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Chapter 141: Arrival (4)

Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe

Several guards already had their iron shovels prepared. They nodded in affirmation and started digging. A red coffin was carried out of the grave, and they opened the coffin. Maggie's body was lying inside.

The beautiful girl was covered in dried flowers. She wore a clean, black one-piece. Her eyes were closed and her skin was pale. There were some rotten marks on her neck and face. If not for that, Angele would've thought that the girl was just sleeping.

"The coffin's material is decent. It's preventing the body from decaying." Angele nodded.

"Yea. The coffin was made from a high-quality wood obtained from the Red Diamond Tree. A large coffin will cost you more than a hundred gold coins," a guard explained.

The gold coins here were different from the ones overseas. The gold coins here had a higher purity and were larger in size, so 100 gold coins in this land was worth about one thousand gold coins in Ramsoda Empire.

The guards put down a large white blanket on the grass and removed the body from the coffin. Angele could smell the putrescine in the air as Maggie's body was being laid down on the blanket.

The guards covered their noses with their hands after finishing their work.

"Go guard the entrance. Make sure no one enters without my order. Also, tell Rayben I'm still investigating." Angele ordered.

"Yes, master."

The guards left immediately after Angele finished his words. They knew that it was not a good idea to stay near a rotting body for too long as the body might carry deadly virus.

Angele waited for the guards to leave and made sure no one else was around.

He stepped forward and crouched beside Maggie's body. He quickly removed the one-piece from the body and started checking for internal wounds.

Angele raised his right hand to the air and pointed at the body.

'Sudden illness… I hope it is true.' Angele slightly bit his lips.

His right hand was covered in a red glow. Red specks of light dropped onto the body below. Those specks of light started moving around her skin and flickered several times.

At the same time, a black area appeared on her right chest that looked conspicuous in the red glow.

Angele pressed her left breast with the right hand and rubbed the black area several times. He also checked Maggie's stomach using Zero's scanning function.

"Sudden illness my *ss," Angele gritted his teeth.

Although he was furious, he didn't let any emotion show on his face. Angele moved his right hand away from the body and carefully put the black one-piece back on her.

Angele stood up and wiped his hands with a piece of cloth.

"Get over here!" He shouted toward the entrance, and several guards ran to him quickly.

"Master, what's the order?"

"Put the body back into the coffin and bury it."

The guards returned the body into the coffin and covered it with mud. Angele walked out of the graveyard after everything was done.

'She was definitely not killed by some random illness.' Angele sat in the carriage and grunted.

'Maggie was abused before she was killed. The black mark on her body is the evidence. Moreover, it was a poison from a Green Dot Flower. The poison made her muscles contract, making it look like a heart attack. Whoever killed her must have paid good money to the coroner.'

Angele closed his eyes. Black energy particles slowly climbed up his hands.

'Let me try this tracking spell I learned recently.' He drew a black triangle with the energy particles in the air.

After the triangle solidified in the air, Angele took out a small black bottle and poured some gray powder on the edge of it.

*CHI*

After several seconds, the edge of the black triangle turned into translucent crystal. There was a dark space in the middle and a red mouth appeared from the void.

The mouth slightly opened. Angele could hear strange whispers. The mouth was not speaking in Anmag. It was a language that only he could understand.

"Speak, what do you want to know?"

Angele narrowed his eyes.

"Maggie, she was my friend, who killed her?" Angele replied in the same language the mouth was using.

"The largest manor at the northwest of the city. The owner is the murderer," the mouth responded without hesitation.

"Good." Angele's expression changed.

The mouth slowly vanished into the darkness. The crystal triangle turned into black mist and disappeared. It was as though nothing had happened.

"Rayben, there's a large manor at the northwest of the city, right? Who's the owner?" he questioned in a cold tone.

"It's the Warden's manor, Gerald," Rayben answered politely.

He noticed the change in Angele's voice and added, "Master, if you need something, I can do it for you. Prince Justin granted you the highest authority in the city."

"Get the guards to annihilate the whole Gerald Family for me."

"I…" Rayben was surprised, he had no idea what happened.

"He killed my woman," Angele spoke word-by-word.

"Well, if you have the evidence, I can…" Rayben replied politely.

"Kill them. You think I'm lying?"

Rayben moved his lips but ultimately decided not to say anything else.

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

In the evening, a group of raiders attacked Gerald's manor and slew every person they saw.

The entire Gerald Family, including their servants, was killed. Later, Gerald's relatives who were living in other areas of the city were attacked as well.

In just a single night, dozens of people were killed. Gerald's manor was dyed in blood, but the Governor only posted a notice on the board saying that they were investigating.

The citizens already knew that Gerald must have offended someone with power, so even the media did not dig too deep into this. They just acted as if they never knew there was someone named Gerald because they did not want to get into trouble.

The next morning.

Gerald's manor.

Several gray buildings sat quietly on the green grasses in the middle of the garden. The sky was blue and clean. Clouds were slowly passing by.

There were some white roses mixed with red roses on the side of the garden shaking in the wind. Bloodstains filled up the gaps between the grasses. The fishy smell mixed with the fragrance of the roses spread through the air.

A silver carriage slowly passed by the entrance of the manor.

A young man with long brown hair in the carriage opened the window and looked at the manor. He had an average face, but his eyes were sharp and there was a mystical aura around his body.

"You did a good job," the young man spoke calmly.

A mounted soldier beside the carriage slightly bowed. "It's my honor to serve you."

The young man nodded and closed the window.

"Take me to see the Deputy Governor. I haven't talked to him in years."

"Yes, master." The soldier nodded.

The carriage traveled down the road at full speed and left the area after several minutes.

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

"Angele, welcome back!" Adolf hugged Angele tightly.

"It's about the time you come visit me."

"Sorry, I'm later, Professor." Angele hugged him back and smiled.

"Come in." Adolf turned around and led Angele into his house.

Adolf did not move, he still lived in the house Angele had visited many times. They entered the reading room and sat down. Adolf asked the maid to bring them two glasses of hot beverage. They paused the conversation for a while and stared at each other.

"You already broke the limit?" Adolf suddenly asked.

"Yes."

"So, you're a formal Wizard now?"

"Yes, I am!" Angele looked directly into Adolf's eyes.

Adolf opened his mouth, his lips trembling. After several seconds, he grabbed a silk cloth and wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Congratulations!" Adolf calmed down a bit after sobbing for a while.

Angele knew that Adolf's dream was to become a formal Wizard, but he failed to achieve it. Adolf was excited to see his student, Angele, successfully breaking the limit. It was another way for him to make his dream come true.

Adolf looked at Angele, but the expression in his eyes showed that he was thinking about something else. He was the one who helped Angele become a Wizard apprentice. Angele had successfully become a formal Wizard. He could not even imagine how hard Angele worked to accomplish the goal. Angele was still young and there was a great future waiting for him ahead. Adolf knew he had just achieved a great achievement.

"You must keep working hard. One day, the whole world of Wizards will learn of your name." Adolf was still breathing heavily.

"Without your help, I would never reach the other side of the sea. You're the reason I succeeded." Angele held Adolf's hands and looked at him in the eyes.

"Take care, Professor. I'll always be there if you need my help."

"Thanks…" Adolf took a deep breath and slowly calmed down.

"This is the Wizardry book you gave me." Angele released his hands and took out a book from his bag.

"You handed it over to me that day. Right now, I'm returning it to its rightful owner."

Adolf carefully grabbed the book and put it back to the bookshelf.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Do you want to see Sophia?"

Angele nodded, "Of course. The last time we talked to each other was years ago, and it ended awkwardly. How's she doing?"

Adolf sighed, "She has been suffering from depression after she was cheated on by the bard. Actually, she hates all men right now."

Angele furrowed his brows.

"You mean that bard? Did you try to find him after?"

Chapter 142: Set Out (1)

Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe

"No, I spent years trying to find him but still haven't got a clue." Adolf shook his head.

Angele rubbed the diamond-shaped accessory on the back of his hand as his eyebrows furrowed.

"Well, I can try to track him down after talking to Sophia."

"That's great. She'll be back soon I think." Adolf nodded.

They then talked about the situation around the country. Angele asked several questions and Adolf answered them one by one.

Rudin Empire fell to the Saladin Empire. Only a small resistance force was still trying to fight back, but the major cities had already been conquered by Saladins. The royal members of Rudin were missing and most of the Rudin provinces were given to Saladin warriors who contributed to the victory.

The Ukusas Empire also claimed some of Rudin Empire's land since they assisted Saladin Empire during the war.

'Soldiers from Ukusas Empire attacked Philip on my way to Marua.' Angele recalled the incident that happened on the Anser Plain.

Their conversation lasted for a long time. By then, it was already dark and quiet outside. Angele realized it was late after hearing someone enter the house.

Adolf heard the noise as well. He raised his head and checked the clock.

"It's 10 o'clock already. How about staying here for the night? I'll ask a maid to clean a room for you."

"I'm fine. Prince Justin already prepared a place for me. Thanks." Angele shook his head and stood up.

"I'll be leaving now."

"Wait, Sophia just came back." Adolf stood up as well and smiled.

"Do you want to talk to her?"

