugging her felt like hugging a cold corpse, he still decided to hug her back.

"Sorry, I was a bit too excited. It has been 15 years since a disciple of mine broke the limit and became a formal Wizard." Liliana stepped back, "Although 15 years quickly flew by, I still feel a bit uncomfortable when I see Wizard apprentices from other faculties successfully breaking the limit."

Liliana did not wait for Angele to respond. She just kept talking, "Follow me. After you become a Wizard, no matter what your rank is, the contract between you and the school needs to be renewed. Otherwise, the school won't provide you with any rare resources. You need to earn their trust."

She turned around and walked toward the ray of light, "I am worried that those curses will hurt you during the process, but it seems like you succeeded on the first try. I thought Kalins would be the one to break the limit first. I'm in charge of five rank 3 Wizard apprentices, and he had the best chance of doing so."

Angele smiled and followed her to the light. The door behind them closed shut by itself.

Liliana held her pocket watch in hand, walking slowly, "About a hundred years ago, I had this female disciple. She was my favorite child. The girl was beautiful, strong, and independent. I wanted to help her break the limit, so I gifted one more serving of the Water of Asu, but…"

"What happened?" Angele already had an answer in mind, but he thought he had missed a few details.

"She was a bit too old, and she was burnt to death by the potion." Liliana shook her head. Angele could see the sharp pang of regret in her eyes.

Angele narrowed his eyes. He finally understood what he had missed.

He was given one serving of the potion when he became a disciple of Liliana. It was the right amount for a young man like him. However, it could easily kill Wizard apprentices who were older. One serving was more than enough to completely consume one's life energy. It was rare for young Wizard apprentices to reach level 3. They would not die after drinking Water of Asu even if they failed to break the limit. It was one of the reasons why there was an age limit for rank 3 Wizard apprentices.

'However, I drank three servings of the potion and didn't die…' Angele thought for a while. He knew that he had been saved by the Nightmare Potion. It reduced the side-effects of the Water of Asu. Otherwise, he would be dead after drinking three servings of the potion.

'But the Nightmare Potion was too difficult to concoct. I purchased enough amount of materials for 15 tests. However, I only acquired one small bottle's worth after the only successful trial. I spent more than 1000 magic stones and I had the help from Zero. Average Wizards probably need more than 1000 tests to just make one serving, and that will cost them more than 10,000 magic stones. Wizard apprentices just can't possibly afford it. That must be how the potion got its name. It really is the nightmare of Potion Masters.'

Angele finally understood how important the Nightmare Potion was. He thought about the processes in the concoction of the potion as he followed Liliana from behind. They arrived at the light after a while. Liliana pointed in the air, and a black chair appeared behind Angele.

They sat down together.

"Since you're a formal Wizard now, I think it's time to tell you something you need to know." Liliana changed the time on the pocket watch and inserted it into her left eye. The second hand started moving slowly as Liliana lowered her hand.

"I suggest you not to sign the school's contract. There's one specific line on the contract that states you have to stay in the school for 300 years."

"I have to stay here?" Angele was surprised.

"Yes." Liliana nodded, "Ramsoda College, it's a school full of shadows and undead. This organization was created to protect the Shadow Pearl. If you're talented in Shadow Spells, you should stay here and do your research, however, you're not."

"What exactly is this Shadow Pearl?" Angele asked in a deep tone, "There are many Wizards in the school, and their sole purpose is to protect this treasure?"

"Shadow Pearl is a source of power. It's incredibly helpful for creatures or Wizards that need dark energy. The reason why we need to fight against the Northland Alliance and some underground races is due to this treasure. It's none of your business. You're not talented in Necromancy or Shadow Spells, so you should not get involved. Most of my disciples left the school after becoming a Wizard because they focused on other types of energy particles."

"So… I don't see many Wizards around because they're all out there fighting? How many of them sacrificed their lives for the school?"

"Countless." Liliana nodded, "My advice is, you should leave the school and focus on improving yourself. If you need resources, you can buy them from the school or other Wizard organizations. Only Wizards of Light will decline your offer since you're still one of us."

Liliana stopped for a second. A book appeared in her hand out of nowhere.

The book was thin, had about ten pages, and all the pages' background was black. The title on the cover was written with a light gold color and was written in the ancient language.

Liliana handed over the book to Angele.

Angele grabbed the book and asked, "What's this?"

"A special contract between all the formal Wizards, the Treaty of Grimgar. 1500 years ago, a Wizard's laboratory exploded, causing the death of thousands of people. A whole empire was destroyed, and a human race was erased from this land. All the Wizard organizations were impacted, so they signed the treaty. You can choose not to follow it, but if anyone finds out what you're trying to do, something horrifying will happen. Also, the treaty was not perfectly written, and most of the Wizards know how to find the loopholes. This thing will lose its effect soon, but you should still take a look." Liliana explained.

Angele opened the book. The words were written in silver on a black background and the list of rules was recorded in it.

Most of the rules were in regards to limiting the rights of the Dark Wizards, including the prohibition of participating in too many brutal experiments. The territories of the organizations created by Wizards of Light and Dark Wizards were marked on a map.

The map showed Angele the territories in the southwest of this land. Angele rubbed the edge of the map.

"Master, the map only showed about 20% of the land, why are the other areas hidden?"

Liliana smiled, "I asked the same question to my master a long time ago. Most of the places were desolates, and you need a great amount of time to travel from one side to another. The land on the other side is controlled by unknown Wizard organizations. In addition to that, between the two lands, there are many dangerous underground races. Some of the polluted creatures, ancient blood, and forest monsters all live there. You have to find ancient Wizard books if you're really interested in those areas."

"Let's stop here." Liliana pulled another book from nowhere and handed it over to Angele, "This book will tell you the basics you need to know after you become a formal Wizard. Read it through and remember all the necessary information in your mind.

Angele grabbed the book. It was a normal leather book with a brown cover and was titled: The Handbook of Wizards.

"From now on, you're on your own." Liliana stood up and smiled.

Angele stood up and nodded, "Now if you would excuse me, I'll return to my room and read the book."

"Go ahead. Remember, no matter what your decision is, make sure to contact me when you're in trouble. I'm always by your side." Liliana said in a serious tone. Angele saw the sadness in her green right eye. It seemed like this scene reminded her of someone else.

Angele bowed and Liliana already left the room before he straightened his back. He turned around and walked toward the door calmly.

Chapter 126: Payback (1)

Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe

Inside the underground tunnel, the torches hanging from the brown wall brightened up the hallway, and shadows filled up the gaps between the light.

Angele was walking down the hall. He had already put on his new black robe. He lowered his head. There were blue light dots flashing in his eyes. It seemed that he was doing some analysis.

After about ten minutes, he heard people talking ahead of him. They were walking toward him, and their voices became clearer as they got closer.

Two Wizard apprentices in gray robes appeared at the corner in the front, they were talking and laughing, but they suddenly stopped after seeing Angele's black robe.

Angele took a glance at the two. It was a male Wizard apprentice and a female Wizard apprentice, who lowered their heads and stood on the side. They did not want to block a formal Wizard's path.

"The Conjuror Department is up ahead, right?" he suddenly asked.

