A Wizard’s Secret

“You saved us? Great Sanctuary Contender…”

Mia stood up and saluted Merlin.

The others also looked at Merlin with their burning gaze. The fear they were feeling before had disappeared.

Merlin was shocked. He had used Mind Power to speak directly in their minds earlier. Now, he could understand what the noble girl was saying. She spoke in the very familiar Molta language.

“This world was created by the mysterious Aruba and should have some connections to the Glorious Land.”

Thoughts flashed in Merlin’s mind. Then, he nodded and said, “I saved you.”

These people seemed to regard Merlin as a so-called ‘Sanctuary Contender.’ They all looked at him with expressions of reverence, and Merlin did not correct them either. It seemed that the identity of a Sanctuary Contender was quite a pleasant one. At least he would not have any problems blending in.

Mia’s expression overflooded with happiness when she heard Merlin’s acknowledgment. This was a great Sanctuary Contender who occupied the peak of the Mobata world. One punch from him could destroy a mountain, one palm could cut off a river, him alone could eradicate countless cities. It was because of these Sanctuary Contenders that the Mobatan civilization still existed to this day. Otherwise, they would have been defeated by barbarians and fierce beasts a long time ago.

“Great Sanctuary Contender, what’s your name?”

“Just call me Merlin!”

“Sir Merlin, thank you for helping us, but we have one more thing for you to help us with.”

Mia bit her lip and looked at Merlin expectantly. This was her only chance.

“Say it. Your entire family is moving away. Did something happen to you?”

Merlin was still being amiable.

“Sir Merlin, despicable barbarians are attacking our Mandela City. My father, Count Mandela, sent us out of the city, hoping we can reach Ruba City. If you hadn’t saved us, I’m afraid we’d all be in danger. Therefore, I implore you to save the people of Mandela City. Once those barbarians break into the city, they won’t leave a single survivor.”

Mia gently knelt on one knee, and the other knights including the women and children followed suit, kneeling on the ground and lowering their heads, asking Merlin to save Mandela City.

“Sister.”

Suddenly, a young voice sounded from behind. Kevin, who had escaped earlier, realized that the stampede seemed to have retreated and had asked the captain to send him back again.

“Kevin, kneel down. Let Sir Merlin save our Mandela City. Sir Merlin is a Sanctuary Contender. He’ll definitely be able to defeat those barbarians if we get him involved.”

Mia did not have time to ask Kevin why he returned at the moment. She pulled him down onto his knees instead.

“Sanctuary Contender?”

Kevin raised his head sharply, his gaze burning. He puffed out his chest and said loudly, “Sir Merlin, please save Mandela City. Father often teaches us that the Mobata world is in grave danger, and every Mobatan should help each other. One day, we’ll defeat those barbarians and drive those beasts out of the forest.”

Merlin felt the rare qualities of strength and courage from the gaze of this twelve-year-old boy. He could become a powerful knight in the Glorious Land even if he did not have the qualities of a Spell Caster.

Merlin did not care much about the barbarians, but perhaps he could take this opportunity to understand the Mobata world thoroughly. The human civilization in this world seemed to not be doing so well.

“Do you want to feel what it’s like on this big guy?”

Merlin smiled and said to Kevin.

“Sir Merlin, are you agreeing to our request?”

Mia was overjoyed. She never imagined that they would stumbled upon a great Sanctuary Contender half way to their destination. It was a godsend. After all, middle and lower-class nobles like them had absolutely no chance of ever meeting a lofty Sanctuary Contender even in Ruba City.

“You come as well. I need someone to show me the way.”

Merlin pointed at Mia. This aristocratic girl looked weak on the outside but was actually very strong on the inside. She reminded Merlin of Charise.

Then, Merlin took Kevin and jumped on the raptor’s back. It seemed to be displeased, but since it had already submitted to Merlin, it could only swallow back its dissatisfaction.

Mia regarded the raptor with trepidation. After they found their footing, Merlin patted the raptor’s head gently and said, “Alright, let’s go.”

The raptor slowly stood up and stretch its huge wings. Then, with a flap of its wings, it flew to the skies with three people in tow.

Hoo… hoo…

The howling wind whistled past their ears as the raptor flew up above the clouds. Mia and Kevin were extremely nervous. They laid flat on the raptor’s back, gripping its feathers desperately.

Fortunately, the raptor was extremely large. When it stood up, it was taller than a city. Its back was also very broad, so there was no need to worry about losing one’s footing at all.

“Sir Merlin, is this a king-level beast you tamed?”

It was the brave Kevin who had asked in an envious tone. His excitement for being be able to sit on the fierce raptor was visible.

Merlin shook his head and said calmly, “I don’t know if it’s a king-level beast or not.”

“What? Sir Merlin, you don’t know either? How did you tame it then?”

Mia and Kevin were both curious. This raptor seemed extraordinary. A Sanctuary Contender like Merlin was clueless about its identity..