"Sure." Angele smiled as well.

*Creak*

Sophia pushed the door open without knocking.

Angele turned around and looked at Sophia. Sophia was wearing a red tight riding suit. She looked exactly like the lady in Angele's memory. Her skin was still white and smooth. It seemed that she had just returned from the stud farm.

Sophia was surprised after seeing Angele in the house but didn't let it show on her face.

"Master Angele." Sophia slightly bent her knees.

"Long time no see, you came back at the right time. I can probably find the bard for you." Angele looked at her.

Sophia blinked her eyes several times after hearing Angele's words.

"You're not joking, right?" She questioned and stepped forward with a nervous expression on her face.

"I'll try my best," Angele replied in a serious tone.

Adolf stood on the side and did not say anything. He was glad that Angele could help his beloved daughter.

"Alright, give me your hands," Angele asked in a gentle voice.

Sophia closed the door and nodded. She walked to Angele and raised her right hand. Angele slightly pressed on Sophia's wrist.

*CHI*

Some energy particles twisted on Angele's hand and sank into Sophia's veins. Angele closed his eyes and started checking.

Sophia blushed and an unpleasant feeling filled up her mind. She wanted to move her hand, but a strange power was stopping her from moving. Angele just stood there with his eyes closed, but Sophia could feel Angele's energy moving through her body.

"Don't worry. I'm just trying to track down the bard." Angele opened his eyes and smiled at Sophia.

Strings of black mist slowly left Sophia's body through her right wrist and returned into Angele's palm.

"Professor, can you prepare a room for me? I need to do some investigation," Angele turned around and asked.

"For sure."

Half an hour later…

Angele walked out of Adolf's house. Sophia and Adolf watched him getting into the silver carriage. Rayben had been waiting there for several hours, but he did not look tired. The carriage slowly disappeared around the corner.

Adolf and her daughter stood beside the door and watched the carriage leaving quietly.

"I'll send people to get that cheater for you. Sophia, do you still want to see him?" Adolf asked in a light tone.

"No, finish him off for me." Sophia sighed with mixed emotions.

Adolf looked at his daughter. He knew that most of the girls at her age already got married.

"You should've listened. Angele was the best choice for you." He turned his head around and looked at the corner the carriage disappeared into.

Sophia did not say anything. She only slightly bit her lips.

She knew that Angele's position was much higher than her father. Prince Justin treated him as if he was the most important person in the city. Angele would never help her if Adolf was not his teacher.

Four years ago, her conversation with Angele ended in an unpleasant way, but Angele was still kind to her as he was even helping her. Sophia had to admit that she regretted her decision, but it was too late. She knew that Angele would not stay in the city just for her.

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

Angele sat inside the carriage, listening to the noise made by the horses, wheels, and the marching soldiers.

The street was empty. It was as though they were the only people around. He looked through the window and the dried leaves were blown into the air by the chilling wind. There were several alley cats jumping around from time to time.

There was no one walking on the street at midnight.

Angele only saw a homeless man lying beside some iron railings after about half an hour. He was not sure if the guy was sleeping or dying. The soldiers advancing with the carriage had their heads lowered. No one was chatting.

The dim streetlights barely made the road ahead visible.

The carriage finally arrived at the house provided by Justin. Angele saw several people standing in front of the entrance after jumping off the carriage.

A middle-aged man, alongside a noble woman and a handsome young man, was waiting for Angele. They just stood there and waited for Angele to get off the carriage.

"Aunt? Why're you here? I was planning to visit you soon." Angele had a smile on his face and walked to the three quickly.

It was Angele's aunt Maria, Uncle Bovolt and cousin Buster.

Maria did not age a bit. She was truly good at taking care of her body. She stepped forward and hugged Angele.

"We're just here to see if you're doing fine," Maria spoke in a low voice.

"Why're you waiting outside? You should've told the workers that you're my aunt, I'll go talk to them right now." The guards by the entrance saw Angele walking to him and opened the door immediately.

"It's fine. Don't blame them. We're just excited to see you back, so we decided to wait here," Maria explained.

Bovolt and Buster stood on the side with serious expressions on their faces. It was actually the first time they were meeting Angele. The last time Angele was in the city, only his aunt had spare time. He went to the school right after, so he did not get to talk to his uncle and cousin.

Angele and the three followed Rayben into the house. They had a short conversation while passing through the garden and Angele could see the admiration in their eyes.

Although the three were Angele's relatives, Angele felt that they were not treating him like a family member. His expression did not change, but it made him a bit depressed. The authority gave him power in the city, but at the same time, the warmth between family members was taken away.

Someone told Maria that Angele had returned to the city, so they waited outside this house after obtaining the address. They entered the house and talked with Angele for a while before leaving. Maria said they would visit him again later.

Angele was not concerned about what message they were trying to send. As long as he stayed alive, his family and people related to him would be taken good care of. Angele was already content with that.

After they left, Angele washed his face and walked into his bedroom. There were several oil lamps which brought light burning quietly on the wall. The whole room became illuminated by the dim light.

In the middle of the room, there was a large wooden bed covered with white curtains. Angele walked close to the bed and saw two naked girls sleeping on it. Both hugged each other. Their pretty faces looked charming.

Angele stood beside the bed and took a glance at the girls.

"Get up. Put on your clothes and leave."

The two girls opened their eyes and their faces turned pale.

"But master, do you not want to…" One of the girls tried to say something, but she stopped after seeing the solemn expression on Angele's face.

"Sorry, we'll leave now." The other girl realized that Angele was not interested. She patted the other girl's back and started putting on clothes.

Angele watched them put on their clothes. He knew the two was a gift from the Prince, but he had something important to do and did not want to waste time.

"Tell the Prince that I enjoyed his gift."

The two girls had already put on their clothes. They heard Angele's words, nodding as left the room right away.

Angele locked the door after they left.

He took off his robe and hung it on the cloth stand. He took out something from his pouch and lay down on the bed. Angele covered his stomach with the white silky blanket and carefully opened the item in his hand.

It was the scroll his father gave him, sealed by two wooden sticks.

Angele slowly removed the wooden sticks and unfurled the scroll. The words on it were written in black ink.

'Angele, my son, I am sorry that I never told you the truth about your mother when you were young. And your brothers, I lied to you. They didn't die, and none of them joined the army.

Your mother's name is Kiran. I was patrolling with the team during the war and found her fainted in a forest. I didn't know where she came from and I had no idea how she survived the ambush, but, I fell in love with her.

Kiran never talked. I don't know if she lost her voice before meeting me or if she was trying to hide something. The only way we communicated was by using paper or gestures, but she was beautiful and attractive. My whole team fought for her affection.

I won the battle and she accepted my marriage proposal. With honor and trophies, I returned to our family's territory after the war. After several years, your elder brother Byrons was born, and the next year, you came to the world. However, several months later, your mother disappeared with your brother and never came back.

I spent years looking for them and searched every corner on this land, but I found nothing. They just disappeared. I wondered if she ever loved me. She probably came here to complete a certain task. I had many assumptions, but I know I still love her.

I hope you can find your mother one day. If you do find her, please let her know, the doors of Rio Family will always be opened for her.

Your father Karl Rio.' The message ended here.

At the bottom of the scroll, there was an address and a description of a forest. It must be the place Angele's father first met his mother, Kiran.

Chapter 143: Set Out (2)

Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe

Angele carefully sealed the scroll and laid on the bed. He had some assumptions in his mind.

'It seems that my mother and my father's relationship was not a coincidence. They met during a war in a dangerous forest. She was not hurt after the ambushes. Someone must have left her there, or maybe, she did not faint at all. The beauty of my mother blinded the Baron's eyes. Strangely enough, she was so charming that my father decided not to dig deeper about the weird encounter…'

Angele decided to analyze it more carefully.

'Mother took my brother away and left me with the Baron. What does it mean…? My brother was the chosen one, so I must have failed to meet her requirement? I was abandoned because I was not gifted? My body was weak and my talent level was low. I was just an average human being.'

Angele shook his head and put the scroll under the pillow.

Suddenly, he realized something and opened his eyes.

"The talent level for a Wizard apprentice… Yea! That's it!" He suddenly jumped up.

"There's only one possibility!"

'My talent level is 2, but I'm not related to the royal members according to my father. So, it's not a coincidence. I'm born to a noble family, but my father is just a Baron. Most of the Wizard apprentices I have met are royal members or at least inherited their blood. I don't think I just reincarnated into a random noble teenager's body and acquired the talent of a Wizard apprentice.' Angele kept analyzing.

'There's only one possible explanation to this since my father is just a top-level Knight. My mother, Kiran, is a bloodline noble. Byrons likely has much higher talent level than me, so she decided to leave me to the Baron. It's understandable since a Wizard apprentice with low talent level will consume much more resources to reach the same level than a Wizard apprentice with high talent level.'

'However, there are no spell materials here. Only Wizard apprentices who have lost their hopes would return to this land, perhaps Kiran was one of them? But why father? She stayed in the forest waiting for Baron Karl and why is it that she never spoke? Maybe her voice will reveal her identity?'

Angele sat on the bed and slowly closed his eyes once again.