"Yes," the male Wizard apprentice responded immediately, "The lecture hall is right ahead. Are you here to talk to Master Angola?"

"Master Angola is teaching today?" Angele questioned.

"Yes, I think the class just started," the female Wizard apprentice answered.

"Thanks." Angele nodded. He turned around and started walking again.

The two Wizard apprentices felt relieved only after Angele's shadow disappeared around the corner.

"It's rare to see formal Wizards roaming outside during classes. I hope we didn't offend him," the male Wizard apprentice exhaled once and said.

"I think we didn't." The female apprentice hesitated for a second.

"Let's head back to the dorm first. The school is empty. There are not that many people around. The dorm area makes me feel much better," the male apprentice suggested.

"Sure." The two picked up their pace and walked toward the opposite direction.

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

The Conjuror Department's lecture halls.

Angele entered a long hallway. There were about ten identical-looking classrooms on the left side and some of them were quite noisy.

In one of the classrooms, they had just finished the lessons. Several Wizard apprentices walked out of the noisy classroom while whispering something. Some of them walked toward the washroom, while the others were walking back to their dorm.

The Wizard apprentices lowered their voices upon seeing Angele walking by. After they saw his black robe, they promptly showed the courtesy of utmost respect toward him.

A male Wizard wearing a white robe walked out of the classroom. He hesitated for a second after seeing Angele's face.

"You are?" he wondered.

"My name is Angele. I'm a disciple of Liliana from the Faculty of Necromancy," Angele nodded politely.

"I'm Angola, from the Conjuror Department. The pronunciation of our names is similar." The man laughed. His skin color was a bit dark, and he had an average-looking face, but he seemed like a nice person.

Angele stepped forward before he bowed slightly and spoke again, "Master Angola, I think you have the record of all the spells cast around the school, right? I'm wondering if I can have a look?"

"Well, if you need the record…" Angola's eyebrows furrowed.

"I have the permit of Master Liliana," Angele interrupted him and smiled.

"Great. She did have the right to check the record," Angola smiled as well, "This way please."

"Thanks." Angele nodded.

Angola led the way at the front and Angele followed him from behind. They were walking toward the exit of the hallway. Angele could hear the Wizard apprentices' conversations coming from behind.

One of the female Wizard apprentices with an attractive body walked out of the classroom. She became slightly surprised to see Angele talking with Angola.

'It's that guy! The rank 3 Wizard apprentice with a pair of sharp eyes we met at the garden!' She recalled the scene she saw by the lake. She was with her friends at that time, and they saw a rank 3 Wizard apprentice with an extremely high Mentality on the other side of the lake.

'He already broke the limit?! How is that even possible…' The girl felt a bit speechless and had mixed feelings about this. She felt a bit jealous, but she admired Angele at the same time.

Angele followed Angola. They went across the service area and reached a dark tunnel. There was a thin layer of the red barrier by the end of it. The barrier was blocking the way to the area ahead of them.

Angola entered the barrier directly. A red light flashed upon his body, and he was not blocked. Angele followed suit after him. A black light flashed on his body, and he went past it as well.

The wall in the tunnel was still covered with brown bricks, but Angele knew he had already entered the core area of the school where only formal Wizards were allowed here.

There were strict rules limiting Wizard apprentices' rights in the school. Angele had read the Wizard's Handbook. He learned that there was a large underground tunnel system in the area only accessible by Wizards, and some of those tunnels led straight to the surface of the land. It was one of the reasons why Wizard apprentices hadn't seen many Wizards around the public area. The Wizards tended to stay in their reserved area most of the time.

"I think you already know that we lost several Wizards in the recent war against Northland Alliance, so there are not many people inside the core area at the moment. The core area is about the size of an average city, but there are only about 40 Wizards living here. They spent most of their time doing researches anyways…" Angola shrugged.

"I know nothing about it actually. I just became a Wizard," Angele pursed his lips into a smile.

"For real?" Angola turned his head around and looked at Angele, "Incredible… Your Mentality has almost gasified. I thought you were an old guy who looked young… You're not kidding, right? Your body is still weak at the moment then, that explains a lot."

"Gasified Mentality?" Angele looked confused, "Nothing about it was mentioned in the Wizard's Handbook."

"Yea. It's a common word we use. Mentality solidifies in order to create the spell model that will become your Talent Spell. However, that only happens the first time you break the limit. If you want to rank up as a Wizard, you must meditate and create another individual Mentality model. I think you already know that." Angola stopped for a second before he continued, "The second time you solidify the model, you start from scratch. It's much harder than the first time considering how Wizards don't have high Mentality at birth. After the second, you need the third, the fourth, and the fifth. You must start from scratch every time. Moreover, it takes a great deal of time in doing so."

"But you said my mentality is almost gasified?" Angele wondered.

"Yes. I thought you already knew this… A Gasified Mentality has special features." Angola looked at Angele, unwilling to believe that Angele had no prior knowledge on Gasified Mentality, "You have just broken the limit, yet you already gained even greater Mentality as an added benefit. I'm jealous. Gasification, Liquefaction, and Crystallization are three stages you will surely experience as a Wizard. There's no shortcut to progress in these three stages, and low-rank potions won't help you either, as it will only affect the purity negatively. You must slowly accumulate it by yourself. Also, never fight unnecessary battles nor waste any resources. Otherwise, your progression through these stages will be hindered. Most Wizards rely on their Talent Spells, while some hire people to fight for them or craft enchanted items to reduce the cost."

"I see," Angele nodded, "Master Liliana has never told me about this. I'll ask her the next time I see her."

"Is that so? It's not your master's fault. It takes time explaining all of these to you. It's complicated," Angola answered as he walked, "We determine Wizards' ranks by checking their spell levels. Some people wanted to prepare a high-level spell before the test, but the amount of calculation needed was out of their league. They might experience mental retardation instead if they ever try to attempt something they are not capable of. Some of the spell models will kill them, and those are just common sense. You'll know these sooner or later."

"Thanks for your explanation," Angele appreciated Angola's kindness, "So based on what's written in the handbook, there are several high-rank Wizards in our school, right?"

"What do you mean high-rank Wizards? For us, rank 3 Wizards are high-rank Wizards, and for rank 3 Wizards, rank 5 Wizards are high-rank Wizards. It's just a concept." It seemed like Angola was enjoying the chat with Angele and was willing to share the information.

"The teachers in the school, including your master, Liliana, are all rank 1 Wizards, but their actual power varies. They have about 300 years as their average life expectancy."

"How hard is it to successfully solidify the second mentality model?" Angele was a bit surprised.

"Extremely hard. If you can rank up in 40 years, you'll become a top-level Wizard in the school. Liliana and the mind reader are two of the strongest Wizards in the school. They know a substantial number of spells and have many hidden abilities. However, they are nowhere close to rank 2. I think only the president of the school can reach rank 2 in the future."

"What about the rank 7 Wizards I read about on the books…" Angola's words caused Angele to become appalled.

"It's different now. There are fewer resources than before. You can probably find rank 3 and rank 4 Wizards in some random cave, but level 7… Have you ever read any fantasy novels? They are like the legendary heroes in those books," Angola explained and smiled after.

