355 - 363

Chapter 355: Engage (2)

Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe

Angele's countenance changed. He retreated one step then raised his right hand.

A golden magic circle manifested on the empty ground before him and began spinning slowly.

*BAM*

Golden light came forth from the soil and streaked towards the arrow-transformed Terry.

Ten more rays of golden light shot out of the ground one by one, all of them flying towards the lightning arrow.

Thin green mist drifted across the air as the rays of golden light all streaked away. Parts of the mist took form into several triangle-headed, green snakes with green glowing eyes. These mist snakes similarly shot towards the lightning arrow.

Rays of golden light, venomous snakes, and poison mist were all intercepting Terry, who had transformed into the golden lightning arrow.

Angele maintained a calm composure. He lifted his right hand and unleashed two lava balls. Simultaneously, a black light flashed in his eyes and the silver metal separated from his body which shapeshifted into a countless number of needles floating in front of him.

Several glowing black needles were hidden amidst the hail of silver needles—a simple but deadly tactic.

Angele pointed forth before him.

*CHI CHI CHI*

The sound of a volley of arrows being unleashed from bows simultaneously echoed.

Hundreds of silver needles whistled towards the lightning arrow.

By now, Angele's face had already turned pale due to the consecutive casting of spells. He immediately retrieved two mana potions from one of his pouches and opened it.

He quickly chugged the two glass tubes empty. A sweet and refreshing fluid flowed down his throat, and he now felt much better than before.

He had spent too much mentality and energy particles due to the two magic circles he had set.

Furthermore, he had used a large portion of his mentality to strengthen his metal forcefield and manipulate the flying silver needles. In his previous encounters, Angele had used this exact tactic several times already. Not only these silver needles dealt physical damage, they were also infused with the ability to petrify whatever and whoever came into contact with it.

Once Angele emptied the potions, he looked at the approaching arrow with complete focus, thinking about his next move.

*BAM*

The lightning arrow decelerated to a certain extent every time it was struck by the streaks of golden light. Terry made attempts at dodging the streaks but had still been struck seven or eight times, causing her speed to dramatically plunge.

Following after the golden rays, the green, venomous, mist snakes jumped onto the lightning arrow. Each of these mist snakes that were about one meter long successfully eliminated some of the lightning pulses surrounding the arrow.

Due to this, it shortened the lightning arrow's length from two meters to one.

The figure of Terry's face gradually took form on the arrowhead.

"You think you can stop me with those petty tricks?" Terry, looking at Angele, mocked.

*CHI*

The golden lightning arrow suddenly absorbed all the lightning pulses surrounding it. A materialized long arrow, which seemed to have been made out of gold, took form.

*CHI CHI CHI*

The streaks of golden light and the mist snakes were destroyed. The arrow flew straight into the hail of silver needles.

*Clank Clank Clank*

It sounded like metal pins hitting a large metal shield.

"What a waste of time…" Terry's voice came from the arrowhead. "I'm disappointed. You are way weaker than I have expected and…Ugh!" But suddenly, she grunted.

*BOOM*

The arrow exploded into innumerable lightning pulses that soon reformed into the figure of Terry, who was still adorned in a long, white robe.

She had an irritated expression on her face. A black needle had pierced her right chest. From the small puncture on her chest, her body was being petrified.

Terry tapped the triangular rune on her forehead. It flickered with light.

Underneath her feet surfaced a golden green magic circle. It had a complex structure; many runes were spinning above it.

*BOOM*

Golden runes, green smoke, and pulses of lightning merged into one before exploding into a bright ball of golden light.

The glaring light caused Angele to cover his eyes with his hand. He was blown away by the shockwave produced by the explosion.

At Terry's original location, only a three-meter-tall ball of light remained.

This ball of light started rolling forward, its size ever-changing and its surface enveloped by lightning pulses.

Angele was still recovering from the damage he received. He felt a sensation as if his skin was being pricked by numerous needles.

Peering ahead, he conjured another pair of lava balls while watching out for any movement coming from the ball of light.

*BAM BAM*

The pair of lava balls sank into the light-ball and exploded.

*CHI*

Out of the blue, a golden laser beam coming out of the light-ball darted out at Angele.

The laser beam was too fast such that Zero's warning was rendered useless. Angele failed to dodge this. His vision blurred for a second. He could feel the laser beam piercing through his right chest.

*BAM*

It felt like he had been struck by an elephant. Angele stumbled ten steps backward. He could hear the bones of his body breaking. Due to the intense pain, he nearly blacked out.

Angele tightly grasped at his right chest. The invisible shield created by the crystal scorpion was penetrated through and destroyed, then it slowly dissipated.

His chest had been burnt black. Many of his ribs had fractured. The metal barrier covering his body had been eradicated.

The ball of light soon became transparent until it slowly and completely disappeared. It reformed into Terry, who had similarly been injured to a severe state.

There was a huge bloody hole right in the middle of her chest. Barely any flesh was left.

"Two offensive magic circles. How much mentality did you spend? You are crazy." Terry glared at Angele. "I must admit, I have underestimated you."

Angele was confounded. Terry was still alive even after being inflicted with such a terrifying injury. He thought that only rank 4 wizards could survive an injury of that level. The only and biggest difference rank 2s and rank 3s had was the gap in mentality levels.

Although Terry was only a rank 3 wizard, the power of her spells was comparable to the ones Angele cast, more or less 200 degrees. Angele had thrashed the woman with four lava balls, two offensive magic circles of the high tier, and his special needle yet the woman still had enough strength to retaliate.

Angele had realized that he was up against a formidable opponent.

"Is that so? Am I now a worthy opponent?" He sustained a deadpan expression as he tried to remain calm. Angele had been severely wounded by the light-ball. Nonetheless, he had an absurdly high stamina and the assistance of the ancient bloodline he possessed.

His chest wound had already begun recovering at a ridiculous rate. Newly-formed tissues and flesh had already replaced a part of the burnt area.

"There is another soul within you. I can feel it. You cannot hide it from me." Terry deeply breathed and put down her hands. Her chest was no longer bleeding. She should have taken doses of high-quality healing potions or used enchanted items that had healing effects.

"Which one is it? Perhaps you are thinking that the soul will help you once you fall into danger?" Terry shook her head. "Unfortunately for you, I have a special item in my pouch that can restrict that soul's ability. Several minutes ago, you nearly died yet the soul did not help you. Do you not think it is strange?"

"Huh?" Angele faked a surprised expression. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't even try to lie. Right now, that soul cannot communicate with you. It probably thinks you are still safe, but it will die once I kill you. It's simple." Terry lifted up her right hand and summoned even more lightning pulses. It quickly conjured into two golden pavises.

"Die!" With two shields of roughly a meter in height, she shouted and charged forth at Angele.

*Crack*

Suddenly, a huge crack appeared on the cliff.

The cliff could no longer handle the force from all the spells they had cast.

Strands of black smoke appeared above the Abyss Canyon. Innumerable black eyeballs came into being.

These black eyeballs were the size of a human head. These were floating in the air without a noise. All of these were looking at Angele and Terry with such greed, as though these eyeballs wanted to devour the two wizards alive.

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

On the other side of the Abyss Canyon.

Stigma was kneeling on the ground, scowling at Cena with hatred in his eyes, and was panting.

Suddenly, he noticed the black eyeballs that were floating.

"Those are…?!" Stigma's pupils constricted. "Death Eyes…"

Cena's mien distorted upon witnessing such queer scene.

"Death Eyes can kill rank 4 wizards…Wait…has the final stage almost been completed?!"

"What? Final stage? What are you talking about…" Stigma was confused.

Cena looked at him but did not answer the question.

"This fight has to be postponed. The Death Wave is coming. I must go. We shall meet again," he said after picking up his left arm from the ground.

"Wait, what about your friends?" Stigma narrowed his eyes. "Do they know about the Death Wave, too?"

"Naturally," Cena replied.

*BAM*

A loud noise from the other side echoed in the air.

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

Angele silently stood holding one wide-blade sword in each of his hand. The cliff he was standing on could fall into the abyss anytime.

After scanning it using his biochip, he now knew that those black eyeballs were dangerous and that he should try to stay from the black smoke. He was not even sure whether Henn could block it if she was not in her soul form.

Terry and Angele would both die if they, at the very least, touched the black smoke somehow.

The endless black smoke could easily deal more than 1000 degrees of acid damage and kill anyone within its effective range.

Angele's heart was beating fast. The life-or-death situation he was presently under somehow excited and relieved him. For him, this was quite enjoyable.

It felt like walking a tightrope without any lifesaving measures. One wrong step and he would fall to his death.

Terry was standing opposite Angele. Still, she too was standing on the cracked cliff. The woman looked at Angele. Two deep holes could be seen on the pavises in her hands, such damage was inflicted by Angele's swords.

"Why are you still here?" Terry questioned him in a calm tone. "The Abyss Canyon will soon be sealed by the Death Wave. You need to be at least three kilometers away from this place. The Death Wave can easily kill any wizards below rank 4."

"I'm not leaving." Angele swung his swords several times in the air. "Don't you think this is beautiful? I am so excited that my body is trembling. Finishing the battle at this place will be my ultimate happiness." He licked his dry lips and smiled.

"Wizards shall all rot in a life of peace. We may die together in this battle, but our final moments will be enjoyable. You may only experience such once in your life." Angele spread out his arms.

Terry narrowed her eyes. "You've lost your mind." She jumped forward, turning into a flash of lightning.

"No. This will be an unforgettable memory for us both." Angele smiled. A red beam was unleashed from the musical note located in the middle of his chest.

*BAM*

Tarry returned to her original form forcibly without a warning. She dropped to the ground and shook her head several times.

"You! How dare you!" Holding her pavises tight, she roared at Angele.