'Baron Karl was already a top-level Knight when he met Kiran, but there were other Grand Knights and choosing to reproduce with them would be a much better choice. It's not hard for a Wizard apprentice to get close to a Grand Knight, yet Kiran chose to copulate with a top-level Knight. Maybe she was not a human? And she had to avoid contact with Grand Knights for certain reasons.' Angele blinked his eyes several times.

'Kiran is not a human being. She chose to reproduce with a top-level Knight and took away the son with higher talent level. That would explain why I could eat random things to increase my attributes, but my father couldn't. The blood I inherited from Kiran is the reason.'

'Zero, is there any data of a normal human's genes in the database?' Angele asked.

'Data found. Transfer?' Zero reported after several seconds.

'Transfer it to me and compare the genes with my own. I want to know if my genes are different from a normal person's.'

'Comparing… Please wait…'

Angele could feel the information being transferred into his brain and he could view the calculations done by Zero in front of his eyes.

With his high mentality, Angele could finally follow what Zero was doing in the comparison test. A great amount of information was extracted from the database and entered into the logical comparison system. Zero was calculating everything step-by-step at full speed.

After breaking the genetic limit, Angele found himself thinking much faster than before, and he would consider his actions with a calm mind. Increasing attributes brought him many benefits and this was just one of them.

His body was changing, or rather, evolving.

'Task completed. Results: 77.78% similarity. Without the ancient gene, it will be 82.12%. The number is the same before you broke the limit.'

'So… I was right.' Angele felt relieved.

"I'm only half human." Angele raised his right hand and looked at the palm. He realized that his palm print was weird. It looked like slim 'X' mark.

Angele stared at the twisted mark for a while, which looked nothing like a normal human's palmprint.

He smiled, "Whatever, I don't care if I'm a human or not. I am who I am. My father is Karl Rio and my mother is Kiran. I might obtain some clues at the address written on the scroll, but if I don't, it'll still be fine. It's my destiny."

Angele stopped for a second.

"Also, I need to look into the organization that sent Dice to assassinate the Baron. It's weird that they didn't try to track me down after I slew Dice. They didn't know the enchanted ring contained a powerful spell that could boost one's agility to an impossible number?" Angele mumbled.

He pulled the soft blanket up a bit before lying down. Angele could smell the body scent of those two girls. He relaxed for a while and slowly started meditating after.

The next morning.

Prince Justin came to pick Angele up with several carriages and a large team of soldiers.

They planned to visit the capital of the alliance, Arias, a city famous for its fresh flowers and great dancers. The parliament of the whole alliance was there as well.

It was still a bit dark outside. More than ten large carriages, hundreds of mounted soldiers, infantries, and several Knights slowly left the Marua Harbor.

Angele did not inform anyone of his departure. He sat in the largest black carriage in the middle of the team and looked at the forest through the window with no expression.

"What are you thinking? You're so quiet." Prince Justin sat on the opposite side of the table. There was a pretty girl beside him whom he was carefully arranging the hair for. It was quite impressive that he could do it so fast with his chubby fingers. The girl was one of Justin's daughters. She was the one the Prince loved the most.

Angele turned his head around at looked at Justin.

"It's just… things have changed," he spoke in a whisper.

Justin chuckled after hearing what Angele just said, "You'll get used to it. I met Master Tymoral when I was just a kid. He was my grandfather's best friend. My grandfather and my father already passed away, but Master Tymoral looks exactly like before. It's almost like he is locked in time."

The Prince finished doing her daughter's hair and kissed her cheek.

"Alright, girl. This is your favorite hairstyle."

The girl nodded as if she did not hear what Justin just said. Although she was beautiful, Angele could not see the soul in her eyes. It was one of the symptoms of dementia.

Angele glanced at the girl. She was wearing a black silky one-piece and was about 18 years old, but the only thing she did was to stay with the Prince. It did not seem like she wanted to go elsewhere.

"She's your daughter?" Angele asked.

Justin nodded.

"Isabelle is my dearest daughter, but she was born with dementia."

"Well, let me see if there's anything I can do for her." Angele wanted to pay him back for what he did several days ago. Without Justin, his revenge wouldn't have been that easy.

"It's impossible. Master Tymoral is a Wizard of Light, yet he said there was nothing he could do because Isabelle was born with brain disease." Justin shook his head, looking depressed.

Angele looked at the girl's head and asked Zero to scan her brain.

"Master Tymoral was right. It's the brain. Isabelle's brain is smaller than an average human's." Angele shook his head as well. There was nothing he could do as well because her dementia was not caused by mental illness.

Justin nodded. He must have already tried everything he could to treat her disease. His expression remained unchanged.

"Isabelle can't even finish a complete sentence. I lost my hope already, but I still want to find a good husband for her. At least someone will look after her for me if anything unfortunate happens."

Angele nodded again.

"Let's talk a bit about the city. It's called Arias, right? I never learned the system of Andes Alliance."

Justin smiled.

"Andes Alliance is founded by several countries. I'm just a Prince in one of those countries. The members of the parliament are the kings of the countries. I'm inviting you to attend a welcome party planned by the parliament because the kings want to see you. I'm just a representative of their wills."

Angele laughed. "Well, I'll only stay here for four years. There's no way that I'll stay here forever."

"Don't worry, they're not trying to force you to stay in the alliance." Justin knew what Angele was thinking.

"You won't be disappointed after we reach the city. Some records of the mysterious power were found after the war ended and were stored in Arias."

"Is that so?" Angele was a bit surprised.

"Thanks. That'd be great."

Chapter 144: Omicade (1)

Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe

"Haha, Master Tymoral contacted me through the telescope a while ago and I sent many messages to Arias already. We know who you are, so we know what benefits you the most." Justin put his hands on the table.

"So, you probably know my background too?" Angele looked at Justin.

"How much do you know about my mother?"

Justin grunted for a second.

"The information in our hand is probably outdated. I hope it'll still be helpful to you."

He stopped for a second before continuing, "Your mother, Kiran, appeared in the forest from nowhere. Based on her looks and the way she treated your brother, we concluded that she was a Tree Elf, the elf of the wind that originated in the forest. They usually stay with an ancient tree their whole lives, but they love to reproduce with strong, handsome human males. A Tree Elf would return to the forest with their kids after they grew up. That's all I know. It's a mysterious race."

Angele's expression changed and thought for a while.

"So, my mother is not a human. She took my brother away to inherit her family and I was left to my father for certain reasons."

"You're right."

"Is it possible for you to find one of the Tree Elves for me?" Angele wondered.

"I'm afraid it's impossible." Justin shook his head.

"Tree Elves were captured and sold as slaves due to their attractive appearances in the old times. For that reason, they only approach humans for reproduction. Also, they're one of the races that enjoy roaming around different forests, so I think they already left this area."

Angele closed his eyes without responding to Justin's word. It seemed that he was thinking about something.

"They're wanderers, huh? If they already left, I'll stop looking for them. I hate wasting time," Angele opened his eyes and said.

"The information we collected was from one of the Tree Elf Princes. He once traded resources with the alliance. Although that was the only time he communicated with us, we still acquired some valuable items. Also, the alliance wanted to find the place they lived and… well, I think you know what we were trying to do, but they moved right after the trade was finished."

"Humans are greedy. I understand." Angele needed.

"Prince Justin, when did the trade happen?"

"Five years ago," Justin responded.

"Well, that's a long time ago." Angele knew it was impossible for him to track those Tree Elves down after five years. They must have special techniques that could erase their traces. Angele was sure that those Tree Elves had their own spell system.

"Alright, I'll return to my carriage for now. Inform the guards if you need to talk to me." Justin stood up.

"Thanks for your help, Prince." Angele slightly bowed.

Justin and his daughter returned to a gray carriage on the side. Angele sat beside the window, crossed his legs and slowly started to meditate.

It was getting dark outside. Angele opened his eyes after several hours.

'19:54'

He took out a crystal clock from the pouch and checked the time. It was 7:54 in the evening.

Angele purchased the crystal clock when he was still in the alliance school. The quality was surprisingly high. There was not even a crack on its body.

The carriage had already stopped moving. He could hear soldiers yelling and walking outside. It seemed that they were setting up camp.

Angele opened the door and looked around. The trees and grasses were barely visible under the dim light. A campfire was lighted up in the middle and several soldiers were feeding the horses. The two Knights sat beside the flame, carefully maintaining their gears.

Angele saw teams of soldiers patrolling around the camp through the gaps between the trees.

"Had a nice dream? Master?" A mounted soldier jumped off his horse after seeing Angele.

"It's late. We have to set up camp here. The cooks are already making meat soups. We are having crêpes and beef potato stew tonight. We also have some fruits on the supply carts. I hope you don't mind."

Angele shook his head. "It's great. I didn't expect that we could have hot dishes on a trip."

He looked down and saw a brown wooden cube in the Knight's right hand.

"What's that?"

The Knight saw Angele staring at his hand. He smiled and showed him the wooden cube.

"It's my hobby. I like sculpting and I usually practice it when I have spare time. I apologize if it bothered you."

Angele looked at the wood carving in the Knight's hand and saw a familiar face.

"Isabelle?"