"When I read the rank chart, I had thought rank 2 and rank 3 Wizards are very common…" Angele creased his eyebrows, "So Northland Alliance, Santiago, and the other Wizard organizations are just like us? They only have rank 1 Wizards?"

"There are rank 2 Wizards in the organizations for sure, all the Wizard organizations have their final weapons. The rank chart you read was created about one thousand years ago," Angele stopped by a wooden door and pushed it open.

"The rank chart was obtained in a random ruin. A Wizard put it in his book, and it was kept as general information in the library. Don't trust it too much."

Angola and Angele walked inside the room. It was dark and the walls looked like mirrors. Their appearances were reflected on the walls.

"Date and time?" Angola asked.

"Umm… I need the records of three days before when I returned to the school, which was about 16 days ago." Angele responded immediately.

Chapter 127: Payback (2)

Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe

Angola nodded and pointed at the mirror with his finger. A ray of red light came out of the tip of his finger and sank into the surface of the mirror.

The whole room was immediately brightened up by the light coming from the walls and Angele could hear the strange sizzling noise from the mirrors.

The area outside the school appeared within the mirrors: the muddy ruin, the setting sun and Master Moroco cleaning his feathers with his beak.

"What exactly are you looking for?" Angola asked.

"Three Wizard apprentices, two males, and one female. The female Wizard apprentice's name is Annie. I think they returned to the school at the same time. Can you fast forward it? I need the records about all the Wizard apprentices that came back to the school recently," Angele responded.

"No problem." With a flick of Angola's finger, the image started changing rapidly.

It was still showing the images of the morning, but now it was already midnight. The pure light of the moon poured onto the empty ground, and three people wearing gray robes appeared in the mirror after several minutes.

"Those are my targets." Angele narrowed his eyes.

"Found what you wanted?" Angola turned around and asked.

"Can you please show me their information? I think the door at the entrance of the door checks the Wizard apprentices' identity, right?" Angele nodded.

"Of course. They offended you?" Angola clapped his hands. The image in the mirror disappeared. Lines of red characters quickly lined up on its surface.

"Ah, Vlasov?" Angele recognized the language and started reading the information carefully.

'Annie Korver, 19 years old, rank 3 Wizard apprentice. Apprentice of Wizard Maryland from the Faculty of Shadow.

Jack Bennie, 20 years old, rank 3 Wizard apprentice. Apprentice of Wizard Maryland from the Faculty of Shadow.

Adele, 19 years old, rank 2 Wizard apprentice. Apprentice of Wizard Maryland from the Faculty of Shadow.'

That was all the information showed up in the mirror.

"Maryland? That old coward? They are in trouble now, I guess." Angola chuckled.

"Thanks for the help, Angola." Angele bowed slightly, "I have something important to take care of and I have to leave now."

"No worries, Master Liliana has helped me several times already," Angola smiled.

Angele left the core area after stepping out of Angola's mirror room. He had not signed the contract with the school, so he could not stay in the core area for too long.

His access was granted by Liliana's magical sigil. Otherwise, he would not be able to pass the barrier. All he could think about at the moment was those three Wizard apprentices.

Angele was not a member of the school anymore. He was just a disciple of Liliana, and the school would only help him if he signed the contract. He could not just go to Maryland's office and demand for the three Wizard apprentices. Two of them were already at rank 3 and were relatively important to the school. Wizards and their apprentices usually did not develop deep relationships. Wizard apprentices could purchase rare items from their teachers at a discounted price. Wizards would protect them from danger only when necessary.

Angele put all his items into two large cases after returning to his own room.

"I probably should hire two Wizard apprentices…" Angele looked at the two large travel cases on the floor. He was a bit speechless.

*Knock-knock*

Someone had knocked on his door. Two male Wizard apprentices were standing outside.

"Greetings, Master Angele." The taller Wizard apprentice handed a yellow item over to Angele.

"This is the telescope Master Liliana has prepared for you."

Angele grabbed the telescope. He knew it was for communication.

"Also, Alo asked me to bring you his greetings. He was the one showed you around the school. I wonder if you still remember him," the apprentice spoke in a light tone.

"Alo?" Angele knew this strong man. He guided him into the underground tunnel when he became a Wizard apprentice, "Where is he? I think he reached rank 3 already."

"They are out for a mission. He left a while ago," the male Wizard apprentice answered immediately.

"Alo failed to break the limit, so he's working hard for the next Water of Asu."

"Ah, so most of the rank 3 Wizard apprentices are out looking for materials." Angele stayed outside collecting materials for a while as well after reaching rank 3.

The other Wizard apprentice waited for his friend to finish before talking, "Master Angele, the vice president of the school, Colin Fear, has asked if you would like to sign the contract with the school. If you're interested, please go talk to him in the Potions Department. If you don't want to sign it, please leave the school within 5 days. Also, without the contract, your rights in the school will be limited. Wizard Maryland wants to see you in the garden if you have time."

Angele had already decided to leave the school, so he was not concerned.

"Please tell Master Colin Fear that I'll leave the school, but I'm still a disciple of Master Liliana. Also, I'll deal with the issue between me and Maryland."

The management team in the school would probably help Maryland if he chose not to sign the contract, and he could understand the reasons.

"I'll let him know." The Wizard apprentice bowed, turned around and left the hallway.

The other Wizard apprentice bowed as well and started leaving.

Angele closed the door and left the dorm. He walked down the hallway and started heading to the garden area.

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

The golden crystal shot out the white light into the lake, and the whole garden area brightened up. Two Wizards wearing black robes were standing beside a long chair by the lake. It seemed as if they were waiting for someone to arrive.

They just stood there without saying anything. Formal Wizards were feared by the Wizard apprentices, so most of the people nearby tried to stay away from the two.

After several minutes, another black-robed man walked out of the bush.

The two Wizards approached him and took off their black hoods. The one in the front was an old man with white messy hair and the one behind him was a young beautiful lady. Her left eye was covered in a black eyepatch.

"Master Angele, you're a healthy young man, why are you so slow?" The old man chuckled and asked.

Angele took off his hood and revealed his white hair.

"You must be Wizard Maryland?" He smiled.

Maryland nodded, "I invited you here to discuss the conflict between you and three of my apprentices. I hope you can resolve this matter peacefully. They offended you because they had no other choice at that moment."

"Ah, you want to compensate me?" Angele nodded as well. If Maryland could offer him something valuable, he could consider forgiving those Wizard apprentices.

"1000 magic stones. Not bad, eh?" Maryland showed Angele one finger.

Angele was a bit surprised, and he stopped smiling.

"1000 magic stones?"

"Well, actually, how about 2000?" Maryland saw Angele's expression changing, so he decided to increase the amount.

"If you can promise not to hurt them, you'll become a friend of ours. Also, you can purchase a lot of rare materials with 2000 magic stones. I can prepare it right away."

Angele's eyebrows furrowed. He did not want to befriend them at all but instead wondered why Maryland was trying so hard to protect those Wizard apprentices.

It seemed like Maryland was still treating him as if he was a Wizard apprentice. He must have known that Angele was from overseas and had no local background, so he decided to solve the conflict by compensating Angele with magic stones.

"What do you think?" Maryland continued asking.