*BOOM*

The cliff they were standing on completely separated from the canyon. Thus, there began the descent of the two wizards into the endless darkness alongside broken pieces of rocks and the dirty mud.

The scene looked like a gigantic yellow boulder sliding into the abyss from the edge of the canyon.

Chapter 356: Trading Company (1)

Translator: Leo Editor: Leo

Angele smiled and lowered his hand. He quickly slashed forward and released a red string of energy from the blade.

Translucent sound waves left his chest and started spreading in all angles.

The cliff started sliding down; Angele ran up the incline and charged toward Terry, his sword soaring through the air.

*BAM*

The two ran into each other and another translucent wave was released into the air. The yellow cliff under their feet broke into pieces and completely fell off the edge of the canyon.

They were standing on a relatively small piece of rock and the surface area was large enough for four to five people to stand on it. However, the rock cracked again after the impact.

Angele held his sword tight and slashed down.

*CLANK*

Terry was forced to retreat to the edge of the cracked rock.

The rock cracked again when Terry was about to fight back. She lost the support and started falling.

However, she quickly released the tower shields and grabbed the edge of the rock.

*BAM*

A black leather boot stepped on Terry's hands hard.

*Crack*

The edge of the rock cracked.

"See you." Angele looked down and watched Terry fall into the abyss. The black smoke was approaching her quickly and Angele's body was reflected in the female wizard's constricted pupils.

"Light of the Thunder!"

Terry reached forward and chanted the incantation.

*BAM*

A ray of golden light was released from her hands and hit Angele hard.

"Phoenix!" Angele shouted and a flaming red bird spurted out of his chest. The bird had a long tail that was coated with flames—it was the ancestral spirit Angele acquired by completing the third stage of Molten Core River.

The golden ray hit Angele's chest and penetrated his skin, muscles, and bones after breaking the silver barrier.

*CHI*

The golden ray pierced though Angele's body and spurted out of his back, leaving a golden arc in the air.

"Go!" he shouted as he spat out blood. Angele had no time to treat the wound, but his stamina was so high that he could still recover even if his heart was crushed. He could use the energy particles to temporarily keep the heart pumping and help his blood to absorb oxygen.

He quickly took out two small bottles from the pouch—one was red and the other was blue.

*Crack*

His powerful grip crushed the bottles.

A glowing blue energy circle and a glowing red energy circle covered Angele's body as the bottles broke.

The lightweight potion and feather potion helped reduce Angele's weight. Their effects could be combined—it was the perfect combo in this situation.

Angele left Terry to die in the black smoke and grabbed Phoenix's claws with the right hand. The bird started flying up slowly after his body's weight was reduced.

Phoenix was flapping its wings slowly, but its altitude was increasing quickly. Angele's weight was almost the same as a feather's, the bird had no problem lifting him up.

The chilling wind brushed against Angele's face and the wound in his chest. The brown cliff was still sliding down and there were large pieces of rocks in the air.

Phoenix dodged all the falling rocks; it changed the direction several times in the air and Angele was not hit by any rock.

Several minutes later, Phoenix brought Angel back to the edge of the canyon and landed on the grass.

*PA*

Angele's feet touched the land again. He staggered and almost fell to the ground.

He was almost killed by the woman named Terry. Angele gave the abyss one final glance—the only thing he saw was the black smoke, Terry had already disappeared.

Angele took a deep breath and stood straight.

"You really think I'm going to die with you?" he sneered as he looked at the wound in his chest.

The golden ray penetrated the center of his chest and the musical note was destroyed. He could see the grass on the ground through the large hole.

The musical note was nowhere to be found, and the flesh in the large hole was growing back at an unbelievable rate. Angele could see how fast he was recovering with his bare eyes.

'Zero, check my condition.' Angele was suffering from the intense pain. He took out a glass tube containing green powder from the pouch and poured the powder into the bloody hole.

*CHI*

White smoke rose from his chest as the powder came in contact with his flesh.

Angele's brow furrowed, he bore the pain and returned the tube to the pouch.

'Angele Rio. Severely injured. Damaged by unknown radiation energy. Damaged by energy particles. Attributes reduced temporarily due to injury. Strength reduced to 9 (12). Agility reduced to 7 (11.5). Stamina reduced to 11 (16). Mentality reduced to 102.5 (123.7). Recovering…'

He looked at the endless Abyss Canyon again.

The terrifying clouds of black smoke were moving quickly in the darkness. They were approaching the edge of the canyon at full speed. It would take them about ten seconds to reach Angele's position at this rate.

Angele's expression changed, and the silver sword was absorbed into his skin. He turned around and started running toward the plain.

Phoenix twittered and landed on his shoulder.

The man and the bird turned into a blurry red shadow, disappearing into the depths of the yellow plain.

　　***************************

Angele stopped and took several deep breaths after about ten kilometers of running. He turned around and looked at the plain.

Countless creatures were trying to escape on the endless plain. They looked like colorful ants that were moving in the same direction at full speed.

Black leopards with flaming red tails and groups of white rhinos were all running like crazy. The silver rhino leading the group was surrounded by a thin layer of white cloud.

Black birds, yellow birds that looked like wild geese, as well as some red and green furry creatures gathered in the sky and were flying forward at full speed.

Angele stood on the grass. He could see the sea of black smoke approaching behind the escaping creatures. The creatures that were swallowed by the smoke looked like stones sinking into the sea. They disappeared without making any noise; even the strongest creatures like the blackbirds and saber-toothed tigers could not escape the death wave.

Fortunately, the death wave was slowing down.

Angele narrowed his eyes and glanced around, then noticed that a group of lions with three feet was passing by.

The three-feet lions only had three feet supporting their large yellow bodies. It sounded like thunder blasted every time their feet hit the ground. The noise was so loud that he could barely hear the sounds made by the other creatures.

This thunder blast-like noise was the only sound Angele could hear. The land started shaking as more and more lions appeared.

Raising his right hand, Angele released a thin silver string; it accurately landed on the leading lion.

Angele stopped the silver string from extending and grabbed it tightly. The contrary force was strong enough to pull him toward the lion and he landed on its back safely.

The lion was more than two meters tall and its body was more than four meters wide. It almost looked like a small elephant. The lion glared at Angele, but it did not do anything.

"Thirty regular magic stones or I'll shake you off!" the leading lion shouted in Metia.

"Alright." Angele was a bit surprised. He did not know that he was riding a creature that could talk.

The lion did not say anything else after hearing his words. It lowered its head and started increasing the speed.

Angele sat on the lion's back and activated a green communication rune. The rune looked like a spinning vortex.

He tapped on the finger lightly.

"Hey, are you still alive?" Stigma's voice came from the rune.

"I'm fine." Angele checked his wound—half of the bloody hole was already fixed. "Where are you now? Did you get rid of Cena?"

"Yeah, I killed him before he escaped, but it'll take me at least half a month to recover." Stigma sighed. "What about you?"

"I almost fell into the Abyss Canyon, it's a miracle that I'm still alive." Angele smiled. "Also, you're right about the servants of the shadow lord. They don't fear death, the woman hit me hard before falling into the death wave. We need to figure out a good plan. You don't want to rule the family anymore, right?"

"Yeah…" Stigma sighed again. "I didn't expect them to find us so easily. I want to leave the central continent with my mother and my sister. We need to go to a safer area."

"Can you escape the tracking spell of the prophet?"

"Don't worry, my master will help me. She's probably the best prophet in the world." Stigma sounded proud. "Also, I… Ugh!"

Stigma's voice disappeared.

Angele scrunched his eyebrows.

"Stigma? Stigma?"

The green vortex shrank in size as he tried to talk to Stigma.

Several seconds later, Stigma's voice was transferred to him again, but he sounded much weaker than before.

"I'm fine. It's the aftereffects… Green. You need to lay low in the central continent. I progressed too fast, so fast that I'll become extremely weak for a short period every two years, weak like a rank 1 Gas stage wizard. The time has come, I need to find a place to hide."

"Is that really worth it? I was wondering how you reached rank 3 so fast," Angele responded.

"Well, I have to find a way to fight the servants of the shadow lord and this is the only method I have; otherwise, they'll destroy my physical form and capture my soul."

"Where are you planning to go? When will you leave?"

"Very soon. I'm on my way to pick up my mother. I'll bring my sister, my mother, and several of my friends, then go back to the west coast. I'm familiar with that area and I have my own property there."

"West coast…" Angele did not expect Stigma to return to his homeland. "Good choice. You're familiar with the route and I'm sure you can survive the trip. Also, it seemed like the storm giant was weakened. You can go around that area and find a better route. We'll meet again, right?"

Chapter 357: The Trading Company (2)

Translator: Leo Editor: Leo

"Of course, I'll be back," Stigma responded in a low voice, "Also, Green, thanks for helping me out this time. I left some gifs for you and I think you will like them. You can pick up the gifts in the Trove Trading Company in the air transportation city. The code is 95452 and you can unseal the gifts with your own communication runes."

Alright, we'll meet again."

"Take care."

*Pa*

The green vortex rune broke into pieces and disappeared into the air. It meant Stigma deactivated the communication rune by himself—it seemed like he did not want to leave any traces behind.

Angele knew that Stigma would not return to the west coast even though he said so. Stigma would not want anyone to know about his family's location, not even his friends. The prophet from the enemy's organization could track them down using the information he mentioned in the communication runes.

'Well, I thought it would be a happy ruins exploration experience, but I guess things happen. Stigma should have told us the truth earlier and everything would be much easier.' Angele exhaled once slowly. 'The shadow lord… I should stay out of her sight also well…'

The shadow lord was one of the three lords in the Anfarian High Council of the central continent—the Elemental Hand and the wizard's guild stood no chance against her. The good thing was, Cena and Terry were swallowed by the death wave from the Abyss Canyon, so they would not be able to send any information back.