The Knight blushed and put the wood carving back into his pouch immediately.

"No… Well… I haven't finished it yet."

Angele looked at the young Knight. A gentle smile was on his face.

"How long have you been serving the Prince?"

The Knight responded in a low voice, "11 years…"

"I can sense your love for the Prince's daughter. 11 years, huh? You watched her grow up, so I believe you will take good care of her." Angele patted the Knight's shoulder.

"You know what? I can talk to the Prince for you and I'll convince him to let you marry Isabelle."

The Knight kept blushing. He was so surprised that he could not find the right words to say.

"What do you think? If you don't want me to do it, I will go have my dinner now." Angele turned around.

"Please… Please, Master! My love for her is genuine!" the Knight shouted in a serious tone.

Angele chuckled. He had been depressed for days due to the death of Maggie, but this man uplifted his spirits.

The next morning, Angele visited Justin's carriage. He had already scanned the Knight with Zero to make sure that he was telling the truth. Angele recommended that Knight to Justin and told him how much that young man loved his daughter. Surprisingly, Justin already knew the young man's thoughts. He agreed on their marriage immediately after hearing Angele's words and was happy.

"Knight Baudi served me well for 11 years and I knew he liked Isabelle." Justin was feeding his daughter the mushroom that was freshly made this morning with a spoon.

"For that reason, I didn't ask Baudi to join the army. I think you already know that he's a top-level Knight and if he can contribute to the missions, he will be awarded a small territory. I think he can become a Grand Knight one day."

Angele was drinking a bowl of mushroom soup as well. "It's a win-win situation then? He spent most of his spare time carving the wood sculpture of your daughter. Baudi told me it was the first time he carved a wood sculpture for your daughter, but he was doing it so fast that I could not imagine how many times he has practiced during all those years."

The carriage was slowly advancing and Justin was about to say something, but he was interrupted by someone speaking in Rudin outside. The stranger was probably asking the soldier about the route to a certain city. The carriage stopped for a second and moved on.

After several minutes, Angele saw many white carriages parked along the roadside through the window. Many merchandises on the carts were behind them.

"A caravan maybe," Justin said with a low voice.

The merchants parked their carriages and waited on the roadside. They were waiting for the Prince's carriages to pass. A merchant in a black noble suit stood on the side and took off his hat as Justin's carriage passed by.

"Based the looks of their signs, they're heading to Arias and Sinbuck. There are dozens of cities entering the two cities every day," Justin continued explaining.

"Dozens? I think I know how large and busy Arias is now." Angele was a bit surprised.

"Of course, It's the best city in the whole alliance."

Angele chatted with Justin about the city for a while and returned to his carriage.

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

Half a month later.

In the noon.

Inside a sea of trees, a humongous shell-shaped city was surrounded by tall, black brick walls. The seemingly infinite buildings and houses in the city varied in colors and sizes.

A wide gray road was connected to one of the entrances of the city.

A caravan was slowly approaching the city gate on the road. People stopped and waited on the side after seeing the insignias on the doors of the carriages.

The pedestrians bowed to the carriages as they passed by.

There were two hills on both sides of the entrance and several watchtowers were built on top of them. A heavy black iron door was hanging over the gate. It was pulled up by dozens of thick, hard ropes. The door could be dropped down anytime to prevent unauthorized travelers from passing through.

The caravan slowly entered the gate. It was moving between two smooth, black stone walls. Furthermore, there were two rows of archers patrolling on top of the walls. Inside a black carriage, someone was observing the guards here with a pair of sharp eyes.

It was a young man with long brown hair. His eyes were bright and sharp. The black robe he wore was clean and smooth. The man's face was pale and there was a silver glint on this skin, giving the impression that he was devoid of any blood.

It was Angele, who was invited to the capital by the parliament.

Angele stuck his head out and took a glance at the archers on the walls.

"Defense is strong here…" Angele mumbled and nodded.

"There are many Knight-level archers on the walls. They haven't reached the top-level yet, but assigning warriors like them to guard the entrance is definitely a wise decision. I wonder how strong the army is here. There are Grand Knights here for sure. I'm actually excited to see what's behind this large iron door."

Chapter 145: Omicade (2)

Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem

The carriages slowly entered the guard post and arrived at a large empty ground, covered in grass. Another silver carriage with golden decorations on its roof was parked on the ground, and there were several people waiting on the side.

An old man with clean, white short hair was protected by several guards. He was wearing a red robe and staring at Prince Justin's carriage.

"Omicade!" Justin opened the window and shouted. "Our honored guest is here! You should thank me for that." There was a sincere smile on his face.

"Come on, Justin. Behave yourself in front of our guest," the old man responded with a smile as well.

Justin and Angele's carriages slowly stopped in front of the old man. The soldiers opened the doors for them, and they got off the carriage quickly.

Justin held Angele's hand and introduced him to the old man.

"This is Master Angele. He's knowledgeable about the things you're interested in, and I think you two will become good friends soon."

Justin turned his head around and looked at Angele.

"This is Omicade, the Great Sage of the alliance, I think you two share the same interests."

'Great Sage?' Angele was a bit surprised. To earn a title like this, one had to make great contributions to the country and also needed to be respected by all the scholars.

"Nice to meet you."

"It's a pleasure."

They bowed to each other politely.

Angele straightened his back and observed the old man in front of him. Omicade's hair was so short that he almost looked bald. He had yellow pupils, aquiline nose, deep cheeks, and looked thin. Angele wasn't sure if his red robe was oversized, or he was just too slim.

The man was old, but he was full of energy. Angele decided to scan him with Zero.

'Task completed. No force field detected. Rank 3 apprentice, Mid-level Knight. Detailed attributes available for checking,' Zero reported after several seconds.

'I don't need to see his attributes.'

Angele was interested in Omicade's information; it was the first time he met someone that was in a similar situation as him. Omicade was a Knight, and at the same time, he was an apprentice. However, it seemed like Omicade's talent level was low, and he had failed to master both classes.

"The aura around your body is deep and strong." Omicade had used some special spell and learned that Angele's mentality was extremely high.

"Interesting. I think people like are unable to break the limit and can't become Wizards or Grand Knights." Angele stopped for a second. "I can't imagine how much effort you must have put into training. Although you failed to break the limit, your achievements are still incredible."

"Haha, all the Master Wizards I met said that to me." Omicade smiled. "Let's enter the city first, I've already prepared a party for you."

Angele's eyebrows furrowed slightly. He hated phony courtesy like that, and would rather have some decent food at a normal welcome dinner party.

"Don't worry, it's just a small private party. I hate the places that provide more wine than meat and bread too." Omicade winked, knowing what Angele was thinking.

"I'll leave him to you," Justin interrupted. "I need to report to the Kings first."

"Sure, go ahead." Omicade nodded. "The information master Angele needs is at my place."

"Haha, thank you." Angele nodded and glanced around.

Arias was built inside a humongous shell-shaped city, and Angele was standing on a high ground with a good view of the whole place.

Groups of birds were rotating in the sky over the large city, and he could hear bells ringing in the clock towers.

Under the high blue sky, there were countless houses, towers, buildings, carriages, and pedestrians. Everything was clearly visible in Angele's view.

The whole city was well organized: the streets were busy, the parks were quiet and surrounded by trees. Angele stepped forward a bit, the gentle wind blowing over his face, and saw a large human sculpture with a silver glint on its surface in the middle of the city.

It was a naked man with a feathered helmet; he was holding a spear and a wooden shield in his hands. It looked like he was going to throw the spear in the direction of the sun.

The sculpture was taller than any building in the city, and the houses around it had relatively better decorations. White walks and silver roofs, it almost looked like there was a palace built around it.

"That's the sculpture of the first president of the parliament, legendary hero, King Bell," Omicade explained, noticing what Angele was staring at. "It's 112 meters tall, and it's truly an incredible piece of art."

"Thanks for the explanation. It's spectacular," Angele praised.

"It is, I can never tire of observing it…" Omicade sighed with mixed emotions. "Let's go. Everything is prepared."

"Sure." Angele turned around and jumped into the silver carriage.

Omicade entered the carriage after him, and they started heading down the hill with the guards protecting them.

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

"Cheers!"

Angele and Omicade raised their wine glasses in the air. They sat opposite each other around a table that was covered by a white blanket. The dishes on the table had no fancy appearance, but the smell was making Angele hungry.

They were inside a cylinder-shaped room, and the walls were covered with gray bricks. There were birds passing by a rectangular window from time to time.

"What do you think? My high tower is not bad, eh?" Omicade had a proud smile on his face.

Angele nodded. "This is the 9th floor, right? About 90 meters tall maybe?"

"Yea, about 90 meters tall. Those stairs are a pain, but this room is my favorite." Omicade sipped some green wine from his glass and continued, "I think you can understand that I need a quiet environment to do my researches."

"Yes." Angele nodded. "But it's very cold here, and it's really inconvenient. It took us a while to get to the 9th floor."

"Yeah, you're right, but I already got used to it."

"A true hermit finds his place in the bustling crowd." Angele chuckled.

"You're right." Omicade chuckled as well.