"Rank 3 Wizard apprentices are the future of the school. It would be painful to watch them die."

Angele looked at Maryland, not uttering a single word.

The situation was quite awkward. Maryland had spoken several reasons, but he stopped after getting frustrated.

"Master Angele, I think I already made things clear. Do you really have to kill them all? They are my beloved apprentices." Maryland increased the volume of his voice.

"People shall pay for their faults," Angele responded calmly.

"Stepped forward you three. I know you're here."

Maryland looked at the female Wizard behind him. They did not know what else they could do.

"Annie, Adele, come here," Maryland shouted.

Three Wizard apprentices wearing gray robes walked out of the bush slowly and stood beside the three Wizards.

"Master Maryland, Master Ancore, and Master… Angele." They bowed and greeted.

"Tell me what you want," Marland said in a grim tone.

"Let me decide what I want to do with them." Angele had no expression on his face.

"You can't protect them forever."

The two Wizards were a bit speechless. Maryland looked at Angele and opened his mouth, but he ultimately did not say anything.

They knew Liliana was his backer. It was not a good idea to infuriate her.

"Whatever," the female Wizard behind Maryland opened her mouth and said, "Let's go. He won't accept our offer. There's no point in talking to him anymore."

"5000 magic stones. What do you say? At least let them live. Adele is my grandson." Maryland was not giving up at all. 5000 magic stones were all he could offer.

Angele creased his eyebrows. He had just become a formal Wizard and did not want to make too many enemies.

"One hand. I will cut off one of their hands. Acceptable?" He decided to compromise.

"Of course." Maryland nodded immediately.

"Well then." Angele glanced at the three Wizard apprentices.

*CHI*

He raised his hand and a silver dagger appeared from nowhere.

"You're fine with this, right? It's a punishment you have to take," Angele asked in a calm tone.

The Wizard apprentices lowered their heads.

"Yes…" The rank 2 Wizard apprentice Adele responded in a low voice.

A silver flash went through their left arms which returned to Angele's hand after.

They screamed and held their left arms with their right hands. Blood spurted out from their left arms from where they had been amputated, and the grass below their feet was soaked in the red fishy liquid.

Maryland pointed at them with his finger. Three balls of green light dots covered their wounds, and he gave them some healing gel to stop them from bleeding to death.

Angele looked at the three for a second before he spoke in a light tone, "Keep the magic stones. Farewell."

"Thanks." Maryland nodded again. He was thankful that Angele didn't kill his apprentices.

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

14 days later.

In the morning.

At the ruin above the Ramsoda College, a green carriage slowly left the bridge and entered the forest. Inside the carriage, Annie and Adele sat opposite to each other, while Jack was in the corner.

Annie looked out the window. She still could feel the phantom pain constantly coming from her missing hand, her eyes filled with hatred.

"Angele Rio, one day I'll make you pay for what you have done to me," she muttered.

"Come on Annie, that prick is already a formal Wizard. We are nowhere close to him." Adele shook his head.

"It's just a hand… We can buy some special potion and reattach it," Jack interjected.

"I'll kill this bastard after I break the limit. We should do it together."

"I think I can break the limit after I get back this time. My family has prepared everything for me. My talent level is 3, so it should be easy. I know someone who can tell us where this Angele came from, then I'll make his whole family suffer." Annie sneered.

A crow flew over their carriage.

*GA*

It was flying to a small hill beside the trees.

On top of the hill, there was a young man in a hunting suit silently standing. It was Angele. His white hair mixed with his brown hair, and his body was well-built.

He looked at the approaching carriage and took out a telescope from his pouch. It was the one Liliana gave him.

He pulled the door on the side open. A yellow note was inside of it.

Angele opened the note.

'Dead men tell no tales.'

Angele kneaded the note and held it in his right hand.

He smiled and raised his left hand. A ball of silver metal liquid gathered on his palm and turned into a metal longbow within seconds. Angele raised his right hand. The note in his hand was covered with a good amount of silver liquid and it turned into a long arrow.

He nocked the arrow onto the bow and put his hand upon the translucent bowstring.

Angele pulled the bowstring to full.

*CHI*

The arrow drew a silver arc in the air and landed on the green carriage accurately.

*BOOM*

A red fireball exploded upon the carriage. The horse and the Wizard apprentices inside were all blown into pieces. The only thing left on the ground was the burnt mark and pieces of human flesh.

Angele lowered his longbow and looked at the burnt mark for a second. He turned around and jumped off the hill as he disappeared into the forest.

Chapter 128: Preparation (1)

Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe

Ten days later.

In the evening.

A brown four-wheel carriage pulled by two black horses slowly approached the soldiers assigned to the outer area of Lennon City.

There were burning torches on the towers beside the entrance, and the flame was dancing.

Two chubby soldiers wearing white leather armor suits walked to the carriage. They were holding torches in their hands.

"Please show us your entry permit," they spoke with a loud voice.

The window of the carriage was opened by a pale hand. There was a young man sitting inside. He had no expression on his face. The soldiers could see his brown and white hair.

"Permit? What permit?" the man asked in a deep tone.

"Sorry sir, the order comes from the Lord himself, it's to prevent the plague…" The soldier suddenly stopped talking after seeing the young man's face, his expression looked quite surprised.

"Are you… Master Angele?!" He raised his voice.

"I am. What? You know me?" Angele's eyebrows furrowed.

Angele heard people chatting outside the carriage.

"Mr. Tinos sent your pictures to all the guard posts and asked us to memorize your face. Let the carriage pass! It's Master Angele!" the chubby soldier shouted and waved his hands.

"Tinos?" Angele rubbed his chin with his right hand and closed the window.

The soldiers outside drew their swords together to show their respect.

They watched the carriage moving to the direction of the city until it completely disappeared in their sights.

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

The carriage traveled on the bumpy road. Angele sat on his seat with his eyebrows furrowed. He looked at the road ahead and realized that the horses were not going to the direction he wanted. With a flick of his finger, a thin layer of green glow exploded on his palm and the horses immediately changed the direction.

'The explosive spell on the note Master has given me was quite powerful. Without that, I probably could not finish them off easily. My initial plan was to do something with all the materials I have and then find a ship to take me back home. However, it seems like there's something going on in the city. I hope I don't need to spend too much time there.' Angele rubbed the silver metal on the back of his right hand. It was the enchanted item Liliana gave him to help lift the curse. His Metal Mastery did not absorb it.

Complex patterns were engraved onto the diamond-shaped silver metal piece, which it looked a bit strange on the back of his hand.

'I'm actually 18 years already. Time flies… I wonder how my family is doing overseas.' Angele leaned to the window and watched the trees passing by.

He came to this land when he was almost 15 years old, and after about four years of hard work, he finally became a formal Wizard. Angele's progress was much faster than most of the talented Wizard apprentices.

Formal Wizards could live for at least 300 years, and he had more than enough time to visit his family. However, there were no materials, no potions, no Wizardry books over the sea, and he had no place to trade. He just could not stay there for too long.

Angele laid his back on the seat and sighed. He suddenly heard a bird making noise outside the carriage.

He opened the window and a white pigeon landed on his legs. The pigeon's eyes were completely black. They looked like two empty holes filled with darkness.