It was part of Angele's original plan—if his identity was completely exposed to the shadow lord, Vivian and the Elemental Hand would be in big trouble. The difference in strength was huge—the shadow lord's palace was like an elephant and the Elemental Hand was just an ant.

The high council had been ruling the central continent for thousands of years. While they could not give orders to other organizations directly, no one wanted to mess with them.

'The terrifying power of the death wave will remove any traces I left behind and the prophet from the shadow lord's side won't be able to inform them about my situation using the tracking spells. I shall return to the air transportation city while I'm still safe. I can start progressing again after I return to the mansion. The shadow lord, huh… It's a big problem…' Angele had the plan in mind.

Angele closed his eyes and started recovering on the back of the lions' leader. The lions finally stopped on the grass by the city when the sun started setting.

He threw a high-quality magic stone to the lion and headed to the city quickly.

Angele found Reyline and Hikari in a barbecue restaurant when the night was about to fall. They were eating and chatting.

"Didn't you receive the messages?" asked Angele via energy particles transmission as he removed his hood and checked the surroundings.

They were the only people in the restaurant at the moment.

"What're you talking about?" Hikari was cutting a piece of deer steak into pieces. "Everything is finished, right? We asked for assistance from the wizard's guild and the potion master's guild, they already took care of the problem."

Angele walked to them and sat down at the table.

"He still has some problems and had to find a safe place to stay."

"So, he's gone already?" Reyline sounded a bit surprised. "We came here to help him and he left without saying a word? What the hell?"

"How serious are his problems?" Hikari questioned in a low voice.

"Very serious."Angele nodded. "But, he said he left us some gifts, and he was confident that we would like them."

"I start to hate this guy." Reyline's brow furrowed. "If Stigma thinks we can't help him on the matter, the situation must be bad. Is it related to the incident in the White Mist Town?"

"Well, you guessed it right," Angele asked for some fruit wine and a barbecued steak. "Actually, we haven't talked to each other for years. How are you doing now?" His sight fell upon Reyline.

"Reyline, you're a rank 2 wizard now, right? You were already at the Crystal stage when we arrived at the air transportation city."

"Yeah. You're right." Reyline took a sip of the green fruit wine. "I advanced to rank 2 about four years ago."　　

Hikari picked up a piece of meat and delivered it into her mouth. "I'm still at rank 1 and it might be hard for me to advance to the next rank, there's a bottleneck. I'm doing fine with my potions and I acquired some high-level potions from the guild. I should be fine."

"You need higher mentality level to use higher level potions. You can only use level two potions now and you should try increasing your mentality faster. Anyways, it seems like you're an important member of the guild." Angele smiled.

"Yeah, I'll be promoted after advancing to the next rank and I'll become the department head of the potion lab." It seemed like there was a bright future in front of her.

"I heard that you can command an army of 5000 energy soldiers as a department head in the potion master's guild, right?" Reyline interrupted. "The energy soldiers, the Watchers from the Elemental Hand, and the Sunrise army in my guild are all strong military units."

"No, it's different. The energy soldiers are energy creatures with no intelligence. They are weaker than the Watchers and the Sunrise army, but yeah, I can command an army of 5000 energy soldiers if I become a department head."

"I'm now a student of the Ice Breaker master Cameron, he's a high-rank wizard in my guild. I need to join a mission in the eastern snow mountain after this," Reyline said as he looked at Angele.

Angele was sending a message to Lyn but he raised his head quickly after Reyline stared at him.

"I'm working in the human resources department. It's boring."

"That's not bad at all." Hikari smiled. "Sadly, Stigma didn't leave his family. He could have earned a decent position in a large organization if he chose to leave."

"I'll be leaving if he's not coming. My guild members are waiting for me," Reyline said in a low voice.

"Let's go see what Stigma left for us in the trading company." Hikari was curious. "I don't really need any resources and I want to know why he was so confident that we'll like the gifts."

None of them were depressed that Stigma would not be able to come.

Wizards had long life expectancies and they did not care if they could not meet with their friends for the next several decades. They already got used to such situations.

The three finished their food and stood up. Angele asked a pedestrian about the exact location of the trading company and hired a carriage. They headed to the trading company right away after leaving the restaurant.

There was a white building that looked like a church sitting quietly between the luxurious gardens in the center of the air transportation city.

There were many people passing by its gate and the street lamps on the side brightened up the whole area. Most of the people were nobles, scholars, or Knights.

Angele sat in the carriage and watched several wizards stepping out of the trading company. They jumped onto black griffins and took off into the sky.

The three sat in the carriage and looked at the engravings above the gate of the trading company: Trove. Under the word, there was an engraving that looked like a gray bat.

"That's the place. Trove Trading Company is the most reputable company in the Tarry River area, you can rent their storage, purchase insurance, apply for a loan, or exchange currency here." It seemed like Hikari was familiar with the place.

"I've rented their storage several times," Reyline added, "However, the other two trading companies are more popular in my area."

"Is that so?" Angele had never used their services but he refused several of the company's dinner party invitations—he never liked those merchants. "Security level is high here."

His sight fell upon the two towers on both sides of the main building.

The white towers were about half the height of the main building, but they looked like two guards guarding the main entrance. There were crescent moons engraved on the towers.

"Two level 2 trading towers, only for wizards at rank 2 or below, this is like the enchanted version of the trading tower on the west coast," Angele said in a calm tone.

"Yeah, they must have high-quality items for wizards at rank 2 with such trading towers, which means the company is probably protected by wizards above rank 3,"Reyline added, it was a simple observation. "Also, this is just a branch, their main location is probably guarded by rank 4 wizards."

The carriage slowly stopped.

"Masters, we're here." The old coachman yelled.

Hikari took out a silver coin and handed it to the coachman.

"That's the fee."

"Thank you, master."

The three jumped off the carriage one by one. There were many people walking on the street at night, and there were fully-geared guards patrolling the area. The wind was a bit cold.

Although the death wave from the Abyss Canyon was still not over, the people in the city did not seem to care. The only change was that there were adventures on the street.

The three entered the gate just like other pedestrians. They walked past a fountain, walked up the stone stairs, and entered the main building.

Angele saw several white robes with blonde hair as he entered the building. He was a bit surprised but his expression remained indifferent.

"What happened?" Hikari noticed Angele's reaction and looked at the white robes by the counter as well.

"Nothing." Angele started walking again, he moved to the closet counter beside the white robes.

The white robes were only five to six meters away from him, but his skin was aching. It felt like being pricked by hundreds of needles.

Their mentality waves were so strong that the radiation energy in the air was being drawn to them. Angele compared their information that was gathered by Zero with the stone wizards he met, but none of them had such strong mentality waves, not even the rank 4 wizards.

Reyline and Hikari followed after him—they also noticed the white robes.

"May I help you, Sir?" A deep voice came from the counter. Angele turned around and looked in front of him.

It was a monster with a strange appearance.

The monster had a white body that looked like it was from a lion and two heads over its shoulder. The one on the left was a goat's head, and the one on the right was a lion's head. The monster's tail was a snake, which was introducing their services to other customers.

It was the lion head that spoke to Angele. The head had the size of a wheel and it was staring at Angele with a pair of large eyes.

"Insurance? My brother can help you," the lion head looked its tail, the tail was a snake, and it seemed like the snake was in charge of selling the insurance.

Chapter 358: A Familiar Face (1)

Translator: Leo Editor: Leo

"Insurance?" Angele hesitated for a second. "I'm here to pick up something, the number is 95452."

The lion head and the snake head looked disappointed after hearing his words.

"Fine, picking things up. Damn. People don't buy insurance anymore?" the lion head muttered. He turned around, then grabbed a black leather scroll. He opened it and started reading.

"954532… this one." The lion handed over a blank paper. "Your communication rune, please."

Angele pressed on the surface of the paper.

*Chi*

A black snake that was biting its own tail appeared on the paper.

*Crack*

One of the lockers behind the lion was unlocked. Th lion opened the locker and took out a wooden square box with a red lid.

"Your item, Sir." The lion handed the box to Angele.

Angele grabbed the box carefully—it was quite heavy.

"Go ahead." Angele stepped aside. Hikari stepped forward right away, but Reyline was not interested.

Angele made it look like he was checking the box; however, in fact, he was glaring at the white robes that were on the other counter.

There were three of them—the other people around them looked like guards. Two of the white robes were female and they had triangular silver runes on their foreheads.

The third one was male and he was talking to someone behind the counter. The man also had rune on his forehead, it was a crescent moon and it looked identical to the one Cena had, but the man's was a bit brighter.

Angele noticed that the man tried to use the robe to hide the weapon on his back—it looked like a long sword or a long scimitar.

Hikari and Reyline retrieved their items as well.

Hikari was holding a black accessory box in hand; she looked surprised as she opened it. Hikari closed the box after checking the contents and carefully put it in her pouch.

Reyline was playing with a short red stick that looked like a flute, but it seemed like he had not figured out how to use it yet.

"Let's go." Angele looked at the two.

Reyline glared at Angele and send him a question using the energy particles.

"You know them, Green?"

"Yeah, they're members of the shadow lord's palace. Stay away from them," Angele responded and started heading to the door.

"Shadow lord's palace?" Reyline's expression changed, it seemed like he knew the name. Hikari noticed that there was something going on as well.

The three left the trading company, walked past the garden, and stopped in the shade behind a lamp.

Hikari learned about the information from Reyline and her expression changed.

"I might be able to help. I knew someone from the shadow lord's palace and I can probably get some intel. Well, I hope they're not here for what Stigma did in the ruins."

Angele and Reyline nodded. Members of the potion master's guild knew a lot of people as most organizations needed to purchase potions from them.

Hikari did not waste any time. She started walking right away.

She drew a Z-shaped rune in the air, it was a red glowing rune that was floating in the air.

Hikari rolled her right sleeve up and touched the red rune with an egg-shaped pattern on the sleeve.