Angele and Omicade kept talking about random things while enjoying the dishes. The green wine in their glasses had a fruity scent to it. There were no maid or servant around, and Angele felt relaxed in such a cozy environment.

After finishing most of the food, Angele decided to change the topic.

"Well, can you give me the information I wanted?" he suddenly asked.

"Of course, I already prepared it for you."

Omicade searched in his pouch for a while and took out a small piece of brown wood. The grain on its surface was actually words written in Anmag.

"Here, take it." Omicade handed the wood piece over to Angele. "It's my friend's address. He can answer your questions I think."

Angele grabbed the wood piece and observed it carefully. He couldn't detect any energy particles, which meant the words on the grain were natural.

It said: 'Shadow Forest, right below Arida's Nest.'

Angele carefully put it into his pouch.

"As promised. You can ask me one question."

Omicade heard Angele's word and laughed.

"Actually, I need a certain spell model."

"Spell model?" Angele hesitated. "Sorry, you need more than that address to trade for a spell model."

"Of course, I understand." Omicade put down his fork and stood up. "I know more than ten different languages. I also have ancient books that record the history and geography of this land. If you don't need those, I still have the items I obtained from other wizards through trading."

Angele had already finished his food, so he stood up as well. They walked down the spiral staircase and reached a room on the 6th floor.

It was a large library, shelves of books filling up the space.

"Read any book you want, and I hope you can find something you need," Omicade said, standing beside the entrance.

Angele nodded and walked to the bookshelves. He started checking the books one by one: Occult Studies, Fundamentals of Spells, Beauty of Sculpture, Anus's Search of Humanity, Sex and Spells, The Rise of Countries…

Most of the books were written by mortals. Some of them were curious about the world of wizards but had not dug deep enough, and most of those books were not worth reading. He found several interesting books that discussed the possible daily life of a wizard, but there was nothing practical to them.

The wizard books here were not rare. Angele had already stored most of them into the chip when he was in Ramsoda.

Omicade thought Angele was just a young wizard that did not have the time to read all the books in his organization yet, but little did he know that Angele was probably the most knowledgeable newbie wizard in history. The library Omicade was proud of had nothing useful to him.

After several minutes, Angele suddenly stopped by the second bookshelf.

"Most of the books on that shelf are incomplete ancient notes," Omicade explained immediately after seeing Angele was finally attracted by something.

Angele nodded and reached to the bottom of the bookshelf. He grabbed a black notebook with only seven or eight pages remaining.

The title on the cover was written in white and the characters were weird. Angele had never seen anything like it, but he had this strange feeling in his mind, just like when he was reading the formula of Potion of Tranquility.

He opened the notebook— its pages were filled with those unknown words. Their size varied, and the ways the words were written were very different. Some looked like alphabets and some looked like numbers. It was a mess, but Angele tried to match them with the data in the chip.

The notebook would be worthless if he could not find a way to understand these random words.

'Wait… If I'm not mistaken…" Angele blinked. 'This must be the Chaos Language from the ancient times. Only the words of the Chaos World are written like this!

'The Chaos World is a mysterious world that even wizards have no access to. The world is in a chaos, with no time, no space, and no death there. Countless horrifying creatures live in that world, and even some random concepts come to life. Chaos is the only thing that defines that world. If I can learn the language and find the portal to that world… I'll be able to talk to the creatures there and trade with them… I might even be able to sign a contract with one of the stronger monsters. Also, I heard they have information on the ancient wizards since their life expectancy is infinite,' Angele thought while searching through his memory.

Some of the ancient wizards had found the portal to other worlds by accident during their experiments with time and space. They communicated with the races that lived in the other worlds and acquired incredibly strong companions or valuable items through trading. They also developed many special categories of spells based on the information they had obtained and that was one of the reasons why ancient wizards were much stronger than the modern wizards.

Most of the time, wizards did not know what ultimate spell the other had. Their knowledge was acquired from different races, lands, even different worlds, and countless light or dark spells. Wizards' power was hard to understand for the mortals, and that was why they were named as mysterious men.

Sadly, the method to enter the portals was lost and modern wizards had no access to the stronger spells that required specific languages to cast. Modern wizards were trying their best to study the ancient blood, but no one had found any valuable information yet.

Great power brought conflicts to the ancient wizard world and the wars had started. Many wizards died and many notes were lost. Some of the ancient wizards retreated to the other side of the sea and the others moved to live underground. Some of the strong monsters and creatures from other worlds had entered the portals that the wizards had failed to close.

Angele was happy that Omicade had a decent collection of Chaos notes. He grabbed those notebooks and started trading with him.

The Great Sage wanted the spell model of the Stun Spell, but he had never joined any wizard organization so even the level 0 spells were a bit too hard for him. He needed to find the corresponding knowledge first, such as the Fundamentals of Negative Energy. Angele wondered why Omicade did not try to join a wizard organization, with his power and right, it should be easy. However, the notebooks were all he cared about at the moment, and he decided not to question the other man.

Chapter 146: In the Woods (1)

Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem

Angele and Omicade were both satisfied with the trade.

The only thing that upset Angele was that only one Chaos book was valuable, the other incomplete notebooks were written in Barun or Vlasov after checking. Also, most of the old incomplete notebooks only had useless information written in them.

Angele stretched his back and put down the last incomplete notebook.

"What do you think? Do you need it?" Omicade stood beside him with arms crossed, expecting Angele to trade something else with him.

"I'm sorry." Angele shook his head, and he saw Omicade purse his lips.

"Well, I was hoping to get something else from you, haha."

Angele heard Omicade's word, and a smile stretched his lips as he nodded.

"Great. I actually want something from you. I think it'll be an easy task."

"What do you want me to do?" Omicade asked, surprised.

"Collect metals for me. I need all kinds of them." He had nothing to hide. It was one of the reasons that made him decide to visit the capital.

"Umm, metals? Not a problem at all, but we need to leave the high tower and go talk to a blacksmith first."

"Sure."

Angele put the Chaos notebook into his bag and walked down the spiral staircase with Omicade right away. They traveled to a large blacksmith's shop using Omicade's carriage for about two hours.

"We're here, the street of blacksmiths."

The Sage opened the door and jumped off the carriage.

Angele jumped off the carriage as well. As he landed on the ground, he could feel stickiness on the bottom of his boots.

The black, oily ground slid into Angele's sight.

There were several simple buildings lined up on both sides, and he could hear the blacksmiths smashing their hammers on the iron anvils inside their shops.

A burnt smell permeated the air of the street. The place was dark and dirty; it gave Angele an unpleasant feeling.

Angele saw adventurers with crossguard swords, iron shields, and sledgehammers checking the shops.

The Great Sage's carriage did not attract any attention. The pedestrians and adventurers had a glance at it, but no one came to greet Omicade. It seemed like he came here often, and people were no longer surprised by his presence.

Omicade led Angele to the largest blacksmith shop on the street, a large building with three open entrances at the front. The name of the shop 'Francesco's Blacksmith Shop' was engraved into a bronze board on the top.

There were barely any people checking the shop, and Angele saw a middle-aged woman with a greatsword on her back walking out of it while cursing.

"Damn you old prick! Francesco, seriously? 5000 gold coins for a sheath? Greedy old f*ck! One day you'll drown in your sea of gold coins!"

"Filthy rat! If you don't have money, don't even come here! Get the f*ck out of here!" a rude voice came from inside.

"Go f*ck yourself!" The middle-aged woman turned around, gave Francesco a middle finger, and left angrily.

Angele knew the voice had to come from a tall, strong man just by hearing it.

Omicade shrugged and looked at Angele.

"Well, this is still the best blacksmith shop in the city, its only drawback is the price tag."

Angele chuckled and followed Omicade into the shop. Inside, intense steam hit his face right away.

A three-meter-tall giant was swinging a head-sized hammer and carefully working on a piece of red-hot alloy. On the other side, four bellows makers were trying their best to keep the smith's furnace fire at the proper temperature. The five took up most of the space in the shop.

Only a small area was used to display the crafted weapons and shields in the corner.

"Francesco, get me all your metal ingots here. My friend needs to see them," Omicade yelled at the giant, but his voice sounded low in the noises made by the hammer and bellows.

"Metal ingots? What do you need that for?" The strong giant stretched his back a bit and put down the alloy.

Sweat and oil covered his muscular body. He was bald, with no eyebrows or beard, and there was a large gold earring on his left ear.

"I want them, not him. How many different types of metal do you have here?" Angele asked, stepping forward.

"What? You?" Francesco asked the bellows makers to stop for a minute and started observing the short man in front of him. He quickly noticed the black robe that covered Angele's body, and it seemed like the robe reminded him of something.

"Ah… A dark…" Francesco stopped before spitting out the word, but Angele could see the respect in his eyes. "What do you need? I have many different ingots here." He turned around and grabbed a large box full of dark metal ingots.

"Wait a second, I have more."

Before Angele could respond, the giant already walked to a corner, entered a storage room, and moved five large boxes to the front. Each of them was about one meter tall and filled up with metal ingots.

A total of six boxes were put down in front of Angele. There were white ingots, dark-red, silver, while the rest were all black with silver glints.