Angele stared at the pigeon, reminding him of something. He touched the pigeon's head and a sigil created out of some dark mist suddenly flashed below the tip of his finger.

A blue electric image shone upon the pigeon's chest. It was a fine magic circle.

"Long time no see, Benedict." Angele smiled.

"Long time no see. You already became a formal Wizard huh?" The pigeon opened its beak and it started talking.

"I hate using this method to contact you, but you're out of my telescope's range. I had to do it."

"Well, yeah. Where are you now? We need to meet if possible. I left the school and I need your help." Angele still needed to improve as a Wizard. Ramsoda's best spells were either Shadow spells or Necromancy spells. The school did not carry that many low-level spells, and Wizards were not doing too much research on the spells from unpopular categories. Liliana's special spells were not suitable for him to learn, so he had to find other ways to collect Wind or Fire spells.

"You left your school?" Benedict stilled for a second.

"I have some Wind and Fire spell models in my school, and I can sell you some basic ones, but it'll take months for me to travel to your location..."

"Is that so?" Angele thought for a second.

"Do you know which organization has the largest Wind and Fire spell collection?"

"Sure. Cross the Northland Alliance. There are two federal countries. The Six Ring High Tower there has the largest collection, but it's funded by Wizards of Light. Be careful if you really want to go there," Benedict warned.

"Six Ring High Tower…" Angele sighed.

"Fine, I'm going to visit my family anyway. I can probably take a boat there first, but I need to check with the Wizards around me first. I can save some time if they have what I want."

"Well, just be careful if you really want to go. Some of the Wizards of Light are extremists, they are dangerous and they despise Dark Wizards the most," Benedict advised again.

"I have to go now. I'm following the old guys to the abandoned land. I'll tell you if I find something there."

"Cool. Good luck then." Angele nodded.

"Wait, do you know what's going on with the plague? Around the south side of Ramsoda?"

"Plague?" Benedict was a bit surprised.

"I thought you were the expert on something like this. I don't know anything about it. Wizards will help those mortals for sure, don't worry. They are important to this land, and I think your school has already sent someone to investigate."

"I hope so." Angele knew Benedict was probably right.

"I'll talk to you later."

"We will meet again soon." The pigeon shook its wings and flew out of the window.

The pigeon exploded into a pile of white feathers and dropped to the ground after leaving the carriage.

Angele stopped looking at it and sat in the carriage quietly. He was approaching the main city gate of Lennon.

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

"Angele! Welcome back." Harland hugged Angele and smiled.

Tinos, Harland, and Lord Alford met in a meeting hall full of golden decorations.

There were dishes and drinks on the long table. It looked like they prepared a lot to welcome Angele back.

Angele walked to Lord Alford and hugged him as well. Alford was still sitting in a wheelchair.

Alford's nickname was 'Melodize', which meant rich and peaceful. People called him that as a praise for what he had contributed to the city.

"You're stronger than before. Welcome back. If you don't mind, this castle can be your second home." Alford smiled.

"Thanks." Angele straightened his back and looked at Tinos.

The pretty blonde man was smiling at him.

"Welcome back." Tinos stepped forward and hugged Angele.

"Remember, I'm your friend. I'm glad that you finally came back."

"Thanks." Angele nodded and smiled.

After the greetings, Angele sat down at the long table, and the maids removed the lids off the metal plates. He could smell the aroma of the food in the hall.

Angele grabbed some food. He remembered what happened at the guard post.

"Tinos, tell me what happened. I thought the plague was far from the city. Why are you looking for me?" Angele sipped the blue liquid in his glass. The drink was minty and sweet, it was quite refreshing.

Tinos's creased his eyebrows.

"Several travelers brought the plague into the city not so long ago. More than 300 citizens are already infected and 70 of them already passed away. The doctors in the city have no cure for it."

Harland and Alford's expressions changed. They looked serious.

"That's a problem." Angele was a bit surprised.

"It is, so we are wondering if you know how to deal with it," Harland added.

Angele's eyebrows furrowed, "There's nothing I can do at the moment, but someone will take care of it for sure. Don't worry too much. Make sure you burn the bodies and set up quarantines. Otherwise, the plague will continue to spread."

The plague had been spreading around for a while. Wizard organizations had already sent Wizards to the south to investigate. However, since the plague was still spreading, those Wizards probably did not find the cure. Furthermore, Angele had just become a Wizard not so long ago, so he did not think he had the ability to solve the problem.

"If it's just Blood Boil Blisters, it'll be solved soon I believe," Angele spoke.

"I hope so…" Alford sighed.

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

Angele returned to the manors he bought after leaving the castle.

The guards he hired were still patrolling around the district.

Most of the manors had red roofs, and the street was covered in black bricks. The place was beautiful yet strangely silent.

It was night.

Angele crossed his legs and sat in the living room on the first floor. He had just taken a shower. Tia prepared a cup of hot chocolate for him. He was wearing a white bathing robe and his hair was still wet.

A young girl was focusing on practicing sword skills in the middle of the living room. The silver sword was dancing in her hand.

The girl was about ten years old. She had a black ponytail on her head. She was about 1.4 meters tall and was wearing a gray tight swordsman's suit. Angele could saw her dedication to his sword skills just by watching her accurate moves.

Chapter 129: Preparation (2)

Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe

"Your body has recovered well, and you're getting better. Keep up the good work, but don't go too hard on yourself." Angele looked satisfied.

"Your basics are good, and it seems like you have not been slacking while I'm away."

"Yes, Master," the girl lowered her sword and responded politely.

"You're not talented, but I can still transplant the life energy seed in your body. Your body is still better than mine. That's why I took you in. Also, I won't stay here for too long. I probably will leave the city for a long time. I can't take you with me, so I'll plant the life energy seed in you first. You'll be able to reach the Knight level if you train hard," Angele spoke in a calm tone.

Tia looked excited after hearing what Angele just said, but she calmed down quickly and stared at Angele.

Angele finished his hot chocolate and put the cup down before standing up from the chair.

"I can give you two choices. As a Wizard, I have my own understanding of the life energy seed. I can make a special one for you with the materials I have in hand. The second choice is to find a Knight in the city and ask him to plant the life energy seed inside you. I want you to understand that I won't blame on the choice you make. You'll always be my student."

"Please make a special one for me, master."

Tia did not hesitate, "I'm your student, and I won't take a life energy seed from other knights."

Angele was satisfied with the choice Tia made.

"There's a possibility that my life energy seed is weaker than the ones from knights. It can also be dangerous. Are you sure you want me to do it?"

Tia shook her head, "I already made up my mind. You've helped me a lot and gave me everything."

Angele stared at Tia. He looked even more satisfied.

"Great. I'll give you three days to prepare. Make sure to have some good rest."

"Yes, master."

"Take a shower and go to bed." Angele waved his hand.

Tia bowed to Angele and left the room with the sword. Angele stood beside the desk for a while, thinking about his plans.

He walked to the room on the left, opened the wooden door and locked himself inside it.

There was a long table in the room and a candle stand was in the middle of the table. A whole set of potion concoction equipment was lined up on the table. There were several strange glass bottles and tubes.