*PA*

A red energy wave was released by the rune and it disappeared after several seconds.

Hikari closed her eyes and started communicating with her contact. She opened her eyes again after everything was done.

"I got the information."

Angele and Reyline looked excited after hearing her words.

"They're here to investigate a robbery done by the underground races, nothing about the ruins," Hikari looked relieved as she explained.

"Good. I didn't expect the lords to come just for the treasure from the ruins. I've heard about the robbery before, it happened a while ago." Reyline nodded slightly. "I'll be leaving now if everything is fine. I still have a mission to take care of."

"Later, friends." Hikari smiled.

"See you." Angele looked relieved as well. "I hope you will already be a rank 3 wizard the next time I see you."

"Finally something I like the sound of." Reyline wiped the dust from his robe. "Your servant is here, see you later."

"Yeah." Angele noticed that Lyn just jumped off a black carriage outside the gate. The female wizard was wearing a black silk dress with a red umbrella in hand. She looked like a girl from a noble family with the long silky gloves on her hands.

"Alright, I'm leaving, there are many potion labs need my help. Stigma's gift surprised me. The trip was definitely worth it. Lucky me." There was a satisfied smile on Hikari's face.

"Well, Stigma's task was not easy at all. I hope everything will be nice and peaceful the next time we meet." Angele sighed.

"Well, things happen, right?" Hikari waved her right hand, turned around, and headed to the main gate with Reyline.

Angele stood in the shade and watched the two disappear. Lyn walked toward him after saying goodbye to Reyline and Hikari.

"Master." Lyn lowered her head slightly. "Sorry, I'm late."

"It's all good. Give me a minute." Angele looked at the door of the main building, it seemed like he was waiting for something.

Lyn was a bit confused. She hesitated for a second and waited patiently in the shade.

About ten minutes later, several white robes with blonde hair stepped out of the door. They were the ones at the counter earlier.

A group of people approached them. The leader was a chubby middle-aged man, he was wearing a black robe with silver decorations on the edge. He looked like a balloon in the robe.

The chubby man bowed to the white robes and followed behind them. Two teams of guards in white armor surrounded them in the center and escorted them out.

Three luxurious carriages with pearls and gems for decorations were waiting for them outside. The appearance of the carriages was eye-catching and several pedestrians were staring at it.

"That's the governor of the air transportation city. A fat *ss that should die in a pool of money," Lyn explained using the energy particles. "His words have much weight in the city, even the master wizard in charge of the purifying towers can't ignore him."

"Huh? Why is that?" Angele scanned the governor already, he was just a mortal.

"Well, his wife is related to the shadow lord palace." It seemed like Lyn knew a lot of information about the chubby man. "I know his daughter, but we don't talk to each other often. I just came back from her dancing party. "

"Dancing party? Well, don't tell me you're interested in the 'noble's game'." Angele was mocking Lyn.

"Of course not, that's why I left earlier." Lyn knew what Angele was implying.

Obviously, noble's game was designed by the nobles that enjoyed wasting time on meaningless activities; they would hold a naked party after the dancing party, and have a sex party in a spa.

The second half of the party Lyn attended was something similar.

To be clear, most of the parties held by the nobles would become a mess in the second half. They would just have intercourses with the people they found charming during the party.

"I don't really mind if you're into something like that," Angele said in a light tone.

"I've never played any noble's game," Lyn answered with no hesitation. She was a bit different from the other wizards Angele knew. The girl knew that her virgin body might be a valuable asset and it might help her in the future.

Angele's sight moved as the three white robes moved. He lowered his head after they jumped onto the carriages and left.

"Let's go, we need to get back to the Ness River as soon as possible. Something is happening here."

"How do you know, Master?" Lyn had no idea what was going on.

"I can smell the blood from their bodies. They just killed someone." Angele stepped out of the shadow and walked to an empty carriage that was parked by the street.

They purchased a spacious carriage from a man and hired an experienced coachman. They left the air transportation city when it was still dark outside.

　　**************************

Two crescent moons were hanging over the night sky. The moonlight illuminated the white clouds. They looked like fluffy cotton floating in the air.

On a plain far away from the air transportation city.

A black carriage was slowly advancing on the narrow path. The window on the right was open and there was white light inside.

A bright glass oil lamp was hanging in front of the carriage and the orange light illuminated the road ahead. The old coachman had white messy hair, he was drinking and driving with his eyes narrowed.

Angele was enjoying the night view in the carriage with a blank expression on his face. Lyn was sitting opposite of Angele, she looked sleepy. She was still wearing the silver dress.

The carriage was spacious—there was a table, a wine shelf, three chairs, and a small bed. All the furniture was made from wood.

There were several leather dolls hanging on the walls; red characters were marked on them, forming the word "peace". The dolls were swinging as the carriage was advancing.

Angele supported his chin with the right hand and peeked out the window. The visibility was low and he could barely see the surface of the road under the dim light.

The carriage was traveling at full speed, it already went past several slower carriages.

The black plain was moving backward on the other side in Angele's sight. There were several people camping on the roadside and there were wizards riding humongous eagles passing by.

Angele turned his head around and took out a box from his pouch.

It was the square box he'd retrieved from the trading company.

He tapped on the surface of the lid and a strange bird pattern appeared on it, releasing a black glow.

*PA*

The lid moved to the right by itself.

There was a fist-sized black ball lying on the black silk quietly. The ball was translucent, and it looked like there was someone moving inside. The tiny man was struggling, and it seemed like he was trapped in the ball.

Small bumps were appearing and disappearing on the surface of the ball. It was a strange scene.

'That's it. The Thousand Shadow Orb…' Angele looked happy. 'Well, this thing should help me block my connection with Henn, but I don't know how long it would last."

He closed the lid again and carefully put the box under the table.

It was not something he should carry in a pouch. Thousands of shadow fiends were sealed inside the orb, the orb would explode if the fiends somehow broke through the barrier. The damage the explosion could do would be much stronger than the heart bombs.

Angele spread out his hair with his finger carefully after putting down the box.

His brown hair was now dark red. It trailed over his shoulders. The hair was same in size and length.

The light red glow was released from the musical note on his chest and it covered his hair immediately. It almost looked the hair was painted in red.

His hair color was replaced by the color of fresh blood.

Angele took out a tube filled with red gel from his pouch and carefully applied the gel on his hair.

He improved and modified the technique he learned from Todd when he was in the Nightmare Realm.

Todd stopped the butterflies from moving using chains created with energy particles. He stored a lot of spider webs in his crystal card device and they were like the spell material for the energy chains. Angele realized it was unnecessary to carry a lot of spider webs so he decided to use his own hair as the material.

Chapter 359: A Familiar Face (2)

Translator: Leo Editor: Nou

Angele had spent years trying to combine his Metal Mastery with the bloodline abilities, and he'd never found a way to do so; however, this time he found inspiration from the "sky locker".

The illusion spells, the illusion sound wave, the Metal Mastery, the High-Temperature Field, and the sky lock... if they could be combined with poisonous potions, the result would be incredible.

Angele was trying to develop a new fighting style with all the techniques and spells he knew. With the addition of the sky lock, he finally made some significant progress.

He infused his hair with the silver alloy and applied the venom on it. With the help of the High-Temperature Force Field, petrification ability, illusion skills, and illusion sound wave, his hair could deal some serious damage.

Most importantly, the length of his hair could be changed as he wished.

Angele held onto his blood-red hair, and it started growing quickly. It soon touched the ground and started spreading out in all direction as if it was alive.

This was due to the bloodline modification. Angele had found a special bloodline in the Nightmare Realm, enabling him to control his hair like his arms.

"Finally, it's almost done." Angele rubbed his hair softly and then rested for a while before starting to practice the Molten Core River again.

Time flew.

Angele had no idea how much time had passed until he heard the racket caused by the horse hooves from outside.

Angele and Lyn woke up from the meditation at the same time.

It was late in the night and visibility was low outside.

Two horses passed by the carriage from both sides and a fruity fragrance permeated the air.

Angele's expression changed. He wanted to say something, but his body was already partially paralyzed. White and green light flashed on his body for about ten seconds before he could finally move again.

*PA*

Lyn's head slumped down as her body slammed into the wall, and she passed out. She was not prepared for the attack.

"Halt!"

The horses outside slowly came to a stop.

'The poison…' Blue light dots flashed in front of Angele's eyes. 'Interesting, it's just a sleeping gas, and inhaling it will cause you lose the ability to fight. The gas was released by the two strangers on the horses but it seems like the gas doesn't work on animals.'

Lyn would not be waking up anytime soon.

Angele was carrying two enchanted items that could help neutralize the poison, but the gas still paralyzed him. His poison resistance and illusion resistance were greatly increased by the ancient bloodline, which was why he recovered so fast.

The carriage slowly stopped and it was quiet outside.

Blinking his eyes, he opened the door and jumped off the carriage. The old coachman was sleeping in his seat.

There were barely any lights on the narrow path. The only thing lighting the way was the oil lamp from the carriage.

Angele sniffed the air and left a red hand print on the door of the carriage. The energy particles would alert him if any stranger approached the carriage. He turned around and started heading to the source of the strange fragrance.

Although his wounds were still recovering, he was ready to fight.

He traveled for several kilometers and saw two horses lying down on the ground. They were killed and there were pools of warm blood under their bodies.

*PA PA PA*

Whipping noises came from the small forest ahead.

Angele's attributes were much higher than average wizards, and he could hear people talking from miles away. It almost felt like someone was whispering in his ears.

He glanced around in the darkness, activating the mentality compression technique and the stealth technique.

Inside the small forest, a tiny girl with long hair could be seen lying beside a tree by a campfire. She was about 12 years old, and the white outfit she was wearing was soaked in blood.

A man was hanging on a branch of that tree. The man's hands were tied up, he was half naked, and his white silky pants were soaked in blood.