“Tame? It’s not that complicated. I just happened to run into it in the forest and caught it. Maybe it was afraid that I would kill it, so it just submitted to me.”

Merlin pondered and affirmed that that was exactly what had happened. He felt a life force so intense it was like a raging fire. Then, he met this raptor who tried to eat him, but was caught by Merlin .

“You just caught it so easily…”

Kevin’s eyes were filled with admiration. This was the Sanctuary Contender in his heart. It was such a strong king-level beast, but he had caught it in such a nonchalant manner.

Mia mulled over what she had heard. To be able to catch a king-level beast at will was considered strong even by Sanctuary Contender standards. She could not help but feel relieved. They were very lucky to have met a powerful Sanctuary Contender like Merlin.

“By the way, sister. You’ve seen many things. Do you know what this beast is?”

Kevin clutched the raptor’s feathers tightly, but he seemed less afraid of its huge and ugly warts.

Mia thought carefully before saying with uncertainty, “I’ve never seen a king-level beast before, but according to its appearance, it seems to be from the Lobase mountains. It should be the legendary king of the skies, the tyrant raptor that has a noble bloodline!”

“Tyrant raptor? That’s a strange name…”

Merlin muttered the name carefully. He did not think that such a hideous raptor would have such a dignified name.

When the raptor heard the words ‘tyrant raptor’, it nodded and let out several cheerful cries.

“Sister, it’s responding. It really is the tyrant raptor! According to legends, king-level beasts are as smart as ordinary people. That seems to be true…”

Kevin was very excited as he pointed at the tyrant raptor.

Mia waved her hand and pointed at Merlin. She then whispered to Kevin, “Kevin, haven’t you always dreamed about becoming a Sanctuary Contender? This chance is a gift from heaven…”

Kevin was stunned for a moment. Indeed, he had always dreamed of becoming a Sanctuary Contender. Although the path would be very difficult, it was what he had aspired to be since he was young.

Now there was a great Sanctuary Contender right in front of him. How could he forget to ask for guidance?

Kevin prostrated himself before Merlin when he arrived at the thought and said, “Sir Merli, I’ve always dreamt of becoming a Sanctuary Contender, of becoming a true warrior to help my father, Mandela City, and all Mobatans. I want to defeat the barbarians and expel those beasts. Sir Merlin, please accept me as your disciple.”

“Disciple?”

Merlin was taken aback, but he understood roughly what was going on then. Sanctuary Contenders were most likely equivalent to Great Legends. Although he was not inferior to a Sanctuary Contender in terms of strength, he was not a true Sanctuary Contender, so how could he accept a disciple?

Nonetheless, Merlin was curious about everything going on this Mobata world. To understand a civilization, one must first understand its power system.

Perhaps this was an opportunity for him to do so.

Thus, Merlin said right away, “How much have you cultivated? Tell me all the details. Even if I can’t accept you as a disciple, I may be able to give you some help.”

Mia and Kevin were both on cloud nine. Even Mia felt like the possibility of Merlin accepting Kevin as his disciple was too low, but just being able to receive a few pointers was already extremely fortunate.

Kevin then told Merlin all the details of his exercises as well as all the problems he had encountered.

Merlin did not care much at first, but the more he listened, the more shocked he became. Physical training drills were popular in this world. There were no Elements, no worshippers, and no divinity. Theywere all about the training of the body.

They trained their bodies to the point where they could break mountains with a punch and cut off rivers with a palm.

“Show me your training drill!” Merlin thought of a possibility and said eagerly.

Kevin nodded. It was just a training drill. The training drill he had cultivated might be a secret to others, but Merlin was a Sanctuary Contender. Perhaps Merlin would not be impressed with his training drill at all.

Therefore, Kevin did not think too much and began to demonstrate the training drill he had practiced.

After seeing Kevin’s training drill, waves of emotions surged in Merlin’s heart. It was familiar, too familiar. Although there were great differences in those movements, the familiarity he felt could not be erased.

Furthermore, what Kevin said about the training drill made Merlin even more convinced that the mysterious relief sculpture posture he had cultivated in the beginning was a kind of training drill from this world.

Moreover, the mysterious relief sculpture posture Merlin had received was an incomplete training drill. It was far from being comparable to Kevin’s training drill.

“The relief sculpture was obviously passed down from the period of the Molta Empire. That architectural style is definitely correct. It has a fundamental difference from the Mobata world. How could the training drill be so familiar?”

Countless thoughts dashed past Merlin’s mind. Although he had already given up on practicing the posture on the relief sculpture, he had to admit that it was indeed very mystical.

Merlin was not clear about the extent to which the posture in the relief sculpture could reach. After all, he had been unable to find the remaining relief sculpture.

However, Merlin already knew that if the mysterious postures on the relief sculptures were fully collected and assembled into a complete training drill, one could perhaps become stage-eight, stage-nine, or even a Sanctuary Contender, who were right below Legends and could be compared to the Spell Caster system.