Besides the equipment, there was a rectangular glass case. It was about half-meter long, and there was an arm inside. A dark red eye was in the center of its palm. It was the arm Angele had collected from the Hundred-Eyed Monster.

'So… the ancient Wizard ranking system doesn't work anymore, and based on the information I know, the three common levels for Wizard are Gas, Liquid, and Crystal. I wonder what the official names are for those levels.' Angele rubbed his chin as he thought.

'Zero, check the database and see if you can find anything related to Wizard's titles.'

Countless blue light dots started to flash in Angele's eyes, which disappeared after about ten seconds.

'No official titles for the levels yet, interesting.' The next line caught Angele's attention.

'Every time you rank up as a Wizard, your life will be more complete. Become the seeker of the truth and knowledge. I hope one day we can regain our honor and we, Wizards, shall rule the world once more.' Angele read through the information Zero presented to him.

Angele creased his eyebrows. Those sentences had no actual meaning in it. Each Wizard had their own way of fighting, and the only way to find out the strength of the other Wizards was to fight one himself.

'In other words, there is absolutely no proper ranking system for Wizards at the moment. There are only rank 1 Wizards in Ramsoda College, and Angola told me the situation was different. I think the truth is that Wizards here has already lost their actual power, and only the remaining high-rank Wizards know the truth about this land.' Angele shook his head.

"Which means Ramsoda College is just a small Wizard organization. This place is only the tip of the iceberg." Angele assumed.

"Master Liliana is strong, but she's just a rank 1 Wizard, which also means she spent many years to reach the Crystal stage. Why didn't she go for the rank 2 spells? It's not about the talent. She failed to find the knowledge left by the ancient Wizards."

'Zero, combine all the maps I recorded and make a world map for me. Try your best.'

'Creating world map…'

A blue light dot appeared on the left side of Angele's sight. The light dot was about the size of a fingernail. Many locations were marked on it, such as the Rudin Empire and Marua Harbor.

Cerulean water appeared in the middle marked as the sea. On the right, there was a large land and several locations were marked on the coastline. Those were the places Angele passed by on the ship.

The last point marked on the map was the dock of Ramsoda. Most of the other Wizard organizations on this land were marked as well. Santiago, Liliado, Northland Alliance, and several other smaller schools or cities. Most of the organizations were surrounded by forests or mountains.

Angele was surprised after he saw the whole map. Based on the information he collected in the database, the discovered region was just a small part of the world. Most of other areas on the map were still covered in fog, and the uncharted region was ten times the discovered region.

The whole map in his sight was about the size of a wash basin. There was a finger-sized gap in the middle of it. This gap was the discovered region. It looked tiny when compared to the size of the world.

Angele spent years traveling around this land, but he did not think that it was just a tiny area of the world.

"If I compare this world to Earth, I'm probably in the middle of Europe. The lack of transportation limited the information transfer, and people on this land barely know anything about other parts of the world."

Angele blinked his eyes and the map disappeared from his sight.

'I might find traces of ancient Wizards if I travel to the other lands.' Angele sighed and looked at the table again.

He carefully opened the glass case and waved his hands. A thin layer of silver metal climbed up his hands and turned into a pair of gloves.

Angele carefully took the monster's arm out of the case and slowly put it down in a glass sink.

He knew the monster was called the Hundred-Eyed Monster, but he was still curious about the eye in his palm. Angele carefully grabbed a blue tube and removed the stopper before he poured the content over the palm.

*CHI*

White smoke rose into the air. Angele leaned to the side and waited for the smoke to disappear. He turned his head around and checked the glass sink.

After the contact with the blue liquid, the black arm loosened its grip and the red eye in the middle of the palm was revealed.

Angele took the silver gloves off and used his right hand to touch the eye.

It was smooth but hard. Angele felt like he was touching a glass barrier.

Angele rubbed the eye for a while. It gave him a strange feeling.

He tried pulling the eyelid, but it would not move. He then lowered his body and sniffed at the eye, which smelled like sweat.

Angele's eyebrows furrowed. He grabbed a sharp silver knife and cut the area under the eye open. There was no blood coming out of the wound, but he could see the red and white muscle fibers clearly.

Blue light dots started flashing in his eyes again.

'It seems that the eye's optic nerve is inside its arm bones, but that monster used its arms for assault and mobility. Although the monster's skin is hard, its eyes should be relatively weak. Why are its eyes in the middle of its palm?' Angele murmured. He grabbed the tweezers and carefully removed the eye from the palm.

"So, only the substance covering its eye is hard. The eye itself is weak." Angele found the monster's strange body component interesting. He wondered if he could find some special secrets from it.

Angele scanned the eyeball with the chip for several minutes, and then put it inside a glass bottle.

'Umm, what should I do to break my gene limit then? Create the plan for me right now,' Angele ordered.

'Creating… Estimated time, 12 hours and 14 minutes.'

'Also, show me the information on life energy seed and simulate the process of planting.'

'Mission created… Please wait…' Zero's mechanical voice echoed in his head.

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

Two days later.

It was a cloudy afternoon.

Angele walked out of the room with a small crystal bottle in his hand and he looked extremely tired. The bottle was filled with black liquid and looked like there was something else inside.

Tia waited outside the door carefully. She still had the black ponytail on her head.

"Master, I think you should get some rest." Tia looked at Angele, a bit worried.

"It's fine. Alright, come in. I'll plant the seed inside your body right now."

Angele waved his hand and returned to his room. Tia followed him from behind.

Tia saw a long red table beside a desk full of equipment. There were two large white washbasins on the side.

Tia glanced around and saw a large knife lying on the long table.

"Don't tell me that knife is prepared for me…" She was a bit scared.

Angele put the small bottle down on the desk and pointed at the long table.

"Take your clothes off and lie down on the table."

"What?"

Tia hesitated as her face began blushing.

Chapter 130: Return (1)

Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe

Tia hesitated for a while before she walked to the table. She stood there and began undressing. First, her gray swordsman's suit and then, her underwear.

She lay down on the long table after taking off all her clothes. Angele had no expression on his face. He turned around after Tia made up her mind. He grabbed a scalpel with his right hand and walked to the table.

"Don't worry, I'll make it quick." Angele smiled. Although Angele was tired, he was certain that he could successfully plant the seed.

"Yes… Master." Tia put her hands over her delicate part. Her young body was clean and healthy.

Angele held the scalpel in his right hand and asked Tia to move her hands away from her delicate part. He slightly pressed his left hand onto the part just a few centimeters below her navel. It seemed that he was trying to find the right place.

Several seconds later, red mist covered Angele's left hand. He put his palm on the part below the navel.

*Sizzle*

The noise his left palm was making produced a sound as though he was grilling meat.

Tia's face turned pale. Although she did not feel any pain, she knew something was happening to her body.

Angele stayed calm. There were blue light dots flashing in his eyes.

After several seconds, Angele moved his palm away and a twisted snake-shaped black imprint was left on her stomach. It was Angele's magic sigil. The characters in the sigil were written in the ancient language, which simply represented his name, Angele Rio.

Angele decided to give her the life energy seed, but he still could not fully trust her. Thus, he decided to put his sigil on Tia's body, so he could finish her off easily if she ever had thoughts of betraying him.