There was a woman was whipping the man with a long black whip beside the campfire. She was using so much force that every hit would splash blood into the air.

The woman had a serious expression on her face. She kept hitting the man for several minutes before stopping.

"How does my Dragon Perfume taste? Spit it out, where is that b*tch? She stole our family treasure! Inviting her to our family is a mistake! Lions… Why did he fall in love with a low-class b*tch like her?! I should kill him in that woman's bed," the woman shouted furiously.

The man was hanging on the tree branch, but for some reason, it did not look like that he was in pain. He responded in a calm tone, as if it was someone else taking the hit, "I don't know anything about the treasure."

"Keep lying!" The woman whipped the ground and started abusing him again.

*PA*

A piece of flesh was flayed off from the man's left cheek, the blood spurted out of the wound and dripped down his chin.

Angele stayed in the shadow and watched the woman question the man; however, the man just would not give the woman the answer she wanted.

Angele was getting impatient. He stepped forward and broke several dry branches on the ground.

"Who's there?!"

The man and the woman looked at the same time and saw Angele.

Angele glanced at the man and stared at the woman. "Give me the antidote."

The woman had a balanced body, slim waist, long legs, and large breasts. However, the bloody whip in her hand turned Angele off.

"Antidote?" The woman stopped for a second and realized what happened. "Ah, you're the one in the carriage?"

"My friend is still sleeping in the carriage. It'll take her months to wake up. Just hand over the antidote." Angele walked to the woman slowly.

It seemed like the woman didn't want any trouble. She stared at Angele for a while, took out a small ball from her pouch, and threw it to Angele.

Angele caught the ball easily. It was a container that looked like a black ball with a crack on its surface.

"Feed your friend the powder inside. You only need a little bit of it. I suggest that you leave now. This is none of your business." The woman narrowed her eyes.

There was a gentle smile on Angele's face.

"Also, I want some of that Dragon Perfume you talked about. I want to know why it has such a strong effect."

The woman's expression changed after hearing the word.

"Don't be greedy. The Dragon Perfume is a secret of my family and the recipe can only be given to the formal inheritors."

Angele chuckled softly, "That's why I'm here. The antidote is just a bonus to me."

There was a red glint on Angele's long hair and the light from the campfire made it look like glowing blood. The young man's pale skin made his appearance even more terrifying.

"But this is my family's secret…" The woman was not sure if she should start a fight against the man here.

"Ugh…"

The young girl grunted and turned around. Angele finally had a clear view of her pale face.

He was a bit surprised after seeing the girl's face.

It was very familiar to him.

He quickly searched through his memory.

It was the girl with the merchants. They met by the Ness River and the girl was singing. Angele recalled the scene he saw after purchasing the queen's cube. The beautiful girl had left a deep impression on him. Her name was Anser. She was pure and beautiful.

The girl on the ground looked exactly like Anser.

Angele looked at the young girl and queried, "Do you… know a girl named Answer?"

As soon as the woman heard that name, she drew her dagger and charged toward Angele

Angele leaned to the side, dodging the attack, and kicked the woman in the waist.

*Crack*

The woman's blue energy barrier was destroyed in a split second. Angele's kick was so strong that her body was bent at a strange angle. The woman rolled on the ground for several times and stopped moving.

Angele walked to the woman and searched her body, finding a crystal bottle with the Dragon Perfume inside.

He raised his left hand and a ray of red light was released, cutting the rope around the man's hands into pieces.

When the man dropped to the ground, he untied the rope on his feet and rushed to the young girl. He carefully held the girl in his arms and picked her up.

"Thank you for saving us, master." There was no expression on the man's face but he sounded excited, it was quite strange. "Sorry, master, I don't have normal expressions due to some special reasons." The man walked to Angele and bowed to him. "Master, do you know Anser? She's my sister."

"I don't really know her but we had a short conversation about ten years ago. What's your relationship with her?" Angele looked at the girl, her face was identical to the young Anser.

"Anser is my sister. The girl's name is Mariana, Anser's daughter," the man responded.

"Daughter?" Angele stopped for a second and shook his head. "I didn't expect—" He did not finish the sentence.

"Alright, leave the place now. Someone else is coming." Angele took a deep breath and reached out to the girl in the man's arms.

The girl was scared but she still let Angele rub her cheeks.

Green light flashed on the girl's body as Angele touched her cheek. The girl's wounds were healed within seconds.

"Thank you, master"—the man bowed again—"if we can survive this—"

"Leave now," Angele interrupted.

The man nodded, turned around, and disappeared into the forest with the girl. The man's attributes were relatively high. There was a white glow around his body, meaning that the man was a formal Knight.

The girl in his arms raised her head. She looked at Angele over the man's left shoulder. Her eyes looked like white and black gems mixed together, seemingly as if she was trying to memorize Angele's appearance.

Angele turned around and left the campfire after the two were no longer in his sight.

Lyn already woke up when he returned to the carriage. Angele thought she would be sleeping for months without the antidote. It seemed like her resistance was higher than the average rank 2 wizards.

"Master, did you find the one who drugged us?" Lyn's head was still dizzy and she rubbed her temples for several times.

"Yeah, here's the antidote. Feed it to the coachman, only a small amount is needed. We need to keep moving after he wakes up." Angele handed the black container to Lyn.

Angele looked at the crystal bottle and thought, 'I should do a detailed analysis of this sleeping gas. Not bad, a bonus for my trip.'

Chapter 360: Magic Circle (1)

Translator: Leo Editor: Nou

Lyn fed the coachman some of the antidote powder, and they waited for the old man to wake up so they can start traveling again.

Once they were moving towards their destination, Angele started analyzing the Dragon Perfume. He wanted to solve the questions he had about the Nightmare Realm.

He had noticed that the location would change when he entered the realm from different areas, as if the main world had some connections with the Nightmare Realm.

The mansion area was much safer than the other areas; thus, he wanted to find a way to make it his permanent entering location in the Nightmare Realm.

Stigma's matter had been resolved and he wanted to focus on some of his own things.

The progression of Molten Core River was slow but steady. There was no shortcut to complete the fourth stage.

'The biggest problem is that the shadow lord and I need to lay low for now. I don't have much information on the structure of her organization. If Henn can't be separated from my body completely, I'll have to find a way to deal with the shadow lord. I must be careful as I don't want to bring Vivian any trouble,' Angele thought. Nothing happened on the rest of the trip, and he was able to return to the mansion safely.

However, he received the messages from Vivian's students right away: they wanted him to attend the meeting at the headquarter and it seemed like there was a problem.

　　******************************

The headquarter of the Elemental Hand.

Several humongous white and black owls slowly landed on the white platform on the side of the mountain of the headquarter.

Several young men and women jumped off the owls. They were wearing black outfits with dark red decorations around their neck and were all releasing strong mentality waves.

"Seth, you can go with Milan first. I still need to report to headquarter," a man with short brown hair said in a light tone. He was a muscular man with long and sharp ears, almost like that of an elf. The man had a long face and there was a cold expression on his face.

"Fine, Morrian." The man handed the rein over to a worker that had just approached him. "I haven't seen Angele for a while. I need to ask him for more of that worm meat, that thing is addicting… Damn…" The man had short black hair and he was wearing a golden headband. He did not seem to care about what the others thought of him.

"Alright, hurry, we're here for the serious business. Don't waste too much time. We'll wait for you at that place." The last one was a woman who had her face covered with a purple silk mask. Her eyes were clean and there was a purple earring with a black gem on her right ear. The gem was about the size of an egg and looked quite heavy.

"Alright then, I'll go report to headquarter now. See you soon." Morrian nodded and left the platform, he headed to the main gate of the headquarter right away.

Two silver and black carriages were waiting to be inspected by the apprentices that were guarding the entrance.

Morrian walked to them and showed the two apprentice a brown wooden sign.

"The symbol of the elders. Master, please follow me." One of the apprentices bowed politely. He turned around and led Morrian into the entrance.

The apprentices and wizards in the carriage nearby looked at Morrian curiously.

"Who's him? Why can he enter the headquarter without undergoing security check but we can't?" A chubby white robe questioned the apprentice that was doing the inspection.

The apprentice smiled and explained, "That master is related to the elder's council and he had the badge that would only be given to people like him. He will still go through a security check, but the process will be done by wizards in the headquarters."

It seemed like the wizards in line did not know too much about Elemental Hand's system.

Seth and Milan watched Morrian enter the headquarter from the platform. They wiped the dust off their robes and started heading to the snow mountains in the other direction.

"It has been a while. Maybe Angele is already waiting for us in the volcano ruin." Seth smiled and gazed at the blurry snow mountains.

The mountains were hiding behind the thin white clouds.

"Yeah, me too, it's the first time I've visited this place in years." Milan looked at the tips of the snow mountains. "Angele is Vivian's only son and this is the first time I'll see him in person."

"Umm… He doesn't like to chat just like the other wizards. You'll know when you see him." Seth started heading to the ruin.

Milan shook his head and followed after Seth.

They quickly disappeared into the large forest at the foot of the mountain.

　　*******************************

The clean sunlight reflected on the surface of the snow, but it did not bring any warmth to the land.

On top of the snow mountain, the smell of the sulfur from the volcano permeated the air.

A woman with long blonde hair was talking to a man beside the volcano. She was wearing a long red robe, and the man had dark red hair.

It seemed like they did not care about the thick smoke coming out of the volcano.

"It seems like Shozo already declared that he wanted to quit so he's no longer one of my students. I only have four students right now and they're like your brothers and sisters. You can tell them what you need and the problems you need help with. If they can't solve the problem for you, just come talk to me."

The woman was Vivian. Invisible flames surrounded her body, and they were dancing in the air. The light and air around her were twisted, and the scene was quite strange.

