Warlock Apprentice

He had no trouble making the item, but the alchemy omen could be an issue.

Shadow came from Floating Mech City, the home of all genius alchemists, so that man should have no problem seeing another omen.

However, "she" might also see his omen. And Angor wasn't sure if "she" could sit tight in that case. Shadow assured him that "she" would not trouble them further, but Angor wasn't fully convinced by those words.

But he didn't have any other choice right now.

Angor stopped thinking about his concerns and concentrated on his work.

Meanwhile, Shadow was sitting in front of a campfire while gazing into the path that led into the depth of Ice Cave.

Something kept bothering his mind. Just looking at the dark passage and the cold air blowing from it made his heart run wild.

He looked at Venees again. The woman had fallen asleep by resting her head on her knees.

Damn. Should I tell Angor to get away from here first?

Before he could make the decision, another trail of wind filled with snowflakes emerged from the deep tunnel.

Shadow quickly created a dirt wall to block the wind.

The wind persisted for a while. When it ended, the ground was covered under a thin layer of frost again.

Shadow canceled his spell and carefully observed the surroundings. Everything seemed quiet and fine, yet his thumping heart was telling him otherwise.

"Did you start your work already, Angor?" He spoke through Spirit Bond.

It took a while for Angor to respond. "Yeah. What is it?"

"I think… something's not right here. Let's get to somewhere else first. You can always resume your work when it's safer, right?"

Angor checked his half-melted material and nodded. Shadow was good at reading details and potential danger. If Shadow believed something was wrong, it was probably true. Also, Angor was planning to discuss with Shadow about his alchemy omen first.

"Alright. Bring Venees here and let's get away."

Shadow called Venees' name and received no response.

"Is she too tired?" He frowned and nudged the woman.

Thud.

Venees' body lost balance and fell on the floor.

Shadow lifted her head to check. Venees' face was now fully covered in white frost. There was blood seeping from her closed eyes.

Next, Shadow tried to sense Venees' body using spirit feelers.

The moment the feelers reached Venees, a freezing aura quickly traveled through them and headed toward Shadow rapidly.

He jumped away in fear and quickly cut off the feelers.

"Are you alright over there?" Angor asked.

"There's something wrong with Venees!" Shadow was slowly backing away from the woman while speaking. He sensed great danger coming from Venees' body.

While he ran back toward the path they came from, he saw Angor coming his way.

"No. Turn back! Let's get out of here."

Angor quickly noticed Shadow's scared expression and listened to him.

"Where do we go?"

They had arrived at the fork again, which either took them to B4 or back to B6.

"Let's go down. I think there's another woman in the blood bathroom in front of blood prison," Shadow said.

Angor nodded. This seemed the better choice.

When they reached the gate and closed it behind them, Shadow finally sighed in relief and explained what he saw.

They still didn't know what happened. However, since Venees was in trouble, there should be great danger lurking in the material lobby.

"I don't think Venees' gonna make it. Let's go back to B9 and bring that black-haired woman with us. Otherwise, we'll never get out." Shadow was still trembling a little. He only wished to get away from Ice Cave as fast as he could.

Angor stopped him first. "We don't have to. Fiona is right inside my bracelet. Can you make her talk?"

"She's whaaat?" Shadow widened his eyes. "Don't tell me you got those Hollow Weed stuff? Enough to hold someone alive? You need like, 100,000 crystals for that lot of weed!"

Angor dragged Shadow into his Nightmare Domain so that "she" couldn't hear them talking.

He released Fiona into the domain. The woman still carried the eerie smile of a mindless puppet.

Shadow confirmed his puppet string in Fiona's body. Instead of controlling her, he glanced at Angor first.

"Oh, come on! Who the heck are you? Where did you find so much Hollow Weed? Even Floating Mech City can't find such a large amount to sell at their auction."

Previously, Shadow decided not to question Angor's identity too much. But now, seeing all those mysteries on Angor had forced him to get curious again.

Alchemy skills, "reverse engineering" a giant magic array within a day, expensive equipment, a strange monster bird, illusions powerful enough to fool Lady Butterfly… Everything told Shadow that this young apprentice was NOT ordinary.

Angor simply pushed Fiona to Shadow. "Not the time for it. You'll know everything once we get to Floating Mech City. And if we can't, telling you about myself won't help us escape."

There were too many wizards that feared Sunders or hated him. Angor didn't know what would happen to him if he mentioned his professor's name to a stranger, so he chose to keep that a secret.

Shadow went over his memory and remembered several alchemists and master illusionists, but he couldn't remember anyone who came from Brute Cavern that possessed both expertise.

"Fine. I'll not ask again, but do tell me if you feel like it. After we get out, that is. Now, I suggest that you put her back inside. I don't know what will happen if 'she' sees Fiona in our hands. Let's check out B9 first. If we can't find that black-haired woman, we'll use Fiona."

Angor complied and accompanied Shadow down the stairs.

After they left, Venees, who was believed to be dead, suddenly reopened her eyes.

Her brown eyes had become white, which glowed slightly like ice reflecting sunlight. Her hair had put on a pure white color as well.

She slowly sat up and looked toward where Shadow had escaped.

"I sense such a strange soul…"

…

Angor and Shadow spent another hour traveling all the way back to B9. Along their way, Angor mentioned his alchemy omens, and Shadow glanced at him again with a meaningful look.

"It might be a good thing. Just imagine. When she knows that you can create a mid-tier alchemy item at such a young age, she'll understand your value and think about who you are as well as who your teacher is. Maybe she'll decide to let us go. I mean, don't worry about the omen. I don't think she's going to attack us because of it."

They arrived at the blood bathroom and saw the black-haired woman who was still in the bathtub. It seemed she didn't evacuate like the other guards.

The woman was shocked by their arrival. Before she could find her weapon, Shadow quickly subdued her by using his puppet strings.

She was also a level-1 apprentice like Venees, who couldn't oppose Shadow's power at all.

"Diablo?! Where did you come from? Where's Venees? Did she let you out? And who the heck are you?" She glimpsed at Angor next.

"You give her orders. I'll find somewhere quiet and continue with my work," Angor said to Shadow without minding the woman.

"Leave it to me. I think we're safe on this floor."