Angele nodded and switched his scalpel to the left hand. He carefully cut her stomach open.

"Aluer!" he chanted in a low voice.

Some dark red glow flashed on the scalpel.

A long incision appeared on Tia's lower abdomen, but it was not bleeding. Tia did not even feel any pain. She stared at Angele with respect and trust in her eyes.

Angele smiled kindly as he put down the scalpel. He grabbed the small bottle and removed the lid. He then carefully took out a thin black string using the tweezers.

It took him several minutes to place the string inside her abdominal cavity. Angele made sure the location was correct and applied some healing gel on her wound. He then closed the wound with stitches.

"Done. I already planted the life energy seed inside your body. It's a bit different from the ones the other knights have, but I think mine will work better on you." Angele gently touched Tia's forehead and said in a kind tone.

"Thank you, Master." Tia was still a bit shy, but she seemed to have already calmed down. She no longer minded Angele looking at her naked body.

"Have some good rest." Angele nodded.

"I will." Tia closed her eyes.

Angele covered her carefully with the blanket he had prepared beforehand and he started analyzing the process of the surgery he had just performed.

'Life energy seed. It can help people release their potentials. It's a special type of bioenergy. The black string is the essence of my flesh, which contains the energy inside my body. I already broke the limit, so my life energy seed is stronger than a knight-level warrior's. I'll spend more time training Tia after this. Even if she wants to betray me, I can easily take my seed back and kill her with the sigil.'

Angele had seen the method on a Wizardry book and modified the procedure to further improve it. Tia was his first test subject.

This method was developed by elder Wizards. They wanted to train those who were willing to work for them, but they needed an insurance for their subjects to be unable to backstab them.

Also, Wizards could modify the body conditions of the people who took in their seeds, so it was better to plant the seed when they were young. It was possible that warriors had developed a similar method in training knights.

However, Angele was already a Wizard and he had no interest in studying how knights create their life energy seed. Also, he could only use the method occasionally since collecting the essence of flesh would damage his body permanently.

Angele cleaned up the table and put the items in the room back in order.

He walked to the glass case which contained the arm after everything was done. The arm was already melting like a burning candle. It turned into a small pool of yellow water that smelled like meat soup. White steam floated in the air and lowered the visibility in the room.

Angele grabbed a syringe and filled it up with dark purple liquid.

He then carefully injected the liquid into the eyeball. Its color changed from white to purple within several seconds.

Angele picked up the eyeball with his tweezers and let it soak in the steam. After several seconds, its color changed again. It was now completely black. Only the pupil remained color red, which nearly looked like there was blood dripping down the eyeball.

Angele put down the tweezers and grabbed another syringe. He carefully pushed the needle into the center of the pupil. Some liquid was extracted from the pupil. It was shiny, like a piece of perfect ruby.

As the liquid filled up the syringe, the eyeball dried up and became a thin layer of strange skin.

Angele pulled the needle out of the eyeball after it was filled up. He pushed some air out of the syringe and injected the red translucent liquid into his body without any hesitation.

'High-energy substance detected in your veins,' Zero reported immediately.

'The high-energy substance is affecting your blood condition… Recording the process…'

Angele had expected this change, so he stayed calm.

'Slowly release the stored energy particles and modify the rate of the release using the existing plans,' he ordered.

'Releasing energy particles…'

Half an hour later, Angele's forehead was covered in sweat. He was seated in a chair beside the table.

'Energy absorbed. Your genetic limit has been broken. Your attributes have increased.'

'My stamina was initially 4.5 units. Now, it's 6.1 units. It's incredible… Sadly, I can only do it once. My body has already developed resistance.'

Angele lay his back on the chair and smiled. He watched Tia sleeping for a while before leaving the room.

He went up the stairs and reached the balcony on the second floor.

It was dark outside. The chilling wind was blowing over Angele's face. The only light he could see was from other districts.

He leaned over the balustrade and saw the bronze statues in the small garden. There were many empty manors around him. The place was silent and no one was around.

Angele raised his head and saw two crescent moons hanging over the dark sky: one waxing and one waning, side by side. They looked beautiful and peaceful.

Angele was exhausted. He put his hands on the cold iron balustrade, causing him to feel refreshed.

"One last thing."

Angele reached into the pouch on his waist.

He took out a small black box. The box was about the size of his palm and could fill up a small pouch.

There was a gray egg lying in the middle of the black thin silk.

"Scorpion… I wanted a companion that could fly, but I should still keep it in case I can't find anything else in the future." Angele held the egg in hand and thought for a while, but he ended up putting it back into the box.

"I'll think about it later," Angele sighed. He must make the choice carefully because he could only tame a single magical companion.

Many Wizards controlled insects or flies to complete certain tasks for them, but a magical beast companion was different. It was linked to the life of its owner. If the magical companion were to die, the Wizard contracted to it would take permanent damage. Moreover, even if the Wizard died, he could still revive through his magical companion. Having a magical companion was akin to obtaining a second life.

It was the reason why Angele was so careful about choosing the right companion. He wanted a strong creature that could protect him during battles.

The one he currently had was an egg of a dark scorpion. An adult dark scorpion was about one meter long and half a meter wide. Its fighting ability was close to the enraged mountain bear he had encountered before. A Knight would have trouble fighting it, but for a Wizard, it was too weak.

"I hope I can find something better. Otherwise, I'll have to create one myself." Angele sighed again.

Creating creatures and manipulating blood were two of the popular subjects in Wizard's world. However, most of the artificial creatures had critical weaknesses. In addition to that, Wizards needed a lot of knowledge just to be able to start the process.

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

With the help of Angele, Tia recovered after several days. He stayed in the city for several more days and gave Tia two regular magic stones to pay the bills before departing once again.

Tinos, Harland, and Alford watched him depart. They asked him several times if he needed any help.

Angele did not ask for anything. He had already prepared everything he needed on the way. He knew he would not return until all his plans were accomplished. The only way for him to contact them was thru the telescope, but his destination was out of its maximum range.

However, he needed to go back to check on his family. Angele left Marua Harbor several years ago, and he had no idea what had happened during this years. He left a note saying he was going study abroad, but his family had no idea on what he was actually trying to do. Only Master Adolf knew that he went to pursue his dream.

Angele still remembered the day he left Marua Harbor and the things that happened on his way to Ramsoda.

He helped Nancy on the boat and also met the girl with a talent level of one. Also, Yuri told him he was going to guard the border in the letter, but Yuri never replied after that.

Angele thought about the events happened during all those years while traveling to the closest dock with haste.

Chapter 131: Return (2)

Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe

Angele's plan was to board a ship at the dock and return to his homeland using the route initially used when he came here. His combat style was quite disparate from other Wizards because he started as a top-level Knight and he had advantages in close combat. He did not need many offensive spells due to his strong physical attacks.

Most of the offensive spells needed various supporting materials, and the ones Angele learned, including his Talent Spell, did not have any specific requirement.

He had no idea how other Wizards fought and he was not sure if his physical attacks would be effective when trying to break Wizards' forcefields, but at least he did not have to collect a lot of materials.