The man standing beside him was around 20 years. He had an average looking face but his behaviors were gentle and elegant. It was Angele, and he just arrived not so long ago.

"Understood, thanks. I'll let them know." He nodded slightly.

"Shozo and the Black Earth haven't declared the war against us yet so it shouldn't be a problem. Also, Shozo probably won't attack you even if the war starts. I need to take care of the people from the alliance and you better stay in the organization's territory before the problem I solved. Also, you won the fight against Shozo and the inheritor's bodyguard because you caught them off guard. The power of master Henn is limited and she can only help you defeat the average rank 4 wizards. Also, if you meet a wizard that has a lot of practical experience on the battlefield, you'll be in trouble."

Vivian stopped for a second and continued, "Also, although you didn't report the situation back to me on time, you made a right decision in the air transportation city. You left right away as the members of the shadow lord's palace appeared in the city. The war already started, they started battling the underground races and some of them were killed. They traded their lives to kill an important leader of the underground races. The situation escalated quickly. Thank God you left the city in time."

Angele was a bit surprised. "So, I was just lucky. I didn't think it was the start of a full-scale war."

"You're right. I've already said this several times but let me know if you want to leave the organization's territory. There'll be trouble anywhere you go to." Vivian rolled her eyes. "Alright, I have to leave now. I'll inform my students and you can go wait for them now." Vivian looked at the right and moved her lips, it seemed like she was talking to someone.

*CHI*

Vivian turned into a distorted energy wave and disappeared into the air.

Angele took a deep breath, turned around, and walked to the edge of the mountain top.

The volcano was the only area that wasn't covered by the snow. The surface of the black rock was bumpy and the light reflecting on the white snow outside the volcano was eye-blinding.

Angele walked to a cliff by the edge of the snow mountain.

The chilling wind brushed over his face. It felt as though there were knives slashing his skin. He could still feel the freezing air even with a high-temperature force field.

His long leather boots left deep footprints on the snow as the snow was above his ankle.

Angele stood on the cliff and looked down. In his view, it was a sea of white clouds and he could barely see the trees in the forest down below.

Several minutes later, Angele saw two black shadows climbing up the mountain slowly from the narrow path beside the cliff.

Seth was on the in the front, his short black hair and his signature golden headband were hard to miss.

A young woman with a purple mask followed after Seth and her egg-sized earring was eye-catching, as it was pulling her earlobe down.

"Hey! Angele!" Seth already saw that Angele was standing on the cliff.

"Seth and Milan, you're finally here." There was a gentle smile on Angele's face, he walked to them quickly.

"It has been years but it seems like nothing has changed," Millan sighed and glanced around after arriving at the top of the mountain.

"Let's enter the ruin first. You have can have some rest after the dinner. There's no maid or worker here, so we have to do everything by ourselves," said Angele while walking to the volcano.

"My last visit was decades ago and I'm forgetting things." Milan shook her head.

Angele chuckled softly and started talking about his progress of Molten Core River. They also chatted about the important events that happened recently.

He already scanned the two using the biochip as they approached.

Seth was still a rank 2 and his attributes did not change, but Milan was a strong rank 3 wizard. She already reached the last part of Molten Core River's fourth stage, but she was having trouble completing it.

They did not try to hide anything when the topic switched to their ranks. Angele thought he should tell them the truth as well and said that he was already a rank 2 wizard.

Chapter 361: Magic Circle (2)

Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe

Milan and Seth were not at all surprised upon knowing Angele's present rank. His progression did not seem to be fast. They had thought that as Angele was the Vivian's true, one and only son and had the bloodline, he could easily reach rank 2 sooner or later. Yet Angele's progression was similar to those wizards who possessed average talent levels.

The three continued to chat amongst each other as they entered the ruins underneath the volcano.

Upon passing through the tunnel, Angele led the two to a small room with stone walls.

The black walls of the room were flat and smooth, without any glowing crystal embedded.

In the middle of the room, there was a stone table where a red orb floated on top of it.

The light orb floated on the table's surface. Strange noises echoed throughout as distorted energy waves were constantly being released by the light orb.

Angele closed the room's door after Milan and Seth had entered the room, after which he carefully pressed his hand on the handprint on the door's surface.

*Crack*

The door soon merged with the walls, making it seem as if the door was never there.

Milan sat down at the table and took off her mask, which revealed her neat chin and rosy pink lips. "Let us wait for Morrian."

"Sure, you two are the ones who give orders anyway." Seth shrugged. At the same time, he seemed to look a tad speechless.

Angele did not say anything but only sat down, waiting patiently.

About ten minutes later, a rectangular door appeared on the stone wall slowly.

*Crack*

The door opened, and a long-eared, muscular man stepped into the room.

"Were you waiting for me? All right, let's begin now. We can use the mini energy pool here to contact Nico."

After having the door sealed again, he walked to the table. The four of them sat opposite to each other.

Morrian looked at Angele and gave him a nod. "Angele, we have only met once through the telescope. This should be our first time seeing each other in person. If you need any help regarding Molten Core River or if you are facing any problem, come talk to me. My words carry a heavy weight in the northwest." With a flick of his finger, a black light-dot flew towards Angele.

Angele did not try to dodge it but instead raised his left hand where it landed right in the middle of his palm. A black communication rune soon appeared on his thumb, its image a glowing black owl.

"Thanks, Morrian." Angele smiled.

"I can help you, too. Even if Milan Family is weaker than our organization, I can still help you deal with some minor matters. You should not bother Master Vivian too much since she is busy with the war. Just come talk to us instead." Milan smiled as she similarly sent her communication rune to Angele.

Purple light flickered on the index finger of his left hand, revealing a glowing rune that looked like a giant lizard that only had two legs.

"Thank you, Milan." Angele had already known that Morrian and Milan were telling the truth. Vivian had taken them in as her students, and they had received tremendous benefits from of the organization. They needed to find a way to repay her.

"Alright. Let's get straight to the point." Morrian cleared his throat, his expression turning solemn.

The gentle smile on Milan's face had disappeared as well.

Seth moved his chair slightly farther and winked at Angele.

Angele pursed his lips and decided to ignore his behavior.

"You should know by now why I have gathered you here. It's about Nico's family matter," Morrian started explaining.

"I don't know much about it." Milan's brow furrowed. "Nico is in trouble. She needs our help."

"Yeah, you're right." Morrian nodded. "Nico joined the competition in her family and was dragged into a mess alongside her young brother. She's well-prepared, though. She predicted that something like this might happen, that's why I had several materials for an energy pool sent to her."

"The materials came from the Baton Family. I thought it was unnecessary, but I still sent her two energy crystals from the Cave of Greenland. Never have I expected the situation to be this bad," Milan added, "that she had to build an energy pool which means that it's indeed a big problem."

"Seth, are you the heir of your family's magic circle legacy?" After hesitating for a second, Morrian turned to look at Seth.

Seth was not in the slightest bit interested in Nico's problem, but he immediately replied upon hearing Morrian's question. "I have already learned the magic circle, but it only has 20% of its original power."

"What about you, Milan?" Morrian turned to the side.

"About 25% percent. I haven't mastered it, yet." Milan nodded. "Well, let's just start."

Morrian closed his eyes and made his decision. "With the help of buffs, we can enhance our magic circle legacies. My circle will serve as the main circle. I will guide it to the location. Be careful. We shall only act when absolutely necessary."

"Of course. Shozo and you always find the right timing. I am counting on you." Milan smiled.

Angele sat on one side and watched as the three formulated a plan. He knew that there was not much he could do to help.

Wizards who possessed magic circle legacies were able to join in battles happening in another place with the aid of an energy pool. That was how the storm giant lord attacked Vivian.

Magic circle legacies would not increase the damage of the spells greatly, but it often came with mysterious characteristics. Moreover, all magic circle legacies could be used as a base of an energy pool.

The power of an energy pool could easily aid wizards in casting their spells at the designated place. Their spell power output would not be weakened just because of distance-related issues.

Wizards who could use magic circle legacies could change the outcome of a battle or a war.

However, in a wizard's entire lifespan, one could only control one magic circle legacy. If the circle were to be destroyed, the only way to restore it was to repair it. Wizards who possessed one would not be able to replace theirs with a different magic circle legacy.

Only formidable families or organizations had enough resources to build and support those large magic circles. It would take these organizations hundreds of years' time to build one and an immense amount of materials was needed. Most of all, the only way of activating the circle once it was completed was through the required bloodline.

Magic circle legacies were only given to elders, leaders, or heirs of the families.

Angele did not have a magic circle legacy, so he could not join the battle through the energy pool. He was only here to collect information.

He was still the weakest wizard here.

Angele had once seen Seth activate his magic circle legacy and stand in one place without moving. The terrifying energy flows easily blocked most of the enemies' attacks.

Comparing Seth with Terry, the wizard he had fought at the Abyss Canyon, Seth would easily overwhelm her if he could activate his magic circle legacy. The power of the magic circle legacy, after all, was entirely on a different level.

If one could fully activate their magic circle legacy, one would also gain an endless supply of energy particles. In other words, the opponent must be far stronger in order to win—that is, if they possessed no such magic circle legacy.

The best option for wizards who had no magic circle legacy was to flee, even if they were a rank higher, if their opponents possessed a magic circle legacy.

In addition to that, wizards who had magic circle legacies must be members of great standing in their respective families or organizations and were likely carrying incredible enchanted items or magic devices.

There were two possible ways for Angele to gain access to a magic circle legacy: one was to build it himself, but doing so would cost him a considerable amount of time and resources. Another was to inherit it from Vivian.

However, Vivian would probably not let him inherit it as long as she was still alive.

At present, the only thing Angele could do was to wait for the three to finish their discussion. He was still too weak to help Nico.

The three wizards started making preparations after planning.

Morrian raised his right hand, aiming at the floating orb, and released a pale yellow light from the middle of his palm.