"Star Iron, three boxes. White Membrane Steel, Blood Core Steel, and River Copper, one box each. Those are the rarest metal ingots in my shop. Anything caught your attention?"

Angele's eyebrows furrowed, he had no idea what the giant was talking about, and he decided to check with Zero.

"Can I take a closer look?"

"Of course." Francesco stepped aside and smiled.

Angele stepped forward, and Zero started scanning all the metal ingots. Star Iron was hard and elastic, but it had no magic resistance.

White Membrane Steel, not elastic but very hard. It was great for crafting sharp weapons, but it could not be used for making shields. Its magic resistance was low as well.

Blood Core Steel could not handle high temperature, and it was just an average metal with low resistance. The last was the River Copper. It could handle high temperature and radiation, but its hardness was low. This copper was usually used for heat insulation materials.

"Do you have something that has good elasticity when melted and high hardness after cooled down?" Angele questioned.

"Umm, give me a second." Francesco rubbed his chin and thought for a while.

"Master, we still have two boxes of Combustible Iron, right?" A bellows maker suddenly said.

"Combustible Iron? You're correct! Leeson, bring the boxes here!"

"Sure! You guys, come with me!" Leeson responded and entered the storage room with the rest. After several minutes, two boxes of black iron ingots were put down in front of Angele. These ingots had small holes in them for some reason.

"Combustible Iron? What's that?" Angele got curious.

Francesco immediately explained, "Combustible Iron is a combustible metal, its melting point is high, but once it's lighted up, you won't be able to put it down easily."

He grabbed a fist-sized iron from one of the boxes as he spoke.

"Wind will only make it burn longer. Combustible Iron of this size will burn for a whole day if you don't try to put it off. This iron came from a special underwater ore. It's very dangerous if you use it in the forests."

"Interesting…" Angele grabbed a piece of the iron and observed.

It was hard and heavy; the surface was covered in tiny holes, and it looked like a honeycomb.

Angele sniffed it— it smelled like rubber.

"I know this thing. It's usually used in siege attacks. Cover it with oiled clothes, pour some feces onto the surface, light it up, and shoot it with a ballista. Its damage is incredible," Omicade said, looking at Angele. "But it's not rare, the ores are easy to find."

"I'll take all of the metal ingots you just showed me. How much are they in total?"

"Well, if you only want the materials, I can give you a discount." The giant rubbed his hands and did some calculations. "About 120,000 gold coins."

"120,000 gold coins… Not that bad." Omicade nodded. "I'll pay for it. Francesco, put it on my bill. Come to my high tower and pick up the gold coins before the month ends."

"For sure."

Angele nodded, he did not have that many gold coins with him, so he had to let the Great Sage pay for the metal ingots.

"Thanks, Omicade."

"Not a big deal. I still have some questions to ask you, and knowledge is priceless." Omicade pursed his lips to a smile.

The two hired four carriages to carry those boxes back to Omicade's high tower.

Justin came to invite Angele to the party held by the Kings once he returned to the high tower. They also made it clear that there would be many nobles waiting to see him in the party.

Although Angele wanted to decline the invitation, he still owed Justin a favor, so he decided to attend and see what the Kings were thinking.

Chapter 147: In the Woods (2)

Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem

In the evening.

Angele was invited to the resplendent palace with a well-decorated meeting hall. He met many ladies from high-rank noble families, and they all looked beautiful in their luxury dresses.

He spent most of his time declining the offers from those noble ladies since the kings that invited him here had left after talking with him for several minutes. Angele also met several princesses and daughters of the dukes and viscounts.

The reason why they approached Angele was obvious, but he had no interest in them. The royal families and high-class noble families sent their daughters to this party, hoping this way to develop a deep relationship with Angele. Tymoral had already warned him about the upcoming awkward situation back on the ship.

He was the center of the party and people were trying to talk to him all the time, so it was impossible for him to leave early without being noticed.

Also, those noble ladies and princesses had high social statuses, so although Angele was a formal wizard, he could not just simply ask them to stay away from him. He had to talk to them one by one with respect. The ladies in the hall were all beautiful and polite, but he got tired after seeing too many of them.

Angele jumped into the carriage sent by the Sage after the party was finally over; he was exhausted.

It was a black carriage with a black horse and the coachman was an old man in a black suit, the whole thing looked like a dark shadow that was slowly advancing on the road.

"I'm Malfoy, master Angele, should we head back to the high tower now?" the coachman asked.

Omicade had kindly asked Angele to live in his high tower during his stay in Arias, because he knew Angele wouldn't want to be disturbed by other random visitors.

Angele smelled the scent of some flower-based perfume as he sat down in the carriage. Under the dim light from the oil lamp, he saw a cute blonde girl with a clean white dress quietly huddled in the corner of the opposite seat. Her face looked familiar.

"Caitlyn?" Angele did not expect to see her here. It felt quite strange.

The original Angele Rio had fallen off the horse and died for this girl, his body then later being taken over by Ye Song. Angele had had his revenge before leaving the school and thought they would never meet again.

A voice came from outside the carriage.

"Master Angele, Prince Justin asked me to tell you that the girl inside is a gift for you. She was the girl you loved the most, right? Enjoy your time, haha."

It seemed like Malfoy wasn't just a coachman, otherwise, the Prince wouldn't have told him so much information and asked him to pass the message.

Angele sat on his seat, looking at Caitlyn; he could see the fear in her eyes. Justin must have thought Angele hadn't liked the two girls he prepared so he collected some intel and found Caitlyn for him.

Caitlyn's attractive body was well displayed by her tight dress. Her long legs and smooth, clean skin gave her an elegant look. She had all the characteristics one could find on a charming young lady.

"Master… Angele…" Caitlyn lowered her head while trying to find something to say.

She was captured by Justin's guards in the school and sent to Angele as a gift. Never had she thought that there would be a day she would have to serve the young man she looked down upon. But she had no other choice, her family background wasn't strong enough for her to fight against the Prince's order. If she couldn't make Angele happy, something unfortunate would probably happen to her family members after.

Angele looked at her for a second, then suddenly grabbed the palm-sized bronze tag on her neck. Several words were engraved on the front of the tag, saying: 'Angele Rio'.

On the back, there was another sentence: 'If missing, please contact any noble family in the Andes Alliance'.

It was the tag that was used to label slaves. With the tag on her neck, Caitlyn became Angele's private property, her rights as a citizen taken away by the Prince.

"What's the point of this? Why can't the nobility spend their time doing something actually meaningful?" Angele sighed and mumbled.

"Move, to the high tower," he shouted out.

"Aye," Malfoy responded, and the carriage lurched into movement as he whipped the horse.

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

In a room on the third floor of the high tower. Bright white oil lamps were burning quietly on the walls—they were the source of the gentle light in the room.

Angele lay on the bed and looked at the night sky through the window. Two crescent moons were hanging in the sky, partially blocked by some tiny clouds.

Caitlyn covered herself with a white blanket beside Angele; she had gotten tired and fallen asleep after a little fun experiment. There were some scratches made by nails on her right shoulder, and her soft golden hair tumbled around the pillow.

Angele slowly moved his fingers through Caitlyn's smooth hair, feeling relaxed.

'Father made the right decision.'

Angele remembered things Baron Karl had told him back home.

After the intercourse with Caitlyn, he realized it was almost impossible for him to reproduce after checking Zero's report. The Rio Family did need someone else to continue the family line.

Caitlyn woke up as he thought, grunted, and opened her eyes. Angele took his hand back, got off the bed, and quickly put his clothes on.

"Stay here. I'll ask someone to send you back to the school. You're free now. Nothing has changed. Don't worry."

Angele looked at her. With a flick of his finger, some thin green smoke hit Caitlyn's head.

Caitlyn's eyes rolled back, and she fainted before being able to respond.

The green smoke returned to the tip of Angele's finger right after. He put on the black robe and headed to another bedroom on the same floor.

It was the room he used for meditation. A simple bed was the only thing in the room. Since he had already confirmed his assumption about reproduction, he decided not to waste any time on it for now. Although meditation would not help him that much anymore, it would still increase his mentality a bit if he could keep doing it for years.

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

Several days later…

In the morning.

A small gray carriage left Arias City and passed through the guard post. It did not stay on the main road for too long, the carriage turning to the right and entering a silent path after advancing for several minutes. It seemed like the carriage was heavy. Although there were three strong horses pulling it, it was still moving slowly.

Vibrant green trees were on both sides of the path, and the road was full of bumps and hollows. A young man with long brown hair sat in the driving seat, wearing a brown leather suit which failed to hide his muscular body.

It was Angele, who'd left the city without notifying anyone.

He had the reins in his hands, not controlling the horses with energy particles. Birds and random animals were driven away by the noises made by the wheels. Water splashed to the sides of the path as the carriage went over tiny pools.

Time flew. Angele traveled non-stop until noon with dark clouds gathering in the sky.

It was about to rain.

The chilling wind was howling through the trees when Angele reached a straight path after turning several corners. He held the reins in one hand and took out a piece of wood from the pouch with the other.

He carefully checked the words written on the wood piece and returned it to the pouch. The sounds made by the rolling wheels were extremely loud in such a quiet forest. Suddenly, Angele heard a man singing ahead. His voice mixed with the howling wind, often being drowned out, so Angele could only hear a part of the lyrics.

