Warlock Apprentice

As time went by, Angor’s daily routine never changed but at least his spirit recovered a lot compared to his dejection several days ago.

While working on the puzzles, he noticed something strange.

The Redbud kept cruising in the same area.

Just a while ago, Angor saw a uniquely-shaped red reef for the fourth time in the half month.

This was why Angor believed that The Redbud was not planning to leave Devil’s Water at all.

He once tried asking a pilot, but the man only mumbled something vague without giving him a clear answer.

Apparently, the pilot already knew that The Redbud had been staying in the same place, but did not want to talk about it. There must be someone important behind all this, and the pilot either could not explain or did not dare to.

Who could manipulate the wheel of The Redbud? There was no doubt – a formal wizard.

Reaching that conclusion, Angor decided not to think about the matter for any longer. No matter what the wizard was trying to do, he could not do anything about it. The Redbud was his only foothold on Devil’s Water anyway, so Angor’s only choice was to get along.

He did not enjoy such powerlessness, yet he had to comply. Angor really hoped that someday, he could gain enough strength to protect himself, instead of leaving his own life in the hands of someone else.

…

Today was the 167th day Angor was away from Grue Town, and the last day he worked on his puzzles.

Angor carefully opened a red-painted wooden box in his luggage. The box contained one single object: a square-shaped, crystal tablet, smaller than a child’s palm, while as thin as insect wings.

The crystal tablet was not something from this world. Jon brought it from the Earth.

It only acted as a holographic communication tool back on the Earth. It was made into a watch and sold across the world. The strap of the watch was already worn down during all these years, so Jon discarded the strap and kept the watch in perfect condition.

Angor shut his door and adeptly pressed on the small bud located on the bottom-right corner of the tablet, the power button.

A simple hologram and a set of holographic buttons appeared in the air.

A line written in Hanzi was displayed on it:

[Screen locked. Answer the question set by the admin to unlock.]

[Question 100: Rectify the hologram below using the Five Seidel Aberrations, then resolve the final password using Vigenère Cipher according to the spectral alignment.]

The 100th question was the last one Jon left Angor.

He used to be very cautious about using the tablet before coming to the ship. He had to memorize the questions quickly and put the tablet away in somewhere safe. Now that he had his own private room, he could finally take the device out.

Every solved question led him to the next one. Angor used all the knowledge he had learned to find the answers. Chemistry, physics, medicine, mathematics… sometimes even philosophy. There were a lot of physical constants from the Earth which no longer worked in this world, but Jon only left him basic applications, and Angor had no problem working them out.

Today, he was about to give the final answer.

He spent the entire afternoon. When he finally arranged the answer to the last question, his hands froze in place.

“9371201.”

This number meant nothing to other people, but Angor understood what it meant.

Using the calendar of Goldspink Empire, this was Goldspink Year 937, the first day of the Month of Freezing Earth.

Angor’s birthday.

“This is the final answer?” Angor entered the digits into the answer box on the display, puzzled.

The light shifted on the screen, then a different system message came out.

[Correct answer detected. Now unlocking the screen. The admin can change the login password from the system menu.]

The words disappeared, which were then replaced by a clean-looking picture of a vast grassland. There were two icons on the upper-right of the desktop: a folder, and a text document, named “To Angor”.

Jon told him about how to operate the smart watch before but this was still the first time for Angor to try the actual system himself. With curiosity and some expectation, he gave a gentle tap on the document icon.

A second later, an electronic letter was displayed quietly in front of Angor.

[To my student, Angor:

I wonder how long those 100 questions troubled you? And how far away are you from home?

For many times, I get the feeling that you have been too hard on yourself. Really, you don’t have to spend so much effort on these old bones of mine.

I told you that my home was an ancient country with a history of longer than five thousand years. Of course, that’s not really “ancient” compared to the history here. A poet from a neighboring country with the same long history who made his life into philosophy once said: I leave no trace of wings in the air, but I am glad I have had my flight. ¹

My life started on the Earth and would end on a foreign star. It was amazing. The worlds are different, but they both have the same blue sky. My only regret is my family… My poor wife and child. I thought it was only a research trip for several days, oh my… Never thought that was our goodbye forever.

To think in another way, my wife and my daughter are the traces in the sky on Earth, telling people that I once existed there.

Angor, my student, you are the trace proving that I have lived under this foreign sky. You not only inherited the culture from China, but you will also enkindle that ember in this world.

Not I think about it, my “wings” have left some awesome traces. They crossed different spaces and universes. The people who crossed into other worlds I read about were all talented ones who won themselves great fortune against the locals. As for me… I came here to spread my knowledge! Ha. Maybe I’ll die earlier than those novel heroes, but I did have a higher purpose.

Speaking about the wizarding world, I’d really like to see it. I’ve been believing that this world is just as dull as the Earth, and man, how it surprised me with such a mystery! Although, perhaps I no longer have the time to see it for myself.

Such a pity.

I cannot see it, but you still can. I hope that—Angor, my student—would walk on the path of a wizard till the end. Like every scholar who is faithful to his subject, use concepts as a singular point and ignite the new universe with your knowledge.

You have done a hundred questions, now I can give you a new one: Compose an essay that explains all truths throughout the wizarding world. Will you do it?

Apart from this, I write this letter to tell you that you should use all the knowledge you learned from me, use it well. Some of the physical constants are off in this world, but for a scholar, the process of finding a result is just as important as the result itself. I’ve already told you the way of thinking, now it’s up to you to find a path that suits you best.

Oh, if I predicted right, you should be on the sea by now.

You can’t find much entertainment out there, so I put something in this smart chip, as my last gift for you. Hope you like them.

Jon]

Finishing the letter, Angor stayed silent for a long time.

He closed his eyes and clenched his fists. He felt sad all of a sudden. He could not imagine what Jon was feeling when he wrote the letter but he could understand Jon’s deep love towards him behind every word.

Angor went through the memories living with his dear teacher and spaced out.

He finally woke from his thoughts when the night had already come.

He let out a deep sigh, not knowing who or what he sighed for.

Remembering the method to operate the watch, Angor carefully saved the letter. He even made a second copy just in case.

Then, he closed the letter.

Feeling a bit lost, as well as an indescribable expectation, he opened the only folder on the desktop.