The light enveloped the orb's surface, though nothing happened.

Several minutes later, Morrian gradually put down his hands.

The four wizards looked at the light orb in silence. The head-sized orb suddenly started a slow descent and touched the surface of the table, then it sank into the table like a fish jumping into a river.

Distorted energy waves had covered the stone table's surface. A white circle took form in the middle of the energy waves.

A green grassland appeared in the white circle. Looking at it felt like gazing down from the peak of a small hill.

The grass seemed endless. The shadows under the towering trees divided the grassland into several regions.

Cavalry troops were slowly advancing. Angele could see that they were sauntering across the grassland while maintaining a square formation.

These cavalrymen were wearing white armor and blue shirt beneath and silver helmets. They were wielding long spears that had black spearheads.

The cavalry troops quickly lined up. Their horses were also adorned in silver armor. The light it reflected was blinding to one's eyes.

One of the cavalrymen at the vanguard was holding a black iron war banner, which had a blue and silver color, from top to bottom, separated by a straight line.

The cavalry troops were merely marching forth slowly but steadily without saying a word.

"This is what Nico is seeing," Morrian explained in a light tone, "The army is marching and will soon engage the energy forces. We just have to wait, for now."

He took a glance at Milan and Seth. "You should know just how expensive it is to build a one-time-use energy pool like this. The number of resources we have spent can easily sustain a small organization for years, so I hope you understand that we only have one shot, and the energy pool will break after that. We must succeed."

The two slightly nodded in response. Seth was no longer laughing or mocking around. His expression had turned somber.

Morrian then turned his sight towards Angele.

"Angele, there is something I need you to do as well. Please make sure that this room is safe and undetectable."

"For sure."

Chapter 362: Unexpected (1)

Translator: Leo Editor: Leo

Angele stood up, walked to the stone gate, and glared at the three wizards. They were sitting at the table with their eyes closed, waiting for the time to come.

The room was so quiet that he could hear the three breathing.

Angele opened the door and stepped outside.

The temperature in the underground tunnel was high and the sulfurous smell was intense. He cut the volcano lizard's meat into pieces and mixed them with some mushroom to make a soup. He separated the soup into three portions and returned to the stone room.

"Have some food. It seems like you'll have to wait for a while."

Morrian and Milan were talking about something in low voices. Seth was taking a nap in his chair.

"Thank you, Angele. We don't want to cause you too much trouble, but…" Morrian looked Angele and apologized.

"It's fine. There's nothing I can do for Nico, so I'll just try my best to assist you on other matters." Angele smiled.

Angele put down the soup on the table and returned to his own seat. He looked at the white circle carefully.

The scene in the circle was shaking slightly—it seemed like Nico was riding a horse, and the trees on the sides were moving backward.

"She'll be traveling on the road for about three more days. Nico's army was moving to a large canyon as her family was fighting against her enemies there. According to the message Nico sent a while ago, there were more than 10,000 people fighting in the war, and her army was the last reinforcements her brother had. If Nico's army is eliminated, her family will be destroyed."

Morrian stopped for a second and continued to explain, "We need to wait till Nico's enemy tries to attack them before we cast our spells through the energy pool."

Milan nodded and woke Seth up for the food.

Angele sat down and waited for the three to finish their meal. He then took the empty dishes back to the kitchen and washed them clean. Angele returned to the stone room again and started observing the energy pool. It was the first time he saw wizards provide ranged support using the pool and he wanted to collect as much information as possible.

Three days were like nothing to wizards, they would not mind the wait at all.

Time flew, and three days passed in the blink of an eye.

The atmosphere in the stone room was getting heavier and heavier.

Morrian was staring at the circle and Milan was meditating with her eyes closed. Seth sat on the side, he was playing with a red monkey. The monkey was jumping back and forth on his shoulders while yelling.

Angele lowered his head; there were blue light dots flashing in front of his eyes.

"Alright, get ready! It's about time!" Morrian suddenly shouted.

The three stopped what they were doing and looked at the white circle immediately.

It seemed like Nico had entered the battlefield and the scene was still shaky. The cavalry in blue armor was everywhere, riding on black horses. All the cavalrymen who entered Nico's sight were blown into pieces as if they were hit by bombs, turning into blood mist.

"Master Nico! Someone is coming to us!" A nervous voice came from somewhere far behind.

Nico quickly turned her head around and looked at a small hill ahead. Two men in black were attacking a man in blue on top of the hill.

The blue robe was trying his best to protect a silver carriage under the war banner. Electric pulses, purple energy flows, and lasers were flying everywhere around the three.

"Damn!" Nico's voice came from the white circle.

She started charging toward the small hill right away.

Three lava balls were released from her right hand and they soared through the air, flying toward the hill.

The surface of the lava balls was red and there was golden lava flowing through the tiny cracks on it. The soldiers around were terrified; they moved to the side quickly, their horses running around in fear.

The path in front of Nico was cleared and she could easily move through.

*BOOM BOOM BOOM*

The loud noise echoed in the air as the three lava balls exploded, turning into three golden shadows. The golden shadows flew toward the men in black like lightning bolts. For some reason, the lava drops did not splash around.

"All hail the Muses!" one of the men in black shouted. A distorted minotaur shadow appeared in front of him—it was enormous.

The minotaur opened its mouth and roared.

*BAM*

A ray of golden light penetrated the three golden shadows, turning them into countless golden light dots, disappearing into the air.

"The Roar of Minotaur! It's my first time seeing the ability being activated successfully." Milan was impressed. "There's only a small chance that you can learn the ability when practicing an advanced meditation technique called the Minotaur's Ritual. Also, you can't control the ability very well even if you can activate it. However, the ability might be triggered when the caster is just trying to move the energy particles. Nico's opponent was lucky."

Inside the circle, the golden ray flew straight at Nico after destroying the lava balls.

Seth raised his left hand and red light dots appeared between his fingers.

*PA*

"Wait!" Milan stopped him.

"But…!" Seth was getting nervous.

"Trust Nico. She's weaker than Shozo and me, but she won't be defeated so easily. Remember, she's also one of Master Vivian's students," Morrian spoke in a light tone.

"Holy Light!" Nico's voice came from the circle again.

A ball of red light appeared in front of Nico. The light ball was about the size of a fist, and it blinked twice.

A large web covered with fist-sized runes and strings was created in front of Nico by the energy particles within seconds. All the strings were connected to the light ball in the center.

*CHI*

The ray hit the large web hard.

The red web and the golden ray started fighting against each other.

The endless golden energy particles were slowly turning the red web's color to gold. Strangely, it seemed like the web was absorbing the golden ray's power and it was expanding.

Although the web was expanding, the golden ray's strength was penetrating it at a much faster rate.

*CHI*

The golden ray finally went through the large web.

However, the web bought Nico enough time to dodge the attack. She moved to the left and kept charging forward. The man on the right was still fighting against the man in blue and the other man in black already released five elemental golems.

Two of them were earth golems and they were completely black. The golems had strong bodies and they rushed toward Nico as they opened their mouths.

There were also three wind golems that were about one meter tall each. They surrounded the earth golems, laughing. The wind golems looked like three green ribbons.

Some of the cavalrymen around were top-level Knights—Angele could see the white light surrounding their bodies. They tried to attack the earth golems, but their weapons were easily blocked. The cavalrymen were then grabbed by the earth golems and thrown to the ground. The Knights were severely injured and the blood they spat out turned into a small pool on the ground.

The land started shaking as the two earth golems rushed toward Nico.

Morrian, Seth, and Milan's faces turned serious after seeing that scene.

"Nico's enemies were well prepared…" Milan muttered.

At that moment, Nico's voice came from the white circle again.

"Morrian and Millan, it's about time. Destroy that hill for me."

The three exchanged glances and nodded slightly.

"Earth Fire!" Morrian raised his right hand and reached to the circle. A terrifying red skull appeared behind him, with black flames burning in the skull's eyes.

"Light of the Night!" Milan raised her hands as well and a pair of purple eyes appeared behind her.

Seth did the same thing, causing black flames to start burning on his right arm. "Decompose!"

They slowly moved their hands to the center.

*CHI*

The three hands merged into each other as they touched. The scene was quite strange.

Their hands looked like a large ball of play dough. The play dough turned into a humongous hand that was about half a meter wide, then sank into the table and reached to the small hill in Nico's sight.

Angele's eyes were wide open and he could feel that his body became numb.

The horrifying energy surrounded the wizards in the stone room. Angele opened his mouth and tried to inhale, but he couldn't feel the air.

It felt like the air in the room was solidified and Angele thought he was an insect that was trapped in amber. His attributes were extremely high, but he could barely move.

Angele stared at the screen inside the light circle and his pupils constricted. He finally understood the true power of the inheritor magic circle.

　　*************************

On a large plain in front of a canyon.

The blue cavalry was fighting against the black cavalry, their roars and war drums as their background music.

A beautiful girl in a white battle dress was fighting on the battlefield—it was Nico. Her dress was soaked in blood.

She looked at the small hill in the front calmly, holding the necklace tightly in hand. Blue light leaked out of the gaps between her fingers—the light came from a diamond-shaped blue crystal.

"Morrian and Milan, it's about time. Destroy that hill for me," she spoke in a cold tone.

The diamond-shaped crystal shined and released a ray of blue light after she finished her words. The light struck into the air, leaving a blue trail behind—the trail slowly disappeared after several seconds.

Suddenly, the sunlight disappeared from the land, and the sky was covered by a sea of black clouds.

The clouds turned into a large vortex which started spinning on top of the hill slowly.

The battlefield was covered by the shadow. The soldiers stopped fighting at the same time; they raised their heads and stared at the sky.

People underneath the shadow could feel terrifying pressure coming from the sky. The soldiers could barely move under such heavy pressure; it almost looked like they were trapped in a swamp.