"… Deer… She's behind me, she's behind me…

"Once, twice, and then… The fruity moon, shadow-black hair of hers is so attractive."

The voice got clearer as Angele got closer. He scrunched his eyebrows because the lyrics had absolutely no meaning to them, and the song was weird.

After several minutes, Angele saw a short middle-aged man sawing a large pine tree. He had tied his coat around the waist, and sweat was dripping down his face. Angele thought that the man was probably just shouting random words while sawing the tree, and somehow those words sounded like lyrics of a song.

"Hey! You! Can you come help me? Please," Angele yelled out, stopping the carriage.

The short man wiped the sweat from his forehead with a piece cloth and looked at Angele. He was surprised by seeing a noble traveling deep into the forest alone. He then dropped the saw on the ground and quickly walked to Angele.

Stopping beside the carriage, he bowed, and asked, "What do you need, Sir?"

"Where's the Shadow Forest?" Angele asked in a light tone.

"Shadow Forest? Go along this road and you'll reach it in two days. It's not too far from here, but the place is full of dangerous creatures. I saw a head-sized black spider moving out of the forest once, and it was killed by a Knight from Arias."

"Have you ever heard of a place called Arida's Nest?" Angele questioned.

"Sorry, I never heard of it…" The man shook his head. "But I know there's a cliff in the forest where many swallows built their nests, not sure if that's the Arida's Nest you're talking about."

"Well, can you mark it on my map?" Angele took out a leather map and asked the man to mark the location of the cliff for him.

"Wait, why are you here alone? Don't you just said there are many beasts close by?" Angele asked after returning the map to his bag.

"I'm a hunter and I live here. I'm preparing the materials for my wood house, but I've lost my axe so I have to saw," the man responded, scratching his head. "See, there's a watch tower on the left that was abandoned by the city. Beside it, there's a small bridge. It can bring me to the other side of the Jonah River. If I build my house there, I'll have a place to get some rest after a day of hunting."

Angele looked in the direction the hunter was pointing at. There was a watch tower with a red top between the gaps of the trees, and beside it, there was a wooden bridge.

The sun was almost covered by the thick clouds. Angele blinked his eyes, suddenly seeing a young girl walking over the bridge quietly.

"Huh? Is that your daughter? Why would you take her here?" Angele's eyebrows furrowed.

"My daughter?" The hunter turned his head around, looking confused. "No sir, I came here alone. There's no way I'm bringing a young girl to a forest. It's too dangerous here."

"Really? Who's she then?" Angele pointed at the bridge, but the girl had already left.

"I see nothing, sir…" The hunter had no idea what had happened.

Angele lowered his hand and rubbed his chin as thunder seamed to crack the air.

Chapter 148: Lingering (1)

Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem

Angele had recently started to see things others could not see. He looked at the back of his hand and the silver accessory with a faint glint to it. Its size was smaller than before, but Angele was not sure what was happening.

'Well, I should've spent more time studying Necromancy… It seems like I can see materialized curses and souls with hatred now? Strange.'

Angele's brow furrowed, and he covered his hand with the sleeve again.

*Crackle*

Lightning flashed, a shock of white brightening up the whole forest and forking silently to the ground.

Angele asked the hunter for some details, deciding to find some shelter from the rain. The hunter suggested that they go to the watch tower and Angele nodded. He quickly tied his horse and carriage to a large tree.

Angele grabbed all the important items and set up the alert system by spreading his energy particles in the area before heading to the abandoned watch tower with the hunter.

"I built a campfire inside, close the door and it'll stay warm."

The hunter was leading the way ahead.

Lightning struck from time to time. As they walked through the forest, the surroundings were flashing in their sights.

"Is it really fine to leave your carriage there?" the hunter asked in a loud voice.

"It's fine. I'll find it even if it gets stolen."

Angele smiled at him.

The hunter was a bit confused, but he decided not to ask any unnecessary questions. They walked through several bushes, the grasses on the ground feeling like a soft, thick blanket.

They arrived at the wooden watch tower build on a small hill after several minutes. Angele stood by the door, then turned around and looked down. The place was not too far away from his carriage.

The gray door was thick and heavy. The tower was probably built many years ago since he could see cracks in the walls.

The hunter struggled for a while before managing to budge the door.

"The trees around the tower are way too high, I just found it today. Pretty good, huh?"

The door was pushed open slowly. Angele looked inside, but only saw a spiral staircase in the middle of the room.

The hunter had probably already cleaned the room since Angele couldn't find a single spiderweb. An extinguished campfire was left beside the staircase, but there was still smoke rising from it.

The warmth from the flame was still inside the room.

However, Angele sensed something wrong as he entered the place, and goose bumps rose on his skin.

He glanced around but did not find anything suspicious. The hunter walked to the campfire, poked the charcoals with a branch, and lighted it up again. Warm yellow light quickly brightened up the room.

"Sir, please have a seat. This is all I have, sorry."

The hunter put down a gray blanket beside the campfire.

The strange feeling disappeared as the campfire was lighted up. Angele nodded and sat down by the fire with his legs crossed. The hunter grabbed another blanket and sat down on the opposite side as well.

Angele watched the hunter put up a metal rack beside the fire and start to roast meat he took out from his bag.

"Hey, when you first entered the tower, did you see anyone else?" Angele decided to ask.

The hunter nodded. "Yeah, I set up the fire and then met you while logging, but this place was cold as hell."

Angele scrunched his eyebrows and stopped talking. Heavy rain was already pouring down the forest.

He looked outside the window but the curtain of rain was the only thing he could see. The door was rattling, and the howling wind was passing through the gaps; it sounded like a ghost crying.

The rain stopped almost as quickly as it came.

After half an hour, the sky turned clear and the gray clouds were gone.

Angele stood up as the hunter finished roasting his deer. The surface of the meat was covered in crispy crust, and it smelled incredible.

"Would you like some deer, sir?" the hunter stood up and asked.

"I'm good, thanks." Angele took out several silver coins and threw them to the hunter. "Thanks for the information and the shelter, but I suggest you don't stay here for too long. The place is haunted."

Angele turned around, wiped the dust off his suit, and walked toward his carriage.

The hunter just stood there after hearing the parting words; he didn't understand why Angele would say that this place was haunted.

After several minutes, he mumbled, "What a freak…" He tossed the silver coins several times and smiled. "But generous."

The hunter sat down again and grabbed the roasted deer meat, starting to sprinkle seasoning onto its surface.

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

Angele drove the carriage down the wet path and kept advancing. The road between the trees looked endless. The only thing he could see was the wet mud on the ground.

'Zero, show me my attributes,' Angele ordered as he slowed the horses down a bit.

'Scanning… Transferring results. Angele Rio. Strength, 3.5. Agility, 5.2. Stamina, 6.1. Mentality, 21.3. Mana, 20.7. (Mana increased as Mentality increased). Gene limit reached. Healthy.'

Angele��s eyebrows furrowed. He meditated every day after breaking the limit, but his Mentality had only increased by 0.1, and Mana was still lower than Mentality. It meant that some of it were not converted into mana.

It was part of the side effects brought by the potions. The Black Lead Potion increased his mentality greatly, but there would be side effects when one's mentality jumped like that. His progress was very slow recently, and it could be part of that.

'My next stage is Liquid, but it'll take me more than thirty years if I don't find a shortcut. Also, increasing the purity of my mentality should be my priority, otherwise, it won't increase at a normal rate.'

Angele knew what he should do.

'After this, I need to find a way to concentrate my mentality.'

He quickly searched through the database for information about mentality and started reading as the carriage moved.

The trees on the sides were much taller than before. Angele met many forks on his road, but was still getting closer to the Shadow Forest. He traveled without stopping for another two days.

Finally, Angele arrived at a crossroads the next afternoon. It was another cloudy day. The chilling wind kept blowing in the trees, and the leaves were shaking.

A brown road sign was in the middle of the crossroads, the words on it blurry, and the rain made it even harder to read.

Angele jumped off the carriage and walked to the sign. The Shadow Forest was on the left, the direction he had come from was named Watch Tower in the Woods, while the other two paths led to two different towns. Some of the letters were missing, so he wasn't sure about the names of those towns.

Angele looked in the direction of the Shadow Forest and was met there with a deep, dark path. The trees on both sides left no gaps for the sunlight to pass through. It almost looked like a tunnel made by the trees. The only sunlight came sideways, and those rays of light looked like white lasers.

Angele turned around and returned to his carriage.

"Move!"

He raised his whip and hit the seat. The horses started moving to the left after he pulled the reins.

However, for some reason, the horses stopped in front of the tunnel and started walking to the sides. They kept neighing and refusing to enter.

Angele got a bit nervous and whipped them several times, but the horses would just not move. He looked at the dark path, then entered the carriage to equip his gear.

He jumped off after several seconds with a large silver metal bow on his back along with a full quiver. He had also put on a silver chest armor. Angele looked wild and strong with the long brown hair trailing over his shoulders.

