Warlock Apprentice

It was already noontime when they reached the mountain peak.

Toby told Angor that there was a big city on the other side of the mountain. Angor didn't know exactly know how big it was until he saw the city. He finally realized that he had totally underestimated Toby's message.

He thought the water along the mountain foot was a giant lake that was connected to the sea. But now, he just saw that the lake was actually inland, which was as large as half of Midnight Sovereign.

The flawless water surface sat there like a giant natural mirror that showed the reflection of the sky and clouds. Countless waterfowl were chasing each other among the clouds above.

The city was established near the lake. It wasn't walled-up like what Angor had expected. Instead, it started from the mountain foot and stretched along the edge of the lake until it reached the horizon.

As far as Angor could see, this entire part of the lake bank was full of buildings. From a quick estimation, the most populated gathering spot accommodated nearly a million people.

Angor even noticed that some of the lands were actually artificial islands. Certain buildings were built directly on top of the water.

"A wonderful place to build a city…"

Apart from a giant water source and bountiful mountain forest, Angor also saw a large number of paddy fields around the lake as well as fishing vessels, all of which suggested that people in this city had been enjoying peace and plenty.

Maybe he could stay in the city for a while once he learned where he was.

But he still had to get to Floating Mech City before the purification garden opened up next year.

…

Descending from the mountain was easier. Even though it looked huge from the mountain peak, the city was actually still some distance away. Angor had to hurry up and find a place to live before nightfall.

Also, to avoid troubles, he activated Isolation.

His black-and-white checkered overcoat and the top hat with a smiley face design were simply too noticeable. The passive effect of his bracelet was almost nullified in such a case. Hence, he needed to active Infinite Reticence instead.

Under the effect, Angor became a shadow walker who showed minimal presence even under the bright sun.

Dodoro was briefly confused when Angor activated the magic array. But since his attention was always fixed on Angor, Dodoro didn't really lose track.

After getting away from the mountain, Angor walked past another dense forest.

The first thing he felt when stepping into this relatively dark place was "chill"… and the second was an ominous atmosphere.

He sensed it because of the instinct of a wizard.

Anyone with strong spirit power would have his instinct strengthened. Such a man could sense all kinds of evil presence without using specific detection spells.

"Many people died here… or," he murmured. As he frowned and checked the dirt under him, he continued, "Many people are buried under here?"

The ominous aura wasn't strong enough to give birth to undead creatures yet. Angor only briefly noticed it. He then stopped paying attention to it.

After several steps, he suddenly saw a shadow dashing away from a tree and into the leaves of another lush tree.

It looked pretty small. Probably as big as his hand. It was so quick that he didn't really recognize its nature.

"A flying squirrel?" Angor tapped at Toby's head. The bird had been sleeping after getting a full meal. "Hey, stay alert. Our safety depends on you."

He didn't actually believe there was any danger. He merely woke Toby up because he felt a bit jealous of the bird's living style. He also very much wanted to eat and sleep without caring for anything else, while also growing in strength!

Toby, on the other hand, was unaware of Angor's thoughts. He moved onto Angor's hat and began his job willingly.

As Angor expected, they never encountered anything along their way. The small shadow and evil atmosphere quickly became insignificant scrap of a memory, which he soon forgot.

Behind the range of forest was a broad plain. Angor already saw people. There were houses built along the lake's edge, and some residents were fishing or working in their fields. They were all mortals who wore common clothes similar to what Angor found in the ranger's house. Most women had skirts and aprons, while males had long trousers and field coats. They weren't anything special, but they all looked tidy enough.

He didn't approach these people. Instead, he used spirit feelers to eavesdrop on their conversations.

"Universal language, and without much foreign accent…" Angor looked at Dodoro again. To him, Dodoro's accent was stronger than the citizens. But somehow, he preferred to listen to Dodoro's gentle voice where he ended every sentence with a slight rise in pitch.

It was obvious that Dodoro didn't come from this city. But again, it had been a thousand years, and his accent might have changed?