The people on the hill were the ones who were directly impacted by the pressure.

The two men in black and the man in blue were moving like turtles. The scene looked like a slow-motion movie. It would take them two seconds just to complete a simple movement.

It took one of the men about ten seconds to raise his right hand, fear was written all over his face.

The earth golems and the wind golems were also slowed down—they were having a hard time moving forward.

Nico looked at the hill, looking depressed. "Maxwell, the family will remember your sacrifice." Her voice echoed in the sky.

The man in blue already accepted his death, he looked happy after hearing Nico's voice.

*BAM*

Seconds later, an enormous hand appeared in the center of the giant vortex and hit the top of the hill. The hand looked like a white stone pillar that fell from the sky.

Chapter 363: Unexpected (2)

Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe

Mud and grass leaves were blown into the air along with the mangled, bloodied pieces of flesh of the corpses. Nico's vision was blocked by the pieces of rocks that were blown.

Everything splattered everywhere like raindrops. After a few moments' time as it fell to the ground, everything returned to normal again. The gigantic hand and the black clouds had dispersed so quick that it almost seemed to have never been there.

The sky regained its clarity and sunlight shined upon the land once more.

A gigantic handprint was all that was left at the original location of the small hill. Everything within the scope of that hand had all been completely flattened.

From carriages, soldiers, warhorses, war banners, and the three wizards—all of them had disappeared.

*Crack*

A crisp sound echoed in the sky.

The diamond-shaped crystal shattered into fragments and disappeared into the wind as it seemed to have been ground into white powder.

Nico stilled for a second and glanced around, then she raised her hand.

"Surrender to me!"

"Surrender to me!" Her voice echoed throughout the battlefield.

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

Inside the stone room, the atmosphere finally regained its former form.

Angele took a deep breath and watched as the white circle vanished from the table.

Morrian, Seth, and Milan's hands separated from each other's and put it down at the same time.

"It is finished." Milan sighed in relief. "Are you all right, Seth?"

Seth's face had turned pale as he seemed to have spent too much mentality.

"I'm fine. That strike has already decided the outcome of the battle. Problem solved. I will recover if you let me eat some of that worm meat." He looked at Angele, his eyes blinking.

Angele only shrugged, though he felt a tad speechless.

He had finally discovered just how powerful magic circle legacies were after seeing the three's combined might.

Vivian's magic circle legacy was the gravitational magic circle which had almost been destroyed due to Henn's schemes. At that time, Angele never thought about it too much when Henn asked him to destroy the circle. However, seeing the effect of the circle that increased wizard's power to a completely different league—

It was an eye-opening experience.

"Angele, have you ever seen Master Vivian's gravitational circle? It draws power upon the earth and greatly increases the damage output of her spells. With the incredible range of her spells, she can easily destroy everything within an area with a diameter of several kilometers. And, she has more than enough mentality to cast several spells successively. Armies will be wiped out within seconds. Wizards of lower ranks stand not a single chance against her might. Master Vivian had once destroyed a legion of more than 100,000 soldiers with the help of the gravitational circle," Morrian gleefully explained. Compared to the one used on Earth, a 'kilometer' of the wizard world was a bit farther.

"Is that so?" Angele inhaled sharply but calmed down after. He finally understood how powerful organizations could keep winning wars waged with their enemies.

The magic circle legacies were the only ones assisting organizations in building their dominance. It was nigh impossible for average members of organizations to overthrow the rule of the people high up the hierarchy. That was most likely the reason major organizations could last for hundreds of years in the central continent.

"All right, we need to rest now. Angele, you can do whatever you want." Morrian knew Angele was in shock. He ended the conversation with this and closed his eyes and began his recovery, like what Seth and Milan were doing at the moment.

Angele stood up, bowing to the three wizards, and stepped out of the room.

The door closed as he re-entered the red tunnel. The temperature within the tunnel high, albeit tolerable, and the only one producing noise was the lava underground.

Angele was still pondering about the battle he had just witnessed and the words Morrian had said.

'Magic circle legacy, it makes a huge difference. I'm lucky that the wizards I have fought did not possess such power…'

He cleaned the dust off his long robe before he headed straight to the dormitory area.

There were only four people in the ruins at present. Vivian was currently fighting on the frontlines. There were several skirmishes and battles happening. Furthermore, she had to command the army and deal with the Black Earth organization. She would not have much time before everything was solved.

Angele climbed up the ladder and returned to his old room, closing it after he entered.

He needed to make plans for his future.

Angele seated down at the desk and took out an empty leather scroll. He grabbed a quill and dipped it into the ink bottle sitting on one side of the desk.

He pressed it on the paper and inked a black dot on it.

'This is me, so—' He drew a line on the left side of the dot and started jotting down a few words. '—Henn and the Shadow Lord's palace. I will need more time on that.'

He then drew another line beside the dot and wrote a few by the end of it. 'Dark Wizard Tower, Black Earth, and Elemental Hand's war. I need to pay more attention to them.'

'Nightmare Realm' was used to label the third line he drew.

Angele put the quill down and began thinking.

The majority knew he was the one and only son of Elemental Hand's third elder and was grounded due to the incident with the heir of Black Earth.

However, people had not had the slightest idea that he was one of the elite members of Dark Wizard Tower and had already built a fortress in the Nightmare Realm. He was being tracked down by the Shadow Lord because of Henn, who was inhabiting his body. From another perspective, perhaps without Henn, his life should be much more easygoing.

Angele had already known that the Shadow Lord would find him sooner or later as long as he continued to stay in the main world.

It was highly plausible for high-rank prophets to exist in the forces of the Shadow Lord's palace. Prophets would cast tracking spells once they discovered any trace he had left behind. A formidable prophet only required a small amount of information of the target, and the process would be even easier if their target was a low-rank wizard.

'I did the right thing at the Abyss Canyon. I should be fine if I just stay in the organization's territory.' Angele recalled the events that had happened recently and calmed down.

Angele desired to slow down his progression and take his time exploring other areas in the Nightmare Realm temporarily. He could collect more bloodlines for his research, too, but this plan of his had been disrupted by Henn.

*CHI*

Angele picked up the paper and burnt it to ashes using fire energy particles, and threw the remains into the garbage bin on one side.

He stood up and placed his right hand on the musical note in the middle of his chest.

Red light flashed in the air. Angele disappeared from the room.

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

The Nightmare Realm. A black shadow slowly emerged at the empty ground beside the Ness River.

The bright sunlight shined upon the man's long hair, reflecting the color of fresh blood.

"It's still close, a difference of ten meters is acceptable." Angele nodded.

Angele looked at the mansion. A gentle smile appeared on his face.

He promptly headed to the mansion, where a girl jumped into his arms right after he stepped into the barrier surrounding it.

"Green! Where did you go? You have been gone for so long this time." Freia tightly hugged Angele. "I won't forgive you if you did not bring me any tasty snacks."

"Of course. Come here, cute girl. I have something good this time." Angele took out a small bottle from his sleeves. This bottle was sealed with a wooden stopper and was filled with colorful candies. He shook the bottle before giving it to Freia.

The girl was wearing a black dress and a pair of silk tights. With the white coat and white hat, Freia looked like a girl from a random noble family.

The only thing missing was a laced sunshade.

Angele rubbed Freia's soft cheeks. Her skin was cold and elastic; it felt like tapping on the surface of a fruit jelly.

"There is nothing to do here, right?" Angele walked into the main building, whereas Freia wrapped her arms around his neck and hung on his body like a koala.

"Yeah, I spend most of my time taking care of the flowers and reading books," Freia replied, "I can't even step out of the shield."

"Come on, you are too old for this." Angele lowered his head to let Freia land on the ground safely. Raising his hand, he then summoned Phoenix.

"Go play with Phoenix." Angele carefully threw Phoenix into the air.

The bird landed exactly right on Freia's hat. She screamed and tried to drive it away, but Phoenix never did move.

Angele slightly shook his head then went into the living room. He had finally discovered a way to send himself back to the mansion even when he was at other areas in the main world.

He sat down on the sofa and started skimming through the messages from the communication runes.

His progression speed was similar to that of average wizards. There was not much the chip could do for him. He needed more time to master the fourth stage.

The only difference between him and average wizards was, he had a chip that could aid him whenever he reached a bottleneck.

Suddenly, Angele's face tightened as one communication rune that looked like a black swan faded from one of his thumbs.

"Cruise, you are the head of the Human Resources Department." He had been working with Cruise for years, so they knew each other quite well.

However, if the communication rune faded away…

Angele quickly tapped on the black swan.

A black light dot left the nail and landed on the table in front of him, turning into a black leather paper with a short message written on it.

'Dear Master Angele, please head to Mermaid's Song and attend Department Head Cruise's funeral on the 20th day of October. Cruise made an attempt to advance to rank 3 on the 13th day of July, but he failed and passed away.'

Angele himself knew many wizards had stopped making any further progress upon reaching rank 2. Some had already completely depleted their potential, while some were just too old already to progress. However, the biggest problem they were facing was in training in advanced meditation techniques unsuitable for them. They had wasted their time and resources to train in the techniques that were not most suitable for them. Many wizards were either severely injured or killed when attempting to advance to the next rank every time.

However, Angele had not expected Cruise to experience the same thing and end his life this way. They had worked together for ten years already, so this news was depressing.

There was also a message sent by Rock. It said that he failed to advance as well and his body had been permanently damaged. Thus, he had given up his life as a wizard and decided to return to his hometown. Rock had only informed his friends about his situation before leaving.

He, Mincola, and Angele joined Elemental Hand together, yet his journey had now ended.

Angele sighed with mixed emotions. He deactivated the communication runes after checking the messages.

Luckily, he had the biochip that could calculate the success rate for him. It could also build a plan for Angele to help himself improve. Angele's talent level was below average. It would have been hard for him to reach rank 2 if not for the biochip.