There was a bag of supplies in his hand since he was not sure about the distance between him and the Shadow Forest. Again, he spread some Wind energy particles around the carriage to set up the alert in case anyone approached.

After everything was prepared, Angele walked onto the road that led to the Shadow Forest. The wind here was warm and gentle, and he could smell the fragrance of flowers. There was a gray rabbit one the path. It stood there and stared at Angele.

*Crack*

Angele stepped on a branch, making a loud sound.

The rabbit got scared and immediately jumped back into the bushes.

Angele kept glancing around as he advanced. He was moving fast, and his footprints were deep.

The clouds converged in the sky until it was almost dark, the light from the setting sun bringing some warmth to the sea of trees.

Angele walked for a while, then took out the map to check his location again. After turning several times, he reached an empty ground that was covered by grass.

A huge tree with a diameter of more than ten meters stood in the middle of the ground quietly, drops of golden sunlight filling up the gaps between the shadows made by its leaves.

Angele took out the wood piece he'd received from Omicade and stepped forward. He stopped near a part of the roots that was above ground, and the dark trunk of the tree started trembling.

Two dark red cracks opened slowly on the tree, and a large human-like face appeared on the surface of the trunk. The branches gathered together on both sides, turning into two arms.

"You're a Dryad? I brought Omicade's keepsake, and I have several questions to ask."

Angele stared curiously at the tree for several seconds, then threw the wood piece into the air.

The wood piece was grabbed by several twisted branches and taken to the eyes of the Dryad.

"It is the item I gave to Omicade, well, ask anything you want then."

The Dryad's voice was deep and hoarse.

"Where are the tree elves that lived where the Andes Alliance is now?"

Angele decided to ask about his mother first.

Chapter 149: Lingering (2)

Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem

"Tree elves?"

The dryad stopped for a second and started to search through its memory. He responded after several minutes.

"They moved to another place a while ago, and people have no idea where they went. The tree elves have their own special method of preventing outsiders from tracking them down, and they will build a Secret Garden after arriving at a new forest or new area. The first time I met the tree elves was about 130 years ago, and they were so cute and gentle. Ah… The nostalgia… Time really flies. I remember the days they danced on my hands, and I would be woken up by their incredible melodies every day."

The dryad sighed. "But what you don't know is, their voices are heavenly, so people might lose their mind just by listening to them sing. Also, they brought me fruits from time to time, and roasted meat nearby. It was truly a great time. They coated the loins of the boar with jam… Haven't had something like that in years…"

"You're not answering my question."

Angele only needed to know where those tree elves had gone.

"Let me think… Give me some time…"

The dryad put a hand on his forehead. It seemed like he was having some trouble with recalling things from the past.

"Our time dimension is different so I need to do some calculations… It'll take me years to arrange my hair or just turn around… You humans only need seconds to do something like that, but I can't. My life expectancy is so long that I forget things quickly…" the tree mumbled as it swung its branches.

"Time dimension? You mean our activity circles? Have you ever met a wizard before?"

Angele was a bit surprised.

"Of course, I talked to several wizards the last time I woke up. They stood beside me, discussed their studies, and acquired some information from me. However, they didn't… Oh! Yeah! I remembered it!" the dryad suddenly shouted out, its voice so loud that it almost numbed Angele's body.

"They're still in the Andes Alliance, but they've built another Secret Garden. Are you looking for Tikka Soyun?"

"Tikka Soyun? Is that the name of their Secret Garden?" Angele asked.

"Yes, Tikka Soyun. It means shelter in their language. Most of their Secret Gardens use this name. They should be more creative with their naming." The dryad started saying random things again.

"I gave them many suggestions when they were still here, but they just wouldn't listen. Also, they spent only one year deciding the name… But I spent several years thinking of them… Should've called it Murlo Roast or Elf's Orchard. Sounds much better, right?"

"Do you talk random things to anyone that comes to you?"

Angele was speechless.

"Well, they wouldn't be able to wake me up without the keepsakes. A keepsake helps me adjust my time dimension, otherwise, I wouldn't notice anyone here. This place was once a town but people disappeared for some reason. Oh wait, actually, there was an earthquake, a fire, and a huge black bear… Ah… I wanted its meat…"

"One more question." Angele interrupted. "Do you know about the Chaos Language?"

"Chaos Language? What's that? Never heard of it." The dryad looked confused. "Well, I can't answer your question. I think it's some secret of the wizards. Ask me something else. I'm old you know and I forget things. Omicade once said that I might have some brain disease, but I don't think so, you know what…"

Angele was disappointed, he stopped the tree from saying more useless things. "Hey, do you know how to remove the impurities in my mentality? I drank too many potions."

"Impurities… huh… Let me think…"

The dryad narrowed his eyes and started thinking.

He stared at Angele for several minutes.

"Sorry, I was thinking about something else…"

"…" Angele's patience was being tested. He almost got a headache from talking to the tree.

"Concentration of mentality, eh? I know the method…"

The dryad saw Angele staring at him and decided to focus on the question.

"What is it?" Angele asked in a deep voice.

"Umm… Well… First, you need to strengthen your conviction, and then use pure energy to penetrate those impurities. If you can keep doing that for long enough, your mentality will shift, and the impurities will be gone after being permeated by the pure energy."

"So, it's a method that only formal wizards can use? The others will die if they insist on using the energy radiation."

Angele's brow furrowed.

"Radiation? Yeah, you're right. Only formal wizards can handle such strong radiation. Also, it takes time, maybe years? For me, it's just the amount of time I use to scratch my head. You probably already know that dryads like me will…" The tree finished answering the question and started changing the topic again.

Angele nodded and ignored the rest of the words the dryad said.

The method was actually much simpler than he had thought. He could use the chip to transfer radiation energy to his body, but only one element could be used. He wondered if the enchanted ring's radiation had helped him to develop the affinity for Wind energy particles.

"Thanks for your explanations." Angele bowed to the tree slightly. "If I didn't see it for myself, I wouldn't believe that there was a dryad that loved roasted meat."

"Haha! Is that so? I'm different, eh?" The dryad laughed, satisfied with Angele's words. "Here, take this with you!"

A small piece of wood dropped to the ground.

Angele picked it up. It was the wood piece he had handed over earlier, but the words had turned into a map. A black mark was left on one location which said: 'Tikka Soyun'.

Angele smiled at the tree, turned around, and left the place.

He raised his head before entering the tunnel again. There were several purple swallows rotating in the sky, but for some reason, he did not notice them while talking to the tree.

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

Angele found the location on the map right before it got dark. It was a large field beside a river. There were several wooden houses lined up on the side, but they were probably abandoned a long time ago.

Angele walked around and checked the houses but found nothing valuable. It seemed like the tree elves had left the shelter a long time ago, so he decided to head back.

It was getting dark. Angele returned to the location where he had parked his carriage, finding that the energy particles around were untouched.

He jumped into the carriage and tried to track his mother down with the tracking spell, however, the only thing he got was just an indication of a direction.

The tracking spell could only track people's location within three years of their disappearance. The spell was developed and modified by master Liliana. She taught Angele a special set of knowledge that was required for learning the spell model, so even if someone stole the model, he would not be able to learn it.

The night fell, and Angele hung several oil lamps on the front of the carriage. Although the horses did not need the light, he still wanted to see if there was anything blocking the path.

The moons were covered by the clouds. Angele held the reins in hands, driving the carriage carefully. He was also checking the surroundings constantly. With high Mentality, he could perform such a task with easy.

Nothing happened that night. Angele sat on the carriage and advanced on his route back.

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

Two days later.

A gray carriage slowly went down the road between the vibrant bushes. The sounds made by the wheels and horse hooves were extremely loud in the morning.

Angele held the reins in his hands as he glanced at the trees on the right. He could see the wooden watch tower clearly in the gaps between the trunks.

A panel saw was quietly lying beside a large pine tree. It seemed like the hunter had finished his work. The area was deadly silent, Angele couldn't even hear birds twittering.

He scrunched his eyebrows. "Halt…"

Slowly stopping the carriage, he jumped off it, and then quickly walked to the large pine tree.

Angele touched the dew on the blade of the saw and knew that something was wrong. The hunter hadn't come back to pick up his tool after the rain had stopped, which meant something had happened after Angele left the watch tower. He probably hadn't listened to the advice.

Angele's expression changed. He looked at the watch tower, raised his right hand, and created a twisted silver dagger.

Holding the dagger in hand, he started walking to the tower. He climbed up the small hill and arrived at the entrance after several minutes.

He pushed the door open and carefully entered the room.

The campfire in the middle of the room was extinguished a long time ago. There was only a pile of black ash under the metal rack, but the hunter was not here.

Angele crouched beside the campfire and dipped his finger into the ash—it was cold.

He glanced around the room and saw some dark red liquid on the ground. Putting his right hand into the liquid, he sniffed it.

"Blood…"

The trail of blood led him to the staircase.

He walked up the spiral staircase and found the body of the hunter halfway.

The hunter sat on the stairs with hands on his knees, a pool of blood gathered below his feet.

Angele's expression changed. He suddenly felt someone blowing chilling air onto his neck.

*Chi*

Blue light dots flashed in Angele's eyes, and he pursed his lips in a strange angle.