The farmers were mostly talking about random small talks. It happened to be the time for harvesting crops, so people all discussed their gains or whether someone had a bountiful or lesser yield this year. Someone managed to notice the traveling pair, but no one really cared too much. Occasionally, there were young girls who would comment on Dodoro's handsome look before they returned to their chores.

The peaceful sight reminded Angor of his time at Padt Manor. At that time, he would also work on the tea farm while he talked to Maid Auri and Head Maid Mana about trivial matters.

Those days were relaxing, yet unproductive. Still, Angor really missed them. Probably because he had always been stressed out in the wizarding world, thus the mere sight of the mortals triggered his urge to take it easy again.

He shook his head and got rid of the thought. Before saving his teacher, he wouldn't let his guard down.

…

The main road slowly steered away from the cultivable fields along the lake. Soon, Angor was seeing fewer people and houses again.

A road that was far from the residents, which was accompanied by the mountain woods nearby… For bandits, this looked like the perfect place for an ambush.

Usually, carriages and caravans would take this road, while individual travelers could easily use the shortcuts among the trees. Angor chose to walk on the main road because he didn't know the directions well, and he didn't wish to walk through the fields and interact with the mortals too much.

A carriage meant riches. If they could get their hands on one, bandits would not hesitate to intercept one and quickly retreat back into the woods.

Angor complained about the strange location of the road while he thought about the possibility of whether the government of the city intentionally built the road like this. Even if they wanted to avoid affecting the farms, the road still looked too remote.

A hostile yell soon proved his idea.

He looked toward the particular direction without getting surprised much. About some hundred meters away, a black fully covered high carriage was surrounded by a group of blade-wielding folks. In addition to their eye patches, they all had simple vests that exposed their chest area. The leader was a big and fat individual who had such an oversized stomach that it looked like a balloon. The leader didn't wear an eye patch. But his right eye was troubled by a deep cut scar, which actually looked more threatening than the eye patches of his men.

The carriage obviously belonged to someone rich. Even the driver was a silver-haired old man with an expensive-looking gentleman suit.

The driver looked at the gang leader through a pair of round-rim glasses, showing a bit of fear. "What do you want? I can give you money, but please leave us be once you take it."

"Money? Oh sure. But…" The fat leader grinned wickedly. "I also need your passenger. Hand over Miss Margot. We'll treat her well…"

Upon the mention of "treat", all the bandits smiled in unison, in an evil way.

"Lone-Eye Brotherhood, you will attack innocent people in Water Grasse? Do you not care about Count Leonrick's fury?!" the old cart driver bellowed.

The bandits of "Long-Eye Brotherhood" all laughed out.

"His fury? Not anymore. Today, we don't give a damn to that Leonrick fart."

It seemed these men were serious about not fearing the name of Count Leonrick. Upon realizing this, the old driver grimaced badly.

It seems like I'm not going to get out of this today.

He suddenly saw a lone figure traveling not far.

"Do you think you can keep your crime a secret? If the count learns about this, he'll make sure you will cease in this world!"

While talking, the driver secretly displayed a hand gesture to the traveler who had been approaching the scene.

He was simply asking the man to go away. He didn't care about dying, as long as a witness could get the message to Count Leonrick.

The old man only hoped that the traveler had decent eyesight to see his gesture.

The "lone traveler" in his eyes was, of course, Dodoro. And Dodoro had no problem seeing things clearly. However, a "mentally handicapped" person couldn't possibly understand the driver's signal.

Angor saw this and shook his head.

Dodoro did see the driver's hand moving, but he didn't realize what it meant. He only wanted to follow behind Angor.

When he was only a hundred meters away from the bandits, some of the men on lookout quickly turned back upon hearing their footsteps.

"Hey, boss! Someone's coming from behind. I think he's a peasant from nearby," a scout spoke to the bandit leader while he stared at Dodoro.

"Peasant?" The leader also turned around. "Humph. An arrogant kid who wants to play the hero. Get him, and we'll dispose of him together with the old timer."

The old driver revealed a sad look. His life was forfeited, and so was the dignity of the lady. And they even dragged an innocent farmer into this…