Angele had read about close combat Wizards in records, but they still needed to cast spells to enhance their physical attacks. Angele's Talent Spell, Metal Mastery, could help him release the true power of Metal Spells. It was a special spell he created with the help of Zero and other Wizards would not be able to copy it.

Angele started studying new spells on his way to the dock. He purchased a lot of spell models in the school and had many spells stored in Zero's storage. Although most of the spells were not in the Wind or Fire category, he still learned a lot of basics.

Angele's Talent Spell was strong, increasing both his physical and magical defense, but it was not perfect. There were Wizards with Talent Spells that specialized in either physical or magical defense, such spells were stronger when dealing with a certain type of attack.

For that, Angele wanted to develop a more effective battle style. He was trying to search for suitable spells in the storage and enhance them with the help of Zero.

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

Angele rented a carriage from a town he passed by. He sat inside it with his eyebrows furrowed. He was organizing the spell data.

'My Mentality already reached 21 units, and I have about 21 Mana before casting any spell. However, I didn't expect a level 1 spell to cost me 4 units of mentality, which basically means I can only cast up to five spells. I'll faint after my Mentality is empty. So that's why most Wizards merely control energy particles to fight, as they don't have enough mentality to keep casting spells. Benedict could cast a bunch of level 0 spells and he also used several enchanted items. He must have spent a long time finding ways to increase his Mentality.' Angele put his hands on the table in the middle of the carriage and kept thinking.

'Level 1 spells are strong, but they cost too much mentality and mana. I should store one spell into the chip and cast it instantly when necessary.' It seemed that Angele had figured out a way.

'Zero, how many Fire offensive spells did I learn?' he questioned.

'Two spells found.'

'1. Lesser Fireball: Attack enemy with a ranged fireball.

2. Evaporate: Drain water from the opponent's body and damage the opponent with high-temperature steam.' Zero immediately reported.

These were two of the spells Angele purchased from the school. He finished learning them not so long ago with the help of Zero.

'Simulate the spell model of Lesser Fireball and show me its power level in the standard unit.'

It took only several seconds for the chip to do the simulation.

'Simulation finished. Lesser Fireball, it can deal 20 to 25 degrees of damage. Effective range, 5 meters. Cost, 4 Mentality and 4 Mana.'

Angele's glowing heart's flame strike could deal about 12 degrees of damage, while his physical attack could deal about 20 degrees of damage.

This level 1 spell could deal more than 20 degrees of damage within a radius of 2.5 meters, and it was like Angele dealing area damage with his physical attacks.

Also, Lesser Fireball was a general spell model and its power came from its explosive and burning damage. However, most of the top-level Knights would not be able to survive the attack if they were caught within the range. It was same as being attacked by many mid-level Knights at the same time.

Grand Knights might be able to handle such damage if the white light barrier around their body had magic resistance.

'Can you enhance its damage?'

'Damage boost is possible. It can be increased to 32 to 39 degrees. Mentality cost will be increased to 6 and mana cost will be increased to 4. Estimated time, 4 days,' Zero reported.

'Create the task, start the enhancement right away,' Angele ordered.

'Task created. Enhancing…'

'Also, show me my Metal Mastery spell's defense data and do the simulation for it as well.'

'Simulating… Metal Mastery (Force Field): Physical resistance, 19 degrees. Magic resistance, 14 degrees. Lower the damage of spells that focus either physical or magic defense.'

Angele's expression changed.

'What's the average resistance of other defensive spells?'

'Spells focused on physical resistance can handle 25 degrees of damage, while spells focused on magic resistance can handle 25 degrees of damage.'

There was one way to improve the resistance of the force field. Angele had found it before he decided to choose it as his Talent Spell. He needed to find certain types of metals and absorb those materials.

He absorbed the claw from the Claw Warrior, causing an increase in his magic resistance. If he could find better materials in the future, he would be able to increase his resistance very fast.

'I'm on a trip anyway. I shall try to find suitable metals and absorb them.' Angele planned.

'Create the task, simulate a battle between me and an average Wizard of my level. Show me the probability of achieving victory after.'

Zero started simulating immediately. It took the chip about 10 minutes to show Angele the result.

'Probability of achieving victory, 73.15%.'

Angele was not surprised. He had the chip to assist him during battles. Moreover, he could cast one or two spells instantly. An average Wizard would never expect such surprise attack. The spell he stored could be cast faster than activating enchanted items.

However, the winning probability was merely a number. Things changed unpredictably fast in actual battles.

Angele enjoyed fighting. He could think quicker and act faster during the battles. Winning fights gave him the feeling of accomplishment.

Wizards usually fought passively, and most of them spend their time guarding the school they signed the contract with.

Angele shook his head and stopped thinking. He looked at the wooden table. There were two quivers of metal arrows and a metal longbow on it. Below the table, there was a full suit of black metal armor.

Angele prepared those before leaving the city with the help of Tinos and Harland. The arrows and the suit were crafted with the best materials they could find. Angele could not absorb them all together at once, so he decided to keep them in the carriage for now.

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

In the evening.

A campfire was blazing in the dark forest, brightening up its surrounding area.

Three people were sitting by the campfire with their legs crossed.

One of them looked old. He was wearing a black robe and his hair was white. The man had his eyes closed. He was meditating.

The other two were in their mid-twenties. The young man was wearing a gray robe, and the woman had a branch in her hand playing with the flame.

The young man was reading a book carefully.

After several minutes, the woman put down the branch and looked at the old man.

"Master Maryland, how long do we have to wait? We stayed here the whole day. I wonder if he went a different route?"

The old man opened his eyes slowly and shook his head.

"No, this is the shortest route to the dock, so he'll choose it for sure," Maryland stopped for a second and continued, "I'm not under the orders of the school. Under the pressure of Liliana, my family is not seeking vengeance, but… Adele was my only grandson and he died for nothing! I can't just let him go, I just can't."

He turned around and looked at the two Wizard apprentices.

"You don't have to help me."

"Master, you've helped us a lot in school. We can't let you face him alone," the male Wizard apprentice put down his book, and he spoke respectfully.

"Also, we reached rank 3 a long time ago. We might find some rare materials from his body."

"Thanks." Maryland looked happy.

"Only those who choose to help me when I'm in trouble are my true followers." He smiled.

"It's our pleasure to assist you." The two Wizard apprentices lowered their heads and bowed.

"Angele just became a formal Wizard, so he has no time to learn spells. I think he doesn't even know how to modify spell models. I can take him on easily." Maryland looked relaxed.

"No matter how talented he is, he needs at least one year to master a level 1 offensive spell, so Angele will fight with level 0 spells. He doesn't even stand a chance against me. After this is finished, I'll take you two to another better organization."

"But Master, I heard his talent level was 2, yet it only took him three years to break the limit. He must have some special power," the female Wizard apprentice interrupted.

"We should keep his body and dissect him. I'm sure he's hiding some secrets."

"Good idea." Maryland nodded.

"I'll keep his body in one piece."

Maryland raised his right hand and spoke slowly, "In the war against Northland Alliance, I slew more than ten rank 3 Wizard apprentices and two enemy Wizards. Liliana really thinks this kid is more valuable than me? I'll let her know how stupid her decision is!"

Intense white light started coming out of his eyes.