A Wizard’s Secret

The patterned spider brought Merlin to a well-concealed secret chamber. A thick stone door was in their way, and there were many mysterious runes scattered all over the stone door.

Merlin took a glance at the patterned spider and figured that there was a Runic Magic Circle in the chamber that could bring him out of the ancient tower. Only after he had successfully cultivated the first form of Fiery Collapse, he would be able to enter the secret chamber and leave the ancient monument with the help of the Runic Magic Circle.

Upon thinking of that, Merlin finally understood what he would need to do. He reached out his palm and the fire marking on his palm rapidly let out a scorching presence.

“Pandora Demon Ability, Fiery Collapse!”

Instantly, a white flame blasted toward the thick stone door and the mysterious runes on the door suddenly shone brightly. The light surrounded the flame of Fiery Collapse. Finally, the runes merged completely with the flame.

“Rumble!”

A huge stone door slowly rose. It seemed to affirm that Merlin had satisfied the condition to enter the secret chamber; to complete the cultivation of the first form of Fiery Collapse.

Instantly, Merlin’s face lit up. When he looked back at the patterned spider, the gigantic spider was already slowly leaving him to report back to the flame sprite.

In the secret chamber, there were many complicated runes etched on the ground, forming a mysterious Runic Magic Circle. Merlin was familiar with Runic Magic Circles since he had seen many of these in the Dark Magic Region.

Thus, Merlin simply stood on the Runic Magic Circle with ease. After taking a deep breath, his Mind Power simulated the Runic Magic Circle in a sudden motion.

“Buzz…”

The mysterious Rune Magic Circle began to emit a bright light which quickly surrounded Merlin’s body. Merlin felt a familiar pull in the light, knowing that the Runic Magic Circle was beginning to transport him.

“Swish!”

The bright light flashed and Merlin’s figure disappeared from the secret chamber. Then, the entire room resumed its initial silence.

…

“Young Lady, if Sir Viscount heard about us sneaking out, I’m afraid that he won’t forgive you easily.”

A maid who wore a gray maid outfit carefully told Lady Naviance who sat beside her.

Lady Naviance was wearing a white dress. Her blonde, flowing hair was loosely tied. Donning a cute hat, she looked beautiful and youthful.

“It’s alright. I wasn’t punished at all the last time I sneaked out, was I?”

Lady Naviance replied without any care. She even pulled the curtain open and enjoyed the scenery with excitement.

“How can you compare this time to the last? Sir Viscount wanted you to marry the son of Count Gion. But you sneaked out at this time. I’m afraid Sir Viscount is already sending his men to look for you…”

The gray-shirt maid knew Lady Naviance’s character well, so she knew that it was impossible to urge her to return at this point. She had no choice but to find a way to leave signs behind along their journey. This way, the men sent by Sir Viscount would be able to find them if they trailed behind the signs.

The carriage was not moving at a fast speed. However, Lady Naviance did not mind at all; she was only interested in the scenery. Hence, she wanted the carriage to slow down its speed even more for her to enjoy the scenery to the fullest.

“Quick, look at that. There’s a person in front.”

Lady Naviance saw him first. There was a man who was cloaked in a black robe; he stood by the roadside with his head lowered. They did not know what he was doing.

They were in the forest, a truly deserted place. Seeing such a weird person in such a place greatly alerted the maid.

“Young Lady, no matter who he is, we’ve to leave quickly.”

The maid’s words made Lady Naviance put on her guard as well. Although she was brave enough to sneak out from the castle a few times, she knew that she would face danger during her journey. Most of all, this strange, black-robed man gave off an aura that seemed to send a chill down people’s spine. He could be dangerous.

Hence, the speed of the carriage quickened as it dashed forward.

“Bang!”

Suddenly, the black-robed man who was still by the roadside raised his hand. Instantly, numerous fireballs appeared out of thin air and blasted off in front of the carriage. The loud impact made Lady Naviance and her maid panicked. They did not know what they need to do.

It was Lady Naviance’s servant who drove the carriage. He was more knowledgeable than Lady Naviance in this aspect. After seeing the fireballs cast by the black-robed man, the servant immediately recognized the identity of the man. Hence, he respectfully bowed to the black-robed man. “O’ most respectable Sir Wizard, it’s the daughter of Viscount Anlese who sits in the carriage, Lady Naviance! May we know how we can help you?”

Upon seeing the fireballs, the carriage driver immediately knew that the black-robed man was a mysterious yet powerful Spell Caster. He was a powerful existence that even Viscount Anlese had to be respectful toward.

The man replied with a calm tone, “Give me a map.”

The carriage driver quickly took out a map from the carriage and carefully said, “Sir Wizard, we’re currently at the outer territorial area under Viscount Anlese’s control.”

The man nodded, then examined the map carefully.

“So far from Floating City? This area is under the influence of Fire City. It’ll take a few days’ time to reach the closest Runic Magic Circle of the Dark Magic Region.”

The black-robed man frowned and let out a soft mutter. It was Merlin who had left the ancient monument. Although he had left the ancient monument with the help of the Runic Magic Circle, he was transported to a place he was not familiar with.

After examining the map, Merlin found that he was way too far away from Floating City. This area was already under the influence of Fire City.

Merlin originally planned to kill Wizard Riesen first, but it would take him a few months’ time to reach Floating City because the place was simply too far.

Hence, after thinking about it for a long moment and considering all aspects, Merlin still decided to first return to the Dark Magic Region. After he had truly become an official member of the Dark Magic Region, he could consider returning to Floating City to kill Wizard Riesen.

However, the Dark Magic Region was extremely mysterious. The only way to enter the Dark Magic Region was via the Runic Magic Circles which were set up all over. Only the Spell Casters who had the Dark Magic ring would be able to activate the Runic Magic Circle and enter the Dark Magic Region.

Merlin briefly checked the map and found the nearest Runic Magic Circle to the Dark Magic Region was a distance away. It would take him a few days’ time to reach the place.

Upon thinking about this, Merlin looked at the carriage. Although the curtain was shut loose, Merlin’s Mind Power could easily identify that there were only two women in the carriage.

“Bring me to Bramble Mountain!”

Merlin said with an indisputable tone. Then, he kept the map and dived right into the carriage.

Lady Naviance and her maid were frightened in the carriage. They both kept their heads lowered as they huddled up in a corner of the carriage.

Merlin simply took a glance at them and quietly sat in the carriage.

The carriage driver did not dare to oppose Merlin’s words. He had visited a count with Viscount Anlese before. There, he had witnessed the overpowering strength of a mysterious Wizard, who stood beside the count, with his own eyes. Thus, to ensure their safety, the carriage driver could only drive to Bramble Mountain as Merlin had requested.

…

In the following days, Merlin did not speak a word. However, other than his cold expression, Merlin did not seem to do anything out of the ordinary, so Lady Naviance slowly gained courage and began to stare at Merlin intensely.

“Sir Wizard, will you let us go when we reach Bramble Mountain? Or will you turn us into evil monsters?”

Lady Naviance mustered up her courage and asked in a low voice.

“Hmm? You know about the Alchemy Creature as well?”

Merlin opened his eyes suddenly and stared at Lady Naviance.

Lady Naviance did not panic. Instead, she simply nodded. “I once saw an ugly Alchemy Creature trailing behind a Wizard. I heard from my father that the Wizard had turned a living person into the Alchemy Creature using an evil method.”

Lady Naviance’s father was a viscount, so he could have seen Spell Casters before. Moreover, they were mostly roaming wizards. Nowadays, many Spell Casters were, in fact, alchemists who transfigured living persons into terrifying Alchemy Creatures. Surely the Spell Casters Naviance had seen were alchemists.

Seeing the terror in Lady Naviance and her maid’s eyes, Merlin flashed a smile and shook his head. “I won’t turn you into a monster. After we reach Bramble Mountain, I’ll let you go.”

Lady Naviance noticed that Merlin did not seem as “terrifying” as before, so she became braver and began to ask Merlin about Spell Casters.

Merlin was also rather bored during the long journey, so he picked a few simple, interesting things to talk about and chatted with Naviance. Upon seeing Naviance and her maid’s cheerful laugh, Merlin slowly relaxed as well. It seemed that he had found peace which he had not felt for a long time.

…

“Wizard Merlin, about the Vitality Potion you mentioned, can it really help a person to remain youthful?”

Lady Naviance expressed her interest toward the Vitality Potion Merlin had mentioned before.

“That’s right. If you continue using Vitality Potion, it can maintain your skin elasticity and youthfulness, making you appear younger as well.”

Merlin looked at Naviance with a shadow of a smile.

“Then, Wizard Merlin, do you have any Vitality Potion on you now?”

Naviance quickly asked.

“I don’t have it. But if you’ve become a Spell Caster, you can make the potion yourself.”

As soon as Merlin finished his words, he sensed that the carriage had gradually come to a halt. When Naviance wanted to further her questions, the carriage driver called out to them loudly, “Sir Wizard, we’ve arrived at Bramble Mountain.”

“Already?”

Merlin took a glance at the Dark Magic ring on his finger and nodded slightly. The ring had reacted; it had sensed the Runic Magic Circle set up by the Dark Magic Region.

“Alright, I should go.”

Merlin said to Naviance and alighted the carriage. An intense fluctuation of Wind Elements appeared around him and he rapidly disappeared into the forest.

Naviance stared idly at Merlin’s back while the maid reminded her in a low voice. “Young Lady, Wizard Merlin is gone. Where should we go now?”

“Where?”

Naviance’s face suddenly brimmed with joy as she replied in a rushed tone, “Of course we’ve to go back and see my father. I’ve decided to become a great Spell Caster. I’ll make the Vitality Potion!”

The maid shook her head slightly. Looking at the excited Lady Naviance, she knew that the lady’s action would cause Sir Viscount to have